Winter Rescue Mission

Log Title: Winter Rescue Mission

Characters: Ace, Chance, Lifeline, Nightlash, Psyche-Out, Wild Bill, Wraith

Location: Slightly south of Offut Air Force Base - North America

Date: January 13, 2014

Summary: Ace pilots a Hercules on a rescue mission over some of the worse-hit parts of North America, with a cargo bay full of Joes, emergency food and medical supplies.

As logged by Ace - Monday, January 13, 2014, 6:10 PM

Offut Air Force Base – USA

 * Offutt Air Force Base is the headquarters of the US Strategic Command, the Air Force Weather Agency, and the 55th Wing of the Air Combat Command. The base has a total area of 4.3 square miles and as of 2000 was home to nearly 9000 people.

[G.I. Joe] Capt. Psyche-Out says, "Chance. Could you report to my office, please?"

[G.I. Joe] Chance says, "I'm up top preparing the Hercules for lift. Is it essential?"

[G.I. Joe] Chance adds "Sir."

[G.I. Joe] Capt. Psyche-Out says, "It isn't essential. We can talk later."

[G.I. Joe] Chance says, "Well, now I'm curious. Give me ten minutes?"

[G.I. Joe] Capt. Psyche-Out says, "Sure, if it's not taking away from your duties."

Ace is striding out to the airfield to meet with the others. For the first time since his run-in with Bludd, he's fully suited up in his flight suit.

Chance is out by the Hercules talking to the ground crew. Meanwhile, Mockingbird was loading the last bunch o f things with a forklift. Each was on a 'mini pallet' intended to be fast-dropped near people who needed it, so they could deliver as many packages as possible. He spots Aces' figure approaching and grins "Ace! You’re back up! And just in time for some PR stuff!"

Ace smiles with his new face, which looks almost perfect -- the wonders of science! He chuckles. "I'm less interested in PR than getting back up to speed on my piloting skills -- I've been piloting a desk for far too long."

There's not a whole lot visible on Ace at this point, he's in his 'uniform', which consists of a high pressure flight suit. He keeps the dome off unless he's actually flying, leaving his hair hidden only by the secondary flight cap underneath it. His face is visible though, with dark eyebrows, and rather bland features.
 * Ace

"Well those can be tricky to handle." remarked Chance dryly "At least you'll be starting with something halfway between a desk and a Conquest for speed though right?” he looked at the Herc in question.

Ace laughs. "That's a good point. I need to get in some hours to keep my qualification to fly this thing."

"So long as you remember which end doesn’t go towards the ground I'm happy with that." his watch beeped, and Chance looked at it "We leave in five. They already warmed her up for you I'm told. Full crew, twenty Joes plus shovels and the boxes. We just need Lifeline.”

Ace nods. "I'm going to go over the pre-flight again. I trust, but verify." He heads off to the Herc at a light run.

"Fair enough. Mind if I tag along? Bit curious. I went tank instead of air with my secondary training."

Ace looks back. "Sure! Of course!"

Chance follows Ace up to the cockpit, actually taking care to tap his boots off before stepping into the Herc

Ace climbs in, and shows Chance the checklist for the pilot, explaining that each station has its own list to check and double-check.

Chance nods as he listens attentively, trying to keep out of his way as best he could.

Ace seems enthused about being in the cockpit, and puts that enthusiasm into showing and explaining everything as he checks it.

Chance grins a little at this, happy to see the man up and about as he watched carefully, peering out the windows as well.

Slightly south of Offut Air Force Base - North America
The Hercules was ready to go, the last few people piling in now, dressed up with goggles, warm coats, big boots and other things. A few had handguns, but this wasn’t intending to be an invasion of sorts. The back of the Herc was filled with micropallets, one 'per family' that would be air dropped to most houses from afar, intending to hit as many farms and locales as possible.

Ace flies the Herc, mostly gently although he's a little rusty since this is the first time he's been in the air since his run-in with Major Blood.

