Meltdown

From the helicopter above Sgt. Oswald watched from the open bay as the SOLDIER hit the ground and began engaging one of the turrets. “Light ‘em up,” he said to the two privates before him. His subordinates both stood at either side of the hatch and began firing down on the turret. They were still rookies and their shots were sloppy, especially from this height. Bullets rained down all around one of the remaining turrets but didn’t make contacts.

“Just get down there,” he said with a sigh as he turned his attention to the rear bay. The door was opening up where a crate was sitting. He approached and listened to a low growl coming from within. Meanwhile his two men began sliding down the rope towards the ground. They landed near Thalia. One of them quickly ran to get behind a concrete barrier, while the other stumbled and fell on his ass when he landed. In a matter of seconds one of the turrets fired a beam of red energy that struck the man. He let out a cry and held onto his flesh.

Back up on the helicopter, Oswald began pushing the crate off the ramp. The box fell out of the helicopter and after dropping a few feet a parachute deployed, causing it to slowly drift towards the ground. After it was complete he used one hand to start sliding down the chopper towards the ground below, tucking the rifle beneath his armpit he awkwardly fired it with one hand, managing to do enough damage to make the turret that hit one of his guys let out a little smoke.

He hit the ground running and got behind the barrier where the private had taken cover. Behind him the crate was slowly falling to the ground.

“It got Hobbs!” the private yelled.
“Nothing we can do now, keep firing!” the sergeant responded.

The crate hit the ground and its walls opened up...

---

Thalia Melpomene you forgot your dog, he can be what was in the crate if you want.

“Ooh, she got the good shoulder pads,” Private Jones said next to Oswlad said as he popped out from behind the barrier and took a couple of shots at the spinning turret. The sergeant held back a laugh as he also unloaded his clip into the malfunctioning turret. The laser of the turret began to fire out a continuous beam, burning a line around the area that damaged the entrance to the reactor and even hitting what remained of the other turrets. When the beam came Jones and Oswlad both dived down onto the ground in time as it ripped through their concrete barrier and kicked up dust. Moments later through the thick of the dust Oswald heard an explosion. The laser fire stopped and there was nothing left but a burning husk of scrap metal.

“Hobbs!” Jones yelled out as he ran out from behind the cover. The private removed his own helmet revealing dark skin and short black hair as he dove down and started trying to administer first aid. Hobbs eyes were opened and unblinking, glazed over. “Damn it Hobbs, wake up!”

“%#@$!” Oswlad said and picked up his radio. “Unit 494-AT7 is KIA at drop point.”
“Acknowledged… Continue mission…” a voice called back over the radio.
“Roger,” Oswald said. “Jones we’ve got to go. He’s gone…”

Jones shook his head but didn’t talk back. He put his helmet back on and picked his own weapon up, then slung the rifle of his fallen comrade onto his back. Oswald knew that the two had gone through training together, but there was no time to get emotional now.

Oswald rushed towards the entrance to the reactor and posted up, pressing in the key combination that overrode the lockout on the entrance. There was a loud hum as the metal door began to retract upwards. At the halfway point it got stuck where the door had taken damage from the laser, enough space for them to crawl under.

He got into a prone position and peered through one side while Jones did the opposite. Jones gave him a hand signal and Oswald turned his head back to Thalia Melpomene. “The foyer looks clear,” he said.

The entry itself had an eerie silence. On the ground there were several bodies of both security guards and several plant workers. Alongside them there were several mono drives laying on the ground around them, strange little creatures that some spook in headquarters had implanted AI chips into to control them. They looked like floating eyeballs with green tendrils, and from what Oswald knew of them they were known to be able to create a fire blast.

“None for me thanks,” Oswald said as he moved to the center of the room. He couldn’t think about what would happen after the job right now. "I'm going to get the codes put in to get us towards maintenance," he said as he approached a door to the left and started tapping on the display.

“I’ll take his,” Jones said as he looked over the bodies. He kicked one of the mono drives as he walked by, and it suddenly started to squirm and writhe for a moment.

With Oswald ahead of Jones, he didn’t see the monster. If something wasn’t done, Jones as going to get fried!

---

Thalia Melpomene

It wasn't long after the contact party had gone in that the sound of a second helicopter approaching filled the air, hovering in place several metres above ground. Inside, the darkened shape of a relatively tall man sat by the doors, legs crossed as he adjusted the metallic gauntlets on his forearms with a blank look upon his face.

