Blue Team Onward!

[voidtreckermods]

Initial Guarding

Once the other teams fly off it is quiet once more at the military base. Blue team will be allowed to start patrolling, though there will be some areas such as the main command floor that are off limits. Any medically-inclined Void treckers will be welcome in the med bay and the guards will happily have some volunteers to do outside patrols.

But for the first day or so it is quiet, Hitrinto works as a liaison between the void treckers and the command staff, relaying messages and keeping them informed of the progress of battle.

Attack!

Late on the second day there is a break to the peace, alarms blare and lights flash red. "Enemy ships approach. Enemy ships approach."

Anyone who can get to the hanger quick enough will be given ships and sent off to fight. There aren't many enemy ships, four or five and hopefully they are beaten off easily.

But this becomes a semi regular occurrence. At least twice a day there are attacks. Patrols are stepped up, extra people are put on standby to man ships as quickly as possible.

Sabotage

Perhaps the attacks are a distraction. Because it is clear that something isn't right. Power goes down in one section or other. Equipment is messed with. Emergency doors are tampered with or left open. There aren't many people on this base but sometimes they will get the feeling of being watched. Of not being alone.

It soon becomes clear there are enemies inside the station and they are clearly biding their time. It is not known for what purpose. But finding them is probably a priority.

Comments

Prompto! | OTA

[bethereprompto]

Attack

When the alarms sound, he is quickly up and running toward Hitrinto to find out what was going on. Whether he heard it from the liaison or others, he ran for one of the ships but hesitated when he was faced with the option to go alone or take someone else. He hopped in with the first person he saw and took the guns.

The second time this happened, he still came running, but this time he was faced with a tougher choice. That initial time had taught him all he needed to know about flying the ship so he could go solo, but there were also kids and others who might need assistance. He checked this the third time too.

Sabotage

Something didn't feel right. He had gone on the first few fights on a ship to meet enemy ships, but then he couldn't ignore the gut feeling he was having. It was the second day of this routine and he stayed behind. He hid as the others ran for the ships and started stalking slowly around the ship for anyone who might be causing these problems.

He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad, but he found exactly what he was looking for. With more focus than anyone who had met him on the train would've given him credit for. The joking, bubbly personality of his was quiet to let the Crownsguard on a hunt take control.

Other

They couldn't be fighting and sneaking all the time. Fortunately for those on the station didn't have to. There was a mess hall, after all, and though they didn't have a lot of time for it, Prompto was enjoying one of his breaks by chowing down on some kind of space noodle. It was what he found that looked the most normal. If it wasn't, he really hoped he never found out.

Other

[callmegladio]

"What the hell are you eating?" Gladio had taken a break himself, mainly to grab a drink before he went out and took up his station once again. On entering the mess hall, however, he'd spotted a familiar blonde and had to go over to see what he was doing. And why he was eating something that looked like coloured string. "That looks disgusting."

[bethereprompto]

He looked up with a fork halfway to his mouth. At Gladio's remark, he wrinkled his nose and groaned, setting it back down. "Oh come on, dude! Don't make me think about it!" He was really trying not to.

"It was the closest thing I could find that looked.. you know, like something I could eat. I think it's a noodle." He pouted, taking another look at it. Those weren't eyes. Nope, those definitely weren't eyes. Were they eyes? (No, they weren't.) "Aren't you hungry?"

[callmegladio]

Gladio pulled a face and reached past Prompto to snag one of the strings of what the blonde was claiming to be noodles. He gave it a critical look before he lifted his hand, tilted his head and let it slide into his mouth.

He chewed.

Chewed a bit more.

And pulled another face. "... Those taste how they look. I think I'll wait till we're back on the train to eat."

[bethereprompto]

Just watching Gladio try it had Prompto pushing the bowl away from him. Nope, he was done.

"Think that'll be any time soon? I don't know if we've even cracked the surface of what's wrong with this place." He pulled his bag from under the table and rummaged around for one of those granola bars Iggy made. It wasn't all that satisfying, but it was better than braving any more of those noodles. "Is it just me or does it seem like someone's messing with us?"

[callmegladio]

"You felt that too, huh?" Gladio grabbed a chair and pulled it out to drop himself down upon it. Dear old Gladio had earned himself a choice few war wounds since the fighting had started. Nothing too serious though. Nothing the healers and a couple of bandages to his left arm couldn't fix right up.

