The hatch
[Quote of the day]
~~
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the Illusion of knowledge- Daniel J. Boorstin
~~
-Elsewhere-
?? pov
???: "Yall heard about the base?"
"What?"
???: "Apparently the entire base was eradicated overnight by some secret project"
??: "Oh please, that's just a rumor"
?: "Yeah, it was probably just a power outage"
"A power outage lasting 3 days?"
?: "Okay, maybe someone messed up major, I don't know"
???: "Sounds like you're scared"
?: "Fuck off jenkins"
Jenkins: "hahahahahahahah"
??: "No but really, I hear that some monster escaped from level zero"
?: "What? level zero's a myth"
??: "I don't know parkins, some guys over at command told me that Ironwood was the last one seen exiting the base before it went dark"
Parkins: "So what, you think iron wood's secret project broke out?"
??: "Hey, I didn't say anything, I'm just talking about the rumors that are going around."
Parkins: "Speaking of rumors did you guys hear about the upcoming mistral tournament?"
"Oh yeah, that tournament with all the fighters?"
Parkins: "Get this, apparently Pyrrha Nikos is going to complete for the second time"
Jenkins: "Didn't she already win though? why do it again?"
Parkins: "Dude, she didn't just win, she dominated, they are calling her the invincible girl because she never took a direct hit once"
"S-seriously?"
??: "Oh please, I think 'invincible girl' is a bit much."
"I mean, if she did manage to actually win without getting hit then I think it's valid, besides it's not like you could pull that off Aaron."
Aaron: "I totally could"
"Keep talking out your ass like that and the COs gonna let you have it"
Aaron shudders "Oi, don't go telling him I said that."
"Back to the hole tournament thing, anyone knows why she's participating again?"
Parkins: "Yeah, it has something to do with her family or something, and also it looks like she's going to be getting to cameo on commercials"
Jenkins: "Okay, now you're just fucking with us."
Parkin: "Bro on Oum, I'm not lying"
"Yeah, I heard about that"
Aaron: "Wait really?"
"Yeah, I think it was pumpkin petes or something"
Jenkins: "That shitty cereal brand that literally no one likes"
Parkins: "Oh yeah...I like it"
Aaron: "Couse you would"
Parkins: "The hell does that mean?"
"It means your weird"
Parkins: "I'm not weird"
Jenkins: "You're pretty weird dude"
Parkins: "Name one weird thing I've done."
"All those framed pictures of Winter Schnee in your bunk"
Parkins: "Okay, that's no-"
Aaron: "The custom made Winter schnee body pillow"
Parkins: "Now hold on a min-"
Jenkins: "The jar filled with a Winter Schnee figurine and your own cu-"
Parkins: "STOP!"
...
Me/Aaron/Jenkins: "Pfffftttt"
Driver: "Everything good back here?"
"All good" I tell him holding back my laughter, he turns his attention back to the road as we bust out laughing.
Parkins: "Fuck you guys, I hope you die on this assignment"
Aaron: "Hehe, sorry dude, but seriously what's your obsession with winter schnee?"
"I bet it's some childhood crush"
Parkins doesn't answer so we all look at him and his ears are red
Jenkins: "No. Fucking. Way"
"You knew winter Schnee?"
Parkins: "Y-yeah"
Aaron: "Tell us the story"
Parkins: "What story?"
"Of how you went from knowing winter schnee to becoming a schnee obsessed degenerate with her"
Parkins: "I'm not obsessed"
Jenkins: "The jar disagrees"
Parkins: "Alright, alright, as long as you shut up about the jar"
We all stop talking and wait for him to start
Parkins: "Okay, so basically, when I was 4 I had gotten lost in the forest and had a run-in with a Beowulf, at the time I thought I'd die but then winter schnee who was 6 at the time saved me and helped me get out of the forest"
...
"I-is that it?"
Parkins: "Pretty much"
Jenkins: "Booooooo!"
Parkins: "W-what?"
"Lame"
Aaron: "Simp"
Parkins: "Look! if you guys almost died and were saved by a hot chick you wouldn't judge me"
Jenkins: "No, we would"
"Because that was fucking weak"
Parkins: "Whatever let's just focus on the mission"
"Yeah, yeah...so what's the mission again?"
