tushanshu_logs | SACRIFICIAL ALTAR [closed to group]

Characters: The teams detailed here under the Sacrificial Altar mission.
Location: The Turtle's Head.
Situation: Kedan from each of the main gangs have gathered here, and they're planning on sacrificing people for an unknown purpose. While the majority of the kedan are dressed in gang colours, the ones doing the sacrificing are dressed all in black. What could that possibly mean?
Warnings: Some violence to be expected, potential character death if anyone goes that route. This will be updated if anything changes. If you expect there to be severe content in your tags, please mark them in the subject line with the applicable warnings.

Now, WILL THE REAL CLINT BARTON AND TRIELA HILSHIRE PLEASE STAND UP. These two characters have won our 'who gets to be a sacrifice' lottery, and will find themselves trussed up like a thanksgiving turkey at the sacrifice site. Whether or not they die is up to their players' discretion, but things are certainly looking grim... (please don't 'auto-rescue' these characters unless you've worked it out with the muns themselves)

Regardless of whether or not Clint and Triela die, TWO OF THE KEDAN SACRIFICES will have had their throats slit by the time the rescue group gets there. There will be one kedan left alive at this point.

OOC DETAILS:

     >Evandau is activating this group at about 0800 Local Turtle Time.
     >Feel free to set up a 'starter thread' for your characters. Not everyone is going to be active and fighting in the same places, so feel free to move around and tag other people! Both actionspam and prose are welcome; please feel free to specify which you'd prefer in your subject lines.
     >Remember, the kedan NPCs are sort of yours to move about and control. If you'd like your character to be in a fight with one, feel free! That sort of thing doesn't need any mod input or interventioned.

TURTLE'S HEAD:

Evandau mobilizes this group around 0800, but his call to arms comes too little, too late. Two of the sacrifices are already dead, their blood streaked across the turtle's hide, making the ground slippery and difficult to find purchase on.

Even with the death, this place is strangely peaceful, and that peace permeates not only the atmosphere but each character's own mind. They'll have a hard time convincing themselves that they should resort to violence, even to defend themselves. Strength of will is important here, those without it will simply want to sit and look out over the ocean.

Keep in mind, the Turtle's Head is a huge place! Proportionate to its body, it's several hundred kilometres across, and this is all going on at the very centre.

Good luck, intrepid Chelonauts, and may the odds be ever in your favour...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bucky will probably hear it a good while before B.A. pulls to a stop alongside him. When B.A. gets his own bike, he'll do what he can about the muffler.

B.A. takes a second to appreciate that it's pretty easy to spot foreigners in this place - and that he's run into a fellow soldier.

"You headed for the turtle head?"

With an affirmative, B.A. will jerk a thumb toward the back of the bike. "Get on." There's no helmets, but Bucky may notice that, there's some extra padding under B.A.'s jacket. When they speed off, B.A. will turn back and shout "You got a plan of action?"

Even better, an actually familiar face.

Bucky grins. "Nowhere else."

And, after he settles behind B.A., he chuckles. "That would depend on who we have and what's the situation. Probably work on getting those in danger out first, then subduing whoever's left. How's that sound?"

Sounds like the only "plan" they can make, given the circumstances. B.A. revs the engine as an affirmative, speeding up as much as he dares to without risking a crash. Crashing is definitely not in the plan.

As they reach the Turtle's Head, B.A.'s focus wavers. There really isn't enough space in the city to really ride a motorcycle. If B.A. had had the time and resources to fix this bike up properly, he might have gotten lost in the smooth ride. Fortunately, he hasn't, and the too-loud roar and considerable kick of the engine keep him 'awake'.

What looks like an altar appears in the distance, and B.A. heads for it. Their approach isn't exactly stealthy, but an idea does occur to B.A.

"You ever jumped off a bike?"

Bucky keeps quiet on the ride, though when the bike wavered, he shifted and his arms tightened on the big man's waist.

An at the question, he just laughs. "You get chased by a pack of Hydra, you get to do all the fun things like that. By which I mean, yeah! Just tell me when!"

Good, good. This would be a little tricky, and the first part is figuring out where Bucky can get off without the risk of being dog-piled by gang members. Circling isn't really an option either; the hostages probably wouldn't last long if he did.

"Get ready!"

B.A. aims the bike towards the group massing around the kneeling figures - probably the hostages. That complicates things a little; how can they hit the maximum number of gang members without the hostages getting run over? It would have been nice to be able to use the bike as a weapon, but it's too risky. Instead, B.A. takes them as close as he can, and pulls a tight turn on the bike so that the two of them can use the momentum to launch themselves onto the gang members, who will give them a somewhat softer landing.

Before launching, B.A. had slipped on a homemade knuckleduster he'd managed to carve out in the past weeks. The Kedan may be tougher than his usual opponents, but the extra bit of metal gives him a step up.

It is tackling and knives, for Bucky (at least they really don't wear enough armor to have to aim at the few unprotected lethal areas. (Eyes. Neck.)

With what the kedan have been doing, two bodies already lifeless on the ground, he doesn't think he has to stay non-lethal... and, yet. These people believe something. Killing them for that alone feels strange, unwelcome, with the kind of mindset the turtle's head is putting him into.

But he won't not fight.

He won't not try to save the remaining captives. (He uses B.A.'s broad shoulders to pull himself up into a crouch behind him.)

"Ready."

And when the bike swings, he leaps.

Unlike the other man, his body mass is not enough. So he uses the momentum given to its fullest. Ah, yes, all the things he's practiced since boot camp, all put into practice.

Right here, and right now.

The rhythm of a fight is its own peace.

The medieval weaponry the Kedan wield make the situation a little more dicey. B.A. knows how to work his way around guns and knives, but you don't see many swords in the army. As much as B.A. would like to be a little more cautious and not risk losing an arm, he's forced to rely on moving and striking quickly, seeing as they did just land themselves in the middle of everything. It's probably a good thing, though - without the constant threat of a blade in his side or back keeping him focused, the aura of the Turtle's Head might have trapped B.A. in an endless loop of dodging as he forgot that he needed to take the enemy down.

While they may be stronger and tougher, the Kedan aren't necessarily bigger or heavier, and B.A. takes advantage of it when he can. He sends the smaller ones crashing into other gang members with strategic throws, and there are a lot of other Kedan to hold off. It's a good thing other foreigners join the fight. They're doing a lot of damage, but alone, B.A. and Bucky would surely be overrun.

Good thing they aren't alone. Not for long, at least.

They are just... a little too late.

Two of the kedan have already bled out, and one of the foreigners is quickly joining them, but the other, maybe they can get to her. There's Striker, and the kid is impressive with he way he uses his ability, though it's hard, hard for everyone. Especially with the eerie calm that tries to wrap him with complacency.

But Bucky keeps on fighting, relying on reflexes and the horror of what's in the middle of the gathering to continue.

A kick makes him double over, wheezing the air out of him, and he drops down lower to protect his middle while he struggles to catch his breath.

ooc: All other PC actions mentioned have been referred to in later threads. If something's messed up, please ignore the content of this tag in favor of the actual player presentation.

SACRIFICIAL ALTAR [closed to group]

All aboard the pain train!

... silly train.

best train

And now they get assaulted by a feeling of ~inner peace~. Because turtlehead...

But Bucky - the way to inner peace is dropping a bad dude on his head :3c

... he likes you, B.A. He likes you!

You're not so bad yourself, Bucky

Also winging other people's participation for the sake of pushing this thread forward...