Post by Suji on Sept 20, 2009 22:20:48 GMT -5
Ray:
Ray had been in the ballroom a half an hour and was definintely feeling the effects of constant morphing. It was the third night in a row he'd been down here to train. Since he couldn't patrol like he could in Vancouver, he had to do something with his nights. He'd morph all of his morphs a couple times, mainly focusing on the crow and moose morphs since he'd need to fight or fly in a hurry.At the very end of his training regiments he'd push it to the limit and try to chain together morphs. Tonight he was taking it a little easier than usual because of the grueling pace the last two nights were set at.
Ray preferred to do his morphing at night because he could be alone and concentrate that much harder on it. Tonight, Ray even bought some weights and put them in the ballroom for everyone to use. Days got boring because lets face it, day-time Vegas is about as dry as day-time TV. Ray figured this would give people something to do and since they were soldiers in a war, they'd probably need to be training anyway. Nearly done with his morphing exercises, which seemed to be getting easier as he could morph more without getting tired, he figured that he was still too tired to use the weights tonight.
As he was morphing, Ray marveled at how the lack of television and computers could turn you into someone who actually did something with themselves. Back before the war, not that he was fat or anything, Ray really was unfit. Unfit in the sense of he wasn't very strong or very active.
Ray had started earlier tonight than usual so he wouldn't be suprised at all if the Den was still kind of busy...
Drake:
Drake walked through the doors of the ballroom, eating the last few bites of an ice-cream cone, and noticed that Ray was doing something here. "What are you up to?" he asked out of curiosity. Drake was not a very socially motivated person, so usually interacted very little with the other group members. However, tonight Drake was in an unusually talkative mood.
Drake was most likely in a talkative mood because earlier that day he had gotten a new morph and was dying to tell someone. He had been at his job cleaning pools and was on his last pool of the day at some rich person's house. As he was scooping stray objects out of their pool, he noticed a scummy little pond over in the corner of their yard. He went to see what it was and found out it was a neglected koi pond, but the hardy fish were still there despite the neglect that their pool received. Since nobody else was around, Drake caught one of the fish in his pool cleaning net (not an easy task) and acquired it. Now he could not wait to try it out.
Ray:
Ray saw Drake enter the room with some ice cream and figured it was time to take a break. He finished up the current morph he was on, his dog morph, and sat down. <<Ah, just training since I don't have a patrol route anymore.>> Ray replied nonchalantly <<Back in Vancouver, we used to patrol the woods to make sure no one was sneaking up on us. Now, I'm trying to be productive in trying to better myself. I figure that sometime someone's life may depend on me being able to morph quickly, or I might have to morph a lot in one day. I need to be ready...We all should be.>>
Ray thought about his logic and it made perfect sense. Soldiers in any war were always training. They trained vigorously and regularly and were always looking for areas to improve in. Why should these soldiers be any different? He was suprised that the two previous factions he'd seen didn't have regular training programs.
Training wasn't any fun, but he had to admit that he could do more morphs tonight without getting tired than he could a month ago. The body could get accustomed to morphing and could do it better with enough practice.
<<So, how about you Drake?>> Ray asked back. He liked to be friends with everyone which included talking to everyone regularly. He spotted that Drake, a normally quiet guy, was willing to chat and Ray wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.
Luce:
Luce walked into the Den looking for Rian. She had some exciting news, or at least she was excited.
She had sworn that she had seen a shipment of dracon grenades on their way out of town. Dracon grenades were much like hand grenades except that when they explodes they created a sphere of dracon energy with approximately 6ft diameter. Luce loved the things. Well, when they weren't being used against her of course.
She had seen them in action a couple of time in New York and they were brilliant. But in New York weapons shipments were always much more guarded than this truck had been, probably because New York was the yeerk planetary headquarters and this was a yeerk vacation spot if that.
She walked into the ballroom and saw an animal she believed to be one of Ray's morphs and the new kid Drake. In a voice that sounded like a kid on christmas, which was extremely unusual for her Luce asked, "have you guys seen Rian?"
Drake:
Drake thought about what Ray had said. About bettering yourself so that you would be more well prepared in extreme situations. This training program sounded like a lot of work, but Ray was being friendly about it and Drake still wanted to try his new morph. He decided to give it a try.
Drake was about to reply to Ray, but Luce walked in at that moment asking where Rian was. “I have not seen him all day. Why what’s up?” Drake hoped nobody was in trouble. Training with Ray may have to wait for another time.
Ray:
What the hell? Luce never got excited. Either there was a gang war going on outside or they just got a shipment of weapons because Luce was actually riled up. <<I havn't seen him at all. I just got in a little bit ago and havn't been around the hotel at all so I have no idea.>> Ray's dog morph perked up and mirrored the way Luce felt. When people get excited, dogs get twice as excited. The dog could feel the intensity in the air and was ready to go jump right into the middle of what ever was going on.
Ray gave in to the dog as he stood up and padded over to Luce. <<Rian, if you're around here, we need you in the ballroom.>> Ray called to Rian in private. <<Better make it quick because believe it or not, Luce is excited.>>
<<I sent Rian a message.>> Ray said to Luce <<If he's around he'll be here shortly. If not, I can help you look for him>> Whatever it was, it surely was big, violent, or both.
Rian:
Luce is excited? Luce never gets excited. Rian got up from his desk where he had been reviewing some maps of the surrounding area of Las Vegas. He was wondering if there was anywhere close by that would work as a back up head quarters for the faction if they ever had to bail in a hurry but he was coming up blank. Maybe he should have someone check it out later.
Rian padded down stairs and walked into the ballroom to find Drake, Ray and Luce. Luce actually did look excited. He gave her an inquiring look. "What's up?"
Luce:
Luce smiled. If anyone had seen Alice and Wonderland as a kid they would have made comparisons between her smile and that of the Cheshire Cat.
"Rian. I think I saw a shipment of dracon grenades being shipped out to the desert. Same direction as that lab we freed those women from. Dracon grenades Rian, dracon grenades," she repeated as if the name itself made her happy when really it was the thought of what they did. "I can give you a whole rundown on how they work but later. If we move quickly we can intercept the transport and steal them." She paused and then, just because she couldn't help it, "Dracon grenades Rian, dracon grenades."
Drake:
Dracon grenades? What the heck are dracon grenades? Drake thought to himself. Well whatever they were, it sounded as if they were something the yeerks would not want to lose. "Hey Ray, it looks like we may be doing some 'training' after all."
Then to everyone he asked, "So what is the plan? Do we just go out into the desert and tell them to hand 'em over?" Drake assumed they had a better plan than that, but with Luce you could never be too sure.
Ray:
The whole ordeal had Ray ready to spring. They had yet to launch a major offensive and he was ready to act. The excitement of the dog's mind didn't help him stay calm either. Ray got up and paced because the dog brain told him to and he looked ready to play. The whole thing sounded like a train robbery like in an old western movie. Run your plan, get the loot, and ditch the train. Ray liked the sound of this and was getting to feel about how Luce felt, which was odd. Normally he'd be perfectly calm, even though he could feel the adrenaline running. He figured it was the morph that was making him more ancy than usual.
Before Ray could ask, Drake did it for him bringing up the planning on the robbery. Yes, this right here was the most important part. It wasn't the actual doing, but making sure they had all their bases covered and had a plan to work with. <<Whatever we do we need to be quick, silent, and efficient. They'll call for backup quickly enough. It isn't a time for brute force. Luce, what was it being transported in and how many protectors did it have?>>
Rian:
Before Rian could decide what questions he wanted to ask first Ray jumped in with some questions of his own and the questions were smart. Rian looked at the dog and then at Drake. This might be a good opportunity to test out Ray's skills as a leader. Ember had gotten to call a lot of the shots on the Old Town mission, mostly because she was on the inside, so now it would be Ray's turn.
Rian thought quickly about who he could send on this and then looked at the dog. "Ray, you're on this. Take Drake, Diana and Cecily. If you can get those weapons then do so, but your lives are the most important ones, so don't risk too much." This was just small enough that Rian felt safe sending in a smaller group instead of the whole faction.
He looked at Luce, slightly taken aback by her enthusiasm. "Can you tell Ray everything he needs to know about this transport and the bombs inside it? Then meet me upstairs. I have another job for you." He smiled, almost laughing. "Sorry you won't get to steal the dracon grenades."
Ray:
Ray listened to a heartbroken Luce explain the situation. The whole scene would have been comical, but he would have liked for her to go just for her expertise. The truck turned out to be a lightly guarded armored van with the weaponry in the back. There were probably hork-bajir in the back which he'd plan on being there. If they wern't, that was good too, but it was always good to be prepared. The van was by itself so this shouldn't be too hard given the plans worked out well.
<<Diana and Cecily>> Ray said calling for them. <<If you can hear this we need you down in the ballroom. You're going to need your morphing suits on.>> Ray had begun thinking about a plan the time Luce spilled the beans about it and was eager to share what he had with the group when they arrived.
Sedra:
The sun was just beginning to fall behind the mountains, casting a gentle orange glow over the Las Vegas landscape. On the edge of town, a large black SUV came to a stop in front of the armored van, and the young Hork-Bajir captain shifted nervously. A door opened, and out stepped a slender woman dressed in a dark suit and pants. Her dark brown hair was tied back into a bun, and perched on her face were large sunglasses. Two more Hork-Bajir and a human emerged from the SUV, coming to stand behind her.
"Sub-Visser," The captain nodded his head to Sedra149, then glanced to the Hork-Bajir behind her. Her gaze shifted over to the armored van briefly, then rested back on the Hork-Bajir. He looks so inexperienced.
"This is it?" She snapped, walking forward to examine the van. The captain swiveled his head to watch her.
"Yes, Sub-Visser."
Sedra149 closed her eyes briefly, gritting her teeth. This was all they had sent? A large shipment of dracon grenades, and they had stuck it with a couple Hork-Bajir and a van. Useless, useless. She pulled her sunglasses from her face, irritation bubbling beneath her stark blue eyes. "Open it."
The captain scrambled forward to open the back of the armored van, stepping back to let the Sub-Visser take a look. Inside, boxes and boxes of dracon grenades were stacked. Stamped out in large, red letters on each box were the words EXTREME CAUTION. Sedra149 reached forward to touch one of the boxes, a fleeting smile touching her lips. She was excited to receive this shipment, even if the higher-ups had only sent a few Hork-Bajir to help guard it.
"Alright. Don't lose us, or the shipment," Her voice held a dangerous tone of warning. Four of the captain's Hork-Bajir jumped into the back on the van, and the captain slammed the doors close. Sedra149 opened the door to her SUV and climbed in. Overhead, the sky was darkening quickly and a few solitary stars were glittering.
