RP thread : The Quest Into The Forbidden

[Belle Starr]

Belle watched the road sitting in the passenger seat, dozing sometimes, willing the pink trooper to go faster the rest of the time, but to no avail. Belle knew Vo was pushing the vehicle to go as fast as it would go, but Belle had an awful feeling the Rose was near the end of her rope. Add that to the fact that MOM, her EGO device would periodically say to her through the telepathic link they shared, GO FASTER, DEAR, GO FASTER! Whereupon Belle would think back, You are not helping MOM!

Belle felt on the verge of an anxiety attack herself, so she was engaged in the mental relaxation exercises Mr. Xen, her martial arts teacher at VBI, had taught her. It was an optional class VBI offered their employees in New York City, and not many took advantage of it, but Belle had and was Xen's best student, partially because she was always athletic but mostly because she enjoyed it so much. Belle enjoyed the mental exercises as much as the physical, and often entered a Zen state of mind in times of stress, if time allowed. Waiting to arrive at Rose's place of captivity was such a time.

When Belle's mind was in a relaxed state, it would often wander, sometimes into the realm of imagination. When Belle was a child, she often enjoyed the comic books and graphic novels at the used book store next to Papa Boudreaux's restaurant in the French Quarter of N'Awlins. Mr. Lewis, the owner of the shop, was a close friend of Papa Boudreaux, so he would let young Belle borrow and read anything in the shop. She liked DC comics most of all, for you could almost always be sure who the heroes and who the villains were. Young Belle liked the comic entitled Justice League of America best, because it had a group of superheroes who banded together to fight evils greater than any one of them could handle alone.

Kind of like us! Thought Belle dreamily to herself, Chase would be Superman, because he can take on a whole squad of Volge by himself, yet he is so humble, has such a strong sense of justice, always protects the innocent, and is SO handsome! He saved Iri, so I guess that makes her his Lois Lane, although I don't remember Lois Lane being a sex freak! Taffer is definitely Batman, because he is definitely a creature of the night, is so mysterious, is a master tactician, and always has the right weapons for the job! Vo would definitely be the Flash, because he loves to go fast! I'm just glad he doesn't like to do everything fast!

Belle smiled at her sexual joke, but it quickly disappeared when she thought about Rose, Who would Rose be? Wonder Woman, because she is so powerful? Martian Manhunter, because she is so alien? Naw, neither of those quite fit. Belle blue diamond eyes widened as she thought of the comic book character that was most like Rose, Lex Luthor! Unlimited resources! Super intelligent! Often more gray then black or white! Although he's not a JLA member and often not a hero, he would sometimes work with the superheroes to fight a greater evil, but usually with an agenda of his own! Heck, I even remember him becoming the President of the old United States! Yep, that's our Rose!

And who am I? Belle asked herself, I know I wish I was Wonder Woman, but I'm not that good, in more ways than one! I guess I'm Stargirl! I'm blond with blue eyes, I have my special powered weapon, my SMG-EEC, I'm mildly powerful with my EGO, I'm pretty smart, but I make a lot of rookie mistakes! Yep that's me, Starrgirl!

Just then the pink troop carrier hit a huge bump in the asphalt, jarring Belle from her reverie, as they got even closer to the VBI bunker where Rose is captive.

[Keeper Riff]

"Okay, we've got the info", said Taffer which still was sitting at the computer and now sending the data found on the facility to everyone's EGO.

"So here it is. A sprawling 4-floor underground complex with about 100 armed men on top and 300 below. About 600 non-combatants like scientists and other workers in addition. To my opinion, the best entry point is here", he zoomed in at a building outside, "it's a radio array building. Based on an old EMC bunker along with their radio equipment and antennae. Not so heavily guarded as the main house. Connected with the main facility via cable tunnel at least. Would be a tight squeeze, but passable. And save us some hassle with the guard on the surface. I say at least, because there are some other old EMC tunnels, but marked as 'inaccessible'. To my experience, this can mean as well they just have chosen not to use and maintain them for some reasons and marked them as such to keep their own people from peeking there. Could be still passable too.

