#In Character Thread

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Thompson almost gets within range to attack the surprised soldier but abruptly stops as she looks to the left. Her eyes go wide and she swings her rifle in that direction. Cal sees it too. Slowly crawling over a decaying stump of a tree, it's finger like legs coming into view as it's tail whips in the air, is one of the spider creatures that attacked Reese. It's dull beige skin slick with water from the rain. It now rises and perches itself on the stump, becoming stiff like a cat as it seems to "notice" the group in front of them. Thompson doesn't fire, a moment of internal indecision causing her to hesitate.

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@ivory shard The creature propels itself through the air with incredible speed and whips its tail towards Cal. The tail hits his chest like a sharp whip and actually shreds the skin, causing blood to seep from the fresh wound.

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It slides across the ground through the wet mud a few feet from Cal, stopping as it seems to prepare itself to attack again.

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Cal grunts in pain, beads of sweat appearing upon his brow as he struggles still with the UPP soldier. He tries to use his brief martial arts training to position the commie between himself and the creature jumping around.

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Even with his rudimentary training, Cal manages to get the upper hand and uses a judo Seoi-nage throw- tossing the UPP soldier into the mud. The man curses, smeared with mud. He doesn't realize he know lays much too close to comfort to the spider-like alien...

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# ivory shard *Even with his rudimentary training, Cal manages to get the upper hand and uses ...

The UPP commando hits the floor hard and with a grunt. He curses out loud in Russian and becomes covered in wet mud. The creature snaps to a tension as the man lands next to it. The commando notices the creature just as he begins to rise to his feet and his face becomes filled with dread, his expression one of terror. The commando attempts to leap towards his rifle from a sitting position but slips in the mud.

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With terrifying and sudden speed, the creature launches through the air from its position, it's bony finger-like legs spread outward like a hand about to grip a basketball. Cal catches a glimpse of a fleshy pinkish-purple yonic underside but barely has time to process it as the creature collides with the man's face. Its tail wraps around his neck tightly and its fingers clasp around his head, the creature covering his face like a mask.

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The man's muffled screams quickly fade as he collapses to the ground. Beyond the sound of falling rain, the now late night grows quiet. Thompson begins to creep up towards Cal, rifle at the ready.

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"Thompson- we gotta move!"
Cal checks in that she's able to move, briefly, and then begins heading toward the eastern side of the building - trying to avoid any cameras if they are present.

" You seeing any doors, Thompson?"

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# ivory shard "Thompson- we gotta move!" *Cal checks in that she's able to move, briefly, and ...

As Cal asks his question to Thompson, his eyes go from her face to the man laying in the wet mud. He's now motionless except for his chest, which rises up and down slowly. Clearly he's alive. Suddenly however, like a flash of lightning he disappears and Thompson is in the unconscious man's place, creature covering her face. Cal hears a muffled scream in the back of his skull, Thompson's.

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As fast as the vision comes it leaves and the echoing sound of Thompson's muffled screams fade. Cal sees the young woman staring up at him confused and out of the corner of his eye he sees his hand, trembling uncontrollably.

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@fading gulch Meanwhile, Stitch, Reese and Nez find themselves on the outskirts of this large building. The night has been dragging on for a few hours and it's getting into the later hours, definitely after midnight at this point.

The rain continues to fall and the group of three can just see the facility through the gaps in the trees, beams of light from the closest searchlight piercing the darkness as droplets of rain pass through the light.

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Reese, who sits crouched behind a waist high boulder speaks towards Stitch but doesn't avert his gaze from the rooftop of the building. "You ain't never seen anything like those creatures we encountered, have ya Stitch? Cuz I sure ain't." The marine sighs and rubs his neck, splots of crimson still visible, soaked into the bandage from beneath. "More vicious than a jackal juiced up on X-Stims, I tell ya."

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# ivory shard *Cal follows, knife unsheathed.* "Thompson- if we can avoid shooting, let's stay...

Cal sees no handle to open the door but does spot a control panel with some sort of keycard reader to the side of it, dull green light illuminating through the rainfall. Text on the control panel, clearly in Russian, reads "ЛОЦКЕД". The door itself is heavy, sturdy and clearly made with reinforced materials. It's dark and metallic surface is wet, slick from the nonstop rainfall. Bold text rests on the front of it, also in Russian.* "ЧАЛТ! Рестрицтед ареа ачеад! Треспассерс шилл бе счот он сите!"