Sedra149 buckled her seatbelt in, running her hand to the holster at her side where her dracon beam was. The higher-ups seemed completely unworried about this shipment of grenades. Enough to send a young Hork-Bajir captain and a few guards along with the armored van. Sedra149 glanced at her own Hork-Bajir guards, who had piled into the SUV. The human, a low-ranking Yeerk named Esto569, was sitting at the driver's seat, starting up the car.
<<You're nervous.>> Catherine snickered. Her host had been silent until now. <<You're not important enough to them, so they send a child to help you.>> Sedra149's jaw twitched, but she didn't speak back to her host. Catherine knew how to poke and prode at Sedra149 to irritate her.
"Let's go," She ordered. The SUV jumped alive, and jerked out onto the highway. The armored van swerved to pull in line behind them. They were speeding towards Area 51.
Drake:
“I suppose if we are going to catch this armored van, I will have to hitch a ride with one of you guys.” Drake was regretting not having a morph that could travel well. Not for the first time, either. Well at least his moth morph would let two of them be in the same place at the same time.
“If we fly, do you think we should have Diana lead the way in the dark? Her owl morph is probably best suited for night travel. But then again, we are in Las Vegas, so it’s not like it is really too dark anyway.” Drake was beginning to feel the familiar sensation of butterflies welling up in his stomach. They were going to rob an armored van and he had no idea how they would accomplish something like that. The night was just starting, but Drake could already tell it was going to be a long one.
Ray:
Ray pondered what Drake had said. He brought up a good point about Diana having a good night morph and that would make her the eyes in the sky. Now it was down to what to do with Drake and Cecily. What they needed was to get the van deep into the desert and lose whatever attention they would pick up which, he prayed, would be minimal.
Ray figured he could fight whatever resistance the van would have with his Moose morph once they had the van stopped. The only problem they had was that the yeerks would call for backup. Ray quit thinking like a tactician and more like a terrorist at this moment. Hostages... <<Drake, I need to know two things. This first one is simple the second one...not so much, but here goes: Do you know how to use a gun or know how to drive a vehicle?>>
Drake:
Drake blinked his eyes absently at the dog’s face. Did he just mention a gun? Drake had never held a gun in his life. “I don’t know anything about guns, but I do have my driver’s license. I never owned my own car though, so I might be rusty.” Drake hoped Ray wasn’t disappointed that he was not handy with weapons.
Drake could guess at a couple of reasons why Ray wanted to know if Drake could drive. Either they would be hijacking a controller controlled armored van, or they would be obtaining a vehicle to chase it down. Neither option sounded very appealing to Drake, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Cecily:
Cecily had been trying to catch up on sleep. Or do something else productive; she wasn't quite sure what. Truthfully, Ray's thought-speak "page" was a welcome distraction. She slipped out of the sweatpants and t-shirt she was wearing to reveal her morphing suit underneath. She'd taken to wearing it all the time - just in case. She tossed her discarded clothes on her bed and proceeded to move to the ballroom at a quick pace.
"What's going on?" she asked as she entered. She looked around, taking stock of who was present, before coming to a halt to wait for an answer. Obviously something was going to go down tonight. She was a little nervous, the way she always got. She viewed that as a good thing. Once things got routine, then she should really start worrying.
Ray:
Ray sat in dog morph waiting on the others to arrive and left Drake in the dark. When Cecily entered he figured he would spill the beans on the plan he had so far. There was a few things he still needed to account for and he hoped desperatly that Diana would be around here somewhere because he'd need the eyes in the sky to cover most of those unaccounted for things.
<<Alright, to start off with this by all means is something we don't have to do.>> Ray started. <<But, theres a shipment of dracon grenades moving through town right now thats only lightly guarded and Luce figures we have the opportunity to take them. I'll be in charge on this one and hopefully my team will consist of you two plus Diana if she's here or not.>>
Ray didn't know how much of this would go as planned but he filled them in on what he had so far. <<The van is one that is armored and possibly guarded by hork-bajir in the back. Luce said theres only one person up front for sure though, so they must have some guards in the back. What we need to do is get this van to stop and take the guards out before they call for back up. I figure the only comunications line would be up front with the driver.>>
Ray then started in on who would be doing what. <<I'm going to need Diana watching for any other yeerks once we get this van isolated. Her owl morph will be perfect for this as Drake pointed out. Cecily, if you think you can use a gun, I'm going to need you to be a decoy. If not, Drake can be the decoy. Whomever will stand in the middle of the road acting insane. Once the driver checks to see whats going on, hold him hostage at gunpoint. Drake will have to drive this van into the desert and hide it. Either way, Drake will drive and Cecily, you will morph anything so that you can comunicate with Diana while you drive. If Drake can handle the gun, you can help with the cleanup in the back and just jump in when he's ready. I will take out whatever awaits in the back of the truck as they come to the aid of the driver. Diana follows you and guides you as I morph crow and catch back up. Any questions?>>
Drake:
"So let me get this straight. My job is to stop their vehicle by acting like a crazy person out in the street. Use a gun, that I do not know how to use, to hijack their armored van. Drive the van out into the desert and somehow make them lose my trail. And then we somehow make it back here to safety. Hmm."
Drake was about to exclaim how crazy that sounded, but then realized it really did not sound too hard once he thought about it. Plus, they could bail out at any time if something went wrong. "I got just one thing to say. That van better not be stick-shift."
Cecily:
"I can drive a stick," Cecily said, glad that that one skill had come in handy. Her mother preferred stick-shifts for some reason. "So I've got that covered if we need it." She was nervous, though. "But as far as the plan goes, what am I supposed to do while Drake is waving the gun around? Just make sure things don't go really bad?"
She didn't want to be the one with the gun. If Drake thought he could handle it, fine. Theoretically, guns in this day and age were basically point and shoot, but she knew there was a lot more behind it than that, and she didn't want to deal with it. It was strange that she drew the line at guns, but there it was.
Ray:
<<You'd be waiting to drive, or Drake can drive whomever.>> Ray replied. <<If you don't think you wil be needed to drive, you can help me fight in the back. While the truck is in motion from whoever is driving, the other person needs to be in morph so we can keep contact.>>
<<Back to your question Drake,>> Ray said turning his head to face Drake. <<we won't actually need to escape from anyone if this goes right. The main reason we're hijacking it in this sort of fashion is so that they can't call for back up. Nearly all of our bases are covered...>> He thought about the one that wasn't.
Ray waited another couple of moments. Diana must not have made it back to the hotel yet and they needed a third person. Who else could be here? Nadia... he thought. She was probably up in her room too. Possibly asleep. They had talked a lot in private, but she hadn't really been active too much. Ray figured she was probably wore out by being captured and having to go through that hellish experience in the holding cell.
<<Nadia.>> Ray called to her. << If you're around or awake, you're needed in the ballroom. Morphing clothes are needed.>>
Drake:
Nadia? Drake still did not know very much about her. She was new to the den and had not had a lot of time to get acquainted with everyone. He hoped that she had enough experience so that she would not be a hinderance to their mission.
Wait. What was he thinking? Drake had only been on one dangerous mission so far. He would be just as likely, if not more so, to mess up this assignment. Drake was getting nervous again, but figured more people would likely be better than less. He had to trust that Ray knew what he was doing.
Cecily:
Cecily nodded. "Okay. I think I get what's going on." She glanced at Drake. "It probably makes more sense for you to drive, if you're going to be the one with the gun, since then you won't have to be in and out of morphs all the time. Sound okay?" She was treading much more lightly than she normally would have because she still wasn't sure how people would react.
Probably she should see what Ray thought of the whole thing. "That good, Mr. Bird?" she asked. It sounded like most of the plan would be played by ear, but she figured she should check, just to make sure Ray was all right with things. There was also the question of what he wanted to do with Nadia, but Cecily decided she'd find out about that when Nadia did.
Nadia:
Nadia opened her eyes and saw she was in a new place yet again. She sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes to wake up more. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Nadia looked around the room. She began to stand up and walk around looking at all the unique objects in the bedroom. To the left, she saw a closet and began to walk toward it. Putting her hand on the handle, she hoped for a nice wardrobe. As the closet door opened, she looked in to find a few shirts,pants, and this tight spandex suit. Nadia looked at it with and odd looking face wondering who would wear such a thing. Suddenly, Nadia heard a males voice calling for her and telling her to come to the ballroom with her morphing clothes. Nadia assumed the hideous spandex suit was what she needed to wear.
Looking at herself in the mirror she started to adore the nice tight feel around her nice curves. She felt like she was ready to do anything in this outfit. While still looking in the mirror, Nadia slipped out her emergency eyeliner she kept in her pocket and began to apply it to her eyes.
"There we go! Now I don't look like such a ghost." Nadia said as she took one last glance at herself in the mirror.
Nadia opened the door slowly and peaked her head out the side slowly as she looked around. Noticing that no one was there, she opened the door all the way and walked down the hallway. She came to a staircase and figured she was going the right way, and gracefully walked down them. when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw a group of people in the ballroom. Nadia put her fist up to her mouth and coughed so someone would notice her. The people turned and stared at her.
"I'm here! Sorry if I'm late, I had to put my face on." Nadia giggled slightly with a huge smile feeling sort of awkward and out of place.
Ray:
Ray tilted his head to one side when Nadia came in. He figured it looked funny because it was the dog's expression for cluelessness, but no one really said anything to acknowledge that he did it so he figured he'd get back to business. <<Hey Nadia>> he said in public thoughtspeak greeting her. <<Here's the rundown. Luce has spotted a truck full of dracon grenades being shipped across town. Rian figures we could successfully ambush this.>>
<<The plan we have so far is as follows, being slightly modified to include you.>> Ray began. <<Drake will play the crazed guy as he gets the driver's attention for them to stop. When they do stop, Drake will take over with the gun. Once the driver is taken hostage, the guys in back will jump out. I'll deal with them. Drake will take the driver hostage and keep track of him. Since we have one other person for communications, Cecily will drive since Drake's primary focus is the hostage. You will jump in the back as an animal of your choice as i fight off whatever protection there is, and you will relay messages for them. I'll catch back up as a crow as Cecily drives the load once around the block and then out into the desert. This is completely optional and any of us can back out at anytime if we feel we can't do it. Everyone got all that?>>
Drake:
"Yup. I think I got it. I suppose I should morph a moth then so someone can bring me along for the ride? Don't look if you do not want to be grossed out." Drake stripped down to his morphing outfit and began his transformation.
Drake was starting to feel pretty good about their odds at completing this. There was just one detail he could not quite figure out. <<Where are we getting the gun?>>
Cecily:
As Nadia came in, Cecily smiled at her. The other girl's statement about "putting on her face" amused her a bit, but she didn't comment. Important Yeerk-fighting things were going on, not to mention the alien weapon-stealing things.
