Roy reached out his left hand, patting Shadow gently on the right shoulder.  "You take the left side, so you've got room to move your throwing arm.  I'll stick to the right side and shoot around you and over Larry."  It was a barely-audible whisper...if it carried at all, it was unlikely to be heard over the sounds of what seemed to be low-key celebration ahead of them.

Roy put words to action, peeling off to hug the right wall, his weapon raised to his shoulder and tracking with his eyes, pointing wherever he looked.  He didn't need clearance for a trigger finger, and his shoulder was practically grazing against the side of the tunnel as he maximized clearance for Shadow and Larry, continuing carefully forward.  He made a mental note...goggles that emulated the vision enhancements of the helmet visors would be highly desirable for these kinds of covert ops...but for now, he let his eyes adjust to the darkness, until he became aware of the barely-visible glow of light reflecting down the tunnel ahead of them.

 The three moved up the  tunnel,  some words  could be  caught now.. creds.. 'tune her in'

 another  minute  of soft slow  walking ...

 " this is  be one of the  most exciting experiences' ... a female voice

 now..there was  crying... kid  crying...sad..hopeless  crying...

 when the  Three Hermites   stopped  in the dark, just a few  feet from the illuminated  area...

 a Junction of  several Tunnels  so it was  one  , large  circular chamber   with   at elast  5 more  entrances. clockwise .. A large Vid screen  was set up.. there  was a smiling officer in a Black  uniform  talkign, the voice  could be made out...

  A large circular Table   was in the middle of the   chamber.. fine china,  bottles of   wine, and   at elast,20  suits and dresses... 40 people  sitting  around   the table  while another 10 servants   poured  drinks  and  served    salads.

  a woman whose back is towards them said,..Myron?  How  ..DID  you get away from those   ruffians? a Guy who  seemed to have  been taking to the face on the Vidscreen smiled,

 why?  Iva ? it was easy.. we fed some of the names of  our lesser  people to  that  pest of a  SEC Captain?... Sadly, she   was smart enough to  link Ling to the  operation..but she died, home burned  down?.. goign to  be damned hard to trace  any of that, to any of us...

a guy on the far right said,and? less moths  to feed!

 the woman Giggled at that,..and how  did   you manage  this wonderful feast were are about to   enjoy?

 ..we had   our people out inthe streets... Big Game  , right.. they come out of thier holes  for the  excess of foot  trhown in the   cans?... Gods be damned  Hermes bastards  stole alot of them.. there was even one   sitting in the grass,, the others left him behind, but one of those  little creatures   sat with him and they  took him too.. we all were suppsoed to have our own?.. But..times like these, we have to share?.. Fleet leaves    tonight..things  can go back to normal ..

 ringing a Crystal bell. Myron  waved  , and the crying louder.. % kids,,, between  4 and 7  were  crying  and shivering.. strapped to   larg platters  of wood... serves   set   the kids  down  on in fron   every  5  pairs  of  people.

 Myron smiled    Kids  heads  turned  left   and  right..some  just had thier eyes closed   as they cried.

 Those of you who have done this.... you know  how wonderous  this is, those, who have  yet to do it, you will never forget this  moment  as   Lady V marks   this  date in your profiles...   he  raised  the glass... as  did all there ..to being on top!

 "ON TOP"... glasses   clinked  as the  the   party folks drank and   kids  cried.

 ,,,,,,,,,,,,

mLarry  burbled  softly.. his  body quivered with the urge  to  shoot out...
 Shadow   placed his   throwing dagger  abck in his boot , and drew his  Shari, witht eh   trench knife  ready.  a very  grim look on his face as he looked to Roy  waiting  to see attack..it was hard to tell who would break first..Shadow....or Larry

An ugly smile cracked on Roy's face as he flipped the fire select to semi-auto...and settled crosshairs on the head of the one who'd made the mistake of letting himself be pointed out as the ringleader.  "Goodbye, Myron," he said in a low, almost inaudible growl...before he sent a bullet through Myron's skull, spraying those around him with a gory mess.

"Go, Larry!" he said, already moving to follow the larg into the room and preparing to sweep from the center to the right side of the room, trusting Shadow to do the same thing on the left.

 Myron's  Smile  was still on the bottom of his head, from his  nose  up was gone, as the    glass fell from  his hand and the body stood  for a second, maybe  two, and dropped  like a stringless puppet.

  Larry shot  out, The woman who thought the  experience would be  exciting lost the top of  her body   down to 'mid breast, Shadow  stepped     in , his left   hand   drove  into the  back of the Man who sat next to the  dead   woman, his  Sanri Blast  Kill the  next two to the  left  as the woman was  mere  inches  away from the   weapon and her   'man'  afoot or  two away, they died , gore  spattered  and   torn apart

  Dumbfounded,  the Poeple looked   at the   sudden deaths  and  savage attacks,  tow  woman closer to the Vid screen screamed as they realized  what was happening.

