Ruins of Khazan - Part 1: All Things Among Fallen Leaves

[Sharpandpointies]

"I do look pretty helpless," Krys admits to Jane's comment, with a helpless shrug and a quirky smile. They aren't completely helpless, of course, but compared to some of those here... Their jaunty mood fades, replaced by thoughtful focus as the mechanoid sniper describes those within the structure and gives her assessment. Finally, they nod. "Good information, and good to know that those inside the building look somewhat calm. Makes it easier to get in without one of them shooting us...easier, not easy." They ponder for a long moment. "My somewhat inexpert opinion," Krys begins, choosing their words carefully, "is that we should hold off on returning fire until it becomes absolutely untenable. One of the issues here is that we have no retreat - the main group, I mean. So better to not give away your position until completely necessary, yes."

They nod toward Nemo. "And Nemo seems of like mind regarding our retreat situation. I think decoys preparation would be a good plan, Nemo, and if Rae CAN give us any more information it would be helpful. What she finds out might be of a different 'quality' than what others have; could help round out our knowledge."

Rolling their shoulders, they take another glance out across the battleground. "Trevor? Any thoughts? Otherwise...we can get moving, taking Jane's planned out route." Another smile flashes. "Better than anything I could come up with."

OOC - Sorry this is short; been a busy weekend, still busy now.

[Postmania]

"Agreed," Jane replied. "Audio information from Nemo on the building's occupants may be an advantage even if it does not translate as immediately as vision."

She glances back at the building again, still moving only her neck.

"As far as plans go, this is somewhat flimsy. But as far as I understand it, it proceeds like this:

Krys and Trevor infiltrate as best as they can without being seen, trying to appear as peaceful travelers.
Anyone else who wants to should try and provide any information they can before or as the two depart.
Otherwise, we try to remain hidden, ready to support the duo, but only if it remains absolutely necessary. I assume this is a point of critical harm, which we will have to determine in the moment."

Jane considered her words, before turning her head back to the group.

"We should also have some sort of way to communicate some simple actions. We lack radios, so we will be cut off when the two reach some distance away. I," Jane taps her goggles again, "can see you, but I will not be able to hear you. So in terms of actions, we should have a command or signal for an attack on either the creatures outside, or to try and approach and extricate you forcefully from an attack inside, or potentially both. We likely also require a command if we are to all follow you indoors as the situation is safe, or one for if the decision comes down to simply abandoning the field altogether and running to the next point our hound," Jane spares a flat stare at the hellhound, "directs us to."

"Hopefully those in the building take to you two kindly. Fighting everyone here may be somewhat untenable. Although," Jane cocked her head with a smile. "I believe we could triumph even if it came to this. Not a calculation. Simply what I think. We should try to avoid this however."

[Sharkerbob]

Nemo nodded. "Rae? You up for it?"

Rae made an exasperatedly elongated sigh, but after a moment, Nemo's left glove slipped off her finger. It plopped on the ground, trailing a thread from the end of her left sleeve. The glove righted itself, taking shape despite the lack of a hand inside it, and from some obscure pocket within her folds, two black buttons slithered into place onto the index and pinkie knuckles. With the fingers held so the tips touched the tip of the thumb, and the glove rising up a foot from the ground, balancing impossibly on the string trailing off the cuff, the piece of garment took on a distinct hand-puppet look.

"Alright," said Rae, flapping the glove in a mimicry of a puppet's mouth. "I'm going in." The hand-puppet turned to Nemo and configured its fingers to make dour expression. "If I get cut off again, I'm giving you a wedgie!" Then the glove turned, dropping to the ground, the fingers spreading to skitter across the ground like a spider towards the building. The thread that trailed after the glove was still connected to the sleeve, but the sleeve was apparently not unraveling, or if it was, it was losing far less of itself than the length that was extended should realistically be doing. Rae's little glove spy attempted to find the nearest window or open crevice to slither through, to better hear and see the occupants within.