Which brought her back to the now re-made plan. She went through it again in her head, to make sure she didn't screw up. If someone got killed because she fumbled... Well, she didn't want to go down that path. And, basically, she got to drive, which was fine with her. Once around the block, she thought, with that extra kick she gave to important math formulas.
She nearly watched Drake's morph, but her stomach managed to kick in and trick her head into looking the other way. She had to agree with his question, though. "Do we keep guns around here?"
Ray:
As Drake morphed, Ray figured it would be a good idea to morph into his human form once more. Although he had started later than Drake, he finished at about the same time. As he morphed he thought about how he'd have to hustle out on the field to meet the truck as it came back around. He'd have to cut his morphing time some. Silently Ray hoped the training would pay off.
Once he was fully morphed, Ray got around to replying to their inquiries about a gun. "I personally don't keep guns, but Luce does." He grinned big after this statement and left the room momentarily bringing back a nine-millimeter pistol. He slapped the clip in, cocked it, and hit the safety.
"I nicked it off of Luce, but I don't think she'll mind seeing as how we'll be returning with the pistol and hopefully some more firepower." Ray said as he handed the gun, butt first, to Cecily. He pointed to the safety switch as he did so. "Just act like you're more of a psycho than they are and you should have no problems."
Drake:
Drake landed on the butt of the gun and observed where the safety switch was. Even as a moth he was nervous around a loaded gun. <<Let's just hope I do not have to use it when the time comes.>> However, Drake thought he may be a bit too optimistic.
<<So girls, do you mind if I call you girls?>> he was thinking back to the time Luce exploded at him for saying that. <<Are you ready to hijack some weapons?>> Drake had to admit that he was getting anxious to see what this team was made of.
Nadia:
Nadia rushed to the group and tried to listen carefully to the instructions given by Ray. She knew that she was a key part in this. That scared the living hell out of her. This was a good time to prove herself and she would give it her all to show her determination. She saw Ray morph from being a dog back into his human form. Nadia's heart began to sink and goose bumps formed on her arms. It was like she fell in love all over again. Just seeing his face brought back old good memories between them, but she had to focus. She shook her head and pulled herself back together. Nadia heard Ray say she can morph into any animal of her choice. This made her daze off again and think for a bit on which to choose to help prove her ability to the group. Then Nadia heard the word of guns being involved and her attention focused back on Ray.
"Guns?! I hope to God I'm not using one, let alone carry one." Nadia said with a trembling voice.
Guns were Nadia's worst fear and she hated them more than anything. She always believed in mostly non-violence when it came to taking care of things. Harmony and peace were always important to her in where it was needed. This time was different though, she and the rest of the group were dealing with horrible evil controllers.Nadia began to rethink her values on peace and harmony, but this was war. If using a gun was the only way to protect her and the team she was up for it.
"Actually, let me see that! It's not so bad after all. I hope I get to have one of these bad boys." Nadia said with a smile and a little wink at Ray.
Ray:
Ray smiled back at Nadia wanting to say something to her, but now was far from an opportune time to talk about things that, between them, needed talked about. "We'll have to foot it there for the most part since the gun won't morph with us." Ray said scooping up Drake. "As we move though it'll be good if you just stay in morph Drake incase something unexpected happens and we need someone to get away. From Luce's intel, the van should be here down the road from here within a few minutes so we better get a move on."
Ray pushed open the door as the others followed out into the night. They wouldn't attract too much attention anyway since no one was really out. The way they acted as a group would probably look as if it was controller business either way and he'd play it off as such if something were to occur.
The air was a lot cooler tonight than usual with fall beginning to set in and the scorching desert heat finally beginning to cool with the absence of the sun. The elements didn't phase Ray however due to the adrenaline rush he was getting as he was mentally and physically trying to prepare himself for the action that was about to unfold....
Drake:
Drake felt a wave of cool air as he was carried outside. His body systems started to slow down a bit like most other cold-blooded animals exposed to the cold. He did not really enjoy being carried around, but then again, he did not really enjoy walking either.
As they moved towards their destination, Drake continued to go over his part of the plan in his head. Just act crazy, take them by surprise, and help with the vehicle. Just act crazy, take them by... <<We can do this,>> he said in an attempt to sound encouraging.
Nadia:
Nadia saw a smile drawn from Ray's face and looked down to the ground hiding her blushing cheeks. She wanted so bad to tell him mostly, that she was sorry and to catch up from where they left off last. A thousand words rushed through her head, but she couldn't find the words to first say to him. Then she decided she will write a letter to him when she had the chance so that way, she'd have time to plan out exactly what she wants to say. As Nadia looked up she saw Drake and Ray already going through the doors.
"Hey guys, wait up!" Nadia yelled to them.
Nadia began to run to catch up to them. As she went through the doors a cool wind blew over her face. Finally, she caught up to them and tried catching her breath. She walked along side of Ray and looked up at him slightly, and continued to look straight ahead. Her stomach began to twist and turn from her nervousness. Then Ray stopped and waited. This must have been the corner that they'd meet the van on. Nadia's breathing grew heavier as they awaited the van.
Ray:
"Alright" Ray announced after a couple moments of looking. "I'm going to go across the street and hide in an allyway overthere between those two buildings. Nadia, you take and go behind his building and morph and have Drake demorph. Cecily, you give Drake the gun when he comes out and we'll be good to go. If anyone at any time needs to bail just give the word and we all split."
Once Ray had thought that he'd covered everything he gave everyone a smile before jogging off across the street and into the night. Once he was across the street, he walked down the sidewalk until he got to the allyway between the buildings. He glanced around and saw no one, but ducked behind some trash cans just incase. They wouldn't keep him totally covered, but it was better than nothing. He focused on becoming a moose.
Drake:
Once they got behind the building, Drake tried to rush his demorphing process as much as possible. He did not know exactly when the vehicle would show up and he wanted to be prepared. <<This morph makes me queazy every time,>> he commented when he was halfway done.
Now standing barefoot behind a building in his morphing outfit, he took the gun into his hand. The metal was heavy in his hand. He tucked it into the back of his shorts and covered it with his shirt like he had seen people do on TV. An entirely new type of queasiness could now be felt in his gut.
Nadia:
Nadia ran across the street behind the building. She stared while watching Drake demorph and it gave her the chills. Nadia took a deep breath before it was her turn.She nodded to Drake and Cecily for reassurance that they were all set. Quickly,she started morphing into a Humming Bird.
This was it, all three of them stood there waiting for the vehicle. Each second felt like hours and Nadia become more nervous. She started to fly quickly back and forth as she waited. It was always so hard for her to wait when she was so anxious.
<<Ray, when the heck is it coming? I cant take this any longer!>>
Ray:
Ray was fully morphed and figured everyone was in place. As anxious as he was, he was able to contain himself fairly well for what was about to go down. He standing right alongside a building in an allyway trying to look as inconspicuous as could be. He remembered the last time he'd done an ambush with this morph. It actually worked quite well.
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<<Ah, it won't be that bad Fin. I'll get shot a couple of times maybe. Maybe if you act like a hardass good enough they'll think your her pimp and leave her alone haha.>> He waited as the police cruisers pulled up. Ray felt complete adrenaline rushing through him. Fin and the girl were visable. It was crazy. The first one crept up the street at Fin and two officers stepped out. "PUT THE GIRL DOWN! She's in extreme danger! Put her down or we'll have to place you under arrest too!"
The whole time they were speaking they were walking towards the pair with their hands on their guns, but they wern't yet drawn. At the end of the phrase they got extremely close to Ray even though they still didn't notice him. <<Here goes nothing>> he said to Fin in private. <<GTA MOTHER FUCKAS!!>> He lunged out got in a couple good strides that brought his speed and momentum up very high before SLAMING into the first officer at full force and sent him flying. His body smacking abruptly on the sidewalk. The second officer saw this and tried running back to his car but Ray got to him before he could go too far and flung him up into the air. This cop landed hard on the pavement. <<Go! The second one is nearly here!>>
_____________________________________________________________________
Nadia's thoughtspeak burst him out of his recollection and back into reality. He had to focus. <<I know it's hard, but we've got to remain focused if we hope to pull this off.>> Ray called back to Nadia. <<Just be ready to fly inside when those back doors get clear of yeerk hostiles. I think I hear them coming. Good luck.>>
Ray's suspicion was correct, however there was an SUV infront of the van. He cursed himself when he saw it. Cecily was standing out in the middle of the road like the planned called for, but now there were too many factors that the group hadn't planned on. The convoy was also driving quite a bit faster than he'd expected. Too fast.
<<CECILY! MOVE!>> Ray called, but it was too late. The SUV saw the girl at the last moment and swerved fishtailing and crashing into a building nearby. The van was able to stop quickly enough, but the wreckage kept it contained and blocked from going any further down the road. Quickly glancing around, he noticed everyone seemed fine although probably shaken up. <<Stick to it if you can!>> he called to them as he got ready to do his part.
Sedra:
Sedra149 fingered the dracon beam at her hilt, watching the city flash by her window. She knew Catherine was there, watching as well. Could feel her yearning to control her own movements, if only to just lean her head against the window for one moment. Sedra turned her head away, fingers curling around the dracon beam at her side. This body was no longer Catherine's, it was hers.
<<You're just a slug. A dirty, slimy slug.>> Catherine hissed.
<<And you're just a tiny voice in the back of my head, human.>> Sedra sneered back. She paused for Catherine's retort, giving in to the urge to fight with Catherine. Instead, she only felt heated animosity, buried beneath a stiff silence. Irritated, Sedra focused herself back on the car ride. She glanced at the driver in the seat in front of her, then at the road ahead. Calmly, Sedra leaned forward and smacked the back of Esto569's head.
"Go faster." She snapped. Esto turned his head slightly sideways, nervously looking at her. She lifted her eyebrows in annoyance. "I want to make it back sometime today."
Esto569 murmured under his breath, easing his foot harder against the gas pedal. As he turned his head, he suddenly caught sight of the girl in the middle of the road. He gasped loudly and slammed his foot hard against the brake, frantically twisting the steering wheel in an attempt to swerve around her.
For a moment there was only the sound of skidding tires as the car fish-tailed towards a nearby building. Sedra's eyes widened, and she clutched at the arm of her seat with a racing heart and white knuckles. The moment passed and the car slammed against the building. There was a sickening sound of crunching metal and glass, and everybody in the car lurched forward violently. Distantly, Sedra could hear the sound of screeching van tires. Then her forehead smashed against the seat in front of her, and the world took a violent, starry spin. Her vision went black.
It seemed like forever until Sedra regained consciousness. At first, she could only hear the slow beating of Catherine's heart in her ears. Her head was bowed forward against the seat in front, dark curls hanging like a shroud across both her cheeks. A groan left her lips, and she pressed her hand against something hard in front of her.
