Phase One - approximately fifteen minutes after Sentinel flyby

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

Washington, DC, United States of America


The office was almost disturbingly austere. Shasta Wilson stood in the middle of it, facing the polished oak of the desk where the three officials sat. She wondered if they perceived her as the same kind of threat as they perceived that entire damn island.

Oh no doubt.

They'd probably assassinate her when this was all over. But that was inconsequential. She'd be assassinated and she'd die knowing that she got her revenge on them. On all of them. They refused to see logic and join with the obviously supreme side in this conflict, and they would all pay the price.

Most of all would be her sister.

"Miss Wilson," one of the men seated at the oak desk said after a few moments' silence, "you sent one of our Sentinels to do a low altitude flyby over the entirety of the Republic of Newfoundland. You must understand the idiocy of this tactic. Now they know what we're planning."

Shasta rolled her eyes. "What we're dealing with is not just a mutant issue. There are mutant magic-users on that island. Humans are the minority there, and Muggles - that is to say people who do not use magic - are a flat-out rarity. The Burgites are a threat."

"You have yet to adequately prove that."

"There was an interesting find that the flyby managed to uncover." Shasta produced a small memory stick and handed it to one of the men. "They have a weapon."

"They're entitled to weapons," the third man said, but took the stick and loaded it into his computer console. Suddenly, a video of a small woman with eyes aglow and who was apparenly levelling a collapsed house with a mere glance began to play and replay on the large screen at the far end of the room.

The men gaped. Shasta smirked.

"Are they entitled to weapons that are people with almost limitless power?"

"What..."

"She is the Spirit Mage. She channels the power of that entire island and is its sole protector. If we want to get to the Burgites, we need to get to her."

"And she's powerful?"

"She's very powerful," Shasta said. "She's telekinetic by nature, but when she's amped, she - "

"Amped?"

"It's a colloquialism. She can be activated, so to speak, by the Council of Elders when they need her. When she's amped, she can and will do a lot worse than level a house. If we send troops, she'll kill them in a fell swoop with her mind alone. Sending the Sentinels just might be enough to kill her and win."

"And if she doesn't die?"

"She'll die." They'll all die.

"I hope you're right," the first man said as he leaned over and punched a button on the desk. "For your own sake."

Comments

Thirteen Hours Later...

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

Port aux Basques, Newfoundland
NRAF High Command

She'd never liked this place. Even when the Newfoundland Republican Armed Forces was just a regiment in the Canadian Forces, this extensive, secret underground base beneath the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal had been intimidating.

It was six stories, all underground. Entrance was via an unmarked door in the terminal. The complex housed a base of military operations that, despite the fact that the vast majority of Burgites were arcane magic users, was a technological marvel.

NRAF had been watching the Sentinels ever since Jeimu had become aware of them. The main control room - where she now stood clad in an armor reinforced, blood-red catsuit with a DC-17m rifle in hand, balanced on her shoulder - was aglow and alive with reconnaissance feeds from fighter jets and remote cameras. The Sentinels that could not be directly photographed showed up as radar blips on the largest screen.

The commander of the NRAF was Lt.-Col Cosine Theta, a woman who was a rarity on the island - she was a Muggle. She had no elemental or otherwise mutant power and wands were useless in her hands but she possessed a sharply tactical mind.

"It's not that we don't trust the Spirit Mage," Theta was saying, calmly staring Jeimu down. She made no mention of the fact that their family and friends were assembled in the room despite the fact that they shouldn't technically have been in there. "We realize that you're what will win the day. However, asking the NRAF to stand down while the island is under threat is not an acceptable request, and I think Major Wilson will agree."

Sal bristled only slightly. "I don't hold rank anymore, ma'am," she said curtly. "And I've since married. Sal will do just fine."

Theta's stare went from Jeimu to Sal and then to Kurt, who was standing just a hair's breadth behind his wife, his hand firmly on her shoulder. Sal managed to draw strength from this gesture.

"Am I to assume, then, that you do not want to command a brigade?"

"No," Sal said. "I want to do this on my own. We-" she gestured to her family about her - "intend to back up the Spirit Mage. You'll notice the Guardians are assembled. Furthermore, I just received clearance to - dispatch my sister. Rumour has it she's coming."

"I understand," Theta said with a nod that could only be described as militant. "Nevertheless, we must plan this operation. Our latest intelligence says that these thirty-five Sentinels are currently one-hundred and twenty miles from this command post. Their offensive will most likely focus on Port aux Basques."

Sal looked around at everyone.

It had really begun.

