NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: If you posted in the sign-up thread, you are welcome to being roleplaying. If not, simply post in the thread to reserve a spot if a sequel is done or to contribute to the plotline, etc.

IC:
The nightwatch was always boring, especially for a young Argonian male who hungered to serve his planet & his people defending the great conglomerate of planets his homeworld belonged to, the United NationStates Planetary Federation (UNSPF). The young male's name was Tylas Kerrich, a Marine private with the United NationStates Space Corps (UNSSC). Their enemy was one big enigma, a riddle with no apparent answer. Several outlying worlds had simply dropped out of contact, like a friend you didn't see for a few years...

Tylas kept a tight grip on the barrel of his BR99, scanning the barren horizon of Sepulcher I for any signs of activity. Boot Camp had ended only a week ago, most of his platoon had been shipped directly to the planet with him. This was good, his two older brothers would be serving alongside him. Something moved out in the sandy wastes, and Tylas flicked down his HUD screen with a clawed finger for a better look. 10x... 20x... There... Something bipedal, armored, armed... Not good...

"Sergeant... Something's out there..."

Tylas spoke softly to the human male next to him... A grizzled veteran of twenty years in the Corps. Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Roper was the stereotypical gung-ho grunt, sporting the same battleplastic-plated fatigues Tylas & the rest of the Corps wore, except Roper wore a battered bonnie hat instead of a battle-helmet...

"Lemme check, Private... Holy shit..."

Roper frowned at what he saw... Where Tylas has seen a single being, there where now twenty, moving slowly across the flat, sandy plains. The enemy wore fearsome armor suits. They reminded Tylas of the chitin armors of the anchient Argonian warriors... The helmets where insect-faced, the torso bearing similar likenesses to overgrown bugs. The entire suit was a dull matte black, like the large pistol-like weapons each carried...

A shout from the southern wall of the UNSSC outpost called for the attention of both PVT Kerrich & SGT Roper... Energy beams where hammering the permacrete walls with thunderous force, the black-armored humanoids swatting the Marine defenders from the walls... Roper nimbly attatched himself to a ladder & swiftly slid down to the sandy floor of the outpost...

"Rise & Shine, boys & girls! Company's coming & we gotta make 'em feel welcome! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"

A chorus of 'OOO-RAH's sounded from the emerging Marines, carrying various types of standard-issue UNSSC armaments...

From the north wall, Tylas brought the scope of his weapon to his slit-pupiled right eye...

"Now is the time that I make my family proud..."

He commmenced firing as the enemy closed in, his brother Talen doing the same on the east wall... The oldest, Kelas, was one of the first UNSSC fatalities in the attack on the south wall...

Pvt Kaylinde Moorre was ripped from a peaceful, dreamless sleep by thunderous drumrolls of sound. Throwing herself off of her cot she slid into her fatigues, battle helmet, and boots. Grabbing her BR99 she headed out of the barracks at a dead run, silently grumbling to herself. 'A single, solitary, solid night's sleep wouldn't be too much? Basic is over, why the midnight drill games' she thought.

Gunny Roper's "...Move, Move, Move..."

She checked the status of her BR99 as she headed almost by habit to her assigned spot on the outpost's southern wall. kaylinde lept a still figure in battleplastic plated fatigues...'Some ones doing a damn good job on the simulation tonight' she thought as she reached the south wall.

Pvt. Mikkel Norgaard had been out like a light, a paperback copy of Demolition Angel lay on his chest, slightly open and his glasses sat on a stand next to his cot. His mouth was slighlty open and he snored loudly, until the first explosions were heard.

Mikkel jolted from his sleep and sat on his cot for several seconds, trying to register what was happening. Quickly climbing out of bed he put on his armor and his world came into focus as he put on his glasses. Mikkel tore his BR99 from a rack on the wall, shoved a magizine into it, and grabbed several grenades and spare magizines.

He ran outside and darted for his post on the east wall. A nearby explosion knocked him to the ground, as the sand began to disapate, he saw the gapping hole in the south wall. Oh dear God...

Laying on the ground, Mikkel saw one of the enemy soldiers move through the gap. Bringing his rifle to bear, he pulled the trigger, nothing happened. Time seemed to slow down as his mind raced, he pulled back the charging handle and pulled the trigger again, this time three rounds spat out of the muzzle and struck his target.

Mikkel didn't look to see if his bullet had any effect, he had taken cover behind several large metal crates, deciding running to the east wall might be too dangerous. Mikkel gripped his rifle tightly as he tried to fight off the fear of being under fire and return fire.

There where dozens of foes gathered at the base of Tylas' wall... He dropped a grenade, then dropped behind the barricade he'd been using for protection. A concussive blast shook the wall, followed by a barrage of plasma that melted through his cover, grazing a fin-ear & missing his head by barely an inch. His heart in his throat, Tylas aimed the barrel of his rifle over the wall's edge & pulled the trigger frantically, sending a shower of gunfire onto the enemy troops.

By this time, they'd broken through the wall below him & where pouring into the outpost...

Roper threw himself over a storage crate, nearly landing on top of another private... Uniform said 'NORGAARD'...

"Come on son, fire your weapon!"

Roper shouted in his typical drawl over the roar of rifle-fire & energy discharges. He rose up to return fire, but caught a burst of plasma in the gut... With a massive groan he hit the sandy ground, his BR99 dropping out of reach as one of the black-armored assault troops cleared the barrier & stood over him. The Gunney pulled his S102, firing a steady stream of 10mm rounds into the torso of the warrior, the hollowpoint rounds plinking off with little more than a dent. The magazine went dry and the attacker leveled his weapon for the kill-shot...

Tylas' position was becoming over-run, it looked pretty bleak as the marine next to him took a energy beam to the face. His body seemed to fall slowly, the spray of blood reminding Tylas of a marsh-flower he couldn't seem to recall the name of... He snapped out of it, shoving the barrier over the wall on top of a few black-armored hostiles in an attempt to stem the flow of incoming enemy reinforcements. A plasma slag clipped the center of his weapon, setting it off like a firecracker in his hand. Shrapnel from the exploding ammunition tore across his face & hand, sending him toppling off the wall...

The young male regained conciousness long enough to see one of the enemy troops staring down at him from behind one of the plasma-guns that had destroyed his own weapon... A burst of gunfire echoed in his head, causing him to wince. The warrior toppled sideways as Talen's shots blew through the helmet. The Argonian marine continued with a pair of bursts to the fallen fighter's helmet as he stomped on its back. His chest heaving, Talen pulled his younger sibling to his feet...

"Get up hatchling, get up! Others have need of our help!"

Tylas could barely hear him, his ears rang & his left eye was blinded by his own blood. He flopped his head around in a sign of understanding, mainly just wanting his brother to release his grip on his collar. Talen shoved him aside & moved on, gesturing to a make-shift communications post to his left as he ran.

The young marine quickly staggered over to the series of barricades... The chattering of a corporal was the last thing he heard as he slipped back into the inky blackness of unconciousness...

"Outpost Alpha 2-1 to any UNSSC forces, we are under heavy attack & are taking massive casualties... Request immediate evac!"

His frantic call was answered by the UNSSC battlecruiser 'Steadfast', a smaller warship in the fleet. Two dropships where en route, one with a full complement of marines to cover their retreating brothers in arms...

Talen Kerrich reached the south wall in time to see the foundation crumble & a dozen of the all-too-familiar assault troopers pour through. The Argonian dove out of sight, crawling towards the access ladder & hauling himself up to the ramparts, taking a firing position next to a female marine... He stopped short as he recognized the fallen body next to her. It was Kelas, the oldest of the three. Talen gripped his battle-rifle tightly, leaving streaks in the battleplastic as his claws scraped against the charcoal-black surface of the weapon.

The Argonian marine attacked with a renewed fury, attempting to drive back the attacking squads with or without the help of his fellow marines...

Pvt. Mathias Calza had never seen a man die before, however that changed fast. He had just finished boot camp and yet those politicians that make decisions in the safety of barricaded government building had thrown him right into the thick of things to fend for himself.

He had grabbed his BR99 and had ran. Most things were instinct by now and he was totally numb to the death surrounding him, mostly because of the fear he felt.

The only factor in his favor was his appearent skill with the weapon. It had a nice, soft recoil and the bullets commonly found their targets. He was a good distance from the breach in the wall and when some officer told him to follow him to the breach his heart sunk. They would have to fight through the east wall area to get to the south end. It was a major fighting zone that only got worse as you headed south. The west was said to have been all but lost to the enemy and so the only hope was to go east.

They wasted no time and began moving. Mathias was surprised to find how he moved basically by instinct. Soon they came to the turn south and saw the hole where the cannon had hit. Time seemed to slow for a minute as the deafening roar of gunfire reached their ears.

The officer started to run and Calza followed. They would only move two or three feet at a time before they had to find cover. It was normally a crate or if they were lucky, a small vehicle.

Soon they had worked their way to the south wall and were waiting behind a small supply truck and the corner. The officer at this point turned to Calza. "I'm gettin' old lad, you run like hell and I'll give you cover," Mathias was about to protest saying it would be suicide but before he could the officer had stepped out and started firing.

Mathias ran and was happy to find that the cover was working well enough for the fifty foot dash to cover. He got about half way when and explosion sent him to his feet. He looked back to see the remains of the officer that had so willingly gave his life for him. He hadn't even learned his name.

However he knew there was no place fore emotion on the battle feild and he continued fighting. It was only two minutes until he felt three rounds strike his shoulder and he fell to the ground. He looked at the wound and saw his whole right arm covered in his own blood.

Kaylinde turned her attention briefly to the marine who had thrown himself flat beside her. She thought his name might be Tylas, but that wasn't important at the moment. She turned back to trying to stop the flow of armored enemies through the fearful gap in the south wall. However she could pass along the one positive thing she had discovered. Taking a moment to target carefully...

"Watch!" Her BR99 sounded and the armoured figure she'd aimed for toppled

"There's a weak spot where the headpiece joins the carapace. That's a thousand point called shot" Her eyes gleamed hungrily and she sighted in on another. It wasn't a game, it wasn't a sim, but she dare not let herself thing about that, not now. She didn't know how long they could hold this position. They were the only two alive along this stretch of the south wall, as far as she could tell.

Mikkel was hunkered down, consumed by fear as a nearby explosion tossed off his helmet. He jumped as Roper landed next to him. Mikkel slowly reached forward, grabbed his helmet, put it on, and was turning to fire when Roper got hit. His eyes went wide and his body trembled as he saw the sergeant on the ground, he turned slowly and stared at the sarge's attacker.

Mikkel's finger jerked, his BR99 bucked in his hand slightly as a burst of 6.8x52mm rounds smashed into the helmet. Mikkel kept firing burst after burst into the helmet, until it finally slipt open and his last burst tore into the head of the enemy soldier.

He watched as the large body crumpled to the ground, feeling very numb, he had just killed someone. A nearby explosion tossed a cloud of sand into the air, it began to rain back down as Mikkel ejected the empty magizine and frantically put a fresh one in. He pulled back the charger handle and brought the weapon up when he saw another soldier get hit and fall.

Without thinking, Mikkel jumped up and started to run towards the other soldier. An explosion tossed Mikkel forward, his glasses flying off his face, along with his helmet. Mikkel scrambled to his feet and kept running, not noticing his helmet and glasses were gone. Slinging his rifle around his neck he picked up the wounded soldier and ran like hell back to his hidding spot behind the crates where Roper was.

Mikkel put his comrade against one of the crates and finally got a good look at him. He recongized the man from basic as he pulled a rag from his pocket and tried to bandage the man's arm.

"Mathias! Jesus man...thought you were a dead!"

OOC: Hope no one minds me grabbing the machine gun instead of a rifle...every good squad needs a machine gun...

IC: David shot up in the bed, awoken from his light sleep by the sounds of explosions. Shit, shit, shit! he though, rolling out of bed, and pulling on his helmet. He jogged over to the rack, pulling on the plastic like armor, and grabbing his weapon, the all steal MG09. He racked the bolt back, the belt advancing as the rounds seated in the action. He clicked off the saftey, and ran out to the battle. Rounds cracked by him, some slamming into the dirt, kicking up rocks and dirt into the air.

He looked around quickly, watching for the enemy, and found them. He let off a long burst of 6.8mm lead, the rounds streaming into the body of one of the alien creatures, throwing it back as its chest exploded from the searing hot lead. "Finger of God mother fucker!" he shouted, watching the body fall. He continued to run forward, looking for a good lying up spot. His heart raced, adrenline pumping through his system. He looked around, and saw two of the guys from boot, both hiding behind a mound of dirt. Mikell and someone else. They looked good, so he turned, and looked for another hiding up spot.

He saw the girl from boot, couldn't remeber her name, and the other guy flat on the ground next to her. "Much better," he thought, watching another one of the alliens come over the hill, and getting blasted by his own machine gun. "Bitch," he swore, running away from the dead body, towards the girl. Her name was something like Kayla or Kya, he really didn't care. His sprint brought her next to her, and he dropped to a knee, letting off another burst from the machine gun. Fire discipline was the key. "Whats up?" he shouted over the sounds of rifle fire.

The tremendous booms of war could be heard as the booted feet of Hans Balran raced down the hall. Occassionally, a random shot penetrated the wall and zipped past him, but lady luck kept him alive. Not that he believed in luck.

He believed in skill.

In a fluid motion, he sheathed the S102 pistol and unslung his SR99 sniper rifle. A hand reached toward his belt and drew the first clip and slammed it into place.

His quick pace brought him to the rooftop of the outpost. He glanced down around noting the positions of his allies and settled down quickly, bringing the rifle up and steadying his breathing.

His world narrowed to within the scope, and focused on the primary surge of enemy combatants. The scope tracked one head that appeared briefly on far side of a hill and departed into a gully between that hill and the nearer one.

Where are you? he asked quietly, Got a message for you...

His eye locked on the figure once more, appearing exactly as expected.

Steady breathing...all is at peace...

The report of the rifle was masked by a nearby spat of machine gun fire, timed to be as so. The target fell, a massive hole in the middle of his throat.

Hans glanced at the fallen target momentarily. Damn...not what I wanted to hit exactly, but dead is dead.

He sought another target and fired only moments later...

It was an explosion that had shaken Thomas from his reverie, as he concentrated solely on a small electrical device on his desk, a small de-magnetised screw driver in his hand.

He looked up, and the sounds of battle came to him like a flood of water. He swore, and almost jumped into his battlesuit, if that was at all possible. He began to shake uncontrollably, as his body carried him towards the sounds.

I don't want to be here, I shouldn't be here. He repeated over and over in his mind, but his body wasn't listening, as he suddenly realised there was a rifle in his hands.

He emerged from the building to a scene of absolute chaos. But one thing was picked out. There were three of the team he'd been in basic with, then as if on slo-mo camera, his vision panned out to show a enemy figure, silhouetted against the sky, aiming at their backs.

Before he could think about it, instinct and training took over, and the familiar rifle was at his shoulder, and he could feel its gentle recoil. The aiming figure had crumpled, its shot going wild.

Then other targets appeared in his vision, and he was aiming, firing, aiming, firing, reloading, aiming...

OOC: A bit late in getting started, but here its goes

Private First Class Aidyn Larkin flew from his bunk as an explosion ripped apart the barrack's wall opposite him. He landed hard on his stomach, the wind knocked from his lungs. He jumped to his feet and held his arms to his head, trying to suck down a quick breath. He recovered and patted down his front, checking for wounds, but only bits of dirt, rock, and plastic were covering him.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist. Just as I finally caught some shut eye... He took off towards the barracks armory. The battle around him grew in intentisty as the marines rushed out to fight the enemy already bringing the fight within the wall.

Aidyn dropped to his side and slid behind a stack of crates as stream of bullets flew past his head. He glanced around for a weapon, anything to use. The smoldering corpse of marine was sprawled out nearby, an AS12 laying in the dirt just inches away. Aidyn dove from the cover of the crates and grabbed the shotgun. He spun around and fired off a round towards his attacker only feet away. The insect-like enemy flew backwards and landed in a heap on the ground.

Aidyn jumped up and ran towards the armory. Another explosion sent him flying into the armory and into another marine.

Aidyn looked around him, bells ringing in his ears,feeling dizzy. He held his head in both hands when the marine shook his shoulder. Aidyn snapped back to his senses.

"Get a battlesuit on, kid!" shouted the marine. Aidyn grabbed one and got suited as fast as he could. He grabbed the shotgun and slung it over his shoulder as the other marine handed him a BR99.

"Your not gonna wanna use that shotgun in this fight, might hit some of our own!" The marine shouted, trying to be heard over the gunfire and explosions. Aidyn nodded and licked the BR99 off of safety.

The marine moved to the door leading out of the armory and leaned out to get a look. "Alright, I'll give you some cover, move towards the south wall, but don't leave me behind, I'll need you to give me some cover too!"

Aidyn nodded and got ready to sprint.

"GO!!" shouted the other marine, who began firing, picking out targets. Aidyn ran hard for about thirty feet before diving behind a smoldering jeep. He turned and opened fire on a group of the insect-like enemies hiding behind what was the wall of the showers. The other marine bolted toward another spot nearby Aidyn and began firing some cover for Aidyn to keep moving.

Aidyn ran another thirty feet and slammed into the base of the East wall. He rose his rifle to his shoulder and began picking off targets as the other marine bolted towards him. Aidyn killed two more of the insect enemies when the other marine staggered in his steps, his hand grapsing at his gut as a stream of blood oozed over his hand.

"Shit!" shouted Aidyn. He bolted from his cover at the wall towards the other marine, who was still moving towards the East Wall for cover. Aidyn reached him and let the marine lean his weight on his shoulder. Aidyn grabbed the S102 from the marine's hip and began firing behind him as he moved towards the wall.

