[Ravensoracle]

...<<drek, man down>>...<<medic>>...

Shit, Shit, Shit...<<Shit, Shit, Shit>>..."Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!"

The Crumpled Man nearly suffered dumpshock from the way he threw himself out of the matrix and back into the flesh. He jolted up, the expletives rushing from his mouth. The rush of combat seemed to be gone as he leaned over APB. It didn't take a medical degree to see that APB was beyond saving. It only took turning her head gently to the side. He closed his eyes and mumbled something under his breath. He then moved APB's head back and closed her eyes.

He slammed a hand against the wall of the van giving a somewhat defeated look. He places a hand on the Masked Woman's arm "No need to waste the time."

He looked around the back of the van taking in the additional bullet holes. "What happened while I was under?" He seems to say with a strained voice.

[Tecumseh]

The Masked Woman stops her preparation when the Crumpled Man touches her arm. She spins the throwing knife over her knuckles.

"I don't know what happened; I was out fencing with their magical support. The copter hit the tree line and took him out first."

The Masked Woman doesn't seem overly broken up by APB's fate, as the elf had not done much to endear herself. That said, the Masked Woman is very much regretting the loss of what APB might have remembered, given enough time.

Live and learn. Die and forget... unless you're and expert system. -Zapper Weisman

APB and the Masked Woman had been on Team Red together, which just got smaller. An admittedly unstable situation feels even more precarious now. And APB's corpse is that much more of a mess added to an already messy situation. There's probably a limit to how many bodies you can throw over the side of a snowy cliff in the middle of the night. How close or far the team is from that limit is an open question.

[GrimWulf]

Ohanzee stares out the window for a bit, in awe of the helicopters sudden demise. He had thought for sure they were up drek creek without a paddle. He looks up to the passenger seat where he felt he should be sitting.  The mess that's there brings him a sense of remorse and relief at the same time. Had she not already been there that would have been him.

"Lets stop. We need some answers. These guys seemed to know who we were.... I'd like that same info."

He mentally calls out to Raven.  Thank you honoured spirit. I release you of your bond of an additional task. May you ever finds favourable winds.

[Ravensoracle]

The Crumpled Man seems to be distracted for a moment. The look on his face is one often seen on those looking at AR. After a few seconds he does a full on facepalm with his un-cybered hand. He makes a flick of the cybered hand sending the data files across the teams comm channel.

Suddenly several windows open up showing:

.... ID for the soldiers, which identify them as a Knight Errant security HTR squad. There's also a file with an image of a strange metallic statue or tablet or something. Just looks like a weird geometric shape to you. There are also several pictures of you, Uncle Sam, Chino and Ohanzee, which look like they were taken from security cameras.

There's also a video. When played, it shows a camera with an outside view of some structure, pointed at a wall. Then the wall explodes outwards and Chino stumbles through, looking like he just kicked the wall open like it was a door with a bad latch. Following him are yourself and Ohanzee, who is gesturing towards the crate and levitating it through. Then Uncle Sam comes out, walking backwards while firing back through the breach on full auto.

"Does anyone NOT see how totally dreked we are. I think we need to be getting the hell outta here cause we just took out a full on Knight Errant HTR team. I don't want to be around when their backups arrive. But that's just me personally."

[Tecumseh]

The mask hides any expression on The Masked Woman's face as she reviews the video footage sent by The Crumpled Man. Finally, she nods.

"Sam, Ohanzee, I think we should keep moving. Unless we stole this thing from Knight Errant itself then they're just third-party security looking to find and retrieve the crate and perhaps us. The secteam members aren't going to know anything more than what ..."

She pauses midsentence, suddenly realizing that she doesn't know what to call him. He seems like a smart guy and was good with the medkit so she'll start with that.

"... Doc here just uncovered. So, like the Doc says, let's not be here when reinforcements arrive."

Thinking of the inevitable reinforcements, she closes her eyes and concentrates the mana around her, adding another sense to warn her of nearby enemies. Her mind itches at the presence of the men who jumped out of the Hound, but then those itches are scratched as the men either expire on the cold slope or as they reassess their priorities for the evening. Her speaking slows as she retains her concentration on the sustained spell.