Psyche-Out is in his uniform, minus new jetpack, and is carrying a strange forked device the size and general shape of a rake.

Lifeline is outfitted in his red paramedic outfit, enhanced with cold-weather gear recommended to him by his best buddy Iceberg. "Ace, can I trust you in this thing?" he calls as he enters the Herc.

Chance is in one of the front seats, sitting sideways as he waited, tied to the sides of the Herc with a harness. He himself was wearing a bright orange vest over his standard issue, listening to Lifeline's question over the radio headset that let them talk without shouting over the massively sexy sound of the Hercules' four engines. "First drop is in fifteen!" he announced, glancing at Iceberg. They hadn’t even had time to really talk.

Psyche-Out is in the back of a C130 Hercules, in uniform and carrying some weird electronic rake thing.

Lifeline briefly hugs Iceberg, then has a seat next to him. Aww, friends forever.

Ace is piloting the Hercules, and says to Lifeline, "I'm still qualified on this thing, though just barely," he admits. He pilots the Herc on a rescue mission over some of the worse-hit parts of North America, with a cargo bay full of Joes and emergency food and medical supplies.

"No barrel rolls, chief," Lifeline radios Ace. He's in a good mood for this mission. Anything that helps others really brightens his day.

Ace says, "Don't worry, Lifers. I'm taking it easy on my first flight out since... my leave."

Chance grins a little at Lifeline, and then starts the briefing "We'll be alternating between half of us staying in the Hercules and doing 'push and go' drops. Basically Ace here, welcome back ace - will fly very low and slow over the marked locations. SNowjobs' been out all week snowmobiling from farm to farm marking who needs help, with beacons, so we can home in on them. Ace will come in nice and slow and we just push one o those packages out the back near the house. Try NOT to land on the house. I repeat try NOT to hit the house!" he eyes them.

"There's a few that are in more dire need though, and for that, the other half will be jumping out to do some snow-shovelling and removal. This much snow'll crush some houses, and people are trapped inside. We also need to keep an eye out for anyone straned in the snow as well as animals too! Everyone can't be outside more than two hours. If anyone starts slurring, I'm yanking them back in right away. The two teams will alternate. Everyone have questions?"

There's no blip on the radars... not when dealing with a stealth craft, but those with keen eyesight and windows (admittedly rare on those lumbering C-130's) might notice that there's contrails that do not belong to them. Nor any registered air traffic in the area. With a crackle of static, and clearly over unregistered (and unsecured) comms, a female voice rings out over the air waves. "Unidentified C-130, this is Theta-0173, how copy? Be advised, you are entering controlled airspace, confirm identity and mission. How copy, over?"

Psyche-Out looks impressed at how far Chance has come, and how well he's accepted a leadership role when needed.

Ace frowns. "That's not good."

Chance looks up as well and blinks "... Hnow are WE unidentified? " he asks, and then with permission, he clicks the radio "Theta-0173, we're CF-130 Super Herc Ground-Jackie One-four four on emergency response missions. Our docket was filed with all airports between here and our destination and approved for American airspace, which we ARE still in." he notes, and glances to Ace. We WERE still in american airspace, right?

Ace nods to Chance, smiling at his quick response.

Psyche-Out frowns at the radio chatter.

Lifeline gets a slight chill at that voice. He's heard it before. Where did he hear it? It's giving him a bad feeling...

Chance had heard it before too, but was trying to do a lot at once.

"Ground Jackie One-Four-Four. Fitting call sign for a flying tub that should be on the ground to begin with. Be advised, cloud cover is heavy. Please alter course and heading to Zero-one-one and adjust speed to two-five-zero for confirmation." Nightlash slows to cross behind the C-130's tail, climbing to get above it's dorsal area as she matches speed, getting buffeted briefly by the rotor-wash from it's engines. "Confirm humanitarian status. You are not armed over civilian air space, are you?"

