Quintesson Invasion - 9/1/2013 - Capturing an Alley-Viper

Log Title: Capturing an Alley-Viper Characters: Alley-Viper 910, Angel, Sicarius, Snaptrap, Snarl  Location: Los Angeles  Date: 9/1/2013 TP: Quintesson Invasion '''Summary: Under orders from his Quintesson masters, Sicarius is hunting for prisoners to be put on trial. A patroling squad of Alley-Vipers become his latest target.'''

== Log ==

Los Angeles

Conflicting images of Los Angeles flicker across our television and movie screens: Hollywood glamour contrasts with gang violence, year-round sunny skies with smog, fast cars with traffic jams. From what travelers can gather, Los Angeles is a land of style and disaster, movers and shakers and earthquakes. Residents are accustomed to a rhythm that alternates between relaxation and stress, but out-of-towners -- fortunately -- tend to experience much more of the former. The nation's second-largest city (after New York), L.A. is a great place in which to do business or take a vacation. Marvelous restaurants, terrific nightlife, beaches, diverse cultural offerings, Disneyland and easygoing attitudes converge in a vast territory flooded with sunshine and lined with palms. Nearly everyone should see L.A. at least once, though a single trip will hardly be enough to appreciate such a vast area that's jam-packed with things to do.

Alley-Viper 910 is on patrol with her squad in L.A. So far it has gone well. As the Alley-Vipers begin to return to the refugee camp with those they have already rescued, the commander point to a building and says, "910, I thought I saw movement by that window. Take 911 and 912 and investigate."

The commander wasn't imagining things. There was, indeed, a blur of motion in the window. Sicarius has been stalking the patrol for the past twenty minutes. He moves slowly back from the window, gripping pads on his hands and knees allowing him to climb up the wall of the building's stairwell. He waits in the corner, like an invisible Spider-Man.

Alley-Viper 910 moves into the building, the other two vipers covering her. She slowly begins climbing the stairs as quietly as possible, shield held to cover as much of her body as possible, with her gun poking around the side.

Sicarius watches as the lead Alley-Viper comes around the corner, and waits quietly. Once the last of the trio has passed, he crawls down slowly and moves into line a few steps behind the pack. The only sound he makes is the tiniest hiss of a well-oiled blade extending.

Alley-Viper 910 continues to climb the stairs, radioing her superior, "Nothing so far, Sir."

Let's change that, shall we? Stepping up quickly, the assassin flickers into view behind the trailing Alley-Viper. With a quick thrust, he aims his blade at the back of the neck, just below the base of the skull...

The Alley-Viper trailing 910 notices 912 stop moving and says, "Hold! What's wrong with you, 912?"

Alley-Viper 912 is suddenly lifted bodily from the steps, revealing the assassin behind him. Sicarius tosses the dead man over his shoulder and down to the landing behind him. With a *HUFF* of air escaping from beneath the faceplate, he spins around and charges at the next Alley-Viper in line.

911 yells, "Hostile to the rear" and opens fire on the assassin. 910 spins around. >> Alley-Viper 910 misses Sicarius with Laser . <<

Sicarius ducks down as 911 opens fire with his weapon, kneeling to one side. He suddenly leaps upward as the Alley-Viper adjusts aim, spinning around so the rear leg touches down on the wall. Kicking off into a back-flip, he aims to bring his knee down on Alley-Viper 911's skull.

911 is hit, and collapses. 910 radios, "We have a hostile, the other two are down. Evacuate immediately. I'll hold it off.

Sicarius stablizes himself with a foot on 911's shoulder as the Alley-Viper goes down. He then looks up, the faceplate reflecting 910 as he unslings his rifle. Those Alley-Viper shields are good for small arms fire, but can they stop a railgun slug? >> Sicarius strikes Alley-Viper 910 with Railgun . <<

Alley-Viper 910 stumbles backwards as she is struck, and swears. She raises her gun and fires at the orange thing saying, "You shouldn't have messed with us." >> Alley-Viper 910 misses Sicarius with Smg . <<

Sicarius's armor deflects a couple of the bullets, and his nimble maneuver lets him evade the rest. Weaving from one side of the staircase to the other, he climbs toward the Alley-Viper. As he closes in, he leaps forward, aiming a horizontal knee strike at chest height. >> Sicarius misses Alley-Viper 910 with Kick. <<

Alley-Viper 910 brings up the damaged shield just in time to block the kick. She lowers the shield and pushes off the step she is on, trying to bash her attacker and knock him down the stairs. >> Alley-Viper 910 misses Sicarius with Slam. <<

Sicarius traces his left leg back in a 'C' to dodge the kick. With his target's leg extended, he reaches in to grab it, aiming to spin her around and throw her against a wall. >> Sicarius strikes Alley-Viper 910 with Slam. <<