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@vagrant ocean

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"None taken. No...didn't take those courses. Too busy plinking targets and humping packs. "

Cal looks around, nervous, scanning for threats - the spider, or more UPP

" You able to make it happen gorgeous?"

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Shawn lets out a short, dry breath...not quite a laugh, and shakes his head as he keeps his rifle angled downrange.

“Yeah, well,” he mutters, eyes still scanning the treeline... “last time I tried "hacking" something it was a chest cavity, not a door.”

He flicks a glance at Thompson, then at Cal, tone edged but not hostile.
“If it’s got wires instead of ribs, you’re definitely the better bet, Thompson. No offense taken..."

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Thompson glances to Cal and then Shawn before sighing heavily. "I'll do my best..."

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The young woman kneels down in front of the panel, setting the rifle on the ground next to her. Thompson easily removes the front lower panel of the keycard scanner before getting her hands inside the guts of it.

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Thompson withdraws her hands quickly and grimaces, making a wincing noise "Fuck! Agh, damn it!"

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"Shocked the hell out of me..." Thompson scoots backward and glances towards the two Marines. "It's tough, if one of you want to try, go ahead. Otherwise, we'll need to find another way in."

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# ivory shard "I got nothing..." *Cal motions to Thompson and Shawn.* "Let's move around the b...

@vagrant ocean Cal, Shawn and Thompson begin creeping around the side of the building. As they round a corner to the back, two soldiers, a male and female in raincoats standing under a bright spotlight come into view. Their rifles are slung and they are having some sort of conversation, the woman gesticulating with a cigarette in her hand. They stand within the perimeter of the large fence, on the inside.

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Shawn freezes the instant the light washes over the corner, muscles locking before thought even catches up. His breath slows, shallow and careful, rain ticking softly against his helmet as the two figures come into focus.

Two of them. Relaxed. Too relaxed.

*His grip shifts on the rifle, not raising it, just steadying. Grounding.
Don’t rush. Don’t fuck this up. For a split second his eyes flick back toward where Nez is, out of sight but heavy in his chest.

He leans slightly toward Cal and Thompson, voice barely above a whisper.

“Two guards. Inside the fence. Talking. Cigarette.”
They’re not on edge. That’s good. Or very bad.
His jaw tightens, pulse thudding in his ears as memories of blood and screaming try to claw their way back in. He pushes them down hard.
“We don’t have to go loud,” he murmurs. “Not unless they make us.”
I can’t lose anyone else. Not tonight.
His eyes stay locked on the guards, but his body angles just a fraction toward Cal, instinctively protective.
“What do you see?”

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@ivory shard As Cal glances towards the soldiers, his eyes catch light reflecting off metal towards the bottom of the building's wall... A grate. Seems to be a large vent or something similar, large enough for a person to fit through. It's heavily fortified however, metal seems to have been welded to it. It rests just behind where the two soldiers stand.

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She blocks the knife with her rifle and begins struggling with Cal.

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The soldier let's her rifle drop and it dangles from her via a sling. She quickly grabs Cal's knife arm, trying to take control of the weapon and positioning herself to flip him over her shoulder onto the ground.

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Cal twists his body to the opposite side of the woman, complicating her comrade's shot. His knife slides down, and cuts the sling to the rifle. It falls wetly into the mud with a smack and Cal grapples her into a headlock.

"Nyet! Nyet!" Cal stage whispers at the man. "Kill! No shoot! Kill her!"

At all times, Cal struggles to keep the woman's body between the man and himself.

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# ivory shard *Cal twists his body to the opposite side of the woman, complicating her comrad...

The woman struggles against Cal's hold to no avail. The soldier in front of him begins yelling in Russian, his AK-4047 pointed at Cal. The solider is unable to shoot however, he would most likely hit his comrade. Cal begins to hear the sounds of boots hitting wet concrete above him, the soldiers on the roof of the building have clearly heard what's going on and will be above him in seconds.

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# next relic *The woman struggles against Cal's hold to no avail. The soldier in front of him...