"Almost there man! Hang in there!" said Aidyn as he neared the wall. He reached the wall and began helping the marine up the ramp. Aidyn turned and fired off two more rounds before handing the pistol to the marine. Aidyn popped another magazine into his BR99 and opened fire on another enemy. He and the marine reached the top of the east wall. Aidyn pushed the other marine behind a battlement and a stack of crates for cover and glanced towards the south wall to see the enemy swarm past.

"The south wall's gone man!" Aidyn shouted over the sound of his rifle firing. He picked out another target and fired a short three round burst.

"Dammit, looks like you might need that shotgun tonight after all...." panted the other marine, holding a rag against his wound. "What's your name kid?"

"Aidyn, Aidyn Larkin, PFC," said Aidyn. He shot down another enemy and knelt back down behind the crates as he reloaded his weapon. "You?"

"Morgan O'Connell, PFC also..." Morgan winced as he moved over so he could take aim with his pistol at the nearby enemy.

"Well, Morgan, looks like we're in a tight spot." Aidyn fired off another burst, sending two enemies backwards, rolling down the ramp. He grabbed an HG39 and hurled down the ramp and knelt down as the explosion ripped part the small jeep the enemy was using for cover.

"Thanks for helping me back there, kid, really," Morgan said as he put another clip into his S102. "Shit...might wanna get that shotgun ready, they're comin' from the south wall by the dozens!"

Aidyn handed Morgan the shotgun. "You take it, man, your gonna need some firepower too."

Aidyn leaned on a crate, trying to hold off the attackers that came from the south wall and below him at the base of the east wall. "Gods, way to many of these bastards!"

The south wall had all but disentegrated under Kaylinde and Talen - Kaylinde's memory had briedly dredged up the fact that there were three Argonian brothers who'd signed up together, and that the one next to her was the middle one - and the two of them had barley managed to throw themselves free of the falling wall and behind a pile of rubble. The bruises would be something later but for now, there points to earn. Talen seemed to be holding up well, so she turned back to racking up points.

Kaylinde realised that more of the platoon were still alive when another managed to make it to the somewhat dubious safety of their position and dropped to one knee next to her. His machine gun sounded as he fired a disciplined burst and an attacker fell.

"What's up?" He shouted almost rehetorically, the words all but lost in the din of battle.

Kaylinde snorted "Dave, we're getting our butts kicked. The bastards have energy weapons, and that armour is tough...but..." She demonstrated the weak point she'd found, a feral grin lighting her dirt mottled face as the enemy fell. "They can be taken....There are more of them than us though"

Dave nodded. "Yeah!" he shouted back. He again let a long burst go from the machine gun, ripping into the chest of one of the assaulters, a fine mist of blood spraying into the air. Dave looked down, checking the Machine gun. He had a good amount of ammo left in the belt, but he hadn't grabbed another box of ammunition. He looked back at their bunker like barracks, and a thought hit him.

"Hey, I got an idea. We need to put some space between us and them, and maybe a few walls. Remeber tactical training? Its easier to defend the fort while inside it. We need to fall back to the barracks, and wait for dust off there." He stood, and let a burst go, the rounds cutting into the legs of one of the bug like aliens. He had 800 rounds left in the current belt, plus a magazine in his side amr, and one after that. "Plus, theres more ammo in the barracks! I'll cover you while you get back, then cover me. Ok?"

He checked around himself, there seemed to be a short lull in the fire on their side, but the dull thud of rounds being fired from teh other side was still apparent. He looked up to Kaylinde, waiting for her to acknowledge him.

The firing hit one of those unnatural lulls and Kaylinde took a second to consider David's suggestion, then nodded. Getting back to the barracks and more ammo was a sensible idea. Tapping Talen on the shoulder to gain his attention, she leaned close to his fin shaped ear and shouted "Back to the barracks, Snake Eyes. Move it Marine!"

A quick glance around showed her that there were two more Marines in sight, crouched behind some crates. Mikkel was tending to the other's wounds, but she couldn't see who it was. Kaylinde rose into a crouch, preparing to sprint to where they were hunkered down.

"Dave, cover me while I go get them. My commo's been out ever since we fell off the wall. Raise whoever you can and have them meet up with us at the barracks. I'll cover you from there."

Then she was up and moving, crouched as low as she could, moving like a broken field runner

Aidyn glanced at his last magazine for the BR99. Shiiit...

"Morgan, you still alive man?" he shouted, unable to look behind him as he picked off another enemy.

"Still hanging on, these bastards aren't going to be the ones to take me down!"

"Alright then, we gotta head back to the barracks armory, I'm running low on ammo, and I'm gonna guess you are too!" Aidyn fired another round, sending a bullet into the eye of the enemy's insect-like helmet.

"Got one round left for the AS12, been using my pistol for a bit," Morgan said as leaned over, reloading his pistol. "I got this and another clip."

"Can you stand still?" Aidyn asked. "I can cover you ass if you can move quickly enough."

"I can move quickly enough, I stopped losing so much blood after I tied this rag to the bullet hole."

"Alright then, move!" Aidyn jumped up and three round burst toward a pair of enemies. He killed one, the other took cover.

Morgan moved at a pace near to a jog, holding his stomach with one hand, firing his pistol with the other. He moved down the ramp, killing an enemy as Aidyn moved behind him, covering their rear.

The moving caused Morgan's wound to began bleeding freely again, and he staggered soon after, the loss of blood making him dizzy. Aidyn put Morgan's arm around his shoulder and began moving towards the barrack's armory.

Aidyn fired his last round on his BR99 and slung it over his shoulder. He grabbed Morgan's S102 and fired off a round, dropping an enemy to the ground, writhing in the dirt. He fired again, making a headshot, then another shot that glanced off the chest armor of an enemy. The gun clicked empty when he pulled the trigger again.

"Oh shit..." He grabbed the shotgun hanging limply in Morgan's hand and leveled it at his waist. One round left, better make it count.

He neared the entrance to the barracks. "Almost there man!" he said. He stepped in front of the doorway when one of the enemy soldiers emerged in front of him. The enemy fired a plasma gun, hitting Aidyn right into the gut. He staggered backwards in shock, eyes growing wide. Morgan slumped to one knee, barely able to keep awake from the loss of blood.

Aidyn rose the shotgun as the attacker advanced forward.

"Eat this you son of a bitch!!" he squeezed the trigger and fired the shotgun at his attacker in point-blank range. The enemy soldier flew backwards into the floor of the barracks in a spray of blood, landing in a bloody heap.

Aidyn stared down at his wound, covered in the blood of his enemy. He winced in pain and nearly fell forwards to the ground. He shook his head and took a quick breath. He grabbed Morgan and helped him into the barracks, and sat him against the wall opposite the door. Aidyn then staggered over to a nearby gunrack. He reached in and grabbed an armful of shotgun rounds, rifle magazines, and pistol clips. He walked back over beside Morgan ans dropped down, his legs sprawled out in front of him as he leaned against the wall. He held the shotgun in his right hand, pointing it to the door, resting it on his thigh. The assault rifle was held in his other hand, the barrel also resting on his thigh, pointing towards the door.

"Looks like its just me and you for now man, hang in there..." Aidyn glanced down at his own wound. "Shit...I need a doc...MEDIC!!!" He shouted in hopes a doc would hear him. One of the attackers crossed in front of the door, only to have five rounds from Aidyn's rifle tear its side apart.

"Man, now I need to hang in there..."

"Alright," he shouted. "One three!" He waited till she was ready, in her running stance. She nodded to him, and he hefted the machine gun up to his shoulder. "Three, two, one! GO GO GO!" he shouted, popping up, and letting a stream of the burning hot 6.8mm lead rip into the advancing enemy force. A chest exploded here, a head burst there, and an enemy dropped in another place. He ripped the advancing line, the rounds tearing into his enemy. The tell tale click of the machine gun made him aware of the problem. He was dry. He slung the machine gun over his back, and drew his pistol, and fired. Not wildly, but not quite a controled shot either.

The mag clciked dry, and he pulled it out of the pistol, slamming a new one home. However, he only fired once, the lucky shot sending the 10mm round into the face of his enemy, and he turn, and ran, keeping low, towards a pile of boddies. Shit, shit, shit he swore to himself. He ran, hten dropped, sliding feet first into the group of boddies. They were all dead, and it wasn't the most compasionate thing to do, but it wasn't the time to think about it.

He dug through the boddies, and found another box magazine for the MG09. He locked it into the gun, and racked the bolt as the belt advanced into the action. He had 200 rounds to use so that Kaylinde could get back to the barracks. Had it been any other situation, he probably would have tried hitting on her, making a cheasy comment about doing more than just covering her ass.

He began to move back towards his previous position, letting off bursts off fire every so often, tearing into an enemy. He made it back to the position, and used it again to keep fire into the enemy lines. He pulled the boom mic closer to his mouth, and began speaking. "This is PFC. David O'Conner, we are under heavy attack and need CAS! Repeat, we need some close fire cover, and ASAP. I'm tossing smoke!"

He tossed out a red smoke grenade, and hoped to God, or Allah, or Vishnue, or maybe even Budah, that someone with bigger guns would hear his call. His prayer was andwered by at least one of the almighty.

"Roger that Private, this is Romeo Six Six, Romeo flight is comming in, I see your smoke. Get it low."

David smiled. "Alright Romeo flight, bring it in close. I mean right on top of it!"

Four fighters streaked in, guns and rocket pods blazing, sending a wall of death into the advancing enemy force. "Fuck yeah Romeo! Hit 'em again!"

The fighters came in for another pass, and again, a wall of projectiles ripped into the aliens. "Good stuff, now I need ya'll to get those damned drop ships in, we're falling back to the bunker, so move them in close!"

He jogged over to a trench made by one of the explosions, and hopped in, turning to see if he could find Kaylinde.

Kaylinde felt energy bursts nipping at her heels, litteraly, but she was faster than they were accurate. Her feral grin flashed once more as she threw herself into a long slide that ended next to Mikkel.

"Damn me if this isn't more fun than paintball!" She whooped once as she gathered her long legs under her and looked at the small group behind the crates. Her eyes paused on Gunny Roper's remains for only an instant, before she was urgeing Mikkel and Mathias up and towards the barracks

"Move it you two. Dave is going need covering any second now."

She turned to look for David and saw him all but disappear under a pile of bodies in a running slide that was every bit as wild as hers had been. Then he was popping back up like a jack in the box and firing once more at the seemingly never ending waves of enemy.

The ear shattering arrival of fighters had her throwing herself flat, and hopeing that their aim was good this night. They made two passes, leaving the enemy momentarily stunned. Kaylinde knew that she needed communication badly, and cursed softly when she realized that Gunny Roper had been his usual boonie hat rather than a helmet.

She screamed for Mikkel and Mathais to move it, not careing if they were already responding to her pervious orders or not. David had made it to a crater, apparently unwounded, so she dashed for the barracks door way. Once there she began firing at the armored foe.

"Dave, get your ass over here. Don't be a freaking hero!"

Dave heard Kaylinde's shout. She's right, I'm better off alive to these guys he thought. He checked his weapon again, 105 rounds left. He hefted the machine gun up to his shoulder, and began walking backwards slowly, holding down the trigger. He held it down, letting the burning hot rounds slice through the air, ripping into his enemies. He moved slow enought to be slightly accurate, then when he heard the weapon click, he tossed it back over his shoulder, letting the sling catch it, and turned, running back towards the barracks.

Round slung past him, both from his team, and theres. He ducked as a round cracked by his head. "Shit!" he shouted, keeping his head low. He managed to make the full length, and used a wall to stop his motion. He turned, pulling the machine gun off his back, and pulling the box free. He grabbed his canteen, and took a big swig-just as a burst of plasma ripped the bottom off. He droped the melting plastic jug, and swore again.

He moved towards the barracks armory, keeping low under the windows, grabbing for another box of ammo for the machine gun. "Man, that shit's fun!" he shouted, the adrenaline blasting through his system. He looked up at Kaylinde, and nodded. "I radioed the fighters in, and told them to tell the drop ships to get a fricken move on. I also radioed out, telling everyone we're falling back to the barracks, not sure whose gonna make it though."

He moved to a window, and used his pistol to smash out the glass. "Help me move that bunk over here. I can use it as a post, lay down heavy suppresive fire. I know we have some of theose 500 and thousand round cans of ammo for this thing around here somewhere."

The fighting had gone from lukewarm hot, to red hot firefights. Hans ejected the empty mag and reloaded once more. He took aim quickly, watching through his scope his allies making a retreat.

Fortress...of course.

Blam spoke the voice of the rifle as Hans dropped another one of the little fucks chasing his friends. Suddenly, his eye caught the movements of a solitary figure racing toward his friends from the side. He brought the rifle to bear, and fired just as the alien leapt up high with his rather gruesome blade waving wildly in the air.

The body shook in midair, as the head exploded and was erased permanantly.

He grinned as he saw the body fall. He aimed quickly again and fired several more times until his clip ran dry once more. There was one clip left for the rifle, ten clips lying sporadically around him, all empty. Hans cursed and rapidly swung the rifle by its strap around his shoulders and drew the pistol.

He stood and backed up slightly and took off running forward, toward the fray that had been following his allies toward the armory. Swarms continued to flow over the hills, even after the air strike omlette that had occurred moments before.

He spun just as one of the aliens leapt up into the air toward him screeching in its alien tongue. The pistol fired and was supported by the combat knife following only moments later to slice the throat of the alien. The reacting screams of alien tongues was heard as mass numbers of the aliens turned toward him and charge.

"Oh...fuck!" he cried as he turned and ran toward the armory as fast as he could. He could hear them behind him, keeping pace as they fired their weapons at him. Hans tripped and went down. Instantly he rolled over and drove his combat knife into the chest of the first one to land upon him. Pushing it off, he looked up to see another one snarling in his face, its crooked yet sharp teeth menacingly close. Yet, it did not snap down, for it chose instead to grip him by its feet and launch itself into the air by a set of crudely designed wings.

Hans screamed as he struggled to fight the creature with all his strength...

"Shit...I need a doc...MEDIC!!!" Aidyn shouted in hopes a doc would hear him.

Outside the door to the armory, a SMG90 spat fire, and a battlesuited Catgirl appeared in the doorway, dashing through and dropping to one knee next to the Druid, a MedPac in hand. There was a Red Cross on a white background on her Helmet and ArmPad, identifying her as the Proverbal Medic. Her SMG90 hung from her shoulder by it's strap, and nestled on her waist was a S102 Pistol, two spare clips in a pouch next to it.

Sasha dropped the MedPac and tore it open, grabbing hold of Aidyn's hand and squeezing it. "Hang in there, man! I got you!" She quickly inspected his stomach wound, wincing. "Your armor absorbed much of the energy blast."

She didn't bother to tell him things he already knew, like how bad he and his friend was bleeding. Her hands hovered over her tools, picking the right ones for this job: some needle and thread, a Hypodermic syringe filled with an Healing Stim, and a roll of NuFlesh Staunching bandages.

Expertly, her fingers weaved over his gut wound, stitching the NuFlesh bandage over the wound, the bandage bonding with his skin to help staunch the flow of blood. Then she injected the Stim above the wound, which contained chemicals in it to help promote a quick recovery. The Stim also featured some added Synth Adrenaline to help keep wounded soldiers in the fight for longer.

Aidyn's rifle roared again, as another foe tried to come through the door, the body falling to the ground next to several others. Sasha's tailed flicked back and forth, and she grabbed her communicator, "I need help reloacting two wounded, in the Armory! Anyone know Evac's ETA?"

She talked as she went to the other Marine's side, her free hand pressing against his neck. She sighed, and shook her head. "He's too far gone, I can't save him!" She said to Aidyn, moving to her MedPac and folding it back up.

Thomas heard the call to retreat to the barracks, and turned to fall back. Then realised he was still there. He'd turned up too late to gain any ground.

Or lose any.

Radio chatter had told him that evac was on its way, and he decided to try and reach the others, lest he get left behind, besides he was low on ammunition.

He gave a quick glance before retreating and saw an insect-soldier lift off with a Marine in its claws. He was fighting wildly, but the creatue was gaining height.

Thomas didn't think about the repurcussions for the Marine as he fired and hit the beast. The shot caused the creature to drop suddenly, but it regained control just as a second and third penetrated it.

The insect screamed and dropped the Marine, he hadn't fallen far enough to be killed, but he didn't seem to be moving. Thomas hit a moral dilemma, he couldn't leave the Marine there, but he was terrified of being left behind. He impulsively used his helmet to zoom and saw that the Marine was breathing.

With a cry of pain of someone going against their every instinct, Thomas sprinted out into the open, firing as he went.

Aidyn quickly reloaded his BR99 and shot a large burst, taking the legs out from under an enemy. The medic looked up from Morgan's wound and said,

"He's too far gone, I can't save him!" Then the catgirl folded her medpac up.

Aidyn glanced toward's Morgan's unconcious body, his chest barely rising with what little breath the bleeding man had. He felt an intense anger course through his body, an anger at Morgan, at the Medic, at himself, but most of all, at the enemy. Two of the insect-like creatures emerged in front of the door, one firing a blast of plasma that smashed into the wall beside Aidyn's head.

"Come on you son of a bitch!" he shouted, dropping the BR99 and lifting the AS12. He fired off a round, blasting one of the enemies against the wall. "You bastards killed Morgan!!!" He pumped the shotgun and fired another round, blasting apart what the creature could call a head. "AAARGH!" He roared as he fired another round, tearing out the side of another creature that made the mistake of crossing in front of the door.

