Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 12, 2012 21:02:21 GMT -5
The drilled-out fragments of the lock fall to the ground inside with a 'clink-clink' of metal on hard floor. Tessan grabs the visible handle and tries to twist it and slide the door, but it doesn't budge. Her muscles bulge and she grits her teeth, neck tendons standing out from the effort, but it just doesn't budge.
"INTRUDERS! SLAY THE SURFACE-WORLDER SCUM!" bellows a large fishman wearing a golden torque around his neck. Sub-Atlanticans suddenly scurry about, grabbing for weapons and, directed by the commander's silent thought commands, look toward the ammo bunker.
"Oh, slag! 'scuse me, sister, let me get that." Costigan doesn't quite push Tessan aside when he grabs the door handle and strains at it--then violently rips it off its track. The handle tears off in his hand, but there's space between the sliding door and the jamb now--he reaches in and wrenches it free, manhandling the massive vault door like it was a large piece of styrofoam.
He swings it around (missing Tessan, fortunately) just in time to interpose it between the two of them and a hail of laser-fire.
|
|
|
Post by Tessan Toov on Feb 12, 2012 22:02:38 GMT -5
Tessan is strong for a woman. She's strong for a human in general. She is not, however, a metahuman. Seeing Donal Costigan manhandle the door like that makes her blink once, and it finally makes her think. She blurts, "You're strong."
However, there's a clusterfrak of a firefight unfolding in this instant, so while she'd rather be wading into the fight, Tessan ducks into the ammo bunker to try to gather up some more of those energon fuel cells and try to think about how to detonate them to close that tunnel to the Red River without burying herself and the engineer under a bunch of rock.
|
|
Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 13, 2012 11:13:08 GMT -5
"Yeah, kinda. In my line of work, it's mostly good for not straining my back moving my desk," Costigan replies. Professional mining engineers aren't usually called on to personally move slabs of rock (or vault doors) around.
"I think I can hold them off, see if you can get some kind of bomb set up!" he yells over the snap and crack of laser fire, telling Tessan to do what she's already doing. It's not like he has eyes in the back of his head--well, yes, it is. Chalk it up to tension.
The Sub-Atlantican's anti-personnel lasers don't pack enough wattage to burn through the bunker door Costigan is using as an impromptu shield--a good thing, since stray laser fire into the bunker is just the sort of thing to set off energon. Someone on the other side figures that out, and the laser barrage abruptly stops.
Dead silence, then the swish and splash of many bodies wading through the water toward them. Echoes reverberate off the cave walls and ceiling and make subtle ripples in the water; Costigan reads them and translates them.
"I don't think so," he growls and lunges forward to swing the massive vault door edge on to his left. It scythes through the small group of fishmen trying to flank him, dropping them into the black water with crushed ribcages and smashed skulls. The sheer mass makes the door hard to control; Costigan twists it upward and brings it flipping down to his right in a brutal pancake smash on the fishmen closing in from that side before he loses his grip on the door.
That leaves the group in front of him, at least eight, and now he's "unarmed". Donal just grins, and crouches with his arms spread wide, like a wrestler waiting for his opponent to walk in reach.
|
|
|
Post by Tessan Toov on Feb 13, 2012 12:15:40 GMT -5
"How well do you swim?" Tessan shouts while she pieces ammo packs together.
Smelt, but this IED is looking ugly, but not as ugly as this whole area is going to look when it goes off.
She reaches for another pack to put together something a little smaller, a little more oriented at... 'crowd control'.
|
|
Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 14, 2012 18:06:42 GMT -5
"A lot better than they will after I'm through with them!" Costigan shouts with fell glee as one of the Sub-Atlanticans tries to stab him with a spear. A rather fancy spear that looks like it might double as a taser. Costigan sidesteps, grabs the spear-shaft behind the hand, and yanks it and its owner into arms reach.
The others hesitate, then, as if responding to a silent order, charge in, trying to overwhelm Costigan with sheer numbers. A pity they have to watch out for their own guys getting in the way. Costigan does not--he's guarding the door, and Tessan is "safely" behind him. They can only get so many guys on him--they collectively outmass him, and can knock him down, but they find out to their dismay that they can't keep him down. The fishmen, however, don't get back up when Costigan knocks them down.
