WHO: Alpha Team WHERE: Oros ; en route to and outside the Trilk base WHEN: Jan 12 - 20 WHAT: miscellaneous ass kicking WARNINGS: violence? will update with anything else
( pick a day, pick a fight you want to thread out, header it up and go! )
[ it had only been a matter of time before the mission had turned into a shitshow and carolina had accepted that from the beginning, but she's still a little pissed that it had turned into her showing up late to the fight. not too late to make a difference, but damn, she hates feeling slow. once she has the rest of beta team handed over to lee, carolina does a quick recap and assignment with kay-tu and sam, then heads off to find the rest of her team.
selfishly, it's not all of alpha team she wants to see right now, once she knows they're all still alive. no, she wants to check on her team, which means that at some point in a fight outside a guard station, there's the sounds of a scuffle on a wall over head, then a trilk body lands to one side of maine. carolina lands in a crouch on his other side, between him and wash, a moment later. ]
[ As he expected, the mission's been a shitshow and it's still not over. Wash is tired, fed up, and getting really tired of these Trilk assholes. They don't really look like Sangheili, but they're reptilian enough that they kind of do and he's having visions of Kholo.
He's done.
Which is why he doesn't flinch when a Trilk body comes flying by seconds before Carolina appears. ]
I don't think we're gonna run out! [ Almost absently, he sights another one of the things and puts a bullet through its eye, dropping it before it can approach. ] You're late, by the way.
[ This is exactly why the inexperienced shouldn't be on missions. Everything got fucked up along the way and it's annoying. Not that he minds carrying the weight of the team, but when half is lost to fuck knows where, shit gets annoying and aggravating quick.
Now, after everything, he doesn't like getting that angry. It reminds him of things he's trying not to think about and he doesn't want to lose control. It would be so easy to lose control, too. He feels it in every punch he lands against the Trilk. In every bullet that explodes the sacks on the Fek. In every explosion they manage by turning their own weapons against them. But, Maine doesn't want to be in a blind rage.
Which is why he's sticking close to Wash. He doesn't need to, they both know that. But it's the familiarity of years spent together on missions, in the training room and other. It's easy because they know the routine, they know how and where to move without having to say anything. Freelancers were made that way. A cohesive unit. Wash is a balm Maine sorely needs right now to keep himself grounded on this piss-poor mission.
Which gets a little better when he hears Carolina make her grand re-entry to the scene. Maine huffs a sound that's close to amusementโor as close as he can get. Now maybe they can show these chucklefucks how it's done. Maine makes a noise, a grumbling sound that means mostly nothing. Except for the fact he looks at both Wash and Carolina with a silent challenge issued behind his helmet.
Why not see who can take the most down to clear the area??? ]
[ things are infinitely better than they have been in days, just like that. whatever beta team is doing or not doing inside that base isn't her concern, because she got them that far and all that matters now is keeping this wall clear. eliminating waves of any sort of enemy is something that might as well be easy for freelancers, as far as she's concerned. especially when she has two of the best on either side of her. ]
You guys wouldn't have been early if you'd taken the scenic route with us. [ a little quip for wash, even as she draws her handgun with a tilted nod of her head for maine. she's long since lost the eluvio-issued laser gun and the trilk plasma weapon on her back looks like it's a different one from the one she salvaged earlier on in their journey, but that's about par for the course with her.
the handgun isn't going to get much use right now anyway, because as soon as she's sure that wash is in on maine's challenge too, she's moving to meet the little pack of trilk guards coming their way, apparently more determined than the last bunch. she gets two shots off before the first one intercepts her and she defaults to what she does best- forgetting she's even holding a gun in favour of just kicking the damn thing's ass with just her and her armour. ]
[ It's childish, but Wash finds himself grinning behind his visor anyway. Hell yeah, he's taking that challenge. He's older now, better trained, with considerably more experience under his belt than the last time they've done something like this. It's unlikely he'd ever actually beat Carolina's score, but he knows it'll be a fun challenge to try.
And he's not a sore loser. What's important is that he's back with his family. Who's the better fighter doesn't really matter to him. Never has. As long as everyone makes it home, that's all that truly matters. There's a reason he mostly stayed in sixth place back in the Project. ]
Yeah, yeah. Excuses.
[ More teasing. He knows the mission got fucked and he's not blaming anyone for that. It isn't their fault.
A low grunt of acknowledgement to both Carolina and Maine and he's off too. Wash isn't as physical a combatant as Carolina, not unless he has to be, but he can get a little up close and personal when the situation calls for it. Right now, he's after a knot of Trilk coming out of a... guard... thing. Hut? Cave? Mud blob? Something.