"Well lets think about what we know about bad guys. Any worth their salt would have someone on the inside messing things up. These guys don't strike me as idiots. Stands to reason they'd ever have people sneaking around or they've bought off some of the stations own guards to mess with the place." And mess with it they were. Gladio was getting sick of running off to handle some minor inconvenience like power going off or equipment going missing that he'd started ordering people to stand in shifts guarding those areas. It still happened despite that.

[bethereprompto]

"I don't know if that's a relief or makes this worse that I'm not the only one thinking that." He thought about it a few moments. Feeling more confident with the idea, he could see the pattern that was developing.

"Do you think we should stay back next time? There will be less people out there helping the fight, but maybe we could figure out if there's someone messing with stuff back here."

[callmegladio]

"I think where you go, I go." Gladio replied with a smile.

Hanging back to see what happens was a valid plan. He didn't like leaving the others short in their defence, but if it meant finding out who, or what, was causing chaos it would be worth it.

"I like it. Lets find out who this asshole is and stop them before they can do something worse." Like opening a damn airlock and venting all of the oxygen, and people, out into space.

[bethereprompto]

This was clearly the wrong time and place for it, but Prompto felt his cheeks heat up at that remark. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around the big guy's shoulders and kissed his cheek. He slipped off his chair and onto Gladdy's lap. He'd almost healed from being thrown off the train emotionally (or at least as best he could with Noct not there) but remarks like that touched him deep, further healing what had been broken.

He pulled back and did his best to compose himself like he hadn't just unexpectedly glomped the other guy. Clearing his throat, he nodded. "Yeah, we should.. uh, yeah. Maybe.. one of the abandoned levels or something.." It was hard planning when he was still sitting there with hearts dancing around his head.

Attack

[faithfulsupport]

Seeing Prompto running towards danger, Ignis grabbed him. He was remaining behind on the station with Madoka to keep her safe. And if everyone on the blue team abandoned the space station no one would be here to protect it with the guards. The advisor was sure the shield was around here somewhere and he was looking forward to fighting alongside him. That went for Prompto too and Ignis of course wanted to keep everyone safe.

"We're not going out there right now." the advisor said with a small glint of glee behind his spectacles. "We've something more important to do here.."

[bethereprompto]

Prompto's mind was spinning over whether to take a solo ship or find someone who might need help. They didn't have time for him to stall for more than a couple seconds, so he hoped it would be obvious. Just as he was concluding that, he felt something tight on his arm. He yelped, but managed to stop his momentum before he fell over.

"We're not? Why?" He wasn't sure what to make of that look on his face. Iggy was up to something!

[faithfulsupport]

"Because we've an army at our door and those still here will need protection." He had enough faith that the other teams could accomplish their missions, but the Blue needed to focus on theirs. And that meant defending the station.

"We've children to protect as well." Which of course brought Joss to mind and another. "Plus our shield is here with us, and I've no wish to leave him to do this alone." They were a team, they were brothers and Ignis would keep all of them together.

[callmegladio]

"Whose leaving me alone?" Gladio asked as he strolled toward the other two, great sword resting across his shoulder and a grin upon his face. He hadn't been eavesdropping, he'd only caught the end of their conversation so he really had no idea what was going on or why they were talking about him.

He stopped near Ignis and looked at them both curiously, sensing something was up. "I've missed something?"

[bethereprompto]

Prompto glanced back at where everyone was running but then focused on Iggy. He'd follow the adviser's instructions anywhere. So he squared his shoulders and lifted his gun. "You got it, Iggy. What should we- oh hey!"

He looked up with a bright smile at Gladio joining them. Was it just him or was Gladio never really that far behind him wherever he went? Don't tell, but he really loved it.

"Iggy says we're going to be protecting people here on the station while everyone else goes to meet the attackers. Should we split up or go as a group?" He looked to Iggy to make the call.

[faithfulsupport]

Prompto always seemed to have the presence to make even the really grim situations tolerable and this was no exception.

There was only a slight smile to acknowledge Gladio's presence. "No one is leaving you alone, so count yourself lucky." For some reason his own comment reminded him of a conversation they'd had with Prompto in Galdin Quay out on the docks but it was then immediately banished from his mind.

