|
Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Feb 19, 2020 6:07:52 GMT -8
DD-012 "Blueboy-14", Southlands Sector 49Today, the Tuffle General - who at this point was deep within the identity of a Human Colonel - was building up connections. That was to say, she had approached a certain mining company, which had broadcast an emergency signal on various channels, and perhaps through other means. Said mining company had lost a number of men underneath Ox Mountain, of all places, and would of course, gladly compensate anyone for going down there to recover those trapped souls. Azure had negotiated terms with the mining company, which was surprisingly relieved to find out that they were offering to do the job for far less than the stated fee, in exchange for rights to have a go and take possession of what whatever useful surprises they might find down there. Perhaps some potentially useful rare ore? It was a mine, after all. Once in a while, they might strike something rare, like kablamium ore, or, if Kami really was watching everyone, perhaps even katchin. Refined kablamium was already hard enough to come by, with the Dragoons only having a rather large supply due to having pilfered Brigadier Bronze's significant stocks. The latter was a rarity they kept in a number of ingots aboard high priority MHQs. So it was of course understandable that the Colonel would negotiate for exploration and exploitation rights, rather than cold hard zeni, which they could barter for, at any rate. Which was why she was now aboard one of Blueboy Group's many dropships with a nine-man Auxiliary squad at her personal disposal. Professionals, every single one of them, who served under her command with distinction. And of course they would. After all, she handpicked each member of this entire battalion, and knew them all by name, and how they moved. She was the Boss. Though some would also jokingly refer to her as "Mum". Probably because that was the closest equivalent to a unit such as this, one that was more like a family. As such it wouldn't be surprising that she be called the matriarch. The engines burned outside as it maneuvered between mountains and over forests, as it made its way to their destination, the pilot clearly enjoying the opportunity to flex his considerable skills if only for today. Azure spoke into her commlink, broadcasting to everyone aboard. "Ladies and Gentlemen, as we speak, the details are being transmitted to us by the client. Topography, tunnel plans, on-site personnel, the works. Once we arrive there, we'll be greeted by the foreman, who will brief us with the latest sitrep. As you know, the mission is a simple one: go down there, find their mining team, and get them out alive. I'll reserve any mission-specific questions for the foreman, but for what we've got right now, does anyone have any questions?""Boss!" One man raised his hand. "Talk to me, Corporal Maples.""How many are we expected to be looking for down there?""There's probably at least a dozen, based on the description of the mining process and machinery. We'll need the foreman for the exact details, I'm afraid." Good old Maples. Always straight to the point. "Any other questions?"The Auxiliaries responded in a perfectly synchronized chorus. "Negative, Boss!""Then tighten your buckles, because we're getting there double time," Azure strapped herself into her seat and connected to the pilot. "Blueboy-14, hit those afterburners. The faster we get there, the faster we can get those people out."The vocal response was as immediate as the sudden jolt of speed, as the dropship's afterburners blasted to life, bringing them to the mission site in a matter of minutes... WC: 610/610 Celerai
|
|
|
Post by Majin Zam on Feb 27, 2020 2:26:12 GMT -8
Beneath the sandy surface, a network of dark, damp tunnels reached into the depths. Occasional droplets of water ran down the rugged walls. Light fixtures, both temporary and slightly more permanent, offered illumination. Dust danced in the bright beams. They tried to keep the suffocating darkness at bay, but there were still plenty of dim corners. Down here, it was easy for one’s imagination to run wild. Simple footsteps bounced between the carved walls, multiplying their echo until it sounded like something was walking right behind you. The shadows danced in the corner of one’s vision. And the constant sensation of being watched crawled down one’s spine. Just paranoia, right? But what if something was really there...? A burly man in overalls and safety gear ran down a corridor that felt like it went forever. Had it always been this long? Or had he taken a wrong turn? Eventually he had to stop and catch his breath. Weakly he leaned against some scaffolding, gasping for dusty breaths of air. He tried to listen, but couldn’t hear anything over his hammering heart. Yet a faint hope blossomed. Maybe... He had gotten away... Carefully he glanced over his shoulder, peered into the darkness... And the darkness stared back with glowing crimson eyes. Back on the surface, any radio scanning the frequencies suddenly blared to life. “This is F-foreman Molehill. I-I’m requesting immediate evac. We’re in tunnel B17. The exit’s blocked. There’s about a dozen of us.” Frantic voice pleaded to anyone who might listen. Panic rang clear through the raspy voice ruined by years of smoking. “W-we dug too deep... Found something... Something bad... I-it woke up. Brought several tunnels down. Now it’s after us..” There was a gasp, a pause in the words. “Oh... Oh no...” Something rustled, followed by rapidly scattering footsteps. “Help us! If anybody is out there, please, god, help us! Somebody please-!” A sudden thud and crackle silenced the pleading. Garbled words crawled through the hissing static. “F͓̙͕̬̮̟͢͜ǫ̯̜͉͖ṵ̩̫͉̱̺͓̥͝͡n̶̢̹̖̯d̻͕̪̯̪ͅ ̡̨̤̰ý̴͇̪͎͉̺͕̻o҉̯̮̼̦͖͠͞u̦̭͘͟~͏͖̰̘”And the connection died. Mission WC: 961/4000 Natural PL: 9597 Tag: Emargine "Azure" Cerola Celerai
|
|
Celerai
Prospect
Hey, wanna spar?