The second Cal moves, Shawn’s stomach drops.
“Cal…” It barely leaves his mouth, swallowed by rain and the sudden chaos.
The Russian shouting snaps him fully into motion. Shawn surges forward, boots sliding in the mud, heart hammering so hard it aches in his chest. He does not aim at the woman tangled with Cal. Not a chance. His rifle comes up on the other soldier, the one yelling, the one about to do something irreversible.
“Hey!” Shawn barks, sharp and rough, trying to rip the soldier’s attention away from Cal. His finger tightens on the trigger, muzzle steady despite the tremor creeping into his hands.
“Drop it!” he snarls, knowing the words mean nothing, trusting the tone and the weapon to carry the message.
He shifts sideways, careful, searching for an angle that does not put Cal in his line. His breathing is loud now, uneven. His voice drops, strained, meant only for his friend.
“Hold her. Don’t let go.”
His jaw locks. Shawn centers the rifle again on the shouting soldier, every nerve screaming, every old memory clawing at the back of his skull.
“Do it,” he mutters under his breath. “Give me a reason.”

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# vagrant ocean *The second Cal moves, Shawn’s stomach drops.* “Cal…” *It barely leaves his mout...

The soldier immediately turns and focuses on Shawn, leveling his weapon at the marine. He continues yelling and gestures the barrel of the weapon to the ground, clearly indicating he wants Shawn to drop his. This carries on for a few seconds before a loud voice erupts from above the scene where this is taking place and the brightness of a flashlight suddenly falls on everyone. "Станд дошн Павел!" The soldier aiming at Shawn glances up and immediately lowers his weapon and takes a step back before looking towards Shawn with disdain and disgust. Cal and Shawn know the tone of the voice above, a figure of authority. They feel guns trained on them, they've seen combat, they know how it feels. Thompson steps up and raises her hands, looking up before glancing towards Shawn and Cal, shaking her head as she meets their gaze.

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The deep, gravelly voice comes from above once more. "Lower your weapons, marines. No one has to die here."

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#1367982331670823046 message (That's who you guys see when you look up, along with three soldiers standing with him. He holds a handgun and has it trained on all of you. The soldiers hold rifles and have them pointed in your direction.)

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# ivory shard *Cal lowers his head first, then releases the female UPP soldier.* "Fuck me...I'...

@vagrant ocean The woman steps away aggressively and massages her neck while speaking in Russian under her breath. She scoops up Cal's weapon, quickly inspects it and levels it at the marines. Thompson follows suit, the other soldier who was yelling takes Thompson's weapon before stepping up to Shawn and getting in the marine's face. "Гиве ме ыоур ФУЦКИНГ шеапон... пиндо." Despite having no idea what the soldier said, Shawn knows it wasn't friendly.

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Hanging his head, Cal follows- making sure to clock the way in and out, making a mental map for his eventual escape
"Thompson, don't resist..."

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After a moment, the pair that were standing under the light smoking begin speaking to one another in Russian. Another second passes and their tones turn louder and concerned, the female soldier turns to Cal and begins yelling in broken English. She levels her rifle at him.

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"Grigor! You kill him?! He work on fence!"

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It comes from the direction Cal, Thompson and Shawn came from. Thompson glances towards Cal, a look of nervousness on her face, her eyes wide.

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# ivory shard *Cal shakes his head slightly, grimacing. He walks slightly behind Thompson, hop...

The soldiers escorting the group don't seem to react to the gunshot. Cal and Shawn do however clock the front soldier, who was about to begin turning the valve handle on the door, has the briefest moment of hesitation, just a slight pause as the gunshot goes off. He very quickly seems to shake it off and grips the valve handle with both hands and begins turning it. Metal creaks and groans, locking mechanisms on the door turn and shift. After a few seconds of turning, the heavy metallic door opens and white fluorescent light spills out into the night. The soldier who opened the door steps into the building and the group is led inside single file by the soldiers escorting them.

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Inside, the group finds themselves in a decontamination chamber. One of the soldiers in the back seals the door behind them and the door locks with a heavy metallic click. This soldier then pulls a lever and the decon process begins to cycle. The white lights change to red and back to white, before the door in front of the group slides open with a hiss. The interior beyond the decontamination chamber consists of walls made of concrete, the floor made up of heavy metallic grating with the occasional pipe visible but beyond that, it's mostly shadows below. Bright fluorescent lights illuminate a long hallway and a dozen or so doors can be seen on either side. Immediately to the left, a UPP soldier sits behind a glass window and in front of the group, a man and woman stand behind a heavy metallic gate.

