8264/Black Sun Rising: An Unofficial Mission

Black Sun Rising: An Unofficial Mission
Date of Scene:	11 July 2019
Location:	WWII
Synopsis:	Cap, Bucky, Peggy and the Australians go on an unofficial night mission. Work camp prisoners are rescued and the SS air threat is eliminated. Mission: success.
Cast of Characters:	Stardust, Captain America, Winter Soldier, Peggy Carter
Tinyplot:	Black Sun Rising

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Stardust has posed:
It's evening and the base is beginning to quieten down, enough that the distant thump-thump of bombing raids can be heard. The allied airforces are busy, hammering the forces pinned down in the major cities and industrial regions while on the ground the encirclement continues. Although this is officially the most forward major base the allies have, it has been remarkably quiet. The general feeling is that the weeks of planning and build-up of forces that had preceded this quick advance to cut off the German industrial base are going to leave the remaining German forces overwhelmed. Particularly as so much of their forces are on the eastern front now, where the Russians are moving quickly towards Berlin. Tomorrow is the big day, but the night is yet to come and may still hold surprises...

    A voice is heard at the flap of Cap's tent. "You fellas in there?" Flight Sergeant Roberts, the second-in-command of the Australian fliers, pokes his head in. "Uh. The boss sent me to find you. He says, and I quote, 'cos he told me to quote him exactly, 'Something I'm gonna do that the brass don't need to hear about 'cos they're a bunch of drongos who I don't trust not to tell me not to do it. Robbo says you Yanks are okay and handy in a scrap, so if you want in on it, come to the Bunyip's tent by the airfield. If you disapprove then you best stay away so as you don't hear something you'd feel the need to blab to the wowsers.' His words, sorry sir."

Captain America has posed:
The sound of playing cards being handled is a soft sound, likely lost under the distant rumble of falling bomb-runs and the drone of airplanes. Steve's eyeballing his hand and then the brunet across from him in turn.

"...Buck, you can't keep a straight-face to save your life," the Captain mutters as he looks down at his own handful of cards with a smirk. "Deal or hold?" The arrival of the foreign pilot has him paused with hand outstretched over the deck on the tamped ground.

Flight Sergeant Roberts will indeed find both Sergeant Barnes and Captain Rogers in the tent amidst what has to be a vicious game of poker. It seems to be just even distribution of the spoils, from cigarettes to the small bars of chocolate sent out in the ration kits. Steve sitting cross-legged on the ground lays his hand flat, playing face-down, and looks at Roberts in blatant curiosity, his eyebrows slowly rising up his face.

Once the speech is done, he glances at Bucky. "...not gonna tell the wowzers if you don't," he mutters, his lips beginning to rise in a smile. Uh oh. That's nothing but trouble glinting in those true-blues now.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Despite Steve's claims, Buck has a decent poker-face. It's just not the masterpiece that it'll become when HYDRA has him. "Hold," he says, even as he looks up to Roberts. Then, to the Aussie, ".....what exactly did you guy have in mind?" His tone is cautious - he's already shed so much of the old devil-may-care attitude from his days in Brooklyn.

Stardust has posed:
    Roberts snaps off a casual salute. "If I'd known you blokes was playin' cards I'd have come sooner. Digger.. the boss, I mean... has had us slobs workin' all evening on the intel. Last flight just landed and we've been developin' the plates. We've spotted a couple o' things that could effect the way it goes down tomorrow. He reckons the best plan is to deal with those things tonight when everyone's tucked up."

    Roberts stands in the 'doorway' of the tent, holding the flap open and looking unusure how to continues. "Best you hear it from him, really. Uh." He looks over his shoulder towards the runway where the Australians have set up, then back in. "I reckon it's worth your while you coming 'n having a look at any rate." A grins spreads across his face. "We've got beer."

Captain America has posed:
The glitter of Steve's eyes doesn't lessen, even if his oldest friend elects to be the voice of reason rather than agreeing to throw in will-nilly to the plan. He lifts his hand of cards up again, smirks at Bucky across the way, and sighs.

"Beer wins out over a straight flush." With a deft flicking turn of his wrist, he fans the cards towards the Sergeant. Indeed, it's a straight flush, five through nine. "Keep your winnings, I'm feeling magnanimous tonight," he adds, teasing his fellow Brooklynite even as he rises to his feet. A brush-off of the back of his pants removes any dirt and he glances over at Roberts. "Be there in a shake of a lamb's tail."

