Everyone knows that Truth Famaris reported the outbreak, but even we were too late to report a proper evacuation in time, the frakkin Corps and Govorner shut the Zone off first. There were some folks already out the Zone, some workers from the tenements, some gangs heading back to their house basesfor resupply, usual stuff. Everyone else? Trapped like rats. Only four groups managed to fight their way through to the Mag Lev station and toll lift: The Golden Sirens, The Protomen, the Penitent Ones and Gaelens Machinists. Each had the same idea, stop it at the source or escape, it was fight or die there. We managed to get some of the vidpict records, so we know what happened. We thought we were gonna watch some blood sports not a conspiracy.
Each gang had fought their way through, Octavian from the Surgery, Frank the Destroyer and Lucky Clint, fighters from the Dome were with the Protomen and Licinious from Gun Town was with the Golden Sirens, (unlucky bastard he was). There was one way out, the lift at the centre of the region, with it's defensive gun and barricades already abandoned by the guards. It was crawling with the living dead. We got some information there were four entrances to the tunnel system the Poxwalkers, or whoever was directing them were using to flood into the Zone.
The Gangs had already fought through hordes of Poxwalkers to cross the throughpass, shot their way past the Tenements that already had been infested with Poxwalkers and got to near the Toll pass.
Each gang, wanted to sneak towards the lift, but there was no chance, the Poxwalkers could sense them. Violet the Dominator of the Golden Sirens goaded her Khimerix, they had oddly called “Cutie” forward. Cutie made short work of a number of Poxwalkers, its acidic breath highly effective against Poxwalkers, Violet blasted apart another with her bolter.
500 metres away, the Protomen could hear Violets bolter and no doubt the Golden Sirens could hear the hissing explosion of Arnold V0.9's Plasma gun melting the first Poxwalkers he encountered. Both the Golden Sirens and the Protomen had the same idea throwing Smoke to cover their advance; less smart of the Golden Sirens, who didn't have the photo-goggles of the Protomen, couldn't see the horde of Poxwalkers spilling out of the pipe works.
Both the Penitent Ones and the Mechanists had the same idea, avoid the Poxwalkers and let the the other two gangs deal with the hordes while they blow the tunnels. It worked, for a time. The Horde that would have gone for the Penitent Ones instead shambled towards the Protomen, Arnold again unleashed shot after shot into them but despite blowing entire sections of torsos away the foul monsters kept coming.
Weeks ago, Saschen suffered horrific burns at the hands of the Golden Sirens, brutally setting her alight. Saschen survived thanks to Doc Hans, but it left her with a burning hatred for the Escher that flared up on sighting them from across the corridor and so unleashed her Rad Cannon at half the gang. Eva the other twin took the Rad blast square in the chest, her skin around the unjury immediately necrotising and sloughing from body, her sister, Ava grabbed her sister and clutched Eva in her arms as her skin sloughed from her bones and she died screaming. Both Luna and Babydoll contracted Rad sickness something that would play a hand in their deaths later. We think from behind her mask Sashen smiled.
Ignorant of the betrayals and revenge taking place, the Protomen continued to fight through the Poxwalkers, Hal V0.8 leading the way, blowing the torso out of a Poxwalker with his Plasma Pistol before running forward, placing the pistol to the bottom of the chin of another and blowing it's head off before it had a chance to raise it's hands.
Lucky Clint, always a favourite of ours on fight night, was due to retire from the fight game at the end of the year having amassed a small fortune in credits, some said he couldn't give it up. Clint would never let himself be outdone by any ganger, the old gunslinger blew the heads off Poxwalker after Poxwalker, a one man vaccine and euthenasia all in one. Frank, a youngster from the Dome, watched the old hand he was supposed to fight in three days and wouldn't let him be outdone, rushing forward to cut the head off a Poxwalker, “Don't get cocky kid” Clint told while reloading. Octavian, who worked with Doc Hans, rumoured to be a Magos Biologis, knew exactly how to kill Poxwalkers, placing a Lasbolt through the nose of Poxwalker and severing its spinal column with his Laspistol. Victor, actually listening to the droning voice of the Octavian going on and on about anatomy, repeated Octavians feat. The Protomen despite the majority of the horde coming at them were making good headway.
Every Gang had managed to cobble together a bomb big enough to take out the tunnels the Poxwalkers were crawling out of, collapse the whole frakking thing and crush those corrupted bastards. The Golden Sirens gave their bomb, a combination of acid vials, melta bombs and frag grenades strapped together to Saphire, who they nicknamed “New Grrl”. Vid Picts capture that Saphire set the bomb correctly, but she thought she had not cursing as she tried to set it up again.
