SCAR: The Rise of Yog Sothoth (NC-17) (H)

[Govannon]

“Claude Reynolds and Patrick Gad, please report to the briefing room immediately. Please dress in civilian clothes and have your gear prepped for travel.”

The words themselves were simple enough, but the meaning behind them was much greater. Death and terror jumped to mind easily enough, fighting the things that SCAR did would always have a large number of casualties, but for Patrick there was something else. Freedom. He had been down here for a long time and after he woke up it was still rather confining. Had had to complete his physical rehab, which took time, he had to complete the program, which just seemed like a hellish eternity but now he was actually able to go out into the real world again. He was looking at even odds on getting eaten 20 minutes after being let out into the real world but still, you can't have everything.

The rifle and pistol took up almost as much room in his bag as everything else combined. The cost of large calibre, still, Patrick couldn't help but feel that larger slugs were going to come in handy. He dressed simply, blue jeans and a black t-shirt, slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and made his way to the briefing room. He walked in the door and nodded a quick greeting to the six people assembled there before letting his bag down on the ground by the door.

"Patrick Gad, reporting in."

[Rhomeo]

Counting the heads of all the people in the room I arrived at the number that were called. Either that, or I was very bad at counting. Biting my lip I felt and tasted nothing but iron; the new flavour across my whole body. Moving a little to the left I felt uncomfortable, as I was sure only one other person here knew what I really was.

Scanning the faces again I cursed lightly, we were still missing one person by the looks of it. Tapping my fingers on the table I realised I was getting impatient to get out of here; I belonged out in Hell... Not in some conference room! A scowl lightly crept upon my face, so I turned slightly and looked at the wall for a few seconds.

Looking back I just raised an eyebrow at some of them, "Is it me or are none of you sitting down? We're all here for good reasons, because we're all unique and good people... So don't act all offical anymore, your all past that stage from what I remember," I quickly and loudly said. I just laughed at some of the looks upon the faces.

It was weird to have my Sister leading this mission, but it was of course expected. I knew that I couldn't lead another mission, our last mission had been a success... With major casualties, one survivor and one very lucky break. Beating my knuckles against the metal of the table I yawned lightly and leant back in the chair; continuing to wait.

[Ace of Hearts™]

Seamus awoke in his room, which smelled of iron and cigarette smoke. He was laying in his bed, wearing a white Tank Top. He grunted a bit, and heard his name over the intercom. He pulled his blanket off his body, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. He stumbled over to his locker, grabbing his duffel bag along the way. He opened his locker, and his Shotgun fell on the floor.

"Shit, could have went off" His Irish accent lightly saying.

He picked it up, and loaded the Shotgun into the bag. He looked back into his locker. His 44. Magnum was resting on top of the ammo box that held the rounds. He put the Six Shooter into the side pocket of the bag. His Bowie Knife was on a stand in the locker.

He clenched it, sliding it into his sheath on the side of his boots. Lastly was his modded armor, heavy it was, barely fitting in the bag. He slid on a pair of brown Cargo Pants, a white shirt, with three buttons down the collar. He put his brown leather jacket on, leaving it open.

He walked down the halls to the briefing room, stopping once to talk to a pretty woman he passed, as he always does. The door that said 'briefing' was a clear sign of where he was. He opened the door, seeing the many people standing. He took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag off it.

"So, am I late, lads?" He questioned.

He sat down, still smoking the cigarette.

[John]

Claire watched as the remaining operatives arrived in the room. Andrew spoke up at one point, telling them all to sit. Claire was happy that Andrew seemed to be in good spirits, and not in the dark place that he usually dwelled. Claire took a moment to read each of them. She smiled at the emotions from them. They all seemed to be in the right frame of mind for what was to come. Claire’s eyes returned to normal and, removing the barrette form her pocket, tied her hair back. Moving her hand to the mouse on the table, she clicked the word “execute”, and a picture of a university appeared on the wall screen.

“Gentlemen,” Claire began. My name is Claire Hannon and I will be leading this mission. The picture you are looking at is of Miskatonic University, located in Arkham, Massachusetts. The university houses part of SCAR’s Division One, and until recently was the resting place of the Necronomicon.” Claire paused for a moment and looked about the room. Exhaling, she continued. “Earlier today, the book was stolen from the university. Shortly thereafter, our spectral imaging sensors, began to pick up readings in the area denoting large scale paranormal activity. Global positioning satellites picked up this image, “Claire motioned behind her and the screen changed to a view of dense black clouds. “We very strongly believe that the two events are connected.” Claire paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. This was the first mission she had ever led and it was a little overwhelming. The screen on the wall changed to an image of a book and Claire continued.

“Now for those of you that don’t know, the Necronomicon is an ancient Sumerian text that contains ritual on how to summon the Old Ones. It is unsure exactly what the old ones are. Some believe that they are elder gods, while others believe that they are an alien race. Either way, we can not allow this to happen.” Claire put emphasis on the last sentence. She still couldn’t help but feel a little out of her element here. Claire was no expert on ancient Sumerian texts. This had to be the reason that Daniel had been assigned to the mission. Why else would someone from Division Four be coming along? The screen behind Claire changed to a picture of a middle aged man with sandy brown hair.

“Our orders are to go to Miskatonic University and make contact with Doctor Henry Armitage, an employee of SCAR. Learn the location of the Necronomicon, and retrieve it at all costs. This mission is considered to be top priority. Whomever took the Necronomicon is to be taken alive if possible.” Claire paused again and looked at Andrew, who was listening intently. She smiled and continued.

“The US Military has closed off all roads leading into Arkham, and a cover story is already in place. We will be flying by chopper to one of the military checkpoints in the area. When we arrive we will be provided with vehicles and make our way to the university. Once we learn the location of the book, there will be a high probability of combat. We are as of yet unsure as to what exactly we will be facing. The Necronomicon does make mention of something called the unnameable, but we can only surmise as to what their appearance would be. It should also be noted that there have been werewolf sightings in the forests in the area. So everyone should be on guard.” Well that was pretty much it. Now came the fun part of the briefing. Claire moved the mouse to the word “equip” on the computer screen and clicked it. Panels on the table in front of each of the operatives slid open.

“If you will all look in front of you, you will see three items. The brown leather billfolds have a CIA ID in them. The picture is blank, but if you hold up any other picture to it, it will adapt it. The second item, which looks like a small cell phone, is a spectral frequency detector. Basically it will detect if any ghosts or shadows are close by. You just attach the device to your belt and activate. If any spectral entity is in close proximity, it will start beeping. The third device, which looks like a canister, is something new. It’s never been tested but the SCAR researchers believe it may actually be able to take out a shadow. It should be noted that it emit’s a sonic frequency as well as an electrical charge. So don’t be to close when it goes off. About five meters should do.” Claire looked around the room and wondered if Daniel was going to show up or not. The briefing was pretty much done and there was only one thing left to say, something she was sure that Daniel would be qualified to help with.

“Now, are there any questions?”

[StormWolf]

Malcolm listened intensively, his pensive look was so deep, it made him look angry. The Necronomicon. He had read about that book in popular fiction and seen it in a few movies, but none of them wereas serious as the actual thing was. It was a sinister, pagan tome that should be burned.

The Chaplain stored everything in his memory, taking special note of werewolf activity. He would stop by the armory and requisition more silver magazines once this briefing was done.

When the other items appeared on the table, Mal placed his new ID card in his jacket pocket and his paranormal detector on his belt, next to his combat knife. He studied the third item closely before placing it in his bag.

When Claire asked for questions, Malcolm raised his hand immediately,

"What kind of paranormal activity has been occuring? Are we talking spiritual appirations, poultergiest, unholy ground, or demonic omens? Furthermore, has SCAR done an internal sweep on any Operatives and employees in that region during the time the Necronomicon was stolen? Maybe we have someone in Division 1 who has gone Hellside."

[John]

Claire moved the mouse again and clicked on another folder and read the information. She was impressed at the quality of the question. It was tactical intel and Claire found herself curious as well.

“As of yet there have been no spectral manifestations, but, there have been reports of ancient ruins appearing in Arkham itself. Also it appears that all communications have been severed within the affected area.” Claire didn’t like the sounds of that. If they somehow became separated, there would be no way to stay in contact.

“As for the operatives and employees in the area, all have been accounted for and questioned.” Claire’s next words took on a more serious tone. “And try to remember Malcolm that we are all on the same side at SCAR. And to suggest that someone from SCAR has gone, how did you put it, hellside? That’s not something to be said lightly around here so I would suggest that you hold your tongue about such things.” Especially since it could possibly be true.

Claire already had her own suspicions about the inner workings of SCAR, and it certainly was something to consider. But not something to speak aloud about. She needed to take her time and gather information. But first she needed to do everything she could to hep these men survive the mission.

“Now, were there any other questions?

[Govannon]

Taking a queue from a man who, if not in charge, at least seemed to know what he was doing, Patrick made his way towards the main group and pulled a chair out from beneath the desk. It seemed like a fairly solid group, even if the leader did seem a little nervous. Lots of big guys, including two giants that Patrick was sure he would be glad to have in front of him in a fight. He felt reasonably confident that they would have enough firepower to make their way through just about anything that they would run into. Right up until the Irishman came in and the mission briefing began.

It started off bad and only got worse. When your only point of reference for the creature you are attempting to fight is a more powerful than god eldrich abomination that lives in a place that breaks all the laws of reality, it doesn't matter if the media has hyped it up a little bit, you're still screwed.

"But where are we going to get a steam boat..." Patrick muttered under his breath. The joke wasn't even that good, but still, it helped him process. At the very least it didn't seem that any old ones had been summoned up just yet, and fleshy little human cultists were probably a sight easier to kill than most of the things SCAR faced. It was a race against time, the cultists trying summon up whatever horror they were attempting to contact before SCAR got to them.

"I don't suppose that we're allowed to know anything about the rituals the Necronomicon contains? Things like location, time or reagents would help in narrowing down where they might be going." It was a long shot, Patrick knew, but it was worth a try. They certainly needed the help. Ancient texts, elder gods, the Necronomicon, the possible creation of pure, universe destroying evil.

Hell of a first assignment.

[John]

In response to Patrick’s question, Claire clicked another folder on the screen. Some basic information popped up as well as an attachment that was classified level two or higher. This really didn’t surprise Claire as the Necronomicon was indeed a powerful book, and not meant for all eyes. Claire read the information on the screen and then turned to Patrick.

“From what I am reading here, there are no specific times or locations that need to be used. As for the reagents, they are mentioned in the text itself, but that information is classified. You have to understand, we don’t want just anybody to be able to get a hold of the information in that book.” But that’s just what had happened. Somebody did have the book. And the fact that it was stolen from a SCAR facility made it a little suspicious.

Claire was having a hard time staying focused and felt her emotions starting to take hold of her. She closed her eyes and steadied herself against the waves crashing into her. There was too much going on in her mind and she had to build a mental wall to keep it out. Claire focused herself and opened her eyes.

“Does anybody else have anything to add?” The words came more monotone than before. Claire was using all her will to keep from losing control. It was something she didn’t have to do often, but if she lost control, it could have some very adverse effects.

[mcstringer]

With the short to the point briefing finished, which Craig liked, some of the smarter ones went ahead and opened the floor with questions. Seeing their fearless leader was not a dumb and prideful kinda made him a little comfortable. He kinda smiled when hearing it was the gunk-ridden D1s that got caught with their thumbs up their tail ends, but it also made him worry a little bit because something that supposedly powerful would be in something Fort Knox-like. The thing that broke in and walked out of the University had to be uber powerful or very sneaky.

He slipped the new equipment into their appropriate places, and voiced his own concerns.

"Are we going in hard and fast, or do I need to bring some softer grade explosives? OR would you think it would be a mix of both?

And Please tell me we don't just happen to be landing in a checkpoint somewhere in the werewolf infested worlds? I'd rather save some of the ammo."

[DB.]

Claude sighed, “It looks like my first mission is going to be hard, no that word's too light for this. Damn, We're really just doing a race against time. If we waste enough of it, we'll probably fail. And those werewolves are going to be a problem if we encounter them so we'll have to avoid them as best we can to maximize our chances to actually reach the Necronomicon before anyone gets a chance to use it,” he thought.

He sighed again and looked at the new equipment he had on the table. He picked the ID card up and put it into his jean pocket, put the spectral frequency detector on his belt, and carefully stuffed the canister into his duffel bag.

As he sat back up the other operatives began asking questions and while they did, he lay back and looked up at the roof whilst listening to what they were saying, It helped him think better. They began asking pretty good questions even though the second one didn't really receive a good answer, classified information.

As soon as some people were done asking Claude spoke up. Still looking at the roof he said, “I have a few questions. First, are we the only team being sent in to investigate? Second, How many werewolf sightings have there been? Third, how close is the facility to the forest? And lastly, if the facility is close to the forest, what are the chances of us actually going in?”

Claude looked forward again, back towards Claire, and waited for an answer.