"Wha...?" She could hear soft moaning around her and an insanely annoying dripping sound. Blinking hard, she lifted her head and grunted in pain. "Ahh... Shit..." Her head was pounding furiously, and a sharp pain shot up her neck each time she moved. The groaning was coming from in front of her, and she lifted her head enough to see the backside of Esto569's head. The car was crushed in the front almost completely, and the Hork-Bajir that had been sitting next to Esto had cut himself open and was already dead. The Hork-Bajir that had been beside her looked unconscious or dead. Sedra didn't particularly care which.
Sedra fumbled around near her waist, searching for her dracon beam. She could feel it pressed against one side of the crushed car. She pulled herself forward, wiggling the dracon beam out of its hilt until it slid neatly into the palm of her bloodied hand. Black stars roamed across her vision as she tried to sit upright, wrapping her hand around the weapon and lifting it slowly.
"Unh..." Esto mumbled, his head rolling against the wheel. Seething, Sedra pressed the muzzle against Esto's head and attempted to pull the trigger. A jolt of pain ran through her wrist, but she ignored it and tightened until the trigger pulled and the dracon beam went off. His body jumped, then slumped over.
"Useless fool," She snarled, using her free hand to wipe a trail of blood from the corner of her lips. She could feel waves of nausea in the pit of her stomach, and realized the feeling came from Catherine's sudden horror. Pushing down the feeling, Sedra twisted herself from her seat belt and tossed the dracon beam outside the window. She placed her hands against the shattered window next to her, ignoring the glass that bit into her palms as she leaned her weight forward.
<<How could you...?>>
Sedra pulled herself up, her stomach resting against the empty space where the window had been. She wormed her way forward and gasped the fresh air outside. Her body tilted forward and slid with a thump out of the crushed SUV. She let out a surprise cry of pain, and clutched at her shoulder in pain. When she drew back her hand, dark blood trickled down her fingers. Cursing, she pressed her hand against her arm again and grabbed the dracon beam off the ground. Everywhere around her was littered with glass and metal, and when she moved it crunched beneath her.
Overhead a streetlight buzzed, flickering off and on. Looming over her was the young Hork-Bajir captain from the van, his shadowed alien face twisted in fright. The four Hork-Bajir had piled out of the back of the van, their heads swiveling back and forth as they warily searched the darkness. "Sub-Visser? Are you alright?"
Sedra glared up at him, a trail of blood dripping down her head. "Do I look alright, captain?"
Drake:
Drake stood for a moment, a moment he could not afford, and soaked in the situation. Cecily had barely managed to avoid being hit by a speeding SUV, which was now crashed into a building. Tssseww. A dracon beam flashed from inside the SUV. He shook off his apprehension and was about to go out and do his part of this heist.
But then the back door of the van opened up and some hork-bajir got out. Drakes heart started to pound like a jackhammer. Actual hor-bajir! As the scary creatures went to help out whoever was in the SUV, Drake swallowed his fear and snuck up behind the van with the gun in his hand. He would try to take the driver by surprise.
This was not exactly how they had planned this situation, but the circumstances were not exactly how they had planned them either. He could see the driver through the mirror on the door watching the crash. Just as he was reaching for the door handle, it opened. "Freeze!" he said to the controller who was going to go help with the situation that was taking place up ahead. The gun was shaking as he pointed it at the startled driver.
Ray:
Ray stared in awe at what had happened. Everything was moving except for him Cecily appeared fine albeit shaken up and Drake was already proceeding. What the hell was keeping Ray so frozen? The Hork-Bajir had already exited the van and were looking around at the crash. Go! he yelled at himself
He made his great strides getting up to speed, the hork-bajir in plain sight under the remaining street lights. He hoped he could hold them all off. The suprise ambush would only work for one of them. He had to make it count. As he barreled out of the allyway and into plain sight, Ray lowered his head. This was not going to feel pleseant for either party.
WHAM! He hit the first hork-bajir in the mid-section, hearing a nasty crunching sound and sent it flying backwards and slamming into a brick building wall. Blood seeped out and Ray had wondered if he'd actually impaled the hork-bajir, but stinging near his neck told him otherwise. He'd been cut when charging the hork-bajir.
The other three yelled in their native tounges and ran toward him. It really didn't look good. Ray thought he saw a fourth one a ways back, but it was more interested in the van. He charged at a second one, but it managed to avoid him just in time and managing to cut him, leaving a sizeable gash in his flank. Ray hit the breaks instantly and reared around to deliver a powerul full-force kick on the targeted hork-bajir which hit him directly in the chest knocking it out of the fight and quite possibly it's bones..
Two down and... TSSEEW! Dracon fire...It was a wild shot though. He prayed everyone was doing fine and everything else was being taken care of.
Nadia:
Nadia's eyes widened when the SUV almost hit Cecily, and crashed into the building. Drake ran past her, but she couldn't get herself to speak. Nadia was scared and hovered there watching everything that was going on. Suddenly, Ray was fighting one of the Controllers. Then she saw another one shooting at him. Nadia's anger started to build as she watched.Nadia then had a plan.She flew over from behind the Controller shooting. Her speed intensified with her anger.
Nadia aimed her sharp spikes at the end of her long bill straight at the upper neck and lower head area of the Controller. Using all her strength and speed she stabbed the Controller in the back of the head. She then moved backwards quickly and did it again. She repeated this motion all over the Controllers body as it moved trying to get away. She sees it started to bleed from the stabbing. She always knew it was a good idea to sharpen those bad boys on her bill the night before. Nadia looked up to find Ray and if he is okay, but her view wasn't good enough. She then went back to stabbing forcefully.
Sedra:
"Apologizes Sub-Visser..." The Hork-Bajir captain glanced at the wrecked SUV--it looked like a giant squashed bug. Suddenly there was the sound of screaming as one of the Hork-Bajir was rammed by an animal. The captain and Sedra both turned their heads to take in the sudden appearance of a moose.
<<...A moose?>> Sedra, shocked, couldn't at first register what was happening. Why would a moose be walking around Las Vegas? Besides that, who ever heard of moose roaming around the desert? She searched Catherine's memory frantically for any sort of explanation for this bizarre occurrence. Catherine didn't seem to understand either. Suddenly it hit her.
<<Animorphs!>> She reached forward and grabbed the dracon beam nearby and lifted it with her good hand.
"Kill it!" She screamed, her face twisted angrily. "Kill the creature! It's an Animorph! Kill it!" She was trying to aim, but her head swam from the accident. "Shit." She motioned for the Hork-Bajir captain to help her up, and he carefully pulled her to a sitting position. "Go, you fool!" She smacked him, "Go! Kill it!"
As two Hork-Bajir fell, the captain hesitated. "Do you need protect--"
"GO!" She aimed the dracon beam, trying to shoot the rampaging moose. The Hork Bajir captain was bounding towards the fight. <<Stop!!>> With a sudden force, Catherine seized control of her own hand and twisted it as Sedra pulled the trigger. TSSEEW! The shot flew wildly, hitting the ground in front of the fight. Asphalt sprayed from the impact, and Sedra yelled in frustration. Sharp pain shot up from her back, and she let out a pained huff of air. The crash had given her whiplash, restricting her movements.
Placing her bad hand firmly against the ground to steady herself, Sedra clamped down control on Catherine. She raised the dracon beam again, using all her concentration to steady her aim this time. Just as she was ready to aim, something jabbed painfully at her neck. In surprise her finger pulled the trigger and the dracon beam fired towards the group. TSEEW! ((It'll hit the captain, and anybody else who wants to be hit lol)).
She couldn't see where the shot went as her vision spun from the pain. Angrily, she dropped the dracon beam and, with fingers splayed, smacked at what was attacking her neck. Her palm connected with something small and feathery, and the impact knocked the thing from the air and to the ground. She snatched the bird up quickly, her bloodied fingers curling tightly around the bird's warm form. She kept Nadia far enough away so that the beak couldn't do any more damage, and stared intensely at the creature.
"What do we have here, hm? An Animorph?" The usual calm tone of Catherine's voice was full of Sedra's wild hatred. Her lips curled in a malicious smile, revealing pearly white teeth. "Come on little birdy, wake up." She squeezed her fingers tight around the bird. In the back of her mind, Catherine was screaming for her to stop.
Drake:
A stray shot from a dracon beam suddenly grazed Drake's left shoulder. A sudden surge of intense pain rushed through his body, causing him to clench-up involuntarily. The gun in hand hands went off. The controller in front of him went down. Drake's thoughts went blank.
Drake dropped the gun and started to back up. He started around the back of the truck, but stopped and went back. His brain was not working straight. A screaming hork-bajir finally snapped his thoughts back to reality and he pushed the thought of what he had just done to the back of his mind. He could dwell on it later, when their lives were not on the line.
Drake got into the driver's seat and honked the horn to signal to Cecily. He decided he would drive so Cecily would not see what he had done when she would have gotten into the driver's seat. The engine was still running, so he leaned over and opened the passenger door so she could get in.
Nadia:
Nadia felt the controllers tight gripped hand wrapped around her small body.She struggled to get free from the tight grasp but failed. Suddenly, lack of air was getting into her lungs and it was harder to breathe. Nadia heard the controllers voice talking but her vision became blurry and everything spun in circles.
<<Ray ,Help! One of them has got me and I cant breathe very well.>>
Nadia tried one last time to use her sharp spikes to stab the controllers hand and loosen its grip. She tilted her head back and slammed it into the hand. The spikes dug into the Yeerks hand deeply and Nadia could feel that the grip loosened and blood gushed.She then pulled back hard on her beak and removed it. Nadia then tried to pry her way out of the strong hand wrapped around her using her beak around the edges of the fingers.Oxygen started to fill her lungs more and she could breathe again.She took a deep breath and still continued to pry away at the hand.
<< Never mind Ray, I think I got it under control over here. Don't worry about me.>>
Ray:
<<Just get the heck out of here!>> Ray yelled over to Nadia to whom he was grateful for possibly just saving his life, but the mission was still incomplete. As he saw the van beginning to move he called over to Drake as a reminder. <<Around the block!>>
Nadia had yet to enter the van, but he figured she could go in on the second pass. The squad of hork-bajir had been taken out and Ray was bleeding profusely. One of the hork-bajir had even been shot with a stray dracon shot and laid dead on the ground. The scene was absolute carnage and he'd wondered if anyone had called back yet.
Ray ran past the only controller still conscious with whom Nadia had just gotten away from. He demorphed behind the wreckage and once he was done, came up behind the controller, and grabbed her wrists attempting to free Nadia from the controller. After some prying, he found a lone Dracon laying on the ground and picked it up and put it to the controllers head. "Drop the bird." Ray ordered nearly out of breath. Looking up, he could see the van disappear around a Vegas street corner.