Maybe he'll get lucky and pick up some neat alien weaponry while he's at it. Taking out one of the aliens through a clean shot in the eye, he calls out the tally over their suit comms. ]
[ It's barely even a half a second after the affirmation comes from both of them that Maine takes off. Now, he's never been the fastest of anyone in the Project, but he's fast enough. His bulk lends to his collisions well enough that when he hits his own group of Trilk, they scatter like bowling pins. It barely even jars him. He's moving on muscle memory and there's just something about it that seems almost calming.
Maybe this is just what he needed. Excess violence with his family again. They might be working separately to out-do each other, but they're working in-sync. Later, he'll realize how much he needed this to feel normal again.
He incapacitates one with just his hands, because there's just something inherently barbaric about it that gives him a pleasing sense of power. He's been honed to be this kind of soldier. He's going to use that skill when he can. He takes out two more with the plasma guns the first one dropped. The fourth gets suplexed. This is almost a cakewalk compared to some of the missions they've been on.
An amused sort of sound crackles over their comms. Four. Heading for five. ]
Damnit. [ one glance at carolina (or even just a guess about her status) says that she's not swearing over being in a jam. she just doesn't like that maine's beating her right off the bat. some things don't change when it comes to people as stubborn as the freelancers all were and boy does it show right now. she always wants to win.
she has three enemies down when one manages to catch her off guard from behind, tackling her to the ground and making her handgun drop and skitter away from her. the trilk's size does her a favour, though, giving her space to roll onto her back and ram one knee up into its comparatively soft stomach. despite its grunt of pain and/or protest, the alien's fellows ignore any warnings in favour of dogpiling carolina, which really just makes them easier to pick off. she uses her other knee to re-aim the plasma weapon on the back of the first trilk, then elbows its head out of her way so she can reach down and fire it directly in the face of the next nearest trilk. four. she pulls the gun from its holster and fires it again, taking out another (five) and scorching the back of the one doing its best to pin her to the ground. wounded, it's not as focused on keeping her down and she uses her legs for the strength to flip it over her head, aiming up to catch it clean in the face before it even hits the ground.
triumphant, carolina rolls back on her shoulders and then hops to her feet, ready for the next scrap. ]
Six! [ the running tally between them may very well be the best motivation to do anything she's found all mission. it feels good. it feels right. ]
[ Of course he's already in last place. Of course he is. It's not in Wash's nature to just dive into a group of hostiles and start killing them with his bare hands. He probably could if he had the right kind of motivation, but a game doesn't qualify as such.
He huffs a little in feigned annoyance as Maine radios in with his tally. It turns into a snort as Carolina does the same. One is a pretty paltry number compared to five and six.
When a group of three Trilk come through some tunnel, Wash moves to intercept. He could make it flashy, maybe get one of those bombs and blow the aliens to hell, but at the last second he opts to do it his way. Three clean shoots to the eyes. All three drop before they can reach him. Or any of the other Alpha team members. ]
[ Because Carolina is the way she is, because Maine is the way he is, there's going to be a heavy competition between them. Maine doubts she's let go of trying to be The Bestโข and he just doesn't like anything getting the better of him. Because Wash is the way he is, he'll be calculating and steady. Maine and Carolina's numbers might be higher in the end, but Wash's kills will be far more precise.
It's why they're a team. One weakness is made up for by another's strength.
Of course, that doesn't mean Maine is just going to sit back and not pump up his own number. He tears through a pack of three, getting some explosives off them before they have a chance to detonate. He keeps three, launches two into another on-coming larger pack and hurls one into a guardhouse. The resulting explosions are satisfying and ups his number exponentially.
[ engaging with another wave of angry trilk guards, carolina's forgoing easy kills for satisfying ones, stretching her muscles, proving to herself that she can handle these enemies in bulk just as well as any other. the high kick to the head of the nearest trilk turns into a convent motion to pivot and check the direction of those most recent explosions. maine, of course. wash isn't cornered enough for that yet.
there's a garbled sound over the comms that's either interference or one of carolina's disgusted, hating-to-lose noises. take your guesses, guys.
not to be outdone, she quickly dispatches the current crowd around her, toying with one until she sees more enemies on the horizon. then she sidesteps, avoiding the impact from one of their plasma guns, and grabs one of the grenades she's been saving on her hip, waiting for the trilk in front of her to open its mouth in some sort of battle cry so she can shove it down the alien's throat and give it one hard kick back into its oncoming backup. they all go down and she's covered in guts in the process, but it's more than worth it. ]
[ Since Maine and Carolina are engaged in pulling in the impressive numbers, Wash concentrates on picking off the stragglers. He's never going to beat them anyway. And one hostile with good aim is just as dangerous as a group of them rampaging across the ground.
