Survival of the Fittest

[Ruto]

Sahetow swam with great intensity toward the human. If she could kill it, she could send a message to the humans above the surface to stay out of their waters. Just as she was about to grab him, a thick, black fog surrounded her and made her dizzy. Her swim patterns became zig-zags, and she couldn't decide if her home was up or down. Sahetow chose to swim up.

 

Migahut cried out, "Sahetow! You're going the wrong way!" She swam upwards to rescue her confused friend. Sahetow felt tentacles wrap around her, but couldn't find where they were coming from. Migahut held her close and swam back to the kelp sanctuary. "Come on, we need to go back down."

[Creeper unidog]

Melania woke up seeing a human, she was filled with curiosity swimming too it quietly.

[antiaircraft]

Xavis shot out of the water and flew through the tainted air in a smooth arc. He squeezed a small lever on his belt, and a pair of thin plastic glider wings deployed, allowing him to smoothly skim the surface of the water for a few seconds. Then a small hydrogen-powered propeller kicked in, and he soared into the air and towards his destination.

[Ruto]

"No...I almost had him...let me go...he's gonna kill...us all...if we let...him go..."

 

Sahetow mumbled, still disoriented, while Migahut carried her back to the kelp sanctuary. She placed Sahetow down and watched her mumble, concerned about her rage for killing. What am I going to do with you, Sahetow? When will you learn that killing humans is not the way to go? You don't even know what they can do until it's too late.

 

Sahetow finally shook off the confusion and became outraged. "Migahut! You let him get away! I was this close to strangling him and you dragged me away! What's wrong with you!?"

 

Migahut kept her patience and calmly replied, "Sahetow, I only dragged you away because that human did something to you that made you disoriented. It was some sort of black fog that he unleashed that enveloped you. I only did this for your safety."

 

She scoffed. "Yeah, well, I coulda handled it. I'm just gonna kill the next human before he can smolder me with fog."

 

"But you don't know what they can do! As far as we both know, humans can see what's behind them! They might have deadly poisons that they can eject out of their backs and onto their attacker before it can even reach them!" Migahut took a deep breath. "I'm just saying, you need to be more careful when approaching a human, now. They're scared of us, Sahetow. Why would they do harm when they're too scared to get near us? You--this whole tribe has taken out all their problems on the humans. Sure, they may have almost completely covered the surface, but what difference does that make? Surmas don't need to go above water. And we live on the bountiful plants that require little or no sunlight. Our life is not in direct danger from the humans. They deserve to live, too, Sahetow. Think about that."

 

Migahut swam away from the sanctuary, leaving Sahetow to her own devices.

[antiaircraft]

Tethys City was a huge, floating behemoth, home to a massive population of 2.5 trillion humans, both rich and poor - predominantly: poor. Its impossible maze of bustling streets and almost deserted back alleys had never been fully mapped, even by the latest robotic probes, making the city a nightmare to police. As a result, crime ruled. Even the most wealthy and influential businesspeople had to bow to the wishes of the local mafia.

 

Things were, however, beginning to change, as several teams of Greenpeace GroundRangers carried out a string of near-impossible missions that had devastated the fighting ability of many of the city's major criminal factions. This wasn't earning Greenpeace any leeway from the Federated International Military however - Greenpeace rangers were still hunted ruthlessly by the authorities, which comprehensively explained why Xavis had just landed in the middle of a gun battle between a team of elite Greenpeace GroundRangers and a heavily armed FIM patrol.

[Ruto]

Sahetow swiped at some starfish in frustration. Migahut doesn't know what she's talking about. She doesn't know about my ordeal. No matter what she says, all humans are evil. Evil demons above the surface that can invade our tranquil underworld. I'll just have to destroy their civilizations without her. She looked at the other Surmas, clearly excited about the invasion. Besides, I have them on my side.

[antiaircraft]

Quick as a flash, Xavis jettisoned his glider wings and ducked behind an overturned trash dumpster, narrowly avoiding several blasts from an FIM incendiary grenade launcher. Nodding to the other rangers, he unstrapped his sniper rifle and quickly checked to make sure its components were in working order before activating the scope and snapping a 10-round cartridge to the side of the firing chamber. He then cautiously eased himself around the edge of the dumpster, crouched in a firing position.

 

Over the next five seconds, ten high-velocity, high-penetration rounds punched through the FIM riot shields, dealing out crippling wounds to limbs and irreparably damaging expensive equipment. None of the shots was fatal however - Greenpeace rangers never killed except in the most pressing of circumstances. Nevertheless, the FIM soldiers pulled back rapidly, diving for cover into nearby buildings. Xavis took advantage of the opening to join the rest of the rangers in their tactical holdouts on the balconies above.

 

"Nice sniping Xavis." remarked one of the GroundRangers. "You really gave those guys a fright. Makes me wish I had trained with a Magnum instead of these M890s."

