| From: | Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Attack on Haven |
| Date: | Sun, 26 Apr 1998 16:09:28 -0600 |
+++++ Begin Camera Clip - Haven +++++
Haven, about 3:21 pm, appears to be about as serene as any place which has=
accepted hundreds of wounded from an attack on a march could be. There are=
dozens of doctors and nurses tending to hundreds of wounded. There are=
magicians and volunteers all over the place, tending to both major and=
minor wounds. A couple dozen unusual looking individuals, probably free=
spirits of one flavor or another, also wander the tents and cots where the=
overflow from the clinic is being placed. Through this mess wander=
orderlies who are removing the dead from cots which could otherwise accept=
someone who can still be saved. Off in what used to be a peaceful playing=
field stand several trucks filled with caskets. Numerous priests of=
various religions and ways of life stand around, performing last rights for=
the departed as best their beliefs allow.
Another camera shows the even greater guard at an access gate. There are=
several figures wearing nothing but grey robes from head to toe, as well as=
numerous gangers from gangs who should be at each other's throats. But=
they are all running arrivals through portable metal and chem scanners,=
looking for weapons. There are huge piles of pistols, knives, the=
occasional SMG or sword, each of which has a name tag attached for=
identification. The people coming into Haven are dropping off weapons=
while those few leaving are picking up thier own weapons. The guards=
appear to be seriously bedraggled and tired, almost as if they haven't had=
the opportunity to sit down for hours or even days.
Patrolling outside the gate and the low white picket fence are several=
trucks filled with gangers, the occasional Lone Star patrol cruiser or=
motorcycle, and even more gangers on foot. Amazingly enough, even with all=
the people going in and out of Haven, the fence is still glaringly white, a=
testament to the minor self-cleaning magics that Pat insisted be present in=
every slat and post of the fence. On the inside of the fence, on each=
fencepost, is some form of magical symbol. There are beaded leather thongs=
and true bear and wolf fetishes hung, the occasional owl or eagle feather=
punctuating the shamanic items. There are carefully carved stones with=
Ogham tree letters, mostly Oak and other protective symbols, but=
occasionally there is one or two with Willow carved carefully into the=
stone, indicating enchantment. And there are also those scraps of=
parchment, or non-tear plastic "paper" on which various Greek, Roman,=
Hebrew, and even kanji symbols and words have been written. Some are=
actual protection talismans, others are too complex to easily determine=
function. But all around Haven, every fencepost has at least one of these=
items attached, hanging, or sitting on it - all 144 blocks long of exterior=
fence.
Another camera shows the interior of the Haven clinic, where doctors are=
performing the bulk of the serious medical proceedures. Here are several=
highly skilled surgeons, some wearing surgical scrubs and feeding blood=
into patients which carries the Hayashi Biotechnologies logo, supplies=
donated by that megacorporation to help Haven in the event they were=
attacked or to help those who were actually attacked. Several of the=
doctors are corporate, others can be recognized as surgeons who work for AJ=
in his illegal cyberclinic, and still others are volunteers from other=
clinics and hospitals outside the area.
Back to the camera gate, the tired guards have apparently almost let someone=
slip through carrying a weapon of some kind. Behind him are several of his=
friends, all apparently agitated by the treatment that their friend is=
recieving. Suddenly, one of them pulls an SMG and starts threatening the=
guards with it. Almost as quickly, a large earth elemental manifests in=
front of him and disarms him. Three other elementals manifest almost as=
quickly and surround the agitants. All 4 of them are quickly and=
efficiently disarmed, but unfortunately, in the mess, the original one was=
left alone, and he has begun to run into the compound. Luckily, there are=
several blocks from the gate to the main Haven compound in the center,=
where the clinic and the rest of the injured are being cared for. A couple=
of blocks into Haven proper, several teenagers notice an unusual man=
running toward thier school, and attempt to stop him. He plows right=
through them and continues running toward the center of Haven. One of them=
stands up, crosses the street to a phone set into the wall of the building,=
and dials up some number. Within 20 seconds, and only a block closer to=
the center of Haven, the man is stopped by the appearance of three troll=
gangers who literally physically stop him by picking him up off the ground=
by his shoulders. But something goes wrong, and after screaming "Let there=
be light!", the man and trolls disappear in a violent explosion that tears=
a hole into the building and breaks windows for several blocks.