[random_xtras]

Jav looked around from where he stood with his brothers and sisters, looking out of place for being in civilian clothes while Leeroy, Ven, and Atin, and even Sam wore katarn armor. But he'd given his to Atin, who was fresher from the army and so less used to life outside armor and also still dragging his rear from that virus. The usually hyper clone's face was still and grim as he turned back to watch his CO and saw Sal looking back at him past Kurt.

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

Her glance was poignant; it was marked with sheer confidence. She knew her boys could fight. There was something else within it, but she just refused to acknowledge what it was. Sal didn't smile, but she nodded slightly and snapped her eyes back to Theta, who continued:

"What we're proposing then is to let you lot - the Guardians, the Spirit Mage, and the rest of you - defend Port aux Basques." She pointed to the screen opposite, where the radar had disappeared and a local map had shown up in its place. She drew a few arrows with a tablet pen so that they appeared as well. "In the event the Sentinels breach your defense, we will be ready at Grand Bay with our infantry. We have every reason to believe the Sentinels will be supplemented with troops; they will be our responsibility."

Sal nodded, wondering what was going to happen. On the outside she was calm, the perfect visage of a well-trained soldier, but on the inside she was screaming hysterically at the futility of it all.

Leeroy had guaranteed the antiarmor charges would work. She just wondered if they'd get to them in time. She was afraid that she would die.

Her hand rested on her stomach as though unconsciously protecting the little life within.

No. I have everything to live for.

"Do we have an ETA?" she asked.

[random_xtras]

Hunter stirred slightly from where he stood next to Vanya and Albus, his golden eyes going to the tall woman... Sam. Though her face was nearly as grim and set as those of the men around her he could hear a song of fierce exultation coming from her heart, a strong thread of triumph and of pain. He recognized the other Presence that was there in the woman's heart, but he was curious about why Sam should be grieving already when nothing had happened yet. Frowning, he unconsciously looked closer and blinked, his gaze snapping to Jeimu and the big blond man who stood guard over her.

-Let it be,- stirred a whisper in his heart.

He frowned and blinked, then caught Albus' knowing glance and forced himself to relax though his tail continued to whisper over the floor as it swept back and forth.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

Jeimu made a great show of listening, but she really wasn't. Her mind was elsewhere, wondering why so many people were willing to follow her.

She would gladly have done the same had the situation been reversed, but this seemed so... odd.

"We're estimating that they'll make landfall by morning," Theta said gruffly. "So you have some time to prepare."

[i_salted_dean]

-I was born to fight evil,- thought Sam, her dark eyes fixed unseeingly on the maps and monitors as she held her helmet under her arm. -This may not be my world, or the evil I was born for, but it's still my fight. God... Father, please be with Jeimu as much as you can with the rules You've made. And... help me someday understand why I'm still seeing visions of she and Jav holding a little baby girl.-

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

Theta put her elbows on her desk and folded her hands in front of her face, looking very austere. "This is your one chance to use our resources," she said, her eyes square on Jeimu's. "If you need anything - a battalion, a jet, a large gun... now is the time to request it."

Jeimu nodded and looked up at the commanding officer of the NRAF. Her eyes were glowing again; they hadn't really stopped since this whole thing started.

"Air support would be nice," She said. "Just in case I miss a few."

Theta nodded and punched a button. "You have the 866 Armored Wing Division at your disposal. They launch out of Cape Ray. We'll have Maj - er, Sal connected to them via communicator. It's up to the two of you to decide when and if they are deployed."

Her hands went back to their prior position. "We request you stay in High Command until the targets are fifteen miles out."

It was said with finality. They were all done here for now.

[random_xtras]

-I really should have stocked up on Jelly Bellies,- thought Albus absently from where he stood next to Hunter with Fawkes on his shoulder and his arms crossed over his chest.

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

Sal snorted through her nose. She had told Theta she didn't want to be in command but the woman had gone and done it anyway.

She nodded slightly. "We'll take to a briefing room," she said, turning around and pointing to the door so that everyone could leave.

[random_xtras]

They filed out of the room, down the hallways, and into the other with a silence that even Fawkes didn't break. Then Kurt paused by the door of the briefing room and subjected his wife to the most embarrassing public display of affection that the base had ever been witness to.

"Ewwwww," said Sam as Jav and Ven's faces creased slightly with dismay.

Albus just cleared his throat and looked at the ceiling.

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

When he finally let her go she was shaking slightly. The kiss had reminded her rather suddenly of everything she had to lose.

But still, she didn't smile when she asked him, "What was that for?"

[random_xtras]

"Amping myself," he said softly, cupping her cheek with his hand and drawing strength from her beauty as he asked God to shield her and protect her. His usual humor before a battle had returned, but he wasn't too sure how it would be taken by his suddenly grim stepsons or the others in the room.

