Annexed Mod Team (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
modaccount) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
annexedlogs2022-08-14 08:50 pm
modaccount) wrote in annexedlogs2022-08-14 08:50 pm
Mission Log #1
How It Works
Welcome to the first mission log in Annexed!
How Mission Logs Work: There will generally be two main missions per month, with different focuses tailored to different skillsets (usually stealth vs. fighting, though other skillsets will be tapped on). Each mission will be posted in phases, with a prompt for the start of each phase. The plotting post will give you a rundown of what the missions are, how they might go, and what might be discovered. Characters may partake in whichever pat of the operation they choose, whether it's a large prominent part or a more supporting role. Characters may participate in both missions, and as many phases as they wish.
Mod Guidance: Players may request occasional scene-setting when they hit a point where they're unsure what might happen next in a log or what their characters might encounter. There will be a "Mod Guidance" comment that players can reply to in order to request this kind of scene-setting.
Completion of Missions: There will be a submissions comment for anyone who's threaded out a portion of the mission. Once a thread has been completed at least halfway, please submit your character's progress and plans for the thread to the submissions thread. These submissions are the main way that the mod will decide how the mission went in the next month's wrap-up post, so they are very important!
Plotting Post: Here!
The Cure For Immunity
The Witches have received intel through their spies in Zephyr that a lab located just outside the outskirts of the city is engaged in experiments on sentient beings to create a serum that will change those people who are incompatible with Sylphid reproduction. This serum would allow the Sylphid to take over the bodies of people who would usually be fatal to them.
The serum is said to function at a 45% success rate already.
Obviously this would be a major blow to all life on the Broken World, as 70% of the population is immune to being taken over by Sylphid. This serum would allow them to increase their population numbers exponentially and turn a powerful takeover into a nigh-unstoppable one.
The Witch will be calling a general meeting at the Command Center where she will explain the situation and the proposed missions to stop it.
Mission A: Into the Lab
Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: Stealth and recon.
This mission will focus on stealth and recon, with operatives conducting surveillance on the lab to work out the rounds of the guards and other staff so they can infiltrate and take the information on the Sylphid serum in order to reverse engineer it and hopefully make a serum to make everyone immune to Sylphid takeover. The Witch passionately states in her opening speech that this would be an immense blow against the Sylphid and is a very important mission.
Nestled in the jungle a few blocks outside city limits is a low cement building with a high barbed-wire-topped chain-link fence around it. The lab is built like a fortress with thick walls, very few windows, and a thick roof made of cement and tile, almost bomb-proof. All in all, the Sylphid aren't exactly subtle, the place might as well scream 'secret lab to create top-secret serums.' There's also a regular round of security guards accompanied by guard dogs that make their way around the perimeter, and security cameras at every entrance and exit.
There is plenty of cover around the building for operatives to watch the rounds of the guards, the way the cameras swivel, and get a feeling for what kind of people enter and exit the building. Surveillance can be conducted the old-fashioned way, by just watching the building from many different angles and sharing observations by camera. They can also be done in a variety of other ways, depending on individual powers and abilities - want to pretend to be making a delivery so you can scope out the front desk? take photos or videos of rounds or entrances and exits to study? draw a rough map of the grounds to show everybody? Go for it!
There are a variety of ways to get into the building, but surveillance will boil down to four main routes of entry:
⇝ The first is a direct frontal entry, where characters may bluff their way inside the building in a variety of ways including pretending to make a delivery, taking down a single guard and stealing their uniform, or otherwise working out a ruse to get inside.
⇝ The second is a through a single bulletproof glass skylight in the roof of the building, directly above the mess hall, which should be empty just after lunch time. There is a strong lock on the skylight, but it can be picked and there are no traps.
⇝ The third is through the back entrance, near where the guards' staff room is, in a secondary building. This route will require taking out several guards as silently as possible and entering disguised as guards.
