The Canal goes down

Log Title: The Canal goes down

Characters: Baroness, Major Bludd, Crush Depth, Phase-Ar, Mutt, Falcon, Lowdown, Over Kill (Radio)

Location: Panama Canal

Date: August 12, 2010

TP: None

Summary: Cobra attacks the Panama Canal, G.I. Joe responds.

LOG BEGINS

 Baroness says, "Begin Panama assault preperations."

 Over Kill says, "BATS and vectors on standby."

 Major Bludd says, "Understood."

Panama... A Quiet little country, for the most part. Splitting it however, is the Panama Canal, a waterway that connects the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

It is still bright when from the jungles to the north A Line of H.I.S.S. tanks appears, and begins to open fire on the canal itself. From behind it, a line of Vipers, Lead by none other than the Baroness DeCobray herself, appear, to provide Infantry support. Jungle Vipers, interspaced by Range Vipers and regular Vipers come into the opening, screaming the fear-inspiring call of "COB-RAAAA!"

Major Bludd rides in the turret of a HISS, directing the tanks' movements over radio.

Crush Depth has his own detail of EELs, infiltrating the canal to be on the alert for aquatic threats. It is, after all, a waterway. They ride the hydro-sleds used so commonly by the Undertow agents, remaining deep to avoid the shockwaves created by the HISS bombardment.

Baroness comes up to Bludd's HISS, "Major, have them concentrate all bombardment on the Locks on the North and South ends of the Lake. Damage the Locks, and the Canal will be out of use!"

<> LIVE FROM PANAMA! The Panama Canal is being attacked! It appears that Cobra H.I.S.S. tanks and a group of Cobra Vipers are attacking the Miraflores Lake section of the Canal, which is on the Eastern portion of the Canal, only a few miles inland from the Ocean.

Phase-Ar is currently flying along in the Carribean, when his communication array picks up the news broadcast of the attack in progress. Curiousity peaked, he banks around to head towards the Central American country, descending to a lower altitude. "Captain's Log... stardate 56113.3. I have picked up a.. local distress signal. I am currently headed to.. check it out."

Major Bludd nods his understanding to the Baroness and begins barking more earnest commands into his radio gear, splitting the targets of the tanks for maximum efficiency. "Hit 'em hard, lads," he cries, "we're the wreckin' crew!"

A Line of H.I.S.S. tanks is on the edge of the lake, firing on the Northern and Southern set of Locks. A line of Jungle, Range and regular Vipers are there in Infantry support as well.

The Baroness DeCobray smiles as Bludd has the tanks start firing for effect, and turns to the infantry, "Prepare to move out, I want every structure burned to the ground... Every vehicle there is should be flying shrapnel!"

Crush Depth spots an incoming detail of patrol boats. He signals to the EELS to break off and obtain targeting solutions before letting his own torpedo streak off of his hydro-sled.

The HISS tanks steadily rain shells down on the north and south locks of the canal. Bludd smiles from his turret, noting the patrol boats beginning to suffer some distress.

A G.I. Joe Tomahawk Squad flies overhead, heading in from the Atlantic Coast. They land to the North of the Cobra forces, in the trees, and Falcon leads a team of Greenshirts, and other Joes into the Jungle, towards the Cobra Forces. The Tomahawks each also drop off one Mauler, or Havoc, that they had slung underneath. But they only have 2 of each.

Phase-Ar meanwhile flies up along the canal from the Carribean, his sensors analyzing the combat ahead. When he gets within range, he pauses near the edge of the battle zone to observe.

Mutt Slips off of one of the Tomohawks.

Lowdown was ready before the Tomahawks even set down. He slips out amid the pile of troops, the CheyTac in his arms and the Barret slung over his back. He gives his official Spotter the slip, leaving the poor Greenshirt to be assigned guard duty with the Tomahawks. His luck on the field hasn't been great lately, and if he can avoid putting someone else in that kinda danger, then he'll disobey doctrine.

Mara gets off another of the tomahawks very quickly, checking her own weapons as she does and looking around quickly at all the trees and frowning just slightly, getting ready to move up if needed.

Baroness watches the Tomahawks fly overhead, and she smiles, "The Joes have responded..." she announces into her radio. She turns to the Vipers, "Turn and face them. Kill them!" She doesn't exactly lead them into Combat, but she is not behind them either, as they turn for the location the Helicopters landed. "Bludd, continue to pound the Locks into scrap, make them useless!"

Major Bludd hears the choppers before he sees them, but turns to look skyward anyway. "You keep the 'copters off us and we'll pulverise the place," he promises. "Press on, lads," he commands the HISS drivers over the radio. The tanks continue to pound the locks, sending chunks of concrete and twisted wisps of steel scattering.