Vic snorted and walked over to the outtake vent to light a smoke.

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

She smiled only slightly before flopping down into a chair and switching between Deece modes rapidly: sniper, antiarmor, and regular blaster. Over and over again.

She didn't need anything but this gun and her own brain.

Although she did wonder what... well, everyone thought of her when she was like this. Even the boys had never seen her in a real battle before.

[random_xtras]

Jav stood at parade rest, his mind nearly blank as he stared at a point on the wall opposite him. He was ready, even though it felt strange to be in civvies when he was going into battle. There was no fear, the coming fight had even driven away his fear of losing Mu. All that was left was readiness, and an awareness of his COs as the part of his mind that was still working sent up an awkward prayer to Sam and Scrat's God.

Hunter looked around, then glanced at Albus and vanished, returning shortly with a huge bag of jelly beans and setting them on the table before he walked off to an empty corner of the room and crouched down to listen in and wait.

And Aoife just stood and waited, her mind and expression no more animated than a droid's. If she had bothered to pull herself out of battle mode she would have seen the irony of fleeing the army only to join battle so many light years away from her home. But she didn't bother, only put a hand over George in his holster and waited.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

And Leeroy stood much the same way, his mind eerily blank as he contemplated the upcoming battle.

This shouldn't have been his fight. Nobody told him to be here - but to him that's where the unsettling feelings originated.

He'd chose this, chosen to be here to back up his onetime training sergeant.

"How long?" he asked.

[i_salted_dean]

"Soon," said Sam, wincing as a pen rattled across the table and then exploded in a shower of ink. "Just after dawn."

Then she cocked her head and groaned as she felt a familiar mental twitch to one of her mind pokes. "Dad's at the house."

Albus walked over and offered his granddaughter a handful of jelly beans, his glance going toward Aubrey and the others. "Have a sweetie, dear."

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

She shook her head silently, still very grim-faced as she sat in the chair gripping the Deece like a lifeline.

Nothing could make her feel better until the Sentinels were gone and her sister was dead. She'd never thought she'd feel so strongly about Shasta, but upon receiving the authorization to get rid of her on sight, she felt something akin to bloodlust going through her veins.

She felt dangerous. She scared herself.

Her eyes travelled to her husband to see if he was equally as frightened.

[random_xtras]

Kurt was crouched on a corner of the table with one arm leaning against his knees, his eyes resting absently on her as he murmured softly in German, covering everything in prayer. His face was calm, even very slightly merry at times, but those golden eyes held an unexpected and surprising twinkle as he lost himself in talking to his best Friend.

[sadri.livejournal.com]

Sadri stood with her back against the far wall beside Vanya, eyes half closed as she attempted to meditate. She'd managed to get back into her old tan Jedi robes. The two sabers hung as usual at her hips, except that this time they would probably get a little bit of use as opposed to being a security blanket.

Her mind drifted to her daughter and she wondered if she wasn't completely insane for staying here with Ven. What if...

No, she wasn't going to think about that.

[random_xtras]

Albus offered her a handful of black cherry jelly beans, his blue eyes twinkling slightly over his half-moon spectacles, though his body language gave hints of his awareness of the seriousness of the matter.

"She's in good hands, my dear," he said softly.

[sadri.livejournal.com]

Sadri grinned and took the jelly beans.

"I know," she said.

[random_xtras]

"Do you mind if I help you hold up the wall for a little?" He smiled.

[sadri.livejournal.com]

"Not at all."

She moved over to the side to let him squeeze in between she and Vanya.

[random_xtras]

And he did so, his tall straight old body looking strangely in place between the two tall straight warrior women, his humor and awareness seeming somehow to blend them together into a unit. For those who could see with other eyes the softer version of the bonfire Glow surrounding Kurt and Sam that radiated from him only seemed to complete the picture.

"I need coffee," came a low mutter from Sam.

The Next Morning

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

Port aux Basques, Newfoundland
Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal; Topside

They were out there.

They weren't entirely visible - just specks of darkness against the matte blue surface of the ocean, but they were there. And they were gradually getting larger.

The sun had just risen to expose what was turning out to be a brilliantly clear sky. The winds were low, the air was warm, and the weather was just about as perfect as it could be for the island.

And that made Sal mad. Good weather was ominous. She was perched on the top of the viewing tower at the terminal, staring out to sea with binoculars at her eyes and her Deece strapped to her back. Keener observers would notice that she also had a thin wooden instrument attached to her thigh, seated in a leather holster. The maple wand that had served her well in the first war and contained one of her own phoenix feathers was a powerful instrument, should she wield it.

