More Futurisitic Fun Than You Really Wanted, part I of V

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

Internal Memorandum

From:  Operations

To: Logistics

Re;

Take 2 of the 6 wheeled tunnel carts and convert them so they are capable of carrying 3 each 7' X 9' 2 way mirrors. Train 2 stealth team veterans to operate. Assemble 6 more stealth team members, all veterans that have survived at least 3 missions each. Train them to work between the carts in total silence regardless of what is happening. Absolute silence is critical.

The lead vehicle will require one mirror forward and one port and starboard, the trailing vehicle will require one mirror aft and one port and starboard.

Weaponry on the carts is not important, as the team will have the usual weapons. Make sure the vehicles themselves are 100% silent during operation.

Report back to this office when vehicles and team are ready. The team is not to be sent out on field assignments during training.

CODE NAME;

OPERATION NEST

Commander;

Commander Royce

We're gonna open up a CAN OF WHOOP-ASS ON YOU NOW, you crazy Nessie-impersonating motherfuckers! 

My little sugar-high kitty heart is filled with gleeful squee with where you're taking this. I love the mirror angle. Seriously, I have a plot-twist boner right now.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

Hissing static filled the tiny apartment. Even in the bathroom, where Shareese had locked herself, the only sound was the crackle and fizzing of white noise. She sat on the toilet and took a swig of warm beer. Mr. Sam Nessie-slayer Sams was in the bedroom/living area going all Frankenstein on a microwave, a ham radio, and a police scanner. Improvised intel, he'd said. And then his eyes had gone all glassy again.

They'd been hiding in the back of Rita's coffee shop for a day and a half. All the bumps and scrapes had turned into fabulous bruises. It had taken three showers each to get the gunk and debris fully washed away.

Shareese's pimp had left six ranting messages. She'd deleted them all and given Sam the phone. He'd made one call. She heard something about hay and running out of time. And then her fancy little cellphone had been hurled at the wall.

Up until then they'd had a great time chatting. Comparing stories. Eating Rita's delicious food and drinking the worst coffee in the universe. Now the guy with the most ridiculous name was channeling MacGyver and she was hiding in the bathroom with a warm beer.

The static cut off abruptly. Loud and clear, voices were coming through.

" . . . moving towards the school now. The building has two sub-basements, we're in luck, over."

"Roger that. Keep advancing. The repellant will lose effectiveness in less than thirty minutes. You have that long to complete Stage 1."

"Roger. Team Two has placed the charges. Wired to blow on command."

"The livestock is moving appropriately. What about the lambs?"

"Also go. All go for slaughter."

"Roger. Next check in, fifteen minutes."

Silence. Shareese sighed. No more beer. She adjusted her towel and left the bathroom. Sammy Sam McSams looked up, his face was a death mask. Ignoring the urge to flee, she sashayed over and stole a beer from the six pack sitting at his feet.

"That didn't sound like good news, Samuel Samoa MacSaymie."

He handed her a newspaper and took a swig of his own beer. The front page was a blazing headline and a picture of a school.

"Parents And Teachers Unite To Calm Children's Fears With a Faire." Shareese shook her head. "What a fucking stupid headline. What is wrong with reporters today? Where's the panache?"

"They couldn't very well put 'Military Black Ops Lures Lambs to the Slaughter' on the front page," Sams replied.

"Wait, this faire is what they were talking about on your radio? All those people are there today?"

Sams nodded. Shareese made it to the toilet before she threw up everything she'd eaten in the last week.

"It's what these guys are doing. Cleaning up the mess. No witnesses. No evidence. I thought the Paynites were on the wrong track but this . . . this is beyond fucked-up. Beyond barbaric. Hayes was so right he doesn't even know." Sams spat.

Shareese heaved into the toilet again.

When there was nothing left, she rinsed her mouth, brushed her teeth, and flushed. Thinking. Something had to be done, but what?

"What are we going to do?" She asked her reflection.

"What can we do?" Sams answered. Her reflection shrugged, offering nothing.

She turned away, looking at Sam. His eyes were bloodshot, hands clenched into fists. So tense. Ready for battle and already defeated.

"If we get there before they blow the whole thing fucking sky high, is there a way to save those people?"

"From the Nessies and these bastards?" Sams pondered. "If they're trying to get clear . . . before they blow everything to shit, they're probably using some sort of remote detonator. If we disabled it on the explosives' end, we'd have some time to do . . . something."

"Get the people out?"

"We'd need . . . something. I don't know."

