Stray gunshots rang out as sergeants barked out orders to continue holding fire; a handful of their own were being sucked into the thick, emerging layers of grass that emanated from the "boy". The last thing they needed was for stray rounds to end up doing the monster's job for them.
As soon as the boy had made his point clear, Jim's face scrunched into a hard grimace and he pulled his knife, "Alpha - head to town to get help! Bring the mechs! Bravo, Bradypus, Morsicant - on-point with the Agency folks, cut our boys and girls out! No guns, last thing we need is anyone getting shot! Charlie, Delta - I need you on fire-starting duty!"
The troopers of the SCM moved as fish in water, their years spent colonizing Slate's unforgiving surface and training as units showing in their work. Before anyone could react, two trucks kicked up dirt and dust as they pulled away toward Morsicant. Three full squads, accompanied by their Captain, waded into the weeds, joining Dar, the Barber, and Doc Sawbones in the (seemingly-futile) task of cutting their comrades free.
Only Charlie and Delta seemed to fumble, moving into position with a heavy slowness and disorientation as they muttered among themselves about who would do what.
Gordon slung his AKM and quickly moved to assist the faltering teams. They were down several soldiers and seemed off-kilter without their sergeants there to lead them. He projected out more muted sounds to them, toning down the yelling and bringing up the more calming ambient tones of the forest. They seemed to visibly relax, though they paused in confusion as he forced himself into the center of the group.
"Who's in charge here? What's the situation? Who has fire-starting materials?" he turned to each of them, meeting only blank faces, "We need to get a move-on, quickly. I know some of your friends are in there, but we can't get them out without your help. Who's most senior? Who has the most fire-starting experience?"
An older woman spoke up from within the group, "Jeannette, I'm XO for Charlie; Bill over there is XO for Delta. We've dealt with hostile plant life before, nothing like this, though."
At her words, Bill seemed to find his courage, "Usually they don't talk, and they're averse to fire, like most animals."
"We're not even sure the boy is plant life, it may just seem that way," Gordon replied, "Nevertheless, burning away the grass that's trapping people will be necessary; I don't think we can cut it all away."
The group seemed to come to life at this, now in somewhat-familiar territory. Troopers knelt down to examine their packs and pulled out relevant materials.
"We'll need to approach from multiple vectors to avoid getting swatted away; I want fire bundles from everyone; no gasoline, we don't want this getting out of control," Bill barked, pulling a small leather cloth from his pack along with some cordage, "There should be dry tinder nearby, it doesn't rain here often. Collect as much as you can; Martin, Skoll - get sticks and chop some firewood so we can get a big one going. Anyone who has flint or lighters, I want you front-and-center after we have some tinder. We'll light bundles after we have a solid fire."
"We'll want a controlled burn, since we have friendlies in the grass; get the hoses from the truck and check if the irrigation main still works," Jeannette directed several troopers, pulling a first aid kit from her pack and stacking it with some of the others, "Let's set up a triage center for when we fish people out. Shinji, Kwame, let's pull over the shooting tables and get them ready to receive patients."
"I'll help you; I can help alleviate some of the pain they're feeling," Gordon moved opposite Shinji and helped drag over a table, "It's a... specialty of mine - no drugs necessary, either."
The trio gave him a doubtful look, the two medics deferring to their XO, and she shrugged, "Fine by me, but if someone else needs you, you listen."
"Of course, ma'am."