Aidyn then let the gun hang limp in his hand, his head leaning down over his chest. He tooked a deep breath and sighed solemnly at the loss of Morgan. In the short time he knew him, they had both saved each other's ass more than once.

"Damn..."

Kaylinde had appropriated a helmet off of Captain Jurgern's corpse. She needed it more than the officer did. She rubbed the acheing lump that had formed on the back of her skull and ignored the spangle flashes that momentarily took her eye sight. Once she finished adjusting the helmet it so that it fit as best possible she took a deep breath, calling on her genetically enhanced body. She lifted the heavy bunk with a slight huff and positioned it before the window, creating a substancial barricade.

"There. I know where the ammo is, be back in a second"

She headed deeper into the building, heading for the secondary armoury. She toggled the communications package as she jogged down the corridor, sertting it for an 'All call', to reach every one still alive on the tac net

**"This is Moore. O'Connor says evac is on the way. Get your butts to the barracks. If you didn't hear him I hope you hear me."**

Officer commo's had extra oomph, and Kaylinde was hopeing if David hadn't gott through, hers would. She had to stop a moment and wait for her eyes to clear once again. 'It so be the hit I took' she throught sharply. Kaylinde didn't cry, Kaylinde had never cried in all her life.

As Hans continued to struggle against the alien flying him up higher into the sky, he suddenly felt the creature jerk violently and release its grip upon him.

"Oh shit!" he cried as he plummeted fifty feet back to the earth. His body slammed into the ground, his head smacking painfully into rocks. His helmet was the only thing that saved him.

Hans screamed in agony as one of his arms was broken at the wrist, the bone penetrating bloodily out of his flesh. He slowly got to his feet and pulled the pistol up to bear on the nearest alien and fired. The shot missed.

"Fuck." he muttered as he watched the creature turn toward him and focus its six eyes on him.

"Bloody hell..." he muttered again as he raised the pistol and fired toward its head. Each of the eyes popped with brain matter as the head exploded under the powerful kick of the pistol.

Hans felt disorientation in his mind, his muscles beginning to spasm as he struggled to remain alert, defensive. But his body was failing him. He turned his head to the side, toward the rest of his allies, most of whom had retreated inside the armory by now. He struggled forth, his glazed eyes attempting to focus on a humanoid figure running toward him, gun blazing.

"Help...m--" Hans gasped, as he looked down and realize that there was a serious wound on his stomach. He looked up once more and landed face down on the battlefield. Yet he was still alive...

The fates were about to cut his lifeline... time was running short, very short...

David dug around under the new bed cum bunker, and found what he was looking for. It was one of the 500 round ammo cans. He pulled the belt out, locked it in the reciever, then found anther 200 round belt, and clipped it on the end of the 500 rounder. He pulled the Machine GUn up to his shoulder, racked the bolt once, and looked around the barracks. "Covering Fire!" he shouted, out of habit, and pulled the trigger.

The gun roared to life, spraying the advancing enemy force with rounds. As he made slow left to right sweeps, he saw someone running. It was one of there guys, carying a wounded soldier. "Yo medic! Get ready, we got someone comming in!" He stopped his sweep, and began firing in shorts bursts, trying to keep the aliens away fromt he two more running in. Christ, where the hell is everyone he thought, continuing to squeeze of fire.

Thomas skidded to a halt and checked the marine's helmet. "Hans Balran" was printed on to it. The life signs looked like they were fading. He was loathe to move him, in case his back was broken. Then Hans moved his head sideways. Besides he reflected He was dead if he left him.

Thomas attempted to lift him onto his shoulder, but he was too big, so he had to grab his battlesuit by the shoulders. He stood and pulled on all his strength and began to run backwards.

Halfway there he tripped on a block of rubble and sat down with a thump. He looked up to see a brood of insects flying in.

"Shit." he said to himself, unslinging his rifle and firing at the brood. But there were more than he could take.

"This is Morituri, with a casualty, large brood incoming. We need help now!" he shouted into the helmet mike.

"Hang the hell in there Hans." he said to the injured man.

David saw the man trip. Fuck. he swore to himself. Someone had to go out and get them. He looked around, he was one of the only ones in the room not injured. He checked his pistol, he had a full magazine in the weapon, and grabbed an extra one of the floor, using it to replace the other magazine he had used earlier. He then grabbed the machine gun, and checked it. He had gone from 700 rounds to just over 400. "I'm gonna go grab them, medic, be ready for me. I'll be back!" he said, in his best Arnold impresion, and smiled, then turned and ran out of the building.

He kept his head low, cursing to himself the entire time. He dodged a bullet, as several more cracked past his head. He dropped down to his stomach as a burst of plasma screamed over his head. He forced himself back up, and began to run again. He dropped next to Hans and Tohmas, bringing up the weapon, and spraying down one of the aliens. "Do you think if I put him on your shoulders, you can carry him?"

"This is Moore. O'Connor says evac is on the way. Get your butts to the barracks. If you didn't hear him I hope you hear me." Poured through Sasha's helmet com.

She let out a sigh of relief, turning to Aidyn, "We have to get to the Barracks! C'mon." She grabbed his hand, pausing to look towards the fallen Morgan. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry I didn't get here sooner..." She said, before hurrying with Aidyn towards the Barracks.

"Yo medic! Get ready, we got someone comming in!" Someone inside the Barracks shouted at her. Sasha nodded, leading Aidyn in, valuting over the makeshift bunker, crawling back to brace herself. She tore open her MedPac, getting it ready for her new paitent.

Thomas gave a final blast then slung his weapon, crouching prone on his knees. Hans was lifted onto his back and Thomas held grimly on.

Before waiting for a signal, he was up and running as fast as he could with the man on his back. He yelled into the microphone as his muscles screamed against the burden, plasma and shrapnel blasted around him. A shot clipped his leg but he barely flinched as adrenaline and sheer determination blocked out the pain.

He collapsed next to the medic, rasping air into his lungs. Extricating himself from Hans, he unslung is weapon again, looking for the next target.

Hans's head rolled and bounced with each of his rescuer's footsteps. He groaned audibly, the pain increasing with each jarring step. He growled, somewhat in a daze.

"That fuckin' hurts! I'm-- bleeding my ---damnnn..."

Hans fell unconscious, his body going limp.

Aidyn sucked air into his lungs quickly, panting almost uncontrollably with a mix of sadness, anger, loss of blood, and the overall shock of everything that had happened, happened so fast. He held his BR99 at ready, the AS12 now hanging over his shoulder. He glanced at his hip to see Morgan's S102 pistol hanging next to his canteen.

Aidyn reached down a grabbed his canteen, taking two quick gulps before dropping it back against his hip.

He looked towards the medic that had saved his own tail in time.

"Don't worry about Morgan, Doc, you did what you could," he said between breaths, He winced, the rising and falling of his chest hurting the wound in his gut. "You did good..."

He leaned his head back and waited for the evac to arrive.

Kaylinde found the door to the secondary armory wide open, held that way by the body of a corporal she didn't recognise. There wasn't much of the head or upper torso for her to make identification with. She blinked hard and stepped past the body, relieved to see the stores of weapons and ammo mustly untouched, undamaged.

Grabbing a hand cart she set about loading it with what she could gather quickest, includeing two cases of HG39, the ubiquitous hand powered shrapnel delivery device. Once it was so piled with ammo and weapons that it was hard even for her to tow she headed back for where she had left David.

She returned to find the main barracks filled with her fellow marines, most injured. David entered from the killing fields outside just as she dropped the cart's handle and began unloading it. It looked like he'd gone to assist Thomas get another casuality in to the barracks. Kaylinde was glad to see that Sasha, their medic, was still alive.

"If you are to injured to be mobile, reload for others who can cover the entry points. If you are not too injured lets get the barricades thickened up - there's lots of stuff we can use."

She made that a general address to every one. They had to 'hold the fort' until evac arrived, and she had no idea how long that would be. It would be best to plan for the worst she figured.

Mathias open his eyes to see the world was no more than a blur with some faint noises. Soon out of the haze came the face of Mikkel. "Dead, hell no, I'll never die," he offered jokingly. "Its pretty bad." He motioned to his arm. "I need a medic. Come with me?"

Before and answer could be given he rolled over and loaded his gun and looked back expactantly. "I promise, you wont miss anything."

David was breathing hard, holding the machine gun barrel down by the grip. His chest rose and fell, burning from the sprints. He watched Kaylinde bark out the orders. "Yes ma'am," he said, somewhat joking, I always liked a woman who took charge, he didn't say. He walked over to the cart, and grabbed two one thousand round cans. He dropped them by the bed he was using as a bunker, and locked the two ends togther, and clamping them onto the current belt in the gun.

"Just keep feeding me ammo!" he shouted to no one in particular. He set the gun up by the window, and started watching for the incoming hostiles. He pulled the mic back to his mouth. "Hey, you fly boys, how much longer?" he asked, lettign of a quick burst of fire.

Sasha nodded slowly, then got to her knees as Hans was dropped next to her. He muttered something, then passed out. Frowning, she grabbed a Hypodermic Syringe filled witht he same Healing chems she injected Aidyn with, then set to work stitching some NuFlesh bandages onto his wound.

She winced at his broken wrist. That'd have to be set, and she was glad he had passed out already. It would hurt like everythnig when she set it. Grabbing his hand and forearm, she proceeded to pull the two apart somewhat, the broken bone disappearing back under the flesh, before she carefully realigned the two so that the bone was right on with the wrist. She could only hope he didn't rip any tendons.

She switched her hand so that she was holding the two broken parts together with one hand, and dug in her pack for a wrist brace, finding it and slapping into place, wrapping the straps around his wrist several times and tighening it so that he wouldn't be able to move his wrist.

She glanced towards the other. "Do we have any other injuried right now?"

Mathias could see Sasha up ahead. He motioned to Mikkel, "We need to get there, we can't have a nonlife-threatening injury holding up the evac. We gotta move fast."

Luckily Mathias could still run, one of the things he was great at. The fighting was becoming more dispersed and he could move faster than before, he just hoped Mikkel would cover his ass for the next hundred feet.

Hans awoke screaming as the bones were reset in his wrist. He quickly regained his control and clenched his mouth instead. He looked up to the medic and smiled somewhat weakly, "Goddamn bitch hurt like hell...thanks."

Once she was finished tending to him, he struggled to sit up, but noticed the wound on his stomach was patched over. He realized he must've been out for a short time, long enough for that to be done. He lay back down where he was.

"Somebody give me a damn gun. Lost both of mine in the field. I don't want to sit here like a goddamn turkey on a platter!"

Aidyn nodded after Kaylinde spoke.

"I'll cover this entry!" he shouted, moving up against the barricade, sitting on one knee and holding his BR99 on a crossed arm. He stared down the barrell, waiting for an enemy to cross his line of fire. One creature did, and quickly realized its mistake as a string of bullets tore apart what was a shoulder and collarbone. Another rushed past, but when Aidyn pulled the trigger, only a click sounded.

"Shit!" he said aloud. "I'm out, I need a mag!"

Sasha handed Hans her SMG90, the counter read 25 rounds in the current clip, and her two spare mags for it, then drew her S102, grabbing a couple spare mags for Aidyn.

She popped up from behind the barricade, firing her S102 at the oncoming enemy. She aimed low, and clipped his leg, taking it clean off at the joint. The creature fell, and another Marine finished it off, reducing it to a bloody mass of gore within seconds. She smirked, and dropped three mags into Aidyn's hands. "Here ya go. Lock and load!" She used her pistol to lay down some covering fire for him while he reloaded...

Mikkel followed Mathias as best he could, without his glasses his world was a blur. He pulled out a grenade and threw it at a large black blur in the middle of the compound. He could tell it was an enemy and watched it disappear into a cloud of red.

He took cover behind a crate and nodded to Mathias. As his comrade took off across the compound, Mikkel fired at anything that was large and black. He remembered something, Roper. He couldn't decide what to do. When Mikkel saw that Mathias apparently made it, he turned and ran back to where he left Roper.

He found him where he left him, slinging his rifle around his neck, Mikkel grabbed Roper by the arm and placed his other arm in Roper's armpit to support the man. Moving as quickly as he could, he took off back to where he saw Mathais disapper to.

Without a radio, he prayed to God someone would see them and give supporting fire.

David pulled out his own S102, and slid it across the floor to Hans. "Two is better than one," he shouted over the bursts of fire from his own weapon. He slid two mags to Hans, and another two to Aidyen. "Christ, we got two more runner's, they're moving towards the door!" He continued laying down fire over the head of Mathais, riping apart the oponents.

Aidyn crouched behind the barricade, reloading his rifle.

"Christ, we got two more runner's, they're moving towards the door!"

Aidyn sat back on his knee beside Sasha and line his sights up a creature that had popped up from behind a smoldering wall. He fired a burst, cutting down the creature, then took aim on another one heading towards the two marines coming towards the barracks. He fired, critically wounding the creature.

Six more moved from behind the ruined wall.

"Son of a bitch!" he shouted as laid out some heavy covering fire. "Can't ya'll move a bit faster?!" He shot down another creature, then paused to quickly slam another mag into his rifle.

As Kaylinde piled the rest of the ammo and the shrapnel devices conviently close to the various little groups of Marines she noticed that Mikkel and Mathias were not there. She suddenly realized that they had not followed her despite her urging.

Then Mathais tumbled into the barracks, and behind him she could see Mikkel turning back, in to the open.

"What in the seven hells does he think he's doing!"

Kaylinde threw up her hands in frustration. She shucked her BR99 and anything else that might hinder her, then dove over the barricade. She hit the ground running, full out, towards where Mikkel had disappeared.

Then she saw him, half buried under the form of Gunny Roper, moving not near fast enough, but not falling, not stopping either. She had to give him an A plus for stubborness.

"Blasted Gotta- Be- A- Hero! Move it!" She bellowed in his ear as she swung past him to cover his back, and take some of the weight of the wounded sargeant. Her S102 filled her other hand and she fired at anything armored in insectile like black armor that moved nearby.

Sasha that one was carrying the other. Another injuried! She grabbed a roll of NuFlesh Bandages and a couple Healing Stims from her MedPac. She was beginning to run low on these. "Give them covering fire! They HAVE to make it here!" She shouted to the others, being the current highest ranking soldier, even though she was technically, less trained then the rest. She turned her own Pistol, firing a few shots over the heads of the two running, nailing a flying bug creature that was about to swoop down on them.


((OOC: Hmmm... Anyone else think we should toss in a 'Boss' enemy right before the Evac arrives? Maybe, something big, armored, and mean, like Halo's Hunters or Starship Trooper's (The Movie) Walking Flame Thrower Bug?))

Dave continued spraying the enemy with his machine gun. He heard the call for fire. "I'm doing everythign I fucking can!" he shouted, watching his rounds rip up another bug like creature. And then another fell as his rounds ripped into its legs, blowing them off at the knees. He let a burst go into the creature's head. "Hey, anyone know if we got some long range cover here? Some arty would be nice!"

Thomas hastily wrapped a bandage around his leg, there wasn't much bleeding, as the plasma had cauterised the wound. He grabbed some mags off the trolley and dug down in the dirt.

Using his flip down magnifier he began to snipe at the insects as they showed themselves, covering Kaylinde and Mikkel. He slowly realised as he fired that he was no longer firing by instinct, the numbness that had previous overcome him had worn off, and the horror of his situation almost overcame him. But he swallowed, and re-focussed his concentration, he couldn't freak out now, the others needed all the help they could get.

He hoped that the evac would arrive soon, the bugs were sure to get some reinforcements.

[ooc: I'll toss in the boss]

Mathias was almost there. It would only be a few more feet. Suddenly an explosion of fire came from the medical area. At first he was confused and dropped to the ground. Soon he relised however that they were giving him cover. He knew he would make it now.

He got to his feet and ran the rest of the way before falling to his knees in front of Sasha from weariness. He soon got up however and they bandaged him.

The bleeding had all but stopped and he looked back to find Mikkel. He was gone. He would have to thank him for saving his life later, for now he had to fight.

He worked his way back south to help anyone that was stuck and hadn't gotten to the barraks yet, there were more than he thought there would be. The enemy had been repelled from the base but they were still giving heavy fire from outside the walls.

He joined them and began firing. His aim was off due to his arm but he would make it. Soon however, the enemy ceased fire. One soldier looked around the corner, a fatal mistake. An enormous beam cut his head clean off and he fell dead to the ground. Huge footsteps followed the blast. He looked breifly using his scope to avoid showing himself. What he saw was not good. A beast at least eight feet tall covered in heavy armor and carrying an enormous beam rifle was headed right for them.

"Lets get out of here we have to warn the others."

As they ran a second shot was fired blowing a second and equally sized hole in the wall.

[ooc: picture the hunters from Halo2; http://www.bungie.net/images/games/halo/wallpapers/hunter_800.jpg ]

The colour drained from Thomas' face as he saw a huge creature appear. It fired, vapourising a soldier caught in the open. Thomas fired at it, but the bullets simply ricocheted off, creating sparks. The creature appeared not to notice, until it turned to face the group.

Thomas locked eyes with it and saw nothing. Just the simple urge to kill. The other insects seemed to have disappeared. In fear perhaps?

He was frozen by fear.

Dave looked up at the alien, and almost froze. It was this point where the instinct to play dead and not move was forced out of his brain, and replaced with his training. He was now running on autopiliot, and powered by adrenaline. He gave the beast a quick spray with teh Machine gun, then darted across the room, grabbing Thomas by the colar, and pulling him backawards. "Snap outa it and fire your weapon," he shouted, shooting the alien again with the machine gun.