The Penitent Ones, having so far avoided fighting, first sighted the Poxwalkers. Having seen a number of people already torn apart by the Poxwalkers, Leo's nerve finally broke and fled into the tangled ruins behind the lift way as Theophobo's screamed at him to come back, so much for the Redemptionist crusades faith in the Emperor.
Saphire or New Grrl, finally figured out she set the bomb right the first time, barely had time to shout a warning before she was vaporised by the blast. Luna, still suffering from the Rad Phage, could not escape the blast and her head was crushed by flying masonry, Ava, also struggling following her sisters gruesome death, was wounded in the blast. Luckily for the the Golden Sirens nearly all the Poxwalkers coming out the tunnel were vaporised as well.
Gaelan of the Mechanists, thought dead at the hands of the Seven Skinners, arrived to take the lead. The taciturn Van Saar simply acknowledged their leader with a nod and started to move up, now confident they can get passed the Poxwalkers who were converging on the Golden Sirens. If the Mechanists thought their horrible luck had finally changed they were sorely mistaken, as a door holding back the Poxwalkers, malfunctioned and opened, spilling the living dead into the corridor, we still do not know if the Sirens had a hand in it, but judging by the grim smile of Violet as the grainy pict picked up her tucking something into her pocket, would suggest she did.
In the other corner, the Poxwalker horde, attacked the Penitent Ones in a rolling tide. Theodore leading the Penitent Ones in the chorus of “we shall be redeemed in blood” stepped forward and scythed the first three Poxwalkers, before being barralled to the ground. Beneath the pile of infected bodies, the Theodore roared at his people to run before detonating his frag grenades as his last words aptly said “For the Emperor!” Rather than be inspired by this, Theophobos, like Leo, ran in terror, the others were not so cowardly and swore to end the plague at its source.
Unlike the Penitent ones, Lucky Clint was continuing his lucky streak adding another notch to his shotgun, stock as another Poxwalker head exploded.
Lucky Clint, clearly shows us all in the face of adversity, unlike Leo, who having panicked, ran, recovered just in time to be attacked and bitten and succumb to the plague, tears streaming from his eyes.
The Golden Sirens, finally recovered from the blast, only had a moment before a single Poxwalker managed to tear through the doorway and attack Rwby “the Castrator” (why Escher... Just why, I'm glad Rwby is dead). Rwby, clearly having stolen all the Mecahanists good fortune had her Displacer Field activate and send her through the wall and next to the Lifts defensive perimeter! The Penitent Ones continued their self inflicted martyrdom, Narcis, who was carrying their cobbled together bomb, could not set it before the Poxwalkers fell upon him. Rather than die at the hands of Poxwalkers, Narcis threw himself into the Tunnel, falling into a literal carpet of Poxwalkers, and detonated the bomb with a lit flame. Narcis died for his God-Emperor and took thousands of Poxwalkers with him, we think that is a good way to go for martyrdom, even if that idiot Leo could not.
We got to the saddest part of the story. Lucky Clint, our favourite arena fighter, the old hand, the gunslinger, the slayer of Mestophiles the desecrator, victor against the Warwhore, Slaughterer of the Potts Brothers, the chosen, the lucky ones luck finally ran out. “Lady Luck”, his trusty shotgun, took down a score of Poxwalkers, as he yelled at his charges, the Protomen to run, particularly Scarlet, who he had taken a paternal shine too. Everyone who watches fight night knew that Clint had fallen out with his daughter Rayna years ago, who had signed up with the Astra Militarum and had shipped out, he didn't want her to go, to risk her life for an machine that cared nothing for her. He could save one. Clint had elected to take the Bomb off the Protomen and as the Poxwalkers closed and stood alone in the doorway. As they fled, Clint took Lucky Lady and pointed it at the bomb “Bite this” was his last words. We love you Clint.
 |
| Last known pict of Lucky Clint. |
Rwby must've stolen Clints luck as she was first the lift, which the servitor had not sent as the automated cargo train had not arrived. Instead, Rwby manned the cannons, scything through the massive carpet of Poxwalkers, but it made little difference as they reached the barricades – there were hundreds, then she was momentarily surrounded as the Protomen, thinking it was going to attack shot her pet Pyrr Cat.