 Larry went  Under the Table a Man  and  a woman at the far  side  screamed  as Larry made   Shark-like attacks  , tearing off thier  leads and the  screaming poeple  slid   down   and off thier   chairs, Screaming  more  as the  were faces to  face with   a bloody, angry   Larg.

 Shadow looks at servants  who  went to  run as he shouted, ..STOP!...

 of course they  didn't , Shadow swore   and  Blew them away with the Blaster.

 People stranded to stand   now as a reaction more then  anything esle...kids  were screaming ..even more  now..

 a few men were reaching insdie their suit coats  with grim determination

  one of the standing women went  down  as she screamed in Terror and and Larry  crunched leg bones..

 On the Vid screen  only showed  an empty chair, there  were  people in the back round, calmly walking about, as they prepared on thier  end  to   watch and share  the feast
  Shadow had  to fire  a Long shot  at a  servant , the distance and Shadows 'skills",  had the  man  stumble   and   fall with    damaged legs,  causing the   last   4  servants  to  drop to the floor   with thier hands on thier heads.

 the men who were drawing weapons   tried to figure out where Larry was  and   if they could get a Shot on Shadow... two woman to the right pointed at Roy..trying to get the attention of the men.

Roy's rifle fired again and again, the integrated suppressor turning the sound into a muffled 'chuff' as he coolly and efficiently moved from target to target, not worrying too much about making the shots fatal, but relying on the caliber of the round to make them debilitating.  He saw the men grabbing weapons and put two rounds in each of them before drawing down on the women who'd been trying to direct the men.  With emotionless efficiency, he put another round in each of them.  He could finish off survivors later...right now his priority was removing threats and disabling anyone trying to flee from his side of the room.

      Woman squealed and stopped suddenly ,  men flew  backwards   larry popped out of the   table with half of a Man in his  mouth, the Man  was in terror.. he was dead, he just didn't know it  yet.

 Shadow Looked  at the Guy,How's  that feel?  Scared huh.. imagine beign on a platter   and havign to wait...  the man tried to  Speak,,,  Shadow looked  at   Larry  who just  clenched  his   jaws  and   the man's insides    poured out  of where his waist used to be.

  there  were  6   woman left on the far  side of the table, and  two men.

  Both Shadow and   Roy's  COMs came on... Thees  is   Messe... I am on my way down weet the General and some Iron Guard..we have  some   med techs...

  Shadow  nodded  to  the people  still sitting, the   kids   kept crying, but they seemed to be focused  on what these  new poeple did to the 'bad  people.

 ..Right ..ok rich bitch?.. is this all of your little Group...

 I  Don't have to an.....

 Shadow's  Bladed  when   into her  neck and ripped out ward.. the  head  dangled as  her eyes  looked around in horror..

 now? See?... This is what i don't like? disrespect.... how many of you know who wer are...

 one of the men raised hand.

 good..good.. then you know how i feel about traitors  and humans  who eat  other humans...right?

 Larry Camly  went  about , crunching the heads off the  people who seemed to  still be alive.. the  sound  and Muffed...very short..screams  added to the effect.

 One of the servants   snapped out,you cannot  do thees  thing!

 Shadow  truned   and  fired   4  times, killing each of the servants... each roar of the blaster made the people at the table  jump, women cried freely

 There?..no more interruption's ... he stepped up to the next woman,...is this   all of  your group on Everest?

I don't Know  I... the   trench  knife  cut again, the woman's fried  was dead... she   would soon  follow  as she tried to look for help   as her  un tethered  head hit the table ...

  Two men, Two women left...

Roy keyed his comm.  "Glad you have some medical backup...we found more kids.  They'll need to be checked out."  His rifle was still at the ready, his attention on the other tunnels, and listening for signs of a responding group.  In the momentary lull, he ejected the spent mag from his rifle and slotted a new one.

He turned a critical eye on the foursome that was left.  "Unless something changes drastically, there aren't likely to be any survivors beyond that..."

He killed the comm and looked at the four.  "There.  They're expecting to find you dead.  He obviously has no objection to killing you.  So unless you give us a damned good reason to keep you alive, we're going to let them find exactly what they're expecting."  His tone was almost clinical...just not-detached enough to have an almost conversational edge that, in some ways, made the words even more unsettling.

   the smell of food   is a bit thicker  after  Stone , Messe,Stefi, melia  and  4  IronGaurd troopers    run   down the  tunnels..

 Just  as the  group  see the   massive  dinner table  with Kids on  platers  and  Larry  calmly  crunching the head of a legless man. There   were one of the   4  people left  swearing, a Man stands  up and says,fuck you Shadow... You're not the Law H...