Winter Soldier has posed:
That's always been his function, hasn't it, in the broadest sense? Being the voice of reason whenever Steve was being lured to a fight. Buck rolls his eyes at Steve's flourish of the cards.

He doesn't even ask about the beer. Apparently he's decided to go in his usual position as Steve's common sense. He shrugs into his gear, and in a little, they're ambling over to where the Aussies lurk.

Stardust has posed:
    Roberts gives the pair a nod and another notably casual salute before leaving them to make their own way to the tent. The Australians are quartered the far side of the runway, a group of smaller tents gathered around one large one which is well-lit and has people coming and going. Although there are only twenty men in the Australian contingent, they're running around while most of the camp is settling down to rest or get an early night, so it seems particularly busy here. The two remaining Spitfires are getting a maintenance overhaul under lights, and the engineers seem to be continually running back and forth between the tent and the parked planes.

    On entering the tent, the squadron leader and his fliers can be seen gathered around a table, studying photo-reconaissance prints. To one side is a second smaller tent, inside the first, with a hand-written sign on it saying 'Darkroom, knock before entering or I'll knock you.' Roberts is busying himself by a stack of crates with 'Photographic plates, only open in darkness' stamped on the side, opening one up in total disregard for that warning. He pulls out a couple of bottles and brings them over to Cap and Bucky. "Toohey's New Special. Proper beer, not like you get in America," he says with a wink.

    The squadron leader, Ash, sees the two arriving and waves them over. "Welcome to the shivoo, mates," he says, waving a print in their direction. "Take a look at this, tell me we don't need to do anything about it and I'll call yer a pair of skiting jakaroos." Roberts flashes them both an apologetic grin and whispers "Sorry. He does it on purpose."

    It's easy to figure that the photograph shows the castle, an unusual traingular construction with three great cylindrical towers at each corner. Around it are scattered a small village to the south, an encampment to the east and another to the north. To the west can be seen the small airfield. What exactly Ash wants them to see in all this is rather less than clear.

Captain America has posed:
With his stoic shoulder-angel alongside him, Steve arrives at the Australian campsite. He's open about wondering what's kicked the proverbial ant-hill and watches the mechanics dart around as he makes his way over to the main tent. The darkroom tent is given a curious look, but Roberts arrival with the beer takes precendence.

"Think he hasn't experienced the best America has to offer," the Captain asides in a stage-whisper to Bucky, more than aware that the Flight Sergeant can hear him just fine. "Thanks, Sergeant," he adds regardless in good manners. It's but a few more steps to join Ash at the table. Steve doesn't nurse his beer just yet as he squints down at the aerial photographs.

"Hate to be called a 'skiting jakaroo', so let's hear your thoughts on it before assumptions are made." He glances over at Bucky before sipping at his beer. Mmm. Not bad.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He doesn't have his rifle, they're still in camp, but he's got his pistol at his hip. Buck comes wandering over to peer past Steve at the photos. His brow knits, as he peers at it...then he looks up, into the Australian's face, even as he accepts the beer. "I'm not seeing it, whatever it is I'm supposed to be seeing," he says, bluntly. Let them think he's an idiot, he wants it spelled out for him. "I mean, this is our problem, but you guys are eyeballing something bad enough to get your jockeys in a knot. What's going on?"

Stardust has posed:
    Ash gives Steve a toothy grin of approval, either at his willingness to listen or his playful acceptance of the Australian's use of slang. While the other Australians have been free with the odd Australianism none nearly as much as their leader, who's probably doing it as some kind of test, or possibly just to annoy people.

    "Two things, mate. " Ash jabs a finger towards the airfield. "See these mounds? Bomb proof hangars. The big 'un here, you can see a bit of a Heinkel sticking out of it. 111f, transport. The big plane on the runway is a Junkers. No space in the hangers for it, see? Also a transport. My guess is that's what they used to bring the bell thing. These we don't need to worry about. They go up, my boys'll put 'em back down again. Those five smaller ones though? Well you saw those Komets yesterday. So my reckoning is, there's two more of them. Not the best for ground attack, but they could be a problem tomorrow. I was thinking of sneaking in and making a few small modifications tonight, just enough to keep 'em on the ground, see? Then we noticed something else..."

    He moves his finger to the camp to the north of the castle. "This photo was taking around sunset. Long shadows. See the shadow from the watch tower at the gate?" He points at the other camp. "Compare. Different heights, different positions. First one, the watchtower's on the inside. And taller. So's they can see over the barracks. This one's looking in, not looking out."

