riverviewlogs | everything's on fire

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everything's on fire

who: Everyone!
what: The residential building is on fire
when: ~2am, August 23rd
where: The Residential building
warnings: Fire, destruction of property, injury, general warnings for crisis situations

It's a reasonably quiet night, pleasantly dry with a slight breeze. Almost nice, for those that enjoy the hours after midnight long before dawn starts to creep on the horizon. Right until it isn't, when the air changes, and there's the scent of heat that promises smoke. In most places it starts with a flash of blue light that arcs from floor to floor as energy pulses through the building, and there's a crack of sound that follows. The power dies for a moment, and if you're one of the unlucky ones, the light that follows is a literal spark in the dark, burning to life in bright orange-red, yielding heat and smoke and trouble. The energy surge doesn't just hit the lights, but sparked flames that burst to life, and they catch quickly, spreading.

The worst of it starts on the ninth floor, where the smoke and the beginning of heat starts moments before the surge. The fire spreads faster there, people starting to startle awake and realize what's happening as the flames crackle. Eventually there's an announcement on the Network, both alerting people to what's happening and trying to organize both those that are willing to help and those that need it.

Some areas are untouched, while others are ravaged badly, reduced to ashes and crumbling ceilings, so watch your step. There's chaos, but through it there's people doing what they can to help each other, and the official fire services show up to help control the blaze. After that, it's just a matter of repairing the damage that's been done, rebuilding and putting things back together, seeing what's been lost and what was saved.

Even later, people start putting the pieces together, and there's the official investigation into what might have caused a fire like that in the first place.

[ooc: As promised, the residential building is on fire! OOC plotting post is here if anyone wants to work out some last minute plans before diving in. Plotting post also includes the relevant details. Elsewise, just top level and mingle. Try not to get burned too badly. :) Good luck!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Shiro'd had practice getting his armor on quickly, but it wasn't a quick task so he hadn't been down too long when Hana emerged from the basement with her mech. He had seen it so he had known to look for it. He was surprised though how noisy it was. The lions could be surprisingly quiet for being as large as they were.

But as she arrived out of the garage, Shiro immediately went over to her, his jet pack helping him cross the distance quickly.

No time for pleasantries at the moment; that could come later]

Hana, we should check the upper floors. There may be people still up there.

[Sorry, he's very business-like in a crisis]

[ There was enough going on that she didn't hear him approaching her with his jet pack until she hears him call her name. She didn't turn the whole mech to face him, but she could still turn her head for that and she was surprised by the look of his armor. It really did look like something you'd wear out in space. Plus, jetpack.

But, right. No time for pleasantries. She nodded and responded in a similarly business-like tone. ]

Right. Looks like you can get up there no problem. It might be faster for you to do a sweep and I can follow through and help people get down once we find them. I could take at least two down at a time.

[Yep, it was definitely space type armor. It was more protective than it looked, considering it could stand up to his hand without melting or distorting. He had raised the visor shield so it was easier to talk through it for the moment. When he went back in, he'd lower again]

Right, let's do that.

[Shiro would then take off for one of the upper floors. It wasn't the highest floor, but it was one with more smoke so that seemed to be a spot that needed help. Besides, he could easily check the next two floors from there and anyone still coming down the stairs would reach him.

He pretty much assumed Hana was going to follow him and when he reached that floor, he grabbed the wall in order to hold on. Lowering his visor, he then activated his hand and cut enough of a hole in the wall to get inside]

[ Hana did follow him, using her mech's boosters to get up and sustain altitude. He grabbed onto the wall and she was halfway to telling him that he could use her mech to hold onto when—

his hand turned purple. And it cut a hole into the wall.

??? ]

Uh—

[ She was audible through the comms on her mech, and while that was a little less than composed of a reaction... really, what? She... she was going to have some questions about that. And then he was going in and the hole was Shiro-sized, not MEKA-sized, so she stayed hovering where she was and called out, ]

Shiro? Be careful!

I will.

[Shiro could make the hole MEKA-sized, but it was easier to have foothold inside to do that. Precariously clinging to a building was not the way to do that even with his jet pack.

Once inside and on stable foot, with no sign of anyone immediately in danger, Shiro turned back to the hole, this time cutting it larger so that the MEKA could at least move in closer and anyone he found would have an easier time getting out without being trained in doing obstacle courses]

[ Ah, there it went again. She couldn't help but look on in part confusion and awe when he turned back and use his hand to make the opening bigger; but she realized soon enough that he was doing that so she could fit through with her mech and she gave him a nod from behind the canopy of her cockpit. ]

Thanks. Let's keep going; I can watch our six to make sure the escape route remains clear.

[She wanted to help too so there was no reason not to help her get her mech in there. Besides, him cutting the wall with his hand did less structural damage than trying smash your way in. Less structural damage and an easy way out were good things in a fire where there could still be people stuck]

Understood. This floor then I'll start by going up and if there is anyone trapped further up.

