Chapter 4: Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora (IC)

"Clear." he says back towards Newt.

Bazin slides out of the "subterranean" tunnel and assists the injured Newt climb the ladder. Once she was on his level, they both stand in a low crouch, looking aroun, Bazin holding his heavy laspistol at the ready.

[With Bazin/Newt]

The alley was very similar to the one the group had used to access the under corridor previously. Luckily for Bazin, there was some sort of method to the madness in the construction of this level. Using his keen mind, he paints a mental map of where they were - or rather would have been had he ascended the ladder with the Ratlings and Petra's tracker - and how far he traveled since then.

There is a large building to both his left and right. No doubt living habs of some kind if the slit-windows and air-recycling units on the sides of the buildings, and the large waste-dumpsters in the alley were any indication. By his expert calculations, he and Newt traveled about two city blocks before ascending. That meant that the Ratlings were somewhere to their left. Given the length of blocks here, Bazin deduces that they are anywhere from 350 to 400 meters to their left, precisely.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

He motions for Newt to follow and they creep along the side of a hab-building. Bazin was on edge, every sound, every seeming motion caught his attention with full force.

"They should be this way." he says to Newt lowly.

"How do you know?" she asks.

His only reply was silence. He had no logical answer for his intuition. He could only hope it lead to salvation and not damnation.

Spoiler:

Looking over at the other two, Ruaidhri gave a nod, before with practised slowness and confidence he slid forwards onto his elbows and knees and stared to make his way forward to the ledge. At this point he wasn't worried if anyone could see him. In the middle of the roof and with the darkness that had spread over the sector, it was very unlikely that there was someone above watching him. A small chance maybe which made the exercise worthwhile but the thing which most concerned him and was the real reason for the care in his movement, was noise. If his gun was to drop from his hands, or to clang against the ridge of the building, then all this care would be nothing. They would be spotted and he would have thrown away the terrifying power of the sniper. As the Imperium of man had spread across the Galaxy it had faced horrors unimaginable to the dwellers of Terra. Xenos creatures and their weapons of pain and death. The warp and its power to conjure very real corruption in the hearts of anyone you trusted. And everything on a scale that questioned what point you had in all.
Despite all this though, there were some things on the battlefield that didn't change, that were still true millennia later. That instant terror and deep dread when one of your companions is suddenly picked off in front of you, out of nowhere and the realisation kicks in. There's a sniper here. I am being watched. And they could be anywhere.

[Bazin/Newt]

As Bazin creeps up the alley toward the thoroughfare, he knows that the Ratlings were some 400 meters to his left. He might think of it as West if the direction ahead was North. Before he decides to simply head that way, he starts to hear the distant staccato pops of what could only be gunfire. He places it roughly the same distance as the snipers to his left, but also a little more north of their position.

If they wanted to, Bazin wagered that he and Newt could cross the thoroughfare and take the alleys to get behind wherever that new noise was coming from. Of course, they could always take the main thoroughfare and take their chances not being spotted. If this excitement was happening on the main street, they would run a higher risk of being spotted - though they would probably get to it sooner.


+++

[Ruaidhri/Uallachan]

Ruaidhri's head ghosts up over the lip of the building slowly and gracefully. No sudden movements. The Ratling immediately spots what looks to be a contingent of... abhumans. No, this was more than that. Some of them had additional limbs, bulbous heads, eyes too big and sharp teeth. There were others among them that looked clearly human from this distance. Mutants?

The building across the main street was not quite as tall as the one Ruaidhri currently occupied. It was only four stories. There seemed to be movement within the building as these mutants, or whatever they were, moved to and fro. On the street they seemed to be setting up shop. They were moving vehicles into the street as to create a roadblock as this was a natural intersection of sorts. Ruaidhri spotted at least a dozen individuals, but the longer he looked, the more he realized that there were likely more inside the building. His eyes moved slowly from the ground floor up to the roof.

They were up there too. A few were affixing some sort of electronic device to the steel piping that rose up and connected with the bottom of the the next level of Port Wander above them. They were also moving to the corners of the building to cover the streets below.

There was one who stood out from the rest. It was bestial. Huge head, muscle laden arms. It wore the coveralls of a miner, but commanded the others around it. It stood on the corner of the street and directed the ones moving the cars to create a roadblock. It had three eyes instead of two, and Ruaidhri could tell that the mouth was filled with fangs rather than teeth.