    Ash looks up a the pair of them, eyes narrowed. "Bet my last deener it's a work camp. Prison labor. Stuck right in the middle. I say we break 'em out tonight, get 'em out of there before things get hot. If basic humanity don't persuade yer, they'll have worked on the castle defenses. Could gen us up on what's inside."

Captain America has posed:
Squinting as old pre-serum habit, Steve leans in and listens to Ash as he details the nuances of the photographs spread on the table. He eyes the shadows in particular, noting their discrepancies in length, and when he hears of the conclusion drawn, he inhales subtly. Bucky gets a look, of course, and by the time his eyes swing around to the Australia flight commander again, they've gone hard.

"Think we can make it a quick in-and-out. Probably need keep it as covert as possible, we don't have the whole gang with us." The Howling Commandos, of course. "Knock down the guards, steal the key ring, usher 'em out into the trees. We'd better have trucks waiting if we can, and they'll still need to keep perimeter out about five miles as is." He glances between Ash and Sergeant Barnes again, appearing to have forgotten about his beer.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Barnes, for his part, purses his lips. There to be devil's advocate....he's shaking his head, gently. "You break those guys out, you let might as well roll on up and ring the front doorbell. Yeah, we free the prisoners....and let the guys there know we're coming. They'll have hardened it up so damn much by the time the main attack occurrs, it's gonna cost us a lot more lives here. Panicked, sick civilians....there's no quick in and out there. This isn't like busting down the gate on a stalag. I don't think we can afford to do this."

Stardust has posed:
    "Wouldn't like to ask 'em to run five miles mate," Ash says with a shake of his head. "Jerries work 'em hard. No telling what condition they'll be in. I reckon we'll need the trucks to hide just here in the tree line. I got a couple of trucks heading west on an ahem fuel run. I'll have 'em turn round after a couple of miles and park up, it's the only way. Risky, but I got a couple of volunteers already. My boys are up fer anythin'."

    He turns his attention to Bucky, staring at him with a hint of hostility before breaking into a grin and giving him a nod. "Point made, cob. So here's my idea. We bomb the airfield. With two Spits, I ain't confident we'll knock out the runway, but we can cause a mess. They'll think that's the target. I'll sneak in on the north side by the buildings, shine a flashlight up to guide in my boys for a bombing run. Then hook it back down to the south, get over the fence, snip a few cables while everyone's rushing to the other side of the field. You boys and Robbo here will wait for the bangs, take out the guards at the camp, make it look like the prisoners broke out during the chaos. We all leg it back to the trucks and imshi. They know we've been flying over, they'll think we were after the big Junkers. Whaddya say?"

Captain America has posed:
Steve listens to the suggestions, his wheat-gold brows drawn in tension. The beer he was drinking earlier ends up set aside on the table, not touching any of the photographs, and he settles into an at-ease stance with his arms loosely crossed. He gives Bucky another glance.

"Dunno if that's flying under the radar." If there's a pun there, he's unaware of it or ignoring it for now. "You talk about keeping it hush-hush. What's the excuse when tomorrow's team shows up 'nd things are still smoking? Got a wild hair in our briefs 'nd thought we'd run it?" His broad shoulders lift and fall. "Thoughts, Barnes?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
Winter Soldier sucks his teeth at that. "We could maybe make it look like a partisan action. But it would still twist them up enough to make the rest of it far harder. Unless you wanna be a bunch of goddamned maniacs and go for completely broke. See, what I'm afraid if here is that they get the wind up and they remove the thing we're really after."

He glances at the Australians, then at Steve, "I mean yeah, I know it's hypocritical of me, because if this guy hadn't disobeyed orders and done exactly that, I'd be dead in Italy. I just....don't want us to end up screwing the pooch because you guys were feeling big-hearted."

Stardust has posed:
"Mate, tomorrow's team is us," Ash points out with a laugh. "The questions'll start when we turn up with two trucks full o' civilians, though. What are they gonna do, stick us in the stockade?" He gives a nonchalant shrug. "They can court-martial me after the war, but I know what's right, and I reckon you blokes do, too."

    Ash makes an act of looking around as if checking nobody can hear, and leans forwards to stage whisper to Steve. "Your mate there's a worrier. Tighter n' a sheep's bum. You need to get him a bit o' skirt to smoodge, loosen him right up." He straightens, smirking slightly at Bucky. "I get yer worryin' about the mission cob. Look at it this way. We'll be back there in eight hours. What are they gonna do during the night that's going to make a difference? I mean they could pack the whole thing up, cart it back to Berlin and build a brand new tower thing like the one they've built here to house the bell, but if they do that? Job done. It'll take 'em months, and they don't have months. On the other hand if we don't do this, we're going to have a pair of Komets raining bullets down on us tomorrow. So the way I see it, this'll be win-win."

