Topic: The Sanguine Hunt - Non-Silent Night in the Docks

Mach

Date: 2016-01-04 10:58 EST
BREAKING NEWS " Non-Silent Night in the Docks

Rhy'Din: Docks District " January 4, 2016 03:19

"This Ron Strickler with breaking news. Reports of multiple explosions this morning have been verified down in the warehouse area of the docks district. Initial reports cite a gas explosion at an old, decommissioned rail yard train repair depot at around 1:30 AM this morning. First responders to the scene came under immediate attack by some sort of militant mage cult brandishing firearms, magic, and several types of monster. A fire fight and standoff ensued with Watch G.I.U, S.I.U, and SWAT units being brought in from around the city to contain the volatile situation."

"Open fighting and failed negotiations continued for about an hour before a second explosion devastated a storage warehouse several blocks away from the decommissioned rail yard. Per eyewitness testimony it was after this second explosion that the cultist still hold up in the rail yard 'lost their will to fight' and were quickly subdued by Watch forces on scene. Total number of casualties on both sides of this standoff are still being processed though this twisted tale of midnight violence takes a much darker turn at this point. Gina?"

"Thank you Ron. Gina Williams, reporting. While police forces were cordoning off the conflict area several blocks out from around the rail yard during the ensuing chaos, officers came upon a group of apparent cult survivors that were found terrified and trapped in a storm drain. Fire crews trained in search and rescue were able to free the group that consisted mostly of humans, dwarfs, and elves ranging from as young as preteens to elderly respectively."

"EMT and Paramedics on scene performed triage on this group that were markedly malnourished and showed signs of extreme physical and psychological duress. Watch Survivor Assistance Teams further screened the survivors for insurgents that may have been hiding amongst the group before they were handed over to the processing and care of Rhy'Din Public Social Works divisions. Temporary placement and care facilities are being set up as this story unfolds so as to deal with further survivors of this 'blood sacrifice cult' that may still be imprisoned in various warehouses and maintenance infrastructure that permeate that entire area of the docks district."

"This just in. Initial statements from Watch personnel have identified all this mornings violence to be connected to a known joint investigation between the Watch G.I.U. and an outside sovereign police force from the Unified Tanga Republic, a nation on the planet Tang which is a dimensional world linked via the Nexus. From reports by some of the survivors it was the principle U.T.R. Investigator, a man identified as a 32 year old human by the name of Elitia V. Turner who caused the initial explosion in the rail yard while he was helping the group of survivors to escape."

"It is also believed that Mr. Turner is responsible for the second explosion at the warehouse blocks away. Though the reasons for causing this explosion, how he even got there from the rail yard, and how it all connects to the loss of will to continue fighting on the cultists part afterward are all still under investigation. As for the investigator himself he was found down and out with severe, life threatening injuries outside a loading dock a little ways away from the warehouse where the second explosion happened. Mr. Turner has been rushed to Rhy'Din General Hospital where his condition is currently listed as critical and unstable with no information given as to whether he will pull through the night."

"For now, Rhy'Din Social Works Divisions is asking for citizens to come forth with donations during this giving time of year to help house and feed the growing number of survivors being found until placement or reuniting with family and friends can be accomplished. The Watch is as well setting up a webpage and call center for citizens to contact them regarding identifying both survivors and victims that are being found in the aftermath of this terrible, terrible tragedy."

"More information on this unfolding story will be reported as it becomes available. Until then this is Ron Strickler..."

"...and Gina Williams"

"Wishing you a good morning Rhy'Din.?

Hope Jubal

Date: 2016-01-04 23:43 EST
((Inspired and moved by this song: Keep the Faith " Bon Jovi))

Hope for a Monster

Half past midnight stabbed into the darkness in bold numerals of red that splashed upon the tousled blond hair of a woman asleep. The only eyes to see them were half open browns stirred from sleep. Something wasn't right. Something couldn't be right. She couldn't remember her dreams exactly but she knew they were of ordinary fair; ordinary for someone walking the streets of Rhy"Din serving the people and keeping them safe. Any other person dreaming them would have gone in for a head shrinking.

Hope didn't like head shrinks or anyone messing with her head for that matter. She rarely took stock of her dreams, chalked them up to stress and her mind being allowed to play with the what-if's in her line of work. She closed her eyes as easy as someone kicking the last support timber holding up a ton of earth above a mine shaft. Sinking into darkness, she shut out the time on her clock and tried to smother the slow stirrings of her mind to not think about her shift in the next five hours. Her mind was already revving up with the disruption in her sleep; a product of continually dealing with a world trying to kill her and the insanity it took to enforce sanity and peace. She wanted to stay asleep badly after her longs shifts into the New Year, yet, her mind thrust one short observation before her eyes.

