bouncing  slower as the Boat   geared   down,  it  swung it s   bow to  fact to the south. One of the Occui  Tossed  a    rope with a  Grapple  and  the   lead guy caught it, hauling on the   Rope to bring the  Ship  closer..

  the  Pilot of the boat was  yelling something and Pointing.

  when it  was close   enough the    two Occui   dropped   a boarding ramp down for the group to  begin to  board.., off in the distance  the   western  'corner ' of the   beach  was lit up  , by the  Burning  Building  and   JFUJISEC    landing on the lawn

 NA-CE was in the Van tending to Yotolia, " You got hit pretty good, you are out of any combat, but you will be fine a few days." NA-CE will make sure she has Yotolia patched up as best she can do down here and get her ready for transport.

Once it became apparent that the boat was, in fact, there to retrieve the escapees from their target zone, Roy got down to business.  As the boat came to a halt and the boarding plank was set in place, he settled crosshairs on the boat's transom, where the motor was most likely housed, and in that space at the end of a breath and between heartbeats, he squeezed the trigger...

The round would take a few seconds to arrive, and in that time, Roy cycled the action on his rifle with almost-mechanical efficiency, his head and the rifle barely shifting off the target line, and when ready, he sent a second round downrange to follow the first...and then waited to see if more rounds would be needed after that...

As it turned out, the second round wasn't even needed.  The first round found the powercell for the motor, and the back end of the boat erupted in fire.  There was no telling what damage the redundant second round added.  Roy was peripherally aware of bodies flying from the boat and some on or near the plank getting blown backwards, but he couldn't say for sure what had happened.  He'd leave that for Cross and the others to assess.

"Okay, boat's no longer a problem.  Mop up FAST, because SEC will almost certainly go looking to see what blew up that close to the shell of the station..."  He ejected the spent shell, and then the magazine, switching back to standard .50cal ball ammo, saving that particular round for a later excursion.  "I'm still on overwatch, but try to approach from an angle, instead of straight toward the mountain.  If I have to send a round downrange, I'd hate to have a friendly-fire incident because it went through the target and hit one of you guys..."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Fri 22 Mar.

        The Human who had  lead  the  running  Human who led the 'escapees', carried  an SMG   Like he   was born with It, he  waved  the   next two people  onto the gang plank.. One  Occui  greeted then  Holding out a Hand to help them,, the other

 The other   Occui had a  sniper  rifle  of his  Own.. he was looking out  at the Burning  building, Bringing the    Rifle, up to use the optics... Then his head  jerked towards the  west...  whether  he saw the  muzzle  flash, or  saw  something  else on the short, it  did matter.. bhut the time the  superheated nose started to glow... The Occui couldn't  even warn  anyone.. the  round  Hit Housing  of the  Engine... it  wouldn't be  a  herar5t beat before the Power cells shattered The  Back of the  Boat, the two Occui and the Man and woman who  were Boarding , disappeared  in  Bright  white   explosion, Plastic, body parts  and meal  flew every were..The  Pilots   legs  were  shredded   from the  back of his thighs   down,  the rest of him fell screaming into the  water, the   Nose  of the    boat  rose up, the  pointed   down, water   seeping into the holes below  dec... The  leader  Jumpe d and   rolled over towards the Meta Glass.

  Cross  and His people  Opene dup   on the last of the  escapees.. Cutting them  down  , with Little  care of  who   they were or what race.... Karson wave d Ja x Back   with Him.. as he   wired  ...almots..all his  C-10...

 OIK  Kid.. I'll toss it in when you open it.. slam   it  shut  and   Pin the  wheel.. as soon as it Goes In..

    Jix  shifted the  SMG  a  bit   as he turned the hatch, it was  frightening how  easy it was   for Jax  to Know who the   hatches worked,,But  years  in the Stem would  do that... Karson  was  ready to  set the  timer  for  3  secs,  he would trigge rit  as the Hatch was open....The  Hatch  Opend..OCCUI!!!!...  Jax   shouted  as the   Occui  Opened   Fired    , Jax knees  buckled NOW..NOW..I...CAn'T  HOLD...

