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Post by Damian on Aug 26, 2014 19:52:57 GMT -5
GAME MASTER
Tuesday, August 26th, 2014 3:15 P.M. It had been approximately three days since Subject Zero was released into Auberry, California by the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasure Center (NBACC). Unknown to the residents of Fresno County, California, the entire county had been placed under quarantine; no one allowed in or out. Military checkpoints dotted each major entry into the county, effectively blocking access. All flights within the county were grounded and ones leading in were redirected elsewhere much to the chagrin of passengers and travellers alike. Every person who tried to enter or leave Fresno County was met with the same hostile demeanor from the National Guard troops stationed on the outskirts and told to simply turn around. Those that refused to comply were detained. The weather is 89°F and is mostly cloudy. There is a 2 mph wind.The National Guard was given orders to quarantine the entire county of Fresno within the state of California. With these orders in hand, the Californian National Guard deployed its troops from all over the state and began setting up checkpoints and roadblocks to all marked roads leading in and out of the county. The higher echelon of the Californian National Guard knew the reasons why but were ordered to secrecy, with the lower ranked Enlisted personnel not knowing exactly why they were doing what they were ordered to do; even some of the Commissioned Officers had no idea and were simply doing what they were told. The National Guard were given orders to turn back any civilians trying to enter or exit Fresno County whether by foot or by vehicle and if they refused, to detain them until further notice; those trying to leave Fresno County that were detained were to be quarantined themselves. Claire Summers has been stationed at Checkpoint Gamma on the outskirts of Kingsburg, California to the southeast along the Golden State Highway. ((Click the URL to see your actual positions on Google Maps. Claire Summers has been given NPC permission for her Squad members only. ))
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Post by Jaeger on Aug 30, 2014 22:41:40 GMT -5
The Sun was hot, almost unbearably so with all of the gear Claire had on. She was used to exercises and operations where she was outside for days at a time, sometimes weeks but the heat was always something she hated. She always questioned whether or not she should've been born in another country where it was generally colder than the usual seemingly eternal Summer weather of southern California. Claire shielded her eyes from the harsh rays of the Sun as she looked up the sky, watching the clouds float by. She found herself not paying attention to the shouting and general loud noises coming from all around her and tried to escape it all for a moment; pretending she was a bird that could fly away and truly be free. The day dream was short-lived as she felt someone grab her shoulder and squeeze. It startled her but her demeanor calmed as she soon realized that it was one of her Squad members; Meiselman. Meiselman was always the center of attention in the group; the person who always had a story and / or a joke to tell. It was hard to have your morale dissapear when Meiselman was around. He wasn't the most intelligent in the Squad, but he was liked by everyone due to his outgoing demeanor and sense of humor. "You spot any nukes yet, Summers?" Meiselman grinned as he looked up to see where Claire had been looking in the sky. Claire punched Meiselman in the shoulder playfully, "Yeah. We're already dead. Couldn't you tell?" "To be honest, I was expecting a lot more fire and a lot more screaming." The shouting nearby intensified, coming from the direction of Kingsbury and the other end of the checkpoint their Platoon had set up on the highway. Both Claire and Meiselman turned their attention towards it, "Well, there's your screaming." "Still no fire." Claire shot Meiselman a glance, "Be careful what you wish for. This may be an exercise but we're dealing with angry civvies who want to come and go; there could be serious trouble." "I don't think it's an exercise; I think we've been elevated beyond that to an actual Op." Corporal Albers approached the pair; the Squad Leader of Bravo Squad. Claire was intrigued so she decided to bite, "What do you mean, Corporal?" "Just things. Apparently there's trouble in Auberry, some redneck town somewhere in Fresno. You ever heard of it?" "No. What kind of trouble are we talking about?" "That I don't know. But I heard some guy from Charlie Platoon has family there or some shit and they'd been attacked. And you know how that goes; one person says something and then it gets all tanged and fucked to the point where we could be dealing with fuckin' aliens." "Then we'll just send 'em packing back to Mexico, Corp'!" Both Claire and Albers looked at Meiselman, shaking their heads and grinning. The shouting was becoming increasingly violent and was now accompanied by the sounds of many vehicles honking. "I don't like the sound of what's going on over there. Summers, take Meiselman and go check out what's happening with Alpha and Charlie Squads, all right?" "Sure thing, Corporal. Hurry up, Meiselman; you could use the exercise." Claire shuffled off towards the noise expecting to see angry civilians in their cars yelling this and that; she'd been called so many names due to her service it was ridiculous. Meiselman followed closely behind as the pair crossed over the bridge towards the north-western barricade.
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Post by Damian on Sept 1, 2014 15:52:23 GMT -5
GAME MASTER As Claire approached the northwestern barricade of the bridge, she would see a traffic jam forming for about 50 meters in front of the checkpoint. Most of the civilians in the vehicles would be honking their horns and yelling this and that. Some more determined civilians would have gotten out of their vehicles and approached the checkpoint, resulting in the soldiers there aiming their weapons and ordering the civilians to return to their vehicles. It would be quite obvious the civilians are becoming desperate and / or unruly. Alpha Platoon's Platoon Leader would be on a megaphone, trying to urge all civilians to remain calm and to turn their vehicles around: there would be no going through the checkpoint. On either side of the bridge where the land dipped into the river beneath, razor wire and sandbags had been erected with machine-gun nests to prevent anyone on foot from trying to sneak past.
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Post by Jaeger on Sept 3, 2014 19:58:54 GMT -5
Things were not good. As Claire and Meiselman approached the northwestern barricade, she saw that the traffic stretched out for quite some time; cars becoming all jammed up with some of their occupants getting out of their vehicles. There were a lot of horns going off and even more people yelling. The crowds were beginning to become a little unsettled and that worried Claire. Realizing she wasn't going to do much good simply standing and staring awestruck out into traffic, she turned to Meiselman and motioned for him to follow her as she sought out Alpha Squad's Squad Leader.