It's a slow, battering, dragging fight; it'll take a while, and a fishman or two might get past him to where Tessan is...
|
|
|
Post by Tessan Toov on Feb 14, 2012 19:54:37 GMT -5
Witty quips are fun, but they don't provide a lot of useful information. Tessan makes the reasonable assumption that Donal is a better swimmer than she is, if only because she doesn't swim very well at all. Topspin would have been a great swimmer, she's sure, but the sea and mountain were always his domain. Her domain was always deeper still, under layer upon layer of metal.
When a pair of fishmen slip past Donal, she lashes out with a mule kick into the knee of one, pivots, and then slams an elbow right under the rib cage of the other. Tessan tries to hand the larger bomb to Donal and directs, "This isn't a directed charge." Hopefully he understands the implications. "When you have it in position, break this," and she points to a tab, "and you'll have thirty seconds to get out of there before it goes."
Getting any kind of timing on there was the hardest part. Energon really, really likes exploding for any old reason. She slams her heel down into the neck of one of the downed fishmen when he tries to get up, and she reaches for the second, smaller device. "I'll get you a hole in the crowd."
Tessan winds her arm back and throws.
|
|
Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 15, 2012 21:06:34 GMT -5
Donal manages to reach back and grab the bomb. "GOT IT!" he yells above the swirling water and flailing fish men. Head down, he tries to bull through them, like a wide receiver just yards from the goal line for the winning touchdown. There's still far more weight of Sub-Atlantican than there is of Costigan, and their claws tear at him, trying to strip away the package, his clothes, his skin---
Tessan throws her other bomb. The flash and bang bowl over fishmen and Costigan alike; he staggers to his feet, covered with shreds of fishy-smelling flesh. None of the watery blood is his.
"Damn, damn, DAMN!" Costigan staggers, blinded by the flash and nearly deafened. He can't see the picture any more--he's running on memory now, and the feel of the water rushing against his thighs. That way, into the current. At least there are no more fishmen trying to drag him down right now....
|
|
|
Post by Tessan Toov on Feb 15, 2012 21:40:48 GMT -5
Tessan did not know that Donal was so sensitive to sound and light. However even if she did, she might have done that anyway. There is a reason why Optimus Prime, who committed suicide over some video game people, wanted to have Twin Twist permanently deactivated.
Then she grabs one last ammo pack and rushes out into the mob, clubbing at the fishmen with the gutted rifle one-handed, the ammo pack held in her other hand.
The way Tessan is eying the ammo dump, she is definitely thinking, 'How far do I need to get away from it to throw this in there, have all the ammo explode, and still make it out alive?'
|
|
Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 16, 2012 20:38:14 GMT -5
Costigan staggers into the flooding water. His vision returns, but it's still dark in the cavern and darker in the tunnel, and he's still deafened. He can't hear the images yet. He can feel the water, though, as it tries to tear him off his feet.
He groups his way to the tunnel mouth, falling down into the water several times and digging into the melting salt with his fingernails to keep from being swept away. Donal sincerely hopes Tessen's makeshift bomb is well-wrapped, and can handle water--he's soaked from head to toe. Cell phone's a total loss; gun should be fine after Ah disassemble it, clean it, and oil it. Ditto for the cartridges. Hope Tessen's okay; Ah hate leavin' her, but she's ex-special forces--gotta figure she can handle her end, 'cause Ah gotta plant the bomb.
Surging up one more time, Costigan takes a deep breath and plunges forward into the impromptu aqueduct. He digs into the wall with his fingers and hauls himself swiftly along against the current--when he feels the tenor of the rock change, he stops and tears a hole in the friable rock, deep enough that current won't tear the package free--or so he hopes. He's working in haste--he can't hold his breath much longer. Quickly, he jams the package in, and pulls the tab, then--lets go, and lets the current sweep him all the way back to the middle of the cave. His senses swirl and his lungs burn with the desperate need for air--he's just about to pass out or give in when he breaks the surface and sucks down a lungful of salty air--
|
|
|
Post by Tessan Toov on Feb 16, 2012 23:54:29 GMT -5
Tessan is being dogpiled by fishmen. Her head is underwater, and the salt is stinging her eyes, her nose, her mouth; her ears. She wrestles her arm free and flings that ammo pack back at the bunker as hard as she can.
