Post by Del on Feb 12, 2013 13:57:57 GMT -8
In the darkest corners of the compound, Laila glided soundlessly through the shadows, her footsteps a lover’s whisper. Tight and compact, her body was a vehicle made for stealth. Her hair was wood and ash, a color that readily blended with the darkness. Rosy and pale, she wore dark blue to keep her complexion from giving her away. Two big brown eyes scanned the deserted courtyard. She turned and signaled her partner. “Lead the way,” she breathed.
“Lead the way,” he muttered sarcastically, stabbing roughly at his face until the finger contacted some part of his glasses and shoved them back up to the bridge of his hooked nose. Unlike his gorgeous companion, Baliin was not built for stealth and where she was tight and compact, was soft and a bit ungainly. It had taken hours to convince him that wearing the blue bodysuit was a necessity for this particular task, and he had yet to stop being angry about it. Checking again that his pack was fine, he did his best impersonation of how a stealthy person moved and only half-stumbled across the courtyard until he had reached the compound door. Crouching down by it, he pulled a lockpick from his bag and went to work at the door. It only took a moment and he was fantastically pleased when no alarms sounded. Keeping the smug smile to a minimum, he waved to be joined before the breach.
A blank expression was all Baliin’s frustration received. Laila observed with ghostly silence as he blundered his way forward. Ungraceful were his motions, a body ill-suited for the task at hand, it seemed. Laila had been told Baliin was difficult to work with, and a better partner could not have been selected to compliment that fact. She was ever the professional and slow to anger. Some believed she was incapable of such emotion. The signal was given, and Laila quickly wove her way through the inky blackness to the front. Security was lax, just as the report had said. Break in, finish the job, get out. Why Baliin was required was beyond her understanding. Closing the gap and crouching by his side, Laila parted her lips to communicate. “Once we go through this door, there’s no leaving until we’ve done what is required. Keep quiet and stay close to me. It shouldn’t take long, and there won’t be any complications if we’re smart.”
If it would have made Laila feel any better, Baliin hadn’t the foggiest idea why he’d been sent along either. Mocking her little exposition with all the maturity of a child once she had stopped looking directly at him, he stuffed the lockpick back from whence it came and grunted his readiness. As he was the one closest to the door, Baliin turned the knob and pushed it cautiously inward. They weren’t shot or blown up or anything, which was good, and he crept awkwardly into the darkened room on the other side of the door. Still not dead, he grunted and rose to his feet. Crawling around on his knees wasn’t doing anyone any good, so he stopped that crap. Giving his stealthy companion a bizarre look, he gestured wildly with the implication that she should take the lead. If he blundered head-first into some misplaced security, they’d be pretty screwed. Hey, at least he was aware that he sucked at this stuff.
Laila followed her companion without flinching, taking the lead when he signaled her. She had been briefed on the compound’s layout, though it had been less than satisfactory. They walking into unknown territory, uncharted waters. Together, Baliin and Laila had to map the facilities n their own. What was even more mysterious was their objective. Retrieve the “package” at all costs. Laila had been authorized to succeed by any means necessary. And yet the mission was to be simple. The premise and the instructions did not match, but it wasn’t her place to question. Only do. Bleak and blank, the building felt like an abandoned hospital. It was white and sterile. They were alone, no sound to hint at an approaching threat. Only Baliin’s breath and softly thumping feet met her ears. He was more of a technical wizard, she felt. His reputation preceded him, and it was often said he could break into anything, be it door or computer. Whether that was true or not remained to be seen.
This place was going on the list of thins Baliin hated. It would be up there with bananas, these bodysuits, crawling around on his knees and having to leave his office. He was still turning his physical presence over in his head, actually, these sneaky-types like Laila were just as well-versed in lock picking as he was, why bother sending two b&e specialists? Especially just to grab a box of whatever they were getting out of wherever. Briefings were boring. He might have zoned a bit and missed some of the details. But that was okay, there was someone competent along too. She’d probably listened to it all and taken notes. He was makin a face at the back of her head when something glinted at the edge of his vision.
Adjusting his glasses nonchalantly, Baliin turned his head and caught one of the security cameras adjust its focus on them while it thought he wasn’t looking. Great. Either there was a ghost in the machine or they had real company.
“Hey, the walls have eye. I can scramble them, but then they’d know we know,” he whispered over her shoulder.