⇝ The fourth is through a ventilation system that can be accessed by a panel high up on the wall at the one side of the building that is facing the jungle. This one will require some acrobatic skill and flexibility and might be best for a small character.
There are four major routes of entry into the lab, and characters who try any route of entry should keep in contact with people outside via radio or network to relay information found out during the infiltration phase. The rebels are trying to get as much information about the internal layout of the lab as possible in case the Sylphid opt to reuse it for another purpose in the future. They would ideally like to be able to map the entire internal structure of the facility. In all cases, photos, videos, and sketches of the inside of the lab would be welcome to the rebels.
⇝ Frontal Entry: Characters who opt to enter through the front via some kind of ruse and who gain entry will find themselves faced with a maze of corridors and rooms. This may be difficult because anyone who is allowed entry into the building generally knows their way around. Success of this particular route of entry will depend on confidence and being able to keep the ruse alive as the characters run into various different people - scientists, guards, deliverypersons, janitorial staff, and other staff. Keep the ruse up for as long as possible and make sure you get as many details of the inside of the building as possible to relay to your colleagues outside as possible.
⇝ Skylight Entry: Characters who opt to enter through the skylight will find themselves faced with a heavy lock as their first obstacle. The lock is able to be picked or hacked, depending on the characters' skillset. Once the skylight is open they will have to lower themselves into the room underneath, a mess hall for the staff in the lab, and subdue the cafeteria workers. From this point, they will need to keep themselves hidden from passers-by in the hallways, and rely on stealth and silence as much as possible while mapping out the inside of the lab, and keep in radio or network contact with those on the outside.
⇝ Back Entry: This is the method of entry that requires the most fighting. Characters will enter the back area of the building where there is a smaller outbuilding that is used by the guards for a sort of staff room while they are taking breaks, and subdue several guards to take their uniforms. After the uniforms and keycards for the building are secured, they can enter through the back door and maintain the ruse of being guards that are patrolling the building. This is where knowledge of the guard rounds comes in handy, and all that surveillance will certainly help. These characters will have to be careful to avoid the real guards as they will be able to clock that they aren't their coworkers and the "I'm new" story will only work so many times! Characters in guard uniforms will have an easier time communicating out loud on radios and the network as they're expected to be communicating by radio, and will also be able to give spare walkie-talkies to those on the outside.
⇝ Ventilation Entry: This is the most physically challenging method of entry, but a very valuable one. After accessing the ventilation system, characters will be able to crawl through the duct work in a virtually undetectable way and take photos, videos, or sketches of the rooms they can view through vents. The duct work goes everywhere throughout the building and mostly poses obstacles in the form of the mazelike system of them, occasional fans and other blockages in the ductwork, and dust and debris in the ducts including possibly rats and spiders. Some of the spiders are poisonous, as jungle spiders tend to be, and anyone bitten by the spiders will experience pain and hallucinations that may hinder them. As with all other entry methods, the people in the ventilation system should be communicating with those on the outside by radio or network.
Phase III is more straightforward than the other phases of this mission - once the infiltrators have mapped out the inside of the lab, they should locate the central computer banks and anyone with the technical expertise should make a copy of the databanks. This will require some hacking and all characters doing infiltration will be provided with a device that will allow them to hack through any passcodes required by the computer to access the information inside. Copying the database will take at least a half hour, so characters may have to create diversions, talk themselves out of hot water when people come to stop by the computer room, and otherwise distract the true staff of the building from entering the room and catching them in the act.
Once the computer banks have been copied, characters should use another device they will be given before infiltration to plant a virus in the computer banks that will corrupt everything in them. The virus will take about 10 minutes to get to the point of critical mass, a guaranteed disruption of the whole system. This phase of the mission will take at least 40 minutes total, during which characters are going to have to keep any of the real staff of the lab out of the computer room through whatever means possible, making it the point in the mission most likely to go off the rails.
After the computer system has been disrupted by the virus, characters will have to escape the building without being caught by the Sylphid staff, and may leave through any exit available so they can melt into the forest and make a clean escape.