  The   block  went in, Karson   jumped on the   Hatch    and  spun  the  Wheel....an anguished scream into the Head   sets...MED  TECH... THE mark....  the   explosion  shook the  shore  from the  hatch to  half  way towards  the  burning  home...He's hurt Bad... bad.... Med tech.

   Cross and  Oday Looked  back  as they heard Karson scream..  The Leader  held Up his  hands...You folks are  Good.. I can't wait to meet who..  Cross  cut the   man  down where he stoof.. and took his  SMG..

  They could hhear  Cross...gods  be damned... fucking  Tunnel bitch .. should have Know  the Mark  wouldn't  come out... This is on me.. Gte the Kid to  the   shuttled...  : Long Shot..were  Gonna  buy some toys...... we got  to get him back.

 Jax  Gasped   but  didn't  cry out...  Oday said,he's  not   graoning or  anyhting..amybe  ..not too Bad..?

 Nifty said in even tones...Ypu learn , you can't  scream or  Moan in the Stem... enemies  find you...Stem rats  find you...some of those big assed bugs.... we can't  scream out..can't even ask for help. 'casue you might get you Pack hurt

Decades of mental discipline were put to the test as Roy heard the sounds of Jax taking fire, completely unable to do anything about it.  His jaw muscles clenched tightly, and tension could be clearly heard in his voice as he responded.  "Get him back where you need to.  If he's too serious, we can rendezvous somewhere and let our company sawbones give him a once-over, but I think we're better off hurrying home instead of trying to work out a meet-up."  The tone was crisp and controlled...anyone who'd worked with him for a while would recognize it as a kind of "there's no time for all the profanities I have in mind right now" tone that he resorted to when things went sideways.  The profanities would come later...

"Long Shot, I'm moving out.  If you pick up Lirg before I get there, home in on my comm and come pick me up.  We're done here, it's time to clear out."

  Lirg  COMed  back...I am In.. Toy Place  has  med tech   in bottom part

 .......

   There was a sound behind   Roy.. two black uniformed  men stood there  with carbines..look what we  got here.... damn god  thing  they sent  us for  some more  drinks ..Don't  work Bud..your Creds  will go to a  good   cause....we'll try to Make it quick and...


 two cracks  for    Fujisec   heavy Pulse rifles     sounded, and the  Unarmored  men dropped.. Roy turned to see the gate guards smiling. one  pushed the  bill of his ball cap up...So i says to  my Buddy here... No way that chick is gonna mess around  with both of them...and we  sorta  keep and   eye on you with a   Rifle tag.... when we saw that little piece of shit's  house  lighting up..we figured  it was  you people....

 The taller  man said.. we used to Be  Hector... but they don't  keep , invalides . so  we  got  SEC  job  for the Mountain...Not like being on a warship  though. Better get Movin'  Buddy... and Good work... lots of bad stuff   went on that place, and   FUJISEC can only

 NA-CE was all set with the cats and was ready to pull out when she heard Jax got shot, and they called for a med tech. " On my way,'  NA-CE looked at her driver and said," We need to get to Jax now, medical emergency." 

 NA-CE would hang on and make sur ethe cats where good as they hopefully headed to get Jax.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:35, Fri 22 Mar.

 Lyri   said To NA-CE, Their  Van is  Going to  make their  way to the   Toy store, we  will  follow them to  Stem  , when we
 meet up  we'll transfer you to their  Van... Right now both Vans  gotta  get  out of here..

 Switching...Liggins... when you enter  the Syem.. settle on the  " Green" side , just passed the   'reclaimed ' sections.. we will transfer  Med tech to you...

 Already Done...  we are  following the    shore lie to the  South...... will meet you on the 'Green' side...

   As Roy Got  In, Lyri drove , high enough to  be  above  wheeled   vehicles  or  low moving Hover  cars.. but  not  high enough   to be  about the lower Tier  of  Hover traffic.

 anyone looking  back would see FC  trying to knocked  down the  Fire, while vend   drew the smoke upwards... two  FUJISEC  cars  where skimming   10 feet  above the  water,  heading for the wreckage of the boat.