 The  Sanri went off  from a yard away, blowing the man's head  and most of his shoulders off...

 Well... we're down to three...

  when Stefi entered,  she looked around,what the 9 hells is this..

 Stone had   a side  arm, and  his  weapon's belt was over his shoulder, he was still dress for the beach...

 LC?... do you think you might  want to be...

 then the screen came on,  the   5  kids on the table  squirmed and Cried ..  As smiling Lady V  sat down, her  hair done up like she was at a Ball, she  could see  the table was set, kids  on the table..but  something was  wrong...

 she noticed  ..Shadow?.. standing  with his   sanri leveled  at three of the   'diners'...

 Larry's head  popped up covered in gore..

  The  younger of the two women said,AUNTIE V!!!..SAVE US!

 SHADOW.. What have you Done!...

 well..me and  many friends.. we save d 5 kids from being   eaten for your  pleasure?... and..well.. we might have killed most of the people...Servants too..and..thier cats...

 how dare you!

Took me  awhile, right?. I mean i'm a good guy and all that stuff..but.. you worked with people who killed   Lady?... you put bounties  on us? now you're hiring people to  steal kids?..oh?  and some dumb bastard thought it was a good idea  to steal a piece of Lady on Bura... there is not hope  for EDT now...Bura   will kill EDT on sight  for the theft..as will I.... and people who do this..well? there's now   way of walking away from
 this...

 ..Shadow!..no..look..she's my Only Niece left alive... she was to come here, but had to wait until the fleet leaves...please..let her go.. I will give you information in return..

  General Stone watched  the going on. Stefi shook her  head  and she motioned of Melia to  start   to unstrap the kids. the   4  Iron guard looked  at   Larry and the torn bodies.. he   thumped his tail as they  looked at him.

  Shadow    pulled the trigger   and the middle of the man's   chest turned to  mush  as  he fell into the  chair and  flew over.

 Stone's eyes  went over the bodies, one laid on the   table with only a lower half of its head...alot of the people  weren't shot by a sanri he looked at Roy a fellow with  two rounds in his chest  half laid  on his  chair staring up that the ceiling.

 YOU BASTARD....

 ..why? was his name Kenny?  then the Gun went off again    and the other    woman shrieked ...

  He  holstered his Sanri, he grabbed the   'niece' and  pulled her close to him.. the   young woman cried ,  and whispered...'AUNTI  V..AUNTI V!

 .. i had to sit on the hanger  Dec of  the Hermes.. watch Lady  get shot down by a traitor... some how, you guys knew more about her then we did,  I guess   Adem had something to do with that?.. Then... The whole war  changed when you saved   Jonny Blu , Nickeson and Wess...you should have let them die, because... you made us check our backs.. and we   found people with Knives there...

 Lady V shook  with as much terror   as  the  niece... she held out a hand to the screen,,,Please Shadow.....Please...

 CE-VA  was getting this all on  a feed.

 sucks  Huh?..being scared you're gonna  die... look at the   Kids.... he grabbed the   woman's  head  and made her look at the unclothed  kids  strapped to trenchers  they were still crying, But not  as badly..

 so..Lady V?... You both get to  have a wonderful teaching Moment.. your Niece, gets to experience the   fear  your  'dinners' have to feel.. and..you get to helpless  watch  someone close to you...die...

 Even as he said this. the Blade went  sideways through the   nieces  throat, he twisted  and Pulled it out.. the  woman tried to grab her  throat..  Shadow let her   fall to the ground...

 Lady V screamed ..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! she   cried  like a madwoman, she was   trying to curse Shadow....

 I would say we're even, but You're  still alive..and..

 weapons fire  came from  3 of the  tunnels,

 Stone   was listing to his COM.....There  are troops in those  tunnels..they aren't ours.. our people  came  down through  the   other two houses, could get through the one with the Melded   hatch.. Get ready..

   a heart beat later troops  charged through the tunnels, the  first two  flanking the   entrances    firing at the Iron Guard,  while others poured through.. but..behind them, more iron guard  was  fighting  some troops who tried  a holding Action.

 save the  Kids!!!

 On the screen  Lady V's  face  was a mask of  sorrow and rage , her  hair a mess  as she  shouted  KILL SHADOW!!!!

 Two men closed  On Shadow  who  was  trying to shield the   Kid  on the table  behind him.. The  Trench  knife  met  the One man's  face  sending most of his teeth into  the  roof of his mouth, the   sanri blew   the  next man's  waist apart

 Stone  just said,...good,,,gods..... he snapped off  shots   and brought  a man   down..  Larry sheared off two   men's legs...

  One of the  Iron  guard  jerked like a puppet as he was  riddled  with SMG fire...