    Ash leans back, picks up a bottle of beer that was sitting on the table, takes a swing and looks at them frankly. "Anyway. I'm going. You blokes coming or not?"

Captain America has posed:
The color lingers at Steve's cheeks after Ash's comment about skirt-chasing. He chooses to remain silent but for a significant look towards Bucky. After all, Barnes is the far more charming between the two Brooklyn boys in the end -- let him defend himself instead of having someone else step in and imply weakness.

The blond soldier sighs. "Gosh, when you put it like that... Already escaped by the skin of my nose from Colonel Phillip's wrath once for something like this. Peggy won't be happy, but..." Clearing his throat and shifting in place, he adds, "I'm a Captain anyways."

Grabbing his beer again, Steve lifts it at the level of his chest. "I'm in."

Winter Soldier has posed:
It is a tribute to their fifteen years of friendship that Buck does not point out that he's not the virgin in this tent. His own smirk has turned a bit sour, but he shrugs. This was inevitable -Steve wades into any fight that offers, Buck goes to make sure that he doesn't get killed. "Enh, screw it. Gotta keep this big jerk alive."

Nevermind that particular glitter in his eyes. He likes violence, try as he might to rein in that darker impulse. He's Steve's common sense. Steve is what's left of his conscience.

Stardust has posed:
A Short Time Later...

    Ash takes the monocular from his eye and holds it out to nobody in particular to take a look. "That's the problem with night missions. Darker than a baboon's arsehole. Can't see much beyond the searchlights. Looking pretty quiet your end. Couple of guards in the watchtower over the gate, but I can't see any others. I reckon the big hut just inside the gate will be guards, likely sleeping. Probably a couple patrolling the perimeter." He gestures towards his number 2 from the Australian team. "Robbo's got some bolt cutters if you want to try getting in the back. Take him with you. Bugger all going on at the airfield, with your permission, Captain, I'm gonna pop over that way and get signalling. Fifteen before my boys are due over the target, I need to get a shuffle on."

    The dark mass of the castle looms large, just a few hundred feet away at the top of a hill. The group is crouched on the treeline, a hundred or so feet from the pair of trucks that remain hidden in the wooded area. The airfield is a half mile to the north-west, the prison camp a quarter mile north. From this position, the tall wire fence of the prison camp and the dozen or so huts inside it are only just about visible in the gloom, but a pair of watchtowers line the entrance gate on the far side, and small searchlights point down to the ground inside the compound, occasionally moving across the huts as the guards check for movement.

    Roberts gives Ash a salute and hefts a pair of heavy bolt cutters off his shoulder. "I'm ready. Good luck sir," he says. Turning to Bucky and Steve, he gives a grin. "Ready for fence cutting duties. Name your spot." His gaze flicks to Peggy. "We uh... we all going in?" he asks, obviously unsure of what exactly her role is in all of this.

Peggy Carter has posed:
    A smirk crosses Peggy's lips as, of course, they're looking in her direction. Yes, she got off the truck last, mainly to stop any protests while they were actively en route and trying to be silent while getting into place. She's in a field outfit that is only slightly cobbled together and seems to fit her, dark hair tied back firmly at the base of her head and weapons all in place. Other than the fact that she fills out the top of the uniform better than most of the boys, she looks just as capable and ready to go in as anyone else.

    "Yes, all of us. There are at least two political prisoners in there and none of you speak anything but English. If you want someone who can communicate, all of us are bloody well going in. Unless you plan to talk to them through interpretive dance, Caruthers." Peggy's voice clips out in the sharpest, most hush tone possible. A whisper shouldn't be able to sting like that, but it does. Her dark eyes just dare him to protest again.

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Au contraire," Buck says, drily. He's brought along his beloved Thompson. "But I don't speak German," he allows, tone companionable.

Then he's scanning the perimeter, and nods at the spot that it seems it'd be hardest for the searchlights to reach. "There. Least likely to notice us."

Captain America has posed:
"No reason to linger," Steve replies sotto-voce to Ash. "Get to signaling. We'll have 'em out by the time your boy drop their payloads." He's in his standard patriotic gear, shield and belt both included, the former slipped into its mooring on his back. He glances from the Australian airman to Bucky and Peggy.