Ray had been in the ballroom a half an hour and was definintely feeling the effects of constant morphing. It was the third night in a row he'd been down here to train. Since he couldn't patrol like he could in Vancouver, he had to do something with his nights. He'd morph all of his morphs a couple times, mainly focusing on the crow and moose morphs since he'd need to fight or fly in a hurry.At the very end of his training regiments he'd push it to the limit and try to chain together morphs. Tonight he was taking it a little easier than usual because of the grueling pace the last two nights were set at.
Ray preferred to do his morphing at night because he could be alone and concentrate that much harder on it. Tonight, Ray even bought some weights and put them in the ballroom for everyone to use. Days got boring because lets face it, day-time Vegas is about as dry as day-time TV. Ray figured this would give people something to do and since they were soldiers in a war, they'd probably need to be training anyway. Nearly done with his morphing exercises, which seemed to be getting easier as he could morph more without getting tired, he figured that he was still too tired to use the weights tonight.
As he was morphing, Ray marveled at how the lack of television and computers could turn you into someone who actually did something with themselves. Back before the war, not that he was fat or anything, Ray really was unfit. Unfit in the sense of he wasn't very strong or very active.
Ray had started earlier tonight than usual so he wouldn't be suprised at all if the Den was still kind of busy...
Drake:
Drake walked through the doors of the ballroom, eating the last few bites of an ice-cream cone, and noticed that Ray was doing something here. "What are you up to?" he asked out of curiosity. Drake was not a very socially motivated person, so usually interacted very little with the other group members. However, tonight Drake was in an unusually talkative mood.
Drake was most likely in a talkative mood because earlier that day he had gotten a new morph and was dying to tell someone. He had been at his job cleaning pools and was on his last pool of the day at some rich person's house. As he was scooping stray objects out of their pool, he noticed a scummy little pond over in the corner of their yard. He went to see what it was and found out it was a neglected koi pond, but the hardy fish were still there despite the neglect that their pool received. Since nobody else was around, Drake caught one of the fish in his pool cleaning net (not an easy task) and acquired it. Now he could not wait to try it out.
Ray:
Ray saw Drake enter the room with some ice cream and figured it was time to take a break. He finished up the current morph he was on, his dog morph, and sat down. <<Ah, just training since I don't have a patrol route anymore.>> Ray replied nonchalantly <<Back in Vancouver, we used to patrol the woods to make sure no one was sneaking up on us. Now, I'm trying to be productive in trying to better myself. I figure that sometime someone's life may depend on me being able to morph quickly, or I might have to morph a lot in one day. I need to be ready...We all should be.>>
Ray thought about his logic and it made perfect sense. Soldiers in any war were always training. They trained vigorously and regularly and were always looking for areas to improve in. Why should these soldiers be any different? He was suprised that the two previous factions he'd seen didn't have regular training programs.
Training wasn't any fun, but he had to admit that he could do more morphs tonight without getting tired than he could a month ago. The body could get accustomed to morphing and could do it better with enough practice.
<<So, how about you Drake?>> Ray asked back. He liked to be friends with everyone which included talking to everyone regularly. He spotted that Drake, a normally quiet guy, was willing to chat and Ray wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.
Luce:
Luce walked into the Den looking for Rian. She had some exciting news, or at least she was excited.
She had sworn that she had seen a shipment of dracon grenades on their way out of town. Dracon grenades were much like hand grenades except that when they explodes they created a sphere of dracon energy with approximately 6ft diameter. Luce loved the things. Well, when they weren't being used against her of course.
She had seen them in action a couple of time in New York and they were brilliant. But in New York weapons shipments were always much more guarded than this truck had been, probably because New York was the yeerk planetary headquarters and this was a yeerk vacation spot if that.
She walked into the ballroom and saw an animal she believed to be one of Ray's morphs and the new kid Drake. In a voice that sounded like a kid on christmas, which was extremely unusual for her Luce asked, "have you guys seen Rian?"
Drake:
Drake thought about what Ray had said. About bettering yourself so that you would be more well prepared in extreme situations. This training program sounded like a lot of work, but Ray was being friendly about it and Drake still wanted to try his new morph. He decided to give it a try.
Drake was about to reply to Ray, but Luce walked in at that moment asking where Rian was. “I have not seen him all day. Why what’s up?” Drake hoped nobody was in trouble. Training with Ray may have to wait for another time.
Ray:
What the hell? Luce never got excited. Either there was a gang war going on outside or they just got a shipment of weapons because Luce was actually riled up. <<I havn't seen him at all. I just got in a little bit ago and havn't been around the hotel at all so I have no idea.>> Ray's dog morph perked up and mirrored the way Luce felt. When people get excited, dogs get twice as excited. The dog could feel the intensity in the air and was ready to go jump right into the middle of what ever was going on.
Ray gave in to the dog as he stood up and padded over to Luce. <<Rian, if you're around here, we need you in the ballroom.>> Ray called to Rian in private. <<Better make it quick because believe it or not, Luce is excited.>>
<<I sent Rian a message.>> Ray said to Luce <<If he's around he'll be here shortly. If not, I can help you look for him>> Whatever it was, it surely was big, violent, or both.
Rian:
Luce is excited? Luce never gets excited. Rian got up from his desk where he had been reviewing some maps of the surrounding area of Las Vegas. He was wondering if there was anywhere close by that would work as a back up head quarters for the faction if they ever had to bail in a hurry but he was coming up blank. Maybe he should have someone check it out later.
Rian padded down stairs and walked into the ballroom to find Drake, Ray and Luce. Luce actually did look excited. He gave her an inquiring look. "What's up?"
Luce:
Luce smiled. If anyone had seen Alice and Wonderland as a kid they would have made comparisons between her smile and that of the Cheshire Cat.
"Rian. I think I saw a shipment of dracon grenades being shipped out to the desert. Same direction as that lab we freed those women from. Dracon grenades Rian, dracon grenades," she repeated as if the name itself made her happy when really it was the thought of what they did. "I can give you a whole rundown on how they work but later. If we move quickly we can intercept the transport and steal them." She paused and then, just because she couldn't help it, "Dracon grenades Rian, dracon grenades."
Drake:
Dracon grenades? What the heck are dracon grenades? Drake thought to himself. Well whatever they were, it sounded as if they were something the yeerks would not want to lose. "Hey Ray, it looks like we may be doing some 'training' after all."
Then to everyone he asked, "So what is the plan? Do we just go out into the desert and tell them to hand 'em over?" Drake assumed they had a better plan than that, but with Luce you could never be too sure.
Ray:
The whole ordeal had Ray ready to spring. They had yet to launch a major offensive and he was ready to act. The excitement of the dog's mind didn't help him stay calm either. Ray got up and paced because the dog brain told him to and he looked ready to play. The whole thing sounded like a train robbery like in an old western movie. Run your plan, get the loot, and ditch the train. Ray liked the sound of this and was getting to feel about how Luce felt, which was odd. Normally he'd be perfectly calm, even though he could feel the adrenaline running. He figured it was the morph that was making him more ancy than usual.
Before Ray could ask, Drake did it for him bringing up the planning on the robbery. Yes, this right here was the most important part. It wasn't the actual doing, but making sure they had all their bases covered and had a plan to work with. <<Whatever we do we need to be quick, silent, and efficient. They'll call for backup quickly enough. It isn't a time for brute force. Luce, what was it being transported in and how many protectors did it have?>>
Rian:
Before Rian could decide what questions he wanted to ask first Ray jumped in with some questions of his own and the questions were smart. Rian looked at the dog and then at Drake. This might be a good opportunity to test out Ray's skills as a leader. Ember had gotten to call a lot of the shots on the Old Town mission, mostly because she was on the inside, so now it would be Ray's turn.
Rian thought quickly about who he could send on this and then looked at the dog. "Ray, you're on this. Take Drake, Diana and Cecily. If you can get those weapons then do so, but your lives are the most important ones, so don't risk too much." This was just small enough that Rian felt safe sending in a smaller group instead of the whole faction.
He looked at Luce, slightly taken aback by her enthusiasm. "Can you tell Ray everything he needs to know about this transport and the bombs inside it? Then meet me upstairs. I have another job for you." He smiled, almost laughing. "Sorry you won't get to steal the dracon grenades."
Ray:
Ray listened to a heartbroken Luce explain the situation. The whole scene would have been comical, but he would have liked for her to go just for her expertise. The truck turned out to be a lightly guarded armored van with the weaponry in the back. There were probably hork-bajir in the back which he'd plan on being there. If they wern't, that was good too, but it was always good to be prepared. The van was by itself so this shouldn't be too hard given the plans worked out well.
<<Diana and Cecily>> Ray said calling for them. <<If you can hear this we need you down in the ballroom. You're going to need your morphing suits on.>> Ray had begun thinking about a plan the time Luce spilled the beans about it and was eager to share what he had with the group when they arrived.
Sedra:
The sun was just beginning to fall behind the mountains, casting a gentle orange glow over the Las Vegas landscape. On the edge of town, a large black SUV came to a stop in front of the armored van, and the young Hork-Bajir captain shifted nervously. A door opened, and out stepped a slender woman dressed in a dark suit and pants. Her dark brown hair was tied back into a bun, and perched on her face were large sunglasses. Two more Hork-Bajir and a human emerged from the SUV, coming to stand behind her.
"Sub-Visser," The captain nodded his head to Sedra149, then glanced to the Hork-Bajir behind her. Her gaze shifted over to the armored van briefly, then rested back on the Hork-Bajir. He looks so inexperienced.
"This is it?" She snapped, walking forward to examine the van. The captain swiveled his head to watch her.
"Yes, Sub-Visser."
Sedra149 closed her eyes briefly, gritting her teeth. This was all they had sent? A large shipment of dracon grenades, and they had stuck it with a couple Hork-Bajir and a van. Useless, useless. She pulled her sunglasses from her face, irritation bubbling beneath her stark blue eyes. "Open it."
The captain scrambled forward to open the back of the armored van, stepping back to let the Sub-Visser take a look. Inside, boxes and boxes of dracon grenades were stacked. Stamped out in large, red letters on each box were the words EXTREME CAUTION. Sedra149 reached forward to touch one of the boxes, a fleeting smile touching her lips. She was excited to receive this shipment, even if the higher-ups had only sent a few Hork-Bajir to help guard it.
"Alright. Don't lose us, or the shipment," Her voice held a dangerous tone of warning. Four of the captain's Hork-Bajir jumped into the back on the van, and the captain slammed the doors close. Sedra149 opened the door to her SUV and climbed in. Overhead, the sky was darkening quickly and a few solitary stars were glittering.