He broke his grasp on Thomas's colar, and moved over to an over turned bunk, tossing a single grenade at the foot of the alien, and firing bursts from the MG09 at it.

Mathias watched as several soldiers dove out of the way and threw a grenade. It exploded in a flash of light but appeared to have little effect. The beast stumbled but marched on. Mathias knew he had to hide himself and quickly dove behind a crate.

The creature walked past, either not noticing him or just not caring. Altough, as he walked on Mathias spotted a weak spot in the armor. an energy beam had wore down the armor covering the back of his neck. A shot from a sniper rifle would kill it with no problem. He had to find a sniper or at least a powerful gun.

Sasha gulped, staring at the Hunter. A voice crackled over her radio, a broadband message being sent to everyone still alive.

<<< "This is Sigma Flight Eight Ten Delta. ETA to arrival: Five minutes. Hang in there Marines! Over." >>>

Their plane out of here would arrive in five minutes. If this thing wasn't stopped somehow, they'd all be dead in less then three.

Her first priorities were the wounded. Hans in particular, wouldn't be able to fight well with his broken wrist. He'd have to be moved out of that thing's way. She glanced towards a few of the others Marines still in here. "Help me move Hans! We have to relocate the wounded before that thing gets here!"


((OOC: Hope no one minds me setting the arrival of our Evac. Figured we might as well, eh? Oh, umh... Where's WA?))

Shaken out of his reverie Thomas fired a burst at the alien. Why he did it, he didn't know, his weapon couldn't touch it. Just an impulse from training. See target, shoot target.

But this wasn't a target. It was alive, and it had a big gun, and it would kill him. Sod that. he thought, trying to think of a plan.

He hunkered down beside Dave.

"Anyone got a plan?" he asked over the helmet comm.

Hans peered carefully around the corner, studying the alien that now threatened their lives. It was massive, and strong. He studied it some more, searching...

Hunting skills had given him the ability to see a weakness and exploit it.

He picked up the pistol, steadied it with his arm stretched out and aimed carefully. The beast swung its shield toward an opponent.

There...

He fired the pistol with his good hand, the small report suddenly loud in his ears and watched as the bullet hit true and buried itself viciously into the beast's orange flesh.

The creature stood straight and roared in agony and increasing rage...

Mikkel nearly dropped Roper when he saw the blurry shape moving towards him, but it didn't seem to be an alien. He squinted and saw the form of a woman, he couldn't see the face but thought it was Kaylinde. As she covered him, he moved as quickly as he could, doing his best to navigate without his glasses.

As he moved behind a destroyed vehicle he heard a great roar. His body suddenly froze for several seconds before he put Roper on the ground. Mikkel carefully peered around the corner before ducking back and staring at Kaylinde.

"There is a big fucking alien over there."

"Anyone got a plan?" said a voice over the helmet comm.

Aidyn thought quickly. He had rushed out of the barracks, the enclosed walls had become more of a death trap to the explosive gun of the alien than a defense; and he had taken to the open ground, to the side of the giant beast.

"I'll go for the eyes!" he shouted back over the comm. He orse his assault rifle to his shoulder, and stared down his barrel at the side of the alien's head. Dammit, I need that bastard to turn... He fired off a single round, which glanced off the tough helmet. The beast turned towards him in rage.

That's it you overgrown cockroach... Aidyn lined up his shot.

"Eat this!" he squeezed the trigger and watched as an instant later, a burst of blood came through the the right eye slit of the beast's helmet. Aidyn dove to the side as the beast fired wildly, scratching at his helmet with the other hand.

"Phew, what a shot," muttered Aidyn as he bolted away from the beast's giant gun.

Kaylinde looked at the towering, massive alien and nodded unspeaking. She was more concerned that it was directly between them and the others in the barracks. it had taken hits but didn't seem to too harmed- It's armour was providing substancial protection.

However it had not seemed to have noticed running pair. But her pistol wasn't going to do diddily to it.

"Stay low here Mikkel. Let me have your rifle - without your glasses ..." Kaylinde's voice trailedoff ...No Marine liked giving up his weapon, but without glasses Mikkel couldn't see to target effectively.

Kaylinde toggled her commo *David, Mathias, Thomas... Can you start hammering it from your side? I'll hit it from the other side, divide it's attention. Hit it with some grenades as well*

Kaylinde looked at the towering, massive alien and nodded unspeaking. She was more concerned that it was directly between them and the others in the barracks. it had taken hits but didn't seem to too harmed- It's armour was providing substancial protection.

However it had not seemed to have noticed running pair. But her pistol wasn't going to do diddily to it.

"Stay low here Mikkel. Let me have your rifle - without your glasses ..." Kaylinde's voice trailedoff ...No Marine liked giving up his weapon, but without glasses Mikkel couldn't see to target effectively.

Kaylinde toggled her commo *David, Mathias, Thomas... Can you start hammering it from your side? I'll hit it from the other side, divide it's attention. Hit it with some grenades as well*

Kaylinde looked at the towering, massive alien and nodded unspeaking. She was more concerned that it was directly between them and the others in the barracks. it had taken hits but didn't seem to too harmed- It's armour was providing substancial protection.

However it had not seemed to have noticed running pair. But her pistol wasn't going to do diddily to it.

"Stay low here Mikkel. Let me have your rifle - without your glasses ..." Kaylinde's voice trailedoff ...No Marine liked giving up his weapon, but without glasses Mikkel couldn't see to target effectively.

Kaylinde toggled her commo *David, Mathias, Thomas... Can you start hammering it from your side? I'll hit it from the other side, divide it's attention. Hit it with some grenades as well*

Kaylinde looked at the towering, massive alien and nodded unspeaking. She was more concerned that it was directly between them and the others in the barracks. it had taken hits but didn't seem to too harmed- It's armour was providing substancial protection.

However it had not seemed to have noticed running pair. But her pistol wasn't going to do diddily to it.

"Stay low here Mikkel. Let me have your rifle - without your glasses ..." Kaylinde's voice trailedoff ...No Marine liked giving up his weapon, but without glasses Mikkel couldn't see to target effectively.

Kaylinde toggled her commo *David, Mathias, Thomas... Can you start hammering it from your side? I'll hit it from the other side, divide it's attention. Hit it with some grenades as well*

Kaylinde looked at the towering, massive alien and nodded unspeaking. She was more concerned that it was directly between them and the others in the barracks. it had taken hits but didn't seem to too harmed- It's armour was providing substancial protection.

However it had not seemed to have noticed running pair. But her pistol wasn't going to do diddily to it.

"Stay low here Mikkel. Let me have your rifle - without your glasses ..." Kaylinde's voice trailedoff ...No Marine liked giving up his weapon, but without glasses Mikkel couldn't see to target effectively.

Kaylinde toggled her commo *David, Mathias, Thomas... Can you start hammering it from your side? I'll hit it from the other side, divide it's attention. Hit it with some grenades as well*

Dave heard the message, and looked up at the beast, then back at his Machine gun. He had about 500 rounds left, and regardless what kind of armor you were using, that would leave a dent. However, his first act was to check for the wounded. He looked over, and saw the Hans, whom Sasha was worried about, seemed find. Ok, now that thats done and good... he stopped thinking, and started talking. "YOu hear the lady Marines! Open fire!" he shouted, hefting the machine gun up to his shoulders, and holding down the triggers spraying the alien with fire form the Machine gun.

OOC: WA has a very busy RL & can't post for the most part during the week. I appreciate this continuation, but not the generic hunters, from what I have read so far.

And as a side note: 'Shrapnel Delivery Device' = Grenade
You also might want to keep a 'Medal' log with your characters, FYI. There will be promotions & such awarded accordingly. With Gunny Roper's death (There was an opportunity to save him, there will be other such instances that will earn your character medals, ranks, etc.), there will also be a promotion to his position open for a worthy idividual. We'll debate that in the OOC thread.

More to come, after I read through it all...

IC:

Tylas regained conciousness shortly after the evac ship broadcasted it's ETA... Five minutes, he had to hold on for five minutes. Talen was no-where in sight, he'd gone off to another section of the small outpost. The young Argonian felt around for his rifle... Nothing. His sidearm was still in its holster, so he drew it. The weight of the handgun was conforting in his scaly grip. Tylas peeped over the barricade that protected the comm position, carefully seeking a target...

Talen's reptillian feet slapped at the sandy ground, his tail stuck out behind him for balance as he moved towards the newest threat... A hulking monster armored with dense plates, spraying green death to any it saw. The Argonian skidded to a stop next to a heavy gunner, firing at the creature with his weapon to little avail...

"Fire in the hole!"

The middle Kerrich hurled a grenade at the beast, the metal sphere plinking off of its plated shoulder & landing off to its left. The detonation threw up a massive wave of sand & grit, ball-bearings & shrapnel sinking into the exposed areas of flesh. Talen resumed firing his rifle, not waiting to observe the effect his attack had had on the beast...

Mikkel handed Kaylinde his rifle and knealt down next to Roper, about to pick him up again. Even without his glasses he could see something was wrong.

"Sarge?"

The man sat there, eyes glazed over, dead. Mikkel gently closed Roper's eyelids before picking up the body again. He couldn't leave him there, maybe the Gunny had family who would like to have his body. Mikkel nodded to Kaylinde and she started firing.

The marine ran as hard as he could, the creature turned and aimed at the man. The grenade explosion threw the creature's aim off, inside of hitting Mikkel it hit the ground behind him. He was thrown forward, tumbling over and over, before coming to a stop.

Mikkel, already nearly blind without his glasses had blood seeping from a wound on his forehead, blinding his left eye. He spotted the barracade and half ran and half stumbled to it. A hand grabbed him and hauled him inside.

Mikkel lay panting on the floor, mumbling thanks to God that he was alive.

Tylas blinked slightly as a human marine comparable to himself in age was pulled into the makeshift communications area. The man was bleeding, and seemed highly disoriented. By his constant squinting, Tylas guessed he wore glasses. Seconds after the young marine was brought inside, the plasma-burned body of SGT Roper was dropped in a corner. Half his face was burned away from a close-range energy discharge...

"Our enemy shows little mercy..."

The young Argonian muttered to himself, unable to remove his gaze from Roper's mangled features. Command would surely send a replacement, or promote one of his fellow boot grads to his place...

"Dropship inbound, look alive people!"

The command was shouted by a marine corporal, a human of athletic build with his left arm in a sling...

'Escape! Makaal does not require my presence yet...'

Tylas nudged the wounded marine, supposedly named 'Mikkel', or it could simply have been another's personal swear word...

"Our EVAC appears to have arrived..."

Talen kept shooting until his ammo was completely depleted, save the half-empty pistol magazine left in his sidearm... It kept coming, despite the punishment they'd dealt it. More of the black-armored insect shock-troops continued to pour over the hills, accompanied with a thundering in the distance. Talen's heart lept into his throat as the first support creatures came into view. Easily fifteen feet tall, the quaprapedal beetle-like behemoths fired sheets of acidic gel across the area, disintegrating anything it came in contact with...

High above the battlefield, a trio of small battleships made of sharp, angular plates observed the chaos below, each at a point of a triangle formed around a fourth, larger vessel. Within each was a single Devilish Collective-grade AI, protected by hordes of Interceptor-class zero gravity combat units. Their genetic engineering project had produced fierce combative units, 82% effective, the AI reminded itself. The first wave would soon over-run the small outpost & leave only a burned permacrete shell behind.

The largest ship contained the central Commander-class units for the biological units on the planet below, communicating with them through nano-scale processing units inbedded in the brains of the creatures. Within the holds of the ship, however, resided a more sinister creation, swift & lethal, highly intelligent, and utterly devoid of the principal flaw of organic life, emotion...

Dave saw the incomming drop ships. He had the most ammo left, and knew what he had to do. "Ok everyone, once the ships get down, you make a break for it. I'll lay down cover fire, and you guys bust it out. I'll be right behind ya, ok?" he asked, over the helmet com.

Mathias, not to far away, heard Dave and nodded to him. He motioned to a building that would provide cover from direct fire. "Once I get there I'll cover you and you run like hell. They wont wait for us if we take to long so don't screw up, other people can pay for our mistakes out here."

With that parting word, Mathias ran hoping that Kaylinde and Thomas would follow close behind. Once out from under cover a barrage of enemy fire came from all positions. Mathias ran with all the energy he had left, which wasn't much. He found himself to be okay and soon was only feet from safety.

Your going to make it he though just before a bullet sunk back into the same wound he has sustained earlier. He was alive however and used his knee to prop up his gun so that Dave would make it there safely. He had beaten Kaylinde and Thomas there by a good distance so he kept an eye on them too.

Thomas chucked up dirt as he stopped next to Mathias. He knelt and began firing again, preparing to cover Dave's sprint. He wiped blood from his eyes, a chunk of concrete had caught his forehead, slicing a long line across it.

Davis saw hte others make it to the drop ship. He stopped shooting, stood, and jogged towards the door, leaned out, and opened fire again. He sprayed towards the aliens, and as the last round fired, he let the sling catch the machine gun around his neck, and took off running. A bullet caught his leg halfway there, the round entering just above the knee. He tripped, but fought the pain, and force himself to stand. He made the rest of the distance up as a limp, and collapsed ontot he rear ramp of the dropship.

Mathias' heart stopped as Davis fell to the ground. He immediatley stood and created a quick diversion just by sending rounds in the general direction of the aliens. Soon however Dave and Thomas were safe and Mathias joined them in the dropship...It was over. He had seen hell and had lived to tell the tale.

Kaylinde had kept her aim on the monsterous creature, helping divert it's attention while Mikkel made it to the safety of the communications hooch. The scream of incoming dropships was a welcome barrage of noise, and once the landed she didn't need to be told to head for the loading ramps.

She made it there before most and helped several up the ramp. David seemed determined to be the last one up. Her breath caught in her throat as he took a round to the leg and fell. However, Mathais and Thomas covered him and he regained his feet, making it to the rear ramp.

Kaylinde went to one knee next to David, and slid an arm under his shoulder. She helped to his feet and up the ramp to safety.

"He's going to need a medic"

She called out as she tried to ease him down, wanting to be careful of of his leg but her left arm abruptly refused to co- operate, and she half dropped him. Wearily, Kaylinde looked over at Mathais and Thomas, as they entered, her voice going shakey

"Are you two okay?"

Every one was so covered in muck and blood it was hard to tell who was injured and who was just "scratch and dent". Now that she had time to notice Kaylinde found several of the scratch and dent variety. And a nasty looking through and through in her upper left arm was bleeding profusely. She had no clear memory of taking the wound.

"Oh, that's why"

She said half to herself as she found herself sitting on the dropships deck, rather unexpectedly.

Mikkel heard the dropship land. Groaning, he pulled himself up and saw several shapes running for the dropship. Pulling his pistol out, he crouched down and ran as hard as he could for the large object in the middle of the compound. He fired several random and off target shots and he kept his one good eye fixed on the dropship.

He stumbled as he ran, several shells from the aliens passed over his head. Mikkel picked up the pace before stumbling into the drop ship. He collasped into a chair, glad to of made it one step closer to escaping the hell.

Dave nodded as he collapsed to the deck. "Thanks," he managed to cough out. He looked up at Kaylinde, and nodded. "I owe ya one." Despite his toughness, he decided not to shrug off a medic. He accepted the morphine, and laid his head back, sighing. The machine gun dropped next to him, and he closed his eyes, listening to the roar of the engines.

Hans struggled to his feet and moved as fast as he could, injuries and all, toward the dropship. Already a few of the others had fled toward the dropship.

A screech appeared to his left..

"Shut the hell up!" he roared to the alien, whipping it in the face with the butt of his pistol. It fell to the ground unconsicous. He kept moving, not looking back, "Ain't got time to play tag you fuckers..." he muttered as he kept running.

The engines to the dropship revved and soon took off into the sky.

Hans stopped, looking up in frantic fear as he watched his last hope of survival escape. He attempted to call out in desperation, but his voice failed him as he choked on his words.

No...please...don't leave me here like this...

He turned and was promptly knocked unconscious by a large bear of an alien hand. His body fell limp and collapsed. It was a good thing he was unconscious, for the resulting pain to his wounds was inhumane...

As the dropship faded away into the distance, the creature hefted the body and carried it out of sight, the hand holding the pistol dropping to the ground, only to be picked up by another alien which picked it up, stared down the muzzle confusingly and made its last mistake...

The shot blew its eye apart and the bullet exited the rear of the alien's cranium...

Sasha heaved a sigh of ralief, finally safe within the Dropship. However, her job wasn't over yet. She made rounds through the gathered soldiers, administering Morhpine, healing stims, and bandaging wounds as needed.

Her first paitent, Aidyn, was here, but Hans was nowhere to be found. She assumed the worst. Shaking her head sadly as she came to Kaylinde's side, Sasha knealt and began to examine her. "Hmmm. Bad arm wound. Here, hold out your arm." Kaylinde complied, and Sasha began to bandage it, then administered a healing stim above the left arm wound. "Glad to see you made it, Kaylinde." She smiled at her friend, her tail flicking back and forth slowly.

Sasha herself, either through luck or divine intervenation, had sustained little damage. It was most likely because she had keapt away from the frontlines, staying to the rear to treat the injuried.

Mathias shrugged at Kayline and said, "I'll need a medic for my arm but Dave seems to be in worse condition, I'll be fine for now. Lets get outa here. They boarded the dropship as it pulled away.

Later into the flight Mathias reveived some morphine and his wound was bandaged. He was informed that it would not be life threatening, which was bitter-sweet judging how his day was going. When he enlisted he hadn't expected this. He could only wonder where they would end up next.

