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

[deathofempathy]

[Usually, Hisoka tried to put up a tough front. Tried to be strong. But there were moments where that fell through, where he was able to trust Tsuzuki enough to let his real feelings show through. It was a simple act, reaching for someone's hand when in pain, but given Hisoka was an empath, physical touch enhancing this, it was more significant than it appeared. Allowing him to focus more on the feelings flowing from his partner rather than being overwhelmed by everyone else's worry and despair in their injured states in the other beds.]

It's a good thing you are. It looks like a lot of people were hurt during all of that.

[omnomcinnabon]

[It goes without saying that Hisoka's distress brought out compassion and desire to protect, in his partner. It's not something he has conscious control over. He squeezed his hand comfortingly, pushing his positive emotions forward in his mind to create a stable foundation. If Hisoka needed a break from the world, he could focus on him instead.]

[Tsuzuki had to look at Hisoka for a moment, to reassure himself that he was going to be okay. He tore his gaze away only to turn his attention back on Sheryl. She had truly been a great help.]

We can't thank you enough. Is there anything you need?

[galactically]

['Too many people were hurt, just like this' is what Sheryl is thinking, but that's to be expected when war is involved. Injuries, bloodshed, and lots of death; she'd seen them a few times in Frontier, and she saw them up close just as much a few hours. Either way, her lips are pursed for a moment until she responds, keeping her tone as light as possible:]

I do whatever I can. It's how I'm able to do so much in one day.

[The volume shifts a bit at the end, sounding a bit tired, but the confidence is kept intact.]

Oh, just your gratitude is enough! [She laughs gently, daintily wiping her forehead.] I don't really need anything else, but... thank you.

[deathofempathy]

[Hisoka can't help but be grateful for Tsuzuki, even as he hated feeling so vulnernable, so useless in getting hurt so easily as he had. He should have been quicker, been able to avoid it, but he wasn't. And here he had Tsuzuki fretting over him again. He can tell in the way his partner looks to him before replying to Sheryl, in that desire to protect he feels coming from him. Like he was some helpless kid again. But he is not. And he doesn't know how to prove this yet. But he tries to ignore it, focusing on the conversation.]

Well, I'm sure it's appreciated, given by the number of beds I can see are taken already. I assume you won't be staying overnight here? It would be best to take things in shifts so you can all get some rest while ensuring the injured are looked after.