Sedra149 buckled her seatbelt in, running her hand to the holster at her side where her dracon beam was. The higher-ups seemed completely unworried about this shipment of grenades. Enough to send a young Hork-Bajir captain and a few guards along with the armored van. Sedra149 glanced at her own Hork-Bajir guards, who had piled into the SUV. The human, a low-ranking Yeerk named Esto569, was sitting at the driver's seat, starting up the car.
<<You're nervous.>> Catherine snickered. Her host had been silent until now. <<You're not important enough to them, so they send a child to help you.>> Sedra149's jaw twitched, but she didn't speak back to her host. Catherine knew how to poke and prode at Sedra149 to irritate her.
"Let's go," She ordered. The SUV jumped alive, and jerked out onto the highway. The armored van swerved to pull in line behind them. They were speeding towards Area 51.
Drake:
“I suppose if we are going to catch this armored van, I will have to hitch a ride with one of you guys.” Drake was regretting not having a morph that could travel well. Not for the first time, either. Well at least his moth morph would let two of them be in the same place at the same time.
“If we fly, do you think we should have Diana lead the way in the dark? Her owl morph is probably best suited for night travel. But then again, we are in Las Vegas, so it’s not like it is really too dark anyway.” Drake was beginning to feel the familiar sensation of butterflies welling up in his stomach. They were going to rob an armored van and he had no idea how they would accomplish something like that. The night was just starting, but Drake could already tell it was going to be a long one.
Ray:
Ray pondered what Drake had said. He brought up a good point about Diana having a good night morph and that would make her the eyes in the sky. Now it was down to what to do with Drake and Cecily. What they needed was to get the van deep into the desert and lose whatever attention they would pick up which, he prayed, would be minimal.
Ray figured he could fight whatever resistance the van would have with his Moose morph once they had the van stopped. The only problem they had was that the yeerks would call for backup. Ray quit thinking like a tactician and more like a terrorist at this moment. Hostages... <<Drake, I need to know two things. This first one is simple the second one...not so much, but here goes: Do you know how to use a gun or know how to drive a vehicle?>>
Drake:
Drake blinked his eyes absently at the dog’s face. Did he just mention a gun? Drake had never held a gun in his life. “I don’t know anything about guns, but I do have my driver’s license. I never owned my own car though, so I might be rusty.” Drake hoped Ray wasn’t disappointed that he was not handy with weapons.
Drake could guess at a couple of reasons why Ray wanted to know if Drake could drive. Either they would be hijacking a controller controlled armored van, or they would be obtaining a vehicle to chase it down. Neither option sounded very appealing to Drake, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Cecily:
Cecily had been trying to catch up on sleep. Or do something else productive; she wasn't quite sure what. Truthfully, Ray's thought-speak "page" was a welcome distraction. She slipped out of the sweatpants and t-shirt she was wearing to reveal her morphing suit underneath. She'd taken to wearing it all the time - just in case. She tossed her discarded clothes on her bed and proceeded to move to the ballroom at a quick pace.
"What's going on?" she asked as she entered. She looked around, taking stock of who was present, before coming to a halt to wait for an answer. Obviously something was going to go down tonight. She was a little nervous, the way she always got. She viewed that as a good thing. Once things got routine, then she should really start worrying.
Ray:
Ray sat in dog morph waiting on the others to arrive and left Drake in the dark. When Cecily entered he figured he would spill the beans on the plan he had so far. There was a few things he still needed to account for and he hoped desperatly that Diana would be around here somewhere because he'd need the eyes in the sky to cover most of those unaccounted for things.
<<Alright, to start off with this by all means is something we don't have to do.>> Ray started. <<But, theres a shipment of dracon grenades moving through town right now thats only lightly guarded and Luce figures we have the opportunity to take them. I'll be in charge on this one and hopefully my team will consist of you two plus Diana if she's here or not.>>
Ray didn't know how much of this would go as planned but he filled them in on what he had so far. <<The van is one that is armored and possibly guarded by hork-bajir in the back. Luce said theres only one person up front for sure though, so they must have some guards in the back. What we need to do is get this van to stop and take the guards out before they call for back up. I figure the only comunications line would be up front with the driver.>>
Ray then started in on who would be doing what. <<I'm going to need Diana watching for any other yeerks once we get this van isolated. Her owl morph will be perfect for this as Drake pointed out. Cecily, if you think you can use a gun, I'm going to need you to be a decoy. If not, Drake can be the decoy. Whomever will stand in the middle of the road acting insane. Once the driver checks to see whats going on, hold him hostage at gunpoint. Drake will have to drive this van into the desert and hide it. Either way, Drake will drive and Cecily, you will morph anything so that you can comunicate with Diana while you drive. If Drake can handle the gun, you can help with the cleanup in the back and just jump in when he's ready. I will take out whatever awaits in the back of the truck as they come to the aid of the driver. Diana follows you and guides you as I morph crow and catch back up. Any questions?>>
Drake:
"So let me get this straight. My job is to stop their vehicle by acting like a crazy person out in the street. Use a gun, that I do not know how to use, to hijack their armored van. Drive the van out into the desert and somehow make them lose my trail. And then we somehow make it back here to safety. Hmm."
Drake was about to exclaim how crazy that sounded, but then realized it really did not sound too hard once he thought about it. Plus, they could bail out at any time if something went wrong. "I got just one thing to say. That van better not be stick-shift."
Cecily:
"I can drive a stick," Cecily said, glad that that one skill had come in handy. Her mother preferred stick-shifts for some reason. "So I've got that covered if we need it." She was nervous, though. "But as far as the plan goes, what am I supposed to do while Drake is waving the gun around? Just make sure things don't go really bad?"
She didn't want to be the one with the gun. If Drake thought he could handle it, fine. Theoretically, guns in this day and age were basically point and shoot, but she knew there was a lot more behind it than that, and she didn't want to deal with it. It was strange that she drew the line at guns, but there it was.
Ray:
<<You'd be waiting to drive, or Drake can drive whomever.>> Ray replied. <<If you don't think you wil be needed to drive, you can help me fight in the back. While the truck is in motion from whoever is driving, the other person needs to be in morph so we can keep contact.>>
<<Back to your question Drake,>> Ray said turning his head to face Drake. <<we won't actually need to escape from anyone if this goes right. The main reason we're hijacking it in this sort of fashion is so that they can't call for back up. Nearly all of our bases are covered...>> He thought about the one that wasn't.
Ray waited another couple of moments. Diana must not have made it back to the hotel yet and they needed a third person. Who else could be here? Nadia... he thought. She was probably up in her room too. Possibly asleep. They had talked a lot in private, but she hadn't really been active too much. Ray figured she was probably wore out by being captured and having to go through that hellish experience in the holding cell.
<<Nadia.>> Ray called to her. << If you're around or awake, you're needed in the ballroom. Morphing clothes are needed.>>
Drake:
Nadia? Drake still did not know very much about her. She was new to the den and had not had a lot of time to get acquainted with everyone. He hoped that she had enough experience so that she would not be a hinderance to their mission.
Wait. What was he thinking? Drake had only been on one dangerous mission so far. He would be just as likely, if not more so, to mess up this assignment. Drake was getting nervous again, but figured more people would likely be better than less. He had to trust that Ray knew what he was doing.
Cecily:
Cecily nodded. "Okay. I think I get what's going on." She glanced at Drake. "It probably makes more sense for you to drive, if you're going to be the one with the gun, since then you won't have to be in and out of morphs all the time. Sound okay?" She was treading much more lightly than she normally would have because she still wasn't sure how people would react.
Probably she should see what Ray thought of the whole thing. "That good, Mr. Bird?" she asked. It sounded like most of the plan would be played by ear, but she figured she should check, just to make sure Ray was all right with things. There was also the question of what he wanted to do with Nadia, but Cecily decided she'd find out about that when Nadia did.
Nadia:
Nadia opened her eyes and saw she was in a new place yet again. She sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes to wake up more. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Nadia looked around the room. She began to stand up and walk around looking at all the unique objects in the bedroom. To the left, she saw a closet and began to walk toward it. Putting her hand on the handle, she hoped for a nice wardrobe. As the closet door opened, she looked in to find a few shirts,pants, and this tight spandex suit. Nadia looked at it with and odd looking face wondering who would wear such a thing. Suddenly, Nadia heard a males voice calling for her and telling her to come to the ballroom with her morphing clothes. Nadia assumed the hideous spandex suit was what she needed to wear.
Looking at herself in the mirror she started to adore the nice tight feel around her nice curves. She felt like she was ready to do anything in this outfit. While still looking in the mirror, Nadia slipped out her emergency eyeliner she kept in her pocket and began to apply it to her eyes.
"There we go! Now I don't look like such a ghost." Nadia said as she took one last glance at herself in the mirror.
Nadia opened the door slowly and peaked her head out the side slowly as she looked around. Noticing that no one was there, she opened the door all the way and walked down the hallway. She came to a staircase and figured she was going the right way, and gracefully walked down them. when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw a group of people in the ballroom. Nadia put her fist up to her mouth and coughed so someone would notice her. The people turned and stared at her.
"I'm here! Sorry if I'm late, I had to put my face on." Nadia giggled slightly with a huge smile feeling sort of awkward and out of place.
Ray:
Ray tilted his head to one side when Nadia came in. He figured it looked funny because it was the dog's expression for cluelessness, but no one really said anything to acknowledge that he did it so he figured he'd get back to business. <<Hey Nadia>> he said in public thoughtspeak greeting her. <<Here's the rundown. Luce has spotted a truck full of dracon grenades being shipped across town. Rian figures we could successfully ambush this.>>
<<The plan we have so far is as follows, being slightly modified to include you.>> Ray began. <<Drake will play the crazed guy as he gets the driver's attention for them to stop. When they do stop, Drake will take over with the gun. Once the driver is taken hostage, the guys in back will jump out. I'll deal with them. Drake will take the driver hostage and keep track of him. Since we have one other person for communications, Cecily will drive since Drake's primary focus is the hostage. You will jump in the back as an animal of your choice as i fight off whatever protection there is, and you will relay messages for them. I'll catch back up as a crow as Cecily drives the load once around the block and then out into the desert. This is completely optional and any of us can back out at anytime if we feel we can't do it. Everyone got all that?>>
Drake:
"Yup. I think I got it. I suppose I should morph a moth then so someone can bring me along for the ride? Don't look if you do not want to be grossed out." Drake stripped down to his morphing outfit and began his transformation.
Drake was starting to feel pretty good about their odds at completing this. There was just one detail he could not quite figure out. <<Where are we getting the gun?>>
Cecily:
As Nadia came in, Cecily smiled at her. The other girl's statement about "putting on her face" amused her a bit, but she didn't comment. Important Yeerk-fighting things were going on, not to mention the alien weapon-stealing things.