Posts: 303
|
Post by Celerai on Feb 28, 2020 13:52:18 GMT -8
What a day! A day.. filled with training.. and training.. and training. It was about time to get some rest. He stood there.. in the middle of the forest. He has been doing some thinking lately. The actual reason why he came here was to find Nal, and he already did. It's obvious that she's ok, and there was no other reason to stay here. Even though Majin Zam had became his best friend, he wanted.. more. Fight strong opponents, learn new techniques, become stronger than before. He picked up the bottle of water from the ground, and drank almost half of the bottle's content. "I.. must look around the area one last time."He slowly rose into the air, above the trees, and he looked around him for a few moments. He flew over the trees, and for some reason, he didn't even think about where he was going. Something caught his attention though. As she flew for about five minutes, scanning the area with his eyes, he saw this random cave. It looked as if it was blocked or something of that sort, but what made himextremely confused was when he heard noises coming from a device below. The aura that was around him dissapated, as he landed, only to find a radio in front the cave entrance. What Celerai heard from that radio.. he couldn't believe it. "Oh no. They're trapped! I've.. got to save them."He said to himself, with a worried look on his face. "Guys, I'm coming in!"As he said this, he heard a very familiar voice from that same radio, and the connection died at that exact moment. "Zam? Why would she be.."
Yeah this day was already confusing, and at this point, somebody would have to explain to him exactly what was going on. WC: 304 | 304 Total Mission WC: 1265 | 4000 Starting PL: 15411
|
|
|
Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Feb 29, 2020 7:37:18 GMT -8
Blueboy-14 veered in a burst of jet exhaust around a sharp turn of the white rock cliff, which brought the seemingly empty mining camp and a cave in the cliff-face which no doubt served as the mine entrance. The dropship's turbines tilted into descent configuration, and the aircraft lowered itself to a hover two stories above the ground just next to structure nearest the cave entrance. The roar of the engines blasted dust away from beneath the craft. Either side of the fuselage slid open, each door unveiling a trio of unfurled cables. In a matter of seconds, all nine Auxiliaries had fast-roped down to the ground with precision and taken covering positions to secure the drop zone. Considering the transmission that they had just picked up from the mining crew, it was best to be prepared for whatever happened to be going on down there. Seeing it was clear of any apparent hostiles, save for the man in green, who had not attacked, they stayed sharp and in particular, focused all their attention on him while keeping their firearms at a ready position. Cerola adjusted her cap and slid down a cable, undoing her harness as soon as her boots hit the dirt. Giving the door gunner a hand signal confirming her having completed her descent, she turned around to face the entrance to the cave... and the familiar face that was in front of her now, apparently confused. The cables retracted back into the dropship, which flew rose up to orbit the mining camp, ready to provide support if needed. That being said, this man hadn't seen her before, but she had seen his file. The Dragoons had encountered him during the construction of Satan City. He was a martial artist, and was assigned to test the materials that could potentially be used for the construction of the fighting ring. His power level at the time was rather impressive, and