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The south american jungles, one of the most exotic places on earth with it's immense variety of species of all kinds. Millions of square kilometers of lush rainforest, the rare roads and rivers winding through the greenery invisible from above, giving the impression of pure and untainted land but for a single scar. A great grey dome, reflective on the outside though one could see out from within, home of one of the last cities, one of the few havens that remained since the war began.
It's continued survival was a testament to the adaptability of humanity in some ways. Since the mutations had been sighted and the war had begun, the jungles had become one of the most dangerous places on earth, with billions of insects mutating alone or fusing with the other wildlife of the area, creating an area more infested with the horrific monstrosities that besieged humanity on every side than almost any other place on the planet. Which made the survival of this particular city a certain testament to humanity's persistence and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. Despite cities in far less dangerous places falling left and right, the walls of Shiasa remained unbroken, it's guard remained unwavering.
For the most part the city was self-sustaining, farms and water sources all contained within the great dome that protected it, but some resources simply could not be obtained, and thus there were the scouts. They were the best of the best, rag-tag to be sure, but accorded a certain respect despite their typically mis-matched and salvaged gear and generally motley appearance. They went outside the walls, an activity that carried with it a survival chance of merely 30%, and they hunted and salvaged what the city needed and brought it back. They fought back against the bugs, and for all that their job was perilous and those that came back did so only with difficulty (if they came back at all) they were the envy of every man and woman in the city, because they fought back rather than cowering behind the walls.
In this case, it was a small mission, with only two scouts needed. Sarah Ashford and Amy Burns were chosen and sent out, their goal: retrieval of parts from a ship that had crashed a scant few miles from the city limits. While the bugs had taken the ship out of the sky, they cared not for it's components, which the city could use to keep it's machinery running longer and more efficiently, thus, salvage of what could be salvaged was a priority. At the base of the wall, the last of a complex interlocking airlock system hissed and opened with a soft 'whoosh' expelling the scouts from safety and into the jungle proper. It was quiet, and faintly steamy, with faint tendrils of fog winding their way through the trees, but by the time they made it a dozen meters the trees would be too thick for them to rely on the heavy perimeter guns for protection, and from then on, they would be utterly on their own against a jungle that could turn vicious and swarm them at any moment.
It's continued survival was a testament to the adaptability of humanity in some ways. Since the mutations had been sighted and the war had begun, the jungles had become one of the most dangerous places on earth, with billions of insects mutating alone or fusing with the other wildlife of the area, creating an area more infested with the horrific monstrosities that besieged humanity on every side than almost any other place on the planet. Which made the survival of this particular city a certain testament to humanity's persistence and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. Despite cities in far less dangerous places falling left and right, the walls of Shiasa remained unbroken, it's guard remained unwavering.
For the most part the city was self-sustaining, farms and water sources all contained within the great dome that protected it, but some resources simply could not be obtained, and thus there were the scouts. They were the best of the best, rag-tag to be sure, but accorded a certain respect despite their typically mis-matched and salvaged gear and generally motley appearance. They went outside the walls, an activity that carried with it a survival chance of merely 30%, and they hunted and salvaged what the city needed and brought it back. They fought back against the bugs, and for all that their job was perilous and those that came back did so only with difficulty (if they came back at all) they were the envy of every man and woman in the city, because they fought back rather than cowering behind the walls.
In this case, it was a small mission, with only two scouts needed. Sarah Ashford and Amy Burns were chosen and sent out, their goal: retrieval of parts from a ship that had crashed a scant few miles from the city limits. While the bugs had taken the ship out of the sky, they cared not for it's components, which the city could use to keep it's machinery running longer and more efficiently, thus, salvage of what could be salvaged was a priority. At the base of the wall, the last of a complex interlocking airlock system hissed and opened with a soft 'whoosh' expelling the scouts from safety and into the jungle proper. It was quiet, and faintly steamy, with faint tendrils of fog winding their way through the trees, but by the time they made it a dozen meters the trees would be too thick for them to rely on the heavy perimeter guns for protection, and from then on, they would be utterly on their own against a jungle that could turn vicious and swarm them at any moment.