Which brought her back to the now re-made plan. She went through it again in her head, to make sure she didn't screw up. If someone got killed because she fumbled... Well, she didn't want to go down that path. And, basically, she got to drive, which was fine with her. Once around the block, she thought, with that extra kick she gave to important math formulas.
She nearly watched Drake's morph, but her stomach managed to kick in and trick her head into looking the other way. She had to agree with his question, though. "Do we keep guns around here?"
Ray:
As Drake morphed, Ray figured it would be a good idea to morph into his human form once more. Although he had started later than Drake, he finished at about the same time. As he morphed he thought about how he'd have to hustle out on the field to meet the truck as it came back around. He'd have to cut his morphing time some. Silently Ray hoped the training would pay off.
Once he was fully morphed, Ray got around to replying to their inquiries about a gun. "I personally don't keep guns, but Luce does." He grinned big after this statement and left the room momentarily bringing back a nine-millimeter pistol. He slapped the clip in, cocked it, and hit the safety.
"I nicked it off of Luce, but I don't think she'll mind seeing as how we'll be returning with the pistol and hopefully some more firepower." Ray said as he handed the gun, butt first, to Cecily. He pointed to the safety switch as he did so. "Just act like you're more of a psycho than they are and you should have no problems."
Drake:
Drake landed on the butt of the gun and observed where the safety switch was. Even as a moth he was nervous around a loaded gun. <<Let's just hope I do not have to use it when the time comes.>> However, Drake thought he may be a bit too optimistic.
<<So girls, do you mind if I call you girls?>> he was thinking back to the time Luce exploded at him for saying that. <<Are you ready to hijack some weapons?>> Drake had to admit that he was getting anxious to see what this team was made of.
Nadia:
Nadia rushed to the group and tried to listen carefully to the instructions given by Ray. She knew that she was a key part in this. That scared the living hell out of her. This was a good time to prove herself and she would give it her all to show her determination. She saw Ray morph from being a dog back into his human form. Nadia's heart began to sink and goose bumps formed on her arms. It was like she fell in love all over again. Just seeing his face brought back old good memories between them, but she had to focus. She shook her head and pulled herself back together. Nadia heard Ray say she can morph into any animal of her choice. This made her daze off again and think for a bit on which to choose to help prove her ability to the group. Then Nadia heard the word of guns being involved and her attention focused back on Ray.
"Guns?! I hope to God I'm not using one, let alone carry one." Nadia said with a trembling voice.
Guns were Nadia's worst fear and she hated them more than anything. She always believed in mostly non-violence when it came to taking care of things. Harmony and peace were always important to her in where it was needed. This time was different though, she and the rest of the group were dealing with horrible evil controllers.Nadia began to rethink her values on peace and harmony, but this was war. If using a gun was the only way to protect her and the team she was up for it.
"Actually, let me see that! It's not so bad after all. I hope I get to have one of these bad boys." Nadia said with a smile and a little wink at Ray.
Ray:
Ray smiled back at Nadia wanting to say something to her, but now was far from an opportune time to talk about things that, between them, needed talked about. "We'll have to foot it there for the most part since the gun won't morph with us." Ray said scooping up Drake. "As we move though it'll be good if you just stay in morph Drake incase something unexpected happens and we need someone to get away. From Luce's intel, the van should be here down the road from here within a few minutes so we better get a move on."
Ray pushed open the door as the others followed out into the night. They wouldn't attract too much attention anyway since no one was really out. The way they acted as a group would probably look as if it was controller business either way and he'd play it off as such if something were to occur.
The air was a lot cooler tonight than usual with fall beginning to set in and the scorching desert heat finally beginning to cool with the absence of the sun. The elements didn't phase Ray however due to the adrenaline rush he was getting as he was mentally and physically trying to prepare himself for the action that was about to unfold....
Drake:
Drake felt a wave of cool air as he was carried outside. His body systems started to slow down a bit like most other cold-blooded animals exposed to the cold. He did not really enjoy being carried around, but then again, he did not really enjoy walking either.
As they moved towards their destination, Drake continued to go over his part of the plan in his head. Just act crazy, take them by surprise, and help with the vehicle. Just act crazy, take them by... <<We can do this,>> he said in an attempt to sound encouraging.
Nadia:
Nadia saw a smile drawn from Ray's face and looked down to the ground hiding her blushing cheeks. She wanted so bad to tell him mostly, that she was sorry and to catch up from where they left off last. A thousand words rushed through her head, but she couldn't find the words to first say to him. Then she decided she will write a letter to him when she had the chance so that way, she'd have time to plan out exactly what she wants to say. As Nadia looked up she saw Drake and Ray already going through the doors.
"Hey guys, wait up!" Nadia yelled to them.
Nadia began to run to catch up to them. As she went through the doors a cool wind blew over her face. Finally, she caught up to them and tried catching her breath. She walked along side of Ray and looked up at him slightly, and continued to look straight ahead. Her stomach began to twist and turn from her nervousness. Then Ray stopped and waited. This must have been the corner that they'd meet the van on. Nadia's breathing grew heavier as they awaited the van.
Ray:
"Alright" Ray announced after a couple moments of looking. "I'm going to go across the street and hide in an allyway overthere between those two buildings. Nadia, you take and go behind his building and morph and have Drake demorph. Cecily, you give Drake the gun when he comes out and we'll be good to go. If anyone at any time needs to bail just give the word and we all split."
Once Ray had thought that he'd covered everything he gave everyone a smile before jogging off across the street and into the night. Once he was across the street, he walked down the sidewalk until he got to the allyway between the buildings. He glanced around and saw no one, but ducked behind some trash cans just incase. They wouldn't keep him totally covered, but it was better than nothing. He focused on becoming a moose.
Drake:
Once they got behind the building, Drake tried to rush his demorphing process as much as possible. He did not know exactly when the vehicle would show up and he wanted to be prepared. <<This morph makes me queazy every time,>> he commented when he was halfway done.
Now standing barefoot behind a building in his morphing outfit, he took the gun into his hand. The metal was heavy in his hand. He tucked it into the back of his shorts and covered it with his shirt like he had seen people do on TV. An entirely new type of queasiness could now be felt in his gut.
Nadia:
Nadia ran across the street behind the building. She stared while watching Drake demorph and it gave her the chills. Nadia took a deep breath before it was her turn.She nodded to Drake and Cecily for reassurance that they were all set. Quickly,she started morphing into a Humming Bird.
This was it, all three of them stood there waiting for the vehicle. Each second felt like hours and Nadia become more nervous. She started to fly quickly back and forth as she waited. It was always so hard for her to wait when she was so anxious.
<<Ray, when the heck is it coming? I cant take this any longer!>>
Ray:
Ray was fully morphed and figured everyone was in place. As anxious as he was, he was able to contain himself fairly well for what was about to go down. He standing right alongside a building in an allyway trying to look as inconspicuous as could be. He remembered the last time he'd done an ambush with this morph. It actually worked quite well.
__________________________________________________________________
<<Ah, it won't be that bad Fin. I'll get shot a couple of times maybe. Maybe if you act like a hardass good enough they'll think your her pimp and leave her alone haha.>> He waited as the police cruisers pulled up. Ray felt complete adrenaline rushing through him. Fin and the girl were visable. It was crazy. The first one crept up the street at Fin and two officers stepped out. "PUT THE GIRL DOWN! She's in extreme danger! Put her down or we'll have to place you under arrest too!"
The whole time they were speaking they were walking towards the pair with their hands on their guns, but they wern't yet drawn. At the end of the phrase they got extremely close to Ray even though they still didn't notice him. <<Here goes nothing>> he said to Fin in private. <<GTA MOTHER FUCKAS!!>> He lunged out got in a couple good strides that brought his speed and momentum up very high before SLAMING into the first officer at full force and sent him flying. His body smacking abruptly on the sidewalk. The second officer saw this and tried running back to his car but Ray got to him before he could go too far and flung him up into the air. This cop landed hard on the pavement. <<Go! The second one is nearly here!>>
_____________________________________________________________________
Nadia's thoughtspeak burst him out of his recollection and back into reality. He had to focus. <<I know it's hard, but we've got to remain focused if we hope to pull this off.>> Ray called back to Nadia. <<Just be ready to fly inside when those back doors get clear of yeerk hostiles. I think I hear them coming. Good luck.>>
Ray's suspicion was correct, however there was an SUV infront of the van. He cursed himself when he saw it. Cecily was standing out in the middle of the road like the planned called for, but now there were too many factors that the group hadn't planned on. The convoy was also driving quite a bit faster than he'd expected. Too fast.
<<CECILY! MOVE!>> Ray called, but it was too late. The SUV saw the girl at the last moment and swerved fishtailing and crashing into a building nearby. The van was able to stop quickly enough, but the wreckage kept it contained and blocked from going any further down the road. Quickly glancing around, he noticed everyone seemed fine although probably shaken up. <<Stick to it if you can!>> he called to them as he got ready to do his part.
Sedra:
Sedra149 fingered the dracon beam at her hilt, watching the city flash by her window. She knew Catherine was there, watching as well. Could feel her yearning to control her own movements, if only to just lean her head against the window for one moment. Sedra turned her head away, fingers curling around the dracon beam at her side. This body was no longer Catherine's, it was hers.
<<You're just a slug. A dirty, slimy slug.>> Catherine hissed.
<<And you're just a tiny voice in the back of my head, human.>> Sedra sneered back. She paused for Catherine's retort, giving in to the urge to fight with Catherine. Instead, she only felt heated animosity, buried beneath a stiff silence. Irritated, Sedra focused herself back on the car ride. She glanced at the driver in the seat in front of her, then at the road ahead. Calmly, Sedra leaned forward and smacked the back of Esto569's head.
"Go faster." She snapped. Esto turned his head slightly sideways, nervously looking at her. She lifted her eyebrows in annoyance. "I want to make it back sometime today."
Esto569 murmured under his breath, easing his foot harder against the gas pedal. As he turned his head, he suddenly caught sight of the girl in the middle of the road. He gasped loudly and slammed his foot hard against the brake, frantically twisting the steering wheel in an attempt to swerve around her.
For a moment there was only the sound of skidding tires as the car fish-tailed towards a nearby building. Sedra's eyes widened, and she clutched at the arm of her seat with a racing heart and white knuckles. The moment passed and the car slammed against the building. There was a sickening sound of crunching metal and glass, and everybody in the car lurched forward violently. Distantly, Sedra could hear the sound of screeching van tires. Then her forehead smashed against the seat in front of her, and the world took a violent, starry spin. Her vision went black.
It seemed like forever until Sedra regained consciousness. At first, she could only hear the slow beating of Catherine's heart in her ears. Her head was bowed forward against the seat in front, dark curls hanging like a shroud across both her cheeks. A groan left her lips, and she pressed her hand against something hard in front of her.
