A drill instructor handed one training blaster with only a minimal charge meaning they might get maybe ten shots off at best before the thing died and called for the first one hundred teams to line up along the entire of the central training field. Across the field and in suspended anti-grav platforms lay the other three hundred teams each in their own kill zones. Overlapping fields of fire, sandbagged bunkers, trenches, razor wire emplacements, and the occasional sniper nest lay in front of the "open" field they were supposed to run. What would have normally been a twenty second sprint at most across the hundred meter field now seemed like a 1,000 meter run for their lives. Before the realization that they may not even stand a chance, the officer blew his whistle in a single loud burst signifying the start of the first challenge. Almost immediately, seven teams were knocked out as grenades and carefully controlled volleys from the elevated gun nests took them out. Those who were unlucky enough were quickly dragged by instructors using shock batons towards the Academy's entrance where the began the timed sprint to the Hive City and back.....it was shaping up to be a brutal morning. GM Note: I'll leave it to you guys to see how far you think you can make it through. Make your posts not concrete as there is no guarantee what your character will hope to do will actually succeed. Best of luck, and may the fattest person get hit first!
Straf made his body limp, and sagged into Andros' grip. "Well, best of luck guys. Don't think I'll be able to do much in this one," he glances at one of the instructors near by, who was watching them like a hawk. "Not with all these eyes near by."
Seeing the first 7 teams fall he cursed under his breath and quickly picked up Straf. He began running in a zig zag pattern trying to use the other remaining teams for cover. "COME ON VALPINE! TRY TO KEEP THOSE SNIPERS HEADS DOWN!" An open field was not what he was expecting. The only hope was to keep his distance from the others so he would be less of a target for grenades. He still zig zagged behind the other teams but kept a safe distance so they hopefully wouldn't be caught in any of the explosions.
Already with many teams being left behind in the dust or failing to make headway, the first challenge was seeming to be impossible. Only two minutes had lapsed and the ground was covered in fallen teams. While their spasming bodies did offer a little cover, with almost all of them barely twenty meters in and surrounded on all sides by the elevated positions, advancing would be hard. To the left and right of them remained a collection of less than ten of the one hundred teams in total....these odds looked almost hilariously one sided. It was obvious that all of them were going to fail this challenge unless they could all work together to get a few or even one team through...but trying to convince the other teams would waste both time, and probably end in failure anyway. Another alternative would be to slowly belly crawl in the hopes that no one would spot them, being too busy attacking the other teams to notice three individual targets yet this would probably take forever and they would still have to worry about the lone individual shooters patrolling out in the field. To make matters worst, the skys overhead were becoming quickly overcast so a rain storm may interrupt them which could work to their advantage or disadvantage.
Vulpine rolled to the ground as she ducked from the incoming fire getting low to the ground she heard thunder and felt rain drops on her head she began crawling through the the dirt as it began to rain. It could become mud she somewhat hoped a bit easier to crawl through as she stuck low to the ground "We Could try to use a few of the down members as human Shields!" she suggested as she kept moving low.
(OOC: sorry for the delay) Andros dropped to the ground and pretended to spasm in pain. Once it appeared that the shooters were focused else where he began dragging Straf forward inch by inch. "Hopefully this works. Come one Valpine." Whenever it looked like someone was facing their direction they played dead, and when it was safe they moved forward again. "You can do that, I'll keep dragging Straf."
Within scant minutes, a torrential downpour engulfed the area as thunder and lightning speared overhead. Visibility began to rapidly drop as a new factor began to play into the first challenge. At the rate the heavy rain was falling down, the entire central field was beginning to flood. What began as small pools now began to become tiny ravines and miniature lakes which slowly spread across the fields. Any further advance would be hindered by the fact they would both have to tread in the now head deep marshy conditions or Straf would drown. However, the problem did not seem to ail the raised gun posts as their hovering platforms slowly danced overhead, their occupants shooting at anything that moved. They were less than fifty meters from the target but at this rate, fifty meters may as well be five thousand. Looking around, it was impossible to see anyone else as instructors pulled the failed teams out from the bogged down field lest they drown...a slightly more compassionate moment so to say.
Andros slowly rose to a crouching position with Straf now riding on his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He quickly surveyed the course trying to find the route with the least amount of puddles to slow them down. "Come on Valpine. Don't shoot unless they shoot at us. No need to draw unwanted attention." With that said he quickly made his way taking the paths that had the least amount of water to slow them down. They had no more teams near them to use as cover, so their only hope was speed and an insane amount of luck!
Valpine conservered her shots making sure to shoot only when needed she soon began having to crouch to continue moving forward with the others she followed behind Androws slowly moving there way up. she kept down and kept moving. "Damn Water might get us killed." she said as she saw a instructor pulling someone from the water.
The finish line was less than ten meters from them now but the effects of the rain had begun to make the "defenders" job that much harder to the point many had retreated towards the finish line and now lined the banks waiting to see if anyone was about to assail it. It would be a do or die effort now to try and reach it without being stunned as the moment they were seen it would be all over. No one was left in the water so both sides knew it had come down to just them, the stakes were higher than ever. Either risk it all to win, or give up now and be resigned with the punishment of failure. GM Note: Time to roll a die! JK...or am I?