no doubt, in the weeks since then, possibly more so. He was sure to have noticed these same troops distributing food during the city's construction process. However, just to be on the safe side, it was best to initiate contact. Never assume a person's familiarity with the situation. She raised her hand, and the Auxiliaries lowered their rifles to a more relaxed state. "I am Colonel Azure, commanding officer of the Private Military Company Azure's Dragoons. The corporation that owns this mine has availed of our services, and requested that we rescue their mining team, who are trapped inside."Cerola started her way toward the blocked exit, and planted a strange device at the foot of the door and tapped a keypad on its side. The mining drone sprang to life and began to systematically, for lack of a better word, chomp through the rock with its powerful metal jaws. In a few moments, the entrance would be clear. "If you think such a task is worth your time and effort, then you are free to assist us." With another hand signal, a fireteam of four assembled behind her, prepared to follow her inside, while the other five took up defensive positions around the entrance. "Otherwise, I suggest you stand by and let us accomplish our mission."By the time she finished talking, the drone had completely eaten up all of the rubble that was blocking the entrance, and had deposited it as a small pyramid of stone blocks nearby. The general gave one last hand signal, and led the troops inside. The martial artist was free to follow, as she said. The question now was, would he? WC: 600/1210 Mission: 1865 Celerai Majin Zam
|
|
|
Post by Majin Zam on Feb 29, 2020 8:48:56 GMT -8
While the general and the martial artist met, the ground beneath their feet occasionally trembled. Muffled booms shook the rocky terrain. The tremors had no rhythm to them, beginning and ending seemingly at random. Some were small and rapid, others were heavy and lasted for a while. As the entrance to the tunnels was opened, the rescuers would find more collapsed sections along the way. Deep cracks spread across the walls and the ceiling. The risk of the whole place coming down on their heads was all too real... But maybe that didn’t phase those who were prepared for it. Suddenly the last lights shut down, leaving the rescue team to the mercy of whatever illumination they brought with them. From the depths of the cavern emanated an eerie sensation. It washed over the people entering and trickled down their spines like an icy chill. Savvy people could recognize it as a ki signature. Yet something was wrong... Scouters went crazy, showing utterly nonsensical numbers and symbols. Sharp senses wouldn’t help either. The power fluctuated wildly without any rhyme or reason, like a never-ending lie. Was it miniscule or massive? Who knows...? It just felt monstrous in the worst sense of the word. Aaaand kind of... grumpy? Could ki even feel grumpy? Even deeper still, behind several twists and turns in the darkness, a lone worker was hiding behind a bulldozer. Said machine was in shambles, scorched by ki blasts and pummeled to a pile of scrap. He tried to curl up into a tiny ball. Beneath his shaky breath he muttered prayers to whatever deity might be listening. Kami, Buddha, Satan... Anyone! Please help! He could feel that... thing... Lurking nearby. How it shuffled around... Its glowing eyes scanned the darkness. Sparks of unstable energy occasionally lit up the cavern. A distorted echo bounced far between the stone walls. “Come out, come out, wherever you are~!”Mission WC: 2184/4000 Natural PL: 9597 Tag: Emargine "Azure" Cerola Celerai
|
|
Celerai
Prospect
Hey, wanna spar?