Thomas collapsed onto the deck of the dropship. His gun rested across his lap, and all he feel was the weight of his body as the adrenaline seeped away. He limply waved away any medical help with his arm, by some miracle he only suffered cuts and scratches.

The words that had gone through his mind at the start of the battle resurfaced in his mind. I don't want to be here. I shouldn't be here. Why his Father had wanted him to enlist, and to experience the hell he'd just been in. But there was niggle in the back of his mind that this was nothing compared to the true horrors of war.

David forced himself to sit up fully, blinking rapidly as he fought off the pain killing effects of the morphine. He was told his leg would be fine after a touch of surgery, and that he'd be good as new. As he looked around, he realised that someone was missing from the drop ship. He was going to say something, but realised that he was probably on the other drop ship.

As he continued to fight off the heaviness of his eyes, as he looked around the craft. "Anyone know any good jokes?"

"Thanks Sasha. Didn't even realized I was hit I was so keyed up" Kaylinde grinned slightly, barely able to keep her eyes open enough to note that her furry friend had made it through safely. Gently she grasped the swishing tail for the barest second with her right hand, then released it as Sasha moved away to treat others.

She lay limp, awake but not puting out any effort to try and sit up. David, Mathais, Thomas, and Mikkel were all close by and she watched heavy eyed until all had been looked over and treated as necessary. She didn't know what in the seven hells they had faced out there, and she desperately wanted to go on thinking it was some sort of super simulation, but she couldn't...

"Anyone know any good jokes?" David asked.

Kaylinde groaned "Jokes? Now?"

She mock cuffed him as she pulled herself into a sitting position

Mikkel was weary, his bones ached and he could barely move. He suddenly remembered there were still others down on the ground. He dragged himself from his seat and staggered to the cockpit.

"We got friends on the deck sir."

The pilot, who Mikkel could see was a captain looked at him. "There is another dropship inbound, there it is. It'll get your friends, we got a third on station just in case."

Mikkel watched another dropship pass thier own and land on the ground, ready to accept the remaining marines. He nodded, turned around and sagged into a seat next to Kaylinde. He closed his eyes.

"I know twisted Catholic joke...if no one will be offended I'll tell it."

David winked at Kaylinde. "We gotta do soemthing to help us calm down," he chuckled. He was about to make a crack about battle field violence and hightend sexual awareness, but decided against it. He had been "shit kicked", as he was known to say, enough for one day. He sighed, and thanked Sasha for the help as she walked by.

He looked over at Mikkel. "I'm Catholic, and I've heard them all. What ya got?"

Mikkel looked at David. He felt sore, but he might as well try and brighten the mood of the group. He leaned back against the head cushion and closed his eyes.

"Okay, this is old, but it always picked me up. A rabbi, Catholic priest, and a lawyer are in a hospital. The place catches fire and the trio are heading downstairs when they hear children screaming. The rabbi turns to the other two and says 'The children, we must rescue them!'

The lawyer says 'Fuck the children!' The priest says 'Do you think we have time to?"

Sasha, her job finally done, sat down with the others, listening as Mikkel told his joke. The expression on her face was priceless confusion. "Nya? I don't get it..." She said, her head tilted to one side.

Dave leaned his head back and laughed. "Man, that is a good one," he said.

Mikkel pulled out a rag and began to wipe the blood from his left eye. The gash on his forehead was still bleeding a little, he knew he might have stiches. He turned his right eye to Sasha's blur.

"The Catholic Church has been having some problems with priest molesting children. Hence, the priest's interest to see if they have enough time to fuck the children before running out of the hospital."

David laughed at Sasha's confused look. "Don't worry about it, its mostly a joke. Im not that bad," he said, winking at the cat girl.

Aidyn leaned back against the hull of the ship, staring at the dim lights along the ceiling. He had drifted off in memories of his own homeland. The clear waters and green fields, the constant guerilla wars raging in the dense jungles and forests...

He glanced back around at the rest of the marines in the ship at the mention of 'catholic,' another memory flashing into his head. The man he had fought so hard with against the alien attackers. Morgan was a Catholic... He thought, remembering the gold crucifix he wore around his neck. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a pair of dog tags and a crucifix. Things he had grabbed off of Morgan's corpse before he had to leave him. He still had Morgan's pistol at his hip as well.

Barely even knew the guy...But still, the both of us were willing to die for the other...And one of us did... He gripped the pair of dog tags and the crucifix necklace in a fist tightly. He kicked the metal bench in front of him in anger.

And on of us did...

Mikkel jumped slightly as Aidyn kicked the bench. He had finished wiping much of the blood away, but the left side of his face was still a redish color with a thin film of blood on it. He wiped some blood on his forehead and looked at Aidyn.

"You okay man?"

As Mathias rested his head on the wall trying to hold out umtil the morphine took full power. He listened as some mourned in silence and as others told jokes and tried to lighten the mood. He didn't feel it has succeeded. Talk about catholic priests fucking small boys would not help the situation, however he kept his opinions to himself.

Soon he watched Mikkel turn to Aidyn and ask what was wrong. He saw the tags and a crucifix and made an educated guess. "I think someone he knew died." He offered a week, reassuring, smile as he was capable of no more now that he was growing weary from the drug. "I'm truely sorry.

"Say, where the hell are they taking us next?"

Mikkel kept his rag on the scar on his forehead. He relaxed against the side of the ship, everyone had lost friends, and that was hard. He heard Mathias ask about where they were going next.

"I know I'm probably gonna go get this cut fixed up, then get a new pair of glasses. My other pair is down on the planet, and I ain't gonna go get them. Lord knows where we're going, but first...I would like a warm soft bed, a soft pillow under my head, and a cold beer in my hand."

David laughed at Mikkel. "You shoulda joined the Navy for that!"

Hans awoke shivering cold. He opened his eyes to find himself completely stripped nude, his clothing, his pistol, even his dog tags gone. He got up slowly, noticing that his bandages had been kept on. At least they had some sort of sensibility...

He peered around in the darkness, barely making out the crude prison he was in. He walked forward, shuffling his feet, his hands outstretched. His fingers touched cold stone, and he followed it to his right. Little by little he made his way along, unsure of what lay in the darkness ahead of him. He smacked into a brutely creature, which merely grunted at him and shoved him away.

Hans landed upon his buttocks, and finally noticed that the floor was soft dirt and had some rocks in it.

I've got to get out of here...wherever here is...

He got to his hands and knees and began to dig with his hands, digging and scooping the soft dirt aside. Yet his plan was shortlived as he scraped his fingernails across flat stone. He cursed. He looked up around him once more. His vision was getting better, but it was still quite dark in here.

He stood and approached where a small light was shining, barely visible. He was stopped by a crudely designed cage door. He finally realized what had happened.

Oh God...I'm a P.O.W. ...

He gripped the crude bars and began to shout, "Hey! Let me out of here! You've got the wrong guy!"

A huge manacle of a hand suddenly wrapped around his face, silencing him as he froze in fear. The alien voice spoke next to his ear,

"Shach rao minak driakaima cherrr!"

Hans had no idea what the alien had said, but he had a suspicion it was a command to shut up. o..k..so I need to shut up...what could possibly be so bad about demanding my rights?

A scream suddenly pierced the darkness, mixed with the voice screaming human words, "AGGHHH!! Nooo!! D-ergh..N--...."

Hans eyes widened in the darkness. He had recognized the voice as human. And the unknown human was being tortured. He could hear the mechanizations of the aliens zapping the human, the smell of burned flesh reaching his nostrils.

He backed away quickly from the gate, retreating back into the comfort of darkness in the back of the holding cell... He sat down, and wrapped his arms around his legs, keeping mind of his wounds. He feared he would meet the same fate as the other man...

Kaylinde managed a grin at the comment

"Yeah the navy flyboys have a soft life"

The drugs were pulling her under and it was hard to keep her eyes open. Even a few sconds of sleep would be usefull... 'and surely it will help me be more coherent when we disembark'... she thought as her eye lids drooped closed.

Mikkel closed his eyes and chuckled.

"You think it is too late to transfer to the navy?"

Mikkel felt warm blood slowly oozing out of the gash on his forehead. He cursed softly and looked around the the dropship. The wound had started bleeding again, and it was driving him nuts.

"Hey Sasha, got any bandages left over I can use on my head?"

David nodded. He watched Kaylinde sucomb to the morphine, and chuckled. "That doesn't look like a bad idea. Hey Sasha, I'm gonna go ahead and pass out now, you think you can handle everthing from here?" He didn't even let her reply, as he put his head back, and slid into unconsciousness.

The second dropship held the incoming hostiles at bay long enough to pick up a few stragglers, namely Tylas & Talen, who carried the body of their fallen brother between them up the boarding ramp. It was a sad day, a crushing defeat at the hands of an unknown foe. Tylas speculated that nearly eighty-three percent of the outpost's personnel had been killed in the attack...

The pair gently laid the burned body of their oldest sibling onto the metallic deck of the dropship. Tylas was injured, somewhat badly. Sharpnel from his rifle was buried deep in his right hand & right side of his reptillian face. He'd lost vision in his right eye, he had no way of knowing if it was permanent. The youngest Kerrich sat silently with his back against an ammunition container, attempting to catch a few moments of rest.

Talen glared angrily at his empty BR99, there where energy burns where plasma shots had grazed his armor, but otherwise he was unscathed. It was a miracle, for which he thanked his people's diety, Makaal...

Outside in the cold vaccum of space, the trio of dropships began the docking procedure with the 'Steadfast', setting down in the mostly empty docking bay...

Hans awoke shivering cold. He opened his eyes to find himself completely stripped nude, his clothing, his pistol, even his dog tags gone. He got up slowly, noticing that his bandages had been kept on. At least they had some sort of sensibility...

He peered around in the darkness, barely making out the crude prison he was in. He walked forward, shuffling his feet, his hands outstretched. His fingers touched cold stone, and he followed it to his right. Little by little he made his way along, unsure of what lay in the darkness ahead of him. He smacked into a brutely creature, which merely grunted at him and shoved him away.

Hans landed upon his buttocks, and finally noticed that the floor was soft dirt and had some rocks in it.

I've got to get out of here...wherever here is...

He got to his hands and knees and began to dig with his hands, digging and scooping the soft dirt aside. Yet his plan was shortlived as he scraped his fingernails across flat stone. He cursed. He looked up around him once more. His vision was getting better, but it was still quite dark in here.

He stood and approached where a small light was shining, barely visible. He was stopped by a crudely designed cage door. He finally realized what had happened.

Oh God...I'm a P.O.W. ...

He gripped the crude bars and began to shout, "Hey! Let me out of here! You've got the wrong guy!"

A huge manacle of a hand suddenly wrapped around his face, silencing him as he froze in fear. The alien voice spoke next to his ear,

"Shach rao minak driakaima cherrr!"

Hans had no idea what the alien had said, but he had a suspicion it was a command to shut up. o..k..so I need to shut up...what could possibly be so bad about demanding my rights?

A scream suddenly pierced the darkness, mixed with the voice screaming human words, "AGGHHH!! Nooo!! D-ergh..N--...."

Hans eyes widened in the darkness. He had recognized the voice as human. And the unknown human was being tortured. He could hear the mechanizations of the aliens zapping the human, the smell of burned flesh reaching his nostrils.

He backed away quickly from the gate, retreating back into the comfort of darkness in the back of the holding cell... He sat down, and wrapped his arms around his legs, keeping mind of his wounds. He feared he would meet the same fate as the other man...

The faint whine of servomotors reached Hans' ears from outside his cell...

"Statement: You are a captive of Devilish Genetic Expeiramentation Vessel 04..."

The five-foot-tall robotic biped in front of the cell was armored in bright yellow plating, with black triangular polycarbonate sensor covers on the front of its square head, between which was situated a speaker grille...

"Introduction: This unit is designated Interrogator 1-1-9-0... Statement: You are slated for assimilation into the Exo-Armored Biological Combat Unit program. Your alternative option is biological processing, reducing your body to the base elements that it is comprised of. Probability of Demise: 100%..."

The reverberating clangs of the drop ships making final landing in the 'Steadfast's' docking bay pulled Kaylinde from the beginnings of nightmare. With a soft gasp she jerked upright and knuckled bleary eyes. The process just made dry eyes burn worse, so she desisted hurriedly.

The thud of the drop ramp opening had her surgeing to her feet, despite a suddenly swimming head. Kaylinde reached out and steadied herself, trying to ignore the sudden, sharp vertigo. She swallowed convulsively, and her voice when at last she managed to speak, was hoarse.

"Come on guys. They're going to want to debrief us before they'll let us rest up."

She was pretty sure she remembered that as procedure. Her head was mostly filled with wanting to go back to sleep.

The shudder of the dropship's landing shook Thomas out of his sleep. He looked around bleary-eyed for a second, as he rose out of sleep, seeing Kaylinde awake already. The loading doors were open.

He stood, helping others to get up, rousing them out of sleep.

"Mathias, Dave it doesn't look as if you have two whole legs between you."

Kaylinde looked over at Thomas as he finished making sure that others nearby were able to get to their feet

"Thomas why don't you take Mathias, I'll help Dave. Mikkel with out glassses everythings a blur, right?...Then stay close to me"....

Kaylinde looked about seeking a nco or an officer. One dirt covered uniform seemed to have corporals stripes, but she didn't recognise him as being assigned to her section. A shiver ran through her...'but surely all our officers must be on the other shuttles then'... she thought worriedly. She didn't let her unease show on her face and kept her voice lightly humerous- or so she hoped.

"Otherwise Mikkel you might wander out an airlock"

Dave awoke to Kaylinde's advice. He nodded, mumbling, and grabbed a hold bar, pulling himself up to a standing position. He reached forward, grabbing the MG09, and hobbled over to Kaylinde. "Lead the way," he said, slinging the machine gun over his shoulder.

Aidyn moved with the other marines, his AS12 shotgun slung over his back, Morgan's pistol at his hip, and his BR99 assault rifle held in his hands at his waist. The crucifix was worn around his neck, the pair of dog tags from his fallen comrade wrapped around the barrel of his rifle. He glanced around at his comrades, memorizing faces and names. Somebody's missing... He thought worriedly. But who?

Thomas followed Kaylinde and Dave off the dropship, supporting Mathias. The wide eyes of the ship's crew puzzled him for second, until he realised how shot-up they must look; a bunch of tired-faced Marines, some still holding weapons, as they helped each other to walk, blood-stained and dirty.

"Hey, is someone gonna give us a hand?" he asked the ship's crew.

The docking bay was a swarm of activity, with incoming medical personnel & equipment sargeants to collect whatever weapons (besides sidearms) the surviving marines where carrying. As the battered warriors exited the craft, they where met by a grizzled-looking man wearing a black armored suit different from that of the rank-and-file combat fatigues of the outpost defenders... The tag on his uniform read 'COL SYN'...

"Alright, which one of you sorry-lookin' sons-of-bitches is in charge? I don't see any officers..."

Colonel Nazareth Syn stood at around six feet even, with a defined & muscular frame. A rather nasty-looking scar runs vertically across his left eye into his graying hairline, caused by a close encounter with a Devilish Grunt.

Tylas & Talen watched somewhat angrily as the body of their brother was loaded onto a gurney & wheeled away to be frozen until it could be deported back to Argonia. The pair slowly walk over to join up with the others. Talen seeks out Kaylinde, meeting her at the bottom of the boarding ramp...

"It seems my 'snake-eyes' where of some use after all. I trust you came through intact?"

Talen's dialect & thick accent give his voice an unmistakeable sound, something Argonians had become known for since their arrival in the UNSA.
The youngest Kerrich glanced around, making a quick check of the survivors...

'Mikkel... The Imitorian... The Druid... The cat-woman... Kaylinde... No Hans...'

Without thinking, he voiced his thoughts...

"Anyone seen Hans? The quiet guy with the sniper-gun?"

Aidyn glanced around quickly. Shit....that's who's missing....

"I didn't seem him on the drop ship, and haven't seen since we got off," he said, still checking around him for Hans. "I didn't him as a corpse before we took off, either...."

Gods, I hope he isn't a POW...In the hands of those creatures...

"Alright, which one of you sorry-lookin' sons-of-bitches is in charge? I don't see any officers..."


"Which ever one of us you want to be" David spat, angrily. "It looks like your the one with the most shiny things, so, in theory, you are," he said, looking at the colonel. He took some weight of Kaylinde, who was supporting him, and tried to fight off hte pain as he stood.

Han's eyes widened in the darkness of his cold, dank prison. He shivered his lean nude body, a reaction to the cold. He backed up to the wall, as if he were denying such a thing could happen to him...

Exo-what? he thought to himself, trying to figure out exactly what the ..thing said...But I don't want to die...either way, I lose...

"Fine, show me the program..." he replied at long last, hating to have to succumb to such a measure of obedience to the enemy...

Mikkel stumbled out of the dropship, nearly tripping over a bench. He grabbed onto Kaylinde's hand and followed her out, keeping his other hand with the rag on his wound. When Hans was brought up, he looked around as best he could.

"Where the fuck is that guy?"

Mikkel began to look around, he hadn't seen the sniper since the battle started, hell he hadn't seen much. He looked at his friends.

"Could....could he of been....captured?"

Kaylinde placed a hand lightly on Talen's shoulder, and a warm smile lit her dirty, bruised features

"Yes, your snake eyes were the best!"

She glanced around hurriedly as she over heard the querries and comments about Hans being missing. It was terribly easy to verify that he was not among the pitifully few that were staggering off the shuttles. Few, too frighteningly few...The smile vanished as if it had never been. A barely audible growl rumbled low in her throat. One of her people was missing, and that was...infuriating.

"Alright, which one of you sorry-lookin' sons-of-bitches is in charge? I don't see any officers..."