Alley-Viper 910 gets slammed into the wall and drops her shield. She stumbles a bit, but recovers. She balls up her fist and swings wildly in the direction of her attacker. >> Alley-Viper 910 misses Sicarius with Roundhouse. <<

Sicarius raises his arm to block the haymaker. It's like trying to hook your arm around a telephone pole. He steps in, throwing up a quick lead-hand jab at the Alley-Viper's faceplate. >> Sicarius strikes Alley-Viper 910 with Punch. <<

The Alley-Viper's head is snapped back by the blow, and she is dazed. She raises one foot and tries to stomp down on her attacker's knee, thinking, "What the hell is this thing?" >> Alley-Viper 910 misses Sicarius with Stomp. <<

Sicarius slides his leg back, letting the stomp strike the floor instead. He balls up his fist again for another jab, this one aimed at the Alley-Viper's shoulder. The ten-inch blade extends from the wrist, just above the hand. He jabs with enough force to drive the blade into the brick wall behind her. >> Sicarius misses Alley-Viper 910 with Blade. <<

Alley-Viper 910 dodges the blade and draws her knife. She studies Sicarius for a moment and slices, trying to hit a spot between the orange plates. She radios, "I don't know how much longer I can keep it occupied." >> Alley-Viper 910 misses Sicarius with Slice. <<

Sicarius's blade becomes lodged in the wall. Seeing his target's knife come out, he acts quickly. With a twist of his arm, he breaks the weapon off, leaving the rest stuck in the brick. This affords him the opportunity to step back and evade the slash. His hand splays open. He may have lost the blade, but he still has his claws... >> Sicarius strikes Alley-Viper 910 with Claw. <<

Alley-Viper 910 yells in pain as she is hit, and begins to run down the stairs, ignoring the transmission, "We are clear, 910. Repeat, we are clear."

Sicarius lets the Alley-Viper descend the staircase. She can check over her shoulder, but it doesn't look like he's pursuing... that is, until she gets to the street. There's a sound of shattering glass. Sicarius has leapt out of the second-story window, electricity crackling around his right hand as he lands on the street, driving his fist to the pavement. >> Sicarius strikes Alley-Viper 910 with Shock Blast . <<

Alley-Viper 910 collapses, and doesn't move again.

Poor Alexis. Alone, abandoned, left at the cold hands of this unfeeling abomination. Sicarius straightens up as the electricity disipates. He strides over to the unconscious Alley-Viper and reaches down, easily lifting her with one arm and slinging her over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He turns and starts back toward the Bellum...

You go to Bellum - Staging Deck. Bellum - Staging Deck

The lowest level of the Bellum serves as a staging area. Numerous cargo elevators, some of which are large enough to accomodate a gestalt, ring the walls. The lesser Quintesson species, mainly the brutish Bailiffs, do the grunt work. Several raised platforms overlook the large floor, typically occupied the Prosecuter breed of Quintesson. Cargo containers are stacked in designated areas, which are cordoned off by energy fences. These fences can be altered from simple force barriers to deadly electrical beams. Five enormous doors, spaced evenly around the interior, offer a way in and out, ramps leading down to wherever the ship is anchored.

Alley-Viper 910 has arrived. Although he's much smaller than the majority of the Quintesson agents, the larger machines make a point of giving Sicarius room to pass with his prisoner. Stepping onto one of the lifts, he heads upward toward the central shaft.

You go to Bellum - Central Shaft. Bellum - Central Shaft

The base of this wide-open shaft is ringed with elevators that lead down to the staging area. The rest of it is a perfectly rounded, hollow cylinder that extends from the anchoring point at the base to the command spire at the top. Gravity fields allow one to walk the length of the shaft as if walking along a horizontal floor. This makes the transition from the central shaft into any of the connecting areas a bit disorienting for first-timers.

Alley-Viper 910 has arrived. Alley-Viper 910 groans and struggles weakly.

Sicarius slides his hand to the back of the woman's neck. He doesn't squeeze or press down. He's not even rough with her. He just gives her a gentle reminder that the claws are there. He reaches one of the gravity-shifting ramps, and the Alley-Viper likely feels a strong sense of disorientation as they transition from the floor onto the wall.

Alley-Viper 910 stops struggling when she feels the claws on her neck and tries to memorize as much of the ship as she can.

You go to Bellum - Command Spire. Bellum - Command Spire

Directly above the central shaft of the Bellum is the Command Spire. Five ports in the ceiling of the shaft each lead to a spiral staircase that winds up around an enormous cylinder at the base of the spire. This area serves as a prison block for those awaiting trial. Cells line the outside of the cylinder. Speakers and monitors throughout the area, none of them actually inside the cells, broadcast the trials for the other prisoners to see.

Alley-Viper 910 comes in from Bellum - Central Shaft.