Crush Depth peels off of his attack run as he hears the rush of water entering a hull. He grins behind his mask, yellow lenses glowing faintly in the dark water as he heads away. He leaves the EELS to deal with the local patrol while he moves back toward the shallows. He hears the word of incoming Joes over his radio, and lurks like the sea creature he is for hapless enemies to venture into his domain.

Falcon points to the Tank Drivers, "Go get those H.I.S.S.es! Stop them from causing anymore damage." He turns to the Greenshirts, Mutt, and Mara, "We, on the other hand, have to go get us the Snakes out of the Jungle. We'll move out towards the Lake, while the Maulers and Havoc's go out on the flanks." He looks at Mara, "You should take a couple of the Divers, and get into the Lake itself, check for Eels, keep your eyes open for anything that slithers."

Mara nods quickly at that. "Right." She looks for the other divers, motioning to them. "I'll get right on it."

Lowdown has already split off from the main group, making his own way toward the action. If he played his cards right, nobody saw which way he went, and so no followers. He hears the shelling from the HISS tanks, so takes a moment to pause and switch weapons. Better to have something that can actually puncture the tanks' armor.

Mutt follows Falcon and the rest of the Joes into the jungle to fight the Cobras. He grabs his pistol out of its holster and perpared to attack the enemy.

The Vipers are moving slowly through the Jungle, carefully making sure they do not move too fast to know when the Enemy is in range. The Baroness pulls her Steyr AUG from over her shoulder, and checks it quickly, before loading in a clip, and jacking a round into the chamber. While it is no CheyTac, it will work, in a pinch, as a Sniper Rifle.

Likewise, Major Bludd takes a moment to ready his AK-47 while he monitors radio chatter amongst the HISS drivers. "Nice work, lads," he transmits. "Keep it up. We'll leave a mark here they won't soon erase."

Crush Depth releases his hydro-sled, letting it drift to the bottom near a distinct cluster of rocks. That way it's easier to find later. Beyond that, he just... lurks. Somebody's got to be dumb enough to slip into the water...

The Joe Tanks move off into the Edge of the Jungle, heading towards the Lake, and the sounds of the H.I.S.S.es firing.

Captain Falcon turns, and leads the Joes into the Jungle, "Yo Joe! Move out Boys, and girls!" Soon, they will be in range of the Vipers

Mara heads out, staying with the others, but sliping for the water line as quickly as she can, trying to plan for whoever is underneath, and what might need doing once they're clear.

Lowdown comes upon a lone Viper who strayed from his squad. Silly Viper. Granted, maybe 'strayed' doesn't apply when you're only 15 feet away, but sometimes that's all that's needed. Lowdown quietly sets the Barrett on the soft undergrowth as he moves toward the Viper, withdrawing the knife. He quietly slips a hand over the Cobra troop's mouth and slips the knife through his larnyx, holding on tight until the struggling stops. He then moves back to retrieve the large rifle, intending to take advantage of the small whole he just made in the enemy's patrol line...

Mutt, while slowly moving through the jungle, notices movement up ahead. "I see movement up ahead.", Mutt says. He slips his pistol back into his holster and takes out his M-16, and takes cover behind a tree.

GAME: Baroness PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Average difficulty.

Baroness sees Mutt duck behind a tree, and she smiles, "COBRA! Attack!" She brings up her Steyr, and looks through the scope. She smiles, "Look, it's a mangy dog... time to put him down." She fires a round at the K-9 handler.

>> Baroness misses Mutt with Sniper-Rifle . <<

Major Bludd sees a Mauler approaching and turns his turret to face it. "Stay on target!" he calls to the other tanks over the radio. "Four and Five, bracket that Mauler!" He opens fire on the enemy tank, launching a couple of shells. Two of the other HISSes pull aside from the advancing line and fire to either side of the Mauler.

Crush Depth hears movement within the water. He moves slowly toward it, flexing his large hands. He sticks near the bottom, gliding upside-down, stalking like a Great White. Once Mara passes above him, he suddenly shoots upward, reaching out with a clawed hand...

>> Crush Depth misses Mara with Claw. <<

The shot by the Baroness drives Falcon forward, and down into a roll. He comes up, Assault Rifle firing into the nearest Vipers he can find. The poor Range Viper that was in front of him is soon, no longer standing. He is quickly joined by the Greenshirts, as they attack the Vipers.