Roy gave a sly grin to the two guards.  "In my defense, she was the one who came up with the story.  At least now we don't have to worry about how we're gonna sell it on the way out.  But your timing is perfect."  He smoothly broke down the Barrett and stowed it in the bag in a matter of seconds.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta catch my ride.  Keep up the good work!"  He gave a quick wave before turning to proceed down the slope until Lyri caught up to him with the van.  He climbed in easily, extending a hand for Lirg to help him up before the van had settled completely.  "Let's go...lucky for me, we've got some friends in FujiSEC who took care of the two EDT scouts that found my location, but we shouldn't bet on there having been only two of them."

As the van accelerated, he keyed his comm again.  "Hey, Toymaker...you have access to service rosters for the local gendarmes?  There's a couple of guys in FujiSEC that I think you should check out as some possible recruits for starting your own black-ops unit here..."

 NA-CE nodded to Lyri and added," Ok get to his van as fast as you can I dont know how badly Jax is hurt." NA-CE got her med pack and stood by the door to transfer to the other Van when they got close enough.

  It took  10 Minutes for the Vans to reach the stem...but that  time, two  FUJISEC Patrol boats were closing in on the  Metaglass area where  the boat  was burning.

      Krason  looked sicked to  Death,  Cross  didn't look much happier..  NA-CE   was   hustled over  to  that Van.. Lyri snapped at Liggins,Get to the Toy Store, Go full speed... They'll be waiting to take him down into their Med tech area.

 as the Two Vans   lifted off.. Lyri  said   to Roy...I never thought  i'd say this..but it would be  damn good to have  Steffi here!

 NA-CE got into the Van and immediately went over to Jax and checked him out and his condition.

Roy was silent for a moment, before he answered.  "She'd be bitching about all the collateral damage, before we even started...but yeah, right now, it'd be really good to have her here."

He took a deep breath, and let out a heavy sigh.  "He's a tough kid...don't know how long he was a Stem kid, but he was doing it long enough to be the one in charge of his group..."  Roy couldn't really consider them a 'gang', even if that might have been what they called themselves...that particular group had been scrapping to survive, and most gangs were out looking to exploit the weak and frail, not take them in and keep them alive.  "He's not going without a fight, and between Na-Ce and the facilities Gresh's people have put together, his odds are gonna improve dramatically over the next half hour or so."

While he sounded like he truly believed that, he also sounded like he needed to say it out loud to convince himself it was true...

  Lyri's  eyes  were Glistening...she  said  softly  in a  choked  voice...a Pack....they call themsleves  a pack

   Nifty was  sitting behind the  driver..he said,..Jax... I talked to the Kids  from His pack,when i got here...they said how  the  Gangers  were sending them to  pilage a downed  suppy truck.. ahd  Jax   was  trying to give the loads  to  cary..but snipers   got  most of them...  The ones who are  on The hermes.. said.. " Jax  won't  'sert you"..i don't sound like much..but to us  Stem Kids..its  the highest  compliment  you can get.

 NA-CE was able to patch up the thigh wound and that would be no problem. The side wound was the problem one it might have gone as deep as two ribs, Jax was in trouble and NA-CE she needed help. " Have Gresh's people have the med center set up to go, the thigh wound will be fine but this side wound is pretty bad. Get us there 5 minutes ago please." NA-CE would use all her skills and knowledge to keep Jax alive until they got to Gresh's medical bay, she worked her ass off doing everything she could to make sure Jax made it to Gresh's alive.

 after  flying low over the    old buildings in the Stem , the  two Vans  popped  out    and  ,ade a    beeline  over  roof tops to 'Why Not"..  as the Vans     settled into the alley behind the  store. all the lights  went out  around them  for a block or  two, went out.

 in the  darkness the doors   opened  with a  dim red Light  as two ESN  Med  techs  came out   with a  hover  cart, they  work  a store smock over their  tunics.   once every one  got inside.  the  doors  where locked  and  Jax  taken down into the  basement, passed the  COM Room.   the  fall at the  'sea end"  of the Building ,skid open, revealing  there    tables    and a Med  tech  supply   cabinet. as well as some over head swing lights   , sink  and  a Disposal... there were a stack of Black bags near by.