I have recompiled the virus found on that bunker we've been before. If I could upload it into their network from the array, I could get a limited control on their systems. Could cause a lockdown, turn off some cameras or set them on replay, or make you see through them to observe the territory from a safe spot, or play with the lights and other haunted house stuff. Even sound the alarm and make them running in circles for some time if things go wild. I will also pass the access codes to your EGO, so each one of you could do it too. But don't rely of this too much because if the house would became too much haunted, they'd likely figure it out and cut us off the system.

Our first goal — the armory on the first floor. I'd like to lock it off and set some traps there to win us some time in case the alarm is sounded. Will likely make our escape easier. Another thing, I'd like to find some non-lethal weapons there. I won't hesitate to kill any non-combatants if they are in the way and can put us in danger of being discovered, but' I'd rather not to if there's a better way. Could be some sleeping needles for the infector or maybe shockers of sort, we'll see.

The second goal, which is a primary one, is the lab on a lowest fourth level. The most secured part of the facility, which they keep secret even from most of their employees. Not too much guessing needed to point Rose is likely kept there. Armored doors, hermetically sealed. But there are some ventilation shafts and maintenance tunnels too. We also may expect some secret tunnels not marked on this map which may provide us an alternative escape route, or a danger of being attacked from them, or both.

Choice of weapons — silenced, middle to close range. I have two Wolfhounds, one balanced for handling, one heavily boosted for critical damage. I'll stick with my TACC, so if you need one, here they are. Maybe one sniper would be useful when we reach the radio array. Heavy weapons may come in handy if we would have to fight through our escape. Just make sure it won't slow you down. I'm taking a Clusterdrop. And Vo, I'll ask you to take my Stingray in case we need to heal Rose to keep her alive on our way."

Just as he finished the briefing, the Sarah's message reached their EGOs.
" please hurrty (( stadic )) rose actavated. kill switch. (( stadic )) 72 hours till destroyed. (( stadic )) if anyone hears me. please. save us. (( stadic )) if your good and you get this (( stadic )) your our last hope. "

Taffer sighed and said, "well, at least we know for sure they are alive. Although our time is very limited now, I still suggest to wait until the night comes as it means less people active inside and we have no option to fail now."

________________________

Just before they exited the carrier for their mission, Vo would put Rose's overshield mod off his ARK Ironclad and attach it to his usual Respark Regen because it will be useless without manual activation anyway. Then he'd put the ARK Ironclad shield into baby's cot and activate it, smiling to her and saying "congratulations with your first Legendary, young ark hunter".

[Belle Starr]

Belle was trying to digest the deluge of information Rose had sent all their EGO units. She tried to get some confirmation from MOM, but MOM seemed confused, but operable. Rose, no Sarah, is her sister, which Belle had suspected, and the true backgrounds of her EGO's personas she also suspected, but the details, for example, the fact the Rose had saved her from her suicide attempt before Belle even knew they met as well as other secrets, she didn't even suspect. The information also confirmed her worst fears, that her uncle, Mr. Greenstreet and VBI were the great evil that seemed to haunt her all her life! Most important to Belle, she really was a poor lab rat running a maze - an experiment not an individual! She had never ever made a choice that was her own, but always one in which she had been manipulated into! Everything about her life was a lie! Even her belief that it was destiny or God that saved her life the day she tried to suicide was untrue! Belle was even starting to wonder if her relationship with Vo was not part of someone else's great plan, maybe her sister's, to make sure Belle stayed with the team!

Belle thought bitterly, I've never been in control of my life! Never! My sister even manipulated me by not telling me what she knew as a fact until she was at Death's door!