"Wha...?" She could hear soft moaning around her and an insanely annoying dripping sound. Blinking hard, she lifted her head and grunted in pain. "Ahh... Shit..." Her head was pounding furiously, and a sharp pain shot up her neck each time she moved. The groaning was coming from in front of her, and she lifted her head enough to see the backside of Esto569's head. The car was crushed in the front almost completely, and the Hork-Bajir that had been sitting next to Esto had cut himself open and was already dead. The Hork-Bajir that had been beside her looked unconscious or dead. Sedra didn't particularly care which.
Sedra fumbled around near her waist, searching for her dracon beam. She could feel it pressed against one side of the crushed car. She pulled herself forward, wiggling the dracon beam out of its hilt until it slid neatly into the palm of her bloodied hand. Black stars roamed across her vision as she tried to sit upright, wrapping her hand around the weapon and lifting it slowly.
"Unh..." Esto mumbled, his head rolling against the wheel. Seething, Sedra pressed the muzzle against Esto's head and attempted to pull the trigger. A jolt of pain ran through her wrist, but she ignored it and tightened until the trigger pulled and the dracon beam went off. His body jumped, then slumped over.
"Useless fool," She snarled, using her free hand to wipe a trail of blood from the corner of her lips. She could feel waves of nausea in the pit of her stomach, and realized the feeling came from Catherine's sudden horror. Pushing down the feeling, Sedra twisted herself from her seat belt and tossed the dracon beam outside the window. She placed her hands against the shattered window next to her, ignoring the glass that bit into her palms as she leaned her weight forward.
<<How could you...?>>
Sedra pulled herself up, her stomach resting against the empty space where the window had been. She wormed her way forward and gasped the fresh air outside. Her body tilted forward and slid with a thump out of the crushed SUV. She let out a surprise cry of pain, and clutched at her shoulder in pain. When she drew back her hand, dark blood trickled down her fingers. Cursing, she pressed her hand against her arm again and grabbed the dracon beam off the ground. Everywhere around her was littered with glass and metal, and when she moved it crunched beneath her.
Overhead a streetlight buzzed, flickering off and on. Looming over her was the young Hork-Bajir captain from the van, his shadowed alien face twisted in fright. The four Hork-Bajir had piled out of the back of the van, their heads swiveling back and forth as they warily searched the darkness. "Sub-Visser? Are you alright?"
Sedra glared up at him, a trail of blood dripping down her head. "Do I look alright, captain?"
Drake:
Drake stood for a moment, a moment he could not afford, and soaked in the situation. Cecily had barely managed to avoid being hit by a speeding SUV, which was now crashed into a building. Tssseww. A dracon beam flashed from inside the SUV. He shook off his apprehension and was about to go out and do his part of this heist.
But then the back door of the van opened up and some hork-bajir got out. Drakes heart started to pound like a jackhammer. Actual hor-bajir! As the scary creatures went to help out whoever was in the SUV, Drake swallowed his fear and snuck up behind the van with the gun in his hand. He would try to take the driver by surprise.
This was not exactly how they had planned this situation, but the circumstances were not exactly how they had planned them either. He could see the driver through the mirror on the door watching the crash. Just as he was reaching for the door handle, it opened. "Freeze!" he said to the controller who was going to go help with the situation that was taking place up ahead. The gun was shaking as he pointed it at the startled driver.
Ray:
Ray stared in awe at what had happened. Everything was moving except for him Cecily appeared fine albeit shaken up and Drake was already proceeding. What the hell was keeping Ray so frozen? The Hork-Bajir had already exited the van and were looking around at the crash. Go! he yelled at himself
He made his great strides getting up to speed, the hork-bajir in plain sight under the remaining street lights. He hoped he could hold them all off. The suprise ambush would only work for one of them. He had to make it count. As he barreled out of the allyway and into plain sight, Ray lowered his head. This was not going to feel pleseant for either party.
WHAM! He hit the first hork-bajir in the mid-section, hearing a nasty crunching sound and sent it flying backwards and slamming into a brick building wall. Blood seeped out and Ray had wondered if he'd actually impaled the hork-bajir, but stinging near his neck told him otherwise. He'd been cut when charging the hork-bajir.
The other three yelled in their native tounges and ran toward him. It really didn't look good. Ray thought he saw a fourth one a ways back, but it was more interested in the van. He charged at a second one, but it managed to avoid him just in time and managing to cut him, leaving a sizeable gash in his flank. Ray hit the breaks instantly and reared around to deliver a powerul full-force kick on the targeted hork-bajir which hit him directly in the chest knocking it out of the fight and quite possibly it's bones..
Two down and... TSSEEW! Dracon fire...It was a wild shot though. He prayed everyone was doing fine and everything else was being taken care of.
Nadia:
Nadia's eyes widened when the SUV almost hit Cecily, and crashed into the building. Drake ran past her, but she couldn't get herself to speak. Nadia was scared and hovered there watching everything that was going on. Suddenly, Ray was fighting one of the Controllers. Then she saw another one shooting at him. Nadia's anger started to build as she watched.Nadia then had a plan.She flew over from behind the Controller shooting. Her speed intensified with her anger.
Nadia aimed her sharp spikes at the end of her long bill straight at the upper neck and lower head area of the Controller. Using all her strength and speed she stabbed the Controller in the back of the head. She then moved backwards quickly and did it again. She repeated this motion all over the Controllers body as it moved trying to get away. She sees it started to bleed from the stabbing. She always knew it was a good idea to sharpen those bad boys on her bill the night before. Nadia looked up to find Ray and if he is okay, but her view wasn't good enough. She then went back to stabbing forcefully.
Sedra:
"Apologizes Sub-Visser..." The Hork-Bajir captain glanced at the wrecked SUV--it looked like a giant squashed bug. Suddenly there was the sound of screaming as one of the Hork-Bajir was rammed by an animal. The captain and Sedra both turned their heads to take in the sudden appearance of a moose.
<<...A moose?>> Sedra, shocked, couldn't at first register what was happening. Why would a moose be walking around Las Vegas? Besides that, who ever heard of moose roaming around the desert? She searched Catherine's memory frantically for any sort of explanation for this bizarre occurrence. Catherine didn't seem to understand either. Suddenly it hit her.
<<Animorphs!>> She reached forward and grabbed the dracon beam nearby and lifted it with her good hand.
"Kill it!" She screamed, her face twisted angrily. "Kill the creature! It's an Animorph! Kill it!" She was trying to aim, but her head swam from the accident. "Shit." She motioned for the Hork-Bajir captain to help her up, and he carefully pulled her to a sitting position. "Go, you fool!" She smacked him, "Go! Kill it!"
As two Hork-Bajir fell, the captain hesitated. "Do you need protect--"
"GO!" She aimed the dracon beam, trying to shoot the rampaging moose. The Hork Bajir captain was bounding towards the fight. <<Stop!!>> With a sudden force, Catherine seized control of her own hand and twisted it as Sedra pulled the trigger. TSSEEW! The shot flew wildly, hitting the ground in front of the fight. Asphalt sprayed from the impact, and Sedra yelled in frustration. Sharp pain shot up from her back, and she let out a pained huff of air. The crash had given her whiplash, restricting her movements.
Placing her bad hand firmly against the ground to steady herself, Sedra clamped down control on Catherine. She raised the dracon beam again, using all her concentration to steady her aim this time. Just as she was ready to aim, something jabbed painfully at her neck. In surprise her finger pulled the trigger and the dracon beam fired towards the group. TSEEW! ((It'll hit the captain, and anybody else who wants to be hit lol)).
She couldn't see where the shot went as her vision spun from the pain. Angrily, she dropped the dracon beam and, with fingers splayed, smacked at what was attacking her neck. Her palm connected with something small and feathery, and the impact knocked the thing from the air and to the ground. She snatched the bird up quickly, her bloodied fingers curling tightly around the bird's warm form. She kept Nadia far enough away so that the beak couldn't do any more damage, and stared intensely at the creature.
"What do we have here, hm? An Animorph?" The usual calm tone of Catherine's voice was full of Sedra's wild hatred. Her lips curled in a malicious smile, revealing pearly white teeth. "Come on little birdy, wake up." She squeezed her fingers tight around the bird. In the back of her mind, Catherine was screaming for her to stop.
Drake:
A stray shot from a dracon beam suddenly grazed Drake's left shoulder. A sudden surge of intense pain rushed through his body, causing him to clench-up involuntarily. The gun in hand hands went off. The controller in front of him went down. Drake's thoughts went blank.
Drake dropped the gun and started to back up. He started around the back of the truck, but stopped and went back. His brain was not working straight. A screaming hork-bajir finally snapped his thoughts back to reality and he pushed the thought of what he had just done to the back of his mind. He could dwell on it later, when their lives were not on the line.
Drake got into the driver's seat and honked the horn to signal to Cecily. He decided he would drive so Cecily would not see what he had done when she would have gotten into the driver's seat. The engine was still running, so he leaned over and opened the passenger door so she could get in.
Nadia:
Nadia felt the controllers tight gripped hand wrapped around her small body.She struggled to get free from the tight grasp but failed. Suddenly, lack of air was getting into her lungs and it was harder to breathe. Nadia heard the controllers voice talking but her vision became blurry and everything spun in circles.
<<Ray ,Help! One of them has got me and I cant breathe very well.>>
Nadia tried one last time to use her sharp spikes to stab the controllers hand and loosen its grip. She tilted her head back and slammed it into the hand. The spikes dug into the Yeerks hand deeply and Nadia could feel that the grip loosened and blood gushed.She then pulled back hard on her beak and removed it. Nadia then tried to pry her way out of the strong hand wrapped around her using her beak around the edges of the fingers.Oxygen started to fill her lungs more and she could breathe again.She took a deep breath and still continued to pry away at the hand.
<< Never mind Ray, I think I got it under control over here. Don't worry about me.>>
Ray:
<<Just get the heck out of here!>> Ray yelled over to Nadia to whom he was grateful for possibly just saving his life, but the mission was still incomplete. As he saw the van beginning to move he called over to Drake as a reminder. <<Around the block!>>
Nadia had yet to enter the van, but he figured she could go in on the second pass. The squad of hork-bajir had been taken out and Ray was bleeding profusely. One of the hork-bajir had even been shot with a stray dracon shot and laid dead on the ground. The scene was absolute carnage and he'd wondered if anyone had called back yet.
Ray ran past the only controller still conscious with whom Nadia had just gotten away from. He demorphed behind the wreckage and once he was done, came up behind the controller, and grabbed her wrists attempting to free Nadia from the controller. After some prying, he found a lone Dracon laying on the ground and picked it up and put it to the controllers head. "Drop the bird." Ray ordered nearly out of breath. Looking up, he could see the van disappear around a Vegas street corner.
