Ballroom Ambush
"Commander, are you sure this is a good idea?" The young buck fidgeted with his tie as he looked over the people milling in the ball room. "I have a really bad feeling about this." The commander mentioned, a 30-something vixen shook her head, letting her curled blonde hair bounce around the white fur of her face, "Stow that, we need images of these new up and coming agents, and this is an award ceremony. Be glad we have proper cover for this." She gave a little sigh, and smoothed out the black satin dress that she wore. She too had been feeling a little uneasy about this, but she couldn't place it. "And its 'Samantha' while we're here. Remember that, Rick." The buck nodded slowly at that, "Well, you lead then, I havn't been this deep before..."
The two strolled into the main dance area, where the primarily human crowd was milling. Some talking, a few jokes shooting back and forth. Every one of them had a basic comm implant, and the small antennas sticking out of their ears gave a rather interesting pattern against their faces. A brief scan showed the five First-Gen Kamen guarding the corners of the ballroom. Hulking at eight feet tall, all based on horses, the chitinous exoskeleton they all wore shifted colors as the moving lights slowly made their way to each of the corners, a reminder of who was providing the festivities.
"Ladies and Gentlement, the land holders ball will now begin! We have none other then The President's personal musicians here. Feel free to avail yourself of the cousine and refreshments." A brightly colored man in a suit presided over the party, several scars over his face and a row of awards on his dress-uniform outlining him as a Force Commander.
"Get a shot of him, I think that's Commander Gantz. We've never actually gotten a face from him yet." The vixen whispered to her companion as a he turned towards the man, the hidden camera in his badge taking a quick snapshot. "And go mill about. Have something to nibble on."
The two seperated around one of the lgreek-like columns that held up the large glass-domed ceiling that dominated the center of the ballroom. Music began to come from the band, a waltz to judge by the rythum, and couples paired up and began to dance. Those not dancing had shifted their conversation to the various issues plaguing the land, from the raids to how taxes were being distributed throughout the country. Not a single under dressed person was present; truley a ball just for the elite... and all in one spot.
The vixen moved to mingle with some of the other women, one a tall Caracal, the other human. Small talk of course. How lands were doing, the main freight ways to the city... some talk of a coming drought at the lands closest to the great badlands border. It was then she heard the beep. "Excuse me for a moment ladies, I do believe I will try some of the crab, I've heard its especially delicious this time of year..."
As she approached the buffet table she tapped her companion on the shoulder, "Did you hear that?" She suddenly was quite apprehensive about the situation, giving wary glances back and forth to the other guests.
"I did Comm- ah, Samantha. Is there something I wasn't informed of?" The buck finished the deviled egg in a single bite and nodded to a younger man coming to try them as well.
"If there is, I didn't know about it either..." The second beep made their tails fluff up, and the few other morphs in attendance also perked their ears. "We need to abort. Now."
The buck nodded, "I do believe I need to use the restroom, pardon me..." He turned for the bathrooms, their fallback point. He made it halfway there before an explosion rocked the ballroom ceiling, shards of glass falling down and catching several of those dancing, lacing the floor in lines of crimson.
"Everyone remain calm! Please make for the exits, our Kamen will provide cover-" The sentence by the Force Commander was cut off as several round objects flew down from the hole in the ceiling, the shrapnel grenades sending a sudden burst of jagged metal into those on the dance floor still unable to collect themselves from the glass just previous.
"You have been judged! You are all found wanting... and I am your angel of death!" The cackling that followed the sentence was high pitched, reeking of a lack of sanity as a white vixen in combat fatigues dropped out of the shattered dome and landed in a crouch on the floor. That seemed to be the signal for all hell to break loose, as the band produced from their stage assault weapons and opened fire.
"Everyone to the exits, NOW!" The Force Commander's voice could be easily heard over the sudden sputtering of gunfire, pulling out his Semi-Automatic from behind the podium. "Kamen, Activate. Target Designation is that vixen!" The large Kamen brought their own weapons to bear, two firing their large-caliber solid-slug shotguns at the newly arrived figure, while the other two went to guard the exit from crossfire with their mass. Another explosion rocked the ballroom as a section of the band's stage exploded from another grenade, the white vixen cartwheeling behind one of the pillars as her insane laughter continued to echo.