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(The man and woman behind the gate.)

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The man behind the gate gives a nod towards the soldier behind the glass and the soldier seems to press a button as loud beep echoes through the hallway. The heavy metallic gate slides open and the man speaks. His Russian accent heavy, his voice deep and gravelly. Cal and Shawn now have a good look at the man and he's the same one who stood above them outside, his voice also familiar. "Otvedite ikh v kamery. Pomestite ikh oruzhiye v oruzheynuyu." The two soldiers carrying the weapons belonging to the group enter a sliding door next to the large metallic gate and disappear from view.. The woman standing next to the man seems injured, gauze having been wrapped around the left side of her face. "The man steps forward and speaks in english.* "Colonial Marines... and another scientist... So many lost pups." The man steps aside, the woman next to him draws a pistol from a chest holster just as the last remaining soldier motions the group forward and yells. "Move!"

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The woman joins the line at the front, pistol at her side. As the group walks, they see multiple doors, most of them closed.

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@ivory shard @vagrant ocean As the group finds themselves led through this facility, they find the air is cold, much colder than outside. It's also very bland, no company names on any of the walls, no decorations, there's barely any writing, save for the occasional set of Russian words with arrows that are clearly labeling what will be found in a certain direction. Cal and Shawn can make out maybe two words from their extremely rudimentary knowledge of Russian: "Barracks" and "Cafeteria". This is very clearly some sort of military installation but as they are led through it becomes clear that it's running on a skeleton crew. Soldiers are stationed at entrances and exits to the facility but, nowhere else. The exception to this is what looks like a set of heavily reinforced elevator doors. The doors themselves have been welded shut and have been reinforced with thick pieces of sheet metal. Three soldiers stand here in full combat gear, weapons at the ready behind a hastily set up barricade made of metal tables and chairs. A large, heavy looking machinegun emplacement rests in the center.

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Pock marks and craters rest on the walls, floor and ceiling in the area surrounding the elevator. Despite clear efforts to wash it away, the remnants of blood stains can be seen on the ground a few feet from the elevator doors. This elevator rests at the end of a hallway beyond a heavy looking metal gate, similar to the one that the group passed through before. The most curious note about this elevator and barricade is that, the soldiers, machinegun emplacement and barricade, are all facing towards the doors, not down the hall.

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After walking for a few more minutes and passing through another gate, the group is led to a small jail area. Three cells rest in here, two of which are empty, one is occupied. A soldier also sits at a desk with a terminal and papers on it, he immediately stands and salutes as the group steps in. "Serzhant Ginovaef, ser!" The woman who joined the group after drawing the pistol raises a hand and nods, the soldier relaxing as she does.

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As Cal and Shawn enter, they see a familiar figure in one of the cells, Doctor Winters. Thompson immdiately stares at him for a moment, surprise written all over her face.

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@lean hinge About an hour or so has passed since Winters was placed in this cell. The door to the jail area opens and he sees four familiar figures: The female soldier he tussled with in the interrogation room, gauze now covering the left side of her face, two of the colonial marines he traveled with, Private First Class Calvino and Corporal Shawn along the Ecology Research Assistant, Thompson.

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A second later the soldier pulls out a set of keys and opens an empty cell, the woman speaks once more. "Keep your mouths shut." She points towards Cal. "Inside... now."

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As far as keys, Cal doesn't notice any that are clearly visible. The cell door is slammed shut behind him and the only things inside the cell are a toilet, sink with no mirror and a cot.

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The soldier with the pistol doesn't respond, instead she shoots Cal a look of disgust, muttering under her breath. "Chertov idiot"

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The other soldier who just closed Cal's cell moves to open Winters' cell. The woman moves over with him and keeps her pistol at the ready, she flicks it in Thompson's direction and back towards the cell. "Inside devochika. You share cell with mister valuable scientist."

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@lean hinge The cell door opens with a turn of the key and a heavy metallic click. Thompson keeps her hands on her head and begins to enter.