If these dreams were of work why was Mach's face in them' Why can I smell blood, taste it and every snippet of ethereal dreaming I can catch in the net of my mind has Mach suffering in my place.

Hope flipped the covers off of her as her mind burned away the mists of sleep. Mach had never bothered her dreams at all. Well maybe once after the Yule Ball but she blamed the drinks for that mental fantasy. Slipping bare feet into fuzzy house slippers she moved for the kitchen and some water. Her browns fell on a comfy, grey chair in her living room. If it was a mental fantasy, then how could she deny the purple jacket, mistletoe and half pack of cigarettes left behind" Hope just shook her head, amused by her trailing thoughts. She was going to return them to Mach for being such a gentleman in getting her home that night. Work got in the way and then it seemed like the hunter dropped off the face of the planet.

After getting a drink and a hot shower, she came out with the hope of going back to sleep. Her phone suddenly sprang to life blaring out Inner Circles " Bad Boys theme from an old show she loved, COPS. Snatching up the phone she saw it was Mallen using a line from the 27th Division. What was he doing up past one in the morning" She answered the phone.

"Jubal here, boss. Aren't you staying up a little late for an old man?"

"Jubal, cut the humor. I need you on that motorcycle and out at the docks. Dock workers called in about an old train depot that just blew sky high. I know you're apartment is close enough to get there ASAP." Mallen said with a tone of not having any coffee yet.

"You got it boss. I was up anyways. Dreams I guess. I'll give you the skinny soon." Hope ended the call and rapidly went into prep and action.

As she headed for the door in full gear she paused by the chair. Dreams, Mach and blood had her mind rolling its eyes but her gut told her the items should be taken. Perhaps after her report she could wander a bit and catch site of the hunter out and about' Her mind fed something plausible distracted it from her gut that cheered in triumph as she took up the purple jacket, mistletoe and cigarettes. Soon she was on her motorcycle, the additional items packed in a saddle bag and she whirred off to the docks.

01-04-2016, Dockside, Abandoned Rail Depot, One of Many First Responders, 1:45 AM, Explosion:

Hope rolled through the streets, most of the residents were still asleep but those that were light sleepers were starting to come out to look in the direction of the docks. Billows of black and white smoke were rolling up into the starlit night sky. The smell or burnt flesh hung in the air. Hope snapped up her transceiver as she sped up for the docks.

"Dispatch. GIU 13 Reporting. 10-18 (Urgent). I repeat 10-18. We have a 10-73 (Smoke Report). Responding to a possible 10-80 (Bomb Explosion). Requesting backup, all Watch Divisions if possible. Fire brigades requested as well as EMS and Medical Support. 10-23 (Stand By For More)."

*Dispatch. GIU 13. Confirmed fire and explosion reported in Dockside District. Alerting all Watch Divisions and Fire Brigades. EMS and Medical Support alerted as well. We are 10-23.*

Hope juked her motorcycle past what appeared to be a burning chunk of crane arm, the supports and tackle slagged by the heat. She could see the train depot ahead glowing with fire in the blown out windows and people exiting the building past a chain link gate that was chained up. She flipped on her Red, White and Blue's and siren to let the survivors know she was on her way. What she wasn't expecting was the report of automatic rifles opening up on her.

"Oh shit!" She pulled at her steering yoke sharply and sent her and the bike skidding into a nearby stack of crates and waste bins. Rounds ricocheted off of the bins and thunked greedily into the wood debris. She heard several rounds sink into the under carriage of her bike as she shifted splintered wood off of her; the waste bins was her only shelter from that fire. She heard another siren rolling up the street, a fire truck and wanted to scream at them to pull away. The truck slammed on brakes and screeched as it was peppered with gunfire sending it slamming into the closed chain link gates and into the husk of a train car. Hope shoved more wood out the way unburying her radio. She snagged the transceiver and spoke into it as she un-holstered her 9mm pistol.

"Dispatch! 10-18! I need SWAT down here now! 10-72 (Shooting)! Location of the fire and explosion has unknown assailants with automatic weapons. They are opening fire on anyone approaching the site. Keep all none SWAT units back 1 block until the situation is contained."

*Dispatch. GIU 13. SWAT has been alerted and is in route. Routing all other units and services to standard safety perimeter. Please adv"*

The radio died as someone got the moxy to leave the heard of assailants to get himself a Watch Member trophy; rounds sprayed into Hope's motorcycle forcing her to duck. She counted to ten and remembered what Mach told her about standard automatic rifles. She heard the clink of a magazine being dropped and she chose that moment to pop up from her cover. She fired twice, putting the man down with a shot to heart and one to the head. More rounds ricocheting off of the waste bins had her dropping down again.