Trying to keep her mind off Rose's now revealed secrets and on Rose's rescue, Belle was sitting and giggling on the troop carrier's bench holding the laughing baby on her lap while Chase played peek-a-boo with her, when the bunker data was received by all of the team. Belle sighed, sorry that the moment of mirth was over but also glad that the time of action was now upon them. Belle put the baby in its makeshift crib, whereupon the baby quickly fell asleep, then went to get her weapons.

Belle thought about the team and her place in it as she readied her weapons, the same ones she had taken into the previous VBI bunker. Belle felt that the plan was a good one, and that she was right that Taffer was a natural tactician, much better than she was. Her plans were usual general, then adapted from there, with none of the technical overtones that his had and which he excelled at. Her mind just didn't work that way even though she was a machinist. Her way to fix a machine that didn't work was to have fun tinkering with it until it did, but she bet Taffer would just study it, access his EGO for the correct information, and fix it. Easy-peasy! Nope, the team doesn't need me!Thought Belle, I'll help save Rose, I owe her that, even do the Tampa mission since I owe the team that, but then Baby and I are gone, hopefully with Vo, to live happily ever after! I'll finally be in control of my life, and not someone else's puppet!

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Belle put a silencer on her Wolfhound pistol, taking off her holster and putting the pistol in her belt behind her back. As always, she had her Thorn Liro charge blade on her belt. With her custom Headshot sniper rifle at the ready and her SMG slung on her shoulder, she took a final look at the baby before exiting the carrier, smiling upon seeing the ARK Ironclad shield in Baby's crib. Belle had no doubt that Baby would be well cared for if she didn't make it back.

That is, thought Belle ominously as she lined up at the carrier's door, ready to follow Taffer's command, If any of us make it back!

[CB2001]

As he expected, he played peek-a-boo with the baby after Belle asked him to look after her for a moment. He recalled some of his early memories with his mother and father, who played with it with him. Chase ran through the possibilities of who could be able to keep an eye on the child, or who could take her if/when the group headed back to the Bay. It had been years, so his information about the people he knew was sketchy at best. The only parent he knew of recently was Jasine.

When we get back to Freedom, I'll ask around. I'm sure there's got to be a few couples with children that could watch over this child, be it for the short time in Tampa or the long-haul.

Belle had finally taken the baby back from Chase, placing it in the crib along with a shield. Chase knew that Belle was becoming attached to it, but he wasn't sure if Belle could handle a baby in addition to a life in the Bay. He wasn't being a pessimist or anything like that, but he couldn't help but wonder. She lived in a trailer next to the Crater, spent her day like many of the Arkhunters. But he knew her life was a bit of a step-up from his, since all he had was a roller and a mountain top. Granted, if Iri chose to go with him if and when he came back from Tampa, he would keep his eyes open for a place for them. Though he did wonder if humans and Indogenes could reproduce, even if Iri did want to have children, would Chase even be able to find a place for them that was safe from some of the dangers the Bay had, let alone big enough to sustained a family of three... or more. Chase knew that for Belle, her trailer could handle the room for one occupant, but if she took the child with her, and Vo decided to keep their relationship, it would be a cramped place. Chase was worried for Belle and the baby. The Bay wasn't the right place for a child, and there'd be no way that, should Belle decide to raise it, for Belle to raise her in the Bay. Chase's thoughts of Belle, Vo and the Baby living in Defiance made more sense.

But they're accustom to the Bay, he thought. Who knows if they could handle raising a family? Hell, who knows if Iri and I could, if we do.

Chase got his orange balanced Vot Disruptor ready to rock and roll. He pulled out his Player, about to put it in storage near the seat, and had an idea form.

"Hey, guys," Chase couldn't help but ask. "Don't we need a plan to jam their radio frequencies? If so, I think I've got an idea. My idea means there's a risk we could lose communications between us, but it could be more than useful to keeping communications busy for the enemy, which means they won't be able to talk to each other."

He knew he had the others attentions.

"This is just a idea I'm tossing out there, and you're welcome to shoot it down," Chase began. "But what if we jam the frequencies by spamming it with something on all channels. Something like music?"

