Sector 7 Airfield. Topside. The sun had long set on the on the concrete flatland, illuminated only by the effort of countless building lightbulbs. From the sky it seemed a collection of tightly organized shapes, each signaling a round helipad or a taxi route. From the ground, long stretches of land sat in a deep darkness, as if the lights of the landing zones siphoned any and all ambient light around them. In the brightest section were several high and wide buildings: hangers which housed and protected the more delicate equipment from the elements. The faint smell of mako permeated the around around these buildings. The tallest building stood with several blinking red lights at its peak, easily visible from all points on the ground and air. At the ground level, several roving fireteams of Shin-Ra blue shirts made their routes around the base, most present in the more illuminated sections before disappearing into the dark.
At the southern most corner, a thick, folded piece of discarded carpet was draped over a chain link fence, rendering the barbed useless. The rattle of the fence, followed by a heavy landing signaled Leonhardt entry into the airfield. He took the lack of blasting alarms and barking guard dogs as a good sign and proceeded in a little further to give his co-conspirators room to enter. He kept low to the ground as to not have his silhouette stick out any more than it has to.
“We need to find where the repairs are done, and try to get any information on any possible new weapons while we’re here.”
Post by Takeshi Minazuki on May 14, 2020 2:32:35 GMT
With his impressive speed and strength, jumping a fence was child’s play. And sure enough, after a running start and a leap, and placing a hand on the rug covered barbed wire, the six and half footer vaulted over. Ha! Take that jump materia.
Landing on his feet Takeshi proceeded to roll through, ending in a crouch; eyes scanning for any disturbances. Something he quickly noticed his ally was already in the midst of doing. Kid’s sharp, the white haired man thought with a grin, and resourceful. A rug was so simple, so easy, more so than cutting the fence or digging/pulling up enough to slide under.
“We need to find where the repairs are done, and try to get any information on any possible new weapons while we’re here,” the young lad said once they were sure the coast was clear for now. “Aye, sounds like a plan,” Tak replied, nodding while unconsciously smoothing out the sides of his goatee with his thumb and index finger. “I’m guessing the opening move is to slink around all stealthy like until we find these places so that then we can hit ‘em fast and hard with a surprise attack?”
He wasn’t knocking the move of course, if that was even the plan to begin with. No, Tak just hated sneaking around was all. While he always did what was necessary to complete a mission, it was just not one of his favorite way to do things. So even if the answer was obvious, he was still going to ask. Still going to hold onto that hope. These legs were made for kicking not crouching damn it!
Both men’s phones would suddenly begin to vibrate as they received a group text from their fearless leader, SWITCH.
WoUlD y0U guyZ qu1Et dOWN? W3’r3 sNeAkiNG. UNLEsZ YoU +hINk we can tak3 On aLl of ShIN-R4 ton1gHt. StE4ltH.
A hand would come into view. The fingers grasping onto the carpet with painted orange nails. Then another, followed by what looked like a cartoon cat’s face peeking over the fence. SWITCH’s legs flailed in the air behind her as she shimmied up onto the ledge and threw one leg over the fence. She dropped onto her back side with an undignified little grunt and scrambled to her feet while rubbing her sore back.
Not exactly a three point landing but it got the job done. She crouched down and pointed to the nearest hanger. If she could get to a computer console she could pull up a map of the base and maybe some other valuable information, as Leonhardt had suggested.
The gentle rattle of the chain link fence and the soft thud that followed helped eased the tension in Leonhardt’s shoulder. This much was expected from the older man, who held himself as a warrior. The sudden, two-beat vibration from his pocket caught Leonhardt off guard. He did not receive text messages often, so this registered as suspicious.
With a quick flick of the wrist, the cellphone flipped open, the screen illuminating automatically. An unknown number.
WoUlD y0U guyZ qu1Et dOWN?
W3’r3 sNeAkiNG. UNLEsZ YoU
+hINk we can tak3 On aLl of
ShIN-R4 ton1gHt. StE4ltH.
SWITCH. The rattle that came from the fence made Leonhardt believe that SWITCH took the time to pull out her phone, find his number, write her message in their own way, send it, then wait until it was relieved before attempting to conquer the fence with the grace of a bulldog.
An absolute spectacle. The slight glow coming from under Leonhardt’s hood betrayed his vision in the darkness of the shadow of the tarmac. Still, all remained quiet, so he would count this as a win. The hard part was over and everyone was inside without Shin-Ra’s attention.
Following SWITCH’s indication, Leonhardt’s were drawn to a large hanger, the nearest building. A good place as any to start.
“Take a radio if a grunt forces your hand.”
His voice was low, but loud enough for the two to hear given their proximity. He didn’t need to say much else. Everyone would know what to do next if it came time to cross that bridge. With no signs of immediate danger observed, Leonhardt proceeded forward, slowly making his way towards the hanger. Takeshi MinazukiSWITCH
Switch nodded at Leonhardt’s mention of a radio and began following him low to the ground. She trailed about three feet behind and to the left which was nearer to the fence than he was but growing steadily more bold as they neared the hangar.
She didn’t mind letting him take point for now. Although, she still felt a sense of ownership over this particular mission. It had been her idea and they would need her to execute it properly but if they ran into opposition she would much prefer they see Leonhardt first. He had an intimidating presence that Switch with her lithe female form did not.
Appearances could be decieving. A common phrase that seemed to apt in describing the pair; Big Daddy Leonhardt and herself. Switch liked Leonhardt quite a bit. He was a good listener. It was an important skill that so many had abandoned these days. He listened and he understood, even when she wasn’t saying anything with her voice.
As they neared the open gate to the hangar they could see movement inside. Switch flattened herself against the siding as she watched two shadows pacing across the floor.
Post by Takeshi Minazuki on May 28, 2020 1:33:32 GMT
Takeshi Minazuki, at fifty one years young, was not that great with technology. In fact, most of the time the man completely forgot Switch had even given him one. And so when his left back pocket vibrated Tak immediately performed a forward roll, spun about a hundred eighty degrees and ended in a crouched offensive stance. Looking around confused, the former Wutai officer just stared with a blank face at Leonhardt when he took out his phone.
“...” slipping his hand into his back pocket the hardened warrior did his best not to look embarrassed on top of foolish. Fumbling to open the confounded contraption, Takeshi stared at the screen for a long moment. Moving it closer and then farther out. Opening his eyes wide and then squinting. After a few seconds however he gave in and, with a sigh, patting down his pockets. A second later out came reading glasses, which he put on quite delicately; they were his fifth pair this week.
“Would you… Quiet… Sneaking…” he mumbled to himself quietly, as if it was simply impossible to read something off a screen without doing so. “Stealth,” Tak finished out before staring at the screen a few more seconds to read it again now that he figured out (most of) the words. By then Switch had made her… Graceful entrance and was crouched alongside the two men, pointing at a nearby hanger. With a dutiful nod Takeshi returned his cheaters and cellphone to their respective pockets.
Taking up position as rearguard, Minazuki followed his two comrades as they moved slow and low toward the target. He heard footsteps before he saw shadows and, naturally, Tak’s instinct was to rush in and take them out quick. However he had always been a loyal soldier. Had always respected his commanding officer’s orders, just as he did Switch. Plus, she reminded him of his youngest daughter.
So instead of running in fists a swinging, Takeshi rolled backward and then to the side behind some crates; remembering their position from when he had walked past seconds earlier. There he stayed, quietly, until they passed and their footsteps grew softer.