"Let's resume the plan previously in progress. Contacts. Vinny the Bear, Ohanzee's egghead, someone who can get us off the road and away from prying eyes until we figure out our next steps. We can scan the campsites but I'm not optimistic about there being a lot of campers out in weather like this."

She sits back, trying to focus on her spell and the team's next steps, and not on the smell of APB on the dashboard.

[Novocrane]

"Chino! Stop and let me off! I'm going to get some answers from these men!"

"Lets stop. We need some answers. These guys seemed to know who we were.... I'd like that same info."

"Does anyone NOT see how totally dreked we are. I think we need to be getting the hell outta here cause we just took out a full on Knight Errant HTR team. I don't want to be around when their backups arrive. But that's just me personally."

Chino sobers up from their brief moment of apparent success, as Crumpled outlines their situation. He still looks happier than before their run-in with what was apparently Ares' elite.

"... Frag it. You took care of those drekheads; you get five minutes from now til we leave, and if you're not running back to the Rover at that point, you can ask for a lift from whoever happens to turn up next. Deal?"

Or whatever, he thinks, reflecting for a moment on what security would send their way in retribution.

[Poindexter]

"... Frag it. You took care of those drekheads; you get five minutes from now til we leave, and if you're not running back to the Rover at that point, you can ask for a lift from whoever happens to turn up next. Deal?"

The moment the rover stops moving, Sam drops his rifle, letting the sling catch it and leaps from the vehicle and sprints downhill toward the place where the chopper went down. As he runs, he sends a message to his team.

>> Send Message
  >> Recipient: Current group
    >> Message: If anyone's got a location on any of those links, send me an ARO, will you?

He knows it's dark and snowy and visibility is for shit down there. Not only that, but the chances of him getting ambushed while running loudly at full tilt through the trees are pretty high. But at this point, he's so high on rage, adrenaline, and wired reflexes, that he almost hopes one of those corporate bastards down there IS waiting for him. Cause if someone's still alive down there, and in good enough condition for an ambush, they're in good enough condition to have answers beaten out of them.

I wonder if i know how to fight without a gun. Ghost, I hope I'm not one of those guys who just counts on being big to win fights without ever learning shit about it.

[Ryo]

As Uncle Sam charges down the hill, he gets close enough to see a nice bright thermal spot through the trees from where the helicopter went down and is now apparently burning. It illuminates the area ahead for him, and lets him navigate through the trees without having to worry about running into anything. But as he goes, he hears a crunch of snow underfoot that wasn't from his own movement, and turns around in time to see a man in full body armor swinging his rifle butt first in an attempt to smash Sam's skull in.

Combat Turn 1:

Soldier 21
Uncle Sam 19

The soldier slams his rifle into your skull HARD, so hard it whips your head around and makes you stumble. You can hear the metallic ring of your own titanium plated skull vibrating as a feeling of pain blasts through your face, only to immediately and abruptly disappear. You suddenly remember you have Damage Compensators, and grin through your busted lip.

[Poindexter]

In the flash of an instant between the time he turns to see the rapidly approaching rifle butt inches from his face and the time it cracks him right between the eyes, He sends off another message to the group. One hostile located. Immobilizing. Then CLANG! and for a split second, Sam wonders if he didn't just fuck up really bad. Then, all the pain disappears as quickly as it came, replaced instead by raw hatred. With two mighty steps forward, he's lifted the solider off the ground in a vicious bearhug and slammed him backwards into a tree, causing the joints of his heavy armor as well as the bark of the tree to creak and strain. The force of the hit would have liquified an unarmored foe, but Sam feels fairly certain that the man inside is just fine, despite his frantic struggling.

He constricts his tree trunk sized arms even harder around the little breeder, trying to make good and damn sure this bastard doesn't wriggle away as he sends another message to the team.

Target immoblized. Require assistance.

