|
|
Post by Tzuvachyysh on Sept 24, 2017 7:42:00 GMT
Sweet, beautiful sunlight shown above in a cloudless sky over one of the few remaining forests in Sanctuary, filtering through the treetops atop the low-rising outcrop like a green kaleidoscope. Filtering down through tall grass onto a young woman's features, which would have blended almost flawlessly with the foliage were it not for the new sunlit patches that appeared. Having been happily dozing until the light struck her eyes, she lazily rolled over, a beetle languidly crawling across her arm. She was dressed head-to-toe in carefully coordinated camouflage gear, consisting of full-length pants, a close-cropped vest, and a bandanna tied around her head; a few extra twigs and shoots helped. Also helping was the odd blend of shifting skin tones that seemed to swim on her face & arms as she moved. Well-worn boots, a handgun holster, a small handheld strapped to her arm, and a tied bracelet completed the image. Her gizmos were few; a simple pipe capped at both ends (but loose at one), a handgun plus one clip, a combat knife strapped to her inner thigh, several clips of ammo for her rifle velcroed to webbing, and a small hip pack carrying any number of items. Several burnt stubs littered the ground around her, hidden by the grass that also shaded her from prying eyes. The rifle by her side wasn't exactly new; a .50 cal, five-shot bolt-action on a bullpup sniper chassis built before cybernetics and all that fancy junk were a thing, well-worn from consistent use yet well-cared for. Lenses on the scope were scuffed, one of them cracked, but still perfectly functional. No serial number graced its frame; those had been filed off decades ago. About half the ammunition that went into it was recycled casings and home-poured lead, giving the beast a rough snap when it fired. But most importantly, it was an heirloom. It had history behind it. And now, it was hers. Her arm abruptly began twitching, tiny electric pulses subtly rousing her from her drowsy reverie. Her handheld was telling her that something bigger than a rabbit had tripped the zone alarms again. Probably a different animal, maybe a deer. Damn sensor thingies were about as accurate as a drunk fisherman playing darts. Though it wouldn't hurt to check; a quick glance at the time/date on the device confirmed that she wasn't due to be relieved for another couple days. Or was that supposed to be next week... Hazy brown eyes cracked open as the young lady rolled over, careful not to disturb her surroundings too much. For a moment, frazzled brunette locks flowed across her back before it too blended from sight. A keen eye slipped behind the spyglass, subtle motions bringing it into focus as she searched the area below. Two thin, calloused fingers slipped around the trigger, just in case she happened to get lucky today. Jay |
|
|
|
Post by Jay on Sept 24, 2017 18:39:12 GMT
Dusk Another day, another patrol. Rote didn't even begin to describe the monotony of surveying the Sanctuarian wilderness. Barely anything happened - at least, nothing that was worthwhile.
That was, of course, until the Tenno found a series of traps lining the area. She on even higher alert, now, scanning the area. Whomever set it up was thorough enough to leave nearly no stone unturned. So, Dusk would have to be just as thorough.
Reaching into her pack, she withdrew a drone that would begin to roll itself around. The AI was set to auto-movement, with the only parameters being that it not hit anything terrain-based.
It triggered one of the traps - sensors, by the results of the scanner Dusk had on hand.
She cloaked herself, moving into position quickly at a higher elevation. Upon reaching the hill, she sat down, legs half crossed as she looked through the scope of her rifle.
The drone was able to detect biological life easily enough, and Dusk was quick to turn her gun in the direction the drone's coordinates pointed to. She wasn't able to see the trapper at all.
If her assailant was an observant one, the faint glint of the scope would give away that there was a rifle pointed in their general direction. Human
Neutral Good | 27 | Female |
|
|
|
Post by Tzuvachyysh on Sept 25, 2017 15:23:51 GMT
There! That definitely hadn't been her imagination. The huntress had to concentrate on steadying her breath as she scanned the grounds below with increasing panic. She had to resort to father's "wisdom", which helped tremendously at times like this. Any sudden motions might be noticed; no risks could be taken.
Her eyes scanned the area, but the glimmer didn't reappear. More disturbingly, she couldn't see what had made it. However, the huntress had thoughts; the Enforcer patrols had stopped several days ago, after the last batch she'd put down. Whoever this was clearly wasn't from the rank-and-file -- they had tech, but nothing she knew about that could make them vanish. If they had that, the rest had been too stupid to use it when she began picking them off.
She had no bead, and yet her head remained on her shoulders. Her opponent didn't know where she was either. Except, how did they know to look here of all places? Random luck? To have it happen so quickly was extremely slim. Or maybe it wasn't someone after her at all...
Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, the huntress finally came up with a plan. Carefully pulling out her compass, she set it down on a nearby rock at an angle, enough to catch a reflection off the mirror on the back if it moved. After that, she dropped the rifle from its tripod and began scooting sideways, closer to the tree, with pain-staking slowness. Sweat dripped down her face, but she made it; quickly she scuttled to the other side of the trunk, setting up the tripod again and reorienting her sights about where she had seen the glimmer before. Then she reached out with her "instinct" to move the ground ever so slightly under that particular rock, just enough to wiggle it back and forth.
