Unexpected Guests

[Jello Shot Mischa]

A short ways outside of Muffinville lies CTC Auxiliary Operations Base Beta. Near enough to the outskirts of the city that the base can take advantage of its supplies and services, but far enough away for security... and privacy.

The outer perimeter of the base is a pre-fabricated reinfoced composite wall, around ten feet tall with a foundation in concrete, topped by a laser grid to detect anyone trying to climb over top. The only access to the base is the main gate, set into the southern length of the wall, flanked by two guard posts.

Within the walls is a grassy "dead zone", a blank area between the outer wall and the inner boundary -- a chain link fence topped with another laser grid. Watchtowers are positioned at the cardinal corners of the inner fence, with a full field of view over the compound. Within the fence is the base proper, divided roughly into four quandrants. In the northeast corner is a landing field for CTC vertols, with three hangars storing the ones held at the base. To the southeast is the vehicle garage, with maintenance buildings between the two. Northwest is the barracks for the base's troop complements, while southwest is storage and utility buildings. At the heart of the base is the operations center, housing its command center, laboratories, and other vital areas.

As the sun sets in the west, a small convoy of an HMMWV and one of the CTC's armored troop transports pulls up to the gate, shortly waved through and sent on in. Wheeled and hovering drones patrol around the compound in erratic patterns, complemented by periodic human patrols. High-altitude drones monitor the base from high above, watching for any anomalies.

While only an auxiliary operations base -- certainly not as prominent as the Color Isolation and Containment Facility, or the Crisis Command Center -- Auxiliary Operations Base Beta has seen a rather unusual amount of activity lately. Of course, any overt attempt to break in would be fairly quickly noticed, with fast response forces from other CTC facilities dispatched to respond. But if someone sufficiently stealthy and sneaky were to pay a visit, well... who knows what they might find out?

[Mendi-chan]

*Some distance away, just outside the radius of the patrols, a black-clad man stands and observes... A careful onlooker might've been able to make out the silhouettes of dozens of people behind him, though nothing more than that. Mendo frowns... this group had caused quite a bit of a stir within the region in the past, and lately intel had been rather sparse. They needed to know what this CTC was up to, and if a larger intervention was needed.*

*The ninja's right eye glows red, his fully cybernetic body allowing him the opportunity to scan for electronic, infrared, and heat signatures ahead of his infiltration squad. Biding his time, he waits to try to determine if there's a hole in the patrols...*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Outside of the outer wall, the CTC only has a few of the floating drones. Within the wall, between it and the fence, the patrols are thicker -- although a fast or stealthy ninja might be able to slip through, particularly if the erratic patrol patterns leave a momentary gap...

[Mendi-chan]

*Mendo motions for a squad of five ninjas to accompany him... the rest he would leave in the command of one of his compatriots for if and when this operation turned sour... Sitting outside the perimeter the group waits for a gap in the patrol... and examines the grid... How high up did it go?*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

The laser grid isn't particularly tall -- perhaps an additional foot or two above the top of the outer wall.

[Mendi-chan]

*Waiting for a gap in the patrols... Mendo dashes forward, his squad in tow! Leaping over the wall the group dashes across 'no-man's land' and tries to make it into the compound. There's hardly a chance that they will be seen, and they're as silent as... well... ninjas!*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

The ninjas leap the ten-foot wall and two-foot tall laser grid with ease! The dim light also works to their favor, and they dart across the open grass, quickly arriving at the inner fence. Now the clock is ticking, though, as the next patrol will be along shortly... what will they do?

[Mendi-chan]

*Two of the infiltrators take flanking positions and quickly proceed to use ninjutsu! The fence seems to phase slightly, and suddenly a giant shadow takes the place of a section of fence. As the group reaches it, it allows them to simply pass through the fence as if it weren't there. As they pass through the jutsu dispells, leaving the fence as it was.*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

The trick with the jutsu seems to go off without a hitch, as no alarms are raised as the group passes through the fence. They find themselves within the inner perimeter, between the aircraft hangars and the barracks buildings.

Nearby, they can hear some voices -- a pair of mechanics walking back to the barracks from their work. "Man, sure a lot of wear on the birds these days..." the first, a woman, mutters. Her companion, a young man, laughs. "There's been some site they've been checking out... shuttling teams back and forth." The first hmphs. "If they dig up another of those Brotherhood facilities, they'd better not rope us into helping get it on line. That damned missile base was bizarre enough for me..."

[Mendi-chan]

*The group silently travels through the compound, periodically checking doors and corners to make sure they didn't come into contact with any unanticipated guests... Quietly, they try and locate the central command of this complex.*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

As the group of ninjas makes their way through the compound, the exterior lights come on as darkness falls. It illuminates the compound fairly well, although there's inevitably dark shadows cast by crates, equipment, and other elements of the compound -- enough for a canny ninja to use to avoid the notice of the periodic patrol drones and soldiers.

Apparently unnoticed thus far, they reach the central building of the complex, where the command center is apparently housed. The main entrance is on the south side, opposite their approach, but there's a rear entrance nearby that they could potentially use. Although it appears to be configured to respond to a keycard or similarly coded transmitter.

[Mendi-chan]

*Hiding in the shadows... the group waits for a few moments, hoping an unsuspecting officer will pass bye and allow them entry...*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

The ninjas lie in wait in the shadows, minutes ticking by with only the patience that a ninja can muster!

Finally, a pair of soldiers approach the door, one gesturing towards the sensor pad. It beeps, the light switching from red to green, and the door unlocks. Opening up the door, the two guards head inside!

[Mendi-chan]

*The group of ninja's speedily enter behind the guards, two of the group taking the time to silently take down and put down the guards who had so graciously let them into the door. The others take stock of the situation, trying to clear the entryway and insure they were not seen... Mendo whispers to the group*
Alright... Spread out and find any information that you can about their movements. Especially about this excavation project that those guards near the hangar were talking about. Quickly.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

The ninjas catch the two soldiers off guard -- the first quickly collapsing from their attack, the second only having enough time to say "John?" and turn partway around to confront their attacks before he's also subdued!

The group of ninjas finds themselves in a rather plain corridor. There's closed doors on either side, and it ends in a T-junction up ahead. As they spread out, they'll find more rooms -- most of them apparently offices and meeting rooms, although there's a locker room. As the ninjas spread out, they'll start spotting more members of the CTC -- a pair of soldiers heading for the locker room, a young girl in a uniform heading up some stairs, and a young woman with long brown hair and glasses is apparently working late in a computer lab.

*************************

Meanwhile... in the Auxiliary Operation Base's command center, a woman with long silver hair enters, accompanied by a soldier in battle dress, and a young girl in a uniform. She's greeted by a middle-aged man in fatigues, who offers her a salute. "Special Adjutant Abel! I'm glad to see you arrived safely!"

The woman nods. "Lieutenant Brede," she says, her eyes glancing over the assorted displays filling the monitors in the command center. She frowns slightly, then turns her attention back to him. "It was an uneventful trip, but perhaps a bit long. Perhaps you could do me a favor."

"Yes, ma'am? What's that?"

"Please arrange for some tea," Abel says, with a tight smile.