Mara slips through the water then evades when she gets nearly clawed by someone from below. She moves around quickly beneath the surface, trying to dig for her weapon and respond. She digs her harpoon gun out and tries to scare the much bigger Crush away with it, firing a shot form it quickly, though it slows her from moving forward any better.

>> Mara strikes Crush Depth with Harpoon-Gun . <<

Lowdown makes his way through the enemy lines, spotting the HISS tanks across the river. He slips down to the ground, flicking the bipod of the weapon open, remaining near a tree. There's a moment's pause, followed by a loud boom echoing from the jungle, surprisingly forward of the Joe lines, as a high-calibre round is sent toward one of the Cobra tank's main drive systems.

GAME: Lowdown PASSES a DEXTERITY roll of High difficulty.

As the bullet passes Mutt, he responds quickly by loading his M-16 and fires at the Baroness' position.

>> Mutt strikes Baroness with Rifle . <<

The return bullet doesn't miss. Anastasia is shot by the Mangy Dog, who knew a dog could hold a gun! She grunts, as the bullet punches into her arm, "Oof..." She takes a step to the side, levels her Steyr, and switches it to Automatic Fire, letting a burst fly....

>> Baroness strikes Mutt with Assault-Rifle . <<

Major Bludd smiles with satisfaction as the Mauler he and the other HISSes have been targeting rocks with the impacts of their shells. The smile vanishes a moment later as HISS Five is brought to a sudden halt. His ears catch the telltale report of a high-speed bullet from the jungle. "Baroness!" he calls into his radio. "We have a sniper!" He switches frequencies. "Keep pounding the locks!" he commands the HISS battalion. His own tank's turret turns to launch a couple shells into the jungle, knowing it's unlikely he'll single out the sniper and entirely likely he'll take out some of his own troops, but if the sniper can hit the tank twenty feet from him, his own ticket might be punched any moment.

Crush Depth bursts from the surface of the water as his target evades him. Only for a moment, though, a heavy ripple marking his passage back into the water. He takes a moment to locate his target, a task made easier by the spear that pierces his right shoulder. He scowls behind his mask, "Zat vill not go unpunished..." He kicks with his flippers propelling himself forward and down, disappearing into the murk. Before anyone can have a chance to get a bead on him again, he appears behind the genetically engineered woman. His mask manages to transmit his distorted voice through the water, "Gutten tag, liepchen!" He reaches out with both arms...

>> Crush Depth strikes Mara with Eel-Hug. <<

GAME: Major Bludd PASSES a DEXTERITY roll of High difficulty.

Falcon moves through the Jungle, letting the Greenshirts handle the Vipers, for the most part. He brings out his shotgun, and as he clears the jungle, he is suddenly confronted by a line of H.I.S.S. tanks. There is one guy, wearing an eyepatch. "BLUDD!" he yells out, and he starts to charge the H.I.S.S.... courage... Yes. Brains... He must have left those back at base.

Mutt is hit in the leg by the Baroness' shot. He takes out his SMG, checks it very quickly, and loads it so he can fire back at the Baroness. He slowly stands up, still behind the tree, looks over his shoulder to make sure the Baroness is still there for him to shoot at. He spins around and starts firing at the Baroness, being the dirty sniper she is.

>> Mutt misses Baroness with SMG . <<

Mara tries to squirm away, but she's not quite the swimmer that someone with flippers is, sadly. She gets pulled in and squeezed with a *crunch*, gasping softly and making a soft noise of pain. She's not wearing a mask or anything, so is quite vulnerable to it. She tries to turn and do sommething in response, trying to weakly pull an elbow around to get him in the head with it, but it isn't easy...

>> Mara misses Crush Depth with Blow. <<

Lowdown knows enough to not keep his position, especially when firing at tanks. But it's an /extremely/ close call. The tree explodes as the shell strikes it. His left side catches a fair number of splinters to his left side. The Barrett takes some shrapnel as well, including a large chunk of Tree to jam the bolt. No time to stop and clear it out. He switches quickly to the CheyTac, finding a new position and sighting in on the first ranking Cobra he sees. The shiney black suit makes a good target, too!

>> Lowdown strikes Baroness with Rifle . <<

Caught in the crossfire, one Joe in front of her, another somewhere else... Baroness is able to avoid the Joe she knew about's fire, but walks right into the shot from Lowdown. It hits her high in the shoulder, luckily not hitting anything vital, or breaking any bones. It just bleeds profusely. She drops her Steyr, as it is empty, and she doesn't take the time to reload it. She rushes forward, at Mutt, before he can fire again, and jumps at him, her right leg extended.