 Jack  was placed on the  table, the Two Med Techs Looked at  NA-CEwe  will assist you?  we are...limited in our  skills, we  just graduated two months  ago..Mr Gresh signed us  up for here.

  Lt   Hirr lifted  Yotolia to one of the other Tbales..Take  care  of Young  Human first...  the Cub  is stable, and    I have had  worse  wound  wrestled with  He Gava  while we trained.

 Karson started   at them as the  Med Techs  closed  around  Jax. I screwed up SM...  The Occui8 waited so damn long.. I  should have throw  a Bisket in there first.... i ...i just didn't  think..

 Cross  wasn't  any less unhappy..I messed up as well... with   the Boat  taken care of.. and the people gunned down, i figures  the Mark died in the house.

 NA-CE went in with Jax and the two Med Techs, NA-CE got a better look and it was worse than NA-CE had origially thought, this was out of her league they needed Stefi. NA-CE then had to decide yes Jax could be saved, she had a couple of choices, the Hermes was 8 hours away, she didnt think Jax would hang on for that long, Fuji Med Tech was 5 minutes away and they should be able to pull him through.

 NA-CE then wasnt sure if he would even make it then, NA-CE wished she had some of the Angel serum on her, but then she said loud enough for all in the area to hear, and she made sure Roy could hear her, he was the one that would basically make the call. " Gresh do you have any Blue Angel Serum, his wounds are too severe for me to handle, the Hermes is too far way, Fuji Med Tech is only 5 minutes away. Again his wound is way beyond my skill I dont know how long he will last, the serum would be our best chance, if Gresh has any that is, if not then we get him to FUJI Med Tech ASAP."

"There's plenty of blame to go around..." Roy answered bitterly.  "I mean, he should have known to keep the hatch between him and the tunnel opening, it would have given anyone in the tunnel a much smaller target to hit and he'd have had the metal hatch covering his body.  We all got a little complacent on this one...victims of our own success..."

He looked over as Na-Ce pronounced her prognosis, and grimaced.  "If we take him to Med Tech here, we've gotta have a cover story for how he got injured.  Every medical facility in existence keeps track of serious injuries like gunshot wounds and we can't just go in there with no story about how he got shot."  He waved off the statement as soon as he finished it, adding, "That's no reason not to take him, though...I can think of at least four plausible stories in the time it'd take to get him there."

He looked at Gresh, waiting for the Sanri's answer as to how to proceed.

  Gresh frowned,Taking him to  ESN Med tech, would  certainly, link him to the actions this night...

  Claire?  do we have any of the Blue serum left?

  Yes, Sir there is One Vial ..but if  we use that, what about injuries to our people?

 Gresh turned and  snapped at her...He ...IS..our  people....turning to   NA-CE,,,are you able to administer it? I would hate to wste it, if you did  not  know how...

 NA-CE looked at Gresh and replied," Yes I know how to administer it, it will save his life easily, but he will suffer greatly as he heals. Also between us Gresh but I can replace that vial and add a few when the Hermes arrives."

 NA-CE turns to Roy," Roy I will give it to him, we will need to restrain him. I will only do it with your agreement Roy, or we rush him to Fuji Med Tech, your call Roy." NA-CE will keep checking Jax's condition, they needed to make a decision soon if he was going to make a full recovery. NA-CE would also see if Jax was awake so she could ask him as well about the serum.

Roy grimaced.  He, out of everyone in the room, really understood what she was saying.  "We're treating this like it was any other field-expedient situation.  We've learned enough tonight to know that we've got some friends in FujiSEC...but tonight wouldn't have been necessary if we didn't have more than a few enemies, as well, and putting Jax in Fuji Med-Tech, with injuries they would have to report to Security, is painting a giant bullseye on his back for the entire time we're on the station, as well as any time we may be back."

He looked at Gresh, then looked over at Na-Ce.  "The risks of the medication are lower than the risks of exposing his involvement to Fuji EDT sources.  Give it to him."