Angel is sitting with his back against the cell wall, staring at the opposite wall blankly. A half-eaten protein bar is in his hand. The sniper is missing his custmary rifle, and has definitely been on the losing end of a fight; his uniform is burnt in several places, and there's dried blood stains as well.

Sicarius carries a badly injured Alley-Viper over his shoulders as he walks off out of the central shaft and onto one of the spiral staircases. The stairs bring him around to Angel's cell. The Bailiff who's been standing guard looks down at the pair, grunting an acknowledgement and turning to deactivate the cell's energy-bars.

Mindful of the claws, the Alley-Viper doesn't struggle. She takes in everything she can though.

Angel looks over as he hears Sicarius come over. The Cobra struggles to his feet, and, in a move borne of desperation perhaps, tries to flee the cell while the energy bars are gone.

Sicarius's hand lashes out with blinding speed, palm thrust toward the Cobra sharpshooter. He uses a new toy that his Masters gave him. A pair of small needles extend from his palm on contact, injecting a dose of specialized nanites into the man. These nanites have a very specific task: repair damaged tissues. The Quintessons want these particular prisoners healthy. (It also has convenient applications in torture!) Once the nanites have been injected, he shoves the young man back into the cell.

Angel cries out in pain as Sicarus shoves him back into the cell, weakly collapsing to the ground. He's still very weak from being beaten by Sicarius yesterday, and he seems to have used up most of his remaining strength trying to flee. He lays in a heap, unmoving.

Alley-Viper 910 watches the Cobra's escape attempt and waits to see what they do to her.

Sicarius steps into the cell, the Bailiff moving to block the doorway behind him. He reaches up and lowers the Alley-Viper to the floor of the cell, delivering the same injection to her as he does so. Fortunately for these humans, the tiny machines are only designed for repair. The simplicity of their function keeps them small, and they're programmed to deactivate and leech out of the body once no further injuries are detected.

Angel doesn't react at all as Sicarius enters the cell. The Cobra seems to have been stunned by the throwing.

Alley-Viper 910 watches the injured Cobra and says quietly, "They got you too, huh?"

Angel is still for a moment, then nods. He shifts to look at the Alley-Viper, blinking a few times, trying to recall which number she was. "...910?" he hazards.

Sicarius steps back out of the cell, and the Bailiff reactivates the laser bars. The operative then steps out of view. With this task completed, he moves on to the next.

Alley-Viper 910 says, "I don't remember your name. How'd you get here?"

"Angel." The sniper pushes himself up to a sitting potion. "I... Was stationed in Moscow, with several Viper units, keeping eyes on the Spire there. We were gathering combat intel between the Quintesson forces and a few Cybertronians, when... /that. thing," he gestures to where Sicarius had been, "started stalking us. I drew it's attention while Wiretap and the others made a run for it..."

Alley-Viper 910 says, "That sucks. I was investigating a building when it jumped us." She takes off her helmet and frowns.

Angel absentmindedly picks up his dropped protein bar, and nibbles on it. "What do they want with us? I hope it's not to... make more of that thing." He checks his vest pocket, relaxing when he sees inside it. He sighs. "I hope Wiretap and the others are safe."

Alley-Viper 910 says, "At least they're feeding us. If they wanted us dead, they wouldn't have taken us here."

"That's not a very comforting thought." Angel says, shaking his head. He takes another bite of his protein bar, chewing quickly. "...Where did they tae you from? That thing took some sort of transporter to get here; I don't know where we are."

There's a heavy clanking on one of the spiral staircases. A pair of Sharkticons marches down, followed by a quartet of Bailiffs. In the middle of this group is Snaptrap, with an unconscious form over his shoulder: the form of Snarl.

Alley-Viper 910 says, "I was in LA. I don't know how long I was out for, though."

Angel nods. "So, the Spires are interlinked by this... hub?" The sniper frowns, and looks up at the loud noise. He moves foward a bit, trying to see better. "It's that turtle one! And... he's carrying somone, one of the Cybertronians. I can't tell who it is though."

One of the Bailiffs moves forward to an empty cell, deactivating the laser bars. Snaptrap steps for ward and rather cruely tosses the unconscious Dinobot inside. His voice growls through the faceplate, speaking to one of the bailiffs, "Send someone to patch this one up. The Masters like 'em healthy when they're fed to the Sharkticons..." The laser bars are reactivated, and two Bailiffs are posted outside of Snarl's cell.

Angel's eyes widen as he hears Snaptrap talking. "...Fed to... Oh no." He gulps, looking over to the Alley-Viper, who's unconscious. "...No, I don't want to die like that!" he whispers, afraid. "...I want to wake up."

The dinobot is boneless as he's casually tossed into the cell, Snarl's optics flashing again as he lands. Boy, someone is likely to get their chassis' kicked  if he reactivates

Angel makes sure the Alley Viper is laying in a comfortable position, befire curling up himself, looking tired. "..."