>> Baroness strikes Mutt with Leap-Kick. <<

The turret on Bludd's HISS can't depress far enough to accurately target Falcon, so the mercenary opts to switch to his rifle. "I'm right 'ere, mate," he drawls, though it's unclear whether Falcon can hear him over the tanks' barrage and the gunfire. "No need t'shout."

>> Major Bludd strikes Falcon with AK-47 . <<

Crush Depth chuckles as he maintains his hold, the elbow thumping weakly against his muscled chest. He shifts his grip, one hand slipping to his waist to withdraw his curved dive knife. While keeping one arm around his prey, he brings the blade closer to slip it inside Mara.

>> Crush Depth strikes Mara with Slash. <<

The line of bullets from the Non-Nautical Pirate crosses the valiant Falcon's path, and trips him up, but only for a second, a couple of holes added to his body, but he soon continues on. He jumps up on the back of the H.I.S.S. and swings the butt of the shotgun around at Bludd's head.

>> Falcon strikes Major Bludd with Smash. <<

Mara erks as she's slashed, nearly going limp right there. She tries to squirm though, and hopefully by this point one of the other divers will have dealt with the eel they fought, and can come help her. Mutt Mutt is kicked in his gut from the Baroness. He retreats back to the Tomahawks to rest from his battle with the evil, shiny, black covered devil woman, Baroness.

>> Mutt retreats from the area, leaving itself open to Falcon, Mara, Major Bludd, Crush Depth, Baroness, and Lowdown. <<

Lowdown frowns as Baroness keeps the pressure up on Mutt. He doesn't like seeing his comrades wailed upon, so he decides to continue some pressure of his own. He quickly racks the bolt back, chambering a fresh round. He aims more carefully, going for something vital to halt her next assault...

>> Lowdown misses Baroness with Intervention . <<

GAME: Baroness FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Very High difficulty.

The bullet passes the Baroness, and she turns to glance over her shoulder. She can't find the source. So she shoots a couple Greenshirts that are in her line of sight, as Mutt runs.

The butt of Falcon's shotgun cracks against the back of Bludd's helmeted head. With a snarl, he turns to deliver a like blow with his own weapon.

>> Major Bludd misses Falcon with Bash. <<

Crush Depth is about to twist the knife. He's so focused on tormenting his prey before finally finishing her off that he doesn't notice the other diver come up behind him. The knife slips from his grip (possibly still stuck in Mara's flesh) as he's conked over the head with the butt of a speargun. He release Mara, spinning around quickly and lashing out with his claws.

>> Mara retreats from the area, leaving herself open to Mutt, Falcon, Major Bludd, Crush Depth, Baroness, and Lowdown. <<

Falcon ducks under the weapon, and his fist rushes out to meet the Major's face, potentially.

>> Falcon strikes Major Bludd with Punch. <<

Mutt rushes to the Tomahawks as Lowdown covers him so the Baroness doesn't get the chance to attack him agian. He climbs aboard one of the Tomahawks and keeps an eye out for any more Cobras.

Lowdown mutters as the round fails to find its target. No use sitting in one spot, though. He slips through the trees, moving closer to the treeline, chambering a fresh round as he goes. He places his back against a tree for a moment, easing his muscles and calming his thoughts. He leans around the tree, bringing the CheyTac up and scanning for Baroness again. He barely hesitates when he spots her again...

>> Lowdown strikes Baroness with Snipe . <<

In the turret, there's not much room for Bludd to move. The blow lands squarely on his jaw. The mercenary climbs out of the tank's turret to improve his mobility, swinging a kick at Falcon.

>> Major Bludd misses Falcon with Kick. <<

Baroness is struck by yet another bullet. This time in the leg. She counts her bullet holes, mentally, while backtracking the angle the bullet came in from. Luckily she was sort of facing the correct direction, and she is able to guesstimate the right direction. She brings up her Pistol, and while, not quite running, but fast-milp-walking, towards the spot she thinks the Sniper is at, she starts firing.

>> Baroness misses Lowdown with M9 . <<

Crush Depth reaches forward as the diver pulls the trigger, wrapping a powerful hand around the speargun and preventing the spear from releasing. He continues to squeeze as the other hand wraps around the diver's throat, slowly crushing both.

Falcon sidesteps the kick, and he accidently steps off the edge of the H.I.S.S... As he falls he aims his shotgun at the moving Major, and triggers a blast at the Major, "Hey, Bludd. How's the head?" He hits the ground, with a roll to bring him towards his feet...

>> Falcon strikes Major Bludd with Shotgun . <<

Lowdown smirks as he watches Baroness bring her weapon up. He takes the opportunity to move back behind the tree, racking the bolt back again as the M9 round takes a small piece of bark away. He moves again, this time around the other side of the tree, kneeling low enough to practically be on his stomach. The reticle of his scope centers on Baroness' right kneecap as he squeezes the trigger.