"Steady course." remarks Chance, and then he clicks his radio back on "We have people who need these supplies badly. A little cloud cover isnt going to hurt us." another look to Ace to see if that was true. "This is a military vehicle and we are American Military soldiers. However, we're not intending to use the weapons except in self defense of ourselves and the people. Humanitarian intentions are first priority. Lives are at stake here." he looks at his watch. Five minutes to the first drop.

Psyche-Out is in the back of is a Super Herc, in uniform, fretting over what sounds like a threatening subcurrent beneath the pilot's voice in the craft behind them.

Chance looks up and over at Lifeline, and then Ace, looking a little bit like this was going beyond his experience.

Lifeline suddenly realizes something, and he radios the others, "That's a Decepticon who's radioing us."

Ace says, "I thought that voice sounded familiar. Strap in everyone -- this might get bumpy fast."

Psyche-Out says, "I should have brought my distortion laser instead of this sonic snow shovel."

Ace mutters to Wild Bill, "I suddenly wish I this was a AC-130." "I... was... AC-130."

Wild Bill mutters to you, ""And I wish this was a dragonfly!""

Nightlash scowls inwardly at the noncompliance. "GJ-144, please confirm receipt of last transmission." She holds position on their tail. How long until they grow suspicious? Oh...most likely very quickly. She debates for a moment, but leaves them alone for the time being. Cameras are rolling, of course. "GJ-144, Theta-0173. Flying escort. I'll be on your wing." The Night Raven drops altitude to fly abeam of the C-130, adopting a spot just aft of the portside wing. Easily visible should anyone look out the crew windows on that side.

Wild Bill is sitting beside Ace, in the Super Herc, all ready to help with the supply drops. "I wonder what that's all about," he says, referring to the odd radio chatter.

And yes, there is a pilot. Female, by the looks of it... >_>

Psyche-Out gazes outside. A little behind everyone else, having never encountered Nightlash, he gasps, "It's Cobra!"

Ace says, "A Cobra-allied Decepticon, actually. We're minimally armed -- if she attacks, we might be in trouble. I might have to find a place to land this crate."

"Not just *any* Cobra, Psyche-Out...it's a Decepticon who is having the delusion that she's a Cobra operative. If you can follow *that*," Lifeline remarks.

Psyche-Out nods. "Fascinating." He gets distracted thinking about the psychology of that... not like he as a lot to do anyway in the air carrying a sonic snow-shovel.

Several others mutter as the ship occurs, and Chance frowns "Wild Bill, call up the airforce. I dont trust her and she needs to LEAVE." he remarks at this "Stay on course for now Ace I guess. Drop in one minute! " he waves at one of the other Herc crew members and as they began to descend, the rear door opened, allowing a brutal gust of ice cold air to pull all the warm air out of the rear. Except the pilots, in the nice cozy cabin. then he gets a message "Change of plans, this is a Shovel Team mission ANd a drop... Ace, as close to the ground and as slow as you can to drop the team... your Nav has the next drop=only one. If you can hit that one and swing back for us, it should work smoothly." he HOPED this plan would work. He nods at Lifeline, starting to feel his conidence unravel.

Ace nods. "As few of you on board, the better, if that Decepticon starts firing. Be careful out there, tho -- you're exposed if Nightlash decides to go on a strafing run. I'll try to keep her on me."

Nightlash rolls lazily to flash her armament, frowning inwardly at the lack of communication. "GJ-144, Theta-0173... I'd have expected at least some retort or threat by now." Never mind the lack of any tone-locks. "Let's think things through, hmm? You are here for something that is not of military value. Your aircraft's operating capabilities are going to be stressed by colder temperatures, whereas I am not. Will Cobra benefit from a little face-time by assisting? Yes. Will you benefit from having someone make sure we both get a nice little smiley face out of this?" She mutters faintly. "Besides, there is no sport in an unarmed flying tugboat."

Ace says, "Theta-0173, this is GJ-144. Are you offering genuine assistance? Over."