Jenkins: "Did you even pay attention to the briefing?"
"No"
Jenkins sighs "Fine, I'll send it to your scroll"
"I still hate these things"
Aaron: "See, that's the hick in you talking?"
"I don't want to hear hick from the literal farm boy Aaron, and living on the patch doesn't make me a hick"
Aaron: "I don't know seems pretty red neck to me"
Parkins: "Says the goat fucker" he mutters under his breath but loud enough for all of us to hear
Aaron: "Fucking a goat in my sleep doesn't make me a farm boy! Besides I was 6 at the time." he shouts in his defense and the entire transport goes silent.
Me, parkins, and jenkins all just stare at him before we all bust out laughing Aaron included. After our laughter died down to chuckles I grabbed my scroll out of my right breast pocket and turned it on.
-Objectives-
(1) - Figure out why the base went black
-If the base went code red find any survivors your team can
-If there are no survivors take any and all level 1 technology out of the base and detonate it
-If Project L has escaped report it immediately and return to HQ
"Hey, guys, what's project L?"
Aaron: "Project L?" he says grabbing his scroll, Jenkins and Parkins both do the same.
Parkins: "I'm not seeing any project L."
Jenkins: "Yeah me neither"
"Huh," I say dumbfounded, but I just blow it off as a glitch in the system. "Hey, ima play some music do yall mind?"
Parkins: "Go for it"
Jenkins: "Sure"
Aaron: "As long as it's not country"
I grab a cassette tape out of my left breast pocket and my walkman as well
Aaron: "Hold on, didn't those get discontinued like years ago?"
"Yep"
I put it in and click play
[Xperadó - Verbal Reality]
Parkins: "Classic? I like it"
~~
(Later)
~~
Driver: "Alright, we're here"
All 4 of us exit the transport and head outside
"I still can't stand this climate," I say as I drop down in the 2ft high snow.
Jenkins: "Eh, you get used to it"
Currently, it's just us 4 near the base, the other cars were sent back to HQ by ironwood because we got word that one of the major villages went black. So they were sent to investigate it while we went onwards towards the base.
Parkins: "I bet Aaron likes the snow."
Aaron: "Oi, don't be racist"
Parkins: "It's not racist if it's true you know"
"I feel like that statement is slightly racist"
Parkin: "Oh please, I'm not racist I have faunus friends."
Aaron: "Who other than our dumbasses would be friends with you?"
Jenkins: "I don't know, Owen seems to like him"
Parkins shudders slightly "No thanks"
Aaron: "Yeah, he's not the best"
"Owen is...Ehhhhhhh"
Jenkins shrugs: "Say what you want about the guy h-"
Parkins: "He's fat, smelly, disgusting, lazy, annoying and a total idiot"
Jenkins: "LIKE I was saying, he is a pretty good cook"
Parkins: "Being a good cook doesn't make up for the fact that he literally smells like shit." we make it to the designated area and spread out looking for the entrance.
I check my scroll once more and the last objective is still registered, I was about to say something about it but then Jenkins called out "I found it" we all group up and circle around the hatch.
"Why is it wriggling?" I ask as the hatch is discolored and shifting around like it's alive.
Aaron: "Ohhhh~ Level zero~" he says in a creepy voice trying to freak us out.
"Dude, we're not five"
Parkins: "Seriously that's not gonna work"
Jenkins: "Y-yeah, s-stop playing a-around"
We all turn and look at jenkins who is shaking slightly.
Aaron: "Damn, I knew you were a pussy but we haven't even gone in the base yet"
Jenkins: "S-shut up, I'm not scared"
"Weren't you the one who was talking about a monster on the ride here"
Jenkins: "You know what, fuck you guys" he says as he opens the hatch and starts climbing down.
Aaron: "Scream like a bitch, if you're getting mauled by the monster" he teases
Jenkins: "Piss off" his voice echos out of the verticle tunnel.
Parkins: "We should follow him in"
"Agreed"
Aaron: "Let's do this"
We start climbing down the ladder, one at a time with parkins going first, then Aaron going next, and me going last.