Just as Ruaidhri had seen enough, he locked eyes with this leader....

Spoiler:

He listens with his ear towards the sounds. It was all autogun type fire-something he was all too familiar with back home.

He was about to charge in, when he stops.

He looks back at Newt. She obviously could hear the gunfire, but wanted to avoid it.
"Its the ratlings. We're going to flank the one shooting."

She grabs his arm as he moves to cross the thoroughfare, "How do you know?" she asks.
Her tone was pleading, desperate.
It made sense, she was wounded and they shared a single pistol between them. If they got in over their heads she would be a liability.

"I dunno." he shrugs, "And they probably wouldnt help us if the situation was reversed, but I cant not help. If the situation is different than I expect, we can walk away. Besides, who else would they be shooting at?"

She was wary, but ultimately she would put her faith in Bazin....

With that, they creep across the street.....

Spoiler:

Bazin and Newt cross the street easily and without notice as far as they can tell. With the curfew still in effect, no one was out. Looking in the direction of the sounds Bazin heard doesn't give away any details. 400 meters was a far enough distance in good conditions - the dark of the night cycle, interrupted by emergency lighting, holds too many secrets.

They quickly find themselves in an alley almost identical to the one they just came from. Buildings rise on each side - habs with shops on the ground floor. About forty meters ahead is a junction in the alley that leads left (toward the noise) and right (away from it).

They keep heading "north" so that they could flank the autogun force.

Speed and discrepancy were diametrically opposed here, but the further they moved, the more confident Bazin was in attention drawn elsewhere and the effect of the curfew.

They move in silence alongside the habs, Bazin leading the way with Newt silently following.

Bazin and Newt make it to the junction and turn left (this will put you in flanking position). The move up is silent, with the occasional hiss and pop of a spaceport of this magnitude. Port Wander was truly reminiscent of an actual city, but looking up did away with the illusion. Some 60 feet up, the underside of the next level above loomed over. It was a constant reminder that there were multiple sections, levels, and places to get lost.

Of course it was 7th squad's luck that they would be housed in the one spot where something went down. Perhaps the killing in the sewer had led to a manhunt and random violence. Perhaps people were getting into shootouts with the Arbites trying to keep the curfew as they searched for Bazin, Newt, Ruaidhri, and Uallachan. It was impossible to know.

It took a few moments as the duo took their time at each new junction to cover themselves as they crossed, but after a handful of minutes they cover what Bazin reckons to be just under 400 meters. The Breacher had a keen sense of direction at the moment, and he didn't let it go to waste.

The two Bastards find themselves at a corner in the alley. Each corner had a shop or hab building. It was impossible to see around the corners to the left and right unless they approached and poked their heads out. Bazin knew that to the left would be facing back at the main thoroughfare. Somewhere in that direction were the Ratlings - and the source of the gunfire he heard earlier.

Bazin edges up the the edge of the junction, so far luck (or providence) had been on his side, but his paranoia knew that wouldn't last much longer.

With the hope that attention would be on the fighting, he peeks around the corner to get a good view of the situation.

The fighting has largely stopped. Or rather, Bazin can no longer hear any gunshots going off.

Spoiler:

This alleyway was surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, just like all the rest. Fifty or so meters ahead of Bazin was the main thoroughfare, though now of course he was looking at it from the opposite angle as when he and Newt exited the sewers. Somewhere on the other side of that thoroughfare were the Ratlings... and Petra's tracker, Numa.

The left side of the alley was lined with shops. All of them had their caged fronts down and apparently locked. To the right, the alley was lined with larger buildings - hab units. The one the hugged the main thoroughfare was a four-level unit. Bazin could see a chainlink fence behind it, blocking access to something... a generator perhaps? Maybe something to do with the power or heat to the building itself. He could also see a manhole, not unlike the one he and Newt had just come out of about 25m ahead.

Something directly across from Bazin caught his eye. There was a glint of light catching a piece of metal sticking out of one of the many dumpsters that lined the alleys.

Bazin was clueless as to why there were no longer gunshots. Did everyone die? He could make out the writing in Low Gothic on the metal cylinder behind the fencing. It cautioned people to stay out with warnings of high voltage and also fire. It had more piping that led up and into the large building in question.