There's nothing remarkable about it. A shot here. A shot there. An explosion that collapses a section of the ground right out from under a pack of the aliens.
When Wash reaches a point of higher elevation, he scans the area with his eyes and his armor's scanners. ]
Are we done yet? How many of these fucking things can there be?
[ At this point, as fun as it is to cut loose and kill endless waves of these aliens, he's also getting a little tired of killing endless waves of aliens. Beta team should be getting that Relic any moment now ( at least, according to Maine's timeline; then again, he's used to competent people getting in and getting out so it takes minutes not hours ) and they haven't heard a peep yet. It's making him antsy working with so many people who don't have a fucking clue what's going on.
His area is cleared and he doesn't see anything alerting on his HUD so he turns his attention toward where he last saw Wash to pick him out and scan to make sure no sniper is lurking somewhere.
He makes another sound, impatient. What the fuck is going on? ]
We're not done until Beta's done. [ it's almost an appropriately diplomatic answer for a team lead. the wording is, at least, but so long as she's not on a public channel, carolina doesn't bother to keep the heavy judgement out of her voice. wash and maine will know what that really means. carolina doesn't think beta's pulling their weight. and that's always a stipulation of carolina's missions (not to mention her ego): she's got to be the best, but everyone on the team has to be able to keep up.
and damn does she ever miss infiltrators who could meet her standards right now.
maine's rumble catches her attention, though, carolina's attention lingering on her most recent kills a moment to make sure none of them are moving before she turns to catch sight of him. and then wash, of course. always checking on them. ]
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closed to freelancers
selfishly, it's not all of alpha team she wants to see right now, once she knows they're all still alive. no, she wants to check on her team, which means that at some point in a fight outside a guard station, there's the sounds of a scuffle on a wall over head, then a trilk body lands to one side of maine. carolina lands in a crouch on his other side, between him and wash, a moment later. ]
I can't believe you started without me.
[ did you miss her? ]
no subject
He's done.
Which is why he doesn't flinch when a Trilk body comes flying by seconds before Carolina appears. ]
I don't think we're gonna run out! [ Almost absently, he sights another one of the things and puts a bullet through its eye, dropping it before it can approach. ] You're late, by the way.
[ That's a joke. By this point, so are they. ]
no subject
Now, after everything, he doesn't like getting that angry. It reminds him of things he's trying not to think about and he doesn't want to lose control. It would be so easy to lose control, too. He feels it in every punch he lands against the Trilk. In every bullet that explodes the sacks on the Fek. In every explosion they manage by turning their own weapons against them. But, Maine doesn't want to be in a blind rage.
Which is why he's sticking close to Wash. He doesn't need to, they both know that. But it's the familiarity of years spent together on missions, in the training room and other. It's easy because they know the routine, they know how and where to move without having to say anything. Freelancers were made that way. A cohesive unit. Wash is a balm Maine sorely needs right now to keep himself grounded on this piss-poor mission.
Which gets a little better when he hears Carolina make her grand re-entry to the scene. Maine huffs a sound that's close to amusementโor as close as he can get. Now maybe they can show these chucklefucks how it's done. Maine makes a noise, a grumbling sound that means mostly nothing. Except for the fact he looks at both Wash and Carolina with a silent challenge issued behind his helmet.
Why not see who can take the most down to clear the area??? ]
no subject
You guys wouldn't have been early if you'd taken the scenic route with us. [ a little quip for wash, even as she draws her handgun with a tilted nod of her head for maine. she's long since lost the eluvio-issued laser gun and the trilk plasma weapon on her back looks like it's a different one from the one she salvaged earlier on in their journey, but that's about par for the course with her.
the handgun isn't going to get much use right now anyway, because as soon as she's sure that wash is in on maine's challenge too, she's moving to meet the little pack of trilk guards coming their way, apparently more determined than the last bunch. she gets two shots off before the first one intercepts her and she defaults to what she does best- forgetting she's even holding a gun in favour of just kicking the damn thing's ass with just her and her armour. ]
no subject
And he's not a sore loser. What's important is that he's back with his family. Who's the better fighter doesn't really matter to him. Never has. As long as everyone makes it home, that's all that truly matters. There's a reason he mostly stayed in sixth place back in the Project. ]
Yeah, yeah. Excuses.
[ More teasing. He knows the mission got fucked and he's not blaming anyone for that. It isn't their fault.
A low grunt of acknowledgement to both Carolina and Maine and he's off too. Wash isn't as physical a combatant as Carolina, not unless he has to be, but he can get a little up close and personal when the situation calls for it. Right now, he's after a knot of Trilk coming out of a... guard... thing. Hut? Cave? Mud blob? Something.
Maybe he'll get lucky and pick up some neat alien weaponry while he's at it. Taking out one of the aliens through a clean shot in the eye, he calls out the tally over their suit comms. ]
One!
no subject
Maybe this is just what he needed. Excess violence with his family again. They might be working separately to out-do each other, but they're working in-sync. Later, he'll realize how much he needed this to feel normal again.
He incapacitates one with just his hands, because there's just something inherently barbaric about it that gives him a pleasing sense of power. He's been honed to be this kind of soldier. He's going to use that skill when he can. He takes out two more with the plasma guns the first one dropped. The fourth gets suplexed. This is almost a cakewalk compared to some of the missions they've been on.
An amused sort of sound crackles over their comms. Four. Heading for five. ]
no subject
she has three enemies down when one manages to catch her off guard from behind, tackling her to the ground and making her handgun drop and skitter away from her. the trilk's size does her a favour, though, giving her space to roll onto her back and ram one knee up into its comparatively soft stomach. despite its grunt of pain and/or protest, the alien's fellows ignore any warnings in favour of dogpiling carolina, which really just makes them easier to pick off. she uses her other knee to re-aim the plasma weapon on the back of the first trilk, then elbows its head out of her way so she can reach down and fire it directly in the face of the next nearest trilk. four. she pulls the gun from its holster and fires it again, taking out another (five) and scorching the back of the one doing its best to pin her to the ground. wounded, it's not as focused on keeping her down and she uses her legs for the strength to flip it over her head, aiming up to catch it clean in the face before it even hits the ground.
triumphant, carolina rolls back on her shoulders and then hops to her feet, ready for the next scrap. ]
Six! [ the running tally between them may very well be the best motivation to do anything she's found all mission. it feels good. it feels right. ]
no subject
He huffs a little in feigned annoyance as Maine radios in with his tally. It turns into a snort as Carolina does the same. One is a pretty paltry number compared to five and six.
When a group of three Trilk come through some tunnel, Wash moves to intercept. He could make it flashy, maybe get one of those bombs and blow the aliens to hell, but at the last second he opts to do it his way. Three clean shoots to the eyes. All three drop before they can reach him. Or any of the other Alpha team members. ]
That's three more.
no subject
It's why they're a team. One weakness is made up for by another's strength.
Of course, that doesn't mean Maine is just going to sit back and not pump up his own number. He tears through a pack of three, getting some explosives off them before they have a chance to detonate. He keeps three, launches two into another on-coming larger pack and hurls one into a guardhouse. The resulting explosions are satisfying and ups his number exponentially.
Does he really have to say that?? ]
no subject
there's a garbled sound over the comms that's either interference or one of carolina's disgusted, hating-to-lose noises. take your guesses, guys.
not to be outdone, she quickly dispatches the current crowd around her, toying with one until she sees more enemies on the horizon. then she sidesteps, avoiding the impact from one of their plasma guns, and grabs one of the grenades she's been saving on her hip, waiting for the trilk in front of her to open its mouth in some sort of battle cry so she can shove it down the alien's throat and give it one hard kick back into its oncoming backup. they all go down and she's covered in guts in the process, but it's more than worth it. ]
There we go.
no subject
There's nothing remarkable about it. A shot here. A shot there. An explosion that collapses a section of the ground right out from under a pack of the aliens.
When Wash reaches a point of higher elevation, he scans the area with his eyes and his armor's scanners. ]
Are we done yet? How many of these fucking things can there be?
no subject
His area is cleared and he doesn't see anything alerting on his HUD so he turns his attention toward where he last saw Wash to pick him out and scan to make sure no sniper is lurking somewhere.
He makes another sound, impatient. What the fuck is going on? ]
no subject
and damn does she ever miss infiltrators who could meet her standards right now.
maine's rumble catches her attention, though, carolina's attention lingering on her most recent kills a moment to make sure none of them are moving before she turns to catch sight of him. and then wash, of course. always checking on them. ]
Everything good up there?