Characters infiltrating the lab will discover several rooms where sentient test subjects are located. Some of them will be in very ill health due to side effects of the treatments they've been enduring, and all will be very willing and eager to be rescued. While some characters stay with the computer banks to copy and sabotage them, other characters may go find these rooms full of test subjects, about 45 in total, and smuggle them out of the building. Once the rebel force has been alerted to the presence of test subjects, they will send a truck to wait near the back entrance, and operatives will simply have to cut the chain link fence to make space for the subjects to get into the truck to be transported back to the Witches Camp. This mission will likely involve having to subdue several guards as the back entrance is near the guards' room.
Mission B: Disrupt The Supply Chain
Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: Recon and open battle.
This mission will focus on open battle and guerilla tactics, with operatives locating and disrupting the supply chain to the lab. It will focus on identifying shipments of equipment, food, and other supplies to the lab and interrupting them, destroying the vehicles, subduing the enemy, and taking whatever supplies they can back to the Witches Camp.
The highway leading past the lab is a seldom-used four-lane highway that snakes its way through the jungle in a mostly uninhabited area. While there are a few scattered farms and other occupied areas, most of the highway is bordered on by wild jungle, which provides a lot of cover for surveillance of the delivery vehicles that approach the lab to drop off supplies. Most of the trucks will contain food, equipment, and other sundries for the function of the lab. The trucks can be wheeled or hover, and will have various brand names emblazoned on them. Characters tasked with surveillance in these areas will settle at safe and well-hidden spots in the jungle to watch the roads and keep detailed notes on which trucks with which brand names enter the lab to deliver supplies. They will also need to keep in close contact with home base to relay this information, with notes on the times the deliveries happen and what sort of supplies may be being delivered, based on the logos on the trucks.
Characters will discover that there are actually several routes delivery trucks are taking to get to the lab, contrary to previous intel-gathering, which pointed to the quickest and most obvious route being the one the trucks used. Some trucks are taking side streets through a nearby occupied area, at the center of which is a rather skeezy truck stop where drivers stop for food before completing their deliveries. Characters will need to spread out to cover these additional routes in order to make sure they don't miss any delivery trucks.
Additionally, the truck stop may become a good source of intel, with staff being amenable through convincing, coercion, or bribing to give information on the drivers that stop in on a regular basis, what they haul, and what their timetables are like. Players are more than welcome to NPC some of the staff at the truck stop for mild interrogation, including waitresses, cashiers, station attendants, and janitorial staff.
As Mission A moves into its final phase, and much more likely to be discovered, phase II of Mission B will go into full effect. Operatives will have discovered four routes that trucks are taking into the lab, and will need to cover all of them for both surveillance and to blockade them or sabotage them and stop the trucks.
⇝ Route 1: The main and quickest route that trucks are taking to the lab, which is directly down the highway and off of it into the lab driveway. This will be the toughest one to blockade due to the size of the highway - four lanes, though seldom used, is quite a distance to cover.
⇝ Route 2: A winding side road that goes over a small creek and then beside it, only two lanes across and through a mostly uninhabited area. Because it's uninhabited and a smaller road with less traffic, it will be easier to blockade and is also the second most used route by the trucks.
⇝ Route 3: A relatively direct route from the truck stop through some back streets that straightforwardly traverse farmland. There is more traffic on this road that is civilian because of its proximity to farmland, and will require a bit more effort due to this civilian traffic.
⇝ Route 4: Another straightforward route, though this time through a civilian-occupied area, and close to a school for the small community surrounding the truck stop. This will be the most difficult to blockade without doing too much collateral damage to the civilian area around it and the school.
Characters will have been given bombs that they may use to destroy the roads themselves as well as access to heavy machinery they can use to move cement blocks into the roadways to block traffic from getting through. Once the roads are blocked or destroyed, characters will have to subdue the Sylphid staff on the trucks through force, which might be a significant fight, as all Sylphid, even down to truck drivers, are well-trained in combat. These drivers are also well-armed, considering the mission they're on to supply the lab, which is one of the top priorities for the Sylphid as of now.
