Re: Grand Battle S3G1! (Round Two: The Great Battlefield)
08-07-2011, 09:36 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.
Tengeri trailed the back of her party, lost in thought. Some of the things the new Red lieutenant had said made her uneasy, but she was pretty certain broaching the subject was far too dangerous. He seemed mistrustful enough as it was.
"Private. Get up front where I can see you." Anzhi motioned the point a bit more firmly with his pistol; Tengeri noted Corporal Lacatus' uneasy look. The Leviath held back an argument forming on the tips of her fingers, and slithered forward as per her 'superior's' orders.
The Red camp sprawled out ahead of them shortly after, the training fields extending down to the water's edge. The soldiers visibly relaxed as they approached, pleased to find their way out of the vagaries of war and into the relative order of camp.
"You six-" Anzhi indicated, of everyone except Tengeri and the corporal, "at ease. Check the postings and your commanders for your next mission. Those of you more familiar with the facilities, get the others acquainted. Dismissed! And you," growled Anzhi, jabbing his weapon in the Leviath's direction again once the sergeants and privates had dispersed, "come with me. Lacatus, take the rear."
Tengeri just bared her teeth in response; she raised hand in what she hoped was a universally-understood symbol of belligerence as she formed words with the other. "being treated like a traitor or monster is tiresome. respect would not-"
"Do you know what this red bullet would do to you?"
"convert-"
"Keep. Your hands. To yourself," snarled the lieutenant in an exemplary display of unfairness, a twitch of his head coercing Lacatus to train his gun on Tengeri as well. "A private like yourself shouldn't know about this, but I still think you're a Blue trap or spy or some other underhanded piece of shit, so you're dead unless you co-operate anyway.
These guns don't pack friendly fire, 'private'. If you're Red, a headshot's a headshot. If you're not, the sergeant and I will both shoot you until you're not just chanting Red, you're spilling it. Understood?"
Tengeri debated, for the briefest moment, mentioning her blood lacked the haemoglobins necessary to make it the lieutenant's fanatically espoused shade of crimson. She decided against it, just in case blood colour somehow changed with allegiance. The Leviath conceded, with some frustration, that it wouldn't surprise her.
Anzhi gave her a look - one really asking for a blast of water to smear it off. With a nod to Lacatus, the three of them headed for a tent on the outskirts of the woods. A soldier greeted them with a "halt!" at the flaps, refusing Lacatus entry. Anzhi explained the situation in as demeaning a manner of the Leviath as was possible, dismissed his sergeant, and headed in with the private.
"If it's moving its arms around and it's not forming words, shoot it," was all the introduction Tengeri and the newest redshirt were given. The tent, as it turned out, merely concealed a hatch in the ground. The lieutenant yanked it open, and trudged down the stairs.
"where are you taking me"
"Lieutenant! Oh no, wait, it's just spelling some-"
"I know," snapped Anzhi. He squinted at the aqueous text in the tunnel's gloom, then sighed. "The General, snake. You're being taken to the General. "
"fine. ill come clean. im not a soldier and im not a spy."
"Sir!"
"Private Steiner, shut. Your. Face. I can see it's writing. In fact, give me your rifle and go find one of the Majors. Or anyone, really. If I hear one more headless fucking squawk from you," the lieutenant pre-empted, "I'll volunteer you for Operation Blue Moon."
Anzhi accepted the proffered rifle, the movement slowed like he dragged it through a miasma of extreme care and condescension. Its muzzle nudged around in the corner of Tengeri's eye, with all the gleaming curiosity of a scalpel. "Get out of my sight. Snake, get moving."
"im curious"
"Oh, so the pretty details of how this war works didn't satisfy your curiosity? Or did they not pay you in enough rats for that intel?"
"well, two things now. how does such a rude angry man with so little respect for his fellow beings become an officer?"
Anzhi snorted. "Like I give a shit. You know enough as a lieutenant they can't demote you. If I let it slip to Lacatus his gun can kill, but it can only kill his comrades? Who cares. If the idea worries him that much he can go and sleep it off in a matter of hours."
"sleep it off?"
"Hypnoesia – an essential part of every soldier's day." The lieutenant grinned, mirthless. "And we all know it, so why don't you? You some kind of alien?"
"you could say that," fidgeted Tengeri. As well as the unease of a gun on the edge of one eye's vision, the map trickling into existence across her HUD wasn't comforting either. It was either defective, or they were marching straight for the thick of battle – albeit ten metres lower. "there was a second thing"
"What's that?"