"Which ever one of us you want to be"

Kaylinde turned back at the sound of an harsh voice that was acompanied by Daid shifting his weight off her supporting arm, and his angry reply. She did not recognise the officer, and she damn well didn't care for his attitude. She knew that David had to be in pain, - almost all of them were - and to have some pompous ass asking questions he could see the answer to, won him not a single point in her book, especially since he was keeping her people from getting the follow up medical attention and rest they needed. Her voice was coldly formal

"Sir"

'Which rhymes with cur' but that went unsaid

"I think that there is a supply corporal among the wounded headed for medbay, also there is our unit's medical officer, Lt. Sasha Light and our communications officer Teris Sterns. However, I don't believe that any of our line officers or nco's survived. Sir!"

At 6'1" it was easy for Kaylinde to look Colonel Syn full in the eyes. She squared her shoulders and faced him full on, unconsciously positioning Mikkel and David to one side and Talen and others to the other, a ragged, impromptu spearhead. In her current mood Kaylinde was not inclined to back down from any one

" We have wounded and they need treatment, and rest. We have missing and we need to retrieve them...Sir"

Mathias was a little shaky as Thomas helped him off the ship. He was grateful for the help and was soon able to stand on his own. Mathias watched as people ran around doing whatever they had to.

In the middle of the madness he heard Hans was missing and an expected POW. He saw Syn, who seemed to be in charge. He doubted he would like him but thats who he needed to talk to.

He walked up to him noticing that his chest was puffed up way too far. This caused the illusion of power to be lost and mad him look a little silly but it was the same with most officers. He saluted half-heartedly, "Sir, we're missing a man. I'm wondering if we'll be given permission for a rescue operation." He looked at Kaylinde and got a look saying that the question had already been asked. He felt a stupid but waited for a reply.

Inwardly Kaylinde was chuckling at Mathias's semi bemused actions. It seemed that her team mates...and that thought stopped her mental chuckle cold. She didn't do teams, didn't do groups. People around her died... and more had died just proving that she was indeed Karma, bad Karma at that. She straightened, pulling away from David without realizing it and her eyes went even colder.

She waited unmoving for the scar faced Colonel's response

David grunted as the sudden suport was gone, and he forced himself to stand, taking a touch of wieght onto his injured leg. He was about to tell Syn to kiss is ass, when he decided against it. He had survived the battle, but wasn't looking for a court martial. He held his breath, holding in another painfull grunt, before speaking again. "Agreed sir. Kayli...I mean, Pvt. Moore here. I just need to get my leg bandaged up, and some more ammo for my MG09, then send me back down there. Can't leave a man behind and all."

He looked over at Kaylinde, who seemed to go cold while staring at the colonel. He made a mental note not to make her upset, the looked around for Sasha. He hated most officers, but she could really help them now, and thats what they needed, to officers to talk face to face. He gripped his MG09 by the grip lightly, letting it hang by his side. "And I appologize for the insubordination, sir."

Kaylinde placed a hand lightly on Talen's shoulder, and a warm smile lit her dirty, bruised features

"Yes, your snake eyes were the best!"

She glanced around hurriedly as she over heard the querries and comments about Hans being missing. It was terribly easy to verify that he was not among the pitifully few that were staggering off the shuttles. Few, too frighteningly few...The smile vanished as if it had never been. A barely audible growl rumbled low in her throat. One of her people was missing, and that was...infuriating.

"Alright, which one of you sorry-lookin' sons-of-bitches is in charge? I don't see any officers..."

"Which ever one of us you want to be"

Kaylinde turned back at the sound of an harsh voice that was acompanied by Daid shifting his weight off her supporting arm, and his angry reply. She did not recognise the officer, and she damn well didn't care for his attitude. She knew that David had to be in pain, - almost all of them were - and to have some pompous ass asking questions he could see the answer to, won him not a single point in her book, especially since he was keeping her people from getting the follow up medical attention and rest they needed. Her voice was coldly formal

"Sir"

'Which rhymes with cur' but that went unsaid

"I think that there is a supply corporal among the wounded headed for medbay, also there is our unit's medical officer, Lt. Sasha Light and our communications officer Teris Sterns. However, I don't believe that any of our line officers or nco's survived. Sir!"

At 6'1" it was easy for Kaylinde to look Colonel Syn full in the eyes. She squared her shoulders and faced him full on, unconsciously positioning Mikkel and David to one side and Talen and others to the other, a ragged, impromptu spearhead. In her current mood Kaylinde was not inclined to back down from any one

" We have wounded and they need treatment, and rest. We have missing and we need to retrieve them...Sir"

Colonel Syn returned her glare one of his own. The eye under the scar that ran across his face was oddly glassy & cloudy, clearly a synthetic replacement. He'd seen heavy combat before, this young lady's reaction was nothing new...

"They're being taken care of as we speak, private. I take care of my people... Roper isn't with you, is he? His Sargeant Major bought the farm three hours before ya'll got hit... He was first in line for the promo. Damn shame... Good marine, as are all of you. You've done me proud..."

The colonel steps in closer to Kaylinde, whispering...

"You're quite a leader, marine. Roper's rank is open if you think you're up to it... As for the missing, there's no chance we'll see them alive again. Those little Devilish fuckers don't keep POW's. Chances are he's being dissected & studied right now. Inform the rest of your squadmates they've made corporal as well, now go get some rest. Your wounded will be tanked by the time you get to the barracks, and good to go before we reach Argonia..."

Colonel Syn stepped back a pace, then threw a smart salute which the battered survivors promptly returned. Colonel Syn's special forces division was well-known throughout the UNSSC as the 'Archangels', due to their effectiveness against the robotic hordes of the Devilish Collectives. Despite this, men where still lost & fresh recruits of such caliber where hard to come by...

Han's eyes widened in the darkness of his cold, dank prison. He shivered his lean nude body, a reaction to the cold. He backed up to the wall, as if he were denying such a thing could happen to him...

Exo-what? he thought to himself, trying to figure out exactly what the ..thing said...But I don't want to die...either way, I lose...

"Fine, show me the program..." he replied at long last, hating to have to succumb to such a measure of obedience to the enemy...

UNSSC Space, High Orbit over Planet Argonia...

The small robot promptly projected a hologram of a bipedal creature, armored completely in a silvery alloy, armed with little more than clawed hands & a long, spiked tail. It moved with a lithe agility that seemed uncommon to an armored fighting unit, and attacked with unnatural speed. The hologram warrior then straightened into a relaxed position, and the armor retracted, slowly folding over on itself until it reached the spine of the human it had been grafted to. The plating remained in place over the entire spine, un-noticeable from a frontal view...

"Statement: Exo-Armor is comprised of nano-reactive self-replicating sheets capable of withstanding sustained fire from large-caliber ballistic weapons & intense temperature fluxuations. Continuation: Armor reacts to gravitational changes allowing organic host to fall long distances without sustaining injury.
Exo-Armor is nanotechnologically enhanced with nano-scale hydraulic pistons providing the host with physical abilities enhanced over 223% of species maximum. Implanted chemical bladder within cranial area of host provides adrenal combat stimulants directy into the spinal coloum, therefore directly enhancing the nervous system of the host organic. Option: None. Probability of Escape: 0.01%..."

The midget robot whirrs slightly as it finishes it sentence, then abrupty resumes speaking...

"Query: Would organic designated Subject 3-3-Alpha wish to converse with Collective 1-3-Omega?"

The yellow-plated interrogation unit had kept Hans occupied throughout the hyperspace jump to their new target, which might untimately become his first training zone against a proud & fierce warrior people...

Hans studied the hologram carefully. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was about to be turned into one of those creatures, he'd have been quite impressed at the genome technology. Upon recieving the query from the robot, he replied,

"First off. I am not 3-3 Alpha. The name's Hans. Get it right. Second of all, who the hell is Collective 1-3 Omega? And last but not least, what the hell are you going to do about my injuries?"

Hans held up his arm, showing his wrist and fingers which was broken, although already set straight by that doc out in the field. He also pointed to the plasma wound on his thigh.

Kaylinde has tensed inwardly as the Archangel Colonel had stepped in close, bracing for a masasive chewing out for her attitude. She blinked, then her eyes went wide as she made sense of his whisper ...Her thoughts raced...

Gunny Ropers rank? I can't take his place...but his rank? That many grades in one swoop? Is that allowed? The Archangels are good and famous...famous for getting dead...damned if I do and worse if I don't...

"Yes Colonel, I will do the job" Her whisper was harsh. She might some day earn the rank but she damn well wasn't going to be bought by it. Her people came before any officer.

Her mind continued to whirl as she automatically returned Colonel Syn's salute.

' I have to. My jinx...No!... I can't let some stranger who doesn't know them and doesn't give a damn. I've trained with them, I know them, we shared the first level of the hells together. I have to do this, I learn fast...I ....I can do this, but Great Goddess help me not to fail!' .

He had given her the one thing she could not, would not, stand aside from... a test.

Once the Colonel had departed she turned to the others, the look on her face rather bemused.

"It looks as if we've all been transfered to the Archangels and promoted."

She turned to Talen "Talen, could you get our 'scratch and dents' to what ever barracks they have for us, rest and referbishment. I'll see to getting the others to the Medical Section, then join you."

She looked at David and Thomas, each with legs wounds that needed more attention. Mathias, with four rounds to one shoulder, held together by Sasha's fine handy work but which also needed more. Tylas who's angry looking injuries marred his face, and perhaps to lose an eye. Aidyn with a bad abdominal wound that wanted more attention. It looked like Mikkel's head wound had finally stopped bleeding - even the most minor could bleed copiously - but he needed new glasses. Her arm wasn't bad enough for her to consider.

"We're heading for Argonia. The Colonel said they're going to tube you all for fast regeneration, that you'll be healed by the time we arrive. He also says that they , the Devilish, don't take prisoners, that we must consider Hans dead."

It was easy for the others to tell that Kaylinde didn't like that last piece of information one bit.

Seven, eight if she counted herself, plus Lt. Light and the communications officer. Out of all of their original platoon of 44 privates, plus their nco's and officers - only they eight survived that hour...

What the hell, they talkin' about leavin a man behind?!

Aidyn gritted his teeth at the thought. Man I gotta say somethin'...

"Woah, wait a sec Miss," he said suddenly. "You mean we're just gonna leave a man in the hands of those creatures of the Seven Hells, while there's a chance he's alive?!"

Mathias couldn't believe his ears. What was Syn saying. "With all due respect sir, what the fuck? How dare you leave a man behind. He would have given his life for us so find me one good reason why we shouldn't do the same for him. I can only hope you can get your priorities in order before its too late." He walked off steaming.

As Mathias cooled off he approached Kaylinde. "Congratulations on your promotion. You deserved it." He extends a hand.

OOC - folks, all I'm going to say is that Colonel Syn WHISPERED the info to Kaylinde. She passed on exactly what I posted - So your characters need to be angry at Kaylind not the Colonel.

*********************

Kaylinde's face was drawn, and her upset showed clearly.

"I don't like it either, and I didn't want to put it so bluntly with as battered and tired as we all are right now. The Devilish don't take prisoners. Hopefully Hans died as the shuttles took off - otherwise he is being rendered down into his components as I speak.. "

Her voice was harsh and flat, brooking no opposition.

"So what we are going to do - ALL of us! - Is get well, train even harder and kill every one of those little fuckers the moment we run across them. We can all consider it very, very Personal now."

She looked at Mathais as he calmed himself and returned to the group

"And I don't deserve any congratulations as of yet. When I really earn them- then you can congratulate me. And you all deserve the congratulations - you all made corporal.."

OOC: I know Tanara, don't worry, that's why I added 'Miss' in that post, not 'Sir'...

Son of a bitch! She really is gonna leave him!

"Seven Hells, I wanna get our man back, not a rank!"

Aidyn turned on his heel and stormed off, slamming his fist into a wall as he did so. How can they make this decision! The poor bastard can still be alive... He stopped and turned to look at his new commander.

"I don't know if means jack to you, but keep in mind, the Gods won't look to kindly on those who leave a man behind." And nor will I... Aidyn thought as he turned back to find a drink.

OOC- I have to admit to posting under the influence right now, I just finished watching one of my favority movies Kellys Heroes, so cue the the music stolen from The Good The Bad and The Ugly...and visualize the three - Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland doing the walk down the street in to the main gun of a German Tiger tank....
******************
Kaylinde looked at her fellow survivos, the seven of them clustered around her...catching each of their eyes, drawing them in closer with that contact.

"Okay in this circle, between us there is only equal. We fight together, we damn well will probably die together."

She looked over at the drop ship, her grin crooked, eyes bright

"I think I can fly this thing, ...I can the civilian version at least."

'Yeah, right, there are no civilian versions of dropships...well I can try, I've flown some pretty wierd things before'Her mind ignored the various other problems, such as waiting courtmarshalls if they survived

"So do we go back and look for Hans, or do we believe the Colonel? What say you o' band of brothers?"

Part of her gibbered in terror at those last three words. Part of her was laughing herself silly at her proving just how big a danger junkie she was...Part of her was going "I told you so"...That part she wanted to smack...

"Corporal?"

Mikkel was sitting on a large crate, trying to focus in on what was going on. He had tuned out, all he wanted was a new pair of glasses and a bed to sleep on.

"Shit Kaylinde...I don't want stripes, I won't take 'em....and that is final."

Aidyn turned to face Kaylinde.

"So, we're going to take a dropship into hostile territory, under potential court martials, with a pilot that thinks they can fly the ship to get a man who might be dead?" a smile formed across his lips. "You can count me in! Let's get our brother back!"

'bout damn time!...

Kayelinde was past tired herself, but she needed everyones thoughts on the subject. Major risk was in the offing but she wouldn't expose any one to the danger with out their willing consent.

"That will wait Mikkel" Her voice was gentle, but firm

"Are you with us to go look for Hans? He's one of us, and possibly left behind. I don't blame the Navy pilots for not waiting - he's not one of theirs...but he is OURS."

Her voice hardened "In or out Mikkel?"

She turned slightly to Aidyn and the look on her face was savagely pleased as she took in his ready agreement

Civilization had never quite taken with Kaylinde. She may have been the product of the highest technology about, raised in the lap of luxury with every ease. But she wore it as a mask, a facade, that in her tiredness and turmoil slipped away.

Mikkel was slightly shaken by Kaylinde's voice and it was several seconds before his mind started to work. He thought about it for several minutes before nodding.

"I'm in....though I don't know how much use I will be without my glasses."

"I'll rig something up. Have you still got the lenses?" said Thomas, slinging his rifle over his shoulder.

He was in, no question about it.

Mikkel shook his head.

"No lenses, no nothing. I lost them when I was tossed by an explosion....they'll still down there, the question is if they are intact or were they crushed under the foot of one of those bastards. My only other pair is in my locker...down there. I think the doctor on this ship has my prescription, maybe he could fix up a pair."

"Kaylinde? How long have we got?" asked Thomas. They couldn't have one blind soldier, they needed all the help they could get.

"We need to move now! This ship is going to jump for Argonia. We've got to do this as a hit and run - we get any left alive, or verify Hans's body, and get the hell out of there. Mikkel can handle ship security - anything coming in that doesn't call out the password - he can use a scatter gun on. That doesn't take precission aiming, and Mikkel you seem to see good enough for that."

Kaylinde glanced around the docking bay, noting the positions of the ships crew. They would have to move sharp to get past the crew and get the drop ship launched and headed toward planet.

'and theres always the chance they'll just turn us into a fall of star dust, or go off and leave us stranded...Wouldn't that look just perfect, the lot of us hitching passage to Argonia...How do I get me into these things?' [i]Most of her ignored that as she began running tactics in her head, and wishing she was better at it.

"Time to die so that others may live. Or at least be identified. Sign me up!" Mathias was thrilled that a rescue mission would actually get off the ground. As for corpral, he could care less, the only difference it made was to make him a better target. Still he would rather die than let a man be tortured by the enemy.

Mikkel nodded and looked around him for something. He spotted a large crate a few feet away. He walked over, opened it and saw several shapes inside. He pulled out an AS-12 shotgun; he leaned in and saw another two shotguns and several boxes of ammuntion.

He slung one of the shotguns over his shoulder and grabbed all of the boxes of shells inside the crate. He rammed them into all of his pockets and pulled out another shotgun before closing the crate and heading back to the group.

"Kaylinde, what should the password be?"

Tylas awoke in the medical bay looking up at a halogen surgical lamp, the harsh glare stinging his slit-pupiled eyes. His injured eye felt oddly cold, yet his vision was as clear as ever...

'Most likely a biotech replacement... Talen has something new to poke fun at...'

The Argonian marine reached somewhere to his left & located a shiny steel surgical pan. His reflection confirmed his fears. He now had only one organic eye. The replacement was a glazed over version of his original one, matching the scarred scales around his face in an odd sort of way.

Tylas' observation of his new eye was interrupted by a medic gently pulling the makeshift mirror out of his hands. The Argonian glared at the man slightly, but relinquished his grip & instead pulled himself into a sitting position. Talen appeared, nodding at his younger brother to follow him. Tylas complied, and soon they where back in the hangar.

Talen continued walking while Tylas stopped for a moment, somewhat stunned that Mikkel was looting a munitions crate...

"Indeed, what will the password be?"

(Kudos to Tanara for the following...)

“How about shit for brains?”

Growled a raspy voice that whirled every one of the eight around. None had observed the approach of the tall, scarred veteran that wore the imposing uniform of a Master Gunnery Sergeant. If he wasn’t all of 6’8” then he was nothing, and despite the fact that he looked as if his muscles had muscles he moved with the lithe, silent grace and power of a hunting tiger.