Phase III is relatively straightforward compared to the rest of the missions - unload the trucks and carry the supplies back to the Witches Camp via truck or hover-ATV, then destroy the trucks. This will mostly be through demolitions or by setting the trucks on fire, leaving them as a signal to the Sylphid that they can't go about their research without being challenged.
Characters may disable the trucks in whatever fashion they wish, so long as it leaves a good, lasting message to the Sylphid. The Sylphid drivers that aren't killed should be captured and bound and loaded into a truck to be taken back to the Witches Camp to be interrogated or used as bargaining chips for the more diplomatic side of the rebellion.
Damage to civilian property or injury of civilians, especially children who may be playing at the playground by the school would be seriously looked down on and a huge blow to the rebellion's reputation, so characters are encouraged to keep destruction to a minimum on Route 4 in particular. In fact, the rebellion would prefer if operatives could load the trucks onto heavy machinery and take them to the Witches Camp for demolition instead of leaving them on Route 4.
Additionally, operatives along the routes will find that some of the trucks contain caged and restrained test subjects. Once these are discovered, they should be taken by truck back to the Witches Camp. Unfortunately, these test subjects can't be returned to their families in Zephyr because their chips would immediately mark them for death - the Sylphid would, without thinking twice, kill people that were marked as test subjects who escaped, especially after being rescued by the rebellion, in case they were corrupted by the rebellion. These test subjects will have to be comforted and brought back to the Camp to either join the rebellion or be civilians in the Camp.
no subject
Lifting his hand, he used the silent signaling system that the clones had used throughout the war. Giving Tech the direction of the two guards, as well as a count of four more, with an indication that four appeared seated, while the other two were still on their feet.
Six in total. Not really a problem, except for the need to keep as quiet as possible. He briefly weighed out the largest risk, determined it was one of the guards getting a signal out, and then turned towards Tech.
"We should pinch them between us. One of us through the door, one through an opposite window. I'll enter first, draw their attention. You be ready to target whoever breaks off to try to send any sort of communication, then take whoever is next in line."
no subject
"I can temporarily jam any signals once I'm close enough," he said once the Jedi had laid out his plan. He only wished that he'd had more time to finetune his equipment, but it was still better than nothing.
Looking past Obi-Wan towards the building, nodding again at the man as he waited then for him to make his move.
no subject
Even without the Force to help, he moved silently through the brush. Coming up to the very edge of where there was cover, he motioned for a hold; waited for the all the guards to be in the guardhouse, door closed, and then he motioned for Tech to make his flanking move.
As soon as he was sure the other man was in motion, Kenobi would begin a quick but stealthy forward approach on the main door.
no subject
He moved in a crouch, readying his signal jammer as he made his approach. Once he drew close enough to the wall, he thumbed the jammer to activate as he rounded the corner of the guardhouse, hugging the wall as well he could. Tech made a quick appraisal of the window situation, breathing a quiet sigh in relief as he saw it already slid partially open. Having to break it would make things get loud rather quickly. Now he just had to wait for Obi-Wan's move, so he tucked his tablet into his side pouch. He was going to need two hands for this.
no subject
The hold motion was followed by an on comms motion for Tech. The man might be too close to respond, but if he could key in on comms, then perhaps he could at least listen in on the conversation with Heero.
"Sending coordinates now. Approach from the north," Heero might not need the direction, but Obi-Wan is used to offering it all the same.