Two things happen at once. The bomb that Donal Costigan just planted explodes, shaking the whole area. Tessan's rib cage hurts just from the force of it, never mind that she's having a ducking and a drubbing at the same time. The aqueduct collapses, and the gushing flow of water shuts down to a mere trickle. A later crew will be able to go in and clean it up with a permanent seal. It should hold well enough for now.
At the same time, the ammo dump explodes in a radiant concussion wave and tongues of fire that knock the fishmen all around the camp down. In that moment, Tessan wriggles herself free of the pile, throws her head back, and screams out, "Wreck and rule!"
It may be Impactor's line, but Tessan doesn't think Impactor would mind her borrowing it right now. Sometimes, it's just the only thing for a Wrecker to say.
|
|
Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 17, 2012 14:05:30 GMT -5
The first explosion knocks Costigan back down into the water, which keeps him from being flash-fried by the second explosion. He nearly chokes on the unexpected dunking and thrashes to the surface, deaf and blinded. Again.
So he doesn't hear Tessan's shout of "Wreck and Rule!"... fortunately. He doesn't remember being Hellbender, but some things trigger atavistic reactions, and that's one of them.
The rushing torrent is gone. Did they succeed? Donal hopes so. Right now, all he can do is stumble over bodies and piles of stuff until he finds the wall of the cavern...
|
|
|
Post by Tessan Toov on Feb 17, 2012 15:03:07 GMT -5
There is violence, chaos, panic, rocks and salt rumbling around, loud noises, and fire. Tessan is at home.
She knocks over a partially-charred fishman and runs towards Donal, her strides splashing. Tessan exclaims, a note of manic cheer in her voice, "Donal Costigan! We should get out of here now. I think you need medical help," and she tries to grab him by the arm to lead him off.
Hopefully the remaining fishmen shouldn't be too much of a problem. Hopefully Donal will explain all of this to the mine boss, because when Tessan gets stuck explaining things, incoherency results.
|
|
Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 17, 2012 20:24:31 GMT -5
Costigan very nearly tries to break Tessan's neck with his free hand when she grabs him. He's still deaf and mostly blind, but in the flickering light of something burning down to water level, it registers that the form beside him is not slimy and hulking.
"Tessan? Ah'm kinda deaf right now, and can't see too good." He fumbles at his inner jacket pocket--damn, his good jacket got shredded but good--and finds his mirrorshades, miraculously unbroken. Or maybe it's the aluminum case. He puts them on as he lets Tessan lead him along and says, "It'll get better, but now is a good time to get out of here."
His torn and shredded clothing is not matched by tattered skin; indeed, the only blood on his clothes is distinctly fishy.
|
|
|
Post by Tessan Toov on Feb 17, 2012 23:17:05 GMT -5
Tessan's hand is definitely that of a human woman's, if that helps any. She seems... unphased by her neck almost being broken. Impactor was always threatening to take off Xaaron's head. Other Autobots usually weren't like that, but the Wreckers were.
She's injured: some cuts, some light burns, and a whole lot of scrapes and bruises, but she isn't showing much pain. This is really not as bad as some things she's been through, but it takes a lot to top Galvatron. Tessan just soldiers on, trying to lead Donal back to the elevator.
|
|
Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
|
Post by Hellbender on Feb 18, 2012 20:27:47 GMT -5
Costigan thankfully lets Tessan guide him to elevator. Fortunately, the lifting mechanism is at the top of the shaft, and out of the reach of the flooding. He gets in and motions Tessan to join him. After she does, he bangs on the frame several times with a pipe wrench--3 rapid taps, 3 slow taps, 3 rapid taps. "Hopefully that gets someone's attention."
Apparently it does, because the elevator car starts to lurch upward, taking the two of them back to the surface world...
---- Tessan posed by permission.
|
|