"All of us." A firm nod echoes Peggy's sentiments. Deferring to Bucky's uncanny ability to spot weaknesses in enemy lines, he merely holds position until the brunet speaks up.

"You heard the man. Once we're through, I'll remove any obstacles." I.E. give any guards on the ground a quick, firm beatdown to avoid potential shouts and alerts. "Somebody's going to have to drop the guards in the second tower once I've cleared the first."

Stardust has posed:
Ash snaps of a sloppy salute and disappears into the darkness at a run. Roberts watches him vanish with a slight shake of the head. "Right then. Let's do this. I can cut a nice big hole if you blokes... er.. and ladies... keep an eye open for the guards. Then we can start moving people out and to the trucks straight away as soon as the bombs go off and attract attenion towards the airfield. When it all goes down, I suggest we have two of us ready to pop off the two guards in the watchtower. I'll take left, okay?"

    Crouching low, Roberts starts trotting up the hill to the point Bucky had indicated. If there are a pair of guards walking the permeter as Ash suggested, they are not immediately visible at that point, and he starts quickly cutting a hole in the fence large enough for two people to walk through side by side.

Peggy Carter has posed:
    "Two in the second tower? I can handle them, let you gents break ahead." Peggy offers flatly, just as trained in infiltration as any of them. Perhaps more so, considering what they asked the girls of the SSR to learn in spy craft. She nods in agreement to Bucky's find, crouching a bit more slanted in readiness to move that direction the moment they are all breaking through.

No other conversation about gents and ladies, no time wasted on more words. It was time to act. Peggy falls into the line with the boys just as naturally as if she always ran with them, dark clad figure cutting up through the night without any sound. It's like her boots didn't even exist on the ground. While she had a gun strapped to her back and one at her side, she quietly wound the garrote she used for more subtle encounters around her hands. Once through the gate, she trusted Steve to handle the very initial encounter, but she cuts down and across the darkness to the second shadow in the darkness. Before the guard realizes what is going on, Peggy's at hsi back, wire across his throat, soundless, breathless struggle lasting but a minute or so. He tried to fight her off. She held tight. It was over unnervingly fast, but also buys the boys time to get deeper.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck does not demur, or argue with Peggy. HE's already seen what she's capable of, all this long war. But he takes a leaf from her book, and he's heading for one of the patrolling guards with knife in hand. A Tommy gun is many sterling things, but 'silent' is not one of them.

Steve may be honorably determined to kill as little as possible. Bucky shed that compunction on the shores of Morocco, and it's never caught up to him since. There's only the gurgle of someone gasping his last out of a slit throat, and then the soft tumble of a body eased down.

Captain America has posed:
Steve did indeed intend to head straight for the huts, but both his cohorts made calls based on the sweeping pattern of the guard's nightly rounds. He tries to ignore the sounds of struggle and the death-gurgle of a knife placed precisely where it need be to swiftly end a life as he listens for other sounds of alert brought upon them. The guards fall.

Stillness lingers in the gloomy expanse of the enemy grounds yet. Raising a hand in the shadows, he signals for the team to continue on. Those electing to pot-shot the guards scanning from the watch towers will need to take up position soon.

Stardust has posed:
The operation seems to be going very smoothly so far. As Roberts cuts his hole in the fence, Bucky and Peggy quietly and efficiently dispose of the perimeter guards. On the far side of the camp, the twin searchlights from the guard towers play across the assembly area in front of the huts, showing no sign they're aware anything is up. With the last links of the fence cut, Roberts lowers the section carefully to the ground and pulls it to the side quietly. Within minutes there's a rear exit, access to the huts beyond is available, and there's no sign anyone is the wiser.

    Roberts slips inside the fence, pulling out his pistol. He points to himself, then towards the leftmost tower, then points to Peggy and indicates the right most tower. "Raise your hand when you have a bead," he whispers to her. "And shoot the moment you hear the bombs. Or they notice something." He slips into the shadows by a hut and creeps carefully into the darkness.