[Ryo]

Combat Turn 1, Pass 2:

Soldier 11
Uncle Sam 9

The Soldier spends all his effort struggling to break free, but the sudden shock of the attack briefly stunned him, and he puts up a weak attempt. Sam constricts more, and the soldier regains his senses and starts pushing back, showing off his augmented strength and weakening Sam's hold.

Combat Turn 1, Pass 3:

Soldier 1
Uncle Sam 0

The soldier forces Uncle Sam's arms apart, breaking away and putting some distance between you before adopting a fighting stance.

Combat Turn 2:

Soldier 18
Uncle Sam 18

[Poindexter]

Slowly, but surely, Sam can feel his grip weakening. Fuck ME! Whoever trains these bastards trains em WELL. If I ever wanna find out who the frak that is, I'd better step my game up. This guy is going to be harder to deal with than he thought, and his backup did not seem to be coming anytime soon. With a mighty heave, the armored man wrenches aside one of Sam's fingers, forcing him to abort his bearhug. In a flash, the man drops to the ground and rolls about 6 feet away before standing up and pausing for a moment. Oh no, don't do that. In an instant, Sam is crashing into his armored foe again, hoping to get his massive arms around him for a second time.

He's briefly aware of the swing that may or may not have connected during his charge, but he's certain he's got a good hold on his midsection though.

[Ryo]

The soldier seems to size you up, trying to read your moves, but doesn't have very long to do so before you immediately act. He responds with a jab aimed for your face, but you close too quickly and his aim is off, allowing you to bodily slam into him and grapple him again.

Combat Turn 2, Pass 2

Uncle Sam 8
Soldier 1

Uncle Sam tries to force the soldier to the ground, but he doesn't budge, and after a bit more struggling, he manages to break away once again.


>>Incoming Message
>>FROM: Ace
>>"Another one is coming out of the trees towards you. I'm moving to intercept."

Combat Turn 3

Uncle Sam 29
Soldier 1 20
Soldier 2 17
Masked 17
Ace 13

[Poindexter]

"ARRRRGH!" shouts the giant, as he tries and fails once again to get the upper hand over his opponent. He knows there's only a few moments before his friends show up and this gets a LOT harder. He was hoping to have one to use as a shield by the time another arrived, but that was looking less and less likely as the seconds ticked away.

>>Incoming Message
>>FROM: Ace
>>"Another one is coming out of the trees towards you. I'm moving to intercept."

FUCK! No more time to goof off here.
From time to time, when you're really afraid for your life, you can move incredibly fast. This is one of those times for Sam. With a speed that defies even his wired reflexes, he closes the distance between himself and the slippery little bastard and unleashes a flurry of punches at him, hoping beyond hope that he can lay the son of a bitch out before his friend draws a bead. Unfortunately, the little bastard is just too quick for him, even with the heavy armor. He easily avoids everything thrown at him, and even manages to dart inside Sam's defenses once, popping him in the chin with a glancing left.

ENRAGED, Sam continues his assault.

[Ryo]

A second soldier is making his way towards Uncle Sam with his gun raised, but Ace appears out of the darkness and snow to intercept him with shock hand crackling. The soldier is surprised and fails to defend, crying out in pain as several thousand volts courses through his body and sends him into convulsions. No longer focused on Uncle Sam, he turns his attention towards Ace.

Uncle Sam 29
Masked 17
Soldier 1 13 (20 -7 Counterstrike)
Soldier 2 12 (17 - 5 Electric damage)
Ace 8 (13 - 5 Intercept)

It is Masked Woman's turn.

[Tecumseh]

The Masked Woman is not entirely surprised to see her sensible advice go in one ear and out the other. She doesn't seem overly concerned about the heavily cybered troll, reasoning that he can almost certainly take care of himself against opponents who just hurled themselves out of a crashing helicopter.

She's only a few moments into her new preparation when Sam comms for assistance. Clearing her mind, she drops her sustained spell and moves to get a view of what's happening. She sees Sam tangling with a smaller but highly competent opponent. In her mind, she begins the formulations of a spell that will slow down the speedy HTR combatant.

@Sam
<<Hold fast. Will cinch him up once I get clear LOS.>>