 Roy saw   4  coming from Shadow's  right while  3 more  came from the left.. the  rest were engaging    the 3 iron guard that was  left.., the  gunfire in the tunnels  was  getting closer.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:37, Tue 15 Mar 2022.

"ah nine hells." Melia swore under her breath seeing the children on the table. When Shadow gave the signal Melia quickly set to work releasing the kids, cutting straps and checking them for injuries. Then all hell broke loose Melia pushed kids she'd freed to the ground stay low get behind cover, she shouted dashing to the next kid one of her angel steel throwing knives slashing at the straps trying to balance keeping from cutting the kid and the need for urgency.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:19, Wed 02 Dec 2020.

Roy had been waiting for just that sort of counterattack.  As soon as he heard notice that the troops coming in were NOT Iron Guard or EverSec, he thumbed the fire select to automatic...and grabbed a grenade.

As soon as the situation became clear enough, he threw the grenade into the tunnel behind the attackers...then sprayed fire into the group of four closing on Shadow as he charged at the three on his other side, aiming for a body-check on the lead that would knock him into the other two, or at least trip them up and slow their advance.

  As Roy  ran forward  and fired,  two of the four  dropping  twisted  and fell weapons  flying,  the other   two  took  rounds   that caused them to stop  and stagger  abck.

  the  other   Three  were surprised   by Roy  as they saw Lady V  on the scream shouting    and crying, her hands  on her  head,   , The first  Guy  went into the   next guy on, Roy's   right,  causing   the Guy, Roy hit to stagger and almost fall, while the other guy  Flew   sideways and stumbled... he was  greeted   by  the jaws of a larg crushing his head.

 The third  Guy Looked at Roy and was tryign  to swing his pulse rifle to bear on  the SM.
.........

 Stefi got the   Lid  free from  that was   positioned on the table, near the   entrance  they had Come from.. she put the   kid  inside the mouth of the Tunnel and said...Stay here, until we get your friends, then we are taking you out of this place!

 the little  Girl   just nodded, her  mouth  in a frown and tears in her  eyes, Stefi pulled the  suit  coat off a guy Roy had shot and tossed it over the  girl.

 then moved   counter clockwise  to the right   to get the next one.

......

 Melia freed  the   one  at  about '9:00" one  the table ( from the tunnel entrance they entered from) , Stefi was    almost at the  One at  3:00.. Shadow   stood  in front of the one  at 10:00... and there was one  at  1:00.

.................

  Stone  moved   with   Melia, Firing at the  people coming out of the Middle , when Roy's  grenade   went off , screams from wounded  came after the blast,,,

 Messe  was with Stefi  as she   made sure to  use her COM to tag the  incoming  Lady V message  There were only two  of the Iron guard  standing now, of the  4 that came  with  Stone.

 ...............

 Shadow  yelled to  Larry...LEFT!!!!  get the tunnel on the left!

 he  reached for his  belt    placing his   sanri on the  table, unhooked a Toaster flicked  the button  and tossed it  towards the   tunnel on the right... it was a quick   flick as  one of the   men who just stepped out  gored  at Shadow and   hit him  in the left  shoulder,  and  the LC    twisted   the whole way around to grab the  sanri and  fire   in a 'spray and pray' fashion  at the two Men Roy  wounded , tearing them up., Shadow   had  sent the  timers for 5 seconds it  went off like a mini land  mine,  blowing off the leg of the  man Shadow shot   and the feet of  next guy  who came out the   hand Tunnel,, weapon flasges were   lighting up the tunnel on the  right

........

   larry   zipped  like  a torpedo   towards the left tunnel, just  as   four men   poured out, before they could decide  who to   shoot  at , the larg missile   slammed into the  first one  killings  him  as    his  body was crushed  when they hit the   ground  a quick  snap of  a tilted head  to  one  fellow's leg  , and the  tail  knocked the other  down..the  4th man ran  back in the  tunnel

.........

 Stone  could be heard saying...be advised.. there are  friendlies  in the chamber....one Captain Messe has a uniform, and two Iron Guard  are standing all troopers  turn on your head lamps   so we know  you aren't  the enmey...and..don'[t shoot the larg..

 ....

  Lady V   was shaking her head  pulling at her hair.. she was shouting gibberish..

 headlamps could be seen getting closer from the Middle  Tunnel...

Roy veered into the guy trying to get a gun up, swinging the butt of his rifle in a blow that would stave in the man's face...it might not kill him, but with his nose, cheekbones, and eye sockets broken, he'd be hard-pressed to do anything functional.  As his rifle came down, he ejected the spent magazine, slamming another one home in a practiced, fluid motion, before kicking out and snapping his target's right knee backwards.  He turned, rifle ready, firing two rounds each, point-blank, into the men he'd knocked down, then looked for anyone else that looked like they might actually be able to successfully point a weapon.

