[22:15] <~consilium> Alex receives a page.  "BRIEFING ROOM".
[22:16] <Alex> Well. That's not a phone number at all. Alex quickly jogs over to the briefing room; something must be up.
[22:19] <~consilium> Commander Fielding winces, smoke above him filling in the ceiling, his voice hoarse.  "Alex.  A critical NERV asset has been waylaid at O'Hare.  No information on their location or current status, but they would have contacted us by now if they could have."
[22:20] <~consilium> "Amy, Marguerite, and Lt McCormmick have been dispatched to retrieve one Dr Morrissette from O'Hare, before anything happens to him.  His successful, safe extraction is of the utmost importance.  You'll find a few photos of him on the desk."
04[22:21] <~consilium> He swallows hard.  "Turns out, Amy interrogated one, and learned they're some kind of cult.  Think we fight . . . you know, -angel- Angels.  So we know they're irrational and insane."
[22:22] <~consilium> "We're going to -fight- them by appealing to that, just long enough to secure Morrissette's safety.  His talents are invaluable to us, and you are to spare no effort in retrieving him."
06[22:24] * Alex nods, not wanting to interrupt the breifing.
[22:24] <~consilium> "We've pulled together some combat armor for you and the other pilots.  We're going to rely on the psychological impact of sending Pilots, while the police and first responders stand-by.  The armor has been fitted out to resemble your Evas, we just used spraypaint and foam, but it's a passing resemblance."
[22:25] <Alex> "Insertion method?"
[22:25] <~consilium> "I have no compunctions about mind-fucking these assholes.  We kill Angels.  They got in our way."
[22:27] <~consilium> "You'll be riding in in an armored transport.  The snipers have kept the police at a distance, but we can get a small detachment in at least.  That's you and the armor.  You'll RZ with Amy, supply her, and carry the remaining two suits and comms to Marguerite and Lt McCormmick.  Then, find Dr Morrissette."
[22:28] <~consilium> "You're at liberty to disengage with the attackers as soon as you have the doctor.  If you can do so safely, while still protecting Dr Morrissette, secure the safety of civilians, and you may use extreme prejudice against the attackers."
[22:28] <Alex> "Any intel for friend-or-foe?"
[22:30] <~consilium> "Next to none.  We have some furtive messages from Amy, but she could only send a few details via Mjr Curlinson's PDA.  We know they're religiously motivated, they belive the Angels are 'angels'", he spits, "But fuckall else.  The airport has been nearly evacuated, but of course there's always going to be stragglers."
[22:31] <~consilium> "So watch for civilians, and don't let the terrorists fuck up the hostages.  Most of all, find Dr Morrissette."
06[22:32] * Alex frowns. "Not even a staff picture of Dr Morrissette? Can you provide me with any identifying marks or at least a physical description?"
06[22:33] * Alex pauses for just a second. "Permitted equipment?"
[22:33] <~consilium> He chuckles a bit.  "If you want to bring something besides the rifle and armor we're kitting you with, go ahead.
06[22:35] * Alex nods. "I'll be kitted in two minutes and ready to deploy," he says, dashing out of the room.
[22:35] <~consilium> Lt McCormmick and Marguerite hear an odd buzzing noise.  It's their pagers.
06[22:36] * Ben_McCormmick tells Marguerite to wait up and he checks his pager.
06[22:36] * Marguerite checks her pager, briefly steadying herself against the lieutenant. "Mother Mary, I hurt. . ."
[22:36] <~consilium> "FALL BACK AWAIT ORDERS"
06[22:37] * Ben_McCormmick slips his pager back onto his belt. "Do you want me to carry you?"
[22:37] <~consilium> Amy hears her pager go off.  "GO FACADE OF BLDG GET DOWN"
06[22:38] * Marguerite 's fervor seems to wane. Her eyes dull. "Oh." She looks up at Ben, and shakes her head. She clutches her pager like a magic charm. "No. Have you ever been shot before?"
[22:38] <Alex> One hundred and twelve seconds later, Alex arrives, dressed in snug, nondescript midnight blue clothes and black boots. It looks like he has one of his training machetes strapped to him too.
[22:39] <~consilium> The Commander tilts his head.  "Alright, get to the freight elevator, get your ass in that transport, son."
06[22:40] * Amy turns back around and heads for...that part of the building!
06[22:40] * Alex nods and heads to it without any further ceremony.
06[22:40] * Amy slips through the hole in the window and takes cover behind a pillar!
06[22:40] * Ben_McCormmick turns his head to gaze back down the direction they had been heading. "Yeah. Plenty of times." He turns back to Marguerite. "You sure you don't need a hand?"
06[22:41] * Marguerite swallows hard. "Do you have any gauze? I don't want to bleed on my dress anymore."
[22:42] <~consilium> Amy hears a distant WHUM, and moments later hears a flapping, fluttering sound from above.
06[22:42] * Amy looks up.
[22:44] <Ben_McCormmick> "Nope." Ben forgets asking the girl if she needs help and picks her up, throwing her over his shoulders, fireman style.