"How would be transmit?" Belle ask. "We can't use the carrier, because they could triangulate the broadcast signal and then target it. And the baby's going to be here."

"Kinda hard to take out a signal from inside the base, don't you think?" Chase couldn't help but ask. "What if we calibrate our EGOs to broadcast noise or music? We'd be the transmitters, and since we're going to be moving through the facility, it'd make it hard for them to pinpoint exactly where we could be. Or..."

"Or what?" Taffer asked.

"I be the transmitter," Chase told them. "I transmit the music on all channels. I run around the facility, leading them like rabbit to the dogs. I may not be able to hear you guys if I do it. But that way, it gives you guys a chance to get to Miss Sinn, and I keep them distracted while causin' a ruckus."

Chase noticed the look of worry crossing Belle's eyes, Taffer clearly interested in the idea. Vo as harder to read.

"Just consider it," Chase told them. "If I end up being the transmitter, at least it gives you guys a chance to get to her."

"But how would we find Rose?" Belle asked. "I mean, Sarah's transmissions would be jammed too. How would be able to find her?"

Chase nodded.

"Like I said, just consider it," he told her. "If it comes down to going with the idea and trying to find Miss Sinn without radio transmissions from Sarah, then you'll have to ask the old fashion way: finding someone who may know something and ask them... really hard."

Well, if there's one thing they can't say about me, Chase thought. It's that I don't think outside the box sometimes.

[JadedSinn]

chases plan was a good one. but sadly transmissions for the base wear allready being flooded with data and infermation mainly why she was being beat so much now. thy wear trying to bring there systems back online. sarah was makeing a right mess of things now that she was slowly geting her abilitys back. rose may not of beenable to do anything but sarah was damned if she was not going to mess with every last person in the base befor she was gone for good

the lights wear flickering on and off. the bases auto turrets were shooting at there own men. sarah was giggleing like a mad man but still transmiting. she couldnt see outside her little locked room her and rose wear in but she could still shut down electronics and other devices inside the base. and it was...

royaly pissing off every last VBI person there was inside the base. along with every last troop.
and sarah was not planing to give in or give up. thy wear to pissed to do the simplest thing to stop her , thy had desided it was pointless to keep poisoning her when thy were to busy trying to take controll of there systems. so beating her trying to force her to call her ego off. was all thy had thought to do.

hopefuly her team would make it there to help her soon she still beleaved that it wouldnt happen and that her and sarah wear alone,

[Belle Starr]

Concern obviously all over her freckled face, Belle bit her lower lip before tentatively touching Chase's forearm, pleading, "I admire your bravery Chase, but we need to stick together. No team mate should go and do anything alone. Every time we do, something bad happens! Trust me, I know from experience! Lets' just follow Taffer's lead, rescue Rose together, and leave here in one piece."

Belle hoped it would be that simple, but doubted it would. She took out her rosary from the secret pocket in her armor, said a silent prayer, crossed herself, and then re-pocketed the rosary, feeling reassured not at all.

[Keeper Riff]

Vo Kshaa felt depressed when he received that file from Sarah with the information about Belle. It was not about the information itself he was concerned with, but more about that he got it without Belle's permission and the info it contained was of a kind she'd likely never tell anyone. It was like reading someone's personal letters, and pretending he never knew about it was not an option because they both knew he had already received it. He raised his eyes to Belle and saw her playing with the baby which made him smile in surprise. He thought again of how strong of nature she is. He himself probably could not laugh at all for a day or two if he happened to get in this kind of situation. They will probably have a talk about that later, but now it was the time to rescue their friend and do it quickly.

He asked Taffer for his crit-enhanced Wolfhound and waved aside his concerns about it being new for him and uncalibrated to work with EGO. He took several minutes to work on the weapon silently with a sly smile. In addition, he took his usual 16-round shotgun and the charge blade. He also took a Frontier Sub-Carbine instead of his usual VOT Pulser as it dealt more damage per shot thus would be saving his ammo reserve.

