Rhea reaches the Marine staging area as sirens, rifle fire, and distant snarls merge beyond the barricades. Vehicles choke the narrow route through the ruined street.
Grant Dunn, a medium-built athletic adult man with cropped blond hair and a scar beside his left eye, tightens his vest and checks his rifle.
Grant Dunn
We move now. Once that route closes, we lose the street and any chance of finding Rhea.
A wounded Marine staggers in from the checkpoint, a young adult man in dusty camouflage with a torn sleeve and a blood-darkened bandage at his shoulder.
the wounded Marine
Sergeant, movement near the last search point. More than a few. They were coming through the apartments.
Cpl. Bawer shoulders her weapon and looks from Grant to the barricade, where hands and faces press briefly between the wire before vanishing.
Grant Dunn
Bawer, take the left. Keep the corridor open. Nobody fires unless they have a clear target.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the unit's route for the return
“Can I help secure the corridor for the unit's return?”
YES (Likely, rolled 35)
Rhea reaches the barricade as another burst of rifle fire cracks from the apartments. The Marines make room for their size, giving them a clear view down the threatened corridor.
Grant Dunn
Good. Cover the gap between that truck and the storefront. Anything pushing through, stop it before it reaches us.
Beyond the wire, several figures stumble into the street, drawn by the noise. Their movements are uneven and urgent as they press toward the narrow passage.
Cpl. Bawer
Left side moving! Rhea, hold your lane. We are pulling the wounded through behind you.
The corridor becomes a guarded channel. Marines drag ammunition crates aside and guide the injured soldier toward the staging area while Rhea’s position blocks the exposed approach.
Grant Dunn
That is our opening. Keep it secure until everyone is across.
For the moment, the unit has a usable route back. The barricade shudders under distant impacts, but the return corridor remains open.
“I hold the lane until everyone crosses”
SUCCESS (Good Firearms, rolled +1)
Rhea braces at the truck and holds the lane. The approaching figures, several adult humans in torn, dust-gray clothing with gaunt faces and slack, uneven postures, reach the storefront gap, but the Marines behind them keep moving without breaking formation.
Rhea Chelo
The corridor is still clear behind me.
The wounded Marine is pulled past the barricade, followed by two more soldiers carrying ammunition crates, both adult men in scuffed olive-drab uniforms, one broad-shouldered with a shaved head and the other lean with dark hair,. Rhea’s position keeps the uneven figures from closing the distance.
Cpl. Bawer
Wounded through! Keep that lane locked!
Rhea holds steady as the final Marines cross. Grant backs toward the staging area, rifle trained downrange while the last crate clears the passage.
Grant Dunn
Everyone is across. Fall back now, Rhea.
The unit reaches the safer side together. Behind them, the corridor remains open for only a few seconds before the figures press against the abandoned truck and the route closes.
Quest Complete
Secure the unit's route for the return