Ep. 2 - East of Eden - (Closed)
Nov 9, 2014 17:46:53 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2014 17:46:53 GMT -5
Set in Week 1 Day 3, at 5:00am!
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It was still dark when the preparations began.
At four hundred hours the teams had gathered in front of the storage hanger at the Black Rock military base. Lights outlined the edge of the apron in front of the hanger, illuminating the hectic scene. By the time Optimus Prime was bridged there by Ratchet the human special forces had already arrived and organized themselves, their gear and vehicles prepared for transport.
Agent Fowler was not present, having flown ahead to an airbase in Utah from which he could direct helicopter backup if necessary. But Fortress Maximus was, and he greeted the Prime with upright formality. Being returned to a military environment seemed to have taken the big mech back to a similar mindset. But he was civil and steady, and it was he who introduced Optimus to the commanders of the forces they would be fighting alongside.
The 19th Special Forces Group were an impressive crew of quiet professionals dressed in dark green fatigues and combat armour, helmets and night vision goggles. To a man they carried assault rifles and military shotguns, the ideal loadout for close quarters urban environments. Utah's B Company had been scrambled for the operation: six operational detachments were involved, each ODA a twelve-man unit led by a captain and warrant officer. They were polite and friendly, and a handful of the Green Berets smiled at the Prime. But they were also focused; there was no gawking, no idle conversation. They were armed, briefed, and ready.
Even the ground bridge caused little stir. The company passed through it without hesitation, their movements brisk and efficient. On the other side...
The moment Optimus stepped through the ground bridge he would find himself standing in a stony clearing within the southern end of the Wasatch Range. The mountain walls reared up around him, hundreds of feet high, steep slopes of bare rock crowned by gnarled pines. Beneath his feet the ground was also rocky, carpeted with a thin layer of lichen and scrub brush. Most of the human forces were had passed through the bridge already and were crouched in the brush, their weapons ready.
Through a gap in the clearing ahead he would see a few more scattered pines. To the west beyond that was a north-south running boreal valley. At the northern end of it a large industrial facility could be faintly made out. Its lights twinkled distantly in the dark.
Maximus was the last one to step through the bridge. It irised shut behind him, leaving them in darkness.
"We go west from here to the facility, sir," he said. His voice was low. "It's less than half a mile away. There's no point in trying to hide ourselves, since we're to serve as a distraction for Mirage. I'm going to transform and provide cover for the advancing units. If you were to do the same you could shield them from any return fire until we reach the perimeter fence of the facility."
To demonstrate, the big mech folded down into his tank mode. His engine fired with a rumble and he swivelled on his treads until he faced the valley. As he rolled forward at a brisk pace two units melted from the shadowy underbrush and tucked in closely at his flank, their heads down. Using the tank as a shield they proceeded forward towards the lit facility.
Optimus' internal comm chimed.
"Optimus, this is Wash. Mirage has been bridged into position, and Ultra Magnus and Zoom-Zoom will be following shortly. You're all clear to move ahead."
----
A little to the south, another ground bridge gently swirled shut and vanished.
It left behind Mirage, who had been carefully deposited behind some rock cover to prevent the distinctive green flash of the bridge from being detected by any guards. The spy would find himself standing off the shoulder of a hard-packed dirt road, in darkness. Not even the pale touch of dawn lit the sky over the steep mountain cliffs to the east of his position. Stars glittered above him.
Roughly five hundred feet ahead of him was a tall chainlink fence, reinforced and barricaded shut with a sliding steel gate where the road passed through it. A small guard station stood just inside the fence, to the right of the gate. Behind it was the facility; wide paved lots filled with tankers, chemical pipelines, and sealed barrels stretched back to a massive steel building with few windows. Beneath some floodlights he would be able to make out rolling shutter doors where transport trucks could back up and unload their freight at the front of the building, as well as what looked like the entrance to a small, glass-walled office.
Steel silos stood about the main facility, white and several hundred feet high - most likely they stored chemicals or water for cooling. An even bigger silo stood behind the facility, encircled by catwalks. To the west of both structures was the generator building: a narrow steel hanger. Light shone through its glass windows, brightly illuminating the diesel generators housed within it.
Outside of it sat a transformer yard, where energy from the generators was transformed and distributed to the rest of the facility. The spindly transformers and the lattice of wires that swooped above them hummed faintly.
Already guards were gathering around the main gate of the facility. But they were not looking in his direction. Rather they were looking to the east, where a peppering of gunshots had just rung in the night.
Mirage's internal comm chimed.
"Mirage, this is Wash. Optimus and Maximus and the human teams have already begun to move in. You're all cleared to go at any time!"
--------
It was still dark when the preparations began.
At four hundred hours the teams had gathered in front of the storage hanger at the Black Rock military base. Lights outlined the edge of the apron in front of the hanger, illuminating the hectic scene. By the time Optimus Prime was bridged there by Ratchet the human special forces had already arrived and organized themselves, their gear and vehicles prepared for transport.
Agent Fowler was not present, having flown ahead to an airbase in Utah from which he could direct helicopter backup if necessary. But Fortress Maximus was, and he greeted the Prime with upright formality. Being returned to a military environment seemed to have taken the big mech back to a similar mindset. But he was civil and steady, and it was he who introduced Optimus to the commanders of the forces they would be fighting alongside.
The 19th Special Forces Group were an impressive crew of quiet professionals dressed in dark green fatigues and combat armour, helmets and night vision goggles. To a man they carried assault rifles and military shotguns, the ideal loadout for close quarters urban environments. Utah's B Company had been scrambled for the operation: six operational detachments were involved, each ODA a twelve-man unit led by a captain and warrant officer. They were polite and friendly, and a handful of the Green Berets smiled at the Prime. But they were also focused; there was no gawking, no idle conversation. They were armed, briefed, and ready.
Even the ground bridge caused little stir. The company passed through it without hesitation, their movements brisk and efficient. On the other side...
The moment Optimus stepped through the ground bridge he would find himself standing in a stony clearing within the southern end of the Wasatch Range. The mountain walls reared up around him, hundreds of feet high, steep slopes of bare rock crowned by gnarled pines. Beneath his feet the ground was also rocky, carpeted with a thin layer of lichen and scrub brush. Most of the human forces were had passed through the bridge already and were crouched in the brush, their weapons ready.
Through a gap in the clearing ahead he would see a few more scattered pines. To the west beyond that was a north-south running boreal valley. At the northern end of it a large industrial facility could be faintly made out. Its lights twinkled distantly in the dark.
Maximus was the last one to step through the bridge. It irised shut behind him, leaving them in darkness.
"We go west from here to the facility, sir," he said. His voice was low. "It's less than half a mile away. There's no point in trying to hide ourselves, since we're to serve as a distraction for Mirage. I'm going to transform and provide cover for the advancing units. If you were to do the same you could shield them from any return fire until we reach the perimeter fence of the facility."
To demonstrate, the big mech folded down into his tank mode. His engine fired with a rumble and he swivelled on his treads until he faced the valley. As he rolled forward at a brisk pace two units melted from the shadowy underbrush and tucked in closely at his flank, their heads down. Using the tank as a shield they proceeded forward towards the lit facility.
Optimus' internal comm chimed.
"Optimus, this is Wash. Mirage has been bridged into position, and Ultra Magnus and Zoom-Zoom will be following shortly. You're all clear to move ahead."
----
A little to the south, another ground bridge gently swirled shut and vanished.
It left behind Mirage, who had been carefully deposited behind some rock cover to prevent the distinctive green flash of the bridge from being detected by any guards. The spy would find himself standing off the shoulder of a hard-packed dirt road, in darkness. Not even the pale touch of dawn lit the sky over the steep mountain cliffs to the east of his position. Stars glittered above him.
Roughly five hundred feet ahead of him was a tall chainlink fence, reinforced and barricaded shut with a sliding steel gate where the road passed through it. A small guard station stood just inside the fence, to the right of the gate. Behind it was the facility; wide paved lots filled with tankers, chemical pipelines, and sealed barrels stretched back to a massive steel building with few windows. Beneath some floodlights he would be able to make out rolling shutter doors where transport trucks could back up and unload their freight at the front of the building, as well as what looked like the entrance to a small, glass-walled office.
Steel silos stood about the main facility, white and several hundred feet high - most likely they stored chemicals or water for cooling. An even bigger silo stood behind the facility, encircled by catwalks. To the west of both structures was the generator building: a narrow steel hanger. Light shone through its glass windows, brightly illuminating the diesel generators housed within it.
Outside of it sat a transformer yard, where energy from the generators was transformed and distributed to the rest of the facility. The spindly transformers and the lattice of wires that swooped above them hummed faintly.
Already guards were gathering around the main gate of the facility. But they were not looking in his direction. Rather they were looking to the east, where a peppering of gunshots had just rung in the night.
Mirage's internal comm chimed.
"Mirage, this is Wash. Optimus and Maximus and the human teams have already begun to move in. You're all cleared to go at any time!"