"GJ-144, Th-0173... if I'd honestly wished to demolish you, you'd have had a toxin missile lodged in your cockpit by now." Nightlash almost sounds annoyed. "Moreover, do you have any idea how annoyed the Decepticons will get if they hear about this? It's too rich to pass up!" She actually laughs.

Psyche-Out says, "So, this is Nightlash? Is she as crazy as I've heard?"

Chance shook his head at Ace "We dont need assistance, Theta. You can move along. We have contigency plans threefold. We'll be fine. " he states strictly, and then waves as Joes start to climb up to theirfeet and unhook as Ace starts to slow down over the first farm. Chance stiffens a little as he looks out the bay doors and then adds "Slight change, I'm going with this one. Lifeline, you and Psyke out with me?"

Ace says, "Well, anything that annoys the Decepticons is good with me. Stay on course."

Ace mutters to Chance, "No need to antagonize her while you guys are still on board. Bail out, and good luck."

Psyche-Out says calmly, "I'm with you, Chance."

"Of course," Lifeline says, grabbing his medical pack and preps for deployment to the frozen ground.

Psyche-Out looks like he'd rather stay and analyse this fascinating specimen of madness, but manages to put the mission first.

"So...I don't get it. Does this Nightlash character want our supplies, or what?" Wild Bill asks.

THe farm below was an older style, with a decrepit barn that was already collapsed years ago. A young girl in a pink snowsuit was playing in the yard, and as the Hercules started to appear she stood and started bouncing up and down excitedly and wavin to the Plane. On the second floor of the buried house, a balcony opened and a woman peered out, then dissapeared back inside. The snow as THAT DEEP.

"She wants to steal our thunder." Replies Chance as he moves to the back, grabbing up a shovel. "on three, Joes!"

Ace flies low and slow, ready to disgorge some Joes to the rescue. Thus far he allows Nightlash to take whatever credit she wants... he's more concerned about the safety of the Joes and the results of their mission, not who gets the best PR.

Psyche-Out readies himself for deployment, wishing he'd brought his new jetpack after all.

Ace says, "She can have our thunder. Just get those people help. Yo Joe!"

Nightlash inverts. Conflicting instructions, YAY! Naturally she goes with Ace's remark over Chance. "Tough cookies, GJ. Hey, got a camera on board? I'm giving you a shot of my good side." She rolls over the dorsal of the C-130, engines thrumming as she scoots ever so carefully above the cockpit's field of view. "Hi there, flyboys... if you ever want a real ride, give me a ring, hmm?" "So, let's be honest here... you missed me, didn't you. You can admit it... I'm fun, right? Totally fun. Never met a Night Raven like me, have you." She scans the ground below. "Bring back some milk... It's hard to get these days."

Chance looks a little bit unhappy, but doesnt question Ace at this point as he watches, the ground passing mere feet below the ramp. He jumps, landing with a PLOP on the thick snow and rolling somewhat having lost his balance. Others had better luck than him as in a stream the half team of Joes drop to the snow, several sinking in, most managing to not get stuck though.

Ace says, "Meet me when I'm in a Skystriker, and I'll give you more fun than you can handle, Theta."

Psyche-Out makes a worse landing than Chance, not really skilled at this sort of thing.

Ace lets out the Joes, and slowly brings the Herc up before it takes out local houses and power lines.

Dr. Steen exits out the back of the Herc, and makes what would probably be a great landing under normal conditions. But in these conditions, his impact imbeds him in 10 feet of snow. "Ow..." He crawls his way out. "I thought snow was supposed to be light and fluffy..."

Ace says, "What's your plan, Theta? Just showing off? I recorded your flash... now skedaddle before the Air Force arrives and ends your little show permanently."

Ace sounds a little less confident than last time he encountered Nightlash -- near-death experiences sometimes do that to you.

"Its just aeriated Ice!" remarks Chance as he starts to climb out and hand-and-knee his way over to pull Lifeline out. The little girl, who apparently was light enough to run ON the snow, starts to hop her way over to the nearest soldier. "Why's that kid out in this weather??"