A strange sword was propped against his seat by his side, the dull, blue glow it produced bathing the man's silhouette. The man's eyes shone green even in the darkness as he nodded to himself, grasping the sword's handle before rising to his feet.

"Make a few rounds around the reactor. This won't take long." He ordered the pilot before grasping the door and swinging it wide open. The sudden noise of the Helicopter's blades all but drowned out the pilot's 'yes, sir!' as the man held out a hand in front of his eyes, a pillar of mako energy shooting through the sky just then and there.

With the strong light of the reactor projecting a heavy contrast upon him, the man looked right out of a picture. (The one directly to this post's left, to be specific.)

Taking that as his cue, the man leapt off the flying vehicle, landing upon the steel floors shortly after in the standard knee-joint damaging superhero landing pose, a dull click from the heels of his shoes the only sound made. 

Thank god for the Jump Materia, or that would have actually been really stupid on his part! 

Rising to his full height, the man's eyes scanned the area, taking note of the recently destroyed security systems and the single corpse of a Shin-Ra trooper left behind. He made a mental note to add bootcamp to the list of things that needed to see immediate improvement within the Department of defense and public safety.

With the note made, the man began his march towards the reactor's entrance, the heels of his shoes clicking on the metallic surface as his suspiciously adhesive trench coat fluttered in the wind.

Some SOLDIERs used magnetic holsters to securely attach their impractically large weapons to their backs. GAWAIN used them to keep his cool coat in place.

Presentation matters!

Before long, there was no longer any wind, nor noise. Only the eerie silence constantly interrupted by his echoing steps. 

Oh, and the sound of a small explosion going off the moment he entered the room, two bodies landing at his feet with a dull thud and a metallic clank as the helmet of the trooper hit pretty hard against the steel floors. A little farther ahead, messing around with a console, was another trooper, distinguished from the the one at his feet and the corpse outside by the RPG strapped to his back. 

Needless to say, out of all three, he only recognized the woman lying atop the poor trooper; he had seen her records before. He liked to keep track of all SOLDIERs.

He looked between all of them, his expression blank for a moment before his gaze finally settled on the SOLDIER.

"Captain Thalia Melpomene, if my memory doesn't fail me? Report."

---

Sergeant Oswald

Thalia stood at attention. She was relieved to see her superior approaching the scene. It sucked that HQ thought this was too big a job for her to handle but that notion was totally accurate. The 3rd Class SOLDIER did not want to be the one stuck holding the bag when this whole sector blew up. Still, it was a little jarring to see the familiar face outside the office. Gwendaline wasn’t it… or Gavin? Thalia was notoriously bad with names but she was sure it would come to her if she just gave it some thought.

Sergeant Oswald and Private Jones had taken out two of the monodrives but there was still one left. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting an attack, but not wanting to seem like she was ignoring a superior.

“Everything’s %#@$ed, Sir!” She responded at a bit of a yell before rolling into a dodge. The sudden torrent of flame that erupted from the creature nipped at her heel but her temporary fire resistance was her saving grace. The SOLDIER rolled into a three point landing before sliding a dagger off her belt and flinging it with expert aim.

The monodrive let out a wail and she leapt high into the air, narrowly dodging a second wave of flames and flinging a second dagger that pierced the creature's body and sent it spiraling to the ground.

Thalia did a backwards somersault mid air before sliding to a halt in front of... GAWAIN !

“Our own damn automated defense systems have turned against us and well…” She glanced back towards the landing area, “We’re already a man down.”

This was probably the biggest brass that Oswald had ever worked with on a combat deployment. Most of the Lieutenant Colonel's he had served under in the normal guard corps were older grunts who were in charge of battalions, dealing in meetings and the occasional court martial recommendation. The SOLDIER special forces were different though, and the man standing before him was in a position that he still coveted.

“Sergeant Oswald, sir,” he reported promptly. He did not salute, because saluting with a rifle in hand wasn’t standard. He still snapped his feet with attention. Working alongside a first class was probably the closest he was going to get to the glory he had sought in his youth.

“Private Jones, sir...” the other trooper said following suit, though he did raise his hand up to salute holding his rifle with his offhand by the guard. Jones was clearly still shaken by the loss of his comrade. Oswald kept his face forward but rolled the eyes hidden by a mask towards his subordinate and scowled.

As he pulled the keyboard Oswald and Jones took position at either side of the entrance to the next room, aiming their rifles towards it to await their opening into the robotic hell that waited for them within.

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Thalia Melpomene