Simply taking the time to look at the building a bit longer revealed movement on the second and third floors and the rooftop. While he couldn't get specific numbers, Bazin recognized armed men when he saw them. Whoever was occupying this building meant business. On the roof, people were piling up yellow, heavy bags, as well as metal plating. They were digging in. This was a strong point.

Ruaidhri kept his eyes on the three eyed mutant, his gun ready in his hands. Under his breath, he spoke, but loud enough for his two companions to hear him.
"Brick, I've been spotted, by whoever is the leader of the organisation opposite. He hasn't made a move yet. Once he does I'm going to take him out. We seem to be in some kind of odd staring contest. Could you sneak along to the ladder? I can cover you while you make way down it, and you can do the same for us from street level. This position might be a snipers dream but considering their numbers, its also going to be our grave sight. We are better being mobile and possibly exiting this situation."

[Ruaidhri/Uallachan]

Numa - Brick - neither nods nor verbally responds. She slowly lifts a thumbs up; it would be enough for Ruaidhri's peripheral vision to detect - at the very least the movement of it. Then, very slowly, she began to move, staying as low as possible.

Spoiler:

She makes it to the ladder with no change in the enemy's temperment. In fact, to Ruaidhri, it looks like the foe who had just locked eyes with him takes his focus off of Ruaidhri's building entirely and begins giving orders again - none of which involve Ruaidhri, Numa, or Uallachan. More enemy move cars into the street, but other than that stay largely to their own building.

Did he actually see the Ratling? If so, did he just not give a shite?

Numa, stood at the ladder, not ready to make the crawl down without clear coverage.

Bazin looks, but fails to see anyone friendly.

He looks back around the corner and whispers to Newt.
"I dont see them, and the shooting stopped. Either they're dead already, or they moved on. There's some armoured guys out there too. Im guessing law enforcement since they are out past curfew and heavily armoed. Could be a local gang though."

Newt shudders, reminded of the roving gangs back on Armageddon. Thier displays of brutality were enough to scare her childhood for a lifetime.
But like the saying went back home, 'a little childhood trauma builds character'

Bazin continued, "i think it may be better to move on. Whatever happened here is over and done with."

She nods her silent ascent, and they proceed to move away, back towards the port of entry.

Spoiler:

He stopped, and looks back.
"Wait, there was something right across the way. It might be worth checking out."

"What was it?"

"I dont know, but it was too shiny to be a something common behind a dump receptacle."

"Do you think its worth it?"

"I dont know. Ill make it quick, stay here."

With that, he turns and moves back towards the crossing. Crowching low and trying to move along with any ambient sounds.

Spoiler:

Bazin returns to the dumpster, silent as a shadow. He was so quiet that Newt heard none of his footsteps, nearly losing sight of him as he hugged shadow. Whatever the cylindrical object was, it caught a bit of reflection from the very weak emergency lighting and sparkled in Bazin's eye.

A closer inspection, which required he actually pull it from under the rubbish it was under, revealed...


...Clearly this was a shock maul of some sort, but the likes and make of which Bazin had never seen. In a number of ways, it could really turn out the lights. Bazin is able to maneuver back to Newt without issue.

Bazin takes the weapon. It was something like that of a high officer's weapons. The warrant officers back home would use them to round up those PDF who had gotten drunk and passed out in the slums.
Somehow, he couldn't picture any of those being nicer than this one.


"Wow Baz, thats a nice weapon. You think it works?" Newt said with truthful sincerity.

"I dont know. Only way to know would be to turn it on. But not here. I dont want those enforcers to have any reason to look this way."

He looks around to make sure they weren't spotted. There was still no sounds of gunfire here, whatever had happened was over at this point, the only thing they could do was to head back towards the ship in failure.

"Lets go. I got no idea what else to do here." he says, and together they move away from the crossroads.