Nightlash chuckles softly... "One...two... oh, there's another." She tsks at Ace over the comms. "Your team. They don't swim well in the snow. Do they." She reverts to a proper horizon and slows, climbing to circle overhead. "I'm bored, GJ-144. Humor me. I can make plenty of heat with explosions, but you and I both know that's not needed right now...and let's be honest, I'm not really in a fighting mood right now." There's a pause. "I could be! But I'm not. And...ugh. Decepticon Intel is so...dry about providing anything. You know what it's like to have nothing to do because NO ONE talks to you? Pfft. Forget that stuff." She pauses. "Kid's kinda cute."

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139 flies out of the western sky on full afterburners coming in to escort the Super Hercules. The pilot is singing some old song "Ice... Ice... Baby...." under her breath before keying her mic and calling out to the pilot of the Sup-Herc "This is Wraith in Skystriker 3139 how's business out here?"

Psyche-Out struggles in the snow. "I should have stayed on the boat," he grumbles. To support Ace, of course... not because he's curious about Nightlash.

Lifeline gratefully accepts Chance's help up out of the Lifeline-sized snow hole. Then, he too notices the kid. "Hey, is your family stuck inside the house?" he asks. "I wonder if she was small enough to escape through a second-story window," he muses to Chance.

"Looks like the balcony is free. . Smokes' coming out of the chimney too so they have warmth. From what I recall, this one is a 'dig out'... Its so buried the house is at risk of collapsing, so we gotta clear it." he explains as he starts to make his way over to Pysche Out. The girl hops over towards the others now "Kind of! They dont WANT to come out, but I wanted to build snow tunnels like an ant!" she remarked politely to Lifeline. Then she waved at Chance "Hello Uncle!"

Ace says, "We've got a Decepticon on our tail making threats against our S&R force on the ground. So far she has chosen not to engage. A firefight might not be the best over American soil, but if she gets 'bored' enough we might have no choice."

Psyche-Out painfully climbs to his feet, and rights himself, which Chance's help if necessary. "Thanks," he breathes.

Nightlash would be insulted if she were told she'd made threats. But...yes. The Night Raven's just flying, circling overhead and observing. "Oooh, look at that... They're all out of the snow. Good show." She turns her sensors towards the Skystriker. "Is that for me, GJ-144? I feel so honored. Let's keep it civil, though?"

Dr. Steen does a double-take at the girl, then he stares at Chance. "Is this your family??" he asks Chance incredulously.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith nods to herself, and switches to a new playlist. Instead of songs about cold, now it switches over to hair band music, and first up, "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, as she keys her Mic, "Got it Ace. I'll see if I can convince the Decepticon to move al... Wait..." She bounces a radar ping off the Decepticon, "Are you sure it is a Decepticon, it reads as a Nightraven to me, Sir."

Ace says, "We're not looking for a fight, Theta."

(Radio) Ace transmits, "It's Nightlash. She's a Decepticon allied with Cobra. It's... complicated. She's highly unstable, so be ready for anything." to Wraith.

(Radio) Wraith sends Ace a radio transmission, 'Copy, Sir.'

"It is." Notes Chance with a grin as he yelps pull Pysche OUt... out." try not to stomp so much. We're not on the parade ground." The other Greenshirts had gotten to the house and were starting on the roof, shouting to each other as people watch from the windows, a few waving. Then Chance smiles "Hey kid! Go tell your mom we can't stay very long, but we'll keep the house from collapsing. And thanks for the candies!"

The girl bounced again, then turned to bounce towards the house, more like a rabbit than a girl. "I uh, didnt want to get pulled from this mission, so I kept it quiet. " he explains to Lifeline.

Psyche-Out rights himself with Chance's help, and slowly makes his way towards the house, activating his sonic snow shovel.

Chance says, "Dont blow it up psyche out! "

Ace continues to climb slowly. "You were bored, Theta. I invited others to the party."