"We go in as a group." Ignis replied decidedly. He had been wanting to do something like this for a long time, ever since he'd shown up by himself. He wanted some time to be the badass crew from Eos, without risking their necks too much of course.

[callmegladio]

"Huh." Gladio grunted softly, not sure if that was as interesting as the conversation has seemed from across the room, but he was in regardless. His attention turned to Ignis to see what he wanted to do. Head off as a group or separate and check around, either were fine with him. Though he was somewhat relieved when his old friend came back with an assurance of sticking together. Gladio smiled and clapped the advisor on the back. "Good call!" he said approvingly. They had always worked better as a team. Even when they were one man down. That didn't stop them from being a force to be reckoned with.

[bethereprompto]

"He said that we need to protect the kids and something weird was going on," Prompto filled in Gladio for what he was guessing was the part he'd missed. "I think so too. It's strange that things keep breaking."

He smiled with a nod that they were doing this as a trio. He liked that idea way better than splitting up. "Should we maybe start on one level and make our way up to the control center?" He would, of course, defer to either of his friend's judgement on this but he tossed the idea out to be helpful.

For Madoka~ Uncle to the Rescue! Mission Edition

[bethereprompto]

He didn't know which one of them decided this was a good idea, but he found himself walking the halls of the station with Madoka searching for spies. They'd first gone to the mess hall where Prompto had attempted to find something that looked edible, but he wound up just eating more rations Iggy had packed for him and sharing with the girl. Some guy had explained to him the noodles he'd been eating the night before were plant based, which made Prompto feel a little better, but he was still wary of the unfamiliar food.

Currently they were going up the stairs to the next mostly abandoned level. So far, Prompto had told Madoka no less than three funny stories about their antics back home that would've had Iggy facepalming if he'd overheard them. They weren't bad but mostly one of the four doing something stupid- usually Noct or himself. This was number four.

"Noct and I were talking on the way back and we realized that Iggy's grocery list had said Caem Pinkshrimp and we'd gotten Cleigne Mollusk. I still don't know how we mixed those two up, but we'd already spent the gil we were told we could spend. So we got it in our head that we could earn a couple of gil and buy both. Noct wanted to fish for it, but you know, fishing takes a while! He's a great at fishing, don't get me wrong, but even the best fisherman needs time. Plus we'd left our poles in the Regalia. I decided maybe we could put on a show for people and earn a couple gil..." Madoka, stop him or he will talk your ear off.

[happyends]

Madoka may be cute and innocent, but she's not dumb. Even she hasn't been oblivious to all of the strange things happening around the base. And honestly, the idea of people sneaking around and doing all of those things is pretty unnerving. The constant feeling of being watched is even worse. But even though something should be done about all of that, no one should be out there looking for whoever is behind it on their own either.

She's not sure what exactly she could do, but.. at least she feels better knowing Prompto isn't out here by himself, just in case something would happen. Besides, so far it isn't too bad. Madoka actually seems to enjoy Prompto's rambly stories, despite not being able to understand half of the things he references. But it's nice to hear about the world they come from anyway, not to mention to just hear about their regular day to day life. So she's listening attentively, nodding along and giggling lightly at the right moments.

And while she does glance around them, her gaze also keeps returning to the palantír she's turning over in her hands. It didn't feel right to not take it along with her - with things randomly disappearing around the base, the last thing she wants to do is lose the important thing Fëanor trusted her with.

Madoka looks up from the black orb to glance at Prompto.

"Put on a show? What, like with dancing?"

To her credit, she does quickly glance at the top of the stairs after she says it, making sure the coast still is clear. She hasn't forgotten why they're out here!

[bethereprompto]

Prompto had one of his relatively large, ornate guns- the lionsheart- drawn, but resting casually at his shoulder. He might as well have had a sport's drink in his hand for how at ease he was holding the weapon. The blonde boy had his usual bouncy swagger going, which gave the impression he wasn't all that worried about where they were or what they were doing- which wasn't the case. He just didn't want Madoka getting scared.

"Yeah! I was thinking we could just do a few dances like the Macarena or some of those other ones that were at the party on the train. We settled on 'I'm a Little Teapot'. It worked! We got like half the money we needed. So then we went back to the vendor and I cried till he let us have the other fish."

[happyends]

"You cried?!"