However, these were not Death Eaters; they were much more arcane and she felt a lot more comfortable with the large gun within reach.

She peered down at the large rocky island of Channel Head. The entire island boasted just a shed built atop it, but she could see Pi Squad in its newest incarnation - that was to say, three armoured clones and Jav - preparing a little surprise for both the Sentinels and NRAF High Command.

"Do not fire until fired upon," Lt.-Col. Cosine Theta had said earlier when the Sentinels had breached fifteen miles. There'd been an uproar until they'd finally gotten outside and Sal herself mentioned faking them out with a 'weapons mishap'.

Jav and Leeroy had been making IEDs all week, and she figured they could be put to use this way.

Best that they be fired upon when they were waiting for it.

She tapped her ear to activate the communication device within. "Report in, everyone," she said. "It's nearly go time."

Re: The Next Morning

[random_xtras]

"Phoenix squad in position," reported Albus from where he stood with Sam and Aoife in the midst of the docks. He winced slightly, but then chuckled as Trooper suddenly blared out of speakers on Sam's helmet. -Raise a little Hell, eh?- Fawkes squawked a comment on the music, then returned to preening his friend's hair.

"Nightcrawler in position," said Kurt from where he clung to a pipe with his feet a few feet below Sal. Dark brows drew together as he peered through his own binoculars.

"Can you get an exact distance?" Sal asked Kurt, repeating for her husband the sudden buzz of invective that was streaming from High Command. "Inquirin' minds want t' know." She leaned forward slightly, going up on tiptoes to see a little better. The typical morning fog still lingered and she flicked through UV and infrared sight modes. She reflected briefly on how much of a good idea it had been to jack these particular macrobinocs from GAR stores before frowning slightly once again. "And Theta would like to remind us all," she said on the broad channel so that everyone could hear, "that we're not to shoot 'em 'till they shoots us.'

"I say we moon 'em," Jav's voice crackled from the island.

Kurt blinked, then disappeared with a flash of smoke to reappear briefly overhead. He was back in a heartbeat, once more clinging with feet and tail. "Ten miles? Er... I can't remember vhat that is in meters, sorry."

Then he looked toward the town. "The rooftops are lined vith people."

"Sixteen clicks," Sal said without pause. "Ye knows, I never thought I'd be sayin' this but would they hurry up an' get here already.... Nak, Aubrey, Eve - you guys ready if we need lockdown?"

"'Course we are," Eve replied. "An' it looks like John brought some friends with 'im."

Sal turned toward the town and groaned. "Why are we all so damn stubborn?" she asked nobody in particular, then got back to business. "Pi Squad, objective is to set off once they breach one mile."

"Might happen a bit sooner," came Leeroy's voice. "They're pickin' up speed."

"If you don't like... what you got/ why don't you change it? If your world is all screwed up/ rearrange it," Sam's voice sang softly over the lines.

"Steady, ladies." Seriousness crept into Albus's voice.

Over by the big gas tanks of the terminal Hunter looked at Vanya, his mind's eye still watching the robots come in. -We didn't call in?-

"Ach!" Kurt blinked.

Vanya smirked. "She knows where I am." Then she likewise utilized her communication device. "Yeah, Sal, we're good here. We'll wait for your authorization to ward this place."

Some of the humans here were scared. Some were stoic. Some hid their nervousness with humour. Vanya was just ecstatic; it was about time something interesting happened on the island. "Although I would suggest," she continued as an idea struck her, "that I put it up when you set off. This much petrol's going to do a lot worse than a missile if it ignites."

"If it ignites," Sal said, "I'll take care of it. Negative on th' ward 'till we knows we don't need ye somewhere else."

Re: The Next Mornin

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

There was a sudden muffled exclaimation from the radio waves, and then an explosion that could be felt all the way to the docks.

On Channel head Jav watched in wide-eyed horror as Atin somersaulted into the air and came down hard, then whirled to empty the rifle magazine at the Sentinels, who swept over without even paying further attention to the conflageration they'd caused.

"Ach!" cried Kurt. "The @#$%&$#! They fired vithout provocation!"

Leeroy followed suit, switching his Deece to antiarmor mode and lobbing all four rounds at the Sentinels.

"Gimme a count!" Ven yelled, pointing his sniper rifle at the nearest large robot.

Leeroy grunted. "Kinda busy here..."

"We have five." Jeimu's voice wasn't coming over the communicators, but seemingly from all around them. "Hold fire."