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Winters steps back to the far wall of the cell.

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# lean hinge *Winters steps back to the far wall of the cell.*

Thompson steps into the cell, shooting Winters a glance but not saying anything. She crosses her arms, turning to face the entrance of the cell just as the door slams shut. Thompson sighs heavily as it closes, her gaze fixated on the two soldiers on the other side of the cell.

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@vagrant ocean The soldier who unlocked the other two cells moves over and unlocks the last one. The female soldier with the unholstered pistol moves near Shawn and gives him a forceful shove with her left hand, "Inside, yanki.... Now."

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# lean hinge “Hmmm? We can’t stay in this cell, or we can’t stay on this planet? The former i...

Thompson shrugs and scoffs, shaking her head. "Both! Look at what's out there! The young woman motions forward with her hand aggressively. She goes to speak again but the Russian woman that just shoved Shawn into his cell slams her pistol against the cell bars. The heavy metallic clang echoes throughout the entire room. "Shut your fucking mouths!" The other soldier slams the cell door behind Shawn and locks it.

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Without another word, the two of them exit out into the hallway and close the door to the holding area, leaving Winters, Thompson, Shawn and Cal by themselves within the cells.

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The group can hear muffled conversation coming from the hallway but it's in Russian unfortunately.

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The soldier sits down at a nearby desk with papers strewn over it. After taking a sip from a mug filled with dark liquid, he begins typing at a terminal that rests at the desk, not even shooting a glance to the group that now sit behind bars.

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@lean hinge Winters can see that Thompson is incredibly nervous, her pacing, her crossed arms and even a bead of sweat forming on her brow. Sure, the young research assistant is just a civilian so her being nervous is understandable but, noone is reacting like Thompson is to the group's current situation.

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@ivory shard @lean hinge @vagrant ocean Just as Winters clocks this, the door to the cell area opens and two figures step in, the soldier at the desk standing and saluting as they do. The first, the female soldier from before with the gauze covering the left side of her face. The other is a middle aged man, 50s, heavy scaring on the left side of his face. Winters remembers this man as Captain Volkov, clearly the soldier in charge. Both of them step in, the woman closing the door behind them. The older soldier steps up to the cell containing Shawn and Cal, crossing his arms as he stops in front of the cell door, before speaking. Thompson uncrosses her arms, her eyes absolutely laser focused on the older soldier.

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"Colonial Marines..." A long pause, the Russian accent is heavy on the man's gravelly voice. "I am Captain Volkov, the one in charge of security in this.... facility." Captain Volkov motions a hand towards the female soldier next to him. "This is Sergeant Ginovaef, my second." Sergeant Ginovaef says nothing, merely standing there doing her best to look threatening. "Now... I am.. as the Americans say... a straight shooter. We have your Sergeant in our custody... stubborn fucking svoloch'." Captain Volkov seems to linger on what he just said for a moment, waiting to see the reactions of the marines.

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# next relic "***Colonial Marines...***" *A long pause, the Russian accent is heavy on the ma...

Cal merely nods, and stands straight- making sure to hide the crushed glass surreptitiously in one of his pockets while standing up.
"I am Private First Class Calvino, Colonial Marine, Scout designation- ID number 6453-GB-56. I am glad to hear the Sergeant is ok. It appears we may have mutual challenges in the form of alien lifeforms that are hostile to human life- regardless of political affiliation."

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Winters shuffles casually to be standing very closely behind Thompson.

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The Captain sighs heavily. "As much as it pains me to say, me and my men... We require your help."

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Sergeant Ginovaef sighs and seems annoyed, slightly rolling her eyes in response to what Captain Volkov says before speaking in Russian.

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"Kapitan, oni nam ne nuzhny. My mozh-"

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Captain Volkov cuts her off, raising his voice. It echoes throughout the cell area, the Sergeant seemingly surprised by her superior's reaction. "Tikho, serzhant! My zhe eto obsuzhdali!" Sergeant Ginovaef scoffs but returns a nod.

