Turn 10: Heating Up

[Corporal Hicks]

The rebreathers could not produce oxygen out of nothing, but they helped to make use of what gasses remained after the flamethrowers had burned up so much of the air. It was good enough to continue on while replacement oxygen filtered its way down into the tunnels from above.

Lieutenant Fletcher spoke through the comms, his voice garbled by static as it emanated from the ComTechs’ radios. “Good work, Marines. First Squad, continue up the eastern tunnel. Second Squad, move up the west tunnel. Tiger Squad will continue following First at a distance. Move quickly and remember, there are civilian contacts up ahead.”
<Tag everyone>

Both squads moved carefully forward, regardless of what Fletcher said. A woman up ahead in the darkness let out a long and piercing scream before her voice cut off with a cracking sound. First Squad moved a little faster at the sound, but Paulson held up his hand to stop them. They followed his gaze and saw a hole in the ceiling, a little smaller than a meter in diameter. Just then, the whining beep of the motion tracker cut through the silence. In the light of the Quinn’s flare, the Marines can see movement in the tunnel.
<Tag First Squad>

Second Squad moved up their own tunnel, ignorant of First Squad’s situation, and fearing what lay ahead in the darkness. Their own motion tracker began to whistle a warning as they reached the intersection. A short distance down the right tunnel lay the smashed ruins of the automated drone, but no other signs of life were visible in the darkness.
<Tag Second Squad>

Riddle Map 12.png (38.92 KiB) Viewed 234 times

[eyeball]

"oh man here they come again." his voice sounded edgey and panicy.
" this isn't good!!" he replied to himself
"weapons free people, i'll cover that hole" he finally said getting a small messure on himself, his mental health in these small tunels with lack of air flow was going down fast
leaving the rebreather on dispite its claustraphobic nature paulson covered the ceiling hole whilst the rest of first squad engaged.
<roll perception hole>
<roll flamer combat if movement from hole>

[LT_Chun]

The squad came to an instinctual halt as they crossed into the T intersection.
Henniger motioned to Giosso to keep glued to the tracker, and the others flanked the intersection . Henniger watched their rear as he waited for Giosso to call their direction of travel.
"Right or left Marine?"
<tag 2nd>
<roll motion tracker>
<reactive gun combat, supported>

[Quinn]

Now that Sixtus had his rebreather on, he was breathing a little easier. It took a moment until he could breathe normally, and his brain came racing back. The flamers were burning air, specifically oxygen, and there was a limited supply of that in these tunnels. The full-face rebreather, the modern version of a gas mask, still smelled of old rubber and made his breathing sound like someone was dragging a heavy broom over a metal grate. He tapped his two squadmates on their shoulders.

"Go easy on the flamers down here. Burn up too much air, and those will stop working." he said quietly, before hearing the scream of a woman. Just as abruptly as it started, it was cut off with the snapping of bone. Behind him, Quinn heard the motion tracker on Paulson start to sing before hearing him order them for weapons free. Those sounds made him think there was either a facehugger or, more likely, a chestburster, the larval form of the xenomorph. If Sixtus had been carrying a flamer, he would have been able to respond by putting a short burst down the tunnel that would be able to cover a big area to better hit a small target. He only had his canister shells, and grenades. Neither of which were appropriate for the situation.

He tapped Blake and Forester on their shoulders again, and gestured to the tunnel in front of them. "Cover front."

[eyeball]

Paulson was sure it was getting harder and harder to breath.
now the walls were closer too.
there was an incesant pinging which he could hear in his head.
he was no longer sure if the area he was suposssed to be watching was moving or he was swaying, he readied his flamer and aimed it at the hole.

<aim>
<recover if possible>

[Quicksilver]

"Contacts Right.” Mark called out, a clear and clipped voice held steady by practice and training. “2 or 5. 30 Meters.” He paused a moment before continuing. “No contact left.”

Mark reoriented himself that direction, despite the fact that the tracker system was entirely omnidirectional. After a quick glance up to the darkness, he took the moment to adjust the dials on the tracker.

[Motion Tracker]
[Awareness]

[BarbarianMathematics]

Feeling the intense heat and the lowering oxygen levels in the air was starting to get to Pvt Blake. The slight lack of oxygen getting to her mind was starting to bring flashbacks of training, where they would have to go through harsh conditions to ensure they'd be ready for anything including oxygen poor planets... just it wasn't directly said that they'd be in a hole in the ground quite like this, fighting aliens while in a claustrophobic environment. With the sudden unease of possible more contacts incoming, her fingers close tighter around the shotgun grip. The thing's loaded but dry. She pulls back the slide with a sharp chkk-chk, chambering the first shell. The screams hit like a jolt of adrenaline straight to the addled mind, having heard the undoubtedly human sounds in the distance. Her free hand instinctively checks her VP70 at her hip—stock’s still folded. Not helpful in this mess, at least not unless the shotgun runs dry.

Eyes flick back to the flare-lit darkness. Knees bent slightly, weapon raised. Breathing shallow. Steady. Controlled. Trying to calm her nerves in the midst of what feels like the onset of a panic attack. Now's not the time to show the back to the enemy.

Under her breath, she mutters, "Come on, you ugly bastards... show yourself."

<Aim>
<Fire if movement happens>

[Duncan]

"If Paulson's covering the hole, I think it it's best for rest of us to move forward. We're on a schedule, and it will at least spread the incinerators out," Forester said, as the squad took a moment to recover their breath. "The longer we wait, the more civvies end up as part of the xeno factory."

<Awareness>
<Ready for attack>

[Quicksilver]

"Right Tunnel is dark and we've been headed down grade." Giosso commented as he peered into the darkness. "First squad has their tunnel lit up - we must be below them."