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Post by Damian on Sept 9, 2014 0:52:42 GMT -5
GAME MASTER
Tuesday, August 26th, 2014 4:00 P.M. As Claire attempted to search for Alpha Squad's Squad Leader, the civilians at the checkpoints reached a breaking point. Some attempted to walk up and hopefully talk their way through the barricade while others revved their engines and began trying to force their way through with their vehicles. Those more desperate tried to cross the river on foot, heading for either side of the Golden State Highway bridge. The National Guard soldiers were ordered by Alpha Platoon's Platoon Leader to open fire on civilians who tried to force their way through the barricade; whether on foot or in vehicle. Those who had approached the checkpoint on foot peacefully were detained against their will and brought into the checkpoint to a detention area. As the National Guard opened fire on the civilians, many turned and began running from the checkpoint back towards Kingsbury while others were shot dead in their cars, on the highway, or the surrounding areas.
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Post by Jaeger on Sept 11, 2014 17:24:38 GMT -5
Claire hit the deck as soon as she heard the shots going off. Her first thoughts were instinctual; routine and drill that had been forced into her through years and years of non-stop training: Where's it coming from? Who's shooting? The Specialist looked around her while prone, noticing Meiselman had done the exact same thing as her. She scanned the area to see if the checkpoint was under attack but saw no sign of it. Instead, it was quite the opposite: the checkpoint's occupants were the ones doing all the firing.
Claire pushed herself up to a kneeling position, making sure to keep her head low just in case they were recieving fire as well as giving it. She motioned for Meiselman to stay on her six as she sought proper cover. The pair managed to find a sandbag enclosure to sit behind. "You hit?" She cut straight to the point with Meiselman.
Meiselman shook his head; his face having gone completely white. Neither of them had ever been in a live-fire position before and the thought terrified her. Just who were they firing at? "Okay, Meiselman; listen. We don't know what's happening, but we have to find out. Why don't you head back to Cpl. Albers and I'll find out just what the fuck is going on?" Meiselman nodded, still too frightened to speak. Claire realized she had to get Meiselman off the front if she was not only going to make some progress but ensure he remained safe, "All right, then. What are you waiting for? Go!"
Meiselman awkwardly kept himself low as he made his way back to the southeast barricade of the checkpoint where Charlie Squad was situated. Claire found herself all alone as automatic fire went off all around her. She waited a moment, prepping herself for the actions she was going to take next. What do I do? Shit, I don't know! Her thoughts raced and she couldn't come up with a concise plan of action. The firing scared her and she didn't want to wind up dead, not only for the obvious reasons but due to the thought of leaving her Mother all alone in the world. I can't do that... I won't lose Mom.
Claire's thoughts continued to race until she remembered seeing Alpha Platoon's Platoon Leader on a megaphone; he would've ordered fire to be opened if anyone. The Lieutenant... He'll know what to do. Claire scanned the area where she'd last seen the Lieutenant, hoping to see him. She couldn't quite make him out so she opted to go and find him. It took her a few more seconds to pump herself up to leave her relative position of safety before she kept herself low and raced back to the Lieutenant's last known location.
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Post by Damian on Oct 2, 2014 14:03:00 GMT -5
GAME MASTER Claire would find the Lieutenant where she'd last seen him; the main checkpoint blocking traffic. As the rifle and machine-gun fire settled, Claire would be able to see the bodies littering the highway as well as those who weren't fortunate enough to get out of their vehicles in time. Some people were gunned down as they fled while others were as they attempted to approach the various accesses to the checkpoint. Blood and gore littered the highway and its vehicles; some people still alive but heavily wounded. Others who were not hit were now trying to flee either on foot or in their vehicles, causing further blockages on the highway. The Lieutenant would offer no reasoning to Claire should he be questioned.
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Post by Jaeger on Oct 6, 2014 20:00:41 GMT -5
Claire was absolutely dumbstruck as she came upon where she'd last seen the Lieutenant. The absolute horror that was spread out before her was almost too much to take in and she just wanted to drop to her knees. She felt sick to her stomach and had to grab onto something to balance herself for fear of falling over. She dry-hurled and spat onto the ground as she tried to make sense of what was going on around her. This... just can't be happening. As she did her best to collect herself, she looked up at the Lieutenant who was still where he was.
She had absolutely no right to question his orders except when it was unlawful. Claire was pretty much certain that what just happened broke several conventions and the Lieutenant was now effectively a war criminal. Why the hell did they shoot?! They had a right to refuse his order! The fury was growing inside of her and Claire found herself clenching her teeth. She tried to avoid looking at the chaos on the highway as she stormed up to him. She didn't know what she would do or what she would say, but someone had to say something! "Lieutenant! Sir! What---" she tried to formulate an argument, but how could she? This was unspeakable; she was standing on American soil and American troops had just opened fire on American citizens en masse. "What were you thinking?!"
The Lieutenant remained quiet, refusing to answer Claire's question. This only further infuriated her and she kept going at him. "Why would you do this?! Those were innocent people! They didn't need to be gunned down in the streets! Lieutenant! Sir, answer me! God damn it, Lieutenant, you're a criminal!" Claire found tears welling up in her eyes as she finally collapsed to her knees. She found it hard to breathe and an intense tightness in her chest was the culprit. She gasped and inhaled slow, shallow breaths. Her mind raced and she gripped at her uniform with her hands. This couldn't be happening. She hoped someone out there on the highway would get up for her to realize it was all staged, all an act. But as she tried to focus on the ground beneath her, she knew that if she looked over no one was going to be getting back up.
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