Every single one of the eight recognized him instantly. He was Syn's right-hand man, yet the two where almost always at odds over something or other. Master Gunnery Sergeant Hardcastle looked at the battered and bloody youngsters with a disappointed scowl on his handsome still, despite the scars, features...

“You snot nosed puppies think we're goin' to go an' leave a single, living or dead, marine behind?”

He flashed Kaylinde an aggrieved look as he snorted

“And I was the one that recommend you for that promotion, though you had some sense. Roper was a good marine, you'll do fine.”

His challenging stare swept across the others

“I recommended that you all not have to deal with this, you all are injured, your suit sensors relayed that clearly. And you are still wet behind the ears, no matter what you survived down there. Come with me."

He ordered and turned on his heel. He crossed the hanger bay without a backward look. The order was irresistible and even Aidyn and Mathais complied. He led them through the previously sealed portal between hangers. Three more drops ships crouched like waiting predators, as members of the Archangels carried body bags down the ramps, handling the heavy bags with careful respect.

The rows of bagged bodies was sobering. Members of the marine’s morgue unit moved along them, unsealing the bags and beginning the identification procedures. General Thorgrim stood to one side, the eight could not fail to recognize him either, though they had only seen him for a few moments at their formal reading of the orders that had sent them to the regiment he commanded. He and his staff stood at attention, honouring the fallen...

“The General will be writing, personally, a note to the family of every one of ours lost.” Hardcastle growled softly. “He doesn’t need to deal with eight, of the roughly two hundred survivors, needing to be court-martialed for desertion in time of war. That’s a mandatory death sentence”

They all wrenched their eyes away from the rows of the dead and looked at Hardcastle, shocked. They had’t considered that... Colonel Syn brushed past Tylas & Talen, the rear-most members of the group...

(End Tanara's Excellent Contribution..)

"Intel's just sent word of a newly-arrived Devilish ship in high orbit over Argonia... They're sayin' it's a genetic engineering vessel, which those sick techno-bastards use for prison ships, too. If your buddy's still alive, he'll be on it. If you want him back, I'll have to take a team over by dropship & board it. The General's probably not going to allow any rank & file jarheads to tag along, and without additional training I can't officially bring ya'll into my unit.

Hardcastle & I'll handle it. The rest of you should report to your bunks & catch some shut-eye before we hit Argonia. If Intel's right, you're gonna need it. The square-heads* have been hittin' 'em pretty hard. Local militia have put up a fight, but they're little match for those metallic bastards with their outdated weapons... While we're freein' your squaddie, I'll try to talk the General into transferring all of you into my unit & forming a new squad. Deal?"

As if on cue, two more of Syn's troops entered behind him, armed with some new toys, shoulder-fired laser weapons. The weapons resembled rocket launchers in appearance, with long barrels & rear-mounted energy cells. With a squeeze of the trigger, three prongs on the end of the weapon would quickly spin & further focus the laser beam more than the long lase-chamber barrels had previously done. After a brief two second delay the beam would be fully charged & focused, and ready to fire...

"Now for a tech preview so you jarheads won't be surpirsed when the instructors hand you some of the newest items in the armed forces. Those are R&D's newest ass-kickers, ADL MK1's*... They'll drop a square-head from a hundred yards out with a single shot, burn straight through the armor..."

The colonel then pulled a small metal cylinder about an inch in diameter & five inches in lenth, then swung it outward. The weapon extended to a length of seventeen inches & now resembled a police baton. Syn spun the weapon & the shaft crackled with blue arcs of kinetic energy...

"Since those lase-cannons are too big for close quarters, they've come up with these little butes... They're basically alumisteel collapseable batons fitted with kinetic enegry storage devices. Swing 'em a few times, then smack your target & it'll shatter like glass..."

Colonel Syn twisted the bottom cap on the baton & the shaft retracted with a flash of dispersing energy...

"Now get some sleep & I'll see what I can do..."

There was a slight pulling on everyone on the ship as the 'Steadfast' accelerated into hyperspace, bound for Argonia...

ADL MK1* = Anti-Devilish Laser Mark 1. Energy weapon capable of reliably penetrating Devilish composite alloy plating at ranges up to 100 yards. Overall length: 5 feet, ten inches. Overall weight: 12.3 pounds. Enegry Cell Capacity: Eight discharges. Laser Energy Range: 110-220 Kilo-watts. Typically paired with a kinetic enegry storing baton capable of denting & eventually shattering composite alloy plating after sufficient storage of kinetic energy has been accomplished. As of now, the set is only issued to the 'Archangels' special forces unit for field testing.

Square-Head* = Slang term for Devilish units. Devilish head sections are a square with an 'X' through the center. The left & right triangle portions are covers for visual sensors. The bottom triangle portion is a speaker grille. The top triangle portion is reinforced composite alloy plating that protects the CPU & AI. Devilish units are vulnerable to EMP, severe blunt force trama, or ballistic rounds placed in either of the visual sensor covers which penetrate to the CPU.

Hans studied the hologram carefully. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was about to be turned into one of those creatures, he'd have been quite impressed at the genome technology. Upon recieving the query from the robot, he replied,

"First off. I am not 3-3 Alpha. The name's Hans. Get it right. Second of all, who the hell is Collective 1-3 Omega? And last but not least, what the hell are you going to do about my injuries?"

Hans held up his arm, showing his wrist and fingers which was broken, although already set straight by that doc out in the field. He also pointed to the plasma wound on his thigh.

The small robot extened one of its tri-clawed hands, then sent a bolt of raw eletricity into Han's chest...

"Error: Organic 'Hans' is non-exsistant. Organic Detainee 1-3-3 Alpha is the designation of Organic Detainee 1-3-3 Alpha. Answer: Collective '1-3 Omega' is the AI cluster in control of this vessel. Collective '1-3 Omega' consists of three Collective-grade AI's mounted in individual Devilish cranial units that oversee all operations on this vessel. Decisions are analyzed, solutions determined, then voted on by each AI. Interesting Remark: Collective 1-3 Omega voted unanimously to integrate Orgainc 1-3-3 Alpha into Exo-Armored Combat Unit program..."

A faint cone of light played over Hans from between the triangular viewplates of the Devilish Interrogation unit's boxy 'head'...

"Answer: Wounds of Organic 1-3-3 Alpha are non-life threatening. Chance of Survivial: 93%. Repeat Query: Would Organic 1-3-3 Alpha wish to converse with Collective 1-3 Omega?"

OOC: Tarlachia, it's your choice to go through with the operation or be rescued by Colonel Syn's team.

Hans sighed as he listened to the drone's metallic voice rattle off the words that seemed so empty, as empty as death seemed. Oddly, death almost seemed a preferable option.

He slowly moved his eyes up to meet the drone's own scanning 'eyes'. He saw no hope in being rescued. Finally, with a defeated sigh, he spoke, "All right. I will comply..."

He rubbed his hand over the somewhat charred flesh on his chest. That's going to leave a scar... he thought to himself, looking back up to the robot, Not that it's likely that I'll even remember what's happened, once they're done...

So ummm...where are we?

So ummm...where are we?

OOC: The ship's currently heading towards Argonia, which will take a few days. In the meantime, the squad will start special forces training (which we won't bother roleplaying, for the most part it will cover the use of the new laser gun & the anti-material rifle which is now open for use.

Hans sighed as he listened to the drone's metallic voice rattle off the words that seemed so empty, as empty as death seemed. Oddly, death almost seemed a preferable option.

He slowly moved his eyes up to meet the drone's own scanning 'eyes'. He saw no hope in being rescued. Finally, with a defeated sigh, he spoke, "All right. I will comply..."

He rubbed his hand over the somewhat charred flesh on his chest. That's going to leave a scar... he thought to himself, looking back up to the robot, Not that it's likely that I'll even remember what's happened, once they're done...

The Interrogation unit stepped aside for a pair of Drone units to open & enter the cell. Locking onto Hans' bare arms with the same tri-clawed hands as the Interrogation unit, they roughly hauled Hans out of the cell & through a maze-like series of corridors made of nothing but bare metal.

The prisoner & his captors entered a small operating room, where Hans was immidiately thrown onto the operating table face down, restraints locking into place over his ankles and wrists. The surgical arms above the table came to life, small cutting blades & rotary saws whirring to life as the surgery began.

The flesh & muscle tissue covering Han's spine was cut open & pulled back, exposing the bare, bloody bone & nerve tissue along its entire length, up to the base of his skull, where a small inhibitor chip was implanted on the brain stem. Metallic plates where inserted, then form-fitted to the spine itself, preventing trama damage & providing a direct neural link between Hans' brain & his new augmentation. More plates where added, forming a metallic covering along the length of the spinal cord. The flesh was then tucked back under the plating & seared shut with a laser. In some thirty minutes, the surgery was over, and Hans now sported a stealthy means of protection. On neural command, the armor would spread from his spine plating across his body, ending with his head. While in that state, ballistic weaponry was nearly useless. His enchanced speed & strength would allow him to quickly close with & eliminate the enemy without giving them a chance to analyze him for any weaknesses. The restraints loosened, then vanished completely...

As the operation was underway, Hans closed his eyes, more from the effect of their work than from voluntary reaction. However, he managed to scream out in a last defiant act, "God rest your souls, for they'll not be lenient on you!"

The inhibitor clicked into place, effectively silencing him. The rest of the operation went smoothly, now that he was effectively under their control. Once the operation was done, they removed the constraints and allowed him to stand.

Cold eyes stared forward as he remained still. It almost looked like he had become an android of alien technology. His voice spoke but it no longer had personality tied into it.

"Organic 1-3-3 Alpha, reporting for duty."

The exoskeletal plates slid quickly outward and wrapped themselves around his entire body. His face became covered with a helmet-facemask of sorts, increasing his fearsome look tenfold.

OOC: The ship's currently heading towards Argonia, which will take a few days. In the meantime, the squad will start special forces training (which we won't bother roleplaying, for the most part it will cover the use of the new laser gun & the anti-material rifle which is now open for use.

ANyway I can get a general overveiw before jumping back in, or should I just drop teh RP here? I dont want to, but I have missed quite a bit.

Sasha Light

The ship was en route to Argonia, and meanwhile, the squad Sasha was tied to was being trained for Special Forces operations. At her own request, she remained tied to them, choosing not to transfer to another squadron.

They're all my friends. More then that, my family. I can't abandon them, I just can't! She thought to herself, laying face-up in her bunk one night, unable to sleep.

She herself was only receiving the very basic training in use of the new weapons. As a Medic, her role was such that it would be illogical to use such a large weapon. So, while the others were training extensively with the new toys, Sasha merely went over her small arms weapons training, improving her aim with both the S102 Psitol and SMG90 Sub-Machine Gun.