"Are you insane?" Leeroy spat, reloading the attachment hurriedly, then looked up as she floated up toward them. It was an odd sight to see the small woman flying under her own power, but she came in fast and landed on the rocks, looking skyward just as one landed in the water right in front of the island, its mechanical gaze fixed on all of them down below.

"Perhaps," Jeimu said, watching the Sentinel for a moment before hauling Leeroy close by the sleeve. "See the neck joint? When the thing raises its arm to fire at me, aim your rounds there. That'll lop off its head." Just like the younger Kurt in the Cafe had described. "Then we can disable it."

"You are insane," Ven remarked, watching the uproar in the town as the first few Sentinels that had flown by landed. "So what are we gonna do 'bout those ones?"

Jeimu just quirked a smile and held up a finger in a wait-and-see gesture. She turned to look at the Sentinel in front of them, who was getting ready to fire.

"Blink and you'll miss it," she remarked to Leeroy.

The explosive round of... whatever it was they used let off, veering right towards them all. Jeimu planted her back foot and threw up her hands and the bolt stopped a hair's breadth from her palms.

"Fire now! Then get a round right inside the thing."

He did. The first round easily beheaded the robot. And the second breached the inner casing as Sam had described. Jeimu pushed with her hands again and sent the Sentinel and its shot cascading back into the Atlantic Ocean.

Jav reloaded rapidly, then kept the rifle trained on the enemy as he backed up to where Atin lay awkwardly crumpled and rapped gently on his helmet.

"Remind me to kill you for that later," came the weak growl.

The hyper clone sagged a little with relief. "How ye feelin', b'y?"

"Give me a few and I'll be up again." He shifted slightly, holding his borrowed Deece at the ready.

Jav sent up an unconcious prayer of thanks that he'd given the other clone his armor. If he hadn't that explosion and fall would have killed him.

"So are we going to worry about those others now?" Ven asked, eyeing the steaming remains of their first kill.

"Yep." Jeimu was off and gone again as though this was everyday work for her.

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

Back on the main island, Sal watched the entire spectacle through her binoculars. "Holy @#%^," she whispered.

Then one of them stopped right in front of the watchtower.

"Uh... guys?"

Aubrey, Nak, and Eve were already on the move. They weren't combatants in the strictest sense of the word; they were there to provide security and to aid Jeimu with lockdown. They ran out of sight and Sal trained her Deece on the Sentinel that had just landed.

However, it was already powering up to fire.

"There's no time!" Sal swore and strapped the Deece to her back and pitched herself over the side of the tower.

I hate it when I has t'do this, she mused as she fell.

"Sal!" Kurt started and poised to go after her as the Sentinel droned its mantra about detecting mutant lifeforms and terminating.

There was a flash of fire and the blue-eyed phoenix struck out, gaining altitude and grabbing Kurt by the ankle with one set of very strong talons, the Deece held in the other. She then spiralled and flew through the Sentinel's huge legs, circling around to land by the gas tanks. She dropped Kurt rather unceremoniously and changed back, crouched low as she reconfigured the Deece and aimed.

"We're lettin' the gas go," she said to Hunter and Vanya, smirking as three more Sentinels landed to join the first. "Look, 'e's got some buddies... let's see if we can't convince 'em to come this way." She watched them approach again. "'Kay, cyare, I'll need you to get me up there." She pointed to a craggy hill about fifty metres tall that overlooked the terminal. "Then I'll fire at the tanks and concentrate the burnage at them. Vanya, you take Hunter t' the same place an' help me lop off some heads."

Kurt scrambled to his feet, feeling greatful that she'd spared the tail as he nodded and put his arms around her waist. "Brace yourself."

Hunter watched them disapear in a cloud of smoke, then glanced at Vanya and held out his hand, offering an easy ride up the hill even as he unconciously growled deep in his throat at the mechanical monsters towering over them.

Vanya did a double-take, watching the being's eyes gleam a little ferociously, before the two of them likewise vanished.

[random_xtras]

"Granddad," Sal said once they were atop the hill, waving brimstone smoke out of her face, "you need to clear the area. Either come to where we're to or git to Channel Head. Either way do it fast - use Fawkes - coz we're settin' off those gas tanks. Girls, get yerselves hid. 'Fact, wait fer Mu t' call ye."

Albus nodded and held out his hand toward the young ladies of his squad. "If you please, my dears."

"I have a teleporter," came Sam's slightly mechanical voice. "It might be a little better to just get there without being a target."

Albus glanced at Fawkes to see what his old friend thought of this, then nodded and wriggled his fingers invitingly. "We still need to be linked, don't we?"

"Yup." She fiddled with the gadget, then grabbed his hand and Aoife's hand. "Sadri, quick."