  Stone   saw   Iron Guard  come out of the Middle tunnel he shouted for them to  go left and right.

 the  troops  moved    as if    they were one, splitting up and shooting anyone  with a weapon who  had  the  wrong Uniform.    Larry was limping over to Shadow  . Shadow  took a knee  and  rubbed the   beastie's head  as he examined  a few  pulse  holes in the    from two  left shoulders..

  He stood  Up and looked at  Lady V.. the woman  was almost Mindless... Shadow   Laughed at her,boy that sucks, right?.. not being able to do one  damn thing about what has Just happened...seeing  a loved one  die  before your eyes..and?  a somewhat innocent one?.. I mean, your  niece  was a piece of shit, gonna eat a kid and all, but.. she didn't look like the kind who might blow up something, .... but here? one more  treat for you, so you get the  full effect..

 Shadow  cut  the   dress straps off  the  nieces body   and  tossed the dangly headed  corpse  to larry..Have fun buddy...

 larry  crunched  the   woman's  chest and Upper  torso, and  Lady V  screamed and   cried mindlessly...

 Betcha  that sucks  too, Huh?..knowing your   loved one  was eaten,,,, can't ever  bury her, can't  EVER, say good  bye, and the best part was, you got to see how scared  she was when she died, you got to hear her  call for help you couldn't give,,,, lotsa  folks? thier  kids    and loved ones  died  , far worse then she did..but at least you got the experience  it all...

 he  held up his  left arm and winced  as  he  remembered the wound,..hey?  don't thank me, right?  I mean, its the least i could do for you...now? each and every time, you take part, or even watch another  'loyalty Dinner'.. you can imagine they are  carving up your niece.. the kids  screams  are her  screams,.. each bite they  or you take, is   a bite out of her...and?..the very best part? Its  all your fault!

   Lady  V  stood  up screaming  and  smashed  her  Vid screen  with her  fist...

 Shadow frowned,dammit!..i wanted to shoot the screen..I always shoot the screen.. that was  very  ignorant of her!

 larry stopped  chewing   on the niece, her  arms lay on the  ground   and , from her waist down.

 Stone  was   shouting orders for the  Troops   to  scan the wrists of the dead with the Creds going  into  the Everest accounts ( and..they needed to  id  folks who didn't have heads  anymore!)

 He walked up the Shadow,..what kind of man are you?...I have never  seen acts like that  by  ESN  people!

 Shadow  wiped off his trench knife, with a linen napkin, he reached  over and  grabbed  some  Melon slices  ,  he grabbed a serving bowl of gravy  and set it  on the ground  for    Larry  as well as  a punch bowl, that he dumped the   punch on   the  floor  and filled the bowl up  with   water   from the glasses that were still up right,  Larry thumped  his tail as  he licked up gravy and water  from the  bowls.

  I find that hard to believe General Stone. And if its true, you need to get out more... You have had to see Vids  from the   SSN loyalty  Dinners,  you..just saw  5 kids   crying  and  wailing because   of what was gonna happen?.... best part? did you see Lady V...she has seen people die, she has seen me kill folks infront of her before... but this..this was the best...

 ..Gods man!...you're..Just like..

 ..Just like  them? I am now  and that's for damn sure.... you think they have a bounty on me , because they don't like the  clothes i wear?

 he points  to the   last two side  tunnels,one  to the left one to the right  of the table,now?.... lets have a look  at those Tunnels..  I'm betting one of them is   the service area, like  kitchen and such. and one has to be ,,like..an emergency hotel//

 The LC takes  another  two slices of melon..these are good, you outta  try some... Larry Limps  after   Shadow as he moved   towards  the   tunnel on the right.

 Stone looked at    Roy, as Stefi   was releasing the   Kid who was behind Shadow...He's lost it.... he's  a madman...

 Messe   stands there,we are having  the med techs  bring   hover  carts down through our  tunnel for ze children... I would recommend  we   bag ze  dead and  send them to the recycler , and inform the families  that they   dies  as  traitors....it will cause them to show , what colors they   are...eet  will also, show, zat  they are  not to be trusted  and get them to leave Everest, or do something stupid that we would eliminate Zem
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:44, Tue 15 Mar 2022.

In reply to Roy (msg # 719):

Melia lifted the kid off the table. "Into the tunnel entrance there with the others, stay low. Wait for us there where you won't get hit." she said setting the kid down and giving them a boost towards the door. "General, help this one to cover. I'll be fine." She says drawing her .45 ACP and sending rounds down the tunnel as she steadily advanced to the kid at the 1 o'clock position, Moving to Shadow's position.

Arriving at the kid she jammed the pistol back in it's holster and set to work cutting the kid free.


