On the High Frontier

3. Unavoidable Business (part 1/6)

Damn she's taking fire. Kimiko watches as her health plummets. She drops behind a pillar for cover and backs up to fall through a hole in the floor. She can't isolate the source of the incoming fire. "Unattributed fire on the western overpass."

"Deal with it, we have a full frontal on the package." Damn, they'd made good progress to the goal, but the other team has set a solid ambush. She's supposed to be support, but forced down off the overpass she's lost LoS on the group. Then she hears the rising bleeps of Kristin's trick shot, targeting a player through any and all barriers, the real trick is to take out other targets on the way. Damn it's her, she has the debuff. They'd forced her down here to give them a line through the group. She's dead, but how to avoid killing the group. Up; the hardest correction is to lose height. Back out on the overpass, she's dead anyway so the fire up there is not an issue.

As she jumps towards the ledge above, there is a bark of "Kamerade", Blitzkreig's trick is triggering. "High clear, call off targets." It's Saki, she's going for a lofted firing position which will take her out of Kristin's shotline. The other players start to call locations as Kristin's bleeps reach their crescendo and Kimiko's avatar is assassinated. She did it, no other team member takes noticeable damage. As she is respawning Saki's strike hits "Gott Strike." Yes, Saki's party trick; she had targeted and taken out all five of their opponents. It's scary how good her flatmate is.

"Right people, take it home." With the opposition sent back they've a clear run, can they finish before the enemy regroups? As she runs back Kimiko drops some prox mines in case they can slow them down. One of their respawns sees her and tries a shot, but misses. They veer down, triggering a mine, and she watches them and another nearby team mate stunned. Ouch, one of the other's tags her but she falls off the roof and is below their horizon. She throws her last mine up towards where she fell from, and it tags an enemy as they crest the edge. But an enemy Ferdinand comes round to the side.

Their first shotgun blast only wings her. As they draw a bead on her for a second try they are hit by an accurate heavy fire pattern from behind her. "Hey slowpoke, get back here." It never fails to amaze her how different Saki is when she plays Honour's Guard. As she turns the victory triggers. They win, and at least she isn't bottom of the rankings.

This has not been a good evening for her. She's just too distracted, and Saki has ended up carrying her even more than normal. "I'm calling it a night." They are actually still slightly up on the night. She disengages and is back in her den.

Saki is almost immediately at her door. "You okay? I've not seen you that slow in months." The ice cream had definitely helped win Saki back to her side.

"I've had things on my mind. I thought HG night might help clear my thoughts." Though in retrospect a game about shooting and killing might not have been a great idea. "I'm working tomorrow morning so I need to sleep."

"Fine. But please talk to your mother."

"Yeah, yeah." Of course that isn't helping her state of mind either.

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Clean and refreshed she admires herself in the mirror. She'd go out with her. She shakes her hair out and the Sayoko earrings, gold and silver ravens, flash below her ears. She summons the sheath to check for messages, easier than loading the secure comms on her desk system. Nothing that can't wait, but she looks again in the mirror. The sheath's enhancements do make her look even better. She does a little shimmying dance from one of Uncle Takeshi's old shows. Looks good even without a tiger-stripe bikini.