~~OOC: Nemo (technically Rae, but same difference here), is using String Magic in conjunction with Extend String to manipulate the glove, and extend it forward. Rae's consciousness is connected to the glove, so she should be able to use it as a "remote" ear and eye piece. However, the string connecting the glove to the sleeve is vital for maintaining that connection, so if severed, the glove and any attached string goes inert and Rae is disconnected from it.~~

"If we wished to communicate, we could do it through Rae this way," Nemo said. "She could speak to those inside while we're still out here, and relay between us."

"Oi!" huffed her partner. "Don't overcommit me when I'm already mid-mission!"

"Just listing out our options," said Nemo. "But yes, let's assess things first, if we can."

[Nik Hasta]

With a nod from Trevor, Krys and the child begin their careful progress down the gardens on the more concealed left hand side while Rae's small glove taking the slightly more exposed right hand side, banking on her much smaller stature to keep her hidden.

Krys and Trevor:

spoilers:

The hedges of the garden stand about chest high to an adult so Krys finds them suitable enough to hide behind and Trevor has more than enough room to conceal himself. As they draw closer to the figure with the megaphone, the stench of him becomes all the more palpable. Fortunately, their route doesn't take them much closer as Trevor looks slightly faint from the power of it. Krys notices that Trevor is both very focused and seems somewhat practised at hiding and moving unseen. He also takes the opportunity to peer round some of the hedges, his head almost at ground level, to get a better look at their potential opponents. He seems enlivened by the experience, some childish almost joy at being able to pass unseen in this way despite the danger. In time, crawling, crouching and carefully picking their moments to move through wordless communication, they reach the backside of the carousel and circle around it to get a better look at the building. During their progress through the garden, Krys noticed, from their closer proximity, that the larger figures who were waiting rather than advancing, their skin like rubber tires carved in a facsimile of musculature, had been muttering to themselves almost incessantly. "Is it time? Time to go? Time to brrrrmmm... time to ... time to go? Is it time? To go... time to go... we're... is it time?" They seem almost in a trance. The smaller figure closer to them was silent as they passed, but had the apparent presence almost of a minder to the two larger figures. From this vantage point, Krys can see the tall and muscular woman in the main hallway, just barely visible behind the piles of furniture. She continues to try and add to the barricade. Her head is shaved, her skin dark and her outfit is a quite practical and streamlined affair with boxing tape around her hands and forearms. From the outfit, her extremely undisciplined manner of using a crossbow and the way she moves with the strength and surety of someone who intimately knows the physical limits of their body, Krys intuits that she might be the muscle of this crew and more a brawler than marksman. One floor above her, Krys can now see the trio of shooters intermittently as they dodge between the windows firing and very occasionally throwing out an explosive. Over the din of gunshots and the megaphoned speech which still continues, now citing some esoteric law system it seems, they can just about hear faint snatches of conversation. "... this is mad Calvin... I don't wan[*BANG BANG*]..." "... can it would you, Lanky? [*BOOM*] been in far..." "...[*BANG*] hell is Morgan? He normally..." It's hard to get a clear of where they are and Krys can only hear them when they speak directly by the window at a time when no one is shooting. Trevor leans close to Krys, almost getting under the smouldering carousel. "How we going in?" he asks.

end of spoilers

Rae and Nemo:

spoilers:

The clothy fingers hop and scurry at the bottom of the hedges, enjoying almost complete cover. Rae has to navigate around a few smouldering puddles of toxic ooze left from footprints of the attacking squad, being careful to manipulate the string behind her and hang it upon low hanging branches of the hedge so it does not drop into the puddle and sever her connection. She passes by a particularly molten member of those mounting the siege and she can hear the sizzle and see the steam as everything this being touches is doused in acidic toxins. Not something that any of their party would want to get close to them. She can hear something, almost like a voice mumbling from within the a body that could scarcely be said to have flesh any more. "Gonna... gonna... gonna melt 'em... gonna make the world... clean ... with the melt and the... the... gonna... gonna... melt... them... the criminals... wrong'uns... melt... gonna... gonna melt... melt... gonna," However, barely larger than a mouse, she passes unnoticed and with some effort, scrambles past the perimeter wall and up to a window which is tall and about as wide as a man but has heavy bars set into the stone work in front of the glass. Some of the segments of the glass have been shot out. The bars would block a person, but not a glove. Within she can see a brawny looking woman with a bald head throw a desk onto the barricade she is maintaining. Peering in, Rae gets the sense that this building was some kind of a bank or reserve. Beyond the barricade is a large and open main hall; on the ground level there are a selection of teller positions with a grand main staircase that leads up to the upper level that has an open view of the hall below. She catches the sound of someone shouting down to the woman. "Digger?!" the woman's head snaps around as a man's voice calls from upstairs, "You okay? The Bez says she sees someone sneaking up. Two of them. Don't look to be with ooze patrol on the face of it. Out by the merry-go-round on your right," The tall woman marches over to the window on the opposite side to where Rae currently stands. "Not seeing them," she shouts back. "Don't got the angle,"

end of spoilers

[Sharkerbob]

Rae relays everything she hears and sees back to Jane, Ella, Nemo, and the others, noting the acid puddles they'll have to watch out for. "Watch your step around here."

"I think we're lookin' at some fanatics here," said Rae, in reference to the rambling ooze-man. "Not sure if they're all as far in as him, but I'm doubting we're gunna be doing much negotiating."

Upon hearing those inside the building, she says, "Well, one of the people inside spotted Krys and Trevor. Sounds like only one of them has eyes on them at the moment."

[Sharpandpointies]

Krys creeps along, allowing Trevor to take the lead. Clearly the young man has more experience - and skill - with this sort of thing than themselves, and it's not surprising. Trevor had, after all, lived in resistance to a tyrannical regime for some time. Krys? Nothing of the sort; even in their first life, Kris had been a university student, her attempts at stealth limited to 'returning home to uncle's residence far too late at night'. Not exactly the best training for this situation, regardless of what popular entertainment might have one think. So at the moment, they follow diligently, paying attention to what Trevor does and attempting to ape it as best as possible.

The young man's skill is fairly impressive, of course.

Their guts twist as they crawl, and their body stiffens, anticipating gunfire. With a deep breath, Krys forces themselves to relax. It's oddly not as difficult as they expected; fear of death should be screaming in them, but instead there's only a concern about failure. Have I changed that much? Or have my experiences brought me to this place? Or is it that I simply don't care? Not the latter, they suspect. A cough threatens in their throat; after a brief struggle, Krys swallows it, ignoring the sharp taste of iron their next exhalation brings.

Their brows knit together as they study the odd creatures. That sense of disquiet grows in Krys, more and more; these beings don't seem free. Instead, they seem to be either automatons with limited programming, or - more likely - creatures that have been suborned to a purpose. This shifts Krys' perspective of which side to choose, almost immediately. It also creates a problem regarding dealing with the besiegers, as they might be victims as well. Perhaps dealing with their 'minders', or the bullhorn-armed controller, might free them. Or perhaps they have been partially consumed by whatever has altered them, and there is no further hope for their freedom.

A truly ugly thought.

Arriving at the building, they remain lost in thought for a few moments before Trevor forces Krys to focus once again. "Ah. Getting in." Krys winces. "Climbing up to the second floor, sure to be noticed." They keep their voice low and avoid 's'. "Maybe through window? Visible, but only for a moment. I can...protect from defender." Clambering though the window in front of the armed woman is almost certain to provoke a response. But perhaps there is another way to enter? Their gaze roves, searching for another ingress. "You have an idea?"