With the fire fight rapidly ending Melia helps finish freeing the last of the kids and gathering them together for the incoming medtech teams to take care of. "Anyone hit?" She says looking around. "Stefi, I'm going to look after the trooper casualties if you have the children." She says shifting her attention to the 2 Iron Guard soldiers that had been hit.

  A captain came out of the Middle  tunnel He   stepped up to  Stone and Roy,Captain  Lanken,   We  lost  6 all told in the  assault   down the tunnels, there were  some 50  people in thsoe tunnels  with weapons,  some had suits on, some    EversSEC uniforms  and  some  with
 those  EDT Black  unifroms.... I have a bunch  wounded  though...

 he looks  around  at   loose  arms  and legs  and  'half bodies' gods.. this  is  a mess!

Aye, a rather  Savage animal...

  The Captain smiles,..I saw the Larg...

 ..i didn't mean the larg...

 Melia checked the two downed  guard.  the  one hit my the SMG  rounds  was dead, the other   was shot in the  legs  and was in a bad  way.

 Stefi got   other  suit  coats  of  of  dead folks  and  covered the  Kids  as the  Huddle up, one little  boy   looked up,, with sad eyes,we aren't gonna get eated... are we...

 Stefi shook her head,...not now,   they made sure  all the bad  guys  are dead. Once everyone is ready, we are goign to take you  to the beach?... you will get checked out on a Big Shuttles, and you can play with kids on the beach, and get food  and drinks  and have a good time..then?.. you'll get to go to Bura.. with trees, and water  and grass, and
 real  air  with   a sun coming  throught he sky, and not  Meta glass.

 the first little  girl was sleeping , shivering a bit  as   dreams  haunted her.

In reply to roy ect (msg # 723):

Melia quickly improvised tourniquets using belts off the dead traitors. She had 6 in her bag, they were small and took up little space, but if she needed to go down tunnel and tend to wounds there it was better to have them on hand when there were option available here. Once the tourniquets were the guards legs she set about dermafoaming the wounds and applying plast over the top. Then loosened the bindings a little to allow some restricted blood flow. Some quick pain meds were administered, and one of her 2 IVs she had with her were started. She had 1 left and no proxy to substitute for that here. Still the man had lost enough blood she had to use the IV solution.

If you can't get the wounded evacuated out the way you came in bring them here we'll set up a quick medic station get them initial treatment so they don't die while waiting on med evac. Bring our dead and place them over there off to the side so they can be recovered. She says. With the wounded Iron Guard temporarily stable, she starts by moving the dead Iron Guard to an area off to the side for recovery later. Then starts clearing space on the table shoving stuff out of the way to make room for wounded to come in. Bring me any personal medkits you have. We'll scavenge and cannibalize them as needed."

   entered  the   tunnel is   Sanri  up, smells of   bath  scents  and perfume  was there.  improvised    'rooms '   with  a   shower compartment in each.

 Shadow checked through some of the   drawers   and bags  in the  first  two rooms, he  took  some loose  creds,  then he found it... the 'niece's  room' complain with   small desk Pick of Lady  V standing like a hero holding  a pulse rifle..

 the checked out the deck, they.. then the picture, he    fussed with it, and   found a  sleeve  with  3  red  cred  discs  in, he stuffed  that inside  his   envirosuit, then searched the  drawers and found a  Vidboard. Taking  that, he went  back out to the  chamber..

Thgis must have been a safe place for the  high rollers, I found the  Vidboard, I'm handing that over to Beth Two of the Iron Guard came out of the Other  side..one was throwing Up...

 Shadow  said the Stone, Come with me.....he looked  at Roy   and the others , and they went to the other Tunnel.

 Stoves  were there,  large pots, garbage from meal prep.. and  two Kids  hanging on meat hooks..

  Shadow looked at Stone.....look at them.... I SAID...LOOK AT THEM! he turned  and walked towards the entrance,..Tell me  , again, General?.. how i'm too harsh...   his  shoulder  was bleeding a bit, he  moved out,..let's go Larry,  we're gettign out of here, get you patched up...

  Larry   loked   at the   kids on the  hooked  and  truned around slowly, he burbled  as Shadow snapped at Stone, then Followed ...

   Stefi  came over    and was shaking her  head,..I would have seen that?.. I would have killed  any alive , myself...Shadow?  take the Kids  down the Hall with you, Med tech Vans  are on the way.

  Comeone  kids, we're gonna get you food, clothes and you're gonna have   fun with other  Stem kids who were saved.

  Shadow   winced a bit  as he picked up the  sleeping girl, the other   4, with thier 'suitcoat' robes,   walked   along  with    Shadow and larry..

 your Lizard  eated  alot of bad people...