Posts: 303
|
Post by Celerai on Mar 2, 2020 18:53:55 GMT -8
Suddenly, a vehicle showed up, and it was rather weird when Cerai felt the ki signature coming from it. Huh? Do I..Once the lady, which he found out later that her name was Colonal Azure, stepped outside of the vehicle, Celerai just had to ask.. "Hey, I think I know you. Well, not your name.. but I've sensed your ki a few times, and I've seen your men around giving out the food.. yeah.. Satan City. You were there, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Celerai."Once she stated what was going on exactly, and told him that if he wanted to assist them in their mission, he could, he said "Oh, I'd love to help you. I was just finished with my daily training so.."That metal jaw thingy that Cerola had laid in front of the cave's entrance made Celerai's eyebrow's furrow, but based on what he was seeing, he just thought if it as a 'metal jaw thingy that could break through rocks'. Though he would easily volunteer to throw a few ki blasts and clear the pathway, but.. that would probably make it worse so, nope. Once Cerola gave her signal for her troops to follow, Celerai accompanied them inside the cave. It got darker and darker as they went further inside, and for some reason, Celerai felt like he was getting closer and closer to Zam. Was she actually inside the cave? If yes, why? That little girl is really something. "Uhh, Miss Colonel.. don't you have a uhh.. flashlight or something, it's really dark inside. I suspect that a majin is inside the cave, one that I'm a friend of, her name's Zam."Suddenly.. he heard voices.. familiar voices. But.. it wasn't Zam's. "CELERAI!!!"Once he heard that voice, he know exactly who it was.. Pavo. It's been a long while since Celerai has seen that kid, and Celerai kinda had this as coming at the right time. "Excuse me, I must go outside for a while. I think someone's outside that wants to see me. I'll be back. Don't worry."Quickly, he ran outside the cave, only to see that same teenager that was dressed in his dark blue sleeveless gi with purple hair.. Pavo. Just as expected. "Pavo, it's been a long while, buddy! We don't have much time, let's go. There are some people inside the cave that are currently trapped. We need to save them. Come on!"Without even waiting for the boy's answer, Celerai ran into the cave, and Pavo decided to follow. "Hey, wait up!"Once Pavo caught up to Celerai, Celerai stopped in front the two pathways that were inside the cave, trying to sense Cerola's ki, so that he could help her with the men inside the cave that were trapped. WC: 466 | 770 Total Mission WC: 2650 | 4000 Starting PL: 15411
|
|
|
Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Mar 3, 2020 6:30:57 GMT -8
The general nodded in response to the warrior's quick recall of where he had sensed her before. "That is correct, Mister Celerai. Our primary employer at the moment is Satan City, which continues to make use of our services. A pleasure to meet with you face to face." Already, the name had been flown through her memory warehouse, passing hands and being sent through various categorizations. Not that there was a literal warehouse in her brain, but that was simply how she sometimes imagined her mind worked. Though at the blitzing speed of a Tuffle brain, it was probably more like a computer than a warehouse where files were kept. The latter was just more entertaining. The catalogue of cultural naming practices was opened, and in the brief moments it took the two to shake hands - assuming he responded to her offer - the general had already ascertained that he was a Saiyan. But now wasn't the time to kill Saiyans. In fact, there was no way she would be able to even if she wanted. Her men weren't her most elite. Her own power was laughable compared to those at Satan City. No, she wasn't driven by emotion like many of the foes she had dispatched on the battlefields of both her lives. She was cold, collected. Very capable of giving this Saiyan a professional smile, with all the sincerity, if reserved, that one could expect from an elite soldier. She had been playing this game for too long to be so easily picked up, even by experts at ki. Not even the slightest hint of killing intent. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. "Excellent then. Your strength would no doubt be an asset to the rescue of these miners." As everyone followed her into the cave, her men switched their HUDs to infrared vision. As they operated on heat rather than light, anything above absolute zero would emit enough heat to be projected into view. No matter how dark this cave got, they wouldn't be stumbling around. Cerola slipped a scouter onto her right eye, the HUD coming to life as soon as the standby mechanisms identified her optical biometrics. The power level readings were wildly inconsistent. Even her own psi-based ki sense seemed to be on the fritz. Whatever was in this mine, it was no ordinary threat. She pointed at the mining drone, which continued to chomp through rocks. "This drone is rather useful, but I believe taking a person out from underneath say, a pile of rubble, requires the delicacy of a sentient being."Celerai requested some light for himself - understandable, as he had neither a HUD with IR nor a scouter with a similar function. As the general