"I am so not getting paid enough for this shit." She swore. A quick assessment of her bike told her she was on foot from here on out. Battery acid was oozing from the bike and she started grabbing supplies from her saddle bags. She could smell the battery packs heating up as she slung a medical pack over her shoulder and shrugged into that large, purple jacket that was now a bit holey. She stuffed anything else she could salvage into the pockets and backed away from the bike with the waste bins keeping her covered.

One of the Armored APC's with SWAT painted on it in bold yellow lettering rolled in, much to Hope's relief and began laying down cover fire on the amassed attackers. Hope took this moment to dart from her current position and for the sweet, sweet armor an APC would put between her and a bullet. Her bike caught fire, the batteries finally overloading and the smashed crates erupted, adding a brilliant fire to the already hellish scene. Hope moved passed SWAT members filing out and continued to move until she was a city block away from the fire fight. She was breathing hard, scraped up from the skid she took and her right leg was numb. Adrenaline was so fun to experience, letting you be stupid and pay for it later.

She could see more units responding to the calls and alerts. Watch, Medical, more SWAT and News Teams. She spotted a familiar mint green El Camino pulling in for a stop. She headed right for Mallen who seemed to have pulled along Billie, Dave and Renold. She smacked the hood of the car with her hand and motioned for them all to get out.

"Glad to see you guys. Work to do. SWAT's down going toe to toe with a bunch of crazies. Everyone else is pulling a standard Safety Perimeter. Let's try to get around this fire fight and get this area locked down. Maybe get some of the EMS units near the back of that depot in case we have civilians down." She took off limping down an alley, her mind calling up the dock district having poked around in it enough to get her bearings.

Mallen followed after Hope with the rest of the small 27th Division GIU team in pursuit. "Nice jacket, Jubal. Really fits in with the festivities." Mallen said with sarcasm. "Where's your bike?"

Hope smirked hearing the comment and cringed when asked about the bike. "It's doing a really good impression of a George Foreman Grill, sir."

She could hear Mallen face palm above the sirens that now filled the dock district. Hope weaved the team out several blocks to start a perimeter that'd block off anyone sneaking in to join the fight. She finally stopped and took a breather. Her right leg shook as the adrenaline of the wreck and firefight wore off and her body was starting to report faithfully, in detail where it all hurt.

"Okay, Billie and Dave, you take Pike Street and Spooner Avenue and plug it. Renold, I want you to take Board Walk Lane and Slummers Street. Keep those stairs covered and blocked. Boss, you wanna take Mast Street and Sailor's Row?" Hope asked, laying out the points of a perimeter in her mind.

Mallen thought over the orders Hope gave and smirked. "Good coverage. You could split Dave off and have him cover Schooner Avenue that'll keep this back half secure. I think Harbor Street and Lagoon Point would be?" he stopped talking as someone started shouting from a storm drain near them.

Hope heard the voices and looked to the officers. "You heard the boss, boys. Split up. Mallen and I will get help here then pursue the close off points."

Billie, Dave and Renold snapped quick salutes and high tailed it for their designated perimeter points. Mallen had moved over to the drain and looked inside. "Hope, we have people stuck down there, packed in tight. They don't look so good either."

She drew out her personal radio from her belt and called in to Dispatch. "Dispatch. Dispatch"." She held her radio a moment to wait for the torrent of chatter on the lines to give her an opening to call into. "Damn, Mallen sounds like they have a war going on out there. Firefights and monsters are being spotted. Guess this New Year started off with a dose of extra crazy. Sounds like SIU is negotiating to the wind too. Gonna be a blood bath out there."

Mallen looked down to the trapped people and motioned for them to wait just a bit longer. "I'm Lieutenant Greggory Mallen. With the 27th Division of the Watch. The lady you are hearing is Sergeant Hope Jubal. Just sit tight. We are trying to get help here to get you all out."

Hope heard a small lull in the chatter and took her chance. "Dispatch. Dispatch. GIU 13. 10-78 (Assistance Needed). We have civilians trapped in a storm drain. Conditions are poor. Possible victims. We need extraction for them."

*Dispatch. GIU 13. EMS and Fire Brigade on route. What is your 20"*

"We are between Boot Jack Lane and Docker Street?" Hope cut off her transmission to cover her ears as an explosion rippled two blocks down from her.

*GIU 13. GIU 13. Report. Report. We heard an explosion.*

Hope stood and moved to the end of the alley and looked at a loading dock ablaze and a gaping hole in one side. "Dispatch. Confirmed. 10-80. Peregrine Lane and Albatross Street. Loading dock on fire and signs of an explosion." She looked to Mallen. Were they under a massive terrorist attack"

Her phone was soon screaming at her, blaring out the A-Team Theme Song. She pulled out her phone and looked at the SOS Distress signal from a UTRA number. Her heart went cold, her mind pulling back to those dreams of blood and Mach. "Son of a bitch! You" You Idiot!" she yelled at her phone.