Peggy Carter has posed:
    Well, it was nice to be trusted. With the mission in order, no one was questioning Peggy's abilities and she didn't have time to fight to prove herself, she was just doing the work. Momentarily worried eyes flicker across for Bucky and Stee, but it's just a second, and then she's looking back to Roberts and she gives the firm nod. On her way to find a good position, she does come across one more guard. This one doesn't have time for a fight, and the butt of her rifle makes its way violently into his temple before her free arm catches his slumping body and she lays him down aside. She doesn't go prowling for guards again, but kneels in the shadows and shifts her rifle up over her shoulder.
    Then it's nothing but gun, breath, and focus. The entire world zooms into her target in that tower, waiting until the moment she gets the bead. Then one hand is up, just a second, long enough for Roberts to see before she puts both hands back on the rifle as she'll need them both to ensure the shot is true. Slow even breaths, preparing for the weight of that trigger. She'd let the others start opening the huts. She knew she could make this shot so wasn't risking someone else doing it.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Steve has the great Vibranium master key. Buck....will just steal keys off the body of the guard. He's got them stuffed into his pocket in a jingle of metal, already lining up on the nearest guards, Tommy gun slung and ready. It's about to get bright and noisy, and hopefully the chaos to follow will give him some leeway.

Adrenaline has his heartbeat pounding in what feels like his throat, beneath the coolness imposed by combat.

Stardust has posed:
    Roberts gives Peggy a thumb's up as he sees her in position. He seems quite willing to accept her abilities after seeing her take out that first guard. Apparently not all the Australians are dubious of the fact that there are a couple of women on this mission!

    In the distance, a faint crack is heard. Not the promised bombs, but gunfire. Seconds later it's joined by a chorus of more. This is not according to the plan. The guards on the watchtowers turn to glance in the direction of the airfield, and hushed words in German are quickly exchanged. One starts turning the searchlight in that direction, the other reaches for the alarm - before a much closer shot rings out, and he tumbles from the tower, Robertson's shot hitting him squarely.

    Engines can be heard, the whine of planes flying overhead. A few moments later the night sky lights up briefly, the accompanying KABOOOM of bombs going off following a second later. The door to the guard hut flies open and a soldier steps out, his gun lowered, to see what's going on.

Peggy Carter has posed:
    The moment the guns start going off, well... It wasn't bombs, it was guns. Peggy takes the shot, taking out the guard whether it was her signal or not. Things were not going as plan and one less enemy would be goof ro all of them. She tucks herself back against the fence line where she'd knelt down and now just starts picking people off. Yes, it was lethal force. No, it didn't matter to her right now. Getting them down and the prisoners out was all that mattered to her. She fires slowly, each shot cold, calculated, and precise. Most of them head shots. Most of them landing, even in darkness and chaos.

Winter Soldier has posed:
And there's the rattle of the Tommy gun - every New York kid's gangster fantasy fulfilled. Though Buck's face isn't contorted into a gleeful grin. If anything, the remote calm in his face as he mows down the shocked guards is disturbing....a precursor of Winter's imperturbable deadpan.

His blood's up, and he's moving at a quick clip, trying to take out as many as he can, before there's a significant counterattack.

Captain America has posed:
The eruption of gunshots is startling. Steve, in his crouched and quick approach to the guard hut, lingers in the shadow of the watchtower alongside one of the German's trucks to listen. His heart's in his throat and the taste of adrenaline is pennies in his mouth. Peering over the engine compartment, he squints across the grounds.

"C'mon...c'mon...!" comes the whisper to himself, terse and teeth-gritted. He can see the guards in the watch tower reaching for the turn-style alarm box --

Thank god -- the crack of a rifle coincides with a slumped body and then they start to rain down from the towers. He hears the front door to the hut open with a creak of half-rusted hinges and that is //his// cue.

Whipping around the corner, the first guard with his unreadied rifle falls when his skull meets the front of the vibranium shield. It's like letting a dog into a chicken coop. German soldiers still tumbling from their cots never make it to full wakefulness before it's lights-out for them. A single pistol shot resounds off the shield, loud enough to be hear if ears can pick it up between the bombastic impacts of the payloads landing on the runway. Steve leaves the lights on when he exits, panting hard enough that his breath is seen in silvery clouds, and then makes his way towards the guard huts. At a brisk run, he's a blur but for reflections off the shield as he heads for the first padlocked hut.

One by one, with grunts of effort, he breaks the locks and pulls the doors open. Some are yanked hard enough to hang crooked and swing in screeching complaint. Fires already rise from the airfield. "Come on! Quick! Head for the fenceline!" He tries raising his voice over the chaos and points towards the gap created by Roberts' earlier efforts.

Stardust has posed:
    Captain America in the guard house is barely even a fight. In the confined space, his speed an athleticism allows him to control the space completely, and his shield is a far better weapon than clumsy rifles.

    Peggy and Bucky make short work of the remaining guards. Their attention on the explosions, the sudden burst of rapid fire from Bucky's Thompson machine gun and Peggy's much slower but more precise shots are a deadly combination, and within seconds the camp has fallen silent.