reached into her satchel to retrieve a spare scouter, he further explained that he sensed a Majin deeper in the mine, one he was acquainted with. Another useful point to note down. That being said, before she could offer it to him, he had already run outside at the sound of someone calling in... Cerola commed the guards outside to let whoever that was through. Why such a lax approach? Because if nothing else, martial artists tended to have a very sincere camaraderie about them. Not too different from that within the Dragoons. That said, there was no time to lose. Coming up on a fork, she signaled the rest of the squad, and they followed her direction: Right. Why? Common sense, really. The proprietors of the mine had given her the floor plans of the facility, and the emergency transmission earlier had revealed which tunnel they were trapped in. B17. According to the floor plans, that meant going right. Her ability to sense ki, as well as the scouters, were experiencing some major interference, however. She couldn't go back to get Celerai and his friend. In which case, the general fished a glow stick out from her satchel, snapped it, and dropped it right at the entrance to the path they had taken. The mining drone was still doing a good job chomping through the increasing amounts of rubble, at least. Soon, the squad would find themselves descending at an angle toward what was clearly an elevator shaft... with the elevator missing. Probably downstairs. "Send a drone."Corporal Maples opened his backpack and retrieved a recon drone small enough to fit into his hand. An ornithopter design, it flew like a dragonfly as he slaved its controls to his HUD, and sent it down the elevator shaft to see how far it went, and if they would be able to get down there without the elevator... WC: 770/1989 Mission: 3420/4000 Celerai Majin Zam
|
|
|
Post by Majin Zam on Mar 3, 2020 22:55:51 GMT -8
While the rescue team braved deeper into the dark tunnels, the tremors slowly subsided. Occasionally loose sand and rocks fell from the ceiling, but it seemed to hold together. For now... Soon enough, they found the right path. As the drone took flight, it would find the elevator shaft in surprisingly good condition. Maybe usable even? Most of the support beams were still holding together nicely, a proof of sturdy construction. Not necessarily pretty, buuut sturdy. The bottom wasn’t all that far either. Rappelling distance for most humans. ...And jumping distance for anyone sturdier. At the bottom, the drone’s delicate sensors could pick up several signs of life. Human-sized signatures were dotted all across the cavern. Most were buried beneath layers of rubble, while some huddled in strange nooks and crannies. Like some strange game of hide and seek. And then there was the elephant in the room... The glowing beacon of power and warmth in the very middle. Simply straying too close would leave electronics buzzing with static, as if the creature’s mere presence clashed with technology. It stood in place, slooowly swaying back and forth. Little by little, the blaze of energy went down... Wait, no it climbed back up... Aaand down... Back and forth like soft breathing. Sharp ears could catch an odd sound... Kinda like... a saw going back and forth on a log... Now the rescue team faced a teeny tiny problem... Getting down there was one thing, but dealing with the strange threat was another entirely. And on top of it all, there were also the injured workers to save. If anyone had any bright ideas, oooor drastic measures, now would be a pretty good time to try them out. Mission WC: 3709/4000 Natural PL: 9597 Tag: Emargine "Azure" Cerola Celerai
|
|
Celerai
Prospect
Hey, wanna spar?
Posts: 303
|
Post by Celerai on Mar 5, 2020 2:46:26 GMT -8
While he stood there, he saw the glow stick bread crumbs, and decided to stop for a while to talk to his.. buddy. "So uhh.. Pavo. I wanted to say something, and I guess I could just tell you now.. I'm going to leave the Southern Lands and go back to the Southern Islands, and uhhh yeah, and I won't be able to train you anymore. I think that you're ready to fight on your own."With his last few words, Celerai followed the trail of the glow stick which was snapped in front of the entrance..of the right entrance, and Pavo accompanied him. "Wait so, are you saying that this will be the last day that I'll be seeing you. Ugh man. Why didn't you tell me earlier? I won't know what to do now.""Just train harder."Celerai picked up the glow stick, because he knew that it would be dark once he got further inside the entrance. As he got further in, he could see a slope like a walkway.. more like a staircase. It was obvious that Cerola was the one that made this, so he followed down that path, only to see her and her.. troop. "Hey uhh.. Miss Colonel, sorry about that, I was just talking to my friend over here. Look, this is Pavo."Pavo stretched his hand forward, so that she could greet him with a hand shake. "Nice to meet you Miss Colonel." "Yeah, I used to train with him a lot so now.. he just sensed my ki and decided to call me outside the cave. So.. what are we doing now?"
As he stood there, he felt Zam's energy closer than before. It was weird. Was she playing hide and seek or something. WC: 295 | 1065 Total Mission WC: Completed! Starting PL: 15411
|
|