 That's  what  good guys  do, they get rid of bad guys..Larry is very good...

Once the wounded were patched up enough to be sent to the various Everest or fleet Medical facilities Melia looked over at Larry who was a bit chewed up, but still moving around. She repacked her bag with a practiced speed and efficiency leaving spent items out. Moving up to Shadow and Larry with the kids "How you feeling Larry? Looks like you could use a little medical attention too." She says helping to usher the kids along.

  Once we get him up that  set  of  steps you can fix  him in the  Living room. I don't think the owner  will mind   a little blood on the  rug.,  shadow  Got    Larry up the   steep steps, the Larg didn't look to crazy about the idea, but it was better then when he went  down.

  Shadow waved his  good  arm, You go up,  and  I  hand the kids up to you...

 Picking up the sleeping   girl, he handed her up first, then  held the others  by the waist , until they either  reached the top, or Melia  grabbed  them.

 he went to the fridge   found  a bottle of   Juice  and a carton of   Milk, he grabbed   Glasses  and  brought them out  asking each  kid  what they wanted  and  poured them a drink.Drink it slow... i know you're  thirsty, but you have to drink it slow...

 He  sat on the  floor with them , topping off thier  drinks, and woke the sleeper  so  she could sip on somehting as well.

............

 In The Chamber  , General Stone looked like he was  troubled  as   Med techs  came  down the other  Tunnels  and began to  cart off the  badly wounded, while   walking   wounded  followed along.

  Stefi looked at the  General as  she    applied some plast,..there are 10  decs  on each  sphere of a carrier station, and that's not  including the Hangerdecs   at the Bottom.... you might catch a break on  Dec  8 and 9, since they are Argo Decs....but you got barracks ...'standard   living quarters  for poor   folks,   maintenance   decs... you have your work cut out...

 I can't get over the  savagery

 ..You Damn well  better be talking about  the Suits....

Roy was more matter-of-fact about it.  "I don't know how well you've kept up to date, out in the field, General...but stuff like this?"  He gestured at the kids.

"We've seen it.  A LOT.  First boarding action I was on, after joining the Hermes crew, the Demons had set up a breeding lab.  The lucky human women we found there were the ones that had been cut open for delivery of the spawn the Demons used them to create.  The unlucky ones had been torn open from the inside out.  The Avians put humans on hooks like this--ALIVE--and ran the hooks on a line across their feeding area so that the humans were pecked apart piece by piece.  Every EDT or SSN vessel we've encountered has had live kids in the larder, and a lot of 'em had dead kids in the stewpot.  We've captured transports that had sedated humans stacked like cordwood for transport to Demons."

He shrugged.  "You might find this sight squeamish.  You might find what Shadow did disturbing.  In some small and increasingly remote corner of my being, I agree with you.  But I've seen this shit far too many times to be concerned about anything Shadow did in there.  If we'd had time, I was gonna cut the heads off the dead bodies and put them on their plates and let Lady V find that on her viewscreen when she got there, but scheduling is always tricky."

He looked Stone in the eyes, a probing, penetrating look.  "Admiral Hack wasn't joking when he declared total war on the Empire and their allies. You can interpret that how you want.  You don't have to be as heartless and diabolical as Shadow is...but I hope to hell you'll be every bit as ruthless.  Because every time we've extended any gesture of mercy, our hands have been bitten, and a few times, we've been outright stabbed in the back.  Keep that in mind, when you start cleaning up around here.  Don't surrender your humanity...we don't want to become what we're fighting.  But don't be afraid to make them choke on their own medicine.  They've apparently had a lot of time to get dug in here, with Admiral Gallstones turning a blind eye if not helping out on the sly for a paycheck under the table.  You've got a lot of work to undo.  Admiral Hack thinks you're the man to do it...and I know you can do it."

  Larry   loked  at Shadow with Sad  Eyes as melia  worked on him,

 Cheer up.... Stefi could  be  working on you.

 the Larg  just lowered his  head,...The kids  drank their  drinks,  Shadow    tap one or the other to  tell them to drink slow.. He  got  up, went to the kitchen  and looked through the  fridge.

  Returning  with a  long thick Melon,  a knife and a towel. Shadow   put the melon on the  towel ,  sliced along the   top , then  sut   long slivers out and handed them to the kids..These will help Hydrate y9ou?  and  put  something in your tummies... after you  get cleaned up and checked out by the med techs, we get you hot   food, Burgers..hotdogs, whatever you want...

 One  bird pulled the   suit  coat   tight  as she shivered and Nibbled  on  the melon slice,..they told us  they were bringing us here for dinner.... she  stopped a  sob.