Psyche-Out frowns. "It's just a shovel." The subsonic vibrations break up the packed snow in front of him, and a low force pushes it away from him. He smiles, making adjustments to a control on the handle of his way-higher-tech-than-needed-for-the-job.

"I'm beginning to believe you have more relatives than there are degrees of Kevin Bacon, Chance," Dr. Steen says as he shakes his head and begins to shovel.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith frowns to herself, than sends a broadband radio message to Nightlash, but also makes so that Ace, and the rest of the Joes, and anyone else listening in, can hear it as well, "Allright, Nightlash.... My name is Captain Wraith, Pilot of Skystriker 3139. How about you take yourself someplace else. You are currently in violation of American Airspace, and by all rights, I could open fire on you. However, since I am in such a good mood, I am willing to let you fly out of here with just a warning." She pauses, "If however, you insist on maintaining your current flightpath, I will have no choice but to engage you, and while you might defeat me, you will be unable to defeat the wing of Combat Ready aircraft at Pax River Naval Base, that are on Alert 5 Status, and will be taking off in 5 minutes from the time this radio message is finished sending. Your call."

"I told you I had divorced parents. My Moms' family lives down here, and Dad's lives in Ontario. Grandparents on both sides, two sistesr with kids..." explains CHance as he gets to the house and then blinks "Start at the TOP of the roof! or it'll all slide down and knock you off!" he calls out suddenly, almost alarmed.

The girl hops back out towards Psyche out, and stops to stare "A Magic Shovel!"

Psyche-Out grins at the girl. "Yep! I enchanted it myself... with science!"

Nightlash laughs audibly over the open frequency. "Is that so?" She runs a quick scan of the Skystriker as the female voice pipes in over the radio. "Well, I think playing 'tag' is out." She maintains her lazy holding pattern over the scene unfolding below. "So, unidentified Skystriker, this is Theta-0173... care to introduce yourself?" She does a light roll as...lo and behold, the pilot does just that. "Wraith! Come now...you could open fire, but let's be honest, that won't end well. Like I told your herculean friend, I really don't want to do that right now. And neither do you." She pops a quick aileron roll and inverts direction, lazy-boating it the other direction. "This is interesting. Most interesting thing I've seen in a LONG time." There's a pause. "Well, months, really. Okay, weeks. Weeks. Most interesting thing in weeks. HEY! Ever hit Mach 5? It's a blast. You should try it some time."

Dr. Steen stops, and heads up to the rooftop. "'Snow big deal, we'll get this done right," he puns. He's really in a 'mood' today, at least it's a good one.

A snowball gets tossed lightly at Steen's head for that one.

Ace meanwhile pilots the Herc towards the next drop. He signals the loadmaster as he slows and sheds altitude, concentrating on flying and hoping Wraith can handle the crazy Decepticon.

(Radio) Wraith sends Ace a radio transmission, 'Orders?'

"Oh..." the little girl stopped, looking somewhat dissapointed, but then was called back inside by her mother at that point. The roof was slowly cleared off, the snow piled up a good distance away, and they dug down to a few windows to keep the pressure from building up, and one door as well as Chance puffs and growns at Steen "Dont you dare start!" he warns "My grandpa is HORRIBLE with that."

The turbulence around Ace picked up a little as he descended, this one a larger farm with several houses about it.

(Radio) Ace transmits, "Do not engage unless forced. We have Joes and civilians on the ground, and Nightlash's aim seems to be to give Cobra credit for our efforts -- which, frankly, is better than carpet-bombing our people below." to Wraith.

[G.I. Joe] Slipstream says, "How are you guys doing in the Snew?"

Ace deals with the turbulence as smoothly as possible, while his loadmaster prepares the drop.

"ready to drop!" announced the loadmaster, him and one other hand prepared to shove.

[G.I. Joe] Col. Ace says, "We have some company in the form of Nightlash, Slipstream. We may need assistance if things get ugly."