Her volume might be a bit too much for what they're trying to do here.. It won't help much if the spies can actually tell they're coming from far away, after all. But thankfully Madoka seems to realise that as much too a moment after she says it, and after looking a bit more embarrassed she repeats in a quiet voice--

"You cried..? That's so sad though. You shouldn't have to cry for food.. I-If you ever want to eat here, just let me know. I'll make sure you don't have to cry." She may be taking this a little too seriously.

[bethereprompto]

Prompto flushed just a little at her reaction and giggled. He stopped walking so he could give her his full attention. "No- well, technically yes, but I was just doing it to make the guy give us a discount. I wasn't really upset, I swear!" He was too. He'd been convinced Iggy was going to be mad at them and he hadn't wanted to disappoint Mama Iggy.

"I promise, I get plenty of food." He patted his stomach. "You know, you're so sw-"

He was just about to launch into how incredible his new niece was again, but suddenly large clawed arms grab him from behind. One covers his mouth immediately and the other grabs his wrist on the hand hold his gun. Just as he's grabbed, almost that same instant, someone is snatching Madoka up too.

[happyends]

It happens so fast. One moment she's all focused on Prompto, and then the next his story is so suddenly cut off. A hand clamps around her wrist, then around the other one as her tiny wrists are shoved together to be held with one hand, and it's a near miracle that she manages to not drop the palantír in her hands from how startled she is. Instead she quickly balls her hand up to desperately cling onto it, even as she can't move her arms. Maybe she can even hide it from their assailants that way.

Her mind is not fully on that though. No, instead she's just staring with wide-eyed worry at Prompto as he's also captured. "U.. Uncle Prompto..!"

What can she do? She should be able to use the palantír with only her thoughts, but what good is it alerting the other teams when they're all the way out in space? Would anyone from the blue team hear her if she just screamed hard enough?

But right as Madoka contemplates that option, she feels something cold against her temple. The girl can only catch a slight glimpse at it, but Madoka doesn't need more to know what it is. It's one of those blaster guns against her head, reducing any sound she was about to make to just a whimper.

[bethereprompto]

Prompto was all ready to spring into action right up until he sees the gun against her head. He stays rigid and ready, but he can't act without risking her and there was no way he'd do that. The Empire soldier behind her, nods in one direction leading to both dragging their prisoner over closer to the wall. There was a closet there that looked barely big enough for the two of them. However with the silencers (or what Prompto was guessing were silencers) on the end of their guns they weren't being put in their alive.

So he says a quick apology to Iggy and Madoka and drops to the floor. This surprises both soldiers especially when (again, he was so so sorry) he swings his leg out and swipes it hard under Madoka's legs. The motion makes her fall and the soldier who had been holding her was momentarily stunned. Free from the grip of the soldier who had him, Prompto summons a second gun and both are fired repeatedly at both soldiers. Blood sprayed on them from the spots his bullets had gotten through their armor.

He rolled onto his feet and grabbed Madoka, throwing her over his shoulder and racing out of the room. He didn't stop running either till they were back with the others.

[happyends]

The soldiers definitely aren't the only ones surprised at Prompto's sudden movement. Any action on his part would have caught Madoka off guard with how lost she is in her own frantic thoughts about the situation, but even if that wasn't the case, there's no way she could have seen it coming that Prompto would move over to do something to her rather than the spies.

It's hard to even register what happens after it for her. Before the girl knows it, she's already on the ground, her legs hurting. Then there's the unmistakeable sound of gunshots, followed by her getting grabbed again and then carried. It takes a moment for her to realise it's Prompto carrying her with how out of it she is due to the whole situation. Her mind is racing, and it doesn't stop or slow down the whole way as Prompto is running. The only thing she can get herself to do is cling onto him the best she can as he runs so she won't fall.

It's only when he finally stops and she's put down that Madoka realises that they're out of that situation. And safe. Sure, her legs hurt, and she's most definitely going to be finding bruises there in the morning. But she wasn't shot. She's alive.

Madoka looks down, spotting the red blood staining her blue uniform purple. Actual blood. Blood from people that almost killed them, but got shot and killed by Prompto instead, all in front of her. (For a moment the mental image of Mami's corpse dangling from the witch's mouth shoots through her mind again.)

The girl's face grows as pale as a sheet, her legs trembling as she pushes her hands to her mouth.

"A-.. Ah..."