Sadri nodded and grabbed Aoife's hand. "Let's go," she said.

There was a swish, and a slight flash, and then a very happy sound from Fawkes, and they were standing on the hill next to Sal and the others. Hunter crouched at the front of the group, his gleaming eyes fixed on the Sentinels as his tail lashed back and forth in slow, relentless sweeps.

-Woah, chill, big guy,- thought Sam, letting go hands and frowning at him. Then she yelped as the teleporter blinked and went dark.

Sal raised her binoculars to her face and scowled. "The stupid @#$%@#ers droided us."

"Droided?" Kurt looked at her alertly from where he also crouched with lashing tail.

"@#$%&!" Sam pulled her helmet off, then tinkered with it a bit, scowling intently.

"They pounded us with an electromagnetic pulse," Sal explained. "It's what you'd use to off droids... Your armour and our communicators have some shielding from it," she said, looking at Sam. "We'll just be a bit deaf for awhile..."

-Pi Squad wants to know if we're alright,- said Hunter, standing to his full height with a rumble as he watched more Sentinels sweep in and hover, droning their hateful refrain. The irregulars had disappeared, not so much as an orange toque to show where they'd gone.

Sadri lit her lightsaber and scowled, looking exceptionally intimidating. "Yeah, we're fine," she spat, watching the five Sentinels approach. "Will your gun still fire?"

Sal grinned. "'Course it will, it's just the scope that's down."

"Good."

Sam glanced at Aoife as the smaller woman made that crazy sentient gun whirr, then put her helmet back on and made sure it was settled properly. "What are we waiting for?"

"Jelly beans?" Albus offered them around. Fawkes trilled and took him up on the offer.

Both Sadri and Sal refused politely. Sadri lit her purple saber as well. "Whenever you're ready," she said to Sal.

"'Kay, Hunter, you let 'em know we're settin' off. Tell 'em to let off their IEDs if they have 'em and there's another one 'o them nearby."

"That boom didn't set them all off?" asked Sam.

Sal looked around at Sam. "I taught them boys how to make explosives," she said with a quirked smile. "An' they won't go off till they says they're gonna go."

-Ven says 'roger',- reported Hunter as the tall brunet nodded.

[sadri.livejournal.com]

Sadri watched, her scowl still in place. "You said you needed their heads off?"

"INCOMING!" Sam braced her feet as a blast hit lower down on the hill.

"Take cover!" barked Albus, standing and watching the closing menace with an uncaracteristically grim expression on his face. Fawkes gave an angry screetch.

Aoife turned and tucked her small form behind the tossed up roots of a fallen tree as Sam simply threw herself down in the dirt and aimed her gun, awaiting Sal's word as her teeth clenched.

Sal had dropped as well, but almost immediately scrambled to her feet and fired two antiarmor rounds, one at each gas tank. Each receptacle exploded in a large ball of flame. Sal reached a hand out toward them and drew the fire toward the four Sentinels, encasing them totally in fire. She concentrated to make the flames hot enough to weaken their armor. "Don't stop firin'," she barked, taking aim again with her Deece. "Vanya, git up there an' start lobbin' off heads."

The vampire nodded, but it was Sadri who vaulted into the air first, the Force carrying her effortlessly past the flames and onto the chest of the nearest Sentinel. She dug her blades in - they pierced the metal skin easily - and ran up the front of the robot, culminating in a hop up to its shoulder where she tossed one blade through the neck of the thing and jumped up and over to retrieve it. It happened quickly, and she jumped to the next one, leaving her first victim crumpling to the ground.

"This's why Jedi scare me," Sal noted.

Vanya just rolled her eyes and took to the air, hovering above a third Sentinel and taking aim with the Jackal's incendiary rounds.

"Still one more," Sal continued as she watched the second Sentinel that Sadri had attacked fall down. "Any takers?"

Hunter roared and vanished, and the last Sentinel suddenly fell back toward the flaming tanks. There was the sound of metal screaming under strain, and then another explosion. The huge scaley man reappeared on the hill, patting out the flames on his pants and trying to contain a snarl so he didn't scare his new friends.

"Nice," said Sam.

Albus blinked and nodded.

Wonder if I should keep them flames goin'?" Sal said, surveying half of the terminal parking lot, which was a complete disaster. "Might come in handy next time."

Vanya twitched. "Pi Squad offed two more with their IEDs," she said, staring past the mayhem in front of them at the far-off Channel Head. "That leaves how many?"

"Oh hell," said Sam softly as she looked out to sea and saw the next wave coming in, then she winced and put a hand to her head. -ROY, get out of there!-

"Oh dear," said Albus mildly, pulling something out of his pocket and pressing a button.

