Day 2 – Part 2
Descent
The shuttle was a bit cramped, with eleven people and their weaponry trying to be as comfortable as possible in the seats provided for them. While Jade piloted the shuttle down and I tried to pinpoint the exact position of the camp, everybody else was working on what to do to approach the camp. The first suggestion made was to first send a few people in as scouts and then bash into the enemy with full force to then destroy the controlling apparatus, but, after I got word of the potential bonus they could gain, that was soon modified to send three teams to infiltrate inside the camp, then steal the apparatus and all other Acebee technology.
A bad situation nearly sparked when Palaiologos said they had to enter the camp guns blazing, and then said he would be killing all the Japanese soldiers he found, which would certainly ruin the plans to infiltrate the camp. Several threats, including death threats towards Palaiologos and a threat to betray the team by part of the sniper, were exchanged, and things got very heated up before I got them to concentrate on the mission. A compromise was reached: Palaiologos would remain on the ship, and use his sniper rifle to cover the others if it was needed. I wondered how, or why, such a trigger-happy man had become a sniper when their trade prided themselves in being patient and able to hide away anywhere.
“Very well, Jade, I have the exact coordinates of the Japanese camp. They are 18 degrees 27 minutes 5 seconds north, 122 degrees 9 minutes 43 seconds east. It's in the Santa Ana peninsula, and the Japanese have chosen to camp on a hill surrounded by forest and jungle. There are other headquarters along Luzon Island, but this is the important one. Now, follow your plan, and be careful, OK?”
“Yeah, sure,” Byrne replied, watching the console as the point where the camp was was marked on the map. Cautiously piloting down to earth, she pinpointed on the map the three landing points where she was expected to leave the rest of the team, ignoring meanwhile the rest of the argument between the other team members over Palaiologos' immature behaviour and further detailing of the plan.
The first landing was a bit too rough, as she did not know enough about the controls to land well. However, it was good enough to let Hark, the Hermit and Blackstone to get out of the shuttle before taking off once more. The second landing was far better, as she was getting a good hang on the controls, and let Withington, Morriss and Nerras get out of the shuttle. The third landing let Jack, Takashi and Strongnovitch out, and then she took off for the east, where she would await the rest of the team, with only Palaiologos with her.
The sniper decided to ready his sniper rifle to support the three scout teams, but in his haste to prepare himself, one of the clips slipped and fell out of the ship, into the jungle that stood below them.
Team North
As soon as Hark, the Hermit and Blackstone touched ground, Hark started to search for the direction they would have to walk for.
After getting his companions to help him, Hark managed to determine the direction they would have to walk, and they started to move.
The Hermit then led them through a path he expected would allow them to approach the enemy camp without being seen.
Unfortunately for them, the path chosen by the Hermit put them right on the path of a Japanese soldier, and none of them were disguised.
Hark and Blackstone pulled out their weapons and shot at the soldier, with Blackstone's bullets hitting him on the right shoulder, right lung and gut, and then Hark's exploding into the soldier, pretty much instantly killing him and having several pieces of his body fly away.
The three men knew that the explosions would very likely attract the attention of nearby Japanese soldiers, so they tried to move away as fast as possible from their current position so as to avoid being caught. While Marcus told the others about the encounter, the Hermit threw a spell around the team.
The Hermit's spell was quite good, so good that it was only the trio's knowledge that allowed them to see through the disguises. He believed that it would give them an hour, approximately, to approach the camp without being detected as non-Japanese people. At least, it would help them to cast away any potential suspicion on them.
Team West
When they got out of the shuttle, Withington had the rest of the team stay around him, so that he could use his spell to cover the team's intrusion into the enemy's camp.
The spell was successful, making the three men look like Japanese soldiers, down to their uniforms. Of course, it was not perfect: if someone else touched them, they would be discovered. However, it would hopefully hold for enough time to do their work and get out of the camp.
The trio then set off towards the camp, guided by their bracelets.
Alexander Withington nearly lead the team towards the wrong direction, and in an argument he unconsciously brought up his staff.
The staff then “decided” to make itself known by discharging some on Withington, hurting his hand and warning him not to try and do anything stupid.
As they moved towards their objective, they heard a few shots and then an explosion coming from their left, more or less. It was clear that this was the North team, which was made clear through communications with the team: they had encountered a Japanese soldier and had been forced to kill him before he gave warning. Well, at least it should give them a better chance to sneak into the camp, since the soldiers would be distracted with the attack on the north.
Team South
When Byrne left them in the ground, Jack soon tried to imitate the SEP field the shuttle had through the use of some magic.
The SEP field was not perfect, as anyone with some concentration would be able to look through it, but it allowed the group some cover in their advance towards the camp.
While Strongnovitch gulped down half a bottle of vodka, Takashi used his bracelet to start seeking the direction they would have to move for.
Using the sun position, the local time and the bracelet, he was able to determine the correct direction to go for, and led his team in that direction.
While they were on the way, they heard a few shots and an explosion coming from the direction they were going to. They thought it was probably a training exercise, but a fast checking on the others told them that it had been Hark's team, which had gotten caught and had killed a solitary Japanese soldier. They resolved to keep advancing: they knew that, in fact, there was a better chance for them to slip in without being noticed.
However, that was nixed a bit too soon.
In his inebriated state, Strongnovitch confused a tree for a soldier, and shot at it with his AK-47, using several bullets before realizing his mistake. Of course, that had as a consequence that any nearby soldiers would have heard it, and now the team was in big trouble.
Jack tried to cover the group up, using a spell.
Unfortunately, he slipped up at the ritual required, and instead of the intended mist, he ended up conjuring several very loud and shining fireworks, pretty much calling all Japanese troops to their position.
“Damn,” Takashi said. This would seriously put their plan to sneak into the camp in danger.
“Better keep moving, then,” Strongnovitch said. The three men rushed away, trying not to be seen.
Back in the CFC.com...
I observed all of this with some surprise. Well, it was not as if I expected them to be perfect. Hopefully, they would manage to make the most out of the current situation. Maybe they could use the distraction to get through.
While the group started to advance, or tried to sneak around the Japanese patrols, I saw at the side that Miller, the one that had remained behind, was trying to look around the alcohol, but he was ignoring the beer. Was he looking for vodka? He needn't have tried, all the vodka was in Strongnovitch's pockets. Well, at least he would not be able to consume it all. They had to save some for the future. Otherwise, it would not work well with the expected costs of traveling. Well, it would not be as much of my concern when we reached the Hub.
“Miller, there's no vodka there,” I said through the intercom.
There was no answer from Miller, but instead a warning from one of the sensors. I blanched: I knew what that meant, and it was certainly not good at all.
“Gentlemen, better if you get moving, the puppet is activating the apparatus,” I told the others. Hopefully, this warning would get to them soon. I prayed that the bracelets actually held correctly.
OOC: Well, that's a new day in your new life! Hope you enjoyed this update, and sorry for not putting it up sooner, I'm quite busy with both my job and my soon-to-be move to other town where I'll start working too. The only problem is that it might take me some time for me to get internet on my new house, so, until new order (or in the weekends), I'm not going to be able to do much around here.
For the next part, you have 5 actions. Make sure to use them well, and that you can actually carry them out.
To those caught by Sandy, hope you are well.
