BLU Headquarters. Map: 2fort, CTF.

[hands_of_blu]

It seems like a perfectly sensible sort of place: pale blue walls, tile flooring, fluorescent lighting high overhead, lockers. There's even a pinup calendar.

But a close look shows the equipment locker to contain more ammunition than some Third World countries use in a month, and the same personal locker that has the small flowered purse in it has a note about asbestos stuck to the door, and the air has that faint tang of antiseptic scrub that only really happens when vast quantities of the stuff are used to wipe out every other smell possible. And a peek out the big, garage-like door reveals what looks not unlike the inside of a barn, save for the weathered Builders League United logo on the wall...


[OOC: This is the BLU side's initial post for the Team Fortress 2 plot. If you want to play on RED, stop by battin1000. Orientation takes place here and when people get in on both sides we'll have the actual war post. Consult the 2fort Team Fortress 2 wiki page to get an idea of the grounds we'll be playing on!]

Comments

[dark_dancer]

Cata only noticed the door she was trying to take back to Bistort wasn't the usual when she was halfway through it; by then, she couldn't correct her trajectory. She frowns a bit as she takes in the new surroundings; after all, it always pays to know what's going on around you.
(The color scheme gives her the barest inkling of an idea, but she won't be sold on that until she sees someone.)

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

Which may happen sooner than one might expect. The sound of footsteps heralds an arrival shortly, one that might be familiar to her, or at least recognizable.

"Mein Gott! Frau Cata, vot on Earth are you doing here?"

[dark_dancer]

Cata shrugs. "I was just trying to go home. By the time I realised I had the wrong door, I couldn't turn around."
She is glad to know she was right in her guess of where she was, even though she has a feeling it'll only complicate things further, in the short term. She can live with that, though.

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"Himmelherrgott." The Medic shakes his head. "Zis is bad, zis is very bad... Frau Cata, if you can by any chance return to ze Bar immediately by some door or ozzer, I vould suggest you do so. Ozzervise matters grow complicated much more quickly zan eizer of us vould like."

[dark_dancer]

"Fair enough." She turns around, figuring the door she came in through will still be there...
...Except for where it isn't.
"Oh, pooka piss."

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

The Medic says something extremely foul that only someone else innately familiar with the Swabian dialect would recognise. "I vos afraid of zis," he says. "Frau Cata, I fear you've come to ze BLU headquarters at a bad time. If you vont to live long enough to see Milliways again, ve are going to haf to suit you up for a day in field combat vith ze rest of us."

[dark_dancer]

"...Well, it could be worse." She feels sorry for the poor sods who take the new door and aren't even remotely trained for this sort of thing. If she looks at this as an assignment, she'll be fine.
"I've no idea how your weapons work, but if you give me a primer and point me toward something I could climb, I can give your opponents something of a surprise."
There are advantages to having an innate ease with heights, and given how bad Cata is with close combat... well, she'll just have to hope her aim is good today, since she's a bit short on poisons.

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"Conventional firearms, for ze most part," says the Medic. "Before I begin, are you more comfortable vith short-range or long-range attacks? Or do you prefer affecting entire areas at vun go?"

[dark_dancer]

...The problem with that is she's thinking actual fire; occupational hazard of coming from a low-technology world. (She's probably not cut out for the Pyro designation, though.)
"Either of the latter two would be best, I think."

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"Hmm. Perhaps ze sniper rifle, zen, if you haf a steady enough hand." He reaches into one of the equipment cabinets and brings out just such a weapon. "Here. Tell me if zis seems to suit you."

[dark_dancer]

She considers the weapon for a few moments. It certainly seems suitable, especially once she sorts out that it's a bit closer to a crossbow than a bludgeon.
"I think this ought to work, though I'm still not sure exactly how it works."

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"Ah. Vell-"

He's no sniper himself, but he's familiar enough with guns to demonstrate the basic action, and to show the use of the scope as well. "Herr Sniper uses zis to take out enemies at a very great distance, vithout zem so much as noticing. Vere ze blue dot goes, so goes ze bullet."