Theophilo's was surrounded by Poxwalkers like his martyr brothers before him, Theophobos, having recovered some of his meagre wits helped him along, blowing the entire crowd to peices with a Frag bolt. As the smoke cleared, Theophilos his eyes bloodied and half his ribcage missing stumbled and threw himself at Theophilos and barrelled him to the ground. The hyperventilating and panicking Theophilos breathed in the plague spores pouring from Theophobos' injuries and mouth and quickly succumbed to the plague.
Poor bloody Licinious was wrong for trusting the Golden Sirens. First chance she got Violet shoved him into the poxwalkers to stop the tide. Licinious did a good job blasting two with his bolter and burying his knife into the skull of a third, before the tide buried him, as he blasted them on full auto, all just to slow them down a bit.
If you think the Sirens sound worse than a Tithe collector, you're right. Quickly shouted over the sound of gunfire was an agreement between the Protomen and the Sirens, working together was their only chance of anyone surviving. That lasted about 3 minutes.
The Mechanists would have been able to tell the Protomen not to trust the Sirens, they were already suffering at their hands, as was Licinious a few metres further up the corridor as he was eaten alive. 20 or 30 Poxwalkers had boxed the 4 Machinists who had formed a shield wall, every time one managed to knock one of the dead back, another stepped forward. Inch by inch they were pushed back as Van Saar weapons were fultile against diseased flesh. The Machinists cut down half the poxwalkers, but as another 10 poxwalkers fell into the hurling mass the Machinists were barrelled over all at once, Halec Gaelan, Svan Valkyr and Roen Jorgensen were crushed beneath the bodies, Saschen drew her laspistol and put two Poxwalkers down with shots in their skulls before she was dragged down as well. Minutes later the Machinists rose once more, now part of the damned.
The Protomen finally reached the barricades and within metres of the lift Hal foolishly raised a waved hand to Rwby who was still firing into the Poxwalker horde approaching from the right of the lift. Rwby the Castrator never let a slight pass, ordered “Cutie” to blast them in an insane act of revenge. Catching everyone of the Protomen, the Van Saar must have expected something was amiss and dodged the attack with only one succumbing to the deadly poison. A firefight erupted between the surviving gangs, all the while the Poxwalkers close in. The bloodied corpse of the Pyrr cat rises again and attacks its erstwhile owner, catching her throat just as the Displacer Field hurls Rwby into the mass of Poxwalkers, her screams are immediately cut off by the Poxwalkers ripping her to peices.
Violet the Dominator, unaware of the betrayal and carnage snuck through the darkened corridors to make her dash for the lift which has just arrived. To her horror she discovers the gangs in a firefight and Hal opens fire upon her. The Protomen shoot and blow out the stomach of Ava and she climbs out a tunnel, killing her. The Khimerex, managed to tear apart a dozen Poxwalkers before sheer numbers slowly tear chunks out of it. The massive frame of the Khimerex creates a distraction and Scarlet V0.7 of the Protomen is the only person in a position to take advantage so makes a desperate sprint. Throwing aside her Plasmagun and pistol she leaps the barricade in a surprising show of agility borne out of desperation. Scarlet skids and tumbles into the lift and the door immediately begins to close, a scream of rage comes from the barricades as Violet, last surviving member of the Sirens and their leader looses a wild bolt round at Scarlet which flies wide. As the doors shut the remaining Protomen and Frank the Destroyer turn their guns on Violet, determined to have one last once of revenge on the women and gang who doomed them all.
Only Scarlet survived. Of an entire Zone of thousands upon thousands only Scarlet V0.7 survived. We do not know where she is, our vid links don't extend to the mag lev and there aren't any vid picts in Zone 9.
One thing is for sure, if the Golden Sirens as insane as they were and the Penitent Ones had not sealed two of those tunnels, there would be a good chance that the plague would have spread accross the whole slums and maybe even further into Dirt Side. All thier sacrifices saved the Slums, Dirtside maybe even all of Farport. But the Imperium will never tell you that, to them, they were all scum. But to the people of Dirtside, no matter their hatred for one another they were for a moment, heroes.
Except Rwby, fuck Rwby.
 |
| Pict footage of Scarlet's escape |
That my friend was an amazing and genuinely at times heartbreaking tale, I could feel the passion coming off my screen for this event and felt that the tragedy that this was, was beautifully captured and the event as a whole was.
ReplyDeleteThis is undoubtedly, in everything I've read of in the Aleph Sector, one of the finest pieces of writing I've seen, the previous entry by the Federacy also set the scene well and gave off a real feeling of outrage, as does this one.
The propaganda piece by the Imperium is delightfully disgusting as well, in the sheer boldfaced lie it gives and I personally can't wait to read more.
Down with the Imperium friend!