>> Lowdown critically strikes Baroness with Rifle ! <<

Baroness is overcome by injuries, losing consciousness.

Major Bludd takes the blast square in the chest, his armour protecting him from lethal injury but not sparing him the bruising pain of the impact. He leaps off the tank with a growl, aiming to crash onto his opponent with his full body weight.

>> Major Bludd strikes Falcon with Blow. <<

Suddenly, a bullet passes through Anastasia's Right kneecap! She collapses, clutching at her knee, and than, before she can even scream in pain, her brain shuts off, and down she goes.

Falcon is crashed into, before he can reach his feet. He is knocked back to the ground, the shotgun flying into the woods. He draws his combat knife, and tries to stick it through Bludd's armor.

>> Falcon strikes Major Bludd with Knife. <<

Crush Depth has, fortunately for the Baroness, dispatched his would-be subduer, and come to the surface to examine the scene. He sees the Baroness fall near the edge of the river, making his way over. She's just beyond arm's reach of the shore, making it easy for him to crall along his belly, beneath most of the fire. He moves to a kneeling position as he reaches her, grabbing his emergency breather and placing it over her face, "Time to go, meine Dame." He picks up the Baroness and, still ducking (although still presenting a large target), caries Baroness back toward the River.

Lowdown watches the Baroness go down, allowing himself the briefest of self-satisfied grins. He pushes the emotions quickly away, though, refocusing on business. He ducks behind the tree again, setting about the task of clearing the jam in his Barrett.

Bludd's armour is designed to resist a lot of damage, but it doesn't cover his entire torso. Falcon's knife finds a gap below the mercenary's collarbone. Growling in pain, Bludd slams the heel of his hand at Falcon's nose.

>> Major Bludd strikes Falcon with Strike. <<

Baroness is dragged towards the river. Lucky for her, she feels nothing.

A crunch... Falcon's nose is broken. He needed his ruggedly handsome face to have something to prevent it from appearing too perfect. For that, he might thank Bludd, if it didn't cause such a sharp pain, and the flowing blood. The hilt of his knife is suddenly moving towards Bludd's face, the metal over wood pommel poised to bash the Major's cheek.

>> Falcon strikes Major Bludd with Bash. <<

Crush Depth finally manages to get the charging handle back, ejecting a slightly dented cartridge and chambering a fresh .50 BMG. He sets off, finding a new firing point and settling quickly into a stable position before targeting a new tank. This time, he opts to go for the operator, setting the sights on the high-sitting cockpit...

Lowdown finally manages to get the charging handle back, ejecting a slightly dented cartridge and chambering a fresh .50 BMG. He sets off, finding a new firing point and settling quickly into a stable position before targeting a new tank. This time, he opts to go for the operator, setting the sights on the high-sitting cockpit...

GAME: Lowdown PASSES a DEXTERITY roll of High difficulty.

As Crush Depth slips beneath the surface of the water, keeping the mask pressed against the Baroness' face, he radios for a Searay pick-up.

The pommel crashes into the side of Bludd's face, causing a sound more like a 'crack' than a 'crunch'. Pain shoots through Bludd's face and he instinctively swings his rifle at Falcon, scrambling to get away.

>> Major Bludd strikes Falcon with Bash. <<

Falcon is knocked backward, from the rifle bash, and falls on his back. All he can do to prevent the Major's escape, is pull his pistol from his Holster, and open fire...

>> Falcon strikes Major Bludd with M9 <Low>. <<

Major Bludd grunts as a bullet lodges itself in his armour, the impact travelling through his lower torso. He runs to the nearest operational HISS, radioing in a retreat order as he climbs into the turret.

Lowdown stands as the tanks begin to turn tail under the bombardment from the Maulers. He lifts the semi-auto AMR, firing off a few shots as the HISS detail flees. He tries to dismantle a few drive trains before they can get too far away, but only manages to ding some armor and puncture a fuel tank.

The HISS tanks, those few remaining, turn and flee into the Jungle.

Falcon watches them go, and frowns, after picking himself up off the ground. He radios a report into the base, and than orders the Maulers back to the Tomahawks. The Havocs, however, did not survive the fight.

Lowdown grabs hold of a Mauler as it passes by, catching the crew by surprise. He climbs up to the top, cradling his Barrett as he rides the roof of the tank. He looks down at Falcon as the tank rolls on, "How you holdin' up, Captain?"

 LOG ENDS