"Just four? Come now, you should have brought more... this is boring!" Another grenade hit the buffet table, the older vixen cursing just a bit as she threw herself to the side, avoiding the majority of the shrapnel that new vixen seemed intent on using. "I only want to talk to you Gantz. We have unfinished business!" The vixen turned around the pillar and fired four large slugs from her massive handgun, sending chitin and blood from one of the Kamen that was working on shooting through the large pillar. "Remember Silver Cloud?!"
"See how the so called 'Freedom Army' fights, attacking a civilian function?" The Force Commander dropped a spent clip out of his gun and slapped a new one in, firing off three shots. He was rewarded with a yelp, and more laughter as the new vixen's bright green blood splattered onto the marble floor, smoking as it began to etch into the polished surface.
"Ooooh. Such words. A fully armed civilian function? You should have invited me openly!!" She laughed again and lept from behind the pillar, firing eight shots from her massive pistol into the retreating crowd. Only four hit anyone but a Kamen, as one of them dropped to a knee, firing back a solid slug that broke the already hammered pillar, the white hand-carved support crashing to the side and lodging its top in the wall. "Too Slow! Gantz you crazy man, first gens? Come now." Her own clip fell out of the pistol, replaced into her belt as a full clip slammed back into the pistol. A quick flip as she sprayed the whole 12 round clip in a single burst, chunks of chitin, metal and flesh splattering on the those few Landowners that hadn't yet escaped. "Toys! Just Toys!"
The Force Commander moved away from the podium just in time for another grenade to blow up the reinforced wood foundation, sending a shower of splinters up. Several rapid rapports from the band's weapons came in retaliation, throwing more crystalizing chunks of flesh and bright green blood from the Vixen's arm as she dove for more cover, still cackling.
"I know those rounds... poison hollow tips aren't they?" A large crack and a section of one of the other pillars vaporized under a shot. The vixen just carefully reloaded her gun with another full clip, "I didn't bring any, but honestly, those are supposed to be illegal by civilized rules!" She spun from behind the pillar, firing off four quick shots, three of which hit the knees of the bandmembers before another three hit head, spraying blood and brain matter over the back wall. The twitching bodies sprayed automatic rifle rounds into the walls, one set taking down a Lady in a fine white Satin gown. The bleeding vixen gave another giggle as she turned and fired another shot at the moving Force Commander, missing by very little. "Spry old bugger, aren't you!"
More gunfire could be heard from the ballroom as the Buck and his Companion met outside the back of the building. A small comm was already out. "Control, we need an extraction- NOW. Zyrenthene has gone goddamn psycho on this party, I'm wounded." The older vixen glanced at her leg where she was bleeding.
Another explosion could be heard, with more laughter coming from the building, a fire having sprung up from inside. The vixen looked to her companion, "Alright Sargeant, we're bugging. Pick up in 10." She carefully slid over along the edge of the building to some of the decorative bushes, carefully tugging out a silent electromotive cycle.
"Roger that Commander... pardon for the question, but *that* was Zyrenthene? I thought she was a legend or a spec-ops division... or something else! Surely that nutty vixen isn't...?!" He helped the vixen onto their motorcycle, kicking it to life as he gunned the engine to put some distance between them and the ballroom.
"Don't ever ask that again, its classified. Just don't be where she is. Ever." A large explosion followed as a part of the wall blew out, a silloute of the white vixen firing slugs back into the ballroom before jumping into darkness. "... I hope you got some pictures."
The motorcycle hissed and whined, the in-wheel motors warming as they sped to the pickup point out of town. At least the extraction was easy, what with the other buildings in the compound suddenly catching on fire. The sound of gunfire could be heard even out where they were.
"GANTZ! I WILL GET YOU, STOP RUNNING!" The loud scream echoed in the public channels of their comms, "After all, I only want. to. talk!" The final word was punctuated with another explosion, larger then a grenade should have been able to put out. Nearly to the extraction point, the stealth copter landed to pick up the pair. Commander Sasha of the Republic forces simply shook her head, one of the field medics on the copter bandaging up her leg.
"I got the pictures Commander..." Sargeant Grimmel shook his head, "I hope they'll be useful. Huh." The buck looked back at the small cluster of pleasure buildings in the farmlands, just in time to watch a full Kamen Company airdrop down, the chitin and leather wings parachuting them out of the air. "... that's a lot of Kamen."