Back at the gate, a couple of the man's companions scream "Let there be=
LIGHT!" only to be cut off violently by earth and fire elemental engulfment=
prior to being able to blow themselves up as their companion had. However,=
at other gates, several explosions do successfully occur, likely killing=
dozens. Those who didn't have suicide bombs attached to their bodies pull=
assault rifles, SMGs, clubs, swords, knives, etc. and rush the gates. The=
gangers outside Haven pull weapons as well and close to melee range with=
the terrorists. Several of the grey-robed figures also close to melee=
range, and the tremendous power of whatever martial art they are using is=
revealed. Some of the movements are crushing skulls with single blows,=
others seperating shoulders and legs from the body with apparently as=
little effort as a child removing the legs from a grasshopper, and still=
others targeting pressure points and nerve clusters with enough force and=
precision to collapse fanatics in serious pain or unconsciousness with a=
single blow. Outside the fence, there is blood flowing and terrorists are=
dying, but within the fence, what little combat is occurring is somehow=
being kept non-lethal, with the martial artists knocking out the attackers=
rather than killing them. But at several of the gates, the guards are=
overwhelmed by rains of bullets and beatings and the terrorists=
successfully rush into the Haven compound. There are even a couple of=
gates which are driven through with trucks carrying still more terrorists. =
All told, there are probably somewhere between 80 and 140 terrorists=
attacking Haven currently, far more than required to turn all of Haven into=
a bloodbath.
Back at the main building, the news of the attack has reached the compound. =
Orderlies are scrambling, and doctors and nurses are trying to continue=
mending the wounded and dying, even knowing that they could be cut down=
themselves in less than a minute. There are heros being made today, not=
the kind that you read about saving a hundred lives off a sinking ship, but=
the everyday kind who just save that single person, that person to whom so=
many other lives are connected. Over the commotion of near panic are two=
things. The first is the voice of Patrick O'Kennedy, aka Valentine,=
pleading for calm and for the permanent faculty to report immediately to=
the basement of the main building. The second is a gradually growing=
multi-tonal whistling, followed by several huge explosions.
For all appearances, the main compound of Haven, which was recieving all=
manner of wounded, is under direct attack itself. And using weapons=
capable of collapsing the buildings around Haven easily with a sustained=
bombardment. The mortar rounds appear to be targeting the operating tents=
as well as those areas where the wounded are being "housed," if such a term=
could possibly do the situation justice. Bodies fly through the air as a=
round detonates within one of 4 surgical tents, probably killing everything=
within. Almost as suddenly as the bombardment started, it stops, but not=
completely. The whistling continues, indicating that there are still=
rounds incoming, but they are not reaching the ground. The cameras catch=
what can only be air elementals and similar spirits plucking the falling=
projectiles from the air prior to impact. Some of them are detonating upon=
being redirected, raining only slightly less dangerous shrapnel down upon=
the tents, others are redirected and exploding outside the main compound,=
and still others are being lightly placed on the ground or into dumpsters.
Fortunately, the whistling itself stops, meaning that the mortars are=
silent. Unfortunately, that means that the first wave of terrorists, those=
in the trucks and cars, are about to arrive. And within seconds, they do,=
and they immediately begin firing their weapons, including some light,=
medium, and heavy machineguns mounted to the roofs of the trucks. Several=
people carrying LAW rockets take aim and fire them at the main compound,=
only to have them harmlessly redirected by the still-active spirits=
swarming around Haven proper. Several earth elementals manifest, forcing=
several trucks and cars to crash, but still the terrorists advance. Behind=
the trucks are a swarm of terrorists on foot, heading into every building,=
attempting to leave nothing but dead bodies in those buildings. However,=
there are very few people in those abandoned building, luckily for the=
residents of Haven. However, there are several hundred, probably 95% of=
all the residents, living in two rebuilt office buildings, toward which=
probably half the attackers are rushing. The others are advancing=
mercilessly toward the main compound, firing into the tents as they go. =
And still more wounded arrive in trucks from continuing violence throughout=
Redmond.