    As Steve gets to the first huts, he sees prisoners already clambering out of their beds, awoken by the gunfire. Even in the dimly lit camp, it's plain to see that they have not been well treated. Dressed in clothes barely better than rags, their feet bare, they shuffle and stumble towards the door slowly, with an almost eerily casual curiosity. They seem to have no fear of the battle around them - perhaps because they have no fear left, and nothing more to lose. To a man, they look at least half-starved and beaten, the walking dead.

    Slowly one man pushes his way to the head of the group. His cheeks are hollow, his eyes gaunt, a filthy beard growing wild on his chin. He draws himself slowly straight, and draws a deep breath, gaunt ribs showing in his bare chest. In a cracked voice, he asks, "Ver bitzu? Hobn ir comen tsu teytn aundz? Oder bist ir Americaner? British?" It sounds familiar, but it's not quite German.

Peggy Carter has posed:
    When the shots are done, the guards dropped, Peggy slowly lowers her weapon. It was a lot of adrenaline and a lot of death in a very short amount of time. It'd been a long time since she killed that many. She's a touch sluggish behind the boys, though she said she'd translate... Yiddish is one of the few languages she's not quite skilled in, Enough to pick it out, but one of the others will probably know better. She also has, for once, no wish to be int he spotlight. Not after that massacre, Nazis or not.

    "I'm...going to check the other huts." She murmurs to a few of the others before disappearing back in the darkness. She'll keep one other with her, doing quick, methodical sweeps of each hut for others laying in wait or, more likely, sick and dying who couldn't come out themselves. They'd get those prisoners out too. No one left behind.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Steve's cradle tongue is Irish. Bucky's....is Yiddish. One of them, anyhow. To find it here, in this place, when nearly every other time he's heard it was in the half-remembered warm tones of a mother's endearments or chidings - it brings him up utterly short. There's a blank moment, before he says, haltingly, "Beyde. T- tsu bafrayen ir. Come." Both. To free you. Come. And he's motioning for them to follow, but not turning away. Making sure they're coming with him.

Captain America has posed:
Yiddish is unfortunately beyond Steve, but he knows someone who does speak it. Motioning with a gentling palm for a second's pause in the questioning -- for by the tone, he can tell there's a query -- he cranes his head to look for Bucky. There, and quickly, the brunet explains that they're here to help them escape to freedom. The Captain motions again and points at Bucky, impressing upon the group of prisoners to follow the rifle-bearing soldier.

"Get 'em to the trucks, I'll watch the tail end," he says quickly to Bucky. There, he finds Peggy helping a prisoner with an infected leg along. A few soft words with her, an exchange of nods, and Steve lingers long enough to watch the fires left behind by the bomb run rise like hungry tongues. Tendrils lick at the wreckage left. He sighs sharply and then turns to continue aiding in the evacuation.

Stardust has posed:
    The reply to Bucky is a whisper. "Mir hobn keyn hofenung." Clear enough for the German speakers to understand. They had no hope. "Amerikaners," he says in the same whisper to his fellow prisoners. They seem to take their lead from him, and soon they are all following out, a shuffling line of painful, groping steps. All are male. Most look old - probably much older than their actual age - but there are some young ones too. Three are clearly not fully grown, the youngest a boy perhaps just twelve years old. There had been rumors from the Russians of how the Germans kept their prisoners, but nobody had quite believed it.

    The shocking thing for Peggy is just how few people there are injured. Apart from that one with the injured leg, the rest while far from being healthy, are fully mobile. Given the conditions they are in, it's all to painfully obvious that the ones too unfit to work don't last very long at all.

    At the hole in the fence, Roberts holds up a hand to stop anyone going through. He points towards the castle - the gates have opened, and with a roar of engines, a column of vehicles speeds out and down the road around the hill. Perhaps a dozen, filled with soldiers. Fortunately the assault on the camp was too fast for the alarm to be sounded, and very quickly it's apparent that they are heading towards the airfield. It seems that the distraction did its work.

    Roberts signals the all clear, and runs ahead of the column of prisoners, ushering them to the treeline and the trucks waiting beyond.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck is in a kind of shock - even after all he's been through, all he's seen and done in this war, this is beyond some limit he thought impermeable. He hasn't succumbed to rage....not yet.

Happily, he can yield to the urge for action by helping and chivvying the prisoners to the trucks. Sweat's shining on his face, but he hasn't flagged yet.