“Scramble them,” she answered. “They know we’re here, but they may not know what we’re here to do. And if they do, the cameras won’t make a difference.” Laila’s voice was calm. High pressure situations meant nothing, not anymore. A blade diving for her breast or breaking a man’s neck, it was all the same. And was so being watched, being caught and tortured. Pain was a sensation Laila could barely recall, the remnants of a dark childhood memory best forgotten. She made her mind numb and her body tense, switching gears to go on the offensive if need be. Something sounded, far down the hall, stirring. “Do it now.” Laila’s hand moved to the twin blades on her back, eyes moving to the pistol strapped to her left leg. Her heartbeat was steady and even. She would see this mission through, but she wondered how long Baliin would last. “Inconvenience them in whatever way possible. You know what to do.”
Without his usual lip, Baliin swung his bag around and produced a thin tablet that started glowing dimly as soon as his gingers touched the reflective screen. After a few concise taps on the device, he looked back at the camera and waved, wearing a smug grin. He knew that all of the security feeds were now showing nothing more than static and it hadn’t even taken more than fifteen seconds to crack the system. Of course, it had been about as old as the building itself, and no match for his skills. He was still stroking his own ego when Laila jumped on the alert and told him to distract whatever was coming at them. Baliin blinked once and tensed up himself. He had a gun strapped to his hip, but he was about as competent with it as he had been at sneaking. He could wave it around threateningly enough, but he doubted that would be helpful in this situation. “Fine, yeah, okay, I got this…” He shrank back as best he was able and began furiously tapping on his tablet. A grim line drew its way across his face, and as it looked like he was going to have to throw the device across the room, the fire alarms started going off. His mouth twitched; security alarms were not what Baliin had been looking for, but it would do for the moment.
“We’re gonna die… Fantastic,” he griped to himself, eyes dancing between his miniature computer, Laila and whatever was down the hall.
In the mounting chaos, Laila remained stoic, prepared. Eyes clear and sharp, she focused on the figure forming from the unknown. The jarring sound of metal on metal and buzz of whirring and machinery echoed down the halway. A red glowing eye emerged, soon followed by a ghastly mockery of some long forgotten mythical creature. A humanoid torso and the body of a horse, all derived from glimmering steel. Poised over it’s Cyclops eye was a scorpion’s tail which swayed to and fro like a lazy alleycat’s. Laila did not shudder or balk, instead drinking in as many details as possibly. It’s gait was slow, and there were no visible weapons… With the exception of its tail. Laila would have to disable that as soon as plausible. It came to a halt several yards away and sat idle, the alarms screaming and flashing crimson. She tried speaking over the commotion. “Baliin, see if you an do anything to scra—”
Yet before she could finish her sentence, the metal sentinel’s paneling flew open. She barely had time to register before a flurry of automatic artillery burst forth. Laila leapt to the side, a river of bullets following her every motion, there was no cover and too much ground between herself and the centaur. She danced furiously away, taking cover in a small alcove when she could. Her heart was pounding, adrenaline flooding her body. She scanned swiftly to find Baliin, but he was nowhere to be seen.
The reason Baliin was nowhere to be seen was due to the fact that after setting off the alarms and seeing the mechanical monstrosity appear from down the hall, he’d promptly hidden himself away in a dark and safe (enough) corner. He’d been about to peek out to check on Laila when the gunfire started, threatening to drown out even the fire alarm’s din. Hunkering down further, Baliin brought the thin tablet to bear again.
“Fucking fuckfuck,” he stated eloquently, panic obvious in his tone as he tapped furiously on the tablet, “something has to be accessible on it. Gimmie anything.”
For a place with security that was a blast from the past, the abomination down the hall intent on filling him with lead was just not right. Not at all. Finally, though, he caught a break. Fingers flew across the tablet and sequences of code flew by on the screen faster than it seemed like he ought to be able to type or read it, but that hardly stopped him. After a minute or two of that, the gunfire ceased, and all that was left was the drone of the alarm. Baliin cautiously rose to his feet and peered into the hallway. Again, he wasn’t struck dead immediately, so something had gone right somewhere. The creature just stared down the hall, idling for lack of a better word, and Baliin stepped into the hall completely. There was no reaction from the centaur, and Baliin allowed the smug smile he’d been holding back to overtake his face. That had gone better than expected.
Tapping something new on the tablet, the creature turned to face the it had come and Baliin nearly exploded in smug glee.