OOC - Krys will search for another way in, something perhaps not easy for the besiegers to see. Of course, by this point they probably have the whole building covered, or those inside likely would have escaped.

[Postmania]

Upon Rae's observation, Jane's focus shifts as she almost exclusively scopes out the building and looks for who it may be that has seen the duo.

OOC: At this Jane stacks BRA and with her Spectral Vision still up scans to see who may have be looking Krys' way, or just shifted their behavior in the building from previously.

"Well, it would have been unlikely for the infiltration to be without incident. Still, they are not under fire yet, and Krys did say to hold off until a truly serious situation arose."

She looks over in a cursory fashion to see if any on the blighted individuals outside had seen the two, although she would not be surprised if they had remained only visible to the building.

OOC: After this she looks over to the other side for a brief glance. She also looks over the battlefield again at this point, this time out of curiosity more than anything, to see if there is a point in the battlefield where there is a weakness in either of the two sides. Where might the attackers be closest to a breakthrough? Alternatively, where is the attack stalled the most?

"The attacking side does appear to have relatively limited programming instilled in it," she replied to the other comment by Rae. "Beings like that usually do make for the best foot soldiers. Early prototypes of myself proved useful in that respect. But they may lack the ability to truly improvise if the occasion calls for it."

[Nik Hasta]

Arriving at the building, they remain lost in thought for a few moments before Trevor forces Krys to focus once again. "Ah. Getting in." Krys winces. "Climbing up to the second floor, sure to be noticed." They keep their voice low and avoid 's'. "Maybe through window? Visible, but only for a moment. I can...protect from defender." Clambering though the window in front of the armed woman is almost certain to provoke a response. But perhaps there is another way to enter? Their gaze roves, searching for another ingress. "You have an idea?"

OOC - Krys will search for another way in, something perhaps not easy for the besiegers to see. Of course, by this point they probably have the whole building covered, or those inside likely would have escaped.

While it would be pretty simple to get to the windows on the ground floor, potentially even unnoticed by the attackers, entrance would not be possible. The windows on the ground floor are all barred rendering entry for either of them impossible unless the bars are removed or destroyed. The upper floor windows are unbarred and therefore more viable points of entry but are, as Krys noted internally, exposed and climbing the side of the building would be a challenge that Trevor might not be able to manage.

That leaves the main entrance as the last obvious option with the barricade and the burly and potentially stressed woman with a crossbow waiting on the other side and exposure to being shot at by the approaching shamblers.

spoilers:

"Well, none of it looks great," Trevor mutters, "I figure we could both make a go at climbing over the barricade. It would be risky but I think that's the most direct route. Or we could circle further round? Scope out the back? Mebbe even spot an exit route for us? We don't know these folks an' this business seems all manner of risky. Might be possible for the others to make the sneak down here as well and we just pass it all by?"

end of spoilers

Upon Rae's observation, Jane's focus shifts as she almost exclusively scopes out the building and looks for who it may be that has seen the duo.

OOC: At this Jane stacks BRA and with her Spectral Vision still up scans to see who may have be looking Krys' way, or just shifted their behavior in the building from previously.

"Well, it would have been unlikely for the infiltration to be without incident. Still, they are not under fire yet, and Krys did say to hold off until a truly serious situation arose."

Jane's vision allows her to see the figure on the ground floor move up to the window and scope out Krys and Trevor. She doesn't see any shots being fired or other obviously hostile activity as yet but that's about the limit of her knowledge as she can only see the spectral presence of the figure which doesn't provide her with much detail.

She looks over in a cursory fashion to see if any on the blighted individuals outside had seen the two, although she would not be surprised if they had remained only visible to the building.

OOC: After this she looks over to the other side for a brief glance. She also looks over the battlefield again at this point, this time out of curiosity more than anything, to see if there is a point in the battlefield where there is a weakness in either of the two sides. Where might the attackers be closest to a breakthrough? Alternatively, where is the attack stalled the most?