"Can't we just hold everything hostage? Call in the media? Would they blow it up with the press looking on?"

Sams stared. "That is fucking insane."

Shareese paced, thoughts whirling. "We'd have to call them before we went in. Somehow get them there. Get the school on our side. How will we convince them? They need to be in place before these black-ops fucks know they're there. They can't block off the area just yet, it's too early in the morning. More people are still showing up for this faire, right?"

Sams checked the paper. "It starts at noon. It's ten am. That doesn't leave us much time to get things rolling."

Shareese ignored him and kept thinking.

He cleared his throat. "Really. Sha- . . Miss, this isn't a good idea. You could get hurt."

She stopped and dropped her towel, striking a pose. "Sugar, I am hardly a delicate and fragile flower. But I'll tell you what. Let's fuck for it. Last one to come gets to decide our course of action."

Sam's jaw dropped. But he looked a good long minute before blushing and covering his eyes.

"That's what I thought. This is serious. You need to grow a pair now or run. But I'm going in there, regardless," she said, scooping up the towel and throwing it at him. She pulled on some clothes Rita had brought while he sat under the towel.

"I'm not running," he muttered. "I'm fighting."

"Well then unless you have a better plan we need to fine tune this fucker and get a move on."

"All right then. Looks like we're having an adventure."

[Kai]

I didn't volunteer for this particular dissertation project. My major advisor laid it out the day after I was accepted to the university.

I had always loved cryptozoology, ever since I was a little girl. Sure, a nerdy thing to enjoy, but my parents were both scientists delving into the unknown, my father a theoretical physicist and my mother an astrobiologist. They always encouraged scientific endevours, though I'm not sure they're too happy about my chosen field. While they were in the lab, I was outdoors turning over rocks and digging holes. I wanted to make discoveries, things that no other person had ever seen before, things that no one had /dreamed/ of before, and things we thought were forever lost to us. I grew up hearing about the rediscovery of the forest bison and the ivory billed woodpecker, the capture of the first Coelocanth. I remember the day a hiker released the first footage of the Himalayan Yeti (the North American Yeti wouldn't be captured on film till three years later). And I remember going to the aquarium and seeing the very first live captured Colossal Squid. All these amazing discoveries were being made around me, and I knew I wanted to make my own. Cryptozoology was becoming a real profession, a respected line of work.

I majored in zoology in undergrad, and after graduating at the top of my class I applied to work under Dr. <redacted> for my PhD. The reason, of course, is that Dr. <redacted> is the world expert on cryptos, hell, he's more responsible for the resurgence of interest than anyone. I'm sure you've heard of him.  All that money he received for verifying both the Yeti discoveries means he has plenty of dollars for graduate student assistantships.

Although, I'm not sure I realized what I was getting into when he said "Ever been to England?"

When he said he wanted me to investigate a rumor of "nessies" in Southhampton, I assumed he meant something like the creatures from Loch Ness, which were an ongoing investigation.

"No, not those nessies", he said. "I've already got a team working that project. This is something else, as big a find as the Yeti, maybe bigger. I want to give you this opportunity to make a name for yourself, working on something no one else has, just like you said in your cover letter." He smiled. "Though", he said, sitting at his desk and leaning forward, "this is not an easy dissertation project, nor a very safe one. Word has it that people are disappearing, homeless, street people. It reminds me of my master's project." That has been his jump to world fame, the discovery of the flying shrimp colonies in the Pacific Rim. They had been taking people from Indonesian fishing villages, attracted to the lights for food, and solving a century long mystery. He received an award for designing a repellent.

I hesitated for a moment, but I wanted this. I wanted to do this. "When can I get started?"

Which how I ended up standing in front of a sewer vent in Southhampton, holding hand scribbled directions to a monastery.


-----------------------------

Links in to the scared biologist from earlier.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

It's like a tidal wave of awesome.

[Luna]

Tell them, please, tell them.  They have to know.  They're not what we thought they are.  They're breeding, they're breeding so much faster than we thought they would.  Every generation is smarter, faster, and the conditioning faded out generations ago.  They'll attack anything that moves, except each other, except...  When they attack, if one of them hesitates, the others turn on it.  No mercy, no recognition, just fury.

Containment methods are failing, there's no stopping them.  Nothing works,
if they think they're being held back, they just send more, wave after wave.  I don't know how many nests there are, now, I think every generation is spawning at least one new queen who hives off to start a new one. 