“Hah! I’d like to see you and all of your stealthy friends do that! Not damn likely.” Sure, here didn’t know where Laila was at the moment, but minor details like that wouldn’t stop him from bragging.
“Lead the way,” he muttered sarcastically, stabbing roughly at his face until the finger contacted some part of his glasses and shoved them back up to the bridge of his hooked nose. Unlike his gorgeous companion, Baliin was not built for stealth and where she was tight and compact, was soft and a bit ungainly. It had taken hours to convince him that wearing the blue bodysuit was a necessity for this particular task, and he had yet to stop being angry about it. Checking again that his pack was fine, he did his best impersonation of how a stealthy person moved and only half-stumbled across the courtyard until he had reached the compound door. Crouching down by it, he pulled a lockpick from his bag and went to work at the door. It only took a moment and he was fantastically pleased when no alarms sounded. Keeping the smug smile to a minimum, he waved to be joined before the breach.
A blank expression was all Baliin’s frustration received. Laila observed with ghostly silence as he blundered his way forward. Ungraceful were his motions, a body ill-suited for the task at hand, it seemed. Laila had been told Baliin was difficult to work with, and a better partner could not have been selected to compliment that fact. She was ever the professional and slow to anger. Some believed she was incapable of such emotion. The signal was given, and Laila quickly wove her way through the inky blackness to the front. Security was lax, just as the report had said. Break in, finish the job, get out. Why Baliin was required was beyond her understanding. Closing the gap and crouching by his side, Laila parted her lips to communicate. “Once we go through this door, there’s no leaving until we’ve done what is required. Keep quiet and stay close to me. It shouldn’t take long, and there won’t be any complications if we’re smart.”
If it would have made Laila feel any better, Baliin hadn’t the foggiest idea why he’d been sent along either. Mocking her little exposition with all the maturity of a child once she had stopped looking directly at him, he stuffed the lockpick back from whence it came and grunted his readiness. As he was the one closest to the door, Baliin turned the knob and pushed it cautiously inward. They weren’t shot or blown up or anything, which was good, and he crept awkwardly into the darkened room on the other side of the door. Still not dead, he grunted and rose to his feet. Crawling around on his knees wasn’t doing anyone any good, so he stopped that crap. Giving his stealthy companion a bizarre look, he gestured wildly with the implication that she should take the lead. If he blundered head-first into some misplaced security, they’d be pretty screwed. Hey, at least he was aware that he sucked at this stuff.
Laila followed her companion without flinching, taking the lead when he signaled her. She had been briefed on the compound’s layout, though it had been less than satisfactory. They walking into unknown territory, uncharted waters. Together, Baliin and Laila had to map the facilities n their own. What was even more mysterious was their objective. Retrieve the “package” at all costs. Laila had been authorized to succeed by any means necessary. And yet the mission was to be simple. The premise and the instructions did not match, but it wasn’t her place to question. Only do. Bleak and blank, the building felt like an abandoned hospital. It was white and sterile. They were alone, no sound to hint at an approaching threat. Only Baliin’s breath and softly thumping feet met her ears. He was more of a technical wizard, she felt. His reputation preceded him, and it was often said he could break into anything, be it door or computer. Whether that was true or not remained to be seen.
This place was going on the list of thins Baliin hated. It would be up there with bananas, these bodysuits, crawling around on his knees and having to leave his office. He was still turning his physical presence over in his head, actually, these sneaky-types like Laila were just as well-versed in lock picking as he was, why bother sending two b&e specialists? Especially just to grab a box of whatever they were getting out of wherever. Briefings were boring. He might have zoned a bit and missed some of the details. But that was okay, there was someone competent along too. She’d probably listened to it all and taken notes. He was makin a face at the back of her head when something glinted at the edge of his vision.
Adjusting his glasses nonchalantly, Baliin turned his head and caught one of the security cameras adjust its focus on them while it thought he wasn’t looking. Great. Either there was a ghost in the machine or they had real company.
“Hey, the walls have eye. I can scramble them, but then they’d know we know,” he whispered over her shoulder.