The advance into the two main dormatory building suddenly halts as a=
shimmering in the air appears. A couple of terrorists who weild magical=
power cast some spells at the shimmering only to have them literally wash=
over it. Within seconds, another shimmering appears over the main=
building. The grounds around the building begin to glow and shed a=
tremendous amount of heat. The tracery of plants and paths around the main=
building come alive with magical energy, revealing those paths and=
carefully pruned bushes, hedges, and trees to be integral parts of a=
gigantic, living hermetic circle. Within that circle arcs magical energy,=
mana that is literally leaping from stone to stone almost like electricty,=
and the vines growing over the carefully placed stones fall away to reveal=
the granite, flint, obsidian, basalt, and quartz dolmens and standing=
stones of a powerful druidic circle placed and integrated perfectly with=
the hermetic circle. And atop the main building is a single hut, carefully=
concealed, that also glows with mana. Woven carefully into the hut are=
thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of shamanic fetishes, feathers,=
scraps of cloth and blankets, stuffed animals, and many more miscelaneous=
seemingly random and meaningless trinkets.
The glimmering over the main building arcs down and stops just shy of the=
attackers. The terrorists begin firing rockets and rifles and machine guns=
into the shimmering in the air only to be surprised by the ricochets and=
exploding rockets. Nothing appears to penetrate the barrier, not even when=
the attackers attempt to ram it and punch through it with a truck. But the=
attack continues as they waste thousands of rounds of ammunition on trying=
to punch through a barrier that appears to be unbreachable. Gradually, the=
large barrier begins to expand, spreading out toward the smaller barrier up=
around the main dorms. The barrier, as it reaches out toward buildings,=
reaches around them like a giant pool of mercury, fusing behind the=
building and then enclosing it as it expands upward. The attackers fall=
back before this unbreachable wall of magical energy, into to the waiting=
police and Haven guards.
Bloody battles begin at the fences as terrorists have to fight their way out=
of Haven now, through Lone Star, gangs, and a couple of private security=
units like Serenity Security. Many of them are killed just outside the=
fence as they flee from a force they can't comprehend. Others are captured=
and arrested, and still others successfully escape.
The expanding barrier expands until it reaches the fence, where all those=
thousands of fetishes, stones, and hermetic symbols are glowing and=
scortching the white fenceposts, burning themselves into the wood of the=
fence. At the fence, the barrier stops and suddenly "solidifies", becoming=
less a pool of mercury and more a wall of shimmering energy. Some of the=
buildings near the edge of the barrier are literally cut in half when the=
barrier solidifies, thier upper floors cut off from the lower ones, and the=
upper floors collapse violently as they slide down off the barrier.
Back at the main building, the giant hermetic, druidic, and shamanic=
combined ritual comes to an end and, as if turning off a light, the circles=
go black. Emergency generators kick in as the lights for surgery turn back=
on and everyone attempts to determine just what the hell has happened. =
Overhead, a circle appears in the otherwise very dark barrier, and the sky =
appears.
+++++ End Camera Clip - Haven +++++
The barrier is still up, but people and vehicles can get through it at the=
gates as necessary. Valentine and the rest of his permanent faculty have=
apparently passed out and are unavailable for comment. The police,=
InterPol, the FBI, everyone wants to know what the frag is going on. If=
anyone inside Haven knows, let us know, ok? Thanks.]<<<<<
-- Trideo Pirate <16:10:55/04-26-59>