Ruaidhri gave the scene in front of him a long look. He knew for certain that he had been spotted, he had spent too many years trying to hide and watching the sight lines of others to know when he'd been rumbled or not. The worst thing would be to lie to yourself and pretend that somehow you were still hidden. When it came to his profession Ruaidhri didn't play. Truth was the worst fuck and if you turned your back on it you'd be rammed inside out and without the courtesy of a reach around.
If he'd had any doubts though, Brick's movement, despite her attempts, had been far from stealthy. She must have been seen. And yet no response from the other side. Perhaps they weren't interested in them? All of this was dangerous. Ruaidhri was still for another moment or two, making calculations in his mind. The gun was in the ready position in his hands, pointed at the opposite building.

"Uallachan," he whispered under his breath, "pass on to our companion, I'm going to keep these opposite under the barrel but I'm not going to fire unless they make a Brendan. Their shit and ours doesn't make a pie sweet."

"Alter boy out."

Uallachan, already low and crouched slowly and carefully crawled his way over to Brick. Looking up at her he grinned, the dark of his teeth invisible and his eyes alight with life and energy. His whispered voice though was as quiet as he could make it.
"Aren't ye a fine thing to stare at with life short. Ru hopes we can slide out, no fire fight. He says to make your way down carefully, any move from them he'll take them out. If shots start go fast, cover us from below and we'll follow you, exit and get back to tracking."

[Ruaidhri setting up over watch on the opposite building]

[Bazin/Newt]

Bazin and Newt fall back without gathering anymore intel or investigating the location any further. It was 400m back to where they had turned left to get here. Then another 50m to the thoroughfare, and another 50m to the sewer opening they had come from.

They were only about 40m on their walk back when a group of figures some 10 meters away walks out of one of the side alleys. There were seven of them in total. They were walking and talking as if they didn't have a care in the world - curfew or no curfew. It doesn't take long to realize why; they are all very well armed.


If Bazin and Newt were going to get away without any trouble, they had scant seconds to act...

Spoiler:

Ruaidhri/Uallachan/Numa]

Spoiler:

Numa's eyes glint. There was the possibility that she was smiling under that rebreather. For whatever reason, she had really taken to Uallachan. She nodded and made her way to the ladder. She practically glides down the ladder like a ghost; she moved so silently that it was impossible for Uallachan to know when she had reached the bottom. He would have to dare to peek over or begin to go down himself.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

One locks eyes on Bazin and Newt, then another, and another. All but the final two out of the alley seemed to notice. There is a pregnant pause, as though the entire Port had stopped turning just for this moment...


+++
Bazin - 13
Enemy 1-3, 12 - 11/12m away from Bazin.
Enemy 4-5, 11a - 9/10m away from Bazin.
Enemy 6-7, 11b - 12/14m away from Bazin - currently unaware of the situation.

"Shit...." Bazin says as he raises his heavy laspistol at the nearest enemy.

Instead of squeezing the trigger, he hesitated. Last time he fired blindly, a child had paid the price, he doubted that this situation was the same, but he had to be sure.

"Are you more enforcers?" he asks, hoping it was maybe some roving band of thugs that would have little to gain from him.

"Baz!? What the hell are you doing? Shoot!" Newt says in panic.

Spoiler:

When Bazin spoke, all of the figures turned and regarded the two. All eyes were on them and there was a moment of silence before the tallest of the group spoke. It wore a thick welding helmet. As Bazin got a somewhat better look, he could tell that they all wore different types of fatigues of hard laborers. A couple even looked like void suits, but something was off about these guys.

"That's right," it said in a slow, gravely voice. The words came out almost like a hiss. "We're enforcers. So put your gun down."

That group of three including the speaker took a few steps forward. They now effectively blocked off the alleyway going forward.

As Newt urges him to shoot, a couple of the others nervously start to finger their weapons. Granted, they didn't level them at the duo, but their hands did get closer.


+++
Bazin - 13
Enemy 1-3, 12 - 9/10m away from Bazin; #1 is the one speaking to Baz.
Enemy 4-5, 11a - 9/10m away from Bazin.
Enemy 6-7, 11b - 12/14m away from Bazin - currently unaware of the situation.

"Mutant!" Bazin yells reactively, without conscious effort.
Thousands of years of DNA hardwired hatred that the imperium had cultivated boiled to the surface.

He fired, not knowing if he meant to or not at this point. It was a bad situation, he was heavily gunned and outnumbered, but he would take some mutants down with him.

Spoiler:

Somewhere, deep in his mind, he realized that he had just signed his death warrant.