Captain America has posed:
Steve, at the end of the column of prisoners, hears the gunning of the vehicles as the first exits from the castle's front gate. He sets his jaw and swallows down his heart, hefting his shield on his arm in readiness to run like the usual self-certain lunatic he's panning out to be in this war.

Thank god for the air run. The raging fires are more than distracting enough for the rest of the German force. He makes absolutely no one's left behind after Peggy and her prisoner are beyond the opened fenceline and then disappears into the curtaining of trees.

Later tonight...late...after his own camp is silent save for the snores and shuffling of soldiers turning over...this is when eidedic memory will haunt him with broken skulls and the ghostly pall of starvation in a kid not much older than Mrs. Kennedy's son one apartment over from his home in Brooklyn.

Stardust has posed:
Back at the trucks, the Australians help to pack the freed prisoners in. It's a tight fit, and some of them seem very nervous about getting in, and mutter in a mixture of languages, mostly Polish with a bit of Russian and Yiddish thrown in. When one of the Australians starts passing out rations, the mood lightens considerably. Maybe they're starting to believe they're actually going to get out of this alive.

    Roberts keeps an eye on the airfield as the freed prisoners get onto the trucks, and as the last one gets in, he walks over to Steve and throws a snappy salute. "Digger isn't back from the airfield yet, but he wouldn't want us to wait. He'll find his own way back. I suggest we get the hell out of here before someone notices what we did to their prison camp, sir."

Captain America has posed:
Steve helps hand off the last rations box into the back of the truck and turns as Roberts addresses him. His eyes snap to the distant fire-field of the air strip and his jaw sets.

"We don't leave without every last man," he says quietly to the Australian. He fusses with the arm-straps of his shield as he continues. "Get the prisoners moving. I've got my bike." A jerk of his head is for the borrowed military motorcycle tucked off to one side, Steve's personal ride on the way in. "He can ride pillion after I find him."

Stardust has posed:
     Roberts nods sharply at Steve and throws another salute, obviously relieved that he offered to stay behind. Peggy and Bucky hop into the trucks and they start trundling down the dirt path back towards the base. It's a bit short of an hour's drive, and it's about 1 am when they arrive safely back at the base. Everyone should be asleep by now, the mission is due to start in a few short hours, but the camp is awake. The departure has been noticed.

    When the trucks start emptying out, any complaints are soon silenced. The escapees are taken quickly in hand by medical staff, and a few of the fitter ones to the officer's tent for a debriefing. As word of the condition of the prisoners spreads through the camp, a quite determination settles over the soldiers there. If they had any doubts about the mission before, they have no longer. The Nazis are going to pay for this.

    Not everything is quite settled yet. The American contingent and the Australian contingent are both missing their field commanders. Although Bucky, Peggy and Roberts assure everyone that Ash and Rogers are on their way, the nervousness is palpable as people watch the roads.

    Steve stays by his bike in the treeline, watching vehicles move to and fro between the castle and the airfield. The blaze continues to illuminate the tree-tops - quite a fire seems to have started there. At least the Germans are going to be as tired as the allies will be the following morning. Perhaps more so. Hopefully they'll be given permission to sleep in.

    Suddenly the sound of a twig snapping draws Steve's attention. A shadow separates from the trees and moves forwards cautiously. In silhouette, the shape of a German cap and MP-41 machine gun can be seen on the figure... "Strewth, I'm glad to see you. Thought I was gonna have to walk back on me own two legs." It's Ash, a stolen SS cap askew on his head, stolen German gun in hand. His teeth flash white in the darkness. "We had a lucky break. One o' the bombs hit the fuel truck. Komets need special fuel. Burns like blazes, and I don't reckon they'll be able to order more by the morning. Everything a-okay with the prisoners?"

Captain America has posed:
"Yeah, they're probably back at camp by now." Ash surely didn't miss the supernaturally-quick reaction time of the Captain keeping himself from flinging the spangled shield dead-on at his person. Steve lifts and flips the shield, sliding it into place on his back where it haloes his broad shoulders. "Have to let your men know they had a helluva good aim if it wasn't luck. Here, you're riding pillion." He then sits astride the bike and revs it to life. "Hold on tight, 'm not looking to linger."

Once Ash is settled, the motorcycle slips off through the trees at a breath-takingly risky pace...but there's no Barnes around to remind Steve about his thick skull bouncing if he tips the bike -- and Ash will be fine, he's a pilot! He's done scarier stunts in his own plane. They arrive back at camp to no doubt sighs of relief all around.

Mission: success.