She hobbled past Mallen, her leg and ribs now complaining in unison. She tossed her radio to Mallen. He watched Jubal limp past her and toss the radio. "Where the hell are you going Jubal?"

"Probably to eat a bullet or be killed in some new way by a mage. My partner is down." She left Mallen to stare at purple clad back as if she was some madwoman.

A two block walk can seem like a 200 mile jaunt when your leg and ribs hurt. She moved as quickly as she could for the burning loading dock. A man in red robes, screaming in either panic, terror or ecstasy, rounded the corner of an alley ran down the street towards her.

"Don't forsake me! Don't forsake me! I can repent and gain your favor again, all mighty She!" The man saw her and he cackled in glee. "I'll make a new sacrifice to you!" The man screamed out to the heavens and held up his hands getting closer to Hope.

She could see his red robes of the Sanguine order, his hands glowing between yellow and red and she cursed. Crazy she could handle. Insane wasn't too hard. A mage she may get a workout but doable. A crazy, insane mage was just too damn much. Un-holstering her gun, she took up a limping, moving Webster- Stance and started firing round after round into the crazy man as he ran to her. Her rounds melted as whatever spell he was working on vaporized the lead rounds.

She dropped into the training Mach gave her and sprang to the right into a tight dolphin roll past the man. That ground in reflex from training kept her alive for now as a fire ball scorched past her and set an approaching Watch car on fire. Holstering her gun when she came up from the roll, she gritted her teeth shoving the pain from leg and ribs aside. She really never knew how Mach could tank through some of their sessions.

She tore at the top two buttons of her shirt and dug from under her halter top a mandalla worked into silver and brass to hold in front of her. Her other hand pulled out a Shock Cantrip stick. The mage was thirty feet from her and changed his direction of assault. She had no way of dodging this close of an attack as his fireball charged up again.

She held up the mandalla like a shield and shouted out. "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall!"

A slight sheen flickered between her and the crazed mage, the only hint the Reflect spell activated. The mage unleashed his full fire ball and it crashed into the Reflect barrier giving him a full dose of a reverse fire ball. The mage screamed and tried patting out the fires on his robes and skin. "No. No! I must repent and serve She!" He reached for Hope with a hand and arm ablaze.

"Sorry, but I don't think your repenting for anything and this She wants you to back the hell off!? She snapped a bit of the Shock Cantrip and aimed high. It caught the mage full in the face.

The man stumbled backwards by the stunning jolt of energy and crumpled into a heap that blazed on. Hope took a moment to breath and push her heart back into her chest from that strangle hold in her throat. She stood with a bit of effort and resettled the first aid kit. She moved past the burning mage, maybe dead, maybe not, she cared not one bit for a man that picked a fight with a woman that had learned too much over the year.

A few minutes later and several long jam sessions of her own heart beat, she reached the blazing loading dock. She couldn't see anyone around the front and the large hole looked absolutely molten. She was really hoping this wasn't Mach's handiwork. Perhaps he was boozed up with some woman, cozy, nice and laughing at the events going on. Yeah, you believe that heart and who else could leave such a wake of bad-ass destruction and screaming, deranged mages for her trip over. Mach.

Rounding the building, the sounds of her boots crunching on gravel, she saw something prone on the ground. She limped faster for the body and dropped down beside it as her leg quit on her. The person was severely burnt, lacerated, ripped up. Hell she felt like she was looking at a piece of rogue hamburger that fell between the bars on a grill and into the coals of hell. She put a hand to the bloody neck and gasped. There wasn't much of a pulse, but there was one. She shrugged out of the purple jacket and laid it over the body. She finally forced herself to look at that beat up, pulped face that smiled unconsciously at the night sky like they got one final laugh at something. She may have known that face with a smug grin anytime the man got a good shot in on her during sparring. Or the way he just smiled after turning her world upside down with logic that threw her into a spasm of twitches. It was Mach.

Hope cursed at the man while she opened the first aid kit. Cursed at him again when she dialed on her phone to Dispatch that an officer was down. Cursed at him some more as she worked to bandage anything that oozed blood. Cursed at him again when EMS came, and cursed at the crew until her voice left and they finally allowed her to ride with him to the hospital. By the end of the day, Hope found she had a wide selection of curse words and had exhausted them all by the time she collapsed in a hospital chair outside of the emergency room triage area and watched Mach wheeled off to the operating room.