Spoiler:

Uallachan shot a look over at Ruaidhri. There was doubtless a multitude of things he'd like to gesture at the other but he was a bit caught with the situation. Instead he just stared for a long couple of seconds. Ruaidhri's attention was fully on the other building, but on the edge of his vision he knew the other was looking at him. Uallachan's mind would be focused on the most horrendous image he could countenance right now, hoping that the intense depravity would give this picture slime and let it drag its putrid body over to him now. It was fortunate that the Bastards had never had a psychic among their ranks.

The moment was over, and like pus sliding down an inner leg, Uallachan gracefully made his way over the edge and down the ladder. Ruaidhri waited a few seconds to be sure that Brick would be capable of providing cover before he bent down and as quickly as he could while also being stealthy he made his way over to where his companion had been. This was it then. Exposing his posterior to anyone below or in the building across. Hopefully there weren't any guns trained on the ladder for this exact moment. It was nervy enough descending a ladder when there weren't any stakes. Prepare your peepers for something beautiful, he thought, before sliding down the ladder.

[Ruaidhri and Uallachan]

The Ratlings descend the ladder without so much as a sound. At one point, it seemed as though Ruaidhri would misstep, but the Emperor's grace was with him and he softly found his footing.

[1 FP removed; please tend your own sheet in the future, boy! Seriously though, just edit that shit as soon as you use it; it'll help me out tremendously]

Numa was on one knee, the barrel of her lascarbine covering the mouth of the alley that led to the intersection of the thoroughfare. Ahead, Ruaidhri knew that more vehicles were being moved to block the road - that was where the enemy was.

She covered her sector with discipline, not flinching as the two made their way down.

From far away, beyond the hotel the ratlings had just been atop of, comes a mass of gunfire. It was distant, but quick. Ruaidhri could tell multiple weapons were being discharged at once. Someone was having a bad day.

He didn't have time to ponder, however. about 15 meters behind them and to their left, more shots rang out. These were much, much closer. One of them sounded different than the others...

Spoiler:

+++++++

[BAZIN]

A wall of sound. Nothingness. Black.

Bazin had been here before. He remembered this feeling; it was when he was bleeding out. This close to death, this close to the Emperor's embrace. One didn't simply forget that. But this time it was different. The Emperor's light felt so much more distant, like a candle flickering out and only barely keeping alight.

There were other shapes in the darkness. He couldn't see them as much as he could feel their presences. They were grabbing at him, but couldn't grasp him. Bazin realized that it was the flame keeping them at bay - that hardly flickering flame, ever on the verge of going out.

He forced himself closer to it, immediately feeling warmer. He knew that he had to keep that flame burning, lest they grab him. Whatever they were, they weren't of the Emperor. Of that, 7th's Breacher was sure. The flame warmed him... then his chest began to burn... then his legs... and his arms. It hurt, but he embraced it. This pain was infinitely better than them.

Bazin awoke choking. He coughed, spit, and sputtered. His body was alight with fierce, sharp pains, and intense aches. He tried to speak, but only ended up vomitting. Whatever he had last eaten mixed with blood. Some of it was black. He could hardly breathe, but at least he could breathe some. He lay there for some time, sucking in air before he took stock of the situation.

They had stripped him over nearly everything. The heavy las pistol was gone, as were his knives and his leg and arm flak armor. His chest armor remained, but it was chewed up badly. Probably why they left it on his corpse. They also left the shock maul he had only just found - probably seeing no immediate use in it.

That's when he realized what else was missing.

Newt.

There was no sign of Newt whatsoever.

Spoiler:

Bazin looked around pancaked.

Newt? Where was Newt??

He struggles to his knees. His chest hurt bad. There were holes in his chest flak, lined in dark red.

"Newt!? Newt!?" he shouts, the sound barely a whisper to his ears.
With no answer, and no signs that anyone could even hear him, he grabs the shock mauls and looks around.

Spoiler:

Nothing stuck out to him, but everything was so dim.

He starts limping back towards where he came, where the maul had been found. There was a possability that the mutants had taken Newt wherever they were going, and it was a good possibility they were headed towards the armored guys who were fighting earlier.

Spoiler:

As soon as the second shots rang out, Ruaidhri moved over to take up position beside Brick, his shoulder about a couple of feet from her hip bone, expect he was facing the opposite direction. His gun faced down towards where the most recent shots, and he tried to work out what was different about the second shot.