 Yeah?  well... they won't be  eating anyone , anymore... we killed alot of  bad  people  since  we came here.. and saved a Bunch of kids  like you.. Tonight,  the fleet leaves?.. you kids  are goign to Bura  with the other kids...You'll like it there.. I like it there..Larry Likes it there...

 Larry Looked  up and thumped his  tail knocking over  a light stand., the kids laughed.

 ..You are bleeding... a little boy points.

 yeah?.. I little bit,  Med Techs  will fix  me up when they are  checking you guys out... there are troopers down there who got   hit bad,

 the  Girl was Finished with her Melon slice and looked at the melon.. Shadow  smiled, cutting off  another strip for her. the other  kids    looked at him, he smiled  and   gave them another  slice, he  took a chunk himself.

 ..why did you  guys save us?...

 we were lookign for bad  guys, when  we saw you  guys on the table, that's when i decided the bad  guys weren't  going to be leaving there...

 I am glad you killed them up!

 Shadow  winks at the Boy,Me Too.... as soon as  my friends get up here, we'll go.

............


  Stone leaned against the table,  we train our people to fight hard, and to put thier  comrades before  all others.... I have  been in crater fights  with Largrans.. waded  though UEs on Astra... but i have never seen  cold blooded killing like that

 he looked at Roy,..i...i thought he was being   'hard core"  when he  beat on my troopers  at the beach?.... Aren't you....aren't you worried, he  could to that  to your own people

 Stefi  waved to Roy to head to the  entrance they came in,..he has... and everyone  of them deserved it... and if any of you tell him that, I'll give  you female  Sanri, hormone  injections

Roy looked at Stone.  "When all is said and done, did it matter any more to any of them whether they got their throats cut by Shadow or their heads shot by me?  Shadow is not just randomly violent...it's very focused, and very intentional...and I've never seen him do it to anyone that didn't ask for it.  In fact, there have been people he was told he was supposed to kill that he saw and realized the intel he'd been given was bad, and a lot of them work for us, now."

He shrugged.  "I'll tell you this, right now, though...if I was going into the thick, I would take Shadow watching my back over any three of your Iron Guards...and I would take any one of them over ten regular troops.  Shadow grew up in a hard world, where the authorities really didn't do a whole lot to help.  The only way to deal with violence was with more focused violence."  He grinned humorlessly.  "They can't escalate, if they're dead.  And if their death is scary enough, someone will be scared out of making trouble with you.  It won't get rid of all of them, no...but you can be damned sure that everyone on Lady V's end of that comm call is watching to see if their family is anywhere close to the projected course of the Hermes for the next few months.  A few of them are likely reconsidering asking a beloved relative to get involved in EDT, because the risk/reward ratio has very severely changed for them.  Might even be one or two who saw, or even just heard, all of that, and decided that Lady V's creds are just not worth that, and they're trying to find a way out now."

He started over to the door, following Stefi, and turned back at the last minute.  "Was any of this really that much more horrific than sticking people in a tube with a sleeping stem rat, knowing what it's going to do to them when it wakes up?  I didn't see you fighting with your concerns when Admiral Hack did it.  And you'll notice that nobody who was with Shadow in any of his operations down here was involved in a friendly-fire incident.  I'm pretty sure there's not a single friendly-fire incident in his entire service record.  So, no...I'm not the least bit worried he's going to do that to any of our people...unless our people decide they aren't ours anymore.  And if that happens, may whatever gods are out there have mercy on their souls...began Shadow sure as shit won't."

And with that, Roy turned and followed Stefi back out.

  Stone    ran a hand  through his hair, he was..just now, buckling on his weapons belt on. Carry On SM,  We sort out the bodies, and i'll send strike teams   to follow   and branches of the tunnels, I'll see you and.......and... the...LC.. at the beach

..........

 in the  house  CE-VA was gettign film of Larry getting patched up, and Shadow  sitting on the  floor talkign to  Kids and sharing a long yellow  Astra  Melon.

 Stefi  came   up, she sorta smiled at Roy and    waved to the door,  Lets  go,  Fiive kids, everyone gran one  and let the smallest one  ride  Larry.. I got   hamburgers  with my name  one it up the beach

Roy slung his rifle across his back.  "I can carry two.  Larry's wounded...I'm sure he's capable of it, but a third of his ambulatory hardware is impaired.  I'm fine."  Indeed, for all his body-slams during the firefight, he'd been untouched by any incoming fire...not even so much as a powder burn discoloring his envirosuit.

He grinned, and added, "Wouldn't be the first time I doubled up on this trip...and these kids are awake to hang on, that makes them a lot easier to carry."  He grinned and knelt down.  "Come on...let's go get you some real food.  Probably more than you're used to seeing in a month..."  He gave a warm smile that lit up his face in a way rarely seen on the Hermes.

((  roy shadow  Melia ect  to   beach>>>>>>>>>>))