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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 5102676" data-attributes="member: 143">There was a lot of discussion about Okwelume's fate, both within the game and in the forum.* * * * * Session 16 (August 4, 2008)Chapter 58The Skyranger bucked and jolted its way across the Rockies into Canadian airspace.  In the rear compartment, the members of Alpha waited, feeling the familiar tension of anticipation as the roar of the engines changed slightly in pitch, and the craft began its descent. Across from Vasily, Cecilia sat in her jumpseat, checking her newly-issued laser pistol.  She frowned at the weapon, as if displeased with it.  She also had a more traditional Glock strapped to her left hip, and an M4 was secured in the brace next to her seat.  She looked up at Vasily, saw his interest, and raised an eyebrow. “This going to be like nothing you seen so far I guess,” he said. “I don’t know, I’ve seen a lot,” she replied, grimacing as a sudden jolt banged her head against the side of the seat.  “I’m told you were special forces.”“Ya.  Still.  Just… follow our lead.  You got question, ask.”Cecilia nodded.  Vasily went on, “Lot of stuff we do not just about killing aliens.  It about stealing their stuff.  Guns, ships.  Alien fuel something we not able to create in lab, they say.  So we take it from them.”Ken’s voice came over the intercom.  “Interceptor three reports that bogie has not changed position.  Looks like it’s just waiting for us.  ETA, six minutes.”“Could we have a trap here?” Catalina asked.  The members of Alpha shared a look, but no one said anything.  It didn’t matter, since they were going in either way.“Everyone be sharp,” Vasily replied.  The Skyranger continued its rapid descent.  “Getting some recon info,” Ken reported.  “Looks like a cow pasture.  Wait… yeah, we’re picking up floater activity.  They’re out and about, so be alert.  Going to put us down a short ways away.  Lock and load, down in two minutes.”The Skyranger banked, and Cecelia, who’d started to unbuckle, was thrown roughly back into her seat.  “You get used to it after a while,” Jane said.  “Might want to pop on that helmet, initialize the VDU—visual display unit.  It’s lined to help protect you from alien mind attacks, and the VDU will help distinguish the different types of aliens.”“Mind attacks.  Wonderful,” Cecilia said, but she put the helmet on, and fiddled with the display controls along the chin bar.  “We try to stay together, getting interlocking fields of fire on one alien at a time,” James said, as he slid his own helmet on.  “We don’t want to engage multiple aliens at once if we can help it.”“Floaters,” Vasily added, “they things made of creature parts and alien surgery.  They float.  Aim for chest.”“I read the briefing materials,” Cecelia said.  “Just remember, a briefing’s different from meeting a live alien,” James said. “Sometimes we try to take ones alive,” Vasily said.  “If you hear, ‘hold fire,’ we move in with stun prods.”  The Russian unclipped his autocannon and loaded a string of explosive-tipped rounds.  He shifted his weight easily as the Skyranger completed a turn and dropped heavily, its engines switching to vertical flight mode.  The others prepared as well.  Cecilia swallowed, but her fingers were steady as she worked the action on her carbine.“So we’re taking prisoners today?” she asked. “Depend,” Vasily said.  “We see interesting alien, we take it.  We seen floaters before, though, have some at HQ already.  So only if it particularly interesting floater.”“Here,” Jane said, offering Cecilia her stun rod.  “I’m better at long range, anyway.  Just hit the actuator and whack them with it.  There’s a clip on the back of your armor that can hold it until you need it.”Cecilia took it.  “Ah, thanks,” she said.  The Skyranger abruptly jolted as it landed, and the rear hatch dropped open.  They were greeted by a chill breeze, a stale landscape in white and brown, and the sounds of weapons fire to the south.  Vasily was the first out, and he paused to flick the distance-view on his VDU, scanning the area. “They killing cows.  Where is everyone?  VDU identify two alien medics.”The rest of the Alphas filed out of the aircraft, and they spread out, looking to the south.  The meadow was fringed by gentle hills to the north and east, with a scattered woodlands off to the west.  The land rose in gentle ripples ahead, leaving shallow dells that were thick with dead brush and banks of snow.  They could see the bulky shape of the alien ship to the south in the distance, a faint wisp of gray smoke rising from one side.  Chatter quickly filled their main communications channel.  “I see at least three,” Catalina said, looking left. “Six to eight to the right,” James reported a moment later. “Make that five,” Catalina said. “No freaking cover,” Vasily said.  He turned back as Jane opened the cargo compartment slung under the Skyranger, and the HWP rolled out.  This version looked bulkier, the laser assembly adding wide bulges to the turret, but the entire thing was still less than half the size of even the tiny ZAZ-965s that Vasily remembered from the streets of Leningrad in his youth.   Catalina had her motion sensor out, and was scanning.  “Let’s make that rather a lot,” she said.  “South, southwest, southeast, looks like several groups, moving this way.”Vasily saw that most of the ripples in the landscape moved west-east, offering at least some modicum of shelter despite the fact that the rises barely came up to his waist.  It was better than where they were, however, where only the Skyranger offered shelter—and a big target.  “Move to east,” Vasily said.  “Go!” They headed in that direction, letting the HWP roll ahead of them.  They came upon the carcass of a cow, its body blasted by plasma burns, its head hanging from its neck by a few strands of blasted flesh.  They could all see Catalina’s floaters now, partially hidden behind the next rise, moving slowly in their direction.  The scattered gunfire continued to the southwest, but the aliens there didn’t appear to be shooting at them. Vasily glanced at his teammates, who’d all dropped into low crouches or fallen prone.  He drew out a gas grenade, and hurled it toward the largest cluster of aliens.  The dark missile arced across the landscape, coming down right between three of the aliens.  It exploded with a thump, enveloping all three in a murky cloud of green mist.  A few meters away, a second grenade thrown by Jane caught another floater in the acrid gas, stunning it. “Let them have it!” James yelled, as both the Alphas and the aliens opened fire.</blockquote>

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