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith frowns, "What I want to happen, Nightlash, and what must happen, are two different things. I might, or might not, want to engage you, but I do have to insist that you leave the airspace of the United States." She transmits.

[G.I. Joe] Captain Wraith says, "Hopefully I can bluff my way through this...."

[G.I. Joe] Slipstream sounds hurt "You completely missed the opening for that joke man."

[G.I. Joe] Captain Wraith mutters, "Never thought I'd be the one pulling an 'Ace'...."

Psyche-Out frowns at the disappointed kid, but then uses his sonic snow shovel to help quickly clean off the house and prepare to move on.

[G.I. Joe] Col. Ace says, "Little busy right now, Slipstream."

Chance notces PO and says to him "She'll be bouncing around in five minutes, dont worry about it. She's not yet interested in science, but hopefully soon. Too caught up in Unicorn Magic."

There is silence from Nightlash for a moment. But, that is short-lived... "Can I claim asylum? I mean...what happens if a...er...a living...uh, thing...sets foot on US soil? Isn't that like...you know, a 'WELCOME HOME' deal? I mean, think of Elian Gonzalez!"

[G.I. Joe] Slipstream says, "I'll be ready to launch... err, or not. Just got the call up that the Conquest is frozen up. Wont be ready tonight. Damn."

Lifeline knows his positive mood is probably grating on his demolitions friend, but he keeps his head in the game as he assists in clearing one part of the roof at a time.

AT the call, the Loadmaster drops the load. No parachutes on these ones, but it lands right outside the largest marked house on the farm. They got an extra large one for the multiple families living here. "Okay! Get the next one ready to drop!" shivers the Loadmaster.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith rolls her eyes, "Elian Gonzalex was sent home.... Besides, I can not think of a single Decepticon, or Cobra, that would be given Asylum. I'll tell you what. You leave our airspace.... NOW... and than send a request through the State Department, and I promise it will be given all the proper consideration."

[G.I. Joe] Col. Ace says, "No problem, Slipstream. I think Wraith can handle this one. Latest drop a success... moving on to the next one."

Wild Bill stays on the Herc for now, in case Ace needs help. After all, no telling what's going to happen. Plus he can always jump out later for another drop.

Psyche-Out smiles. "Maybe I can come back and help instill that love of science. You and your grandfather seem pretty bright... I'm thinking it runs in the family.

Nightlash huffs. "The State Department is biased against anyone that gets associated with the Decepticons. Not that I blame them. I'm biased against them too. They smell bad and, well, let's be honest here, they're kinda flakey." She watches the crates get hot-dropped at the next location. "You guys are no fun. Er, and gal. Guys and gal." She pauses again. "Gals." But, it looks like she's leveling out her horizon and closing out the overhead pattern.

"Thanks!" notes Chance as he grunts, hefting another load of snow. The roof was tricky, it was very steep for american farmhouses. Then he grinned at Edwin "I'll get you later for the pun!" he chuckled, breath puffing out out of his air. The girl had hopped back out again, now was bothering the other Greenshirts.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139 rolls and closes with Nightlash ending up on her "six. "This is your last chance. You now have 30 seconds to turn for international waters...." Wraith says calmly.

"Hey Chance...maybe the rest of your family ought to begin preparations to evacuate, since the more we clear, the less structurally sound the house will become, yes?" Lifeline suggests.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith sends Ace a radio transmission, 'I may have exhausted all avenues, except a warning shot... unless you want me to disengage.'

(Radio) Ace transmits, "She seems ready to bolt... keep the pressure on, but don't fire on her unless pushed." to Wraith.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith sends Ace a radio transmission, 'copy'

Chance pauses and looks over, confused "Removing the snow makes the house less likely to collapse though. Am I missing something? " he asks, confused.

