Edward woke up...

Subject: Edward woke up...
Author: Edward Wilder
Posted on: 2010-08-31 19:58:00 UTC

...and saw that the smattering of refugees inside the shelter had grown exponentially. Many were keeping to themselves, setting up tarps, blankets, and futons, or quietly entertaining themselves if they had already done so, but a lot of them were still wandering about, confused. To make matters worse, what older Boarders Edward could see were quietly chatting among themselves, paying no mind to the hushed chaos around them.

Edward limped through the crowd, looking for something to stand on. His left knee had been broken and set poorly when he was about 5, and being thrown to the pavement by a troll hadn't helped it one bit. He finally found an empty soapbox almost directly in the middle of the crowd, probably the work of the Ironic Overpower. He kicked it a bit to the left, felt pain shoot through his leg and his side, and decided it was good where it was. He stood on it and whistled for attention.

It wasn't very noisy, and everyone's attention turned to him immediatly. He paused a second, coughed, and winced in pain from the movement. Finally regaining his composure, he began adressing the crowd. "First order of business. Does anybody have something I can use as a crutch?" An AK-47 flew out of the crowd, and he caught it awkwardly. He disconnected the ammo, put it in his pocket, and leaned on the gun. "Thank you, I guess. Second, everyone get out of the way of the door. A whole bunch of Ypurs are going to be coming through that door, and if you don't all move right now someone's going to get trampled. Okay, good... good... that's fine. Does anybody have any chalk?" A pack of chalk followed the AK. "Alright, very good. I need...six volunteers to take some of the chalk and draw, let's say, a four-by four grid of streets on the floor like a city block, centered on this box. They have to be at least big enough for two Ypurs to walk side-by-side." Boarders scrambled forward for the chalk, and began ordering others around.

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Possible RP session? by Edward Wilder on 2010-08-31 14:24:00 UTC Reply

Just to pass the time while we're bunkering down here...

I've always thought of the Board as a sort of a small city, or perhaps a neighborhood or district of a larger city. The city is, in this case, the Internet. Or perhaps WebApps is the city, and the Internet is the country. Though since it's the World Wide Web technically the Internet should be the world, but that's mixing metaphors so badly that I'm not even going to go there. At least, not further than I have already gone.

In any case, here's the scenario - the city that is the Board is under attack. Secretly, the Boarders are being evacuated to here. Now, the question is, what would happen? Who would help the others find their way in the new city, who would merely wait to be helped, who would go ax-crazy on the other Boarders at the mere mention of relocation, and who would randomly start painting everything purple and begin quacking like a duck? I don't know, but I'd like to find out.

Rules of engagement: You're still a Boarder. Not one of your Agents, a Boarder. This may sound...control-freakish, but if we were Agents then that would make this an Emergency, and that's been banned under no uncertain terms. You use your and other people's Board usernames, and you act naturally for the situation.

Other than that, it's just a basic RP with the above them of relocation into a new city. This may be the greatest idea ever, this may be a terrible idea, this may be ignored due to the masses of people saying OMG WHERE ARE WE above it. Lets just see. I'll start, if nobody minds.

I'll start, just because nobody else probably will... by Edward Wilder on 2010-08-31 14:53:00 UTC Reply

Edward staggered into the bunker and slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. The bunker itself was breathtaking - it was on a similar scale to the Mines of Moria, albeit with a very low ceiling - but Edward was in no mood to be awed.

He poked his right side, and winced. The Spamtroll had only scored a glancing blow before the Nameless Admin had blasted it to smithereens, and it had been bandaged up, but it still hurt like bejeezus.

He looked around. A couple of the older Boarders were chatting quietly with eachother in the center of the room, but other than that, there was nothing but the enormous cement pillars that dotted the bunker.

That was a problem.

He dropped his pack and staggered to his feet. People needed to know what was going on, and it seemed like nobody else was going to tell them. Ignoring the other Boarders, he walked back out of the relative peace of the Message Board into the pure havoc that was the Posting Board.

*blinks* by Lleu on 2010-09-01 23:00:00 UTC Reply

Lleu opens his eyes and finds himself in a completely different place What is this?

There are people around. Maybe some of them know what's going on. He attempts to get the attention of the nearest person.

"Um, excuse me I think I was...asleep? Where are we?"

*looks up* by Pretzel on 2010-09-02 07:50:00 UTC Reply

Pretzel looked up from her computer, glad that she'd thought to bring several extra batteries with her, just in case.

'We're in the Board Bunker. It's because the normal Board's under attack by Trolls and Ypurs. Apparently this is a normal situation for this time of year.' she replied, giving Lleu a wan smile. 'It's the first time it's happened to me, so I can't really speak from experience as to how long it'll last.'

Well, then. by Lleu on 2010-09-02 16:14:00 UTC Reply

"I...see." Lleu considers this news for a moment. "So we just kind of sit here and wait for the attack to be dealt with?"

Possibly. by Pretzel on 2010-09-02 21:19:00 UTC Reply

'Or we could join the fray, if you like.' Pretzel got to her feet after carefully shutting down her laptop. 'I've got some weapons if you need them.'

Oh, for the love of- by Pretzel on 2010-09-01 04:02:00 UTC Reply

Clank.

'Go away, you damn thing!'

Clank.

'No, I don't want to see any pics, thank you ever so.'

Clank.

'Listen, honestly, I just want to-'

CLONK!

'Hah! That got you!'

The sounds of metal hitting various surfaces and then finally what sounded like bone echoed briefly from the bunker entrance before Pretzel managed to fight her way in, dual-wielding two of her Frying Pans of DOOM and hitting trolls over the head. Once she'd managed to get in, she looked around, idly brushing some of her hair, which, while normally frizzy, seemed even more out of control thanks to the battle.

'Fu Manchu and his silly beard, that was annoying,' she growled, holstering her Pans and resettling her pack on her back. She'd been in the middle of watching a "Let's Play" of "King's Quest V" when the news had arrived in her inbox, and so she'd gathered up her laptop and a few other assorted items, shoved it into a backpack, and headed towards the bunker.

The trolls and various ypurs had tried to slow her down, but she'd found that indiscriminate whacking with her pans seemed to deter the attacks quite handily. Now that she was in a place of safety, she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. There seemed to be a fair number of Boarders here already, but Pretzel wasn't sure if she she go over and talk to them or what. Figuring that eventually she'd think of something (if nothing else, maybe to mooch some of that soup off of Miah), Pretzel sat down at the base of a nearby column and began watching her "Let's Play" once more, idly picking the bits of troll off of her clothing.
Miah wanders in by Miah on 2010-09-01 01:36:00 UTC Reply

with her typical over packing, over planning fashion she had a well stocked supply of food, medical supplies, cooking supplies, clothes, and other minor necessaries. She sets up her inflatable mattress, arranges her stuff, then sets up the camp cooking equipment, and starts a cauldron of soup to feed the refugees.

Soups ready! by Miah on 2010-09-01 16:44:00 UTC Reply

There are disposable cups in tubes near the cauldron of soup. There is also a huge Germ-X dispenser nearby. Miah is out right now, having taken a smaller pot of soup over to the first aid area.

This is mostly rice, canned mixed vegetable, and canned tomatoes, with bouillon and other spices added for flavor, as all of those things are fairly easy to carry in bulk and go a long way toward feeding people.

Anyone can help themselves or set up serving soup to others if they want.

(This is me. Everyone else is worried about defense, offense, and what not. I am worried about making sure everyone is fed and properly mothered.) :D

doctorlit had waited too long... by doctorlit on 2010-09-01 00:55:00 UTC Reply

to leave the Board, trying to communicate with the bots in troll. Unfortunately for him, this new group didn't seem to know the language, and no amount of "teksoqp's" would quiet their incessant demands for "ypur pics."

As the spambots began to grow hostile, doctorlit weaved between bots and the now rapidly-spawning ypurs, trying to reach his own little corner of the Board. he unceremoniously shoved books off the shelves into a Convenient Wheelbarrow and hauled it towards the exit as quickly as the heavy load and his skinny legs would allow.

"E-mail ypur pics," monotoned a spambot, dead ahead, a blue yak materializing to its side. Frowning, doctorlit kept going straight forward, intent on ramming the bot out of the way. Bot and wheelbarrow met, knocking down the former and putting a flat wheel in the latter. Doctorlit's face smashed into his books as a cold hand around his ankle arrested his forward motion, bringing the wheelbarrow to a halt. "YYooouuurr ppiiiccss," mumbled the damaged spambot, oddly reverting to correct spelling.

Jamming his hand into the pile of books, doctorlit fished out a nice solid hardcover, acquired used from a sale at a library, and gave the spambot's face a solid wallop with the back cover. His ankle freed, doctorlit shoved the lopsided wheelbarrow out the exit and in the direction of the bunker. As the confused lowing of ypurs began to fill the air, he thought to himself, Great. Now, I need to get shards of spam-metal out of this book.
Hope this is OK by galenfea on 2010-08-31 16:59:00 UTC Reply

Galenfea had mostly been trying to lay low during the troll attacks, avoiding getting involved and trying to concentrate on other things, but when she heard Edward's announcement of the evacuation she hurriedly packed up her laptop, all the Tolkien books she could carry and a few other personal items (including, reluctantly, her homework) and followed his directions to the bunker.

When she arrived, she stopped almost in the doorway to look around. There were a few people here already, setting up camp with the assurance of practice. Evidently they were experienced boarders and had been through an evacuation before. Galenfea stepped out of the way of someone coming in behind her and wove among the columns, looking for somewhere to settle down. Perhaps when she'd staked out a corner to call her own, she might go and talk to some of the others and find out what she might do to be useful, a true member of this community. She knew a few boarders had been injured - Edward had taken a blow to the side, for one - and maybe her first aid training would be of help. Somewhere like this must have a first aid kit, and at the moment she wasn't sure what else she could do.

She set down her backpack in an unoccupied niche and tossed her jacket over it, then began trying to find her way towards the sound of voices.

Joining in for fun... by Cassie Cameron-Young on 2010-08-31 17:52:00 UTC Reply

Cassie arrived at a rather high speed, her Bag still not quite fastened from the rushed packing. Having received late word from outside the Posting Board that the invasion had begun, she'd barely taken the time to check the Board before making her escape, and had very narrowly avoided a blow from a Spambot in doing so.

Now, with a Bag stuffed with clothes, chocolate and her entire bookcase's contents (along with several other useful items that were no doubt in there somewhere), she skidded into the bunker in her usual haphazard fashion, looking as disorganised as physically possible.

"What'd I miss?" She narrowly avoided crashing into some of the others as she came to a halt. "Sorry! Just got the news - this is getting silly, huh? Every bloody summer. Is everyone okay?"

My first RP, yay! by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 18:29:00 UTC Reply

Cautiously, a pale, scared-looking redhead inched open the bunker doors, and squeezed through, making as little noise as possible. Slowly closing the doors behind her, Sister-to-the-Queen
(or SttQ, as she prefered to be called) slumped against them, weak with relief. She'd made it.

The Spambots had been only half a mile from her house when she'd checked her e-mail and seen Edward's message. After a horrified glance through her window, she'd tossed a bunch of random items into her biggest tote bag and fled out the back door. Sneaking through the city's network of dark, interconnected alleyways, she'd been able to reach the bunker without being spotted by the bots.

She looked around, searching for any familiar faces. She spotted Cassie, who had apparently just arrived as well, and walked over to her.

My first RPG, too by Elemarth on 2010-08-31 21:34:00 UTC Reply

[I'm not really in the mood, and I don't have much time, but I have to join before this thread gets too far without me.]

Elemarth raced into the bunker and collapsed on the floor. She couldn't remember ever having run that quickly for that long. It would be quite a while before she caught her breath, and her muscles were protesting the lack of oxygen, but at least she wasn't injured.

She hadn't really taken the spambot threat seriously at first -- and after all, there were new threads to answer, including newbies to greet! Then she'd unplugged her ears and listened to the rather loud evacuation warning and gotten nervous. And then, she'd spotted the spambot itself around a corner. It had been chasing another boarder and happily commenting that it was a name stealer.

That meant it was intelligent! Filled with horror, she had forgotten any idea she'd had of defending herself -- or anyone else -- against it, dropped everything, and fled before it could notice her.

[I'm really sorry to whichever boarder the spambot was hunting while I ran the other direction.]

Elemarth got up... by Elemarth on 2010-09-01 01:15:00 UTC Reply

and looked around at the chaos. She realized that she had left everything back at the Board -- even her laptop, which to her was an absolute disaster. She had no idea when she'd be back, and what if one of the bots damaged it? That would be...

Well, this was not the time to be worrying about her laptop or any of her belongings, she decided. Some people were injured, some were working on something to do with chalk, and some were setting up camp, so she had to do something.

She walked up to the nearest boarder who didn't appear entirely absorbed in something else. "Um, excuse me? I, um, I'm new -- kind of -- well, I wasn't here a year ago, anyway -- and I didn't bring anything with me, but, um, can I help with anything? Anything?"

Kyoki turned around... by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 02:05:00 UTC Reply

and asked, "Do you want to help me blow up spam bots and set up a surveillance system at the same time?"

Blowing stuff up? by Elemarth on 2010-09-01 02:09:00 UTC Reply

Elemarth asked. "Well, I've never done either thing before but..." She grinned. "That sounds good to me!"

Excellent! by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 02:21:00 UTC Reply

Kyoki grabbed Elemarth and dragged her to Kyoki's pile of stuff. "Exploding things are the easy part. I need people to help me stick up cameras. I've already connected a bunch of webcams with improbably large power sources to my computer, so all we have to do is stick them in useful places."

Rummaging around the pile, Kyoki produces two empty bags and rapidly fills one with webcams and the other with various forms of explosives.

"Stick the cameras to the walls in places where they can see the spambots and the spambots won't be able to mess with them. The explosives are color coded, red means 5 second fuses, yellow means proximity triggered. Don't mix up explosives and cameras, nobody will be happy with the results - least of all you. And here's a 10 foot steel pole, use it to stick things up and whack spambots when they get too close. One more thing, do you have a sonic screwdriver?"

Yikes! by Elemarth on 2010-09-01 02:25:00 UTC Reply

Elemarth stared at the pile of stuff. "Okay. Those are cameras, those are explosives. And a huge pole." She wasn't sure she could carry this very far, but she didn't say so. Anything for the board, and especially to kill spambots. "No, I don't have a sonic screwdriver. Do I need one?"

Now that I think about it... by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 02:38:00 UTC Reply

"In that case..." Kyoki rummaged around her pile of stuff again and came up with some more things.

"You can have this one then. It's not the latest design I've been tinkering with, but it'll do. You can use it to open locked things, cut things apart, remote detonate explosives among other uses I can't be bothered to explain. The manual's the paper wrapped around it."

Kyoki then handed over what looked like a vest with lots of pockets and buckles. "Here's a harness so you can keep your hands free, clip the explosives there and the cameras on the opposite side. Put whatever you'd like in the other pockets."

"Ready to go?"

You will NOT believe where I disappeared to... by Elemarth on 2010-09-01 05:16:00 UTC Reply

I was evacuated in Real Life, so to speak. I could not make this up. Freakishly, my little story about Elemarth's reaction to the evac could have been a version of what just happened.

I wasn't in the least surprised that a fire alarm interrupted my homework/RPGing; we'd known that we'd have a fire drill about this time sometime this week, and a couple of my roommates were actually waiting to get it over with before they dared to have their showers. So, like I did at the board but for good reason, I plugged my ears against the alarm and didn't take it very seriously at first (though I did leave).

Then, as we passed the staircase, we heard people shouting to hurry up. The air from upstairs was SMOKY. Need I say that I freaked out? Just like my boarder self, I had brought nothing with me, and my life is in that room, specifically on my laptop. I think I'd die if I lost my laptop. But I couldn't go back to get it.

We camped out in the complex common room. Like my boarder self, I had nothing (except a fully charged i-pod), but unfortunately, there were no bots to blow up. :-( And I would have liked to get back at whoever's bad cooking was responsible for wasting two and a half hours of my time. We had to wait for the smoke and fire extinguisher chemicals to get out. I didn't hear of any serious damage.

Truth is stranger than fiction. I could almost not believe the coincidence. (I only did believe it because I've had a bigger fire alarm coincidence, which I have been thinking about lately, but that's a story for another day ;) I should be back to the RPG sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Goodness! by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 05:57:00 UTC Reply

That was strange, but I'm glad things worked out alright. And I quite understand your resentment considering I've had my own share of cooking related evacuations at my dorm. -.-

Perhaps investing in an online backup service for you laptop will make you feel better if something similar ever happens? My nervous habit is to pat myself down for my phone, and then to clutch for my laptop... ^^,

Cassie looked round. by Cassie Cameron-Young on 2010-08-31 18:42:00 UTC Reply

"Hey there," she said, on seeing one of the others approach. "You just made it out of there too?"

SttQ nodded. by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 18:46:00 UTC Reply

"Yup," she said. "Close call. Made it out of the house just in time. So, you okay?"

Joining... by Sergio Turbo on 2010-08-31 18:56:00 UTC Reply

Sergio Turbo entered the bunker and slammed shut the door.
"I made it." he said.
He put his right hand on a cut on his left arm, and leaned to a pillar.
"What the hell is happening? There are bots everywhere. I had the time to pack only a few things, they nearly got me."

Re: Joining... by galenfea on 2010-08-31 19:27:00 UTC Reply

Galenfea had finally found a first aid kit and made her way back to the growing crowd. It looked like she'd got off extremely lightly. Perhaps she'd found a safe route. In that case, surely it would be her duty to go back and help others?
First things first, though. She went over to Sergio, who was leaning on a pillar, one hand to a bloodstained sleeve.
"What the hell is happening? There are bots everywhere. I had the time to pack only a few things, they nearly got me."
"I'm not sure," Galenfea replied. "I just got the message we were evacuating and came straight away." She pointed to the cut. "Did they do that? Do you want me to have a look at it?"

Edward woke up... by Edward Wilder on 2010-08-31 19:58:00 UTC Reply

...and saw that the smattering of refugees inside the shelter had grown exponentially. Many were keeping to themselves, setting up tarps, blankets, and futons, or quietly entertaining themselves if they had already done so, but a lot of them were still wandering about, confused. To make matters worse, what older Boarders Edward could see were quietly chatting among themselves, paying no mind to the hushed chaos around them.

Edward limped through the crowd, looking for something to stand on. His left knee had been broken and set poorly when he was about 5, and being thrown to the pavement by a troll hadn't helped it one bit. He finally found an empty soapbox almost directly in the middle of the crowd, probably the work of the Ironic Overpower. He kicked it a bit to the left, felt pain shoot through his leg and his side, and decided it was good where it was. He stood on it and whistled for attention.

It wasn't very noisy, and everyone's attention turned to him immediatly. He paused a second, coughed, and winced in pain from the movement. Finally regaining his composure, he began adressing the crowd. "First order of business. Does anybody have something I can use as a crutch?" An AK-47 flew out of the crowd, and he caught it awkwardly. He disconnected the ammo, put it in his pocket, and leaned on the gun. "Thank you, I guess. Second, everyone get out of the way of the door. A whole bunch of Ypurs are going to be coming through that door, and if you don't all move right now someone's going to get trampled. Okay, good... good... that's fine. Does anybody have any chalk?" A pack of chalk followed the AK. "Alright, very good. I need...six volunteers to take some of the chalk and draw, let's say, a four-by four grid of streets on the floor like a city block, centered on this box. They have to be at least big enough for two Ypurs to walk side-by-side." Boarders scrambled forward for the chalk, and began ordering others around.

Whoops, missed this part. by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-08-31 20:14:00 UTC Reply

PitViper was barely lucid enough to do much more than hobble out of their way. At least someone was taking charge; everyone else was sort of wandering around like lost sheep. Including PitViper herself, of course.

[i]Ypurs? Great... Geez, when will this stupid invasion be over? I miss the Posting Board already...[/i]

"Does anybody have an ice pack?" she asked no one in particular. "I kinda got beaned by a spambot. They hurt. A lot."

Gazpacho? by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 20:25:00 UTC Reply

SttQ rummaged through her tote bag. Somewhere in there she had to have... Ah, bingo!

She took out a thermos full of gazpacho and a clean handkerchief, and quickly handed them over to PitViper. "Here ya go. It's not exactly ice, but it's pretty cold."

Zipping up her bag, she ran over to the soapbox and started scrambling for a piece of chalk.

After getting whapped upside the head for the third time, by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 21:32:00 UTC Reply

SttQ decided no piece of chalk was worth this. She picked herself up and worked her way out of the small-scale melee that had broken out near the soapbox. She headed over for one of the pillars and sat down against it. Digging in her bag, she discovered her copy of 'Moby Dick' and opened it at the bookmark. This invasion could take a while, so she might as well get comfortable.

Galenfea looked round by galenfea on 2010-08-31 20:21:00 UTC Reply

as she heard a newcomer ask for an ice pack. Fortunately, she'd just finished bandaging Sergio's arm and she hastily scrabbled in the first aid kit again. She was sure she'd seen an ice pack in here.
"Just a moment," she said. The other boarder looked distinctly wobbly on her feet. "Why don't you sit down? Can someone give her a hand?"
Ah, here was an ice pack. She broke the inner seal and gave it a shake, then handed it over. She really hoped that an ice pack and a rest were all PitViper needed - Galenfea's last first aid class now seemed a very long time ago.
"Does he mean that we're going to get invaded even here?" she asked another nearby refugee, trying and failing to keep the nervousness out of her voice. She couldn't expect her luck to hold for another invasion, and she wasn't much of a fighter.

PitViper took the ice pack gratefully. by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-08-31 20:53:00 UTC Reply

Her pounding headache receded when she held it against her bruised forehead. Taking the thermos of gazpacho from SttQ, she held that against her sore ankle.

"Thanks," she murmured. The fog in her head cleared. "This happened about a year ago," she went on. "I was really new back then, so I was freaking out, but the trolls and spambots never got this far. We should be safe here, and as soon as the Nameless Admin and the rest of 'em finish clearing them out, we'll be able to go back." She winced slightly as she shifted the icepack against her head. "Of course, last year I wasn't dumb enough to run smack into a spambot. I hope they don't make this an annual thing. That would piss me off so much."

Edward watched people scrabble for chalk at my feet... by Edward Wilder on 2010-08-31 22:06:00 UTC Reply

...for a moment and then continued the orders. "If you don't have a place to sleep, find one and set up there. Don't set up on the roads that are being marked out, and try to take up as little space as possible. When the Ypurs come, they'll be bringing medical supplies, but no medical personal. If you've set up your stuff and have any first-aid experience, go to the far end of the chalk road on my right and start setting up...whatever you need to set up. If you have a gun and can use it, bring it and come here. I don't mean you know how a gun works, I mean you've used one before, maybe even had some training. If you know how to use one but don't have one, come here anyway. If for whatever reason, you have one but don't know how to use it, give it to us to use. Mark it somehow so that we can give it back to you after this thing blows over."

"If you've finished setting up, can't do first aid, and can't shoot, help someone else. If there's nobody else to help, which I doubt, I saw some folding tables laying around. Set them up on the far end of the chalk road to my left, like a buffet line. When we get supplies, I want them to be handed out orderly!"

He stepped off the soapbox and sat on it, aknowledging the growing, but still worryingly small, pile of munitions at his feet and the similarly sized group of people. They were a ragtag bunch, but that description could serve for the whole of the PPC. I took a deep breath, winced, and prayed to Whoever might be listening for this to blow over like I said it would.

Galenfea sighed in relief... by galenfea on 2010-08-31 23:51:00 UTC Reply

... at the news that she was not the only first aider here. She didn't have much in the way of supplies, though - the contents of the kit she'd found (she was in the process of discovering that it was one of those with fifty tubes of sugar gel, a giant dressing or two and no plasters) and a couple of plasters in her pocket. She wished she'd brought the big first aid kit from home - if PitViper was right and this happened fairly frequently, she'd have to have a survival kit ready by the door so she could just make a run for it at a moment's notice.
Still, she picked up the kit and headed down to the end of the chalk road as Edward had indicated. There were a small collection of fellow first aiders setting up and she waved a little shyly.
"Hi," she said. "I'm a first aider. What can I be doing?"
Let's see how long this takes before I get myself killed... by Data Junkie on 2010-08-31 22:32:00 UTC Reply

Data had been preparing for this moment for years now. Training himself to deal with... Wait, no, that's zombies, not spambots. This probably explains why he had gotten cornered by one outside the Message Board without any belongings beyond his trusty hat, a knife, and the clothes on his back.
"Ypur pics!"
"Get any closer, and I'll cutcha! Bugger it all, I'm not dying here. I refuse to be killed before I'm old enough to drink!" Data exclaimed, charging the spambot. Not exactly his brightest idea, but it seemed that luck was on his side, and a knife in the torso was enough to distract the spambot long enough for Data to flee. He was unfortunately forced to leave the knife behind, unless he wanted to risk being his by the spambot's flailing limbs.
"Dammit. That was a great knife. I'll have to come back for it after this is all over," he muttered as he ducked into the quickly-filling Message Board.
This is my boomstick! by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 22:25:00 UTC Reply

SttQ pricked up her ears at this. Just before her mad dash out the door, hadn't she picked up...?

She shoved 'Moby Dick' back in her bag, Ahab clean forgotten, and once more started pawing through the thing. Half a minute later she got up with a triumphant smile, her dad's hunting shotgun and thirty rounds of buckshot.

She slung the bag over her shoulder and, gun in hand, went over to the soapbox, to offer her services. Thank the stars she'd gone hunting with him so many times.

Gettin' up now. by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-08-31 22:38:00 UTC Reply

Still holding the ice pack to her head, PitViper tossed the now-warm thermos back to SttQ and carefully got to her feet. Dizzyness made her sway, but she leaned on her bat again and adjusted her backpack straps on her shoulder.

She'd taken a first aid course a couple of years before, and her instructor had pounded into her head that having a first aid kit was a necessity. One of these days, when all this crap was over with, she'd have to put some ice packs in it.

"I got some bandages in my pack," she said, half to herself. "Rubber gloves, gauze, antibacterial wipes, and the like. I hope I have some fresh face barriers, might need those."

She could check through it again when she found a place to situate herself. With that in mind, she limped farther away from the chalk-marked road and slung her pack down. Quickly, and with one hand, she pulled out a sleeping pad and a couple of blankets, tossed them down, and spread them out as much as they could. Then, digging deeper in her pack, she pulled out a blue fanny pack. Her head was feeling better as she took this and headed toward the first aid area.

Re: Gettin' up now. by galenfea on 2010-09-01 02:55:00 UTC Reply

Galenfea looked round as she heard someone else arriving at the first aid area and smiled a welcome at PitViper, who was still holding the ice pack to a rather impressive bruise on her head.
"Hello," said Galenfea. "How are you feeling now?"

"Not nearly as nauseous as before, thanks." by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-09-01 04:03:00 UTC Reply

PitViper sat down and opened this main zipper of her fanny pack. Rummaging through with her free hand, she checked her supply of first aid necessities. "Oh good, I did bring face barriers. Got some aloe vera, lots of gauze, extra gloves... bee sting ointment. Probably won't need that."

She glanced up at the door. The Ypurs weren't coming through yet, but plenty of refugees were still arriving. "Some of the people coming are in real bad shape," the Boarder remarked. "I hope the Ypurs bring enough supplies. It's a good thing I took that six-hour Red Cross course after all."

Galenfea sat down beside PitViper by galenfea on 2010-09-01 04:16:00 UTC Reply

"Glad to hear that," she said, and absently began to sort through her kit again. She swore as she discovered that two of the ice packs had already been used. "Who does that?" she muttered. "Who uses an ice pack and then puts it back?"
PitViper was also going through her kit. She seemed to be much better organised than Galenfea, who once more determined that when they got out of here she was going to put a survival pack together.
"Some of the people coming are in real bad shape," the Boarder remarked. "I hope the Ypurs bring enough supplies. It's a good thing I took that six-hour Red Cross course after all."
Galenfea looked up and bit her lip. "Indeed. As it stands, I don't think we've got nearly enough gear to treat half of them."
Mentally, she added, 'Although if anyone needs a bandage that I think was actually designed for horses, they're set' and set the offending item to the side.
"So the Ypurs are on our side?" she asked, since her new acquaintance seemed much more experienced than she. "It sounds like one of the words the early trolls were using."

"It was," PitViper replied. by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-09-01 07:33:00 UTC Reply

"Apparently, in the first of these invasions, one of the Boarders managed to utilize them to fight trolls and spambots. What was her name... insanegrrl. It probably helped that they like eating sausages made of spambots. I don't know the fine details, but it's on the wiki."

She opened smaller pocket and found a well-stocked supply of moleskin. "It doesn't help that most of this is stuff you'd need during a camping trip, not a spambot attack. I think blisters will be the least of our worries."

Sergio came close to PitViper and Galenfea. by Sergio Turbo on 2010-09-01 09:07:00 UTC Reply

"Good thing there are Ypurs out there. However, thank you. I would have been too scared from the blood to bandage the cut right."
Sergio examined his left arm again, and continued.
"However, we should gather all the ones here that have a weapon. I hope not, but spambots can attack this bunker. I'd fight if that happens, but I already ran out of ammo for my pistol."

Some distance away, by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-01 11:23:00 UTC Reply

SttQ saw two Boarders busy with cameras and explosives, and sighed in relief. At least some people were working on the bunker's defenses. Offense wasn't doing nearly as well.

Checking whether her gun was loaded properly for what felt like the fiftieth time, SttQ looked around her. There were still only about five people in the armed-and-ready group, herself included. 'This is just brilliant,' she thought. 'If the Bots break down the doors and some of them are able to get past the defense system, we have five, jeez, five people to protect everyone else here. How in hell are we gonna survive?'

Just then, she heard a guy who had come in earlier, Sergio she thought his name was, saying something to PitViper and another girl about how he was out of ammo. She walked over to him and said, "Hey, I saw several kinds of ammo piled up near the soapbox. Maybe there's something there for your pistol."

Sergio listened to SttQ by Sergio Turbo on 2010-09-01 12:52:00 UTC Reply

"That's good. I hope there is some 9x19mm Parabellum there, my Beretta is chambered for it. Thank you, count me as combat-ready."

Sergio searched into the ammo pile, and found a box of the right bullets.

"Fifty rounds should suffice, for now. Good thing I didn't threw away the empty magazines."

He loaded all the ammo. The third magazine was not full, but for Sergio didn't matter. The thing that mattered was that now he was able to defend himself and unarmed Boardes.

When Sergio went to load his gun, by galenfea on 2010-09-01 16:22:00 UTC Reply

Galenfea turned back to SttQ and PitViper.

"Do we know how long it'll take these..." She stumbled a little over the pronunciation. "Ypurs? To arrive? I know I've got a bigger first aid kit at home, and I think I could retrace my steps, though my navigation abilities aren't great - I managed to avoid all the trolls on the way here."

She wasn't especially keen on going back out there - not having seen the mess some of the people were in who had encountered spambots - but she'd feel guilty if she didn't even suggest it. Still, it was probably impractical; they would need everyone they could get for the defence if the spambots did try to break in.

SttQ asked Galenfea, by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-01 17:45:00 UTC Reply

"How much time do you think you'll need to get to your house and back?"

Galenfea frowned, thinking. by galenfea on 2010-09-01 18:34:00 UTC Reply

"It took me a bit over half an hour to walk here. Allow another quarter for getting lost and if we have to hide... an hour and a quarter? Maybe less now that I know where this bunker is - it took a little while for me to find it before."

((OT: Apologies for long delays - I'm posting between classes :) ))

"Well then," said SttQ, by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-01 18:49:00 UTC Reply

holding up her gun, "care for an escort? If PitViper can manage without you, that is," she added, looking at the other girl with some degree of concern.

"I'd go with you, but..." by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-09-02 01:20:00 UTC Reply

PitViper glanced around. "I was taught not to take unnecessary risks as a first aider. Can't help anyone if I'm the one that needs help. You two be careful, there's no telling whether you'll run into those things." She tossed her cricket bat to Galanfea. "Here. It'll smash a spambot just fine, and there're no bullets to run out of.

Galenfea caught the cricket bat by galenfea on 2010-09-02 02:03:00 UTC Reply

and weighed it thoughtfully, smiling a little at PitViper's words.
"Yeah, rule one of first aid: do not add to the number of casualties. I remember. Thanks for this." She slung the bat over her shoulder and grinned at SttQ, trying not to show the fact that she was starting to get rather nervous about going out there. "We should find out if it's OK to go out first, and if anyone knows when the... drat it... Ypurs will arrive. If it's soon, no point. If it's going to be a while, though..." She scratched her head. "Do either of you know who would be best to ask? I'm guessing Edward."

"Yeah, probably best to ask Edward," PitViper replied. by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-09-02 02:51:00 UTC Reply

She took the ice pack away from her head to give her aching arm a rest. "He seems to be the one taking charge."
"Yeah, probably best to ask Edward," PitViper replied. by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-09-02 02:46:00 UTC Reply

She took the ice pack away from her head to give her aching arm a rest. "He seems to be the one taking charge."

Galenfea nodded by galenfea on 2010-09-02 03:13:00 UTC Reply

"All right," she said, and looked over at SttQ. "Shall we go and find him? He should still be over by the soapbox."

SttQ nodded in agreement. by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-02 08:46:00 UTC Reply

"Let's. We should be careful how we phrase our request, though. That guy's looking more stressed-out by the minute."

Galenfea nodded and looked around for Edward... by galenfea on 2010-09-02 16:06:00 UTC Reply

"All right, let's see if we can find him. He really needs a deputy of some sort, but I don't really know anyone well enough to suggest someone who might be capable."

Edward was in the middle of directing some newcomers to set up camp off the chalk roads, so Galenfea and SttQ waited until he'd finished. At length, he turned to them. Galenfea thought that he really did look tired, and a little wobbly on the AK47 he was still using as a crutch, but she didn't mention it.

"We were wondering, given that we're really short on first aid supplies, if it would be a good idea for me to go and retrieve my first aid kit from my house. It's much better stocked than the one I've been using, but I didn't have time to grab it on the way out." Or sense, she mentally added. "I got here without running into any bots, and I'm pretty sure I can find the way back there. If it's going to be a while before the Ypurs arrive, we may need it."

Seeing that Edward, by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-15 18:22:00 UTC Reply

exhausted as he was, had not quite been able to process Galenfea's words, SttQ decided to summarize their request.

"Can Galenfea and I go get a bigger first-aid kit at her house, please, sir?" she asked, giving her best blue-eyed-puppy impression.

After a moment, by galenfea on 2010-09-16 16:46:00 UTC Reply

Edward shook his head a little.
"Sorry," he said, "It's been a long day." He looked from one to the other. "Are you sure you can get back without being caught?"
Galenfea nodded. "As sure as I can be," she said. "There's only a couple of us, we can be sneaky."
He thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right, but be careful - if you meet trouble, come straight back."
Galenfea grinned and nodded. "We will."

"Well then," by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-16 17:06:00 UTC Reply

said SttQ, "let's move out. You lead the way, I'll cover you. And maybe, if my house isn't too far from yours, we can also go there for more shotgun ammo. My thirty shells won't last very long."

Galenfea hurried to get her backpack; by galenfea on 2010-09-17 00:14:00 UTC Reply

that would be easier to carry than the box alone, and she had a feeling she'd need to keep her hands free. Then she and SttQ went over to the door. Galenfea peered out first, the image of two orcish arrows slamming into the wall near Boromir's head going through her mind's eye in a flash. She couldn't see anything, though.
"Come on," she breathed, slipping out. SttQ closed the door behind her; it looked just like part of the wall from the outside, and Galenfea hoped they'd be able to find it again. Together, they headed off down a small, ominously silent side-street. Several of the houses had broken windows and doors, and Galenfea eyed the dark holes uneasily, aware of how easily bots might be lying in ambush.

Something was off. by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-17 09:54:00 UTC Reply

SttQ didn't like this. It was too quiet. She and Galenfea had been dodging in and out of alleys for fifteen minutes now, and they hadn't seen a single live spambot. Or Ypur, for that matter. Was the invasion over? If so, where were the people? While there had been many Boarders in the bunker, the city's population was a lot bigger than that. So, again, where was everyone?

Not a sound could be heard, save that of the two girls' steps as they ran across the deserted street to yet another alleyway, and the croaking of the crows circling high over their heads. It was uncanny.

"Not far now," by galenfea on 2010-09-18 23:42:00 UTC Reply

whispered Galenfea. She was also unnerved by the silence and emptiness, and the crows circling overhead. Her friends said she'd read too many fantasy books at an impressionable age, but she'd always been unnerved by circling birds, especially carrion birds. What did bots do to people they caught, anyway?
She shuddered and put the thought from her head.
Suddenly she heard something other than the sound of her own feet and SttQ's. It sounded like another pair of feet, moving slowly but purposefully along the road at the end of their alley. Her heart leaped into her throat and she flattened herself back against the wall.
"You hear that, or am I going crazy?" she whispered.

"You're not, by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-19 09:00:00 UTC Reply

I hear it too," SttQ whispered back. She pressed herself against the wall next to Galenfea. Tiny pinpricks of fear were traveling up her spine. The rhythm of those steps... She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd heard something like it before. In a movie, maybe...

Then it dawned on her. "Oh, shi... Galenfea, get behind me!"
SttQ jumped to the middle of the alleyway, planted her feet firmly on the ground and raised her gun. If what she feared was true, she was going to nail the damn thing right between the eyes.

Galenfea flattened herself against the wall, by galenfea on 2010-09-22 16:38:00 UTC Reply

wishing for a moment that she had a sword. Then she remembered that she was a danger to herself and others with a LARP sword, let alone a real one. So when SttQ raised her shotgun, all Galenfea could really do was put her hands over her ears and wait for the bang. Hopefully, whatever was out there was alone.

Slowly, the thing came into view. by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-22 20:51:00 UTC Reply

Paused. And looked towards them. Turned. And began shuffling in their direction.

SttQ took a second to aim, and squeezed the trigger. The report of the gun thundered through the dead silence.

She hit the thing in the middle of its forehead. It didn't fall backwards like a living human would. Instead, its legs spasmed, and it pitched to the alley wall, its body twitching and jerking as it slid down to the trash-littered concrete. The thing's tongue lolled out horribly for a moment, and then it was still.

Slowly, with shaking hands, SttQ lowered her gun, and turned, ashen-faced, to her companion. Her mouth felt bone-dry as she said, "Galenfea, I think that was a zombie."

For a moment, the only response Galenfea could muster by galenfea on 2010-09-25 16:25:00 UTC Reply

was "What?"
She bit her lip, looking down at the dead zombie, feeling sick at the sight; taking a shotgun blast to the face did not make for a very attractive corpse.
She had always lived in fear of being thrust into a scenario that was likely to turn into a horrible movie, but up until this point the closest she'd come was having to room with four cheerleaders at her college orientation week.
"Oh, Hell, no," she muttered. "I don't know the zombie movie tropes, but I'm sure this is one." She looked up at SttQ. "Do you think this is what's happened to everyone?"

SttQ took a deep breath by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-26 21:37:00 UTC Reply

to try and fight down the panic Galenfea's question had sparked. This was not the time for that.

"That," she said, "would explain the broken doors and windows we've been seeing, but I'd... rather not think about what's going on in those houses. We gotta move fast. Either we do what we set out to do, and get your medkit and more ammo for my gun, plus some extra weapons, or we race right back to the bunker and alert everyone. I know I'd go for the first option, but I'm not going to play captain here. What do you think we should do?"

Galenfea frowned, thinking. by galenfea on 2010-09-29 01:58:00 UTC Reply

"Well... the bunker's secure. It'd take a while for anything that wasn't armed with explosives or the like to get in there, and they'd make a lot of noise doing it." She looked around. "I move we keep going - we're not far off now anyway, we might as well get what we came here for. How much further is it to your house?"

"Only about half a mile," by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-29 09:23:00 UTC Reply

said SttQ, "so it shouldn't take us too long to get there. You probably know the street; it's the one with the city cemetery." She paused, realization setting in. "Oh, crap."

"Of course it is," by galenfea on 2010-09-29 16:30:00 UTC Reply

said Galenfea bitterly, hitching up her backpack. "Any convenient way of getting there that doesn't go past the cemetery? Let's walk and talk; this place is starting to wig me out."
She crept out of the alleyway, keeping close to the wall and looking all around for anything else - bot or zombie - that might attack them.

SttQ left the alley after Galenfea by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-09-29 19:22:00 UTC Reply

and fell into step with her. As she talked, she occasionally shot a glance over her shoulder.

"There is a fairly easy way to get there, but it'll take a bit longer. If we turn right at the end of this street, then left at Simon's Soup Shop, it's about a quarter of a mile to the videogame store. There, we turn into Beech Avenue (you know, the one with all the oak trees), and after half a mile, we'll reach the zoo. If we go into the alley that runs next to and behind the zoo, we'll be able to enter Mr. Macy's back garden by breaking away some boards; they're practically rotten, so that shouldn't be a problem. Then, we traverse a few back gardens (don't worry, the walls separating them are fairly low) till we reach mine. And yes, I did remember to bring my keys. This way, we won't even have to see the cemetery."

Galenfea sighed in relief. by galenfea on 2010-10-02 22:24:00 UTC Reply

"All right," she said. "I live down a side street from Beech, so that's not far out of our way anyway. I'm definitely prepared to climb over and under some fences to avoid having to go past the cemetary during a zombie attack."
She peered nervously around another corner before darting across an alleyway. The sun was beginning to get low in the sky and the alleyways and narrower side-streets now looked almost as threatening as the empty doors and windows of the houses. Still, it was probably best to keep to the sides of the road - less chance of being seen themseves, and potential hiding places for zombies and bots were also potential hiding places for her and SttQ.
As they reached the end of the street, though, she paused at the sound of a metallic scraping from around the corner on the right.

SttQ reacted immediately. by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-03 21:27:00 UTC Reply

She ducked behind a nearby mailbox, pulling Galenfea along with her. Resting her gun on the mailbox, she sighted along it, and asked in a hurried whisper, "Galenfea, quick. Where do spambots have their CPUs? In the head, chest, belly? Quickly now, I need to know what to aim for."

Galenfea peered around the mailbox, by galenfea on 2010-10-04 05:06:00 UTC Reply

racking her brains. CPU... spambot CPU...
"In the torso, but I don't know exactly where..." she said.

"In the chest, eh?" by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-04 19:52:00 UTC Reply

said SttQ. "In that case it's probably..."

At this point, the spambot turned the corner. The bullet hit it in a particular spot, and it went down in a shower of sparks, electronic voice fading. "WANT CAaannnndyyyyy..."

SttQ got up. "Figures. CPU was where the heart would have been. Damned unoriginal pieces of crap. All right, girl," turning to Galenfea, "lead on."

Galenfea nodded by galenfea on 2010-10-05 19:31:00 UTC Reply

and ducked around the mailbox, stepping carefully around the still-smoking remains of the bot, in case it should either move or explode. She wasn't sure which prospect scared her more.
Again, he hitched up her backpack and headed at a fast walk towards the sign for Simon's Soup Shop, which she could see further down the road.
"Different variety?" she asked, jerking her head back towards the bot. "The original ones wanted pictures."

"I know. Weird, huh?" by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-05 19:45:00 UTC Reply

answered SttQ. "Must be a new model. When I was running for the bunker this morning, I swear I could hear a whole group of bots chanting something about candy." She looked up and frowned. "Shouldn't the street lamps be on by now?"

Galenfea also looked up. by galenfea on 2010-10-06 01:06:00 UTC Reply

She'd not noticed until SttQ mentioned it, but it was indeed getting dark, and she'd have expected at least a dim glow as the street lights started to come on.
"Power must be out," she said, wishing she had her torch. Oh well, she could grab it when she got her first aid kit, as long as they weren't too much longer getting there. "How robust are the power lines around here? I can't imagine anything made of metal would have taken the risk of attacking them."

"Anything made of metal by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-06 17:32:00 UTC Reply

certainly wouldn't," came the gloomy reply. "However, the power station always has people working in it, no? And for some of the things around here, people are tasty treats. No station workers means no electricity, and no electricity means no light." She shook her head. " Damn those zombies."

"I'd have expected the power station... by galenfea on 2010-10-08 00:30:00 UTC Reply

to be highly automated," said Galenfea thoughtfully, "But I supppose that sort of backup wouldn't run forever - it's been hours since this started - and an attack on the power station may also have caused damage to the automated system." She shivered, squinting down the road. Now that night had started to fall, it was getting very dark very quickly. "Zombies... zombies are more active at night, aren't they?"

[Is the RP over?] (nm) by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-11 09:23:00 UTC Reply

No, sorry, I'm just really remiss about posting. by galenfea on 2010-10-11 14:46:00 UTC Reply

I'll try and get something good up today.

['s All right] by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-11 14:56:00 UTC Reply

[I was just afraid you'd think I'd abandoned this RP, just because I'd started up a new one.]

OK - I spent the weekend studying, is all. (nm) by galenfea on 2010-10-11 18:41:00 UTC Reply

I do hope by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-11 19:48:00 UTC Reply

I'm not giving the impression of pushing you or anything. By all means, focus on your studies first.

Feel free to tell me if I'm being whiny.

SttQ thought about this. by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-08 19:29:00 UTC Reply

Finally, she said, "It... would make sense. These things are nearly brainless, but not completely. They're predators, and all predators instinctively know it helps not to be seen. So, yeah, you're probably right. But as long as we keep away from too-dark corners, we should be fine. After all, these things are slow and anything but subtle. We'll always hear them coming."

"Same goes for the bots - by galenfea on 2010-10-11 18:57:00 UTC Reply

even more so."
Galenfea squinted. At least without artificial light her eyes were adjusting well to the dark. She could see the shape of the sign she was heading for and moved out into the middle of the road to keep away from doorways, broken windows and alleyways. SttQ walked beside her, shotgun at the ready. Galenfea didn't like guns as a rule - came of growing up in a country where they were all kinds of illegal, she guessed - but she had to admit that she was glad of this one.
Fortunately, they made it to the soup shop without incident. Galenfea had never seen it dark. Somehow that was creepier than anything else.

SttQ, too, had been looking by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-12 20:38:00 UTC Reply

at the soup shop. Suddenly, she said, "You know, just yesterday evening, I was in there with a couple of friends, celebrating a birthday. God, I hope they're safe. We always used to hang out there. Seems like years ago now. Weird what a day can... Wait a minute." She stopped and turned towards the shop, all senses on the alert. "Did that door just open a little?"

Galenfea squinted. by galenfea on 2010-10-15 00:31:00 UTC Reply

The dim light might have been playing tricks with her eyes, but she thought that the dark space where the door was ajar did widen a little. On the other hand, when she looked at another shadow for comparison she thought the same - maybe it really was just the light?
She looked harder, leaning forwards a little.
"I'm not sure," she said quietly, but looked around for a weapon, just in case, and started to edge past the shop towards the sidestreet on the left. Weapon... weapon... even a stout stick would do. Surely zombies would go down the same as anything else if beaten about the head, and even bots must have some breakable electronics.
They were even with the door now, and Galenfea shot it a nervous look. Maybe it was just the dark playing tricks with her, but the opening did look a little bigger.
At that moment she also heard the squeak of a badly-oiled hinge from the other side of the street and froze, hissing a swear word through her teeth.
"What now?" she whispered, still staring at the soup shop. "Hide? Run? Panama?"

((PS: 'Panama' is a Clive Cussler reference, in case you're curious. :P))

SttQ shot a glance by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-10-15 22:27:00 UTC Reply

over her shoulder. She could just discern the outline of a spambot as it stood framed in a doorway. It was facing them, surely, but... why wasn't it moving? Maybe it hadn't seen them yet.
Deciding the soup shop was a more urgent problem at the moment, she turned back towards it. Accustomed to the dark by now, she believed she saw something, and turned her eyes a little to the side, to make it out better. Hey, what... she thought. Oh... Oh God... What is that thing?

"What is that thing?" she whispered urgently to Galenfea.

Two, three... four fingers were curled around the edge of the door. They tightened on it and, slowly, slowly, the door inched open.

Even though there did not seem to be anything horrible about the fingers themselves, SttQ suddenly knew, from nothing other than atavistic instinct, that she and Galenfea must not see what kind of creature those fingers belonged to, if they wanted to keep their sanity. No, no, they had to...

The squeaking behind them started up again, and was rapidly coming closer, jolting SttQ into action.

"Run!" she screamed, half-hysterical with terror. "Galenfea, for the love of God, run!"

Soup delivery by Miah on 2010-09-01 16:34:00 UTC Reply

Miah carried a tube full of disposable cups under one arm, and a large, steaming pot with a ladle in it in her hands as she approached the first aid area.

She set the pot down carefully, and said loudly, "Anybody over here want some nice hot soup? I thought I'd go ahead and deliver it to the injured."

Camp by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 22:44:00 UTC Reply

SttQ caught the thermos, and a somewhat unorthodox train of thought started in her head.

Thermos - soup - sleeping bag - pet mice - tent - camping.

'Oh yeah, that's right! I have to set up camp first!' she thought, and hurried over to one of the bunker walls, far away from the chalk marks. She pulled a polka-dotted sleeping bag out of her warehouse-with-a-strap, and spread it out on the floor. This done, she ran back to the soapbox.

[temporary sign-off, really sleepy] (nm) by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 23:28:00 UTC Reply

Oh damnit, that's such a terrible subject line... by Edward Wilder on 2010-08-31 22:07:00 UTC Reply

...Apologies to anybody reading that...

Sttq looked over at the newcomer. by Sister-to-the-Queen on 2010-08-31 19:20:00 UTC Reply

"Beats me," she replied. "All I know is that there's some kind of invasion going on." She turned back to Cassie. "Do you know anything more?"

Joining as well by PitViperOfDoom on 2010-08-31 20:07:00 UTC Reply

Hardly anyone noticed when a dazed Boarder staggered into the midst of the refugees. PitViperOfDoom glanced around through bleary eyes, recognizing a relatively new Boarder standing with Cassie Cameron-Young.

"Beats me," the Boarder was saying. "All I know is that there's some kind of invasian going on. Do you know anything more?"

PitViper limped over on a badly sprained ankle. "Trolls in the dungeon," she said, still feeling a bit dizzy after a spambot had crashed into her head. "Thought you ought to know... what?" She nearly fell over, but caught herself and leaned on her cricket bat as thought it was a cane. "Did you know that cricket bats are barely effective against trolls? I just found that out. The hard way." She glanced over, seeing an older Boarder speaking to the refugees. "Looks like someone's taking charge, though."

Might as well jump on the bandwagon... by Silikat on 2010-08-31 18:21:00 UTC Reply

Silikat ran through the door of the bunker, slightly scorched from a passing Spambot attack. She was late to everything anyway, but being late to an invasion was just annoying.

In her haste, she had just thrown everything useful into a bag, most importantly her Classic!Doctor Who DVDs and Harry Potter books, and ran to the bunker. She didn't even have time to pick up her notebooks!

Stumbling through the door, she got a couple of odd glances, which she ignored as she sat cross-legged on the floor, turned her laptop's volume up and slid City of Death into the DVD slot.

Me too! *sneaks in* by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 00:55:00 UTC Reply

Kyoki sidled through one of the side doors clutching a sleeping bag and wearing a rather bulging backpack while the spambots were distracted elsewhere.

As she set down her stuff, the bulging backpack started hissing in a rather alarming way. Opening the bag, Cat jumped out and painfully demonstrated her dissatisfaction with the indignity of being stuffed in a bag. Wincing, Kyoki walked around as quickly as possible to look for power plugs and get away from Cat until Cat calmed down. Kyoki was rather worried about her Bengal tiger. She wanted to bring him along, but figured that he'd be happier outside the fortress batting around spambots for fun.

After finding some power plugs in the columns, Kyoki pulled out a power strip and set up her laptop, amongst the other electronic things she brought.

Smiling very happily, Kyoki reached into her bag and brought out her much beloved collection of explosives. With her explosives, she wandered off looking for spambots to explode.

WEEEE! by Nielymoon on 2010-09-01 01:58:00 UTC Reply

Niely trudged down the stairs of her apartment building, a small duffel on her back and a shotgun in her hand.

When she stepped outside she realized had already missed the main crowd. "I guess I'm late, as always" she mumbled jokingly to herself.

She setup her shotgun inside of an abandoned pickup truck. An unlucky spambot took face-full of lead, and Niely reloaded. She was just about to fire when a girl (with what looked like C4?) walked past. "Hey! What are you doing out here!" she shouted.

"Blowing things up" by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 02:10:00 UTC Reply

replied Kyoki. "Which way to the nearest large group of things to be blown up? And would you like some explosives? I happen to have quite a lot of C4, pipe bombs, and other forms of explosives."

I see by Nielymoon on 2010-09-01 02:51:00 UTC Reply

" Oh..." Niely said. "And I'm fine" she said, eyeing the C4 while lifting up her shotgun. "Wanna stick together though? 'Ya know, safety in numbers."

Niely started to pack up her shotgun ammo when she paused, looking at Kyoki, she asked nervously " Actually...Can I have a pipe bomb?"

Sure! by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 03:10:00 UTC Reply

"Sticking together sounds like a great idea. And take your pick!" said Kyoki as she opened her bag of explosives. "Red colored ones have 5 second fuses, yellow ones are proximity triggered, and brown ones are 15 seconds. There's other kinds too, but those three are probably the most common."

Kyoki looks up to a nearby roof and then asks, "Would you mind waiting a bit for Elemarth? She's helping me stick up cameras and blow things up, and she needs a few moments to get down. D'you want to help stick up cameras too?"

I'm back! by Elemarth on 2010-09-01 21:09:00 UTC Reply

Elemarth came running again. This was the second time in one day, and though she hadn't had to run far this time, it took her a moment to catch her breath again.

"Sorry, had a bit of an emergency elsewhere. I think it happened in sympathy for the Board. But I'm back now! So this is our whole group?"

Kyoki nodded. "Do you have any close-range weapons?"

"No, sorry, I left everything back at the Board." She winced. "I might be able to pick some of it up, but I can't count on that, and I'll need something until then. Does anyone have a spare Frying Pan of Doom or anything? I guess a gun would work, too, but my aim isn't great." She grinned. "I can't wait to kill spambots!"
Fine! by Nielymoon on 2010-09-01 17:27:00 UTC Reply

" I'll Take a red one. And I'd love to help stick up cameras." said Niely. She picked up her shotgun and took a pipe bomb from Kyoki's bag. Turning around to Kyoki, she asked " Hey, what's your name? Mine's Niely"
"Hey, can I help?" by Silikat on 2010-09-01 10:17:00 UTC Reply

Silikat looked up at Kyoki from her laptop. She had heard talk of blowing things up. That, she approved of.

"I'm bored." she explained, grinning hopefully.

"Definitely" by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 17:10:00 UTC Reply

Said Kyoki, "The more the better! Niely, this is Silikat; Silikat, this is Niely. Now that intros are done, take your pick!" She held her open bag of explosives and said, "Red ones are 5 seconds, yellow ones are proximity triggered, brown ones are 15... And now that I think about it, I've got EMPs and flashbangs in there too!

One more thing, you do have something for when the Spambots get too close for explosives don't you? Explosives are fun and all, but I still haven't managed to develop anything that will selectively harm things.

Anyways, Elemarth and I are trying to stick up some cameras so we can see what's going on in different places, and we're probably gonna lay down an Anti-Spambot perimeter around the fort while we're at it. Do you want to help monitor the camera feeds from your laptop?"

"Yep!" by Silikat on 2010-09-01 19:17:00 UTC Reply

"Hey, I knew this thing would come in handy for something other than DVDs." Silikat grins, peering inside the bag of explosives. "This is gonna be fun..."
Re: "Definitely" by Nielymoon on 2010-09-01 17:56:00 UTC Reply

"I have a Wi-fi device, maybe you could set the cameras up to it? I'm no techno wiz but it can't be too hard." Niely said, pulling a DS gameboy out of her bag.

" And if the spambots get to close I'll shoot them." She said with a gleam in her eye. " I wont be running out of ammo any time soon, I've been stockpiling for awhile."

Oh yeah! by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 20:24:00 UTC Reply

Kyoki said happily, "And for the record my name's Kyoki, that's probably way more helpful than just calling me hey you!"

"As for the cameras, they're already networked with each other. So all you need to do is to stick them up and connect your wifi devices to the network. At the moment, we need some people to keep an eye on things about where the spambots are heading." Kyoki said while patting the cameras affectionately.

"Once the cameras and the perimeter are set, wanna try to find the spambot source and blow it up?" she said with a maniacal smile.

Thanks! by Nielymoon on 2010-09-01 21:04:00 UTC Reply

Niely said. She began to scan for a network with her DS. "Now that I'm connected I can look at the cameras any time as long as I'm in range of the signal.

Finding the source is a good idea, but I've heard rumors that it isn't even in the city. The source is probably far away, but when we find it, I hope you set up an explosion the size of Alaska!" she said, matching Kyoki's smile.

Sounds good! by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 21:20:00 UTC Reply

"I've got some very special stuff for the source of these things... And I'm looking forward to finding it quite a lot." replied Kyoki. "Once you and Silikat are set up, could you give me an idea of where else we need to stick stuff and where we should go to blow stuff up?"

To Elemarth, Kyoki asked, "Do you need any more cameras and explosives? And would you like another 10 foot steel pole? I know I saw one lying around in the area."

Elemarth gathered up her material. by Elemarth on 2010-09-01 21:29:00 UTC Reply

"Okay, is this enough cameras? And explosives? By the way, do these ever have short fuses? Where did that pole go... Ah. Okay, and I do need some kind of short-range weapon if there's a spare, or I can just stick really close to you. Or..." She weighed the pole and nodded. "I'm sure I can swing the pole at them. It might not be the most convenient weapon, but I'm sure it would hurt even a spambot, so that should be fine, too. So I'm ready.
"Except, what about the Ypurs? Are they friendly to use or neutral? I mean, how much do we have to worry about not getting in their way?"

Checks Elemarth's stuff by Kyoki on 2010-09-01 21:45:00 UTC Reply

"That looks pretty good. And the fuses are exactly what I've coded them as, and if anything they tend to have longer than intended fuses. I figured it'd be better wondering why they haven't exploded yet, compared to being surprised by an early detonation." said Kyoki wryly. "And I'd heard from somebody that the Ypurs were bringing med supplies, so keep out of their way and leave them alone."

"Now that we're mostly set, let's make a circle of the bunker to check our camera coverage and clear out some bots. Eventually, I want to start demolishing some of the nearby empty buildings to make fortifications, and to lay down some kind of EMP field to give us some breathing space." said Kyoki while she gestured expansively.

"How's the connection process going?" asked Kyoki.

Ready! by Elemarth on 2010-09-01 21:59:00 UTC Reply

"It's a good thing we aren't agents, or they would have short fuses," Elemarth commented, only half joking. "I was more concerned about whether accidentally getting in the Ypurs' way would result in temporary inconvenience or me getting trampled. But I'll just try to avoid the issue entirely and not find out. I'm ready. Tell me when." She hefted her pole. "I guess we should probably split into two groups to check the building. Then, we'd each go a different direction and meet on the other side -- faster that way. I hope everyone's in the bunker -- I doubt anyone's doing rescue operations right now. Anyway, how is the connection stuff doing? Are you guys ready?"

Since we're splitting... by Kyoki on 2010-09-02 01:32:00 UTC Reply

"One person in each group should probably have a wifi device. It's up to you guys to decide who to go with. If anyone finds something interesting or needs help, call the other group through the wifi devices. If there isn't anything else, let's meet on the other side of the building." said Kyoki.

Picking up her stuff, she started off in the direction that seemed to have the most spambots hefting an explosive in a menacingly eager way. Shortly after, a series of sharp popping noises filled the air.

Going at last! by Elemarth on 2010-09-02 02:38:00 UTC Reply

"I'll go with Nielymoon, who has a wifi," Elemarth decided. "Are we ready?" She was already excited, unusual for someone usually pacifistic -- but that was what hanging around the PPC did, and these spambots had attacked her beloved Board! She picked up her bag and her pole and headed in the opposite direction from Kyoki.

Time to destroy some bots!
Fine, by Nielymoon on 2010-09-02 02:34:00 UTC Reply

"But I want to go up to the roof to get an aerial view. Anyone want to come?" Niely asked. "I think that if I have a long plank of wood I can cross from rooftop to rooftop a rain fire from above onto the spambots." she said.

Throwing her bag over her back, she made her way towards the nearest building. The automatic doors had been shut off, so she fired her shotgun into the doors. Kicking aside the glass, she made her way to and up the stairs.

Circling back around by Kyoki on 2010-09-02 02:50:00 UTC Reply

Kyoki returned (after a therapeutic round of Explode the Spambot) in time to catch the tail end of Niely's decision. Searching around, she found an extend-able ladder and followed Niely up the stairs.

On the roof by Nielymoon on 2010-09-02 03:03:00 UTC Reply

It was very windy. Checking to see if anyone was watching, Niely struck a quick superman pose before pulling out her sniper scope (really, it was just a monocular, but sniper scope sounds cooler) and scouted the area.

"Great Seasons!" she exclaimed. A whole army of spambots was marching down the street, demolishing anything in their path.

Stumbling through the door by Kyoki on 2010-09-02 03:34:00 UTC Reply

With one last clunk, Kyoki set down the ladder on a nearby wall. Quickly sticking a camera to a nice tall vantage point, she jogs over to Niely to check out what was the cause of the exclamation.

Growling at the sight of the spambot army, she started preparing the explosives she planned to use. "Niely, when the spambots get in range I'm gonna toss a few EMP bombs to slow them down. Get ready to use what ever you want." With that said, Kyoki powered up the EMP bombs - which began emitting a soft whirring noise.

As the spambots marched closer, the whirring noises from the bombs changed to an irritatingly loud whine. "3...2...1! Fire in the hole!" shouted Kyoki as she threw the bombs into the midst of the spambot army.

I'm assuming you talked to me... by Elemarth on 2010-09-02 03:55:00 UTC Reply

"EMP bombs are just for electronics, right?" Elemarth yelled back up. Her eyes stayed glued to the oncoming army. "But it won't be any good for our cameras. I -- I think I need to run."

The next thing she should do, she knew, was get up to the roof. It seemed like that was where the best action was. But she had to get out of the way of all this first. She chose a few bombs to cover her escape before the EMP bombs, threw them at the bots, and leaped back to the bunker.

Glad to know it's the same army by Kyoki on 2010-09-02 04:18:00 UTC Reply

Feeling rather embarrassed about nearly frying her own cameras, Kyoki shouted back down "Yes! You'll be alright, but not the electronics!"

Moments after Elemarth escaped, the EMP bombs went off with a quiet and rather anti-climactic tzing The spambot army sparked a little and slowed to a stop.

After ensuring that Elemarth was properly clear of the area, Kyoki began lobbing her higher yield explosives to conceal Elemarth's escape route from the spambots. Rhythmic loud whuds with accompanying showers of spam-metal and the dying shouts of "PIiiicsss...." soon filled the air.

Elemarth dusted herself off. by Elemarth on 2010-09-02 04:42:00 UTC Reply

"Thanks for forgetting me," she muttered irritably.

She shouted up to the people on the roof, "Okay, if you want to use EMP bombs this close to the bunker, you're going to have an issue with the cameras. Which do you want to use? What do you want me to do right now?"

[Signing off until tomorrow early evening.]

[goodnight!] "Sorry about that!" by Kyoki on 2010-09-02 05:15:00 UTC Reply

[This isn't part of what's going on, but I thought you saw another army coming from a different direction. Which is why I felt safe to toss the EMPs, I'm really sorry about the mix up.]

Shouted Kyoki to Elemarth during a lull in the action, "That should be most of the EMPs, keep going with the cameras and explode things as necessary!"

Elemarth turned a corner... by Elemarth on 2010-09-02 03:12:00 UTC Reply

and saw a huge number of spambots a block and a half down the street, followed by a couple of war ypurs that she could see throwing a few, but not nearly enough, spambots aside. Proving again that they were indeed intelligent, or guided by someone who was, the bots were working together to destroy the street.

"What are we going to do?" she shouted to Silikat and the people one the roof. "That's a lot of them right there, if we have enough explosives..."

Setting out by Elemarth on 2010-09-02 03:00:00 UTC Reply

Elemarth couldn't believe what things looked like outside of the bunker. Instead of friendly boarders, there were bots racing around.

"Send me ypur pics! Send me ypur pics!" was the noise scattered around in the background.

Elemarth grabbed her pole with both hands and swung it at a bot that was running towards her.

"Send me yyyyyyyyy -"

"Get off our board!" Elemarth yelled. "Go annoy someone who deserves it! How dare you come mess everything up!"

"Send me ypur pics!"

How about real ypurs? How do you like those? Elemarth silently asked as she pulled out her first explosive.

"Need a hand?" by Nielymoon on 2010-09-02 17:22:00 UTC Reply

Niely shouted to Elemarth. She rummaged though her bag and pulled out to cans of hairspray with lights duct-taped onto them in a way that made it that if you turn on the lighter it would turn on the hairspray too.

Aiming both at the general direction of the spambots, she turned on the lighters and let a large wave of flames rip over the bots while letting out a scream of glee that would concern any sane person, not that there were any in the area.

"Okay, I'm going back out with the cameras. by Elemarth on 2010-09-03 01:56:00 UTC Reply

So don't throw anything at me if you can help it!" Elemarth shouted. The flames had burned themselves out - there wasn't much to burn around there - and after the bombs and hairspray, there seemed to be enough bot-less space immediately around the bunker that she could dare it. These bots didn't move that fast.

Elemarth had never been a daring person, but the PPC changed boarders as well as agents. She took out some of the cameras to have a lighter sack, then ran out from her cover.

There were dead bots disturbingly close to the bunker. She jumped over one and put up the first camera, hoping that the people on the roof would at least warn, if not cover, her if any bots came near. But the bombs must have kept them back for the moment. She dashed back to cover and looked around before going out again.

"I think one more round will finish them!" by Kyoki on 2010-09-03 05:32:00 UTC Reply

Shouted Kyoki, "I don't see many left and I just heard the Board's been cleared. Leave the rest of the cameras and just start cleaning out the remnants!" Ducking down, she started picking out her smaller bombs.

Hey, look! by Nielymoon on 2010-09-03 12:35:00 UTC Reply

"It's a heard of Ypurs!" Niely shouted, pointing at a large mass of blue yaks. "Lets try and ride them!"

Lets go! by Kyoki on 2010-09-03 13:42:00 UTC Reply

"That sounds like it'll be tons of fun! But, how are we gonna get on?" said a puzzled Kyoki.

Well... by Nielymoon on 2010-09-03 16:25:00 UTC Reply

We could jump from hire ground onto them?" Niely suggested

Elemarth decided to be relatively sane. by Elemarth on 2010-09-03 22:32:00 UTC Reply

"What good will riding ypurs do? You're more likely to get yourself hurt." She sighed. "Not that I wouldn't like to say to newbies that I've ridden an ypur..." She shook her head. "I'm going to look for remaining bots. I haven't blown enough up yet. Then... I might try to get on an ypur..."

I hear they only come every two years in Augusts in by Nielymoon on 2010-09-03 23:43:00 UTC Reply

Just around when the spambots come. I wasn't here when they came last time, so I'm not sure though." Niely said.

"Anyway, lets go blow some bots up!" Niely said enthusiastically, grabbing her gun and pulling out another can of hairspray.

"Oh, yeah!" by Elemarth on 2010-09-04 00:12:00 UTC Reply

Elemarth shouted, forgetting about 'sanity' -- which was overrated, anyway. "I'm going to ride and ypur and blow up spambots!"

"Wheee!" by Kyoki on 2010-09-04 02:05:00 UTC Reply

shouted Kyoki as she chased fleeing spambots while riding a ypur. "Eat explosives spambot!" Moments later, there was a shower of spam metal and the air reverberated with the sound of detonating high explosives.

Elemarth jumped onto an ypur. by Elemarth on 2010-09-04 17:09:00 UTC Reply

She grabbed its blue fur with one hand and pulled out an explosive with another, looking for a spambot.

There was one trying to break into a building. "Let's get it!" she shouted. The ypur lumbered towards it. Elemarth threw one of the explosives at it, and it blew up to scrap metal. The ypur tossed a few remains aside, and they hunted for another.

Or maybe... by Kyoki on 2010-09-03 22:48:00 UTC Reply

"We could just ask them if they'd carry us around so we could blow up spambots faster?" mused Kyoki. "Because now that I've thought about it, it seems kinda awkward to just jump on our allies from high places..."

Oops by Elemarth on 2010-09-02 02:39:00 UTC Reply

I'll go with Silikat, then?