-What is that?- Hunter scowled and shook his head at a faint whine that only he could hear.

"Cutting laser." The ex-wizard glanced at Fawkes and nodded.

"Nice," Sal commented, looking toward Channel Head anxiously.

[random_xtras]

Jav started as Leeroy jerked. "What is it?"

"We need to move." Leeroy's eyes went skyward. "Now."

Jav nodded, dragging Atin to his feet and heading toward the hidden doorway for the tunnel. "Oh @#$%$&, help me git this unblocked. Ven, where the @#@$%$#& are ye?"

He dropped his still groggy and stunned brother and set to work swiftly flinging aside the bits of rubble that partially blocked the entrance.

Jav nodded, dragging Atin to his feet and heading toward the hidden doorway for the tunnel. "Oh @#$%$&, help me git this unblocked. Ven, where the @#@$%$#& are ye?"

He dropped his still groggy and stunned brother and set to work swiftly flinging aside the bits of rubble that partially blocked the entrance.

-They're having trouble,- reported Hunter. -The door's blocked... there.-

"The #$&@#$%??" asked Jav as the world suddenly went dark and drippy quiet.

Ven landed beside Jav, Atin, and Leeroy. "I have no idea what that was... we all in here?"

"Atin here," came the report.

"This's the @#$#%$& tunnel." Jav heaved a sigh of relief, then listened for Leeroy.

Up on the hill Sam groaned, her face twisted under her helmet as she fought back the nausea of the vision she'd seen. Then she looked up and rolled onto her back, Deece at the ready as the first of the wave of Sentinels reached them. "These are newer."

"Mutant lifeforms detected, terminate," came the dead battle cry, followed by gouts of fire that sent everyone scrambling or teleporting for cover.

Hunter reached for Aoife as the tiny trooper fired back at their foes, then gave a bellow of rage as a direct hit sent them both flying. He was on his feet in an instant, but he didn't need to look to know that Aoife wasn't getting up. -No.-

Sadri scrambled up out of the wreckage, jumping up onto one of the Sentinels. She wasn't a mutant; they wouldn't detect her... would they?

She managed to get near the head and make a large sweeping cut, but the armor was stronger. It split, but didn't give as easily as the first had. She grumbled to herself, peering inside the giant gash she'd created.

Be nice to have a grenade, she mused before deactivating and clipping the green saber. Leaving the purple one active, she went inside and started hacking away at machinery.

One of the other Sentinels lifted its hand and sent off a shot toward her, only to topple backward as Hunter hit it head on with a spine-tingling roar of totaly animal rage. He disapeared into the thick of those 'bots that had landed, wrecking havok.

An arc of electricity suddenly shot out of the Sentinel that Sadri was attacking, hitting the blond jedi squarly amidships.

Albus, meanwhile, knelt next to Aoife, blinking as he tried to get himself back under control. -I've seen death so many times in my life. One... would think I'd be used to it by now.- He took a deep breath, then nodded in response to the stirring in his heart and got to his feet, eyes already searching for his great grandsons through the conflagration that was all that was left of the ferry terminal.

"Ach!" Kurt grabbed his wife and teleported, coming out to one side of the fray, where they had space to regroup. "Ach, Leibe, our armor rounds are useless."

Sal scowled, aiming her Deece nonetheless. "I'll believe it when I sees it," she said, and fired.

The robot collosus toppled, then exploded, and Kurt blinked and sighed with relief. "I vas vrong. These are different. Danken Sie Gott."

Sam snarled from where she knelt and carefully aimed, her expression not fading as a Sentinel head rolled.

Jav watched as Ven peered through the door, gripping the rifle with both hands as he tensed and waited the call to go through. He could hear explosions and shouts, and the drone of robot voices.

And up above, the town was aflame.

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

"Wait a minute," Vanya said as she came to rest beside Kurt. "Where's Sadri?"

He looked up from pulling rounds out of his backpack, then glanced hurriedly toward the fight. "Ach, I don't know."

A muffled roar came from somewhere lower down and he frowned.

Vanya scowled and launched herself back into the fray. It wouldn't do to have a capable fighter be downed this early in the game.

Sal watched her go and grumbled to herself as she reloaded her Deece. "Little early fer this, ain't it?"

Kurt sighed and offered her a couple of shells. "Are we still going according to plan?"

"@##$% the plan," Sal said, grabbing a shell and using it to finish off her magazine. "If they gets past us we lets th'army deal with it, but other than that, let's just destroy 'em." She poked her finger in her ear. The communications seemed to be back online. "Jav, did ye blow the IEDs yet?"

In the wreckage below Sadri was doing a very bad job of getting out, as she couldn't get to her feet and she was surrounded on all sides by flames.

"We evacuated," said the hyper clone from where he stood behind Ven by the door to the tunnel. "But we gots a timer on 'er. She'll be...."

The tunnel shook.

Arms like steel suddenly scooped Sadri up, and the next thing she knew was cool air and an abrupt thump as Hunter dropped her and returned to the fight.

Sam lifted her head and looked at her, noting that the armor was online again. "What hit you?"

Sadri blinked, looking up at Sam. "...'m not sure..." She groaned slightly, clipping the now-inactive saber to her belt alongside its mate. "Whatever it was screwed me up good... can't move my legs at all." She didn't sound alarmed, although perhaps she should have - she just leaned slightly forward and put her two hands on her thigh, concentrated for a moment, then repeated the process on her other leg. Then she rose slowly. "Fierfek, that hurt," she said, limping slightly as she came to the edge of the cliff and jumped right back in.

Vanya, who had just landed after offing another Sentinel, just looked at Sadri, then at Sam and rolled her eyes. "Stubborn human," she remarked.

"I just wish I could do that," said the armored brunet, taking a pot shot at a passing Sentinel with tooth-gritted calm. "Every time I stand up the world starts spinning and I want to puke."

Vanya smirked. "I don't know what else to say except to shut up and deal with it."

"Working on it." Sam shot again. "And trying not to get my husband killed in the process... we've lost enough clones today."

"Ven, what the @#$%& we waiting for?" growled Jav.

Ven dealt Jav a look. "Clearance," he said automatically.

[fire-in-flight.livejournal.com]

"Oh for @#$$#'s sake get outta there!" Sal barked. "We got 'nuff business topside, now git up here!"

Ven grimaced. "Yes, sir," he said, suddenly very nostalgic.

"Vhat vas that?" Kurt looked at her, then pulled out what he'd been digging for in the pack: a harness that would hold twin scabbards to his back, and the matching adamantium swords that went in them.

"That was my squad," Sal said with a grin, blowing the arm off of another Sentinel. "They're underground. And they better not be really soon," she howled into the communicator, easily falling back into her sergeant persona. Then she dealt her husband a sideways glance. "Sure you don't want a gun 'r somethin'?"

"Ah." He shook his head, his golden eyes dancing despite the mayhem that surrounded them. "Neine, meine Leibe, I don't sving that vay." They darkened for a moment as he tried to psyc himself into leaving her, but then took a deep breath and stole a kiss before vanishing, to reappear in the thick of the fray on the back of a Sentinel.

Jav's eyes widened as he took in conditions on the outside, then narrowed as he regarded the battered corps of a Sentinel that lay with a fishing harpoon through the neck joint and severe burns and dents on its torso. -So that's where them bombs we lost went.-

Sadri appeared suddenly on the head of the Sentinel to which Kurt was now clinging. "(So how we doin'?)" she called out in her native tongue, taking a cheerful swipe at the robot's brain.

His swords crossed and seperated, leaving a rent in the creature's hide through which he plunged the right hand blade. "(Well, I'm a blade short, but the sun's shining....)" He frowned at an odd little cloud floating above one certain place. "(Mostly.)" Electricity shot from the rent toward him, but he was gone with a puff of smoke and a mocking laugh.

"(Why didn't you tell me?)" she said with a smirk, reaching in and severing a cable she'd learned was at least somewhat essential. She'd also learned to move fast. Ducking out of the way of the sparks, she looked around and tried to gauge his presence in the Force. "(I have more at home; I could have loaned you one.)"

He appeared briefly overhead. "(Ach, but it wouldn't match!)" There was a screech as he made an appearance between two damaged Sentinels and one actually shot the other in fuddled attempt to get him. "

"(And what do you think of our big gree friend?)" His arm went around her waist and moved her to a slightly different part of the feild, and then he was gone again.

Up on the hill there was a sudden flash, and Sal found herself with ringing ears on the rim of a nice new fishpond.

Sal blinked and went bird again, flying low, in and out of errant Sentinel limbs, and landed on the shoulder of one of her own. She changed back and dealt it an anti armour round at point-blank range.

Kurt was actually singing some wild glad German song as he popped in just long enough to kiss her cheek. Then he was gone and the Sentinel was toppling and shooting out its electrical shock.

She just shook her head smiled; then changed again, moving onto the next one. Port aux Basques was in a sorry state, but she didn't really have time to worry about that. Her mind fluttered briefly to Jeimu and at that moment she stopped cold, banking down on the ground and reverting, staring southward.

Jeimu was calling for lockdown.