"how do you live with yourself?"
Anzhi frowned at the text, as though he'd misread. "Really? What are you, some kind of shrink? Shut it," he interrupted, bringing out his pistol again for no discernible reason other than to bully Tengeri further. "No shit. Course I wake up some days, thinking I'll be sleeping somewhere else, putting up with a different jackass officer trying to keep me in line, yelling death to the colour I would've rained bullets in yesterday. Do I care? The fuck I do. I'm serving my goddamn country, I've got better shit to do than cry like a scared little Green girl lost in the fucking woods."
"that doesnt-" 'make any sense' was where the Leviath was heading with that, but the corridor ended in a pair of steel doors which slid open with a very attention-grabbing clang. The Red General stood there, flanked by a major and a colonel or two who wasted no time flanking and herding the Leviath to their side of the double doors.
"At ease, lieutenant. Thank you for escorting the suspect. We'll take it from here."
Anzhi didn't lower his salute until the doors ground shut again, waiting for that satisfying metal tone before turning his attention to the balding colonel who had stuck around for some reason.
"Lieutenant, we've received word of some of our troops fraternising with soldiers from other armies in an alleged weapons-free zone. Take as many squads as necessary to break it up and retrieve any waylaid soldiers."
"Understood."
"Oh, and kindly return Private Steiner's weapon to him at some point. Listening to his snivelling when he reported your incoming escort was tantamount to torture."
"Understood," growled Anzhi, thinking it'd just be easier to tell the sap tomorrow he'd left it out in the North Gulch. The lieutenant had caught word Yellow were doing some training there tomorrow afternoon. Worth a shot.
Anzhi marched off on the colonel's dismissal, trying to figure if his orders left him time enough to clear his head a bit. He checked his watch, and sighed. Didn't look like it.
Tengeri trailed the back of her party, lost in thought. Some of the things the new Red lieutenant had said made her uneasy, but she was pretty certain broaching the subject was far too dangerous. He seemed mistrustful enough as it was.
"Private. Get up front where I can see you." Anzhi motioned the point a bit more firmly with his pistol; Tengeri noted Corporal Lacatus' uneasy look. The Leviath held back an argument forming on the tips of her fingers, and slithered forward as per her 'superior's' orders.
The Red camp sprawled out ahead of them shortly after, the training fields extending down to the water's edge. The soldiers visibly relaxed as they approached, pleased to find their way out of the vagaries of war and into the relative order of camp.
"You six-" Anzhi indicated, of everyone except Tengeri and the corporal, "at ease. Check the postings and your commanders for your next mission. Those of you more familiar with the facilities, get the others acquainted. Dismissed! And you," growled Anzhi, jabbing his weapon in the Leviath's direction again once the sergeants and privates had dispersed, "come with me. Lacatus, take the rear."
Tengeri just bared her teeth in response; she raised hand in what she hoped was a universally-understood symbol of belligerence as she formed words with the other. "being treated like a traitor or monster is tiresome. respect would not-"
"Do you know what this red bullet would do to you?"
"convert-"
"Keep. Your hands. To yourself," snarled the lieutenant in an exemplary display of unfairness, a twitch of his head coercing Lacatus to train his gun on Tengeri as well. "A private like yourself shouldn't know about this, but I still think you're a Blue trap or spy or some other underhanded piece of shit, so you're dead unless you co-operate anyway.
These guns don't pack friendly fire, 'private'. If you're Red, a headshot's a headshot. If you're not, the sergeant and I will both shoot you until you're not just chanting Red, you're spilling it. Understood?"
Tengeri debated, for the briefest moment, mentioning her blood lacked the haemoglobins necessary to make it the lieutenant's fanatically espoused shade of crimson. She decided against it, just in case blood colour somehow changed with allegiance. The Leviath conceded, with some frustration, that it wouldn't surprise her.
Anzhi gave her a look - one really asking for a blast of water to smear it off. With a nod to Lacatus, the three of them headed for a tent on the outskirts of the woods. A soldier greeted them with a "halt!" at the flaps, refusing Lacatus entry. Anzhi explained the situation in as demeaning a manner of the Leviath as was possible, dismissed his sergeant, and headed in with the private.
"If it's moving its arms around and it's not forming words, shoot it," was all the introduction Tengeri and the newest redshirt were given. The tent, as it turned out, merely concealed a hatch in the ground. The lieutenant yanked it open, and trudged down the stairs.