The situation hasn't change much since their arrival. The oozing shamblers are making dogged but slow advances on the main entrance, focusing on inaccurate but consistent suppressing fire to try and make gaps for them to move up, but are largely being held off by the defenders crossbows and occasional grenades. The attackers don't seem to be in a rush, they know their targets are trapped.

Jane also clocks that the particularly molten figure is continuing his slow progress toward the main entrace. Not yet in range to do much of anything but their body language seems to suggest that they are making a consistent, if slow, charge.

[Sharpandpointies]

Krys makes a small moue of consideration, then slowly nods. "We could. I think going through the front door is the only way, really. Could try going around the back, but I'm not sure I could make it without getting spotted, and the longer we're out here...I'm not as sneaky as you, Trevor." They grimace, finally shrugging helplessly. "I think we're stuck. And I can't just pass by this place." They take a long breath, trying to find some kind of stability in the middle of the cries, the droning announcement, the gunfire and cachophony of battle. "Tell you what. You go for the barricade first, best you can - if sneaking closer works, let's do that. I'll cover your back, make sure you don't get shot by the attackers." They grin. "I won't need to climb the barricade, myself - have a faster way through it, one that won't break anything."

I hope.

"I'll just need you to call out to the people in there, let them know we're not here to hurt them." Maybe. Another shrug, and Krys motions toward their own body. "Though I'm hoping they'll figure that part out due to us looking a trifle different than their enemies."

OOC - If Trevor agrees, Krys will follow them toward the door. They'll stay close enough that anyone trying to shoot Trevor will hopefully have to shoot through Krys...at which point, there's the potential for Krys to defend 'for Trevor'. Assuming that's possible. Another short post, but I'm trying to keep things moving along and there's not a lot of room for introspection at the moment. ^_^

Stacking remains the same.

[Nik Hasta]

Krys makes a small moue of consideration, then slowly nods. "We could. I think going through the front door is the only way, really. Could try going around the back, but I'm not sure I could make it without getting spotted, and the longer we're out here...I'm not as sneaky as you, Trevor." They grimace, finally shrugging helplessly. "I think we're stuck. And I can't just pass by this place." They take a long breath, trying to find some kind of stability in the middle of the cries, the droning announcement, the gunfire and cachophony of battle. "Tell you what. You go for the barricade first, best you can - if sneaking closer works, let's do that. I'll cover your back, make sure you don't get shot by the attackers." They grin. "I won't need to climb the barricade, myself - have a faster way through it, one that won't break anything."

I hope.

"I'll just need you to call out to the people in there, let them know we're not here to hurt them." Maybe. Another shrug, and Krys motions toward their own body. "Though I'm hoping they'll figure that part out due to us looking a trifle different than their enemies."

OOC - If Trevor agrees, Krys will follow them toward the door. They'll stay close enough that anyone trying to shoot Trevor will hopefully have to shoot through Krys...at which point, there's the potential for Krys to defend 'for Trevor'. Assuming that's possible. Another short post, but I'm trying to keep things moving along and there's not a lot of room for introspection at the moment. ^_^

Stacking remains the same.

Trevor nods and scoots up to the edge of the carousel that is closest to the low wall.

"Be careful Ser Krys," he says, "I wouldn't want you to get hurt on my account. But, such is the risks of bein' in a place like this. What do you want me to say? That we're here to rescue them? Them out there with the melting faces don't look to be much in the way offerin' quarter,"

[Sharpandpointies]

Trevor speaks, and it triggers something in Krys' thoughts. "Tell them," they mutter. "That's a good idea, Trevor. Better we don't try to go straight through the front door, under fire, without them having any idea who we are. Could end badly - for everyone." Peering about, they take a closer look at the windows near to the door. "If we can get to the windows," they continue thoughtfully, making certain to pitch their words just over the gunfire, "maybe we can speak to the people inside without exposing ourselves. Find out more. And not take a crossbow bolt trying to get in the front door."

