College Town Blues (Open)

Meanwhile, back in Seahawk 05, Deputy U.S. Marshal Laura Costigan was sitting with the second section leader, Lt. Rapone, along with a couple of marksmen who kinda made Laura feel a little bit naked seeing as they carried M14 DMRs w/iron sights and she still carried her 9mm S&W Model 5906 in a thigh holster, several mags in various chest pockets underneath the Gulf War-era flak vest she was wearing. "How much further, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"We should be about thirty minutes out, Marshal," he replied, a toothy smile on his face. It was the kind of slapdash smile that made you want to laugh at everything they said, even when the comments and jokes ran into the areas of black comedy and gallows humor and in the five years since the Great Panic, there were plenty of both to go around. "So, who are going to arrest, Marshal?" Lt. Rapone asked with humorous deadpan.

"Nobody, hopefully," Marshal Costigan said, pulling out a folded-up set of documents given to her back at West Point; she handed them to the infantry officer, who quickly read them and handed the packet back to Laura. There were two sets of documents, one which returned Burlington and the surrounding area back to the sovereignty of the United States government, the second of which gave Burlington the power to protect other strongholds in the region should they be encountered. It was the same as the documents taken to Belle Isle and brought back to West Point months earlier but as with Belle Isle, American sovereignty was a fait accompli; the documents merely confirmed it.

Laura thought over the plan that had been discussed back in Albany: while the Monuments group (including Catherine and Nicholas) and Lt. Willis's section would begin active patrolling of the University of Vermont area and the surrounding environs, Lt. Rapone's section (of which Laura was with) would help secure the stronghold, beefing up defenses where needed and getting a lay of the land, which they could do simply by going to the rooftops and looking around.

Meanwhile, as the Seahawks made their approach in, two flights of prop aircraft - 4 F4U Corsairs, along with 4 P-40 Warhawks - would orbit overhead as the Seahawks disgorged their cargos of men and material, then flew back to Albany to refuel, load up on more supplies and make one more flight to and from Burlington. If everything worked out, the central campus would be fully secured with the outer campuses monitored and watched as time went on.

It wouldn't all be outside work either; they would also train the civilian inhabitants on defense, marksmanship, medicine and security so that when they left and a locally raised force could be stood up, they could then depart and continue moving throughout New England...but all that starts in Burlington, Laura thought as she looked outside, the scenery blurring by outside like it wasn't even there....

"Yeah, a heavily armored welcome party" Nick smirked albeit a little at his captain obvious statement, but marveled at the engenuity his country has still been able to show, despite the Great Panic. He patiently waited for one of the trucks to open and reveal civilans inside, or for one of the civilans to announce something over a loudspeaker. This suit does feel a bit heavy on my slim body, but i'm grateful for it. He thought as he scanned the area quickly with his eyes. Never thought I'd be in Vermont, especially next to another college campus. Nick thought as he patiently waited for someone from the civilian side to make the first move, they were the ones who called them after all.

Nick hung on to one of the bars above his head to keep himself steady as the truck started driving onto the streets "You know, before everything happened, I had three other offers from colleges while I was taking my associates degree, University of Florida, University of West Virginia and this university, University of Vermont, it's weird being here when the University itself is now fortified" Nick chuckled at the coincidence that the University they were at, had been one of the offers he had got. He placed his free hand into Catherine's and squeezed it a little bit. 

Nick turned and smiled back at her. Planting a soft kiss on her lips "I hope this run goes well, maybe we'll salvage some good stuff and Andrew will say we get to come back for a few days" He whispered very softly to her as the truck continued driving down the side street. He wondered if they would be assigned to do anything after this tour of the campus was done. Wouldn't hold my breath for them to have us do something. He thought as he waited patiently for a response from the doctor and let the truck continue driving to the next part of the tour. "I'm  glad we don't have to worry about accidentally breathing in the ash from the burning walkers in this armor" He added with another whisper to her.

Nick smirked a little bit when she nudged him and when she whispered about examining him, he smiled a little bit towards her "Sounds like a plan" He said softly as he wrapped his arm around her and admired the sights and landmarks, waiting for when the truck drops them off at the entrance to head into the campus. However, what worried him in the back of his mind, was that a woman would see him with nothing on, well except for his boxers. What made it even worse is that he was dating Catherine. I don't know if she'll tell me to take everything off, or not, but hopefully not, I don't want her to see anything too personal. He thought as he brought her head slowly onto his shoulder and stroked her hair softly.

Nick let out a calming breath and smiled back at her with a tiny bit of pink coming on his cheeks. Only she could see it, no one else could. Nick walked into the entrance to the campus and walked into the medical examination room, he waited patiently for Catherine to show up and got his thoughts in check I don't even know why I was worried before, she is a doctor and she'll be professional. He thought as he looked around the room, it was a bit smaller than the room he had gotten examined in when he arrived in New York. He tapped his foot a little, not impatiently, but just to pass the time.

Nick smiled and kissed her back gently, first on her lips, then on her neck, "Thanks babe" He whispered before he left the medical room and continued on his way through the campus, following Lt. Willis to where ever they were meant to go to first after the exams. I have no idea where we're going now, but I think it'll be great looking around for old artifacts, statues and the like. Nick thought as he continued walking, what else could he do at the moment...

"Okay, Catherine, what's the plan?"

"The plan is, once we get everyone cleared through Medical," Catherine began, "we split up into two groups as we spoke about before leaving Albany. Spencer, Laura," pointing towards both Lt. Rapone and Marshal Costigan, "your job will be to secure the central campus. Make sure the entrances and exits are secure, get spotters up on these high points...you know to do, guys.

"Meanwhile, the rest of us will begin cataloging and surveying every thing of interest that we came here to do; don't play the hero, don't play the fool. If there's a problem, get on the radio to either me, Nicholas or Daphne right then, understood?" looking at everyone with her stern doctor's look, like she was back at West Point addressing medics about to head out into the field. "Any questions?" she asked; after a moment, she said, "Then let's go, people."

Nick looked around as everyone else was going to their respective duties, with the exception of the monuments group and he smiled at her. "Good job on taking charge Cat, makes me love you more." He kissed her check and quickly leaned back so no one else would see. "Let's see what we can find."

"Alright," Catherine said quietly as they split up, to cover more ground in the quickest amount of time. Turning down the street, she began walking quickly, several others walking alongside while at the end of the street, a technical covered the approach and guarded the area. "Found something!" someone yelled; looking around, Catherine rushed over, taking note of the building in question...it was a community bank building, which piqued the good doctor's interest. "What do you got?" she called out.

"I think its' a time capsule," they said, pointing towards the corner of the building, where someone was furiously sweeping the ground with a metal detector. She could hear the beeping sound from the detector, so there was obviously something there. "What do you want us to do?" someone asked.

"Grab a shovel and start digging," Catherine said, motioning for a pair of Lt. Willis' soldiers to cover the location; as the pair rushed over, she said to the metal detector operator, "Keep sweeping this whole area; some towns might put down more than one capsule. Remember, anything out of the ordinary, you call it out, okay?" she said. When the operator nodded, Catherine headed back down the street and began walking briskly down the street, anxious to see what else was around.