Hunkering down on his heels, still covered by the brush -for now- he makes eye contact with Tech, and waits.
no subject
He signals back to Obi-Wan, on stand-by. But since he's there, he'll just keep listening for any changes with the guards on duty. At least no one needs to tell him to remain alert.
no subject
Approaching from the North as ordered. He moves nearly silently through the local foliage until he reaches the designated point. The people he's meeting are clearly familiar with this sort of work and so he just drops down into a similar pose as Ben. His face expectant but otherwise completely silent, Ben seems to be running point on this mission and Heero had no intentions of arguing about something like that out on the field.
no subject
General indeed, kreking, kriff, sithspit. Tech may have witnessed Ben running his hand up and down across his face, but by the time Heero arrived the older man had settled himself back to calm. A calm that took another blow as he realized that Heero was a very young man.
No younger than you were when you went flying off to ... Obi-Wan ruthlessly jettisoned the lot of it with a short breath and set his face into a serene neutrality. Shifting so he could whisper, yet have his voice carry, he motioned towards where Tech was waiting, speaking with the comm on so the clone commando could participate in the conversation.
"Six in the building now. I'm going in main door, Tech is taking the opposite window. He can jam signals but will also be neutralizing any who try to go for any sort of alarm or signal. Come in behind me, or support Tech?"
There could also be an option C that Obi-Wan wasn't considering at the moment, and if Heero told the old man to shove it and went to do his own thing; Obi-Wan would respect that.
no subject
As the man's voice came up in his earbud, he let his attention shift from the two to those within the guardhouse again. So far nothing had been seen as amiss, at least. He looked back towards the two.
no subject
A few are now allies of a sort. War works in strange ways.
"I'll cover you." It'll give Heero a chance to see how his new teammates work in action. Even if only a little. It's better than nothing and will give him a better grasp of how this might go in the future.
no subject
You had to trust the people with you. Even if one reminded you of a Padawan and the other ... the other your probably owed for nearly taking his head off earlier.
When Heero made his decision, Obi-Wan glanced over to ensure that Tech had heard before he shut off the comm so as to reduce the risk of feedback. Once he was sure they were all on the same page; time to go to work.
A glance around the area, confirming the sight lines out of any pesky windows, Obi-Wan stood up and began to make his way across the open space from the cover of the brush to the building. Even without the Force he moved with silent grace and direct confidence, the Force would have made this a lot easier, but his fairly recent experience in the spice lab on Daiyu left him comfortable moving without it. Experience allowed him to adjust his approach to avoid any sightlines, which may have made it seem odd when he walked right up to the door and without pause, pushed it open.
Trusting Tech was in place and Heero was right on his flank.
Standing in the doorway he smiled as six men turned to look at him. Some were sitting at a table, obviously having a meal, two were getting ready to climb into bunks, one was wearing nothing more than a towel, fresh from a shower and the last was stretched out on a couch.
"Hello there," he said warmly, picking his targets from the two at the table. Obi-Wan moved on into the structure as those two jumped up and rushed him. Just as he had all his life, his fighting style was to utilize his opponents' momentum against them. Without the Force to aid him, he just utilized his elbows, hips and feet, rather than risk breaking his damn knuckles again.
no subject
He was sliding the window open the rest of the way the moment Obi-Wan engaged the first two, vaulting inside. Taking out guards was something Wrecker usually handled, but not something Tech couldn't handle in a pinch. He came up from behind to grasp the unfortunate towel-wearing man in a chokehold before shoving his unconscious form towards the guard lounging on the couch, following shortly after to subdue the other.
no subject
When Ben greets the guards, Heero springs silently into action. Springboarding over the furniture to focus on the two getting ready to enter their bunks. Dropping down to the floor, he neatly kicks the legs out from under the first one before darting in to deliver a blow to the back of his head. The second one is dispatched just as quickly, except this one falls of his own accord having lost his balance getting fown from the bunk bed. It would almost be comical, if Heero wasn't the sort to take things too seriously.
Making sure the guard's out cold, Heero quickly strips the sheets off a bed. Tearing the sheet quickly, he used it to bind the unconscious guards. Wouldn't be a very good long term hold, but it'd at least slow them down.
no subject
His own pair dispatched, Obi-Wan took a quick sit-rep of the room and after a beat his fuzzy brows bounced upwards in an unspoken huh, that went well expression. It would be followed shortly with an itch between his shoulder blades as he'd wonder what that meant for the next part of their adventure; because things never, ever went to plan.