He looked over at Karson and Cross, the two who'd expressed regrets for not keeping him safer.  "Help me strap him down...this isn't going to be pretty..."

As he started securing Jax to the table, he looked over at Gresh.  "We've got an ample supply on the Hermes...I'm sure Stefi can be persuaded to leave a few vials here, provided they'll be carefully secured.  This is not something we want falling into enemy hands.  While there's a chance the Angels may have shared their herb-lore and med-tech with Empire allies, I'm betting that they could never get the massive tree-trunk out of their asses far enough to deign to share anything of the sort."  He glanced over at Na-Ce and gave a humorless grin.

"Present company excepted, of course.  We know not all Angels are enormous pricks..."

 NA-CE nodded at Roy and said," Yes please strap him down good, we dont want him hurting himself. This will not be pretty if you wish to leave before I start go now." NA-CE made sure everything was all set, Jax was ready and strapped down, she got the vial from Gresh, prepped it as needed, then got it ready to inject Jax.

 NA-CE smiled at Roy when he said she was excluded," Yes I know many of my race our total assholes, but you humans have the baby eating EDT dont you?" NA-CE giggled but was ready to inject Jax.

 NA-CE looked at Roy and said," Ok here we go everyone." NA-CE then injected Jax and then watched over him as the side effects and healing began.

  Jax  was  Tired.. he ,,just wanted to sleep so the pain would go away. The straps  weren't as  think as the straps on the Hermes ..    Carson   grabbed on leg  to help  hold it  down, Cross the other  As Roy grabbed his arms, Jax looked    with weary eyes   at him...sorry...SM... if..if..i don't make it back..there..is a box in my locker..give...it....to...sneak.... he drifted off..

 NA-CE inject the would  area,,, the  blue  fluid  was like a creature,  spread  and covering  the torn and burnt edges..then came the  pain as the  wound being to rebui8old  and slowly. Ever  so slowly close..the   exposed  ribs  getting  covered  with 'bone"..  tissue  growing together    to   build from the inside out..

 Jax's eyes Opened in pain and Surprise..    his neck  muscles  and veins  stuck our  as he held back the screams that wanted to come..

 Nifty  watched   leaning on his    rifle,, he looked  sad  and worried... Lyri watched    with her  eyes moist and a tear coming down her cheek.  30 minutes or more..  The Young  Troophe...is  determined....er   fought the  pain and the healing.. Gresh Looked over  at Roy..he is...very Determined...

 Lt Hirr   was peeking around Hemsly, she  said in  her  cat-like  whisper..he should have  been a Felrite.

  Jax  finally  went limp.. the wound was mostly closed and still closing.. Jax's breaths  came in deep rises and falls of his chest.

 NA-CE watches she wish she knew a way to make it easier on humans, but Jax was healing well. She didnt see any complications so fa but she would pay close attention while the serum heals him. " It looks like it is working I dont see any problems but I will stay by his side, I say at least an hour before we can move him. Thank you Gresh." NA-CE would nod at Roy, Jax was going to be ok. She continued her work until Jax was ready to be oved.

Roy's face was an expressionless mask as Jax endured the treatment, holding the young man's arms to prevent him from hurting himself with the convulsions that would happen if he broke free of the restraints.  Only his eyes betrayed how concerned he truly was, and how well he understood just what it was Jax was enduring...

When Jax finally relaxed as the serum had done its job, Roy sagged for a moment, leaning against the table as he heaved a deep sigh.  "He'll be okay, now...he's gonna be ravenous as a larg when he wakes up.  His body's burned a massive amount of energy.  A little sleep to recharge his batteries and plenty of breakfast to re-stoke the fires, and he'll be good as new tomorrow morning."  There was an odd blend of relief and bitterness in his voice, but there was no mistaking that he was glad Jax had endured.

He looked over at Gresh.  "We need to get an assessment...verification of how our targets fared against our efforts.  I don't much care about the total bodycount, although it would be good to have some idea in case the Admiral has some words for us...but I want to know for sure if we got everyone we went after or if someone slipped through our fingers."