Z-Day + 1 - 7:37 AM Mountain Time - Warren Air Force Base, west of Cheyenne, Wyoming In the Hummer-
"I'm happy for you," Harvey told Melinda. "I don't know what's happened to my own family. I...I've never been much good with girls. I mean, I'm not a virgin, but I never know what to say or anything. Numbers make sense to me. I can always tell what they add up to, but I have no idea how women think. I just get all flustered when I try to talk to them."
"Well, you're doing okay now," said Jamie. "Relax, Harvey. Everything will be fine. And I'll be sure to save a dance for you."
"Really? Thanks!"
"You're welcome."
Jamie continued to drive until she reached a building that was heavily guarded. She parked in front of it and they all got out.
Outside the armory- Jamie led the way up to the guards at the front door. "I'm Airman Jamie Kramer," she said, "here with Melinda Christie and Harvey Bennish. They're being put to work in the Quartermaster's office."
"Yes, you're expected," said one of the SF troopers. "You should talk to Lt. Wyatt. She's in the storage areas in the basement right now." The guards stood aside to let them in.
In the basement storeroom- Airman First Class Gregor Cross led his squad back into the storage room from the secret tunnel. Accompanying him were Airman Jason Baker, Airman Carolyn Wagner, and Airman Peter McBain. Jason and Peter were carrying a sealed crate, and Gregor was carrying a computer tower. Waiting for them in the room were Lt. Laura Wyatt and two SF troopers. One of them carried a cutting torch.
"Ma'am," said Gregor, saluting.
"As you were," said Lt. Wyatt, returning the salute. "Welcome back. It looks like you've done well."
Three people approached from the hall. One was a female airman with short blonde hair. Accompanying her were a petite, beautiful young woman with red hair and a nervous-looking man with glasses. "Ma,'am," said the airman, saluting. "I'm Airman Jamie Kramer. These civilians are Melinda Christie and Harvey Bennish. They're here to help out at the Quartermaster's office."
Laura turned to face them. She had close-cropped black hair and a serious expression. "I'm Lt. Laura Wyatt. Do either of you have any experience with computers?" she asked.
Jason Baker missed his chance to salute Lt. Wyatt but then again, he had been lugging the crate. The moment passed and he was more than relieved to put down the crate.
Man, McBain seemed like he could have carried that thing for hours...
Jason stretched out his arms and anxiously waited to see what was in the box while listening to the conversation of the others...
OOC,Actually, you do. That's what the Computer Use skill covers. Normal usage of a computer does not need any special skills.
In the basement storeroom- Lt. Wyatt nodded when McBain said to open the crate. "Do it," she said. The SF trooper with the cutting torch put on a welding mask he took out of his backpack and motioned for everyone to stay back before he started cutting the crate open.
"I'm fairly good with computers," said Harvey. Computers I can understand and relate to, he thought. It's girls I have trouble with.
"All right," said Lt. Wyatt to Melinda and Harvey. "I need you two to try to help me with this computer we've retrieved. We'll go to the computer room."
"Ma'am, I'll come with," said Carolyn Wagner. "I'm sure I can be of help."
"All right." The lieutenant led the way out into the hall.
In the basement storeroom-
The trooper finished cutting the crate open, removed the lid, and revealed a large metal box set inside the crate. He used the torch to open that too. Inside were four M16A2 assault rifles, military grade.
"Good job," said Cross. "Let's run those serial numbers. I bet they match some of the missing weapons."
In the computer room- Lt. Laura Wyatt led Melinda, Harvey, and Carolyn up a flight of stairs, down a hall, and through a door into a computer room. Jamie split off from them and left the building. The room was deserted, but there were several workstations set up and an empty table where they placed the computer taken from the warehouse. "All right," said the officer. "Get to work. If there's anything you need, I can get it for you."
"A monitor, for starters," said Harvey. "What exactly is wrong with it?"
"The hard drive got wiped," said Carolyn. "Some kind of defense mechanism."
Harvey nodded. "We'll also need a bootable external hard drive then, one with an operating system on it."
Baker immediately sets to compiling the serial numbers of the contraband weapons. He checks his person for a notepad and writing tool but, upon being empty-handed in these tools, glances around to anyone who may be in possession of those items and ready to record dictation...
In the basement storeroom- Cross took out a notepad and jotted down the serial numbers. He ripped off the piece of paper and handed it to Jason. "Baker, take this up to the computer room and run the numbers, see if they match," he said.
In the computer room- Laura brought over a bootable external hard drive and hooked it up to the recovered computer. It booted up just fine, but Melinda was unable to access the data on the computer's built-in hard drive.
Jason Baker takes the note and proceeds to run it up stairs.
He feels antsy and skittish....
Hopefully McBain isn't rubbing off on me. I feel anxious like I'm itching for something to happen...Baker sighs. And in these dire times, I'm sure I don't want that!
In the basement storeroom-
"Let's get this crate somewhere secure," Cross said to McBain. The two strong men picked it up and made their way to a weapons vault in the basement.
In the computer room- Jason Baker arrived as Carolyn Wagner was typing furiously on the computer while Laura Wyatt, Melinda Christie, and Harvey Bennish watched. Carolyn shook her head. "It's worse than I thought," she said. "The hard drive has been completely wiped, replaced with random 1s and 0s. There's no recovering the data."
"Well, that sucks," said Laura. She looked up when Jason entered the room. "Yes, Baker?"
"Ma'am."Baker stopped to stand at attention then continued with his business. "Cross sent me up with a list of serial numbers from the guns we found in the crate. He wants to know if they match any of the ones that have gone missing in the last while."
Baker paused, unsure of who to pass the list to, then proceeded to hand it to Lt. Wyatt.
In the computer room-
"Thank you," said Laura. "I'll look them up." She sat down at another computer and began typing. A minute later she looked up. "Yes, all of these weapons were stolen from this facility at the same time. The serial numbers match. The theft occurred just two nights ago. No wonder the weapons were still in the warehouse. They must have been taken out through that tunnel we found. Let me see who was on duty that night."
Jason Baker,[b]Jason[/b] knew that he had not been on duty that night, which was also the night of the meteor shower. Yesterday would have been a day off for him, but that was the day everything had started, and he had been called up that morning due to the emergency.
OOC,Everyone, please roll Psychology. The base skill is 5%.
Baker is relieved that the evidence proves him innocent. Growing up on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia as a black teen with a checkered past has made him wary of the law, even though it is one of the reasons he has joined the military as an MP. However, the uneasiness still remains....
OOC,Thanks for the response Mr. Handy. As for the Psych Roll, I caught it (my skill level) at the last second. Unfortunately, the best person with a chance to pass failed. Thanks Invisible Castle :lol: Oh well, such is life...
In the computer room- Laura tapped keys and clicked the mouse, and a minute later she came up with the answer. "According to the duty roster, Staff Sergeant Dauterive was the NCO in charge that night. He's off base right now, but we'll have to talk to him when he returns." She stood up and walked over to Carolyn. "You were on duty that night too, Wagner."
Harvey Bennish watched Carolyn closely, the subtle tells giving her away. "You're as nervous as a mouse that's just been cornered by a cat," he said to her.
Carolyn blinked. "He's lying!" she snapped without thinking.
Baker's hand instinctively falls to rest on his holstered Beretta but he stops short of drawing it. Wagner's gun is already out and drawing his would only add to her panic, possibly resulting in someone getting shot, potentially him...
He extends his free hand, palm out and tries to reason with his fellow MP...
"Now Carolyn, just relax. No one is accusing you of anything but this just makes matters worse..."