A rabbit perked up behind her, but studiously ignored the woman after a moment, and returned to its foraging.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jay on Sept 30, 2017 2:34:23 GMT
Dusk The small movements didn't escape Dusk's sight, but even still they only just barely registered. Somehow, she knew from the subtle ways that this target repositioned, she was facing someone of comparable skill.
And, they were trained on her position.
When the rabbit moved, that's when Dusk decided to take the first preemptive shot. However, this one was from a quick drawing of her sidearm, and with a deftness unmatched, the head of the rodent became a red mist where it was.
The pistol was silenced, so one would have to be listening very closely for the sound of the bullet passing by. Of course, considering how close it would've been to her opponent, said bullet was easily perceptible.
However, Dusk used that time to speed away. Activating her Exospine's movement capabilities, she was gone faster than most could blink. She took a route up a nearby hill, and took an overwatch position over the area where her target was lying.
She could see something there, and she used that very moment to point her rifle, and took the shot.
The gunshot would ring out, and the bullet flew at where she had gauged the movement to be from.
The amount of time it took Dusk to get from one place to another would usually be too quick for a garden-variety individual, but she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that this person would be more than capable of getting out of the line of fire. Human
Neutral Good | 27 | Female |
|
|
|
Post by Tzuvachyysh on Oct 1, 2017 3:05:07 GMT
She heard the wasp-like buzz and the crunching splatter of tiny bones and muscles -- there was no hiding it that close, not with such a messy death nearby. Additionally, the huntress felt the creature hit the ground several feet from where it had been before. Unfortunately she had been setting her trap while it happened. It did add urgency to the moment, though; her target was most certainly not friendly.
Or maybe they were really hungry?...
The second shot she couldn't have missed if she tried; the compass exploded into fragments, and the shot rang immediately thereafter. Not missing a beat, the huntress zeroed in on where the noise had come from, caught her breath, and returned fire, all within a second's span.
There was no time to confirm her shot, though -- immediately she rolled back behind the tree, twisting around opposite where her opponent's shot had come from. Grabbing the tube from her vest, she gave the top a jerking twist, then lobbed it a short ways away between her and the forest. Winds were light today, thankfully; the cloud spewing from the cylinder would hang for a decent length of time.
Bringing her heartbeat down several notches, the huntress then began crawling into the smoke, moving by feel while her sight was reduced to inches in front of her. She needed to reach the forest's edge, away from the low cliff; it was clear that the outcrop was too exposed, even with the long grass. If she could just make it there... |
|
|
|
Post by Jay on Oct 12, 2017 3:24:37 GMT
Dusk A smokescreen. Classic.
This opponent was definitely on the old-school side of armament, at least in comparison to what was available these days. Hanatenno technology had long since decided against the use of smoke, due to the general ineffectiveness against beings of supernatural origin.
Still, even with that being an empirical fact for Sanctuary, this particular smoke couldn't be cut through quite as easily.
So, Dusk reoriented herself, and scaled the largest tree should could find. Then, as she began to jump across the various branches to find another angle.
She found one on a tree northwest of where she had been sitting, and got to a knee. Loading the bullet into the chamber, she eyed a figure inching itself toward the edge of the smokescreen. No mistaking it; that was her assailant.
So, another shot rang from her rifle, sailing toward her opponent. Human
Neutral Good | 27 | Female |
|
|
|
Post by Tzuvachyysh on Oct 19, 2017 1:25:02 GMT
A hot rush of pain cut through her leg, forcing the huntress to grit her teeth to keep from screaming. And just as abruptly, the pain died off, though now she couldn't feel the limb. Did the bullet hit an artery, or maybe cut a tendon? Despite her situation, she needed to know.
She quickly rolled over and took a shot vaguely in the direction of her attacker, then dragged herself across the remaining gap and scurried into the underbrush. But she didn't stop; the huntress kept crawling until she was several trees deep, scurrying behind one that was large enough to hide her. Somewhere along the way she dropped her rifle, but given the dire situation it was only dead weight slowing her down. Only when she had a moment of peace did she dare investigate her injury.
The synopsis was dire; a good chunk from her right leg, about the size of her fist, was simply gone, leaving her feeling light-headed even looking at it. There was no way she could attend to it properly without giving the other shooter time to hunt her down. Part of her wished she'd set up trip mines somewhere nearby, but that was in the past. Still, she could possibly save herself from being found until she had even a moment's chance to escape.
Laying back, she let her conscience slip a bit, affecting the undergrowth around her. Foliage around her grew oddly quick, plugging the gap in her leg while she carefully moved leaves and bits onto her to mask her attempts to stem the bleeding. At the very least, she might be able to keep herself from dying, long enough for the other sniper to expose themselves should they come searching for her.
That took a good chunk of energy out of the huntress. Her breaths became almost unnoticeable. Slumping against the tree, she forced her heartbeat to slow until it was barely beating. Her eyes closed as the huntress forced herself into a hibernation-like state, though she kept a hand on her pistol, hidden beneath her fatigues around hip level -- just in case. For all intents and purposes, if found she would appear dead without closer inspection... |
|
