Other Worlds: V 2.0

[initiates]

Date & Time: May 21st, beginning at 0900.
Location: The Initiative Hold and all throughout Elmer's world
Characters: Anyone participating in the fighting, anyone staying behind.
Summary: Elmer's world is fought for and lost.
Warnings: Violence, death.

They reopen the portal at 0900, May 21st. The first scientist who stepped through was killed within thirty seconds; the rest who followed made it back through to Exsilium, albeit not unscathed. The portal was shut again by a panicked operator, although a second operator knew to keep the coordinates locked.

Within ten minutes, the alert had been sent out. There's no time to wait for the Transports to gather en masse; as soon as they have a sizable enough force to stand a chance at fighting through and clearing their gateway's location, the door is opened again.

Immediately inside the door is a desolate, grim scene. What had previously been the coast of Japan is now scorched earth, blasted sand, and little else. As the first point of contact for this world, it has undoubtedly suffered the worst. Here, the UE didn't stop at governments, financial centers, and capitols — the UE destroyed everything in sight. There are enough UE soldiers remaining in the broken country to give the Transports a difficult battle, although by now the bulk of their forces have moved on.

The Initiative will soon realize the necessity of opening more gateways, just as the UE had done. Transports will be deployed to London, Berlin, Paris, DC Washington, Moscow, Beijing, New York City, Hong Kong, Madrid. Through each of these windows, the destruction is staggering. Buildings are more husks than structures, everything that can burn is alight, and the death toll is off the charts. Blackened bodies seem to line every street, while pieces litter the ground among the rubble. There's no doubt that the UE has no need of the people of this world. They're after resources only, and anything and anyone already here is to be removed.

You can find UE soldiers everywhere. They move in coordinated squadrons of 20, and each of them carries a small arsenal. Even without their incredibly advanced and destructive weaponry, they're fearfully formidable. Each soldier, while still only human, is a genetically perfect clone, further enhanced by technological implants. They're all highly trained in physical combat. Even if you can disarm one of them, don't count on close-range attacks being any easier to handle. They've brought along cannons, small flying craft, and lightweight tanks. Each of these is the top of the line in terms of technology, geared toward destroying as much as it can, as quickly as it can. The United Earth is here to destroy, and they won't stop to wonder why their targets go from being civilians and scrambling, off-guard, comparatively primitive militaries, to trained and powered Transports.

For anyone staying at home, they'll find that any Initiative presence has withdrawn fully to the Hold. All Initiative employees are needed, and most of them in the med bays. The majority of the Initiative focus is on recalling and resurrecting fallen Transports, but attention is still needed for the living-but-wounded. Any Transports who stay in Exsilium and offer their help will have it immediately accepted; they'll be put to work in the medical wings, runnings supplies, or simply set at a machine and told to keep an eye on the numbers: Transport vitals, UE movements, and maps upon maps of changing statistics and colors.

At 1500, the Initiative will recall all Transport soldiers back to Exsilium and seal shut the gateway. The UE numbers are too great, their soldiers too powerful, and Elmer's world is lost.

Comments

[governorkang]

"My voice," Kang grunted again, dodging a hail of bullets and ducking down to pivot on one foot and swing his tail around to trip a soldier. He slammed the man's face against the ground as hard as he could, severing his spine for good measure with his sword. "As long as you can hear my voice, you'll have more confidence and improved fighting skills."

In fact, he was using his power at that moment.

[oncearanger]

Just like Lash did once, Billy thought. He hadn't been conscious of it, but...now that his attention was drawn, he did feel a second rush on top of the first usually brought on by morphing.

With that strength, he helped to finish off the current wave. He was fighting in top form, as Kang had said...and because it had been Kang's voice, he'd slipped back into using what he'd learned in classes so long ago.

A few particularly violent strikes later, they had a moment to breathe. "...Thanks."

[governorkang]

Blood covered the front of his tunic, a mix of his enemies and a little of his own, but Kang didn't seem bothered at all by it. Some of Billy's moves were eerily similar to draconian fighting techniques; it threw him for a loop. "It's not over yet."

[oncearanger]

"Not in the slightest," Billy agreed grimly, preparing his gun for the next few shots. He darted to find cover for his back.

He wouldn't let himself think they would lose. "I should probably follow another squad?"

[governorkang]

There was the sound of a woman screaming before gunfire silenced it, to the east. Kang calmly pointed his sword in that direction. "I think we just found them."

[oncearanger]

"Got it, I'll go ahead" Billy called. And he was charging, taking cover around corners to assess the situation as he went.

Too many of them---it looked bad. Terrible. But there was no backing down, not when he was at the peak of his strength and could do something about this. In he went, lance at the ready.

He was facing at least sixteen, maybe more. Gunshots in every direction.