I wonder... Do the others dislike me now, cause I have to do less work then them? The thought popped into her head suddenly, causing her to worry her lower lip as she desperately tried to recall if such an emotion ran through the group. I hope they don't... Her ears twitched and swival, and she let out a sigh...


~~~~~~~~

Teris Stearns
Prior to 'Steadfasts' Leaving the System.

Teris Stearns stood alone in one of the sub-Communication rooms onboard the ship the "Steadfast." The room was darkened, one of the few sources of lights being Master Sergeant Stearns lit Cigar. Blue smoke rose lazily from the brown cylinder, the tip of it a dull orange color. The air vents in the room were sealed, and all of the monitoring equipment inside had been turned off, allowing him to work in private.

"Well, here goes." He pressed a button on the panel, and a highly encrypted electronic message was sent to a small reciever on the planet. The reciever would then bounce the message off a few orbiting sattalites, and then send it off to the designated contact spot, where the aliens would recieve the latest intel, including, among other things, specs on the newest weapon fresh from the boys at R&D, as well as the Steadfast's destination.

"This is too risky. I can't believe they wanted so much, all at once. Screw it." He shrugged went about deleting all records of a message being sent from this terminal, then turned around, wondering how long he could keep this up before his conscience kicked his ass, cause he made sure as hell no one else could ever find out his terrible secert. They'd kill me, on the spot. No trial by peers, no court marshal. Summary execution. Not a nice end to my life... Extingishing his Cigar, Teris allowed the room to air out, before leaving it, locking the door behind him. A sign on the door read 'Closed for Repairs.'

Jamming both hands into his pockets, he walked away down the hall. Moments later, the Steadfast made it's jump to Argonia.

Teris didn't doubt an ambush would be waiting for them there, but it was of no consenquence to him. He had an escape plan ready, so he would be out of harm's way...

ANyway I can get a general overveiw before jumping back in, or should I just drop teh RP here? I dont want to, but I have missed quite a bit.

((OOC: If you want, you can RP with Sasha, in her qaurters, for a bit? Or even Teris Stearns, who would also be in his quarters at this time. Remember, no one knows he's a spy, yet, and his cover story is at during the time of the attack, he was on the west end of the base, and fought bravely, although he was the sole survivor of the Marines there. Whatever you want, really. :D))

Davis walked through the halls of the ship, glad that the medical teams were able to patch up his leg. He actually enjoyed the SF training, he liked pushing himself, and had waved off many a medic when his leg started acting up. His stroll was relaxed, but still cockey. He heard the soft sigh of someone, and peaked into a room. It was Sasha, the catgirl medic from his last squad. She had asked to stick with the current unit, as was expected by most of the members.

He stuck his head into the room, then remeberd protocol. He knocked on the door, standing at attention. "Lt. Light, request permision to enter."

Aidyn was in an outer hall of a ship, one side of the hall lined by a special glass giving a view of the outside. Aidyn was leaning against the wall opposite the glass. He took a swig from the flask held in his hand.

He glanced up and down the hall to make sure no officers were taking a late night stroll. Since the command didn't allow the drinking of alcohol on the ship, he had to be careful with his flask of whiskey. He stared back out the glass into the space, which was empty but for the cluster of stars visible. He sipped his whiskey again.

Thoughts were passing through his mind, Hans, the marines, his past.

Gods, I got a lot of fixin up to do once this is over...If I make it by the time its over...27 years of being alive, and I got jack to show for it...

He glanced at chest, where Morgan's crucifix dangled. He chuckled. Wonder what the guys owuld do seein the Druid wearin' a cross...

Mathias could tell he wouldn't like Hardcastle. He had a problem with authority to begin with and this guy just pushed his buttons a little too much. If it came down to it, Hardcastle would be the one guy he wouldn't even bother saving in the heat of battle.

"Were deserting, you bastards are the ones deserting a man," he mumbles.

Kaylinde enjoyed the new training thoroughly. Her arm had healed rapidly and her body never complained about anything she asked it to do. Not so her brain...it persisted in running back over the near desertion she had led. She had nearly condemned her people to death by not thinking enough. She had been 'bad karma' again, and only outside intervention had saved them. Kaylinde was incredibly angry with herself and could not manage to shake the low level irritation. It did not hinder her ability to sleep when ever she wished, but it made for some uncomfortable dreaming.

Prowling the corridors, after exercising her body in to near exhaustion Kaylinde wrestled with her thoughts. The night shift with its dimmer lights and fewer people 'out and about' suited her just fine. Her feet came to a halt when she saw Aidyn ahead, his back to her. She couldn't tell what he was doing other than watching the stars. Kaylinde shook her head and continued on her way, her footfalls soundless on the ships non slip deck coating.

Special forces training, yes! Mathias could move unlike anyone he had ever met. His shoulder had healed and he could even support his weight with it. His legs burned very slightly telling him jokingly that he wasn't on the track team anymore. It would be up to him to monitor his health.


He was easily keeping pace with Kaylinde, and not leaving her in the dust mainly out of courtesy and to prevent cramps later on. It was dark in the ship and Mathias found that staring at one object for too long could make it seem to disappear. This was one of the skills he had, picking up small details and learning fast.

As they passed Aidyn he could tell he was disturbed, possibly reflecting, however he moved on. It would help Aidyn best if he taught himself to deal with his emotions by himself. There wouldn't always be soemone there to help him.

Mikkel sat alone in the mess hall, a new pair of glasses on his face, and a book in his hands. His wound on his forehead had healed over, though there was still a noticable scar on it. The new training was somewhat fun, but he had broken another pair of glasses before it was over. He turned the page and picked up a mug and sipped the cold coffee inside.

He liked being alone. Mikkel had never been close friends to anyone outside of his parents his whole life. He considered the squad he was with was just that, a squad. He knew he could trust them enough to cover him, and he knew he could cover them when the need arose.

Mikkel stopped reading when the light above him began to fade. Grumbling, he closed his book, took his mug and headed out of the mess hall; looking for another deserted spot for him to read.

Sasha blinked as she heard a knock at her door, followed by a voice, "Lieutenant Light, Permission to enter?" The voice requested, her mind raced to place a name and face to the voice.

David... "One moment, Corporal O'Conner." She swung her legs over her bunk, and slid off, her bare feet padding across the cold floor to her footlocker. If David had the gull to peek in at her, he would see that she was curerntly topless, wearing just a pair of clean, white men's boxers, her tail slipped though a small slit in the back. Like most Krowemohian females, she was petite, her bust no bigger then a B-cup, at best.

Quickly retriving a set of coveralls, she slips into them and buttons it up, then waks across to the door, opening it for him. She runs a hand through her short, sea green hair, brushing it out of her face. "May I help you, David?" She asked, her tail flicking back and forth slowly, calmly.

David missed the sight of a topless Lt. Light, but saw her straighten her clothes out. He nodded. "Sorry miss, I thought I heard you sigh. I was wondering if everything is ok?"

Sasha blinked slowly, then smiled warmly. "I did. Just, couldn't sleep. Is all. Thank you for your concern."

She leans her shoulder against the door jam, placing one hand on her hip. "I guess you can't sleep either, eh?"

David nodded, attempting not to look the cat girl over. "No ma'am, not really tired. The SF training is pretty hard, but its not wearing me out. Probably a side affect of the tubes," he said. He relaxed his stance, and offered a smile. "Well, its good to know your ok. If I may ask ma'am, why did you join up?"

Thomas was once again hunched over a piece of equipment in his bunkroom. He had opened up a small part of his helmet, and was modifying its wiring, a length of wire ran from the back of it. On the end of the wire was a small camera, with a strong clip attached, the idea was to clip it on to his weapon to allow firing from the hip as if he was firing from the shoulder. During training he'd found that he hadn't enough time to properly aim, and with such weapons as the anti-material rifle, you weren't going to go for the spray and pray method.

Modifying personal equipment wasn looked upon favourably, but what Thomas had done to the helmet wasn't very visible, and besides, if it gave him an edge, the Marines couldn't be that pissed off.

Thomas lifted the helmet onto his head. Facing forwards, he pointed the camera over his shoulder.

Sasha giggles softly, raising one hand to hold it over her mouth. "When we're off duty, please just call me Sasha, okay?" She flashes him a toothy grin, her two feline fangs visible.

Sighing and rubbing her bare shoulders with her arms, she speaks slowly, a far away look in her brown eyes. "Well, no matter how you look at it, I joined because I wanted to meet new people, make new friends, and help people." Her gaze lowers to the floor as she speaks, her tail slowing to a stand still, "It won't be long until Krowemoh is too, sucked into this war. I can only hope that the little help I can provide can make a difference in the end."

She sniffles, then wipes a stray tear from her eyes, forcing a smile. "Would you like to come in? I'm going to have some warmed milk in a bit, and wouldn't mind sharing a cup with you."

"Yes ma'am, I mean, Sash," he corrected himself. It was always difficult to get a Marine to not follow protocol.

He listened to her story and nodded. It was the same reason that most joined up. Adventure, meet new people, see the universe. Those were always the recruitment speals. He watched her brush away the tear. He felt sorry for her, but at the same time, had hope. Earth was one of the first planets pulled in, and then it spiraled out from there. "Who knows, maybe we'll be able to stop them before they get there," he said, optimisticaly.

He then nodded at her offer. "Sure, it would be my pleasure."

Mathias sat on his bed and thoroughly cleaned his weapon. He wasn't sure if it was paranoia or OCD but it was a curse all the same. He was getting used to his new weapon but they were pretty much all the same to him. He had been using them since he was a young man... Oh, wait, I still am. He thought.

As he pondered what SF would be like he wondered how in the hell he would shoot around corners. Then the thought him that a camera wired to his helmet would be perfect. Now who's the one that loves tinkerin' with shit?.....THOMAS!

He got up and headed for his room and asked for help with his little project.

As he was jogging there he passed David and Sasha. It was slightly suggestive having the two making small talk and somewhat ungodly hours but in all likelyness it was nothing...yet. As he continued he called softly so that only the two would here him, "Go get 'em boy!" And he continued to Thomas' room.

The camera showed Mathias enter the room, Thomas smiled.

"Hello Mathias, how are things?" he asked, without turning, as he pulled off his helmet and began screwing the plate back on.

Mathias smiled. "I was hoping you would help me outfit a camera on my weapon that we would wire to my helmet. It would be for shooting around corners and over things without exposing yourself."

"Okay, got you're helmet? I'll fix something up, just done the same to mine." Thomas rummaged in a small box pulling out a reel of wire and a small camera device out.

Mikkel stopped at a door, looked inside, and saw Mathais and Thomas talking together. He didn't know what it was about, so he continued on his way. He didn't feel like sleep, all he wanted to do was to find a place to read. Several minutes later, he found a lit hallway with a bench. A smile crossed his face and he sat down.

He drained the rest of the coffee and went back to reading.

Kaylinde had passed Aidyn, but decided to turn back. She started slightly to discover Mathais all but on her heels. That intensified her anger at herself. If she had been hunting back home and had been that wrapped up in her thoughts she would have been somethings dinner long ago. She definitely needed to clear her head. She nodded at Mathias as he passed her and headed back the way she came.

She didn't think that more time in the exercise room would help, her body was not the problem. Maybe she could find some place private and indulge in a round of primal scream therapy....

Sasha smiles brightly, stepping back to let David enter. Her quarters were much like the others on board this ship. A single, deceptively comfortable cot, with a large industerial gray footlocker at the foot of it, a small dresser with a vanity mirror set atop it sits aginst one of the walls. The mirror wasn't Marines Issued, as it was a round mirror plate set atop a Cat's paw. Definately Krowemohian made.

The walls of her room are bare. If Sasha had any other decorations besides the vanity mirror, she wasn't putting them up here. A light bar hung from the ceiling, and was currently dimmed, dark enough so that it wouldn't disturb her sleep, yet bright enough so she could see anything in her quarters.

Kneeling besides her footlocker, she pops it open and pulls out a small portable warming plate, and sets it on the ground, then digs around in the locker for a bit, eventually pulling out two bottles of spring water and some dehydrated milk packages.

"I only have the dehydrated stuff. You don't mind, right?" She asked David, showing him the package of poweder milk, before she sets to making it.

Aidyn finished his drink and turned on his heel to walk down the hall. He needed a place to just sit. They got to have a courtyard or somethin' in this ship, the big ones always do... He strolled quietly down the hall, the flask concealed under his jacket. He reached a fork in the hallway to find a map on the wall. His eyes canned back and forth quickly across the screen then set off down the right hall.

After a few minutes, he passed through a pair of doors to find a courtyard with high ceilings and a number of trees and bushes, benches seated in certain areas.

"Here we go," he muttered. The courtyard looked an indoor park from Earth, the grass, bushes, and trees laid out on ground that rose above the pathways crossing through the courtyard. Aidyn walked towards a bench then jumped on top of it to pull himself onto the scenic, grassy 'meadow' above the path. He walked onto a makeshift hill and dropped to the ground, laying on the grass, propped up on his elbows. There, now I can just relax for a bit...

Mathias tried on the helmet, it was perfect. "Thanks man," he said to Thomas. "Just for the record, is this leagal?"

David nodded. "It's better than the stuff they give us in the mess." He watched her dig through the chest, checking out her body as she dug. Damnit O'Connor, you cant think like that. Shes a superior officer, he thought to himself.

Smiling cutely, she doesn't seem to notice him checking her out, setting about mixing the powder with water. She brushing some strands of her hair behind her ear, as the clear water turns creamy white. Setting the cup on the plate warmer, she allows it a few moments to heat up to the right tempature.

Looking to David, she motions for him to sit down. Since she didn't seem to have any chairs, she was sitting on the floor, her legs folded underneath her, one hand planted on the ground. "Can I ask why you joined?" She asked, making light talk while the milk warmed, her chestnut colored eyes locking with his for a moment.

Tylas sat in his bare quarters, staring at the plated floor between his booted feet. Most of his equipment was species-specific, due to the unsusal proportions of his race. The S102 he'd been allowed to keep onboard the ship sat on the bunk next to him, loaded...

'I am no-longer a whole being... Makaal's humor is sick indeed...'

Mechanical replacements where never looked apon by the Argonian people with the acceptance that humans did. Tylas' brain raced with fears of dishonoring his family by allowing such an operation to be conducted on him. His clawed grip slowly closed around the handgun, then the barrel was slowly brought to his scaly temple... Tylas' right index finger slowly squeezed the trigger, his hand shook violently. He could not go through with it, as much as a disgrace as a replacement eye was to him, suicide was tenfold worse, a blight upon his own honor & that of his family. Talen had fought too hard for his honor, and Tylas would not soil it with his own blood.

The pistol slid from his grasp onto the floor with a dull thunk. Tylas slowly leaned backwards, resting his back against the metallic wall. Training was progressing well... Tomorrow was graduation. All of his squad had passed flawlessly, each had earned a new ranking, high up the NCO ladder. Talen had reached First Sargeant, for example. Tylas was now a Sargeant First Class. He was proud of the stripes, but felt his deceased brother deserved them more.

He would contine to fight on his behalf, to defend their homeworld. He would fight for their late father, mother, and sisters on the planet's surface. Tylas vowed to himself & Makaal that he would uphold the honor of his fallen brother & father. Argonia would not fall while there was still blood in his veins...

David accepted, and sat across from her. He accepted the glass of fake milk, and thought for a moment. "I dunno. Just felt that the whole college then job, then marriage, then kids, then death wasnt what I wanted. I kinda needed to see who I was, and like the recuirters say, can't do that better anywhere then in the Marines," he chuckled. "Guess I just needed some organization or something that wasn't there," he said, catching her eyes for a second.

The faint, dull thunk of metal clanking against bare metal caught Kaylinde's attention as she passed a partially opened door. Something, she knew not what exactly, raised the small downy hairs at the back of her neck. Ignoring that telltale had never proved prudent. Kaylinde stopped and moved to the door, noting that it was the room assigned to Tylas

"Tylas... is everything okay"

Her checks starting to turn a shade of rose, Sasha gazed into David's eyes for a long while, as if unable to look away. Suddenly she tears her head away, stammering as she speaks. "Uh... Y-y-yeah. Tomorrow is graduation from the Ess Eff training. I wonder what I'll wear..." She said, averting her gaze down.

DOH! Smooth move there, TurboLax. Stupid stupid stupid! Mentally, she scolded herself for using such a cheesy topic changer line, while outwardly, she giggles a bit absentmindedly, flashing a cute grin his way.

David chuckled. "I dunno. I'm thinking about the ever fashionable dress blues." He offered a smile back, and looked back into her eyes. Well, I've managed to dodge the bullet on getting court martialed this far, might as well go for the gold here, he thought to himself.

He grinned back, looking into her eyes. "Lieutenant, permission to speak freely?" he asked, not wanting to totally risk his carrer, but hoping not to kill the mood. He didn't wait for her to respond, but instead spoke. "If I may say, Lt. Light, I mean, Sasha, your, well, I mean," he had never had the problem of stutering before, "Shit, I'll just say it. Sasha, you are a great looking girl, one of the best I've seen, a real hotty. And that just came out wrong."

He stood, realizing he had spooken to rashly, and came to attention. "I appologize for my brashness liutenant, I'll take my leave now if you wish."

At first, Sasha seemed a bit confused by David's action, but once he stammered out 'great looking girl,' Sasha caught on quick, her cheeks burning a bright hue of crimson, "Th-thank you." She managed to say, purring softly whilest hiding her face behind the rim of her mug of warmed milk.

Abruptly, David stands, and comes to an attenation stance, "I appologize for my brashness lieutenant, I'll take my leave now if you wish." Sasha blinks quickly, then shakes her head.

"It's alright, you don't have to leave." She too stands, blinking. "I liked it." Her tail was frisking back and forth quickly, even though she was blushing immensely, she was smiling bright as ever. "I was never one for Protocol."

David smiled back, nodding. "Well, thats good. Don't quite need a court martial yet," he said, blushing slightly as well. His eyes qucikly caught sight of her swishing tail, then went back to her chestnut eyes. He was never a "cat person" growing up with two beagles, but he was pretty sure that the tail meant she did like it. He also heard something. He couldn't quite put his thumb on it, but it was still there. Almost a quiet, yet deep burbling noise, like a purr. He kept smiling, staring into her eyes, not quite sure where to take it from here.

((OOC: And this is where it gets ackward. ;) Oh, after this post, I g2g, kay?))


Sasha was probably more confused then David was about this whole sitauation. Due to her youth, and the fact that 90% of Krowemohian relationships are arranged by parents, she wasn't exactly ready to handle this kind of thing. "Well... Umh... I guess... Er... I should try to catch some shut eye. It was nice talking with you."

She shifts her weight, then takes a step back, to put some distance between herself and David, and then she felt a burning sensation on her foot. She realized what had hapened the instant her bare foot touched the hot warmer plate. A small yelp escaped her lips, and she instantly jerked her foot back up, which sent her off balance enough that she fell forward, right into David.

Now, on good days, Sasha can weight a little more then a double cheeseburger, so David easily caught her without any troubles, halting her downward progress. Sasha finds herself suddenly against him, both hands placed on his chest, his arms slightly around her. Yet, she finds that she doesn't want to pull herself away from him. She inhales deeply, breathing in his scent, then tilts her head back to look up at him, her lips pursed slightly. "David..."


((OOC: I'll be on later today. (It's past midnight here, so it's offically 'today.' lol) :D))

Mikkel put his book down, he had finally finished it. Getting slowly up from his bench, Mikkel turned down the barren hall and headed towards his room. He paused and decided to take a detour through the courtyard. He walked through slowly, everything reminding him of home.

He spotted a familiar figure on a small hill. Mikkel started walking towards the figure and noticed it was Aidyn.

"Hey Aidyn, what is going on?"

Aidyn jerked back to his senses. He had slowly begun to drift off as he sat alone on the hill. He glanced at who had addressed him. Mikkel? Man, everyone's awake...

"Nothin' much, just thinkin'...or closer to passin' out," said Aidyn. "I'm not used to things being so quiet as this..." He glanced at Mikkel's book.

"Any good?"

"I wouldn't go flashing it around too much, if you know what I mean." Thomas replied, "not exactly procedure."

Thomas had a thought, he knew he could trust Mathias.

"Hey, Mathias, I had a thought, do you know if they've cracked the Devilish's comm encryption yet?"

OOC: Waiting for WA to assign a mission for the enhanced Hans (evil grin)...

Mathias shrugged. "I haven't got a clue. If they have no ones told me." He thought about it for a moment and then asked, "Do you know how I could find out?" He hoped it would consider anything too drastic.

The faint, dull thunk of metal clanking against bare metal caught Kaylinde's attention as she passed a partially opened door. Something, she knew not what exactly, raised the small downy hairs at the back of her neck. Ignoring that telltale had never proved prudent. Kaylinde stopped and moved to the door, noting that it was the room assigned to Tylas

"Tylas... is everything okay"

The Argonian remained in a sitting position with his back resting against the bare wall, eyes closed...

"Yes, everything is fine... I was just thinking..."

He pauses mid-sentence, trying to sound friendly & amiable, yet coming off as more of an anti-social reptile, if one will pardon the pun. He made no attempt to move the handgun from its position on the floor...

"Do you find me cowardly?"

Tylas blurted out without thinking, his eyes opening & shifting in Kaylinde's direction. Acting quickly, he attempted to made the moment less tense...

"I am sorry to ask such a question... It was impolite to drag you into my personal troubles..."

The statement came off a bit different than it had in his mind, but there was nothing he could do to take it back now...

OOC: Waiting for WA to assign a mission for the enhanced Hans (evil grin)...

Hans, or EXO 11 Alpha, as he was now designated, dropped from high-orbit in a drop-pod, where combat-stimulants where being fed into his system to keep it at top performance, despite any harmful side effects.

The pod crashed down into a remote, swampy area with a spray of mud & murky water. The newly-reborn Hans stepped forth, unclothed minus the unusual plating on his spine. A UNSSC recon patrol was scouting up ahead, part of the planet's mandatory defense force. It consisted of two Argonians, three humans, and a Khajit cat-man. Devilish deployment pods would follow the pods of the EXO units after opposition had been cleared from the landing area. Three similar pods landed within close proximity to Hans', releasing three more EXO units, two humans & an Argonian, all former UNSSC POWs...

OOC: You take it from here Tarl. Feel free to control the other EXO units, they're your squad now.

"Do you find me cowardly?"

followed almost at once by...

"I am sorry to ask such a question... It was impolite to drag you into my personal troubles..."

Kaylinde stepped into the room and settled herself crosslegged on the floor next to the pistol that Tylas had let lie...With a soft chuff she shook her head emphatically

"Cowardly? No not at all. Getting knocked out, or so damaged that you can't fight, isn't cowardly. That just the breaks."

She hesitated a second then continued, her voice very soft, barely reaching his ears

"And I'm glad that someone is thinking. I keep not thinking things through enough and damned near getting us killed."

Absently she hefted his pistol, automatically checking the safety. It wasn't safed. Her eyes were sharp as she flicked the lever and locked eyes with him

"Oh don't tell me you were thinking...."

Mikkel sat next to Aidyn and handed him the book.

"Tony Hillerman's Skinwalkers, murder mystery set in the American Southwest Navajo Reservation. Very good story, you can read if you want to."

"You could always ask me." Came a male voice suddenly from the door to Thomas' qaurters. It was Master Sergeant Teris Stearns! He stepped into the room, noting their slightly modified helmets. "Soldier, let me see your helmet." He said to Mathias, who had little choice but to comply, handing it over.

Teris glanced over the hemet, "Good modding job. Wires are all in order, won't look like it'll interfere with the other equipment. Hmmm..." He hands the helmet back. "If anyone gives you flak for the mods, tell them Master Sergeant Stearns ordered you to do so." If I'm going to sell these kids out, the least I can do is spare them a chewing out from the Brass.

Craning his neck, Teris leans against the wall, "Why aren't you troopers in the sack yet? Tomorrow's Ess Eff (SF) Graduation."

Mathias wasn't sure if he could trust Stearns but he would deal with that later. "Bed? I'm a soldier, sleep is no longer an anotomical function for me," he offered jokingly as he stood up to leave. "As for the helmet, it broke, he was just fixing it." He had always been a farily good liar and his skills weren't about to fail him.

Stearns chuckles, "Sure it did." Smirking, he yawns and streches his arms, "Don't treat me like a bad guy. Just trying to cover your asses... Anyways, You two hit the sack. Consider that an order. If you can't sleep, then do two hundred push ups, that outta get ya tired enough to fall asleep." