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

[John]

Claire looked at Craig and thought for a moment. The truth was she really didn’t know what they would encounter on the mission, so it would be best if they were prepared for anything.

“Well Craig, bring whatever explosives you feel are necessary. Just try to remember that we would like the town to be intact when we are finished, so try not to level any buildings.” Claire said it but had to hold something back. Truth was, that if they failed in their mission she would have to activate the failsafe unit at the university. In which case, nothing of Arkham would be left standing.

“As for how we are going in, just follow my lead. Hopefully we can contain this in time and combat will be kept to a minimum. Also the area we will be landing in is safe at the moment. And for the record, if someone manages to summon the old ones, werewolves will be the least of our worries.” Still Claire was worried at the thought of running into a werewolf. It was a possibility, though if the thief was still in Arkham, the chances of them encountering one were slim.

Claire now turned her attention to Claude.

“Yes we are the only team being sent in to investigate. I know this may seem a little strange, but you have to remember, this is a town in Massachusetts, we can’t have a bunch of SCAR operatives going in armed to the teeth. We have to try to keep some sense of secrecy.” Claire knew that it was going to be hard to keep this one under wraps. Especially if they had to destroy Arkham.

“As for the location of the university, it is on the outskirts of Arkham on the edge of the woods. But you needn’t worry about a lycanthrope getting inside the university. There are, of course, defences in place. And as for going into the forest, no one is to venture into the forest unless I give the order.” Claire was starting to become anxious. She wanted to get the mission underway. Only problem was, they couldn’t leave until Daniel showed up. Unfortunately it was the orders she had been given. Daniel was to be considered a high priority operative and his expertise on the Necronomicon would come in handy.

[Stream]

Even the annoying, piercing noise of an alarm clock going off wasn’t enough to wake some people. Daniel lay in his quarters at the SCAR headquarters, something he would do often when working late. It was a blessing for anyone who worked in Harrisburg, especially since his commute was so long. That’s not the reason the buzzing was not waking him; no one can wear themselves out with desk work that badly. No, Daniel suffered from several different sleeping problems, most of which had no real treatment. Since he was born he would sleep for nearly fourteen hours if no one awoke him with water or smacks across the head.

With a few loud moans, he brought up enough strength to swing his legs over the side of his bed, dragging his bleached white sheets onto the cheap carpeting below him. The routine had become so engrained into his head that he could shut off the alarm without even looking. Slowly he stood, the white bedding wrapped around his feet. It was sort of embarrassing for his age, but he still wore the same checkered pajama pants he had since high school to bed. Today was important though, and he didn’t have too much time to get ready. Skipping his shower he opted to brush his teeth and toss on some cologne, the poor man’s bath.

Inside of his closet wasn’t a very wide array of clothes to choose from. Daniel’s typical wardrobe was a dark suit and tie, reserved for both work and leisure. Being in division four was perfect for someone who despised change and enjoyed the same safe, daily routine. Today he was to meet Claire Hannon, a veteran in SCAR but relatively new as a team leader. She had called everyone into the briefing room to explain the current mission. Daniel had already been given the details on what they were doing and where they were going, including access to every one of the operative’s files. He had only skimmed over them a bit, but would read the rest out of boredom once he reached Claire.

The walk through SCAR headquarters was daunting during Daniel’s first year. Hundreds of doors line every twisting corridor, with the only exception being division four’s wing and the administration wing. The worker’s quarters building was lined directly next to the division four building, where the briefing was to take place. Outside the two large cooling towers still loomed, the weather and time taking a toll on the outside shells. There was no need for groundskeepers here; if anyone were to see a cleaned up three-mile island, it would attract attention quick. Inside the small building below the south tower was division four’s entrance. Right away the briefing room was in sight. The first hallway on Daniel’s left led to a large locked, wooden door. Most briefings are kept strictly confidential to only the acting team.

Suddenly Daniel’s skin became pale white, the color from his hair turning to a light gray. It was almost like he had rapidly aged within an instant. Where he once stood was now a white haze, staying completely still in a human formation. Slowly it deteriorated, moving through the wooden door, manifesting once again on the other side. As the entire white mist converged into a single human husk, daniel’s image once again took over. No one in the room had seemed to have noticed him. Drifting slowly toward the center table, he took a seat, forming once again into a solid mass. It was hard for him to use his poltergeist form and still retain his original possessions, but Daniel had learned to travel light after finally mastering his gift. A small, PDA like device more affectionately known as a SIN was light enough to fit inside of his coat pocket without falling to the floor when he transformed. Already preloaded on the SIN were the operative’s files. Without even acknowledging anyone else in the room, he got to reading.

[John]

Claire was starting to become impatient for having to wait for Daniel to show up to the briefing. She was just to about to order the team to the choppers, and find out where he was, when a man materialized in one of the empty chairs at the table. Claire recognized him from his picture, one of the only things she was allowed to see in his file. Daniel pulled out a SIN device and started to access information on it, paying no mind to anyone else in the room. Claire stared at him for about a minute before breaking the silence in the room.

“Um… Daniel? I have finished briefing the team on the mission. We were wondering if there was anything you could add about the Necronomicon itself, or the rituals contained within. Claire was forcing herself to stay focused. At this moment she felt a slight irritation at Daniel. Reaching around, Claire undid her barrette and let her hair fall into her face. Her eyes turned black and she pushed back against the emotions in the room, trying to focus only on Daniel.

[StormWolf]

Malcolm eyed the newest arrival, Daniel, in a frustrated manner. His eyes narrowed as he saw the steriotype he was all too familiar with. Monkey suit, polished shoes, PDA, and a "I-art-holier-than-thou" attitude. Mal failed at stifling a sneer.

"Politicians." he muttered. He knew this Daniel was nothing of the sort, but he certainly held that pompous political air about him, how he dinked with his damned handheld, expecting the whole world to stop for their fucking agenda.

"We are wasting valuable time. I am sure Mr. Suit-and-tie can bestow his endless knowledge upon us en route to Arkham." Malcolm said in an almost dry tone, making it hard to tell if he was poking fun or dead serious with an insult. The Chaplain always hated Suits, how they always meddle and criticize without ever getting the war experience, without getting in the real deep shit.

[John]

Claire stared at Daniel. Who seemed more interested in viewing the files on the SIN device than answering any questions. She looked over at Malcolm and sighed. The feelings coming of Daniel were of fatigue and boredom, and Claire’s uneasy feeling returned. She had to wonder if Daniel was fully prepared for what lay ahead.

“Perhaps you are right Malcolm,” Claire let out a yawn. She needed to focus. Claire stopped using her ability and tied her hair back again. “Everyone head to the underground hangar on level one. Stow your gear and board the choppers. I have a quick stop to make at the quartermaster’s before we head out. It will only take a minute. I expect you all to be ready to leave as soon as I arrive in the hangar.” Claire paused for a moment and wondered if maybe she should give them all a little pep talk. This was all new to her and she really didn’t consider herself a leader. But someone at SCAR did, and she wasn’t going to disappoint.

“Um…dismissed.” Claire seemed a little unsure of herself right now. It was anxiety about the mission. She knew it would be dangerous, and she hoped, that she could bring everybody back in one piece. Claire clicked an icon on the computer which read “Execute”, and the wall screen closed. She turned to her brother and smiled.

“See you in the hangar hermano.” With that Claire picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and walked towards the door of the briefing room.

[The Comedian]

Ethan got up with a quick jolt of energy, and grabbed his Duffel bag before he walked out the door to the hallway. He let out a violent-sounding yawn, and popped his knuckles. He was headed for the Level One Hangar.

Wonder what this will turn out like, he had thought to himself, Sounds like it's going to be one Hell of a ride.

With a sudden shiver, he shook his head like something was wrong. A headache seemed to take over his body. He grunted, and reached into his duffel bag; puling a cigar from the baggage. He pulled out a match, lit the cigar, and enjoyed it's wonderful taste.

Slowly, but surely, he made his way to the hangar. Looking around for his squadmates, he made the conclusion that he was the first on there.

Slow. He thought to himself.

Approaching the side of the chopper, he threw his stuff with the rest of the baggage that was already there, and jumped in to take a seat. He sucked in more smoke, and patiently waited for the rest.

[Rhomeo]

With a few breaths I just walked over to the equipment that Claire had provided us, grabbing my own set I walked out of the room. With a quick pace I followed the path Ethan had taken towards the Level One Hangar, shoving the things into the travel bag I hefted it over my shoulder. Stifling a yawn I followed Ethan's footsteps straight to the Chopper that would take us to our location.

As soon as the Chopper came into view I threw my bag in with the other equipment and jumped in myself. Sitting right next to Ethan, I gave him a small smile, "Well, helluva mission to go on hey bud? This'd have to be one of the most dangerous missions I've ever been on... Except for my last assignment of course..." Trailing off I looked away from him, gulping in a breath I looked back towards him.

"Well, this'll be interesting, that's all I can say."

[DB.]

As soon as Claire dismissed everyone, Claude stood up. He slung his bag over his shoulder and began to walk towards the level one hanger. There were already two people ahead of him and Claude just followed them.

As Claude reached the hanger he saw the helicopter that they were designated to enter. He pulled himself into it, sat across from the two other people in it, removed his bag, and put it under his legs.

He soon began to feel a tingling sensation in his extremities telling him that his energy was beginning to overflow. He sighed and began to slowly cool down and warm up the air around him. He looked at the others sitting there and said, “I think you might notice that the air is slowly cooling down and heating up, well, I have to do it. I'll lose control of my powers if I don't. And after that happens, all of us might be badly injured, or die. I'm still working to control it without doing this, sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.” His skin began to fluctuate between pale and flushed while he began to shiver and sweat.

[John]

Claire walked down the long corridors of the base to the quartermaster’s. Scientists and operatives moved about the corridors, attending to their own personal tasks. She arrived at the door and entered. The quartermaster was standing behind a long counter, disassembling a rifle. Claire approached him.

“Good afternoon. I’m here to requisition item number 324-B. Authorization Hannon two, alpha seven.” The quartermaster typed the information into a computer that was on the counter. After a moment, he reached under the counter and took out a small device which looked like a remote control. Claire looked at the device and felt a sense of dread. The device had two buttons on it. One was labelled “arm”, and the other “fire”. She picked up the item and put it into the pocket of her coat. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She didn’t want to use the failsafe device and hoped that her team would be enough to take down the threat.

“I was wondering if I could also get a pair of night sunglasses.” Claire smiled at the quartermaster, who then disappeared into a back room. He returned a few moments later with the glasses in hand and gave them to Claire. She immediately put them on. To any casual observer, they just appeared ot be normal sunglasses. Although the lenses were tinted, they did not darken her vision and she could see as clearly as if she had not been wearing them. Claire wanted these for one reason. To hide her eyes. She thanked the quartermaster, who nodded his head at her, and she left the room.

Claire walked down the hall in the direction of the hangar. She was still preoccupied with te thoughts of the classified files and secret attachments. It was something she needed to look into, and she suspected that a couple of the team members would be able to help her investigate the matter. For now, it would have to wait. She needed to stay focused on the mission at hand. She needed to keep her team alive. Claire continued towards the hangar, hoping that everyone was ready to leave.

[Govannon]

"It really was too much to hope for," Patrick thought, his request to hear about the Necronomicon had been denied. Still it wasn't anything overly surprising, bureaucracy was the same the world over, and somethings were simply beyond one's ability to solve. The only thing that was really shocking Patrick was just how calmly everybody seemed to be taking this whole thing. Back in the army, there had always been a sort of buzz in the air before the mission. Everyone was nervous but trying not to act like it, so they got pumped up, they tried to swallow their fear; everyone knew that everybody else felt the same way, but nobody commented, it was an unspoken rule but it was comforting to have nonetheless. Here though, the rule didn't even seem to be necessary, people were talking about werewolves and blowing up buildings like it was nothing. They were either really good at hiding there feelings, or this was really just another day at the office for them.

Even when the final member of the team simply appeared out of thin air, nobody reacted. Sure Malcom got pissed of at him for being a 'politician' but the thought "HOLYSHITsomeonejustappearedinthinairrightnexttomy goddamnedhead" didn't even seem to reach any of them. Still, politician or not, ghost-guy appeared to be on their side, something that Patrick was deeply grateful for. He didn't have much time to reflect on what the implications of an ethereal pencil-pusher were, as the meeting ended shortly after.

Shouldering his bag once again, Patrick followed the crowd down the the hanger and made his way onto the chopper. It wasn't long before one of his teammates began to shake, explaining that he had to cycle the temperature of the cabin or else, well nothing good at least. Hours in a tin can, with a human time bomb at high altitude. This was going to be a pleasant flight...