Nightlash sighs. "Honestly... can't even carry a good conversation without everyone resorting to silly threats and...ugh. Never mind. Whatever. Suit yourself. Your plane is ugly anyway." She begins to accelerate, but not before offering a nice little fireworks display... Chaffs and flares are released in a bright 'angel-wing' pattern, lighting up the sky before starting to flit downward harmlessly.

"Well, yes, because the snow has already crushed in on the house. Making it structurally unsafe," Lifeline counters.

Chance frowns at that and peers down, trying to judge how 'crushed' it is. "Oh crap. I didn't even see that." he remarks, sounding alarmed. "Hey kid! Go get your dad!" he calls over, the girl pausing, giving a salute, and turning to bolt towards the balcony door that she was using to get in and out.

Ace continues making supply drops, breathing a silent sigh of relief as Nightlash retreats.

Psyche-Out looks at Lifeline. "Any idea how soon? Should we help with evac?"

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith mutters, "Up yours.... My plane is as lovely as I am."

[G.I. Joe] Chance says, "I didnt think of this before. Any COC on? This house is collapsing, and we need to get the folk up. The Herc can pick them up but we gotta take them somewhere. Actually, a better idea... Get one of our choppers in, then the Herc doesnt have to be delayed helping others."

Nightlash fires back before getting out of range, "You mean your arms are backwards? How...horrible. Poor thing... I suppo*static*"

[G.I. Joe] Scarlett says, "I'll have a Tomahawk inbound. They can be taken to one of the local shelters."

[G.I. Joe] Chance says, "Closest would be the one on Offut for military families."

[G.I. Joe] Scarlett says, "Where are you again, Chance?"

[G.I. Joe] Chance says, "*gives coordinates slightly south of Offut, a half hour out. The closest was indeed, at Offut*"

"Oh, good, she's not going to run off with all our rubbing alcohol or whiskey," Wild Bill says, as Nightlash moves off.

[G.I. Joe] Scarlett says, "Copy. Wait... Whose family are they?"

Chance frowns "Its bowed in, but I dont think its in danger of collapsing right this minute." he notes "Its just one of those 'at risk of collapsing' " a tall, thin dark haired man shuffles out, wearing only a jacket, boots and mittens. "Hey Mike... What's up? " he peered at the redsuited Lifeline, and stared at Psyche-out and his shovel.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith rolls, as Nightlash clears the area. She than moves back to orbit the area, and announces, "You're all clear boys and girls. How about we finish up, and you boys can buy the first round?"

[G.I. Joe] Chance sighs "My own. And no, I am /not/ doing this intentionally, ma'am just to have them nearby."

[G.I. Joe] Scarlett says, "Copy. However, I do not like the idea of having Civilians on this base, with the Pit being under it. We'll need to move the civilians to Tinker AFB, in Oklahoma City as soon as possible."

Lifeline smiles cordially at the thin, dark-haired civilian. He pauses to take a long pull off his water bottle. He's working up a sweat out here! "Quite the blizzard you had out here. We'll make sure everyone gets out safely," he promises.

"Hey yeah. " The man - Chances' brother in law, it seems listens to the explanations and blinks "Jeez. We built the house well, didn't think it took THIS much damage. I'll get everyone bundled up to go. We've been really nice and snug there, don't worry about us. We can get out the window. I'll shut down the water and stuff and get out last." he promises, turning to do so.

"Well, there might not be nearly as much damage as it looks," Lifeline says. "I don't know, I really am not a house inspector...but we're just doing this as a precautionary measure. I work with 'just in case' scenarios. Hopefully, everyone can come back home once the situation improves."

Chance nods at Lifeline "oh I agree there." he notes "This house is pretty old, but it was designed to flex, not crack. Still, better safe than sorry." Already the Tomahawk was in sight, descending slowly downwards to take them to OFFUT.

Skystriker II XP-21F #3139> Wraith maintains orbit.

Psyche-Out continues to help with digging out families, using his sonic shovel until its power runs out, and then switches to the mundane variety

Ace helps fly rescue missions until all the pallets are empty, and then goes back to base to refuel.