CLOSED ♔ i'll tell you 'bout a secret i've been undermining

[superswank]

WHO || Sydney, Sylar, Drax, Frankie, Allison [Closed]
WHAT || The Knights investigate a biological weapons threat for the Ukrainians 
WHERE ||Antarctica
WHEN || April 10th [back dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

Not all international intrigue happens in presidential palaces, plush business offices, and smoky dives next to waterfronts.  Some happens in the coldest, dreariest parts of the world.

The Ukrainians expect the Knights to head for the Russian research station from the drop point, stop to disable both the helicopter and communications tower, then enter the compound. Once there, they are to find Prytyka and question him on camera, transmitting this conversation live via a satellite uplink with their contact, Kuchma.

They are currently been flown to the drop point 2 miles from Adelie 14, and Kuchma is on the plane with them, providing them all with arctic gear and final requests.  They have access to thermal undergarments, snowsuits, boots, parkas, snow goggles, gloves and mittens, as well as a portable satellite phone and video camera, and several AKSU-74 sub machine guns.

"Many firearms are unreliable in the extreme Antarctic weather, so you might wish to take one," Kuchma cautions. 

Comments

[watchmaker]

[as if anyone gives a shit:] Works for me.

[spinerip]

[Drax gives kuchma a puzzled look as he tries to work through those confusing statements.]

...what would be the point of stacking corpses on our heads? There must be more efficient methods of body disposal.

[He considers it for a moment, then his expression lights up (wis 13).]

Ah! It is a metaphorical stack of corpses!

[superswank]

[ "Wynn will hear about this," kuchma blusters, and ends the call abruptly. syd stares over at the phone with a deep frown on her face. ] Damn right he will.

[spinerip]

Does he believe Wynn would condone torture without cause? He always has seemed rather less inclined towards dismemberment than I'd prefer.

[risked]

[Allison glances around the lab, then to the guy still in the chair.]

We should find a way to get the lack of proof -- [She makes a face, that sounded right, but not right.] -- for Wynn.

[superswank]

Back up this information on a disc. [ syd all but order prytyka, who goes to sit and begin doing so without protest.

syd turns back to the others, lowering her voice. ] I don't like any of this. Something's wrong, beside Kuchma's bad intel and assumption that we were going to be willing to use force to get information out of these men.

[watchmaker]

Sort of makes you feel like a sitting duck, doesn't it?

[/so fucking helpful as always]

[risked]

[Allison doesn't know what to think. Wynn sent them, he must have trusted what Kuchma was saying - thought there was some reason to go through with this.]

It makes me feel like we're still missing something.

[superswank]

Wynn said that he felt like there was something strange about all this. What could Kuchma be getting out of this? [ she paces away, brow furrowed, before she looks back at the others. ] Dial him back on the line.

[watchmaker]

On it. [/does the thing]

[superswank]

[ aw shit except

no one's answerin ]

[watchmaker]

So ... we might have a problem.

[superswank]

Why do I get the feeling our extraction isn't coming?

[watchmaker]

I'm still not feeling wrong about the sitting duck comparison.

[risked]

[Yeah... if this felt a little off before, now it feels like they've definitely been set up.]

Great.

[superswank]

[ to prytyka: ] Where's the nearest other station to this one?

[ he grimaces. "Nearly 200 miles from here. It'd take hours for anyone to reach us, or vice versa. What the hell is going on here?" ]

[watchmaker]

Believe it or not, buddy, we're wondering the same thing.

[superswank]

Gather up your personnel. Tell them it's an emergency. It seems we've been sent here under false pretenses, and we're not about to let lives be lost, if that's where this is going. [ prytyka pales. "Lives lost? What are you talking about?" ] The worst case scenario. Go.

[spinerip]

[Well, at least things finally seem to be getting interesting. Drax rolls his shoulders, flexing his muscles slightly and looks around for something that might be useful for him to punch (spot 15).]

Ah. This is why they sent me along.

[risked]

[Allison situates her bow over her shoulder and moves to start ensuring that people are ready to move and get the hell out of there. Worst case scenario is something she's familiar with.]

Do you have a PA system that you can use to alert everyone all at once?

[watchmaker]

Or a fire alarm to pull?

[superswank]

Evacuating them outside might alert anyone who is monitoring the station by satellite that we know something's happening. [ "We'll have them gather in the rec room," prytyka decides, moving to use the PA to make the announcement in russian. "Come, I will take you there."

he leads them out of the lab, and all the way back outside, where they would see a few other scientists moving around to another set of doors that enters the facility. apparently, the housing area and labs don't connect by any interior doors. as they move into the rec room, they would see many more people gathering, many of whom are obviously just waking from sleep. there are a few gathered around a tv set, and they motion to prytyka, even as many ask him questions, or side-eye the newcomers. "They say there is something I must see," he says with a frown, and moves to join them around the TV. ]

[watchmaker]

[sylar moves to join in on the tv-watching party.] I'm guessing it's not going to be the newest Dancing with the Stars. Just a hunch.

[superswank]

[ rough home-video images on the tv shown ukrainian naval vessel churning through antarctic waters. one of these is the azovskoje, the same ship they were brought here on, and it is accompanied by two or three other ships that weren't there when they were. the voice of a female correspondent says: "... Azovskoje, shown here in footage taken by an American tourist on a whale-watching tour just an hour or so ago, happened to have been on routine training operations in the Indian Ocean during the past few days. It was routed to the area when Ukrainian officials first became aware of the situation. Ukrainian officials insist that they have ample reason to intervene."

the image then shifts to video footage... of them all interrogating prytyka, including several repeated shots of allison aiming an arrow at him and his horrified reaction. there is no audio component.

the image cuts to an interview with a ukrainian official.

"The Ukraine, of course, respects the international ban on military operations on Antarctica; however, this Russian violation of international law and the threat it poses to our citizens puts us in this unfortunate position. Prytyka and the other Ukrainian nationals working for AgraTech were very brave to warn the world of these Russian activities--" many of the nearby scientists begin speaking loudly, outraged and confused by this. "--and as you can see from this video, they may already have paid the ultimate price. What can we do? Who else will protect our citizens and the world from the likes of these FSB hoodlums?"

after another thirty seconds of video from the interrogation, the image shifts to the naval vessels once again. troops from these ships are clearly boarding helicopters, some with their rotors already turning. the female correspondent says: "From the looks of these Ukrainian naval vessels, the Ukraine is taking the steps it feels are necessary, despite international bans. And while international representatives decry the unfolding situation, it appears that the Ukrainians may be justified in their actions. Television news analysts confirm, based on the design of their arctic uniforms and equipment, that Prytyka's assailants do appear to be Russian military personnel. Ukrainian claims of illicit biological weapons research at the site remain unconfirmed, of course - officials at AgraTech have so far only reiterated their earlier statement that no such research was taking place there. The world will have to watch nervously while the situation unfolds."

as it switches to commercial, the confused voices are raised in alarm, most of them directed at prytyka, who tries to answer their questions in russian.

syd speaks in a low voice to the other knights. ] We've been had, big time. It looks like they're gearing up for an all-out assault.

[watchmaker]

[well. that's awesome. sylar is just s-so pleased. he's not about all this complex espionage shit. why can't he just go in, smash things, and get out? basically drax's soulmate with more pithy quips squeezed in. none right now, though. for the moment his main emotion is annoyance.] Well, boss, what's our plan?