The suits...  I think they're starting to see through the field.  They've started sniffing around when we try to observe them.  Markov...  We don't know if he slipped up, if he made noise, or they just...  SAW him.  He went in for a standard sneak and peek, and he just...  We didn't hear anything on the feed, not until the screaming started.  We don't know what went wrong... but we've installed a cutoff on the feed on our end.  Nobody will go in, now.

Request immediate recall of all remaining agents, and recommend a purge... if you can figure out how.

[East Coast Hustle]

She waited in the water. This had turned out to be a fruitful hunting spot, and tonight's meal was approaching, on foot and alone. She allowed her quarry to pass the furthest point of the pond before she slunk out of the moon-kissed pool and began the final rundown.

Something was off.

There was another. And this one smelled familiar.

Hunger overtook caution, and she increased her speed and closed the distance on her prey in a matter of seconds.

The lethal strike, and then...

...nothing. She had missed her mark.

She never missed her mark.

howling in fury, she regained her stance and swung around to find the other had pushed her prey out of the way just before her jaws snapped shut. She made one feint towards the pair of them, hoping to force them in the direction she wanted them to go, but before she could pivot her world exploded in a flash of light and pain.

The other had interfered with her again. She would enjoy the sport of hunting this one down and dragging him back to the nest alive for the younglings to feed on, but not now. She would need a couple of days to recover from her injuries. Marking his scent in her mind, she slithered back to the pond in the park where the submerged tunnel to her nest beckoned.

She would do nothing but sleep and eat for a couple of days, but once she was back to full strength she would focus all of her efforts to find this prey animal that had the temerity to hunt her. She could afford no more interference with her regular hunts now that she was heavy with a brood of her own.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

She waited in the water. This had turned out to be a fruitful hunting spot, and tonight's meal was approaching, on foot and alone. She allowed her quarry to pass the furthest point of the pond before she slunk out of the moon-kissed pool and began the final rundown.

Something was off.

There was another. And this one smelled familiar.

Hunger overtook caution, and she increased her speed and closed the distance on her prey in a matter of seconds.

The lethal strike, and then...

...nothing. She had missed her mark.

She never missed her mark.

howling in fury, she regained her stance and swung around to find the other had pushed her prey out of the way just before her jaws snapped shut. She made one feint towards the pair of them, hoping to force them in the direction she wanted them to go, but before she could pivot her world exploded in a flash of light and pain.

The other had interfered with her again. She would enjoy the sport of hunting this one down and dragging him back to the nest alive for the younglings to feed on, but not now. She would need a couple of days to recover from her injuries. Marking his scent in her mind, she slithered back to the pond in the park where the submerged tunnel to her nest beckoned.

She would do nothing but sleep and eat for a couple of days, but once she was back to full strength she would focus all of her efforts to find this prey animal that had the temerity to hunt her. She could afford no more interference with her regular hunts now that she was heavy with a brood of her own.

[Adios]

Internal Memorandum

From; Logistics

To; Operations, Commander Royce

RE; Operation Nest

The carts are now ready. Some delay was caused by the necessity of strengthening the suspension for the excessive weight.

The teams have been trained thoroughly with operation and systems. Silence was the primary topic as per your request. The team is fully rested and prepared for combat.

Although you had not requested it we devised a way to link the port and starboard mirrors from both carts together forming a nearly seamless fit. We have altered the cart beds in such a way that the entire team can remain between the carts while they are linked.

If you require further assistance please contact us immediately, as your operation is given 1A status from above.

Logistics
Captain Fuller

[Jenne]

I will have to return to this thread to finish out my Roger storyline when I'm not swamped with work I've been away from for over a week.  I'm marking my time, though, so please be patient.  I feel I have at least one more and a wrap-up...depending on what I read through here and what inspires.  Got a lot of inspiring desert imagery from last week, as well as military-grade vehicle convoys I'll be ripping from as well.  Nice, monstrous, huge-ass vehicles.  And SAND GOGGLES.

[Adios]

Ready Room recording

"Gentlemen, I am Commander Royce. I would first like to thank you all for volunteering." (muffled laughter)

"You all know by now that this is a secret project. What you don't know is we have developed weapons that will compliment future missions. On this first assignment you are to approach the enemy without engaging them."

(Muffled talking, presumed objections)

"At ease. You'll get your chance. We need to know if the mirrors will actually give us the advantage we think it will. If they do, then you will attack only nests and ignore lone individuals."

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"What exactly is the advantage you hope to have?"