For now, however, he turned when he heard fabric tearing and took in what Heero was up to with the sheets.
"Good idea," he remarked, making a gesture to request a sheet so he and Tech could follow suit. Hopefully their clothes mannequins would sleep peacefully for at least a couple of hours, but it wouldn't hurt to have some additional restraint in place.
If Heero shared the sheets, Obi-Wan would turn and toss one towards Tech before getting to work binding up his victims.
"Tech, what's our status on jamming communications?" Asking the question, while quietly ripping fabric, Obi-Wan was glancing back at Heero and wearing a concerned expression.
He and Tech would no doubt be able to find guard uniforms that mostly fit, but Heero was ... well ... smol.
no subject
"There's been no outgoing signals and nothing incoming," he reported. "Looks like we managed to catch them completely off guard." He was cautiously optimistic, knowing all too well how quickly things could change. At least he had a general idea of what to expect of Obi-Wan by way of abilities, but Heero was an unknown. The teenager had however proven to be very good at this sort of thing and no stranger to it either, it appeared, so Tech at least felt that if they did run into any unforeseen problems, between the three of them, they'd work things out rather quickly.
He'd tuck his tablet away once he finished making a quick check of things and worked on securing the other guards.
Good news the uniform is made up of pants and a polo
Thankfully, the uniform is much more basic than any he'd had to adapt before. The pants get rolled under and the polo just gets tucked in. Sure, it's a little baggier than normal, but from a distance he should pass just fine.
That done, he double checked his guards and then waited dark blue eyes watching Ben expectantly.
\o/
He gave a nod to Tech's report. "Good. If we can have just a little bit of luck, hopefully it will stay that way."
Law of averages, right? They were due to catch a break. Right?
Patting down the pants pockets of his borrowed slacks, Obi-Wan also knelt down and began to frisk the other guards. Any weapons he found he confiscated, anything that appeared to be an access card, or fob he also confiscated. Eventually standing he glanced around, caught sight of Heero watching him expectantly -felt a pinch of ohsithspitwhatamItryingtodohere- shoved the thought back into the recesses of his consciousness for later meditation, and moved to the door.
"Once we step out, we need to keep going and sell it." He knew Tech was used to this sort of raid, and Heero had -thus far- proven more than capable. Obi-Wan wasn't telling either men anything they didn't already know; so he was probably vocalizing the plan as much for himself as for them.
"There is a woman on comms who has a bird's eye view of what we're walking into. If we get separated, you should try to make contact with her."
...this is sadly the most casual Tech has ever dressed
At least he didn't look terribly out of place in this 'new' uniform, although like Heero, he too cast the Jedi an expectant look, waiting for orders. It seemed that they've already decided who was leading this particular group, and at least to Tech, it was the obvious option.
A nod given once Obi-Wan found his voice again, Tech wasn't sure just how well 'selling it' was going to go. Usually blasters and fists did the talking for them, but if they were just trying to get eyes inside, they couldn't leave a trail of bodies.
"Understood," he replied then. External support was definitely going to come in handy.
I'm not used to Mission based stuff and my brain keeps going asdfasdfbrrr out my ears :D
"Alright."
And so it was time to goon patrol and Be Guards that were Totally Not Suspicious. Hopefully no one would question when they'd gotten the short New Guy, otherwise... eh, should be fine, right?
Time to see just how long they're apparently luck could hold out.
*Sobs* Obi-Wan wants an actual adult
With one last glance back, confirming they were ready, Obi-Wan checked the door and released a breath before he pushed it open and stepped out. Expecting them to follow, he walked with his head up, but tilted slightly to try to avoid any camera angles as he strode confidently towards the door.