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Captain Volkov motions towards the soldier who holds the keys to the cells and draws a pistol as he does. "Serzhant Ginovaef, hvatay devchonku — posmotrim, chto ona skazhet." The Captain takes a step back and with a metallic clang the cell door containing Winters and Thompson opens. The soldier stands next to Captain Volkov after opening the cell, an AK-4047 in his hands. Sergeant Ginovaef steps into the cell, yelling towards Winters. "Get back Doctor Winters, against back wall, now!"

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Thompson takes a step back, a confused and panicked look on her face as Sergeant Ginovaef steps towards the young research assistant.

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“Don’t mind me.” Winters backs up.

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# ivory shard "Hey! I said take me! Leave her alone!" *Cal slams his fist into the bars **hard...

Captain Volkov looks towards Cal, a "gotcha" expression crawling across his face. "You had your chance private. Maybe this zhenshchina will have more to say." Sergeant Ginovaef grabs Thompson by the arm and twists it behind her back, pushing the young woman forward. "Ahh! That hurts, dammit!" Sergeant Ginovaef keeps moving Thompson out of the cell and towards the door, the cell door slammed shut as they exit it. Thompson yells and tries to look over her shoulder as she's pushed through the door that leaves the cell area. "Cal! We'll mak-" The young woman's voice is cut short as the door slams shut behind the three of them. The soldier who keeps watch says nothing as he leans his rifle against the wall and returns to the terminal on the table.

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“Just a little harder, marine, I can see the bars loosen.”

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“They already interrogated me, I’m not special. And I’m already in hot water with them. See the gauze on that soldier’s face? That was my own act of resistance. They’ll just shoot me if I do anything else.”

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Winters also whispers. “We can’t trust them. We need to retake the initiative, which means escaping these cells. Here, grab my neck through the bars and pretend to throttle me. Yell at me for divulging information that let to your capture, or something. Be really angry, and maybe the guard will open your cell to pacify you. Then you can act.”

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Cal immediately does so with a sardonic smirk
"I'll fucking kill you, you fucking bastard!!

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“Ack! No! I only did what I had to!” Winters loudly pretends to struggle and suffocate, banging on the bars to help attract the guard’s attention.

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The guard glances over from where he sits and yells loudly, his heavily Russian accented voice echoing through the cell area. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

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@ivory shard @lean hinge The guard points the weapon at Cal and the marine knows he could easily shoot Cal at this distance. However, the guard doesn't shoot and instead pulls out the keys to the cell. He quickly opens the cell door and rushes in towards Cal, clearly cursing in Russian under his breath. The rifle is raised but it's clear the guard doesn't intend to fire it, instead ready to swing it as a blunt weapon.

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The soldier attempts to slam the butt of the rifle onto the side of Cal's head, bringing it down quickly as he moves up to the marine.

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@ivory shard The soldier moves too quick for Cal to react and the rifle comes down hard onto Cal's head, just behind the left temple. The force of the blow causes the marine to fall to the ground, releasing his grip on Winters.

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Unable to see, the guard lunges forward and completely misses Cal by almost a foot. He stumbles and almost falls to the ground, his back now facing Winters and Cal.

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# ivory shard *Cal screams and attacks the soldier. Though he has the initiative, the stress i...

The guard spins around and lunges in Cal's general direction, swinging his rifle wildly but finding no purchase as he slams hard into the bars of Winters' cell. Blood has started to drip slightly down the guard's face and it's clear his eyesight is damaged, one eye closed fully and the other barely open. "Suka! YA ub'yu tebya!" The guard seems ready to escalate things, raising his AK-4047 and moving his finger over the trigger.

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@lean hinge As the guard slams into the bars of Winters' cell, there's a split second where he stands there breathing heavily, back facing Winters. With a speed that even surprises himself, Winters is able to swipe the cell keys from the guard through the bars. The guard is none the wiser as he stands there raising his weapon towards Cal.

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Cal knows this man will fire his weapon if he attempts to get up, he can see it in the guard's eyes.

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“Just kill him now! He’ll never cooperate. He doesn’t know anything anyway.” Winters yells at the guard.

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Cal slumps down, and says,
"Da, da, comrade. Praise Stalin. Hate freedom..."
Cal begins chuckling, a dark laughter that belies his nihilistic belief in his upcoming death- if not from this guard at this moment, then from the mosters outside...

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# ivory shard *Cal slumps down, and says,* "Da, da, comrade. Praise Stalin. Hate freedom..." *...