[BAZIN]

As Bazin crawls and hobbles to his feet, the area around him once again is eerily quiet. He doesn't see nor hear anyone in his vicinity. What he does see is a door slightly ajar leading into one of the alleyway buildings. This building made up one corner of the T-intersection where he had found the maul. If he got inside, it might give him a better view of what was across the street.

+++++++

[RU]

Newt stays put. Disciplined. Ruaidhri realizes fairly quickly that he is hearing different types of firearms. There's the tell tale blast of something larger in caliber - most likely a shotgun. Then there was a return shot of something much larger. It's semi-auto firing reminded Ruaidhri of a weapon he had heard many times on the battlefield.

No one forget the report of a Bolt Pistol.

Bazin creeps across the alleyway, on edge for any sound or sudden surprises.

He holds the maul in a two handed grip like a club, but keeps the power setting to off, so the sound of cracking wouldn't give him away.

Did the thing even make that kind of noise? He didnt know. He wouldnt know until he activates it, and he wouldnt do that until necessary.

He slowly enters the open door and hopes for the best.....

Keeping his eyes trained on the alley before them, Ruaidhri mutters under his breath.
"That's a bolt pistol if I'm not mistaken Brick. I might be as new as a fresh liquidy shit here, but my guess is that isn't the most common weapon here. Likely to be someone dangerous? Anyways lets move up to the grate before we get caught off on both sides."

Moving forward carefully toward the manhole cover, he kept his gun pointed down the alley, Uallachan at his side, eyes wide and staring.

[BAZIN]

Bazin slowly moves inside. The door creaks and it sounds like a scream compared to the silence of the room. Inside it was dimmer than out in the red emergency lighting of the alley.


Dim or no, Bazin could make out the scene of an intense fight. No, it wasn't a fight. It was a massacre. Bodies littered the area, left where they had fallen. The tables and floors were sticky, wet with a mixture of drink, food, and blood.

+++++++

[RU]

Numa whispered back. "It's rare hardware down here." She kept her eyes forward, only glancing toward the gunfire for a second. Ruaidhri makes it to the manhole cover before another shot rings out - loud again, but not as loud as the bolt pistol had been. The sign above the entrance read The Rusty Throne, and it was apparent there was a firefight taking place inside.

Bazin quickly looks around for Newt, failing that, he looks for any usable weapons.

Spoiler:

Deciding nothing here was usable, and he didnt want all the viscera on his hands. he moves to the "northern" door and enters the room....

Spoiler:

Ruaidhri glanced down at the manhole cover and then back across at 'The Rusty Throne'. His dirty face was creased in thought. After a moment he caught eyes with his partner and nodded down at the manhole cover. Uallachan made an obscene gesture with his first but then bent down to open it up again.
Meanwhile Ruaidhri whispered back to Brick.
"Sensible thing would probably be to scurry back down there but Emporor's hairless and friction smooth balls I'm curious about that bolt pistol. Possibly the sniper in me- there's 'someone' in there. And feck it, we are meant to be hunting here. Once he gets that open I'm going to stick my head in there. If you two protect our retreat here for the moment. If its anything interesting I'll give you a signal and we can check it out."

Waiting until Uallachan had opened the entrance to the sewers, Ruaidhri made his way slowly and carefully over to the wall just beside the entrance, listening carefully for any sounds coming from within.

Spoiler:

[BAZIN]

Bazin doesn't find any weapons. He only finds more bodies. There weren't as many in what turns out to be sleeping quarters in the "north" section of the building. But there were still some, executed as they got out of bed to see what was going on. Some were shot point blank right where they slept.

So far, none of them were Newt. Judging by the looks of things, Bazin was fairly confident that this massacre had taken place well before he and Newt had showed up here.

What he does find as he searched the area (+30 for time taken to really look around = 1 DoS) are plenty of cans of cooking gas and the small gas stoves they went inside. It appeared that this building didn't have a gas line and the cooks relied on these small portables. Additionally, there were plenty of long portable lighters to keep the stoves lit. Additionally, there were plenty of harsh cleaning chemicals, some of which were also flammable. With some ingenuity, there was surely a weapon in waiting here... if only Bazin could figure it out.