“Scramble them,” she answered. “They know we’re here, but they may not know what we’re here to do. And if they do, the cameras won’t make a difference.” Laila’s voice was calm. High pressure situations meant nothing, not anymore. A blade diving for her breast or breaking a man’s neck, it was all the same. And was so being watched, being caught and tortured. Pain was a sensation Laila could barely recall, the remnants of a dark childhood memory best forgotten. She made her mind numb and her body tense, switching gears to go on the offensive if need be. Something sounded, far down the hall, stirring. “Do it now.” Laila’s hand moved to the twin blades on her back, eyes moving to the pistol strapped to her left leg. Her heartbeat was steady and even. She would see this mission through, but she wondered how long Baliin would last. “Inconvenience them in whatever way possible. You know what to do.”
Without his usual lip, Baliin swung his bag around and produced a thin tablet that started glowing dimly as soon as his gingers touched the reflective screen. After a few concise taps on the device, he looked back at the camera and waved, wearing a smug grin. He knew that all of the security feeds were now showing nothing more than static and it hadn’t even taken more than fifteen seconds to crack the system. Of course, it had been about as old as the building itself, and no match for his skills. He was still stroking his own ego when Laila jumped on the alert and told him to distract whatever was coming at them. Baliin blinked once and tensed up himself. He had a gun strapped to his hip, but he was about as competent with it as he had been at sneaking. He could wave it around threateningly enough, but he doubted that would be helpful in this situation. “Fine, yeah, okay, I got this…” He shrank back as best he was able and began furiously tapping on his tablet. A grim line drew its way across his face, and as it looked like he was going to have to throw the device across the room, the fire alarms started going off. His mouth twitched; security alarms were not what Baliin had been looking for, but it would do for the moment.
“We’re gonna die… Fantastic,” he griped to himself, eyes dancing between his miniature computer, Laila and whatever was down the hall.
In the mounting chaos, Laila remained stoic, prepared. Eyes clear and sharp, she focused on the figure forming from the unknown. The jarring sound of metal on metal and buzz of whirring and machinery echoed down the halway. A red glowing eye emerged, soon followed by a ghastly mockery of some long forgotten mythical creature. A humanoid torso and the body of a horse, all derived from glimmering steel. Poised over it’s Cyclops eye was a scorpion’s tail which swayed to and fro like a lazy alleycat’s. Laila did not shudder or balk, instead drinking in as many details as possibly. It’s gait was slow, and there were no visible weapons… With the exception of its tail. Laila would have to disable that as soon as plausible. It came to a halt several yards away and sat idle, the alarms screaming and flashing crimson. She tried speaking over the commotion. “Baliin, see if you an do anything to scra—”
Yet before she could finish her sentence, the metal sentinel’s paneling flew open. She barely had time to register before a flurry of automatic artillery burst forth. Laila leapt to the side, a river of bullets following her every motion, there was no cover and too much ground between herself and the centaur. She danced furiously away, taking cover in a small alcove when she could. Her heart was pounding, adrenaline flooding her body. She scanned swiftly to find Baliin, but he was nowhere to be seen.
The reason Baliin was nowhere to be seen was due to the fact that after setting off the alarms and seeing the mechanical monstrosity appear from down the hall, he’d promptly hidden himself away in a dark and safe (enough) corner. He’d been about to peek out to check on Laila when the gunfire started, threatening to drown out even the fire alarm’s din. Hunkering down further, Baliin brought the thin tablet to bear again.
“Fucking fuckfuck,” he stated eloquently, panic obvious in his tone as he tapped furiously on the tablet, “something has to be accessible on it. Gimmie anything.”
For a place with security that was a blast from the past, the abomination down the hall intent on filling him with lead was just not right. Not at all. Finally, though, he caught a break. Fingers flew across the tablet and sequences of code flew by on the screen faster than it seemed like he ought to be able to type or read it, but that hardly stopped him. After a minute or two of that, the gunfire ceased, and all that was left was the drone of the alarm. Baliin cautiously rose to his feet and peered into the hallway. Again, he wasn’t struck dead immediately, so something had gone right somewhere. The creature just stared down the hall, idling for lack of a better word, and Baliin stepped into the hall completely. There was no reaction from the centaur, and Baliin allowed the smug smile he’d been holding back to overtake his face. That had gone better than expected.
Tapping something new on the tablet, the creature turned to face the it had come and Baliin nearly exploded in smug glee.
“Hah! I’d like to see you and all of your stealthy friends do that! Not damn likely.” Sure, here didn’t know where Laila was at the moment, but minor details like that wouldn’t stop him from bragging.