"where are you taking me"
"Lieutenant! Oh no, wait, it's just spelling some-"
"I know," snapped Anzhi. He squinted at the aqueous text in the tunnel's gloom, then sighed. "The General, snake. You're being taken to the General. "
"fine. ill come clean. im not a soldier and im not a spy."
"Sir!"
"Private Steiner, shut. Your. Face. I can see it's writing. In fact, give me your rifle and go find one of the Majors. Or anyone, really. If I hear one more headless fucking squawk from you," the lieutenant pre-empted, "I'll volunteer you for Operation Blue Moon."
Anzhi accepted the proffered rifle, the movement slowed like he dragged it through a miasma of extreme care and condescension. Its muzzle nudged around in the corner of Tengeri's eye, with all the gleaming curiosity of a scalpel. "Get out of my sight. Snake, get moving."
"im curious"
"Oh, so the pretty details of how this war works didn't satisfy your curiosity? Or did they not pay you in enough rats for that intel?"
"well, two things now. how does such a rude angry man with so little respect for his fellow beings become an officer?"
Anzhi snorted. "Like I give a shit. You know enough as a lieutenant they can't demote you. If I let it slip to Lacatus his gun can kill, but it can only kill his comrades? Who cares. If the idea worries him that much he can go and sleep it off in a matter of hours."
"sleep it off?"
"Hypnoesia – an essential part of every soldier's day." The lieutenant grinned, mirthless. "And we all know it, so why don't you? You some kind of alien?"
"you could say that," fidgeted Tengeri. As well as the unease of a gun on the edge of one eye's vision, the map trickling into existence across her HUD wasn't comforting either. It was either defective, or they were marching straight for the thick of battle – albeit ten metres lower. "there was a second thing"
"What's that?"
"how do you live with yourself?"
Anzhi frowned at the text, as though he'd misread. "Really? What are you, some kind of shrink? Shut it," he interrupted, bringing out his pistol again for no discernible reason other than to bully Tengeri further. "No shit. Course I wake up some days, thinking I'll be sleeping somewhere else, putting up with a different jackass officer trying to keep me in line, yelling death to the colour I would've rained bullets in yesterday. Do I care? The fuck I do. I'm serving my goddamn country, I've got better shit to do than cry like a scared little Green girl lost in the fucking woods."
"that doesnt-" 'make any sense' was where the Leviath was heading with that, but the corridor ended in a pair of steel doors which slid open with a very attention-grabbing clang. The Red General stood there, flanked by a major and a colonel or two who wasted no time flanking and herding the Leviath to their side of the double doors.
"At ease, lieutenant. Thank you for escorting the suspect. We'll take it from here."
Anzhi didn't lower his salute until the doors ground shut again, waiting for that satisfying metal tone before turning his attention to the balding colonel who had stuck around for some reason.
"Lieutenant, we've received word of some of our troops fraternising with soldiers from other armies in an alleged weapons-free zone. Take as many squads as necessary to break it up and retrieve any waylaid soldiers."
"Understood."
"Oh, and kindly return Private Steiner's weapon to him at some point. Listening to his snivelling when he reported your incoming escort was tantamount to torture."
"Understood," growled Anzhi, thinking it'd just be easier to tell the sap tomorrow he'd left it out in the North Gulch. The lieutenant had caught word Yellow were doing some training there tomorrow afternoon. Worth a shot.
Anzhi marched off on the colonel's dismissal, trying to figure if his orders left him time enough to clear his head a bit. He checked his watch, and sighed. Didn't look like it.
peace to the unsung peace to the martyrs | i'm johnny rotten appleseed
clouds is shaky love | broke as hell but i got a bunch of ringtones
eyes blood red bruise aubergine | Sue took something now Sue doesn't sleep | saint average, day in the life of
woke up in the noon smelling doom and death | out the house, great outdoors
staying warm in arctic blizzard | that's my battle 'til I get inanimate | still up in the same clothes living like a gameshow
clouds is shaky love | broke as hell but i got a bunch of ringtones
eyes blood red bruise aubergine | Sue took something now Sue doesn't sleep | saint average, day in the life of
woke up in the noon smelling doom and death | out the house, great outdoors
staying warm in arctic blizzard | that's my battle 'til I get inanimate | still up in the same clothes living like a gameshow