Elma had said to try for the double door, just off center, as the way on the other side appeared to currently be clear. Inwardly crossing his fingers that he could trust her -and that nothing had changed between her intel and now- Obi-Wan headed for that door.
Reaching for his keycard, he went to swipe it open, only to have the light on the reader stay stubbornly red. Giving the card another swipe -still red- he glanced towards Tech and Heero, eyebrows lifted in silent communication:
One of you want to try a card you picked up?
Sorry sir
Once they reached the door he kept an eye out for unexpected company before looking back towards Obi-Wan as he failed to hear the door unlock. Meeting the Jedi's eyes, he patted his borrowed pockets before extracting a keycard, holding it out as he made more mental notes about the upgrades and equipment he'd need to make or obtain to supplement the loss of his usual computers.
Sorry, out of luck on that front. At least he's promised not to blow anything up?
There's a voice in Heero's mind that sounds suspiciously like Duo's with a running litany of excuses for why their patrol has stalled at this door. Because that's how a job like this would have gone with the other pilot. Always an excuse handy just in case.
Heero tries the third card then, shoulders relaxing the slightest bit as the light turns green and the door clicks open. Success!
Hopefully no one's paying too close attention to any cameras in the area, because this entire little episode must have looked quite suspicious. Oh well, stepping forward, Heero pushes the door open and then turns to wait for the others.
A good promise to have tbh.
Obi-Wan doesn't try to hurry Heero along, though he does bounce his eyebrows in an unspoken 'woohoo' as the door clicks open. The older man was more than prepared to take point, provided that Heero hadn't gone ahead inside, stepping through the door and making a quick sweep of the room before just reminding himself not to plaster up against the wall.
They were "supposed" to be here. Clearing his throat he used what information he had from the woman on the roof to identify their next point of entry and then began to stride in that direction. It felt wrong to be so out in the open, it made the point between his shoulder blades itch, but Obi-Wan forced himself onwards, breathing out a little sigh of relief as the next door did not appear to be key carded.
No keycard but when they stepped through it was into a hallway with routes ahead of them, to the right and to the left. The risk of cameras suggested it would not be wise to try hand signals, which left him with one other choice. Stepping into the middle of the hallway, he threw his head back and laughed before turning towards the other two.
"Okay, fine but next break I want another chance, double or nothing!" He raised his hand as if to impart a goodbye way, making a quick flick of his fingers to suggest Heero go east, Tech west while Obi-Wan took north. Was it ideal, splitting up? Probably not. Would they risk more curiosity traveling around like a small blob of slim mold?
Probably.
Only blow things up when necessary. And not including us.
Taking a stealthier route was much more his style, not nearly as anxiety-inducing as what they were doing now. He'd at least be keeping busy throughout. Here he had to concentrate just to keep from fidgeting. When Obi-Wan let out a laugh, the clone nearly jumped. It thankfully didn't take him long to catch onto what the man had meant to do, and while getting some kind of directive was a relief, Tech found it a little hard to smooth out that ball of anxiety. Splitting up while trying to maintain this guise sounded like a horrible idea, although he understood the reasoning.
It felt like it took too much effort just to shrug, but the action forced him to release some of the tension in his stance. "Suit yourself," he said, feeling incredibly odd to be this nonchalant with a Jedi, but he managed not to look back as he headed down the left hall.
Sadly that was not his agreed upon promise. You get to be promise guy next time Tech
"Whatever." Rolling his eyes, Heero gave a quick acknowledging wave of his own hand. "You can try." Thankfully, Heero's usually bland approach to talking worked well for a somewhat smug junior guard who'd just cleaned someone's pockets out.
Then he split off and headed down the east corridor. He was supposed to be there so Heero acted accordingly posture stiff, but in that way most rookie guards tended to carry themselves. Taking things Too Seriously because of the newness of it all.
Honestly, the separation was almost a short burst of relief. Working on his own was so much more familiar after all. Not that he minded working with them, but it had been for happenstance and less for choice.