 

Xavis snorted. "That's the FIM way - go and make a big show of yourselves, never mind about killing civilians - only when you come up against anybody that has the slightest chance of being tougher than you, sit tight at wait for air support. Cowards."

 

There were grunts of tense approval from several of the other rangers as they trained their weapons on the open windows and doors on the street, just in case any of the FIM soldiers had the guts to take a potshot at their exposed position.

 

"Well as useless as the ground guys may be, we don't want to stick around and wait for FIM SkyHunters to get here." said one of the rangers as he finished checking the area with a pair of binoculars. "Let's get moving."

[Ruto]

((This RP is kinda slow...with just you and me, AA. :/))

 

Migahut swam back to her hut and sat on a rock. I can't believe Sahetow could be so misguided. I want to do something, but I don't know what I could possibly do. There's no way to convince a stubborn friend that what they want to do is wrong.

 

Sahetow decided that enough was enough. She would no longer dwell under the surface and keep letting the filthy humans invade their waters. It didn't matter what Migahut said. If she couldn't support her decisions and stick with her through thick and thin, then Migahut was no friend of hers. Sahetow didn't even bother to equip herself with the Surma's weapons. She simply swam toward the surface, ready to kill any human she saw. Sahetow broke through the surface of the water and emitted her shriek that pierced the eardrums of the people around her.

 

Migahut heard Sahetow's cry and broke out of her home. She looked around for her friend, then looked up. No! NO! She quickly raced toward her friend to try to stop her.

[antiaircraft]

((Well we both hold two characters, so we should be able to keep the RP running))

 

The radio traffic around the small team of Greanpeace rangers suddenly increased exponentially, causing some of them to finger their weapons nervously. One of the rangers unstrapped a heavy radio decryption device from his back, and tapped in several commands, pressing his ear against the device's low-volume speaker. After a few seconds he straightened up again. "It looks like a Surma just smashed its way into D-Sector's viewing plaza. FIM's mobilising the whole city garrison. There was even a little egghead talk about this being a great opportunity to test some new poisons. The governor was getting pretty worked up on the news networks as well."

 

The last comment elicited a slight chuckle from several of the rangers, but the overall mood was grim. "So it's finally starting then - I guess we should get back to base."

 

"You go ahead." Xavis said, snapping another cartridge to his rifle. "I've got a thing or two to throw at those FIM idiots."

[Creeper unidog]

(( sorry. its summer for me. ))

 

Melania going another way saw light she wanted to look what was happening.

 

she could hear people talking everywhere. swimming slowly and cautiously trying not to be seen, shifting to other people's minds to know on whats happening. She sighed thinking "greedy people. all the can think about is money. wait..poisons..... " she headed back quickly to in the abandoned other side of the city where the ghost of her human friend.

[antiaircraft]

Xavis dropped expertly into a sheltered corner of the D-Sector plaza, just as a pair of FIM searchlights swept across his previous position. Getting in had been harder that he'd bargained for, but inside the combat zone the soldiers were less worried about keeping people out and more worried about rushing over to join their comrades in engaging the enraged Surma.

 

After scanning the area with a pair of binoculars to make sure he hadn't been spotted, Xavis flipped on his scope and began searching for an appropriate target.

[Ruto]

Sahetow finished her shriek and glared at the armed humans with much hate in her eyes. She began to swing her tentacles back and forth in the water, slowing creating a huge tidal wave that was bigger than her. The wave sprang forward to cover the city, but something had stopped it.

 

The wave itself was moving, but it wasn't going anywhere. Sahetow couldn't figure out why this was.

 

The tidal wave broke apart in a spray of water, and Migahut broke from the surface and seemed to be roaring at Sahetow, from the humans' perspective.

 

"That's enough! You've brought all this attention to yourself and now you're about to be killed!"

 

Sahetow swiped at Migahut with one of her tentacles. "I know what I'm doing! It has to be done! Why can't you just go away and leave me to do this?"

 

"Dammit, Sahetow, STOP! You have no reason to attack the humans, and if need be, I'll protect them with my life!" Migahut stood in front of the armed humans, her tentacles outstretched and ready to defend them.

 

The tidal wave was beginning to reform. Sahetow took one look into Migahut's eyes and growled, "If you want to side with them, then you'll die with them."

[Creeper unidog]

Melania could hear them. she wanted to stop it...but she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do....but she quickly went to the place where the arguing surmas where

[antiaircraft]

A sudden movement caught Xavis' attention, and he swung his scope to the left to see a group of men in white coats hauling a large contraption onto an armoured transport. Several FIM troopers dressed in elite black surrounded the transport, eyes flickering back and forth for any sign of danger. There was obviously something very important, and likely very deadly to Surmas, inside the transport. Xavis counted to five, then darted out of his hiding place to follow it.