Once they were her out of the carrier, he gently touched Belle's shoulders and whispered in her ear, "I love you Belle. Let's do it together. Let's save our friend". His face was serious as it always became like that before a tough fight. He listened closely to Taffer's last arrangements while they were walking to the point of entry. Stealth missions were never his forte and his stealth build was rather rough, so he just went on and ordered his EGO to copy Taffer's one. Taffer obviously noticed the data transfer as he showed him a thumb up with a reassuring wink.

___________________
"Chase, Belle is right", Taffer said with a bit of pondering, "We don't like to split the team unless it's desperately needed. I could spam their communications myself using the virus, even pointing them to false targets, but I'd like to have them oblivious to our presence as long as possible."

When they approached the radio array, he pointed at two chest-high stones and hid behind one of them, scanning the terrain ahead.

"Two snipers on watch towers from this side. Note their projectors. One on the ground, on our way to the building. Probably several inside. This one of snipers is less attentive, he doesn't look at the fence itself right under his tower, which will be his fatal mistake and our ticket inside. I'll go first and deal with the one on the ground. Then you all go in one by one. Belle, you watch those snipers closely and signal to others when it's safe to approach the fence. If any of snipers notices something, snipe him down before he sets off the alarm. I'll take out the second one at the same time. You go in last, I'll cover you if needed. Once inside the building, we'll likely have to take out everyone inside, unless we find a better way. Then I'll upload the virus and we'll be searching for an appropriate tunnel to the main house. Okay, I'm going."

He activated Cloak and hurried to the wire mesh fence. When he was at the point where one of the snipers was never looking and another was shadowed by the first tower, he waited for the appropriate moment and cut the wires with his charge blade. Then he treaded carefully between large tents and approached the only guard from the back. He hit the back of his neck with the buttstock of his Heavy Carbine, putting him unconscious, and hid the body between the tents, away from snipers' view. Then he signaled to Belle that it's safe on his side.

[CB2001]

"Chase, Belle is right. We don't like to split the team unless it's desperately needed. I could spam their communications myself using the virus, even pointing them to false targets, but I'd like to have them oblivious to our presence as long as possible."

Chase nodded.

"Understandable," Chase replied. "The virus and the sensor decoys definitely would help. The fact is we don't know how much longer Sarah's data purge is going to hold up, unless she's going to repeat the info without us knowing. But we're still going to have to find someone inside the complex as ask them where Miss Sinn is. There's a good chance that by trying to access any of the computers in the facility will cause an alert."

As they approached the radio station, Taffer pointed out the snipers.

"Okay, but keep that virus ready to rock and roll, right now, just in case," Chase told him. "Like I said, we don't know how much longer Sarah's dump is going to go. If it goes out before we even take out the snipers and get into the complex, we're going to need that spamming ready to go in full broadcast."

Chase looked over at Belle.

"We need you to be cool like you always are," Chase told her. "I'm following your lead here."

[Belle Starr]

"Okay, Chase," Whispered Belle as she smiled while watching the snipers through the scope of her Headshot sniper rifle, "You and Vo cross, I'll follow, than we leap frog two by two to the front door!"

With Taffer and Belle making one group, and Chase and Vo the other, the four team mates leap frogged to the front door, seeing two Dark Matter troopers guarding the bunker there. Taffer and Belle took out their silenced pistols and each took out one of the guards on the whispered count of three. With Taffer in the lead, the rescue party made their way to the armory of the first floor. They had a stroke of good luck when they found the armory door open, with an unarmed E-Rep lieutenant taking inventory with a computer pad inside. The four teammates quickly entered the armory, and the E-Rep officer put his hands up in surrender when he saw the team mates' drawn weapons.

The obviously terrified man said, "Don't shoot me, I'm just the quartermaster!"