The guard leans down to detain Cal, beginning to turn him over and place his arms behind his back. As the guard does this, the door to the cell area opens and walking in once more is Captain Volkov. Alongside him, not restrained in any way, with crutches and a heavily bandaged leg, is Sergeant Mahooney. Volkov seems unperturbed by the scene in front of him. A knowing smile creeps across Mahooney's face, knowing one of his marines gave the commies a hard time.

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'Vol'no, kapral! Ostav' nas!" Volkov's loud voice echoes through the room. The guard turns and seems ready to protest but says nothing as he lets Cal go and proceeds to immediately leave the cell area, the door closing behind him. Cal's cell door is left open.

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@ivory shard Mahooney hobbles into Cal's cell on his crutches and sits down on the cot, setting the crutches next to him. The sergeant looks to be in fresh clothes and seemingly cleaned up. He does have a few fresh bruises on his face however. Mahooney glances towards Cal, shaking his head and letting out a soft chuckle. "You look like shit son but... It's good to see you. You alright?"

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@lean hinge Volkov just stands there a few seconds before he steps in front of Winters' cell and crosses his arms. "Doctor Winters... Do you wish to..." Volkov pauses and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, lights one, takes a long drag and blows smoke that fills the air around him and finds it's way into Winters' cell. "... Get off of MT-281?"

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# ivory shard " Hey Sarge... Guess it's good I couldn't bash this commie's head in- would have...

Mahooney leans forward and nods "I know, they have her in an interrogation room right now, far as I know, she's fine." A look of concern crawls across the marine's face, an expression of worry as he seems to be about to ask a question he's scared to hear the answer to. "Nez, Reese? Are they alright? Chen, he..." Cal sees a hardened soldier falter for a moment, Mahooney's gaze shifts to the ground. "Those fucking things tore him apart. Dying in combat is one thing but... They slaughtered him... I couldn't..." Mahooney rubs his eyes and sighs heavily. "I got separated from Nez and that's when Volkov's men found me, brought me here."

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# lean hinge “What do you need help with?”

Captain Volkov pauses for a moment before speaking. When he begins to speak, he elevates his voice clearly making sure Cal hears him. "There is another level to this building, below us. It is research facility, with me in charge as it's watch dog. I need something from this facility, final research data."

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Volkov says nothing for a few seconds, letting his words permeate the room.

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"Without it... Me and my men cannot leave and we are stuck on this... Dyra."

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Sergeant Mahooney's gaze shifts to Cal, a look of fear across his face and of regret. "I didn't want us helping the UPP to be an order but... We can't... We can't stay here Cal. This place is hell. We get that data and get the fuck off this rock." The sergeant glances down at the ground and rubs his face. "Those of us who are left anyway..."

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# ivory shard "Sarge, this is completely FUBAR. But that ain't on you, chief." *Cal absent-min...

Sergeant Mahooney grunts as he stands, propping himself up on his crutches. He gives Cal a slap on the shoulder and forces a smile through the pain. "You're a good marine Cal... maybe a better one than I was at your age." Sergeant Mahooney's expression suddenly changes from a forced smile... to a frown as he rubs his stubbled face. "There's a catch son. We need to know where the rest of the squad is... if they're alive...We can't do this without them. My leg is FUBAR, Winters is an egghead and Thompson might as well be a pencil pushing desk jockey."

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@silent charm @midnight flume As the night rolls on, the FOB becomes eerily quiet. No further attacks by the creatures from before take place. A few hours pass and most of the camp finds themselves inside their quarters, beyond a handful of patrolling volunteer guards. Having finished the examination of the strange creature, Maxwell finds himself at a desk behind reinforced glass, green light illuminating his face from the terminal that sits in front of him. Meanwhile, Reed finds himself on the outskirts of the FOB's perimeter, him and one other guard nearing the end of their shift.

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@midnight flume The entire Med-Lab is quiet, the only noise Maxwell hears is the pitter patter of rain against the prefabricated metallic rooftop. Beyond the reinforced glass and terminal in front of him, the remains of the large dissected ebon creature rests on a metallic table. With a hiss, the door behind Maxwell opens and Bishop walks in, a P-Dat under his arm. "Mr. Maxwell, you're up late."