[Ruto]

Migahut quickly ducked under the water, then resurfaced. She did this several times until a whirlpool was created, and she sent it spinning towards her friend. Sahetow lost her balance and fell just as the wave had done. Migahut retained the pool's form while trying to convince her friend the error of her ways. "It doesn't have to be like this, Sahetow. I know you're angry with humans, I just don't understand why. And why take out your anger on not only the humans, but your best friend as well?"

 

Sahetow regained control of the water and made the whirlpool disperse. "This arrogant race must learn that their are other species on this planet, however few that are left. They must understand that the extinction of millions of species will not give them benefit. Because sooner or later, they will experience extinction themselves. For them, that will be sooner." The tidal wave formed again, bigger than last time. "You can't defend them, Migahut. They were destined to die, along with anyone who wants to protect them. Including you. You're in my way, so you must be removed from the picture."

[antiaircraft]

Xavis advanced with extreme caution, skirting lit areas and numerous FIM patrols. On several occasions he was forced to use nothing more than a few scattered plasti-board boxes for cover, and it was only by extreme luck (and possibly some subtle outside interference) that he was able to stay on the mysterious transport's tail.

 

After several tense minutes, the transport and its heavy escort finally arrived at the heart of the battle zone, emerging into a scene of chaos. FIM soldiers were rushing around the various balconies of the viewing plaza, firing blindly into the churning waters 40 metres below. A number of squads had positioned themselves further back and were lobbing barrages of grenades over the sides. None of these activities were really having much effect however - the soldiers were ground troops, trained for urban combat, and knew very little about the properties of water.

 

Whatever was inside the transport would probably be a different matter - the white coated scientists were darting in and out of the vehicle, tuning various instruments and placing unusual contraptions in precisely measured locations around it. From his position uncomfortably close to the FIM mobile command post, Xavis could hear a slight, high-pitched whine emanating from the inside of the transport. Something serious was going on...

[Ruto]

((This hasn't been my best RP yet, and the lack of activity proves it...))

 

Sahetow looked into Migahut's eyes one last time before unleashing her tidal wave upon her. Migahut was done fighting for now. It was obvious that her friend didn't want her around anymore, and as she watched the wave descend upon her, she looked at Sahetow with scornful eyes. "You'll pay for this, Sahetow. You've just made the gravest mistake of your life, and you will pay for it." The wave crashed over Migahut's head with immense force, sending her plummeting underwater. Her body didn't resurface after that. Sahetow dove down to find her body, but it was no where to be seen. She decided that another creature carried her off and resurfaced to destroy the town.

[antiaircraft]

(( :eh: Town? ))

 

Xavis momentarily took his eyes off the battlefield to adjust his scope's magnification. This wasn't an idle job - the TAC8 sniper scope was an incredibly useful piece of equipment, providing information on wind speed, magnetic field disruption, motion, and even the chemical composition of whatever it was pointed at. It was also capable of magnifying a target over 200 times with virtually no loss in resolution, while simultaneously compensating for light levels and using a second d-laser detection layer to penetrate through almost any kind of murk, which was why it was so popular among SeaRangers.

 

Xavis' concentration was rudely interrupted by a sudden crack. The sound swept distinctly across the plaza, causing even the most bloodthirsty of the FIM soldiers to stop in their tracks. At first Xavis thought he had been spotted and fired on by an FIM sniper, but it soon became clear that the sound had come from whatever was inside the transport he had been pursuing. This, in addition to the massive roar and static discharge that now surrounded the vehicle, made Xavis reasonably certain that whatever was inside had just been powered up. He swung his rifle back up and peered through the scope, getting a clear view of a mass of wires and circuit boards through one of the transport's open doors.

 

Suddenly, a random memory from one of the training sessions Xavis had attended when he was still in the FIM raised its hand for attention, and everything clicked into place. A sonic razor?! Those aren't even supposed to exist anymore!

 

Three of the white-coated scientists walked cautiously around the transport, checking the various components that had been placed on the ground. After half a minute's careful examination, each one turned around and signalled a thumbs up. Another scientist typed a complicated set of commands into a portable computer. Right on cue, the nose of the vehicle slid back to reveal a menacing set of polished parabolic dishes. Once triggered, the dishes would release a massive pulse of kinetic energy, creating a compressed, devastatingly solid and infinitely sharp wave of air moving at impossible speeds. Any obstructions would stop being obstructions very shortly.

 

Xavis' finger tightened on the trigger, and he fixed his sights on the cable that connected the control station to the device itself. A single shot would sever the connection, and the weapon wouldn't fire until a backup was hooked up. A simple, effective solution. However, there was the slight problem of firing from scant cover in the middle of a huge enemy force.

 

The situation didn't leave him any time to think - all hell broke loose as the Surma (Sahetow) resurfaced violently and began to wreak havoc on the unprepared FIM units. Well what did you join Greenpeace for buddy? Xavis asked himself moments before a scientist began rapidly punching variables into the sonic razor's control station. Not much reason to stay alive anyway. Xavis pulled the trigger.