Belle moved towards the man, a grim look on her freckled face as she kneed him in the groin, saying, "Where is Rose? Where is your captive?"

"W-we don't have any captives here! This is a research facility!" protested the gasping E-Rep officer.

"You're a liar!" Said Belle as she struck her Wolfhound pistol across his face.

Belle was about to pistol whip the man again when Vo grabbed her hand from behind, saying, "He can't tell us anything if he is unconscious Belle!"

Belle knew Vo was right, but she was so angry and just wanted to unleash that anger on the man. She was angry at E-Rep's involvement in the conspiracy against them, she was angry at VBI and her uncle for manipulating Belle her whole life, and she was angry at Rose because she knew all about it and kept it from her.

Belle took a deep breath and asked the man through gritted teeth, "What parts of the bunker do you have access to?"

The man stuttered in fear, "I-I-I have access to the whole base... except the central research lab on the fourth floor below!"

"That's all I wanted to hear," Belle replied, and ugly grimace marring her pretty face as she struck the man hard in the head with her gun. Belle turned to her teammates as the man slumped to the floor, stating, "That's where we'll find Rose then, just like we suspected!"

Taffer had been busy rigging the armory with the explosives during the whole time of the E-Rep officer's interrogation, but Chase had watched it the whole time with raised eyebrows in surprise at Belle's sudden brutality, uncertain as to what he should do. Vo bent down over the E-Rep officer with a look of concern on his face as Belle took out a clean white lace trimmed handkerchief from her armor's secret pocket and calmly wiped the man's blood off her pistol.

"He's dead Belle!" Vo said as he looked up at Belle.

A look of regret briefly crossed Belle's pale face, but was quickly replaced with the grim one that bothered Vo immensely, as she replied in a tone lacking any emotion, "He would've died in the explosion anyway! Let's go get Rose!"

Belle threw the soiled handkerchief on top of the man's dead body as she moved to the armory door, silenced pistol in hand. Belle was determined to kill every person in the bunker to get to Rose if she had to. What she hadn't determined yet was if she would then kill Rose!

[Keeper Riff]

Taffer was placing the explosives and his EGO was scanning the place for best spots for them, when she suddenly gave him a warning, "I think I found some traces of Rose's DNA right there". Taffer looked at the crate she highlighted for him and opened it. "A special loot", he thought to himself, seeing Rose's prosthetic arm and leg, her North Star Flare gun and her armor in it. He put prostheses and the gun into his backpack and handed the folded armor suit to Vo to carry it. He also found a coil of rope and took it too. Then he accessed the computer and made sure the virus is already in place and spreading.

"I'm marking the elevator shaft as our next destination and locking off all side passages on our way to keep the resistance to a minimum. As for non-lethal weapons", he looked at a dead soldier on the floor, "guess we don't need them after all. We have some shock grenades anyway. What I plan to do next is to send the elevator up, then cut off its power and descend through the shaft using this rope. The shaft leads to the third floor below ground only, but there's a maintenance tunnel between the third and the fourth at the end of it. It likely has some manhole to the fourth floor, but if it hasn't we can make one ourselves. Once we're at the fourth floor, we could block all entrances from above and take it over so that we'd have some freedom on finding the exact Rose's whereabouts. The escape could be tricky then though."

As he checked on the data the virus was reporting back to him, he noticed that the base already behaved like a haunted house much more that the virus was commanded to do. Lights were flasing at some corridors, turrets were coming in and out, and at first he thought his virus had a bug in it which made it go wiled. But then he started to notice a pattern — there were "waves of maddness" coming in circles around the whole facility. He even thought he heard some evil giggle from the static noise. "Sarah", he thought, "yes, make it even more complicated for us. As if the whole ant hill filled with armed troops and your time limit is not enough". But actually he was glad Sarah is still active rather than been turned off. But he still didn't try to contact her yet as it may reveal their position. Maybe he'll try it when they would be on the fourth floor when the real fight would start…