[dark_dancer]

"Hmm. Very useful. I think it'll do quite nicely."
Cata approves of technology in general, and this is no exception; if not for the circumstances (and a faint realisation that it would likely end badly), she'd be sorely tempted to get one of these things to Bistort.
Now all she needs is something to climb.

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"Sehr gut. Put on ze uniform first, please, or everyvun is going to shoot at you upon seeing you." The uniform he offers is clearly men's clothing, but at least it's cut for someone skinnier than, say, one of the Soldiers: blue short-sleeve shirt, black vest, blue trousers, hat, sunglasses. "Und take ze smaller gun for closer range, und ze kukri for if you run out of ammunition und must defend yourself in hand to hand, ja? Zen ve show you vhere ze sniper nests are, before ze day's fighting starts."

[dark_dancer]

"I rather hope it doesn't come to hand-to-hand - still, no sense in going unprepared." It's rather less weaponry than she'd carry on an assignment at home, but the guns clearly do a lot of damage, so it evens out.
The uniform... well. At least the vest is black. She actually takes more issue with the color than the fact that it's technically men's clothing, but if it keeps her from being (as much of) a target, she can bear it for now.
(At least the vest is black. She's not entirely out of her own uniform.)

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

The Medic catches some of that reluctance, and flashes a small, tight smile. "Mein apologies, but standard policy for both RED und BLU is to shoot anyvun not vearing a team's colors first. As for ze hand to hand, vell, you haf mostly to vorry about ze spies, hmm? Vun good disguise device of theirs und suddenly you haf a RED agent standing next to you und striking at your back, vhere chust a moment before vos a BLU. Stay alert, und take no shame in striking at someone you suspect might not be vot he seems. All of us haf done so, und vill again, so long as ze var lasts."

[dark_dancer]

"Understood." Referring to all of the above, though she's still not pleased about all this color. ('At least the vest is black' may end up as something of a mantra, out of all of this.)
"Is there some sort of healing arrangement out there, other than yourself?"
That strikes Cata as a good question to ask, since the Medic can't be everywhere at once. If she can tend to something herself, she will, but she'll need to know how.

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"On eizer side, vhether in ze BLU headquarters or ze red, zere are several points vhere medical supplies are stashed," says the Medic. "Ve mark zem vith a red cross. Und ze resupply rooms are in ze topmost level or ze lowest basement of ze headquarters; you should find vot you need zere, if I cannot reach you vhen you call out."

"Und Herr Engineer is your friend. Vun of his creations is a dispenser of ammunition und ze same healing energies as mein medigun. If you see a BLU Engineer who's built somesing zat isn't a gun und isn't a pad to step on und be teleported, zat vould be ze dispenser, und you can use it for healing und restocking both."

[dark_dancer]

"I'll certainly keep that in mind. Thank you."
She's also made a mental note to at least try to stock up on both kinds of supplies before heading out. Assignments tend to run more smoothly when one can take care of oneself, at least for a while; she sees no reason why this would be any different.

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"Vun more sing."

The Medic passes Cata a small device that gives the casual observer the impression of being a poker chip.

"Keep zis on your person at all times. Ze positioning is irrelevant. So long as you carry it, should ze situation reach its vorst, you'll find yourself again at ze point vhere all of us start."

[dark_dancer]

"I can certainly see where that would be useful."
It's an interesting way of working a resurrection - they're somewhat more complicated in Cata's world than sending one to a restart point - but she has enough of a grasp on the idea that it's not a totally alien concept.
"Not that I intend to allow the worst to happen, but I suppose that's a risk that comes of being here."

[hands-of-blu.livejournal.com]

"Better safe zan sorry, ja?" He half-smiles. "In zat case, unless you haf any ozzer questions, I shall show you vhere Herr Sniper und his cohorts prefer to shoot from."

[dark_dancer]

"That would be good, thank you."
Cata definitely prefers 'safe,' especially given that 'sorry' would probably mean 'dead.'