anothercontinuity | Red vs Blue Voicetesting Thread

Vulpes!

[ He's supposed to be waiting for the camo unit to recharge, but he forgets all of that in a blind, white rage as he watches that bullet hit home.

Within seconds he's pulling a stun grenade, rolling it across the rooftop before launching himself up onto the ventilation pipes running the length of the roof, ready to use the detonation to draw his attention and drop down at close range here and now.

But wait.

Where is the body? He should have fallen just there... ]

Holy shit- WARNING!

As you provided none for your use of the holographic double, this is a fair consequence.

[ Vulpes shimmers into place five feet to the left of where the double blinked out of existence, rolling up to his feet in a stagger. At least he AND the big guy are stunned- but only one of them is used to flying blind. ]

I'm fine, C blind but fine-

[ The whine picks up as the EVA swings the rifle to bear at Vulpes. Three seconds to roll away, slamming up the hard light shield against that blast. ]

Stay down, I got this!

[ He's alive.

He's alright. Maybe a little rockier on his feet but he's alright. He can still feel that cold chill in his spine but slowly that knot in his gut starts to unwind, and he drops back and out of sight behind two of the larger pipes.

Ten seconds. ]

You owe him an apology-

Not now, D.

[ Ok the shield can take glancing blows of that rifle and- honestly? Vulpes wants to keep it. Something like this could be real fucking useful- they just have to kill this motherfucker first. There it is, there's that frustrated cocky mentality, that old skin settling over bones as he ducks in close, slamming his shield under the asshole's rifle and using him as a step ladder to vault over him and slap a mini EMP charge to the back of his helmet. Whether it works or not depends on how well it's ground but it goes off as he rolls away.

Five seconds. The EMP does-

fuck and all. ]

Looks like they're learning-

[ But Cerberus has gone quiet. Two seconds, one...

And the camo falls into place. He climbs back into position on top of the pipes, watching as the EVA suit turns back towards Vulpes...

Leaving his back exposed.

There's no time wasted as he charges in, and the first sign that he's there at all is when that sword flares to life, arcing upwards towards the suit's neck a half-second later. ]

[ Watching that sword blink into existence and shear through plating like a hot knife through butter is both five kinds of surreal and three kinds of hot. Maybe four. It's distracting for the half second between blue and the blip of a lifesign winking out- only to be replaced by the rumble of whoever the fuck else wants some in the stairwells and the rather blinding pitch of spotlights from the adjacent artillery field being turned on the roof. ]

Oh. Fuck.

It appears they have us surrounded. Calling in the shuttle will likely result in our being shot down.

I'll handle the testing facility, I said, I know what I'm doing, I said. Have it on the record that I'm a fucking moron.

Noted.

[ Retrieving the rifle from the fallen soldier, Cerberus immediately takes aim at the doorway to the stairwell closest and fires, melting it just the same as the other. Let them work to get up here at them.

Although that did leave them with the issue of how to escape. And since they were already robbing the dead, here...

Cerberus drops to a knee, hands running over the various units plugged into the suit. ]

Which one of these is the teleportation unit?

Upper left, nearest the suit's power cell.

[ Cerberus takes that- Vulpes kneels next to him to dig out the armored plating and plant a mini EMP right in the goddamn thing to wipe any onboard data. One for the suit, one for the sill mostly occupied helmet. He'll remote detonate them once they're clear.

If they get clear. ]

D, got odds on that thing working for both of us?

I will need Cerberus' data from the research facility to be certain.

It's on the shuttle.

[ Useless to them now. Whatever their odds are, they're flying blind.

But he's not waiting here to be overtaken, and the unit is promptly ripped free and shoved into his own suit. It's not meant for this, it's experimental at best, but they don't have a choice.

New data floods across his HUD as he he gives his head a shake. ]

We don't have a choice.

You do remember the stories I told you about Georgia, Utah, and Nevada, right?

[ Sure it worked for this fuck with his density and all that- but them? Who the fuck even knows. ]

That thing worked for one suit, one jump-

Through concrete, with an obscured line of sight, and an uncertain mark for arrival. Cerberus- allow me to run the necessary calculations?

Do it.

[ He stands ready, keeping an eye on the doorway. Undoubtedly they'll try to blow their way through before too long, and they can't stand here forever making up their minds.

A look is given to Vulpes. ]

...I thought it was you.

Affirmative. Calculating- Estimated tie to completion, sixty seconds.

[ He blinks out of existence after that, humming in the background of Cerberus' armor as he sifts through code.

Vulpes, for his part, looks sheepish. Helmet canted down, fingers tapping against his thighs. ]

I was distracted by the EVA helmet and forgot to tell you. That's on me. Won't happen again.

[ He really doesn't have more to say than that, but there's still a look that burns through the helmet, a chill in his bones he can't quite shake. Just the thought, the actualization of that fear...

Was it worse that all he could process was moving on to the next phase of the plan, not going to his side? No. Had to be practical on the battlefield. Vulpes would have understood. Or been dead or dying and in no position to argue. ]

...You know you'll have everything you need to keep going if I get downed in the field, Cerberus.

[ Much as he wants him to not turn his entire life into the mission, to not become a weapon- as much as he'd like to think he's made enough of an impact to keep that from happening even if he kicks it? He's not that confident. ]

I know.

[ He knows there are plans, contingencies. Life goes on when people die, even if it feels like it shouldn't. But so much of what he's built has its roots in what Taylor has done. Without him...

He turns his head, sharply. He continues to say nothing, seething under the helmet. ]

Calculations complete. Cerberus, I believe we will be able to make the jump.

[ Within reasonable deviations of what would be considered acceptable- which is a pretty damn high standard even for Delta. He's got as much reason as anyone to be weary of experimental tech.

Vulpes shakes off the tension, glancing back at the rumbling of some kind of anti-aircraft artillery getting dragged over. ]

Right. Guess we're doing this.

[ There's an explosion from the door, as apparently they've found a way past the impediment of melted metal. Swiftly, Cerberus reaches out an arm to wind around Vulpes's shoulders, before setting the destination.

It's not so different from the teleportation cubes, the rush, the swirl of nausea, but the familiar pop back into some stable dimension is a welcome one. Cold air. The familiar hum of the engine. ]

I don't wanna do this-

[ He hooks his arms around Cerberus' shoulders anyway, clinging tight, eyes screwed shut, counting through the code with Delta to keep himself from panicking- a quarter of a second before they ping through he detonates the remote EMP in the storage & security rooms, setting off the two mini EMPS in the armor- by the time they're off?

Cerberus and Vulpes are in the shuttle. Vulpes reels, sagging against him while FLISS takes the unspoken command to get the hell out of there. ]

Holy fuck

[ There. They made it. They're alive. That was very nearly unpleasant in a number of ways, but none of them matter in the here and now. No reason to second guess and think about what could have gone wrong.

His hand is surprisingly steady when it reaches up to rip his helmet off, drawing a deep breath. He'll have a moment to process what they've found. Later. Right now...he just needs the quiet. Push what's shaken him back under.

Pointedly not looking at Taylor right now. ]

D, take a break, yeah?

Retiring.

[ The cool green wash of code settles and soothes even as it dims to a low background burr. Something to act as a counterpoint to the manic rabbiting of his pulse, the queasy clench to his gut as he manages to yank his helmet off and breathe.

Objective complete. Not half as clean as he'd like, nowhere near as acceptable as he'd like- but they managed.

Tipped their hand in a bad way, but. ]

Jesus christ.

[ Indeed.

But they were alive. They'd gotten through it all despite the stumbling, and they had something real to show proof of their victory. Something damned useful. And Taylor was alive and he was furious with him and--

Locus finally lifts his gaze to stare at him a moment, pupils dark. Then, a second later, he's crossing the small space between them and seizing him by the hair, pulling him into a sharp kiss.

Alive. Alive. ]

Look, Locus-

[ He owes him an apology- that was a shitty thing to do. He can't believe he forgot to note he was using that particular module. Every other time? he's remembered, it hasn't been a problem. Panic isn't an excuse.

Not that he has a chance to say any of this- there's a hand in his hair and a mouth on his mouth and he doesn't think twice before hooking his arms around Locus' shoulders and biting back.

Fuck.

They did it. And didn't get shot! ]

[ It's unrelenting, that kiss. The weight of it bears him forward, and Taylor back, until he racks him back up against the wall of the shuttle. And even then, there's little pause, a low noise in the back of his throat as his free hand falls to start tearing at his armor, a piece at a time.

No apologies. Not yet. ]

[ Crowded in, full bulk of Locus plus armor plus intent pressing him back? York can't do anything but go. But thud against the wall of the shuttle as the usual tradition hooks in and twists all that panicked, frantic energy into something sleeker, sharper, hotter.

Till he scrambles to pull off Locus' armor in the same way he's being tugged free. ]

[ There's no thought to it, only a need.

This was almost gone. Like so many other things. They'd spoken before about this, how fleeting those good things could be, how neither was sure if this was real. And it had very nearly been snatched away again.

But there's no room to plan on how to do it better, only a bone-deep need to reassure himself that this is still here. He needs to feel that heart pumping under his fingers, feel the swell of breath in his chest, the taste of him on his lips. He is not losing him. He refuses.

Piece after piece clatters to the floor until he's down to leg armor and the undersuit, already peeling open, and he's still kissing him. Lungs burning for need of air but no, it can wait. It can wait a few moments more. ]

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