That switchblade smile flickers on their lips once again. "Always biting off more than I can chew." Laughter responds in their memory.

~ 'Maybe you'd better pace yourself.' ~

A nod, then they return their gaze to their companion. "Pick a window, Trevor - something close enough to door we can maybe get that guard's attention, but where we can also maybe stay under cover. Even keep hidden. I'll follow your lead." And protect you from getting back-shot, they silently amend.

Hopefully.

[Postmania]

For a moment, Jane considered focusing on the ground floor figure, but with lack of any action yet she thought it might be best to leave her to the two closer to her. They likely stood a better chance of dealing with her than any of the other soldiers at range.

She returned her focus back to generally scanning the building. She wondered about the other two skilled shooters on the field. Could they too, have had training as she had?

Moreover, what god commanded these sludgy beings outside? She doubted they would allow her to ask questions. Not with speech in any case.

With little currently occurring, and no way to answer these questions currently, a strand of Jane's processes wandered off inside her thought matrix, and pondered what her trainer, Duke, might think of this current situation.

Don't fire until you're sure you can achieve maximum effect, she thought he might say, and also, Be absolutely sure this is required for your mission. Remember, you're not here as a mindless killbot. You have a purpose wherever you're sent. Then he'd likely give her a serious look, sometimes physically gripping her shoulders, and say something else that she at times was unsure if he was saying because it was entirely relevant to his initial point, or just to pull her back from meting out death, even though she was under the impression that was entirely her purpose. Something about that rung familiar with this new person, Krys, she realized. But she could be mistaken. She had never truly understood him at times. The same situation had occurred for several of her companions here.

But, she thought, she took instruction from Duke because he knew better than her, and she trusted that, as she trusted the Facility. She thought something similar may be the case here with the others around her, in this strange, ruined city. At least for the moment.

The same strand of her curiosity redirected itself in two new, different directions. One whispered that maybe she trusted Duke not only because of his knowledge. She was unclear on what this meant, but when queried the strand of thought promptly took her along of maze of statements that whizzed by too quickly for her to track, only to lead to a dead end. She dismissed it without a second thought.

Another curled itself up and pointed other, newer memories, which Jane indulged at first but suddenly halted upon closer inspection.

Why now?

She caught flashes of vision, her guns firing before her, and knew, intuitively, and a clicking of her processors as activity suddenly intensified, that this was memories from the night Nekro had taken her chassis to kill the Facility. She had been unable to locate this memory directly, despite her knowing that her body was to record every action around her at all times, but suddenly, it was open to her. She thought maybe this was related to that strange, impossible sensation of something huge making contact with her after the last battle, perhaps something clearing obstacles that had been unintentionally formed in her code.

Or perhaps it was related to her thinking about Duke again. She knew now, what it had been like to kill him firsthand. She immediately cut off that chain of thought. She thought she would not have any reason to revisit this memory. When she had broached the subject with Krys or replaying older recordings she had surely not intended or needed to relive this particular series of events.

A minor alarm rang in her systems, and she realized that she had allowed her rifle to drift off axis and to the right. She jerked it back to a more familiar pattern, a disciplined sweep of her surroundings, a little too quickly. Nothing was going wrong yet, but there was plenty of time for that to happen still.

[Nik Hasta]

Trevor speaks, and it triggers something in Krys' thoughts. "Tell them," they mutter. "That's a good idea, Trevor. Better we don't try to go straight through the front door, under fire, without them having any idea who we are. Could end badly - for everyone." Peering about, they take a closer look at the windows near to the door. "If we can get to the windows," they continue thoughtfully, making certain to pitch their words just over the gunfire, "maybe we can speak to the people inside without exposing ourselves. Find out more. And not take a crossbow bolt trying to get in the front door."

That switchblade smile flickers on their lips once again. "Always biting off more than I can chew." Laughter responds in their memory.

