Beside the service bay, the two rescue workers jack up Armorhide’s damaged side and guide the compatible military tire onto the exposed wheel. The CDC researcher keeps the immune child and sealed specimen case within Armorhide’s protective reach.
Blue energy pours from Armorhide’s frame into the tire, drawing rubber and metal tight against the hub. The repair seals with a bright pulse, and the wheel settles firmly onto the depot floor.
Armorhide folds inward, her muscular construct form transforming into the battered military Hummer. The repaired tire holds, while the M2 machinegun rises into position and covers the barricaded depot doors.
Mara Venn
Cold-chain cases first. Secure the incubator, centrifuge, and fuel packs together. We move the moment the route is cleared.
Mara Venn directs workers through the loading sequence as the CDC researcher checks seals and temperatures. The immune child remains close beside Armorhide, still clutching the specimen case.
Distant impacts spread along the barricades, uneven and muffled through the depot walls. Generator lights flicker, and the refrigeration units strain without failing.
the CDC researcher
The equipment is nearly ready. Armorhide, can you hold this entrance while we finish loading?
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the depot secure until the medical cargo is loaded
+ New Item Acquired
Military tire
“I hold the depot entrance and cover the barricades with my machinegun.”
SUCCESS (Good Weapons, rolled -1)
Armorhide’s M2 machinegun traverses across the depot entrance as the barricades shudder. She opens fire in controlled bursts, dropping the zombies pressing through gaps before they can breach the doors.
The weapon’s thunder fills the service bay, drowning voices and rattling the refrigeration units. Brass casings scatter across the concrete while the barricade holds behind her covering fire.
Mara Venn
Keep that lane locked! We are moving the cold-chain cases now!
Armorhide maintains the entrance, sweeping the machinegun across the remaining openings. The last cluster collapses outside, leaving the doors clear and the immediate approach secured.
The cost is immediate: the ammunition belt runs low, and the sustained fire drains Armorhide’s blue core into a visibly dimmer pulse. Smoke and spent casings cloud the bay.
the CDC researcher
The route is clear! The incubator and samples are secured. We can load the final fuel packs.
Behind Armorhide, workers push the last containers toward the transport staging area. At the entrance, only distant moans answer the machinegun’s silence, while the depot remains intact.
“Can someone open the big door then you can load me”
SUCCESS (Good Command, rolled +1)
Armorhide
Can someone open the big door? Then you can load me.
Armorhide’s engine rumbles low as her battered Hummer frame rolls toward the depot’s broad loading doors, blue core dim beneath the hood.
Mara Venn
Open the loading doors! Bring the fuel packs and secure Armorhide first.
Mara Venn’s workers release the heavy latches and pull the doors wide. Gray daylight spills across the staging area, revealing the waiting transport lane beyond.
the CDC researcher
The incubator is secured. We will load the equipment into the transport, then Armorhide can take the remaining space.
Workers guide Armorhide through the open doorway and fasten her inside the transport bay, chaining the repaired wheel and securing the M2 mount.
Mara Venn
You are loaded and covered. Get the child and researcher aboard, then we leave for the river route.
Quest Complete
Keep the depot secure until the medical cargo is loaded
Skill Upgrade: Weapons Good→Great