[There were others helping too, but getting to the higher floors was going to be a problem. Since they were already here, might as well start clearing higher floors.

But first this floor, so he puts his visor back down and heads into the living space on this floor]

Got it!

[ She nodded, even if it would go unseen, and she dutifully did as she said, making sure to check the path they were clearing and making sure it stayed that way. If the situation got truly dire, she could always burst through and forcibly clear a path back out, but that would only be necessary in the worst scenario, she hoped. She made sure not to lose sight of Shiro ahead of her, too. They needed to stick together. ]

See anyone?

[It was true that Shiro didn't see her nod, not that he really would have been looking. He did appreciate having someone watch his back in this situation. Time was of the essence so they had to work quickly. Not having to be constantly checking the exit to make sure he wasn't trapped was a good thing.

He would more thoroughly express this gratitude when he wasn't worried about people who might be stuck without breathing devices. His mind briefly flashed to Keith, hoping the teen had gotten his armor on. He was on a lower floor at least and smoke and flames rose]

No one on this floor. Going to go up one.

[He heads up, but doesn't get too far when he finds someone who was not doing so well. So Shiro put an arm around them to help this person down to the mech]

Found someone.

[ She couldn't follow him up to the next floor, so she merely voiced an affirmative when he went and waited patiently. Luckily her suit was pretty sturdy and protective because her arms were outside of the relative enclosure of the cockpit but still, damn was it hot in here. She'd have to be more careful about going too deep into the building.

It was in that idle moment that pain shot up her leg and she remembered, oh, right, she screwed up her leg trying to get to her mech and it hardly mattered at the moment, so she tried to push the pain out of her mind. That was when Shiro's voice came through again and it gave her something to focus on. ]

Okay. I'm ready to receive any evacuees!

[ She moves her mech's arms closer together to make it easier for someone to be... well, cradles in the cannon-arms of her mech, basically, and she had the mech kneel a little bit to make the process easier, too. The MEKA unit was certainly not built for this kind of operation, but it was the best she could do and it was better than her running around in her suit trying to rescue people. ]

[At this point, Shiro doubts the person cares how they are going to out of the burning building, just that they did. There wasn't much objection as he helped the person up onto the mech so they could ride down to the ground. Shiro could tell her mech wasn't built for this, but it would work]

All set. I'll stay up here and make sure the passage remains clear.

[He figures she will tell him if she needs help with something so he's not going to assume anything. It's better he be working on finding others and make sure their way out doesn't get blocked in the meantime]

Roger that. I'll be back soon!

[ It took some careful maneuvering for her to be able to turn her mech around without causing any discomfort to the evacuee, but she managed, and slowly she started easing forward on her controls to go back the way they had come. As she approached the opening, she looked down at them. ]

Try to hold on tight, okay? I'll try my best not to make it a bumpy ride for you.

[ And as they exited the building Hana began her descent; if it were just her, she would let the mech drop to the ground – the shock absorption in the legs had always been good for that and Hana didn't mind rough landings. But with a passenger in a bad condition she obviously wasn't going to do that; so she relied on her boosters to keep the ride smooth as she lowered altitude and only let the mech 'drop' once they were very close to the ground. Already there was someone rushing over to help the person get off her mech and into one of the tents to get medical attension. Hana made sure they were in good hands before she boosted back up to where she had left Shiro. ]

Shiro? What's your status?

[Shiro watched as she descended from the building with the evacuee. He wanted to make sure sure for some reason he wasn't needed. Also it was a little hot for completely obvious reasons so standing closer to their escape hatch for a short gave him that chance to cool down a little. He had to keep the visor sealed still because there was so much smoke that it would be foolish to think he could get fresh air.

The other benefit he hoped would be to hear if anyone had reached a window on an upper floor and were calling out. He'd know at that point definitively there was at least one more person to find. He didn't hear anything, but that wasn't going to stop him from going up to check anyway.

As she started to return, he back away from the exit, no longer needing to stay closer to make sure it was clear]

Oh, I'm doing great. Getting a new appreciation for how ovens work.

[Sorry, terribly morbid joke. He does the sometimes]

How are you holding up?

[ He actually received a little chuckle for his humor, so no need to apologize. She was amused, partly by the morbidness of the joke and she always appreciated sarcasm but mostly by the fact that it was Shiro who had delivered it. She wasn't expecting it and it was a pleasant surprise.

Well, as pleasant as anything could be in the middle of an emergency. ]

What, are you gonna go and bake some cookies after this?

[ Might as well go for some friendly mid-crisis banter, right? But to the point... ]

I'm fine. My mech wasn't really designed for this kind of operation, but I'm keeping an eye on the sensors and making sure it doesn't get too hot in there for us.

Let's do a sweep of the next few floors and do the same thing we just did until we get to the top. Then I think— I need to find Genji. And you need to find Keith.

Alright, Shiro. Game face on!

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