~ 'Maybe you'd better pace yourself.' ~

A nod, then they return their gaze to their companion. "Pick a window, Trevor - something close enough to door we can maybe get that guard's attention, but where we can also maybe stay under cover. Even keep hidden. I'll follow your lead." And protect you from getting back-shot, they silently amend.

Hopefully.

With their assent, Trevor leads off and circles around the far side of the carousel to the action and slides under the fence, between the pillars that hold it up. He keeps low, Krys in pursuit and approaches the window. Krys is focused on watching out in case they are made and whether they might need to take action to protect the boy. They here him call out in a sort of hoarse whisper-shout, typical of a child trying not to get caught.

"Hey, miss! Madam? Over here," he says.

"God's teeth but you're young. What the hells are you and your friend doing? You trying to rescue us?"

Krys catches a muffled shout from upstairs, they themselves are too far to hear it.

GM Note to Nemo and Rae:
spoilers:

From her position in the other window, Rae catches the exchange. The voice from upstairs says; "Keep them talking Digger, worst case they take some of the heat off us,"

end of spoilers

"We're here to help. Those guys with the flintlocks look to be less than friendly," Trevor replies, "How many are you? Is there any way out or is it a matter of cutting you free?"

Krys hears a suppressed laugh from the woman, perhaps amused by Trevor, a literal child, volunteering to cut a path through the monstrosities that beset them.

"Kid, you're wild. You even fully know what a gun is? If it's just the two of you, I don't think it's gonna make much of a difference. You'd best either get out or get in here or those pigs will melt you in short order,"

Trevor turns, and speaks quietly to Krys.

"Ser Krys, they want us to come in or get out of here," he says, "We should help 'em, right? We got the numbers to swing this in their favour and we can't just leave them to face those things,"

Krys has noted that they have been spotted but, perhaps because their actions have not been directly hostile, the shamblers have not taken action yet. How long that balance will hold is unclear.

[Postmania]

Jane observed through goggles how Krys and Trevor pressed themselves up to the window of the apartment building. She tensed.

They have certainly been spotted now.

Indeed, as she turned her goggled gaze back at the shamblers, she could detect by the micromovements and adjustments in their posture that they were turning their attention to the duo by the window.

She released Spectral Vision from her control, the tri-lensed goggles simply fading back into the realm of Death they came from.

"The two have been spotted," she announced. "I will intercept the first attack on them. Time to eliminate all hostiles."

She spares a glance back at the two by the window as an bit of eagerness enters her tone, energy poised to release as a hammer strikes a firing pin and ignites powder.

"Hopefully they are making themselves friendly with those within the building."

She tilts her rifle primarily back to the shamblers now, scanning to see who will attack first. Gone were the thoughts of Duke and her regained memories of the attack on the Facility. For now, at least.

OOC: Jane now Stacks PRE, CHR, and SKI in addition to her already Stacked BRA. She prepares to use 1 RAC to counteract the first attack on Krys or Trevor. She also stops maintaining Spectral Vision.

[Sharpandpointies]

Krys wiggles their hand. "I'm all for going in and finding out what the story is, Trevor. After that? We'll see." There's no way they're going to commit right now, not when it's still something of a standoff. Not until they have better information on the situation.

"But absolutely," they continue, keeping an eye on the shamblers that have appeared to have notice them. "Get in there - I'll protect you as best I can." Shifting themselves around, Krys once again puts themselves in between Trevor and any possible incoming fire. And hopes.

There was a time when Kris almost caught sight of gunfire in flight - almost. That's was just before she stepped away, stepped outside of reality using Durga's key. Now? Krys knows the experience has changed them; it broke them, certainly, on a fundamental level, but it also left them with some advantages they hadn't possessed 'before'.

So...they can hope.

OOC - Wish I could do more in this post, but until something happens or Trevor goes in, Krys is resolved to watch and protect.