"Very good question. In a diary that was discovered it seems that mirrors confuse the nessies to the point that they think it is just another one of them. If we can prove this we can get right to a nest and destroy it down to the last inhabitant. Proving this is your first assignment. Make no mistake, this is dangerous as hell and silence is absolutely critical. If, however the plan fails and you are attacked then you will defend yourselves.

You are all supplied with new armor that is coated with 100% reflective surfaces, even your weapons are completely reflective. Nothing you are taking tonight is refurbished, it is quite literally brand new. Your suits are soundproof to permit communication between yourselves and command. Once you are approached by the enemy you are to remain perfectly still and let them look you over.

What we expect to happen is they will simply move on after a few seconds. You will attempt to make a minimum of three individual contacts, then return to base. We will be watching your headcam feeds and we will be monitoring the situation live at all times."

"Any further questions?"

(silence)

"Very well, you will proceed to Tunnel 13 immediately. No phase of this operation is to be discussed outside of a secure room or with anyone not on your team. God Speed."

(End recording)

[Adios]

Command Centre A/V recording


"Command, we are proceeding down Tunnel 13. Radar confirms we are on an intersect with a nessie."

"Roger, remember, do not engage except in self defense. We have image from head cams. Radio silence is in effect."

"Copy that."

Video only

Nessie slowly approaches cart, ready but not aggressive. Team is under extreme stress, but remain motionless as the beast looks the mirrors over from front to back.

After 2 very long minutes the nessie makes what is almost a cooing sound and moves off down the tunnel. Command waits until radar screen is clear.

cheers and applause from command

"Damn."
"Son of a bitch"
"It fucking worked."

"Well done team, well done. Two more contacts and then you come home."

"Copy Command. It feels like I am standing in sweat in my suit."

(laughter)

"Copy, understandable. Hopefully it will get easier from here out. Steak for you guys tonight."

"We'll hold you to that Command. Alright, unlink the carts and move out team, two more to go."

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

YES! Charley, these kick ass. Keep going, man!

Jeanne, looking forward to the continuation of your story-line.

We are so fucking awesome.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

I think this thread is amazing. 

[Luna]

I think this thread is amazing. 

It makes me smile every time I see it come up as a new post.

[Salty]

Found by a private courier in a ruined and bloodsoaked woman's jacket near The Wall, an experimental defense structure. The name of the town has been lost with it's records and inhabitants.

Dear Fracture ,

   I hope this finds you well, if it finds you at all. I've been writing letters like crazy to everyone! Did you ever think we'd have to go back to using paper to talk to each other? Felix explained it to me and I suppose I understand. They've been steadily taking away most of our electronics for the last two months, and since they shut off everything but the heat and the lights (though, they say the light will be rationed soon enough) I suppose there's not much point in having them anyway. Still, I miss my phone.

   But at least we have The Wall now. Can you believe that's what they're calling it? Not very clever to me, though Felix always chuckles when he says it, the same way he does when I ask him about the scars. Two weeks ago the last partition went up and we were completely sealed off. We've got stores of food and water that will keep us alive, if you can call it that, for 5 years and The Wall is supposed to stay powered for 20. What we're going to do about...whatever those things are, I don't know. I ought to feel better that they can't get in now, ever since they showed up circling all the major exits I've been a wreck. All those bodies. The blood.

   And YOU! I have heard so many stories about you. Are they true? I'll bet that story about saving a group of kids is true. Did you really lose an arm though? But the part about having a giant hammer put in it's place can't be true. Did you really kill one of them by yourself? Did you really lead a group of troops when their commanding officer fell? You HAVE to tell me! I keep hearing things.

   Sometimes I go for walks near The Wall. I think I'm the only one that knows about the small gap that's underneath a collapsed beam near a parking garage. I saw one of them. Well, not really saw saw, you know. But I saw something just huge and it groaned just a bit. I ran so fast.

   And yet...I don't know, there's just nothing to DO here. And I'm fairly certain even with all the deaths and all the loss of access to resources and communication and us having to build a giant electric shield to cover the city...I don't think any one of us have actually seen one of them.

   I'm going to go again tomorrow I just want to see if I can see one of them. Besides, the only way I can get this letter to you is a fellow with more unbelievable stories than the one's about you. He calls himself Lies, which unsettles me. He bounces from town to town, seemingly unfazed by the dangers of such travel.

   So, I hope you're well. Tell me about all the things going on with you. And I hope to see you maybe once the convoys start. Gotta get supplies somewhere, right? Felix will be going, he's designing the new suits the boys are going to wear.


   Much Love,
      Bobbi.