[governorkang]

Cursing, Kang ducked behind the corner of a building, barely getting his wing out of the path of bullets in time. He spotted a squarish piece of concrete on the ground, with thick metal wires sticking out of it, and grabbed one of the wires, using the concrete as a shield as he moved closer to the squadron.

[oncearanger]

Excellent idea. Billy followed suit with what was once a car door, charging forth with a perfect little window slit for sniping. He swung his shield around as the attacks came from all sides, worried---no, this wouldn't do to be on the defensive.

Time to take a risk.

He leapt up on a higher ledge and ran for it, attacking from a higher vantage point. He wouldn't stay long enough---just hopefully to thin their numbers out a little to help Kang.

But the soldiers were unfortunately prepared, two jumping at Billy. He was thrown from that ledge, the car door skittering past him as he landed in the line of fire. Damnit.

He rolled, forcing himself up to fight. They couldn't die here. There was still a battle to fight to the end.

[governorkang]

While the soldiers were distracted by Billy, Kang rushed forward and took one down before he was noticed by the others. He slammed his shield into a soldier, knocking him to the ground, and buried his sword in the human's gut, disemboweling him.

[oncearanger]

"Nice form."

Billy let out a low whistle, darkly impressed with the fighting. But then again...brutality was the key to survival sometimes, he forcefully reminded himself as he wound up surrounded. Damn. One lapse in attention and---ow---no, he wasn't going to just let himself get skewered in front of Kang.

The delay between thought and action shrunk considerably, as if he was thinking with his hands instead of his brain. In this survival mode, he'd fight any way he had to. Stab, shove, stun, clear the area---and sure enough, Billy's lance was covered in blood and something else by the time he fought his way out.

He swung his lance in a sweeping arc around him, signifying he wouldn't make the same mistake again. "Looks like we're getting a bloodbath tonight."

[governorkang]

Smiling grimly, Kang finished off three more soldiers, hissing when one got him in the tail with a piece of glass before dying. That was going to need stitches.

And, unfortunately for them, there was another squadron heading right for them.

[oncearanger]

"Damn," Billy cursed, smacking his blaster against his leg. He'd been as careful as he could be with conserving shots, but it decided to take just now to need a recharge. What perfect timing.

He settled for using his lance to flick debris instead, concentrating hard to send a lightning strike shooting from the lance. He hadn't practiced with that new power in a while.

It worked...but not for long. He was quickly overwhelmed, using all his effort to simply stay alive. Kang was lost to him for now.

[governorkang]

Kang's blade was a whirlwind, and despite the injury to his tail, he used that to trip his opponents when he got a chance. He was breathing heavily, panting, and it was clear that he wasn't going to last much longer without help. He did his best, though, slicing through one soldier's hamstrings and nearly hacking through the arm of another.

Then, quicker than he could react, his sword was knocked from his left hand. It clattered to the ground, and he instinctively tried to reach for it with his right, cursing when he couldn't grip it properly. It was just enough of a delay for a soldier to shoot him in the stomach with several rounds, point blank. Greenish blood leaked from the wounds, staining his kilt.

[oncearanger]

Billy emerged a few seconds later, wrenching his way out with his lance and desperately shooting. He was a little worse for the wear, but the lucky charge of his weapon and a distracting flash had kept him alive up through this point.

He scrambled over at the sight of Kang on the ground, his eyes widening behind the visor. Those wounds weren't good. They looked...fatal. Anguish hit Billy like a freight train, making it suddenly difficult to breathe. This was Kang, the hardy war leader, the soldier who never faltered, one of his best guides. And was he dying? He didn't want to think so, but it sure looked like it. And the worst part was that he couldn't even sit beside him and keep a vigil, however brief.

"I'm sorry," Billy choked out, though he remained at a wary distance. He'd have to run to survive the ensuing explosion, but it was so difficult to tear his eyes from his not-friend.

[governorkang]

There was just enough time for it to register in Kang's mind that he was about to die, and that somehow, Billy knew what was about to happen. It was odd how the human seemed so upset by his death.

Three bullets went into his head before he could respond, ending his life. Two seconds later, scale and skin began to disintegrate, leaving nothing but bone behind. The soldiers never noticed, their attention now on Billy.

Four seconds later, the bones exploded.

[oncearanger]

It absolutely chilled Billy to the core how quickly Kang's body deteriorated. He took it as a warning sign to clear the distance, taking shelter behind some solid-looking debris and shooting from there.

When the explosion lit the battlefield, Billy swallowed his grief. He had to---he could still hear Kang's voice in his head telling him to keep going, never to let sentimentality get him killed. With that thought, Billy charged, swinging his lance with pure calculated fury. He ensured that anyone Kang hadn't managed to destroy was stopped.