Spoiler:

+++++++

[RU]

Uallachan was able to get the manhole cover open without issue. Ruaidhri was waiting for this to get done when he sees Brick suddenly turn and point her weapon at the ground floor door of the building they had just descended. It wasn't until Ru had fully stared for a few seconds until he realized that the door was slightly cracked open. Someone had decided to come out for a breath of fresh, recycled air.

Numa had not fired yet, but she kept the weapon trained on whoever it was.

Spoiler:

Ruaidhri remained still, his gun ready in his hands and facing toward the newly opened door. The most important thing was not to move and so increase their chances of not being seen. He could see nothing of whoever had opened the door, but it appeared that Brick could. He would just have to trust in her judgement and the fact that she hadn't shot yet. There was obviously a reason for this. He was ready though, any sudden movement or shot, and he could provide cover. Ideally he would have been able to talk to Brick but that was out of the question.

The problem with this though is that it left an active front behind them, and one which there had been very recent violence. Turning your back on something like this was like dressing yourself in a white sheet and presenting yourself to a church. Catching Uallachan's eyes, he flicked his to the right, clearly signalling the building behind him. His brother could watch it for now. He would give this situation a little bit to develop but at the first chance he was turning around again.

[BAZIN]

Bazin fiddles for a bit, but in the end isn't able to produce anything that could compound the damage done by what's in front of him. No doubt the fatigue was the cause of most of his failure here. What he had left was a hefty amount of pressurized gas canisters (x8), and some households chemicals. Some of these chemicals would do quite a bit of damage to someone's face or eyes if simply thrown or poured into them. It might be enough to disable someone long enough to get a kill... or steal a weapon.

There was also a second floor to the building Bazin was currently occupying.

+++++++

[RU]

Ruaidhri hears a voice from inside rise. Was there something familiar about it? He was too far to really place it, and it didn't matter much for as soon as it started to give away her position, the butt stock of Numa's las carbine shot forward with an audible CRACK, followed by a soft thud... then, she put the stock back into her shoulder and trained her weapon on something else.

Whoever she had just put down was not alone apparently.

That was that decision made for him in any case. Scowling inwardly at the random chance which had drawn them into a possible war on two sides. There was only one solution, same as it was for an ambush in a dark alley or on a great battlefield. When facing an forces on two sides, the best solution was to concentrate your forces and take your opponent in detail. The familiar nature of the voice outside would have to be left to a later date. Trusting Uallachan to keep an eye on their rear, he moved up to stand next to Brick, his gun raised and pointed in the same direction.

[RU]

Ruaidhri was not surprised to see a woman - not a mutant - standing across from Numa. Had it been a mutant, the Ratling had no doubt shots would have already been fired. He was surprised, no doubt, to see the very elegantly dressed, beautiful by any standards, woman standing with an ornate, thin, and equally elegant sword stretched out in her right hand in a defensive posture.

Perhaps most surprising of all was the fact that Rook lay on the ground between the two of them, murmuring slightly as he regained consciousness.

Spoiler:

Bazin steels himself, and prepares to move to the second floor......

He creeps as stealthily as he could towards the stairway, all the while keeping his ears peeled.

Spoiler:

As it turned out, there was no need to be stealthy. The scene on the second floor was much the same. There were bodies here, but much less. The majority had clearly been on the ground floor when the killing started. The layout was such up here that most of the floor was a commons area ringed by rooms. This was clearly a hostel of some sort.

There were some 12 rooms here. Bazin could search them all if he wanted.

There as also an area that looked out to the building across the alley - the one he had seen enemy movement in before finding his maul. That could be a good location to try and figure out his next move.

Spoiler:

Bazin felt too exhausted to search the area again. He was pretty sure that besides just more cleaning stuff, it would just be more bodies.

Feeling a bit famished, he reaches in his backside hip pouch to see if he had any rations left. Lucky him, he pulled out some game fowl looking appendage. He didnt remember stashing that in there. Maybe Newt or the Ratlings had stuffed it in there.

He shrugs and takes a bite, realizing he was probably going to die soon anyway. How he hadn't yet was a miracle, or so Toreth would say.

Still, a wounded and bleeding man eating in such a scene of devastation was strange looking.