[22:44] <~consilium> A large cylindrical parcel is falling fast on a small parachute, some gunfire rings out from the roof, but the cylinder bangs on the asphalt intact.
06[22:44] * Marguerite is unable to provide any resistance, and is swept easily over his shouler with a tiny gasp. "Dammit, Lieutenant. . ."
06[22:45] * Marguerite looks up and around. "Did you hear guns?"
06[22:46] * Alex kits himself out in the van as it moves: rifle, pistol, helmet, kevlar sleeves, sheer gloves. Not an inch of skin shows on him once he's finished (not that it was hard to do with his outfit in the first place) and the swirling dark blues and greys of his 'armor' completment his other garmets; if it didn't have 00 stenciled on the back in black and wasn't in such a pattern it might even have passed for camo.
06[22:46] * Amy peeks out from behind the pillar to try and judge where the rifle shots came from. "...So much for subtlety."
[22:46] <Ben_McCormmick> "That would be our cue to run!" Ben starts dashing full speed back towards the train platform
[22:47] <Alex> As Alex waits, sitting in the van with a profesionally calm demeanor, rifle between his legs, he reviews the pictures of Morisette he has. Such behaviour coming from a child is... unnerving, to say the least. His equipment almost hides that fact. Almost.
06[22:48] * Marguerite begins pounding on Ben's skull, ineffectually. "STOP! PUT ME DOWN! They said take cover and wait not leave like a coward!!"
06[22:50] * Marguerite tries again to beat herself free, but can't even land a blow.
[22:50] <Ben_McCormmick> "Fall back, that was our order."
[22:51] <Marguerite> "And AWAIT ORDERS! Stupid!"
[22:52] <Ben_McCormmick> "First, we are falling back."
06[22:52] * Marguerite continues to beat harmlessly about Ben's shoulders and neck, before tiring out. "I am NOT leaving this airport! You are NOT putting me back on a train!" She huffs.
[22:53] <~consilium> Amy hears a chime on the PDA this time.  "please provide location. need to rz w/others. sending alex, armor, supplies. where are you?"
06[22:54] * Amy types her reply! "Pillar outside broken glass wall - in eyeshot of crashed giant can. Ours?"
[22:55] <~consilium> The answer is quick.  "if it has parachute its yours. couldnt send much, has handguns armor and 1st aid kit. merry christmas."
03[22:57] <Amy> "Thank you sir." Amy checks the distance in her head compared to the snipers. Can she make it safely...?
[22:58] <~consilium> The canister is close to the building, making a quick dash-and-grab slightly easier thanks to the odd angle.
06[22:59] * Amy watches the direction of the bullets again. She closes her eyes and rests against the wall, and breathes deeply several times. "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this." After invoking the crazy hoodoo of repetition a few more times, she dashes for the canister to get her supplies!
06[23:01] * Marguerite tries again to beat Ben in the head, whiffing a clumsy punch through his hair.
[23:01] <Ben_McCormmick> Having decided that they have retreated far enough, Ben lets Marguerite down. "Now we hold tight and wait for orders. Lemme have a look at your head."
06[23:02] * Marguerite calms when she realizes he wasn't just going to drag her bodily out of the airport, and bows her head so he can see. "....je regrette, lieutenant."
[23:07] <Blind_Gardener> As Amy scrambles to the pod, she hears a rather close by pistol shot as a terrorist, who had been injured by the buss and was now hiding in the maintence area near where the pod happened to land, fired off a shot in her general direction. The shot actually misses. What hits her are shards of metal and broken glass from the object that the shot *does* hit
[23:08] <Blind_Gardener> They leave marks in her upper chest
06[23:08] * Amy grabs her chest and screams, doing a lovely job of giving away her position. She scrambles back to cover carrying her gear bag. "Son of a-!"
[23:09] <Blind_Gardener> As amy scrambles back, TWO rounds of sniper fire slam into the pod where she had been moments ago
[23:09] <Blind_Gardener> mising her, but probably frightening her
06[23:10] * Ben_McCormmick grabs her head and starts looking at the gash "Shit. We better get you to a doctor." He steps back and wipes his hands on his pants. "Heh, a little ironic, huh?"
06[23:11] * Marguerite looks at Ben with sunken, worn eyes. "How is it ironic? Doctor Morrissette IS my doctor. And is not irony supposed to be funny?"
06[23:11] * Amy -stares- at the pod. Once what almost happened to her processes, she jerks her head away and throws up on the ground, then drops right next to it. "No no no no no no."
06[23:14] * Alex waits silently in the van.
06[23:15] * Ben_McCormmick takes a knee next to Marguerite. "Yeah, it is funny."
03[23:15] <Amy> Amy forces herself to recover and slowly tries to move around to see if she can get up without first aid.
06[23:16] * Marguerite rubs at a stubborn bit of dampness on her cheek, getting rid of a tear but leaving behind a pink smear of blood. She shakes her head.
03[23:16] <Amy> Once everything checks out, she runs back inside to where Curlinson and the rescued civilians are. "Major! Miss Ididn'tgetyourname! Are you still here?"
[23:18] <Marguerite> "I don't know why we're here. I don't even have a weapon. I look ridiculous in this dress. I don't know if I could shoot someone even if I did." She takes a shuddering breath.
[23:23] <Alex> The van comes to a stop and Alex bursts out, rifle unsafied and at the ready extended from its sling, moving from cover to cover and making his way towards the bus until he can make contact with somebody.
03[23:24] <Amy> Walking a few more steps, Amy figures she's relatively okay, and she returns to the buss. SNEAKILY!
[23:25] <Ben_McCormmick> "Why do ya think I was trying to get you to stop? You coulda been killed!"
[23:26] <Marguerite> "I have to secure the doctor's safety. Orders," she says, as though that should explain everything. "B..besides..."
[23:27] <Ben_McCormmick> "You're 14. You don't have to follow orders like I do."
06[23:28] * Amy slumps somewhere safely inside and opens the bag of supplies. "What do we have?"
06[23:28] * Marguerite shakes her head. "I have fifteen years. Et...mais, oui.. c'est.." She doesn't know what to think about the last bit. "...but Doctor Morrissette has to be okay."
[23:30] <~consilium> The pod contains just what the Commander promised.  Three handguns, six clips of ammunition, a first-aid kit, and folded up kevlar pads.  Three of them.
[23:31] <~consilium> The technician finishes strapping the packed armor to a heavy dolly, and looks to Alex.  "Alright, drag this in as fast as you can, get it to the others, and good luck."
06[23:32] * Alex nods. "Any other information to report? Is the space from here to the entrance hot?"
[23:33] <~consilium> They nod gravely.  "Sniper fire is a serious risk, but look at that debris, and all the cars.  You should be a hard target to hit.  Says they got a BAR up there, so even with your armor, watch out."
[23:33] <Alex> "Wilco." Alex nods and surveys the environment before moving behind the dolly to the first point of cover quickly, waiting for a bit to see if he was spotted.
06[23:34] * Amy unpacks her gift and puts the kevlar on over her uniform. "Let's go investigate the airport, it'll be fun!" She laughs bitterly and loads the gun quickly. "Not -built- for fighting terrorists and they give me a couple pistols and some band-aids. I'm an idiot; it's official." The other guns go in her ridiculously deep pockets, and any other supplies stay in the bag. She puts that on and heads down the hall...
[23:37] <Alex> Assuming he isn't spotted, Alex repeats the process, using the dolly as mobile cover, until he either gets shot at or reaches the entrance.
06[23:41] * Marguerite clenches a fist.
[23:42] <~consilium> Marguerite and Lt McCormmick receive another page.  "USE PAY PHONE"
06[23:42] * Marguerite checks her pager, and makes a bee-line for the nearest phone.
06[23:43] * Marguerite pulls the phone off the hook and swipes her card, dialing the Commander's office.
06[23:44] * Ben_McCormmick grunts as he gets off his knee and heads after her.
[23:44] <Blind_Gardener> Alex, a bullet ploughs into the tarmac around you, followed by several more
06[23:44] * Alex speeds it up. Given their aim, Alex just ducks behind the dolly and runs for the entrance.
04[23:45] <~consilium> "Good to know you're still healthy.  Terminal two, near the entrance, Amy has a first-aid kit if you need it, and some kevlar and sidearms.  Alex is en route to her location, and he's got a surprise."
[23:46] <Marguerite> "Have you heard from the Doctor?" Marguerite gasps. "Doesn't this country have police?"
[23:47] <~consilium> "Of course we have police.  Snipers on the roof are holding off first-responders.  We'd call you out of there if we knew where the doctor is, so he's either dead or in hiding.  And we're betting he's not dead."
[23:47] <Blind_Gardener> Alex, the next bullet comes closer, you're only saved by the dolly
06[23:47] * Marguerite calms visibly. "Anything else?"
06[23:48] * Alex does an all-out for the entrance; as soon as he's out of their cone of effective fire he can rendezvous with everybody else.
[23:48] <Blind_Gardener> Then a hail of 50 cals from a BAR slams duitifully into the van you have already vacated
[23:49] <~consilium> Not that the Commander can see, he answers, "Find terminal two, get near the entrance and find Amy.  She doesn't seem to have met any resistance there, so kit out when Alex reaches you."
[23:49] <Marguerite> "Any idea how many there are?"
[23:49] <Marguerite> "...is it okay to hurt them?"
[23:51] <~consilium> "No way to know just now, but we think there are at least six or eight snipers covering the roof.  Stay inside if you can, not even your 'surprise' will help if one of their snipers hits you.  And you can carve up any of the attackers you meet.  Try to protect any civilians you find, help them to safety, but most of all, find the doctor.  Like I need to tell you that."
[23:51] <Marguerite> "For their own health I pray they have not hurt him," she says. "Shall the Lieutenant and I go?"
[23:52] <~consilium> "Affirmative.  Find the entrance of terminal two, find Amy, and get that armor on."
04[23:53] * Marguerite hangs up. She looks to Ben. "Terminal two, Amy has armor and weapons. Then Alex is coming with something better. Can we please run NOW?"