Re: Kicking the Hornets Nest

by Sten Softclaw Thu Dec 26, 2013 12:13 pm

"He's been shot you berk!" Sten said, quickly. He swore quickly, pawing at the floor with his foreclaws. "Aw piss, aw piss..."

He padded around to the door, and it shook as several hundred pounds of pony slammed into it.

"Aw piss..."

by Kroll Sun Dec 29, 2013 5:55 am

Kroll gave Aella a baleful look as he slowly sat up with a groan, tugging at the bolts to see how far the went. "Well, they didn't pierce the plating," the captain said with a relieved sigh as he started to pull the arrows out. "But I'm definitely going to feel this tomorrow."

After pulling out the last of the arrows, Kroll picked up his crossbow again and looked around the room as if he was trying to search for a solution that was written somewhere. "Okay...they're probably going to rush out of that door like bats outta hell, so we can still salvage this and try to get the drop on them."

Walking to the middle of the room, the captain flipped out the bipod on his crossbow and rested it on top of a crate, aiming it at the door before motioning to Aella and Sten. "Okay, you two hang out on the opposite sides of the door. I'll take out the ones that come straight forward, and you two pick off the ones to the sides. Got it?"

by Aella Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:34 pm

Aella nodded and took up position a few paces from the door. She didn't trust her luck enough to avoid having the door swing into her if she was close by

by Sten Softclaw Mon Dec 30, 2013 9:06 am

Sten stacked up on the other side of the door, groaning quietly. Why did life have to be so hard?

by Kroll Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:40 am

The pounding on the door started to make the crate slide backwards slightly. Suddenly, there was the sound of muffled arguing coming from the other side of the door, and the pounding halted. After a brief pause of silence, the doorknob turned as the ponies on the opposite side realized that the door opened inward on their end. After another bout of quiet bickering, followed by another pause of silence, four ponies brandishing bladed weapons rushed into the room, smashing through the crate that had been blocking the door on the way out.

by Aella Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:03 am

Aella stopped herself from swearing out loud. Of course the door swung the wrong way. She crouched low and tensed, preparing to leap at the ponies as soon as Kroll got his shot off.

by Sten Softclaw Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:32 pm

Sten hopped back as the door opened and four ponies came in. They all had weapons in their mouths, because ponies had never got the hang of the whole "You don't know where it's been" business. He prayed Kroll could still aim that anti-air gun he'd brought along.

by Kroll Wed Jan 01, 2014 7:55 am

Kroll did his best to steady his breathing as he lined up the sights of his crossbow at the first pony. His chest had begun to develop a throbbing ache where he had been hit earlier, but the captain tried to ignore it and focus on on hitting what he was aiming at. Just to be on the safe side, the tercel fired his first three bolts at the first pony that charged out, and unloaded the remaining four at the pony that had come in from behind the first one.

Not checking to see if his shots made their marks, Kroll ducked down behind the crate in front of him to reload and rewind his crossbow, grumbling to himself as the pain in his chest began to become less tolerable.

by Aella Wed Jan 01, 2014 9:08 am

Aella let out a bloodthirsty shriek as she leaped at the third pony in line, letting her training and instincts take over as she slammed the equine to the ground. She flared out her wings to buy her a moment before the thugs decided to introduce their blades to her insides.

by Sten Softclaw Wed Jan 01, 2014 11:04 am

Two of the ponies staggered and fell, and the third tumbled aside under Aella. Sten ducked as the stray bolts clattered and pinged around the door frame and, what the hell, took a leap at the last pony. He wasn't much of one for fighting, but the silly sod wasn't armoured, and his claws dug in like no one's business. Which felt only slightly awful.

by Kroll Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:06 pm

The third pony screamed as Aella tackled him to the ground, dropping its blade in the process. Staring up at the hen in paralyzing fear, it feebly attempted to reach for its weapon, but to no avail. The pony that had been attacked by Sten let out an infuriated yell as the tecel's claws dug into his hide, and started to swing wildly to try and shake him off.

Meanwhile, Kroll had managed to reload and wind up his crossbow and re-positioned it on top of the crate so that it faced the open door, just to make sure that no other ponies would try to join the ensuing fracas.

by Aella Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:18 pm

Aella grabbed the head of the pony beneath her in her talons and slammed it into the ground again and again until the pony stopped moving.

by Sten Softclaw Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:57 pm

The bastard Sten had attached himself to was going nuts, bucking and howling, so Sten did as came naturally, and flailed at his head with his claws. He hauled on the pony, trying to get him on his side, his back legs scrabbling for purchase. He might've given the impression of a big cat taking down a gazelle had he not been screaming in terror the whole time.

by Kroll Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:04 pm

Kroll groaned to himself as he watched the stallion frantically thrash about while dragging Sten, who didn't appear to be enjoying the ride much. "Stay still for a moment!" the captain grumbled as he tried to aim at the pony, doing his best to lead his target as he fired off three shots from his crossbow.

by Aella Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:39 pm

Aella hopped quickly out of the firing line of Krolls crossbow and circled around Sten and his pony, looking for an opening.

by Sten Softclaw Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:10 am

The pony's bucking slowed, bleeding all over. Sten saw Kroll fire and leapt aside as the crossbow bolts knocked the benighted pony off its hooves. It rattled to death. Sten, for his part, shook all over like a leaf.

Well, that was that, he thought.

by Kroll Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:03 pm

Walking out from behind the crate, Kroll nodded at Aella before turning to look at Sten, crossing his arms. "So, Softclaw," the captain said with a dry chuckle as a smile began to slowly form across his face. "I can see that your days as light infantry have really paid off tonight, have they not?" Shaking his head, the tercel looked towards the open door in the back room, staring at the hole that the other ponies managed to escape through.

"There's a good chance that they've covered some considerable ground by now, but it wouldn't be prudent to just give up now with our tails tucked between our legs. Let's take whatever evidence we can find, and carry on." said Kroll as he walked into the back room and started to look around for anything useful.

by Aella Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:11 pm

Aella moved over to Sten and helped the shaking tercel to his feet. She gave him a quick check over, then apparently satisfied with his ability to stand on his own, moved over to one of the crates. The Griffoness pulled one of the bricks of white powder out, more carefully this time and set it on top of another box.

by Sten Softclaw Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:01 am

Sten bristled, but said nothing as Aella helped him up. He brushed himself down and followed after Kroll, edging around the pony corpses. He could handle it, he could handle it. Nothing he hadn't seen before.

by Kroll Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:11 am

Kroll started to prod around on the tables in the back room, picking up a few documents that had yet to be tossed into the burning oildrum. "Looks like they didn't get around to a few." the captain mused as he thumbed through the papers, raising his eyebrow.

"Looks like they've got some pretty solid smuggling routes that go through the city. This document only mentions a few of them, but its better than nothing. Getting rid of these routes probably won't put these guys out of commission, but it'll definitely cripple them for a while."

by Aella Thu Jan 16, 2014 1:01 am

Aella looked over her shoulder at Kroll as she walked through the lines of boxes, searching for anything interesting.

"Should we call the guard to clean up sir?"

by Kroll Thu Jan 16, 2014 3:59 am

Kroll looks up from his findings and over at Aella. "Hm? I suppose that's a better idea than what I had in mind; I was just going to burn the place down once we took what we could. Wouldn't want these drugs to find their way back on the streets, after all." The captain shrugged as he tucked the documents away. "Then again, there are less...pyrotechnical methods of disposing of such things."

by Sten Softclaw Thu Jan 16, 2014 5:16 pm

Sten sidled up, looking steadier now. He picked up a packet, weighing it in his claw.

"In the river, sir? Or into the De'Luge?" he said, smiling weakly.

by Aella Fri Jan 17, 2014 12:45 am

Aella grimaced.

"Somehow I dont think mixing a massive quantity of drugs into the water would be in the best interests of the city"

She considered for a moment.

"Seafood might be rather popular for a while though"

by Kroll Fri Jan 17, 2014 5:12 am

Kroll shook his head, chuckling dryly. "As funny as that my be, that could reflect badly on the Council. Folks could think that we're spiking the water or something..." the captain paused for a moment to scratch his head. "Although I really don't see any better alternatives. It would either just collect dust in a storage locker, or find itself back on the streets somehow. Maybe we should dump it after all, though I still see no issue with burning it." he added sourly.

by Aella Fri Jan 24, 2014 12:56 am

Aella tapped the side of her head as she thought.

"How is this... stuff... used? how do ponies take it?"

by Sten Softclaw Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:09 am

"They'll sniff it, probably," Sten said, wiping up a little from a patch on the floor. "Not sure how well it would burn, although if we just put it in storage it'll become some bent buggers little nest egg. It'll dissolve in water, though."

Not that he strictly speaking knew, but he could assume. There could only be so much difference between illicit white powders, right?

by Kroll Sat Jan 25, 2014 9:22 am

Kroll raised an eyebrow at Sten's knowledge of Equestrian narcotics, but decided it would be something to be questioned later. "Alright, guess we're dumping it into the sea, I guess." After grabbing an armful or so of the packages of white powder, the captain paused for a moment as he furrowed his brow in thought. "Do you suppose they might have a toilet in here?"

by Aella Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:32 am

Aella looked at the number of boxes in the room and did some uneducated guessing.

"I think we might need to commandeer a boat sir"

by Sten Softclaw Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:35 am

"I wouldn't think so," said Sten, resting a claw on a crate. "We'll just need a cart to get it to the water's edge."

Emphasis on the we, he thought. No way I'm hauling these bloody things on my own.

by Kroll Sun Jan 26, 2014 6:59 am

Kroll nods he starts to look around. I'd imagine they had some sort of dolly or cart to move goods around through the store. If we can find that, we can do this way faster than if we move the packets in groups on foot."

by Aella Sun Jan 26, 2014 10:52 pm

Aella nodded and began searching the room for a cart or trolley.

by Sten Softclaw Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:55 am

Sten slouched over to Aella, away from the cap (who probably had some top-level brooding to do). He had no intention of looking, but a quick break around the corner wouldn't go amiss.

by Kroll Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:14 am

Kroll muttered something to himself as he started to pull out more packets of the white powder from the crates, putting them in small stacks for easy loading. "Any luck finding a trolley back there, Aella?" he called out.

by Aella Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:56 am

Aella spotted a sheet draped over an irregularly shaped object. She moved over and pulled it off revealing an excessively large and ornate baby carriage, perhaps for upwards of six or seven infants. Or one very peculiar adult.

"I think I found something that might work sir..."

by Sten Softclaw Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:57 pm

"Oh, that'll do," Sten said, brightly. "Nicely inconspicuous that."

Although truth be told, it wouldn't matter. The three of them behind any carriage would be enough to raise any number of eyebrows.

by Kroll Thu Jan 30, 2014 9:23 pm

Kroll stared at the baby carriage in silent confusion for a moment before blinking a few times and shaking his head. "Screw it, it'll work." he said, beginning to load the packets of white powder inside the stroller. "What the hell is something like this doing in here?"

by Aella Fri Jan 31, 2014 1:30 am

Aella shrugged, helping fill the stroller.

"Maybe they were also kidnapping enormous infants sir?"

by Sten Softclaw Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:00 pm

"Besides, who says it needs a reason?" Sten said, hauling packets one by one. "These things just happen. 'Specially in conjunction with this much of... this stuff."

by Kroll Mon Feb 03, 2014 1:37 am

Kroll's brow furrowed as he loaded the last of the packets from his crate. "Why would you have any idea...you know what? Nevermind. I don't want to know." he grumbled as he dusted his hands off, looking over the stroller to make sure that it had as much of the white powder as it could carry. "Okay...I think this will be as good as it'll get. Let's just get this dumped so we can get the rest of it out of here."

by Aella Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:57 am

Aella took up position behind the stroller, resting her talons on the push handle.

"Lead the way sir"

by Kroll Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:01 am

Kroll nodded as he cautiously headed out of the hole that the criminals had excaped through, sweeping his crossbow to the left and right to make sure an ambush wasn't waiting for them outside. After making sure that the coast was clear, the captain poked his head inside. "Alright, coast's clear. Come on out, but slowly now."

by Aella Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:28 am

Aella pushed the stroller out onto the street, the jolt at the doorway sending a small puff of the powder up from the packages. She held her breath for a moment as she began to roll the pram down the street, avoiding objects that might upset the load.

by Sten Softclaw Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:58 pm

Sten strolled behind Aella, keeping a few feet between him and her, occasionally checking over his shoulder, just in case. A few curious heads poked around corners, but this was Manehattan. Nothing to worry about, thus far.

by Kroll Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:07 am

Kroll continued to move ahead of the trolley, occasionally looking back at Aella and Sten to make sure that they hadn't vanished for any reason. After a quick stop at a signpost, the captain signaled to the others to start moving the pram down a street to the right.

by Aella Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:54 pm

Aella pushed the pram swiftly down the street, humming a lullaby as it trundled across the cobblestones. She wasn't fooling anyone into thinking that there was an infant in the trolley, the near constant puffs of white powder coming from the poorly made packages in the stroller like steam from a kettle.

At least this powder didnt stain her feathers

by Kroll Thu Feb 13, 2014 6:35 am

Kroll tapped a nervous talon against the trigger guard of his crossbow, worried that some of the criminals from earlier might have stuck around to take them out. So far everything was going smoothly, but the captain wasn't quite ready to let his guard down yet. When the street came to a 'T', the tercel signaled to Aella and Sten to go the the left.

"Just a few more blocks and we'll finally be able to dump this crap into the deep blue yonder." he grumbled to himself.

by Aella Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:36 am

Aella noticed her handlers nervousness and swore to herself as she remembered where she had left her polearm. Krolls instincts were seldom wrong when it came to danger and she was left almost unarmed. Hopefully any attacker would not object to being mauled to death rather than exiting the world by the edge of a blade.

by Sten Softclaw Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:41 pm

Sten hummed to himself as he strolled behind Aella. He tried as best he could to ignore the skittering and faint clopping of hooves behind him. After all, it was just one of those places. Mind you, Manehattan as a whole was one of those places.

"Well," he said, just to break the tension, "this is some to do, eh?"

by Kroll Sat Feb 15, 2014 6:03 pm

"Yeah, this is 'some to do', alright," the captain grumbled as he trudged down the street, glancing suspiciously at the different buildings as they passed them by, trying to see if they were being watched. After traversing a few more blocks, the griffons reached the docks of the Eastern Residential District. "Alright, let's start dumping this crap, but try not to get any on yourself." said Kroll as he stared at the dark, rippling water with a frown.

"I still don't know if contaminating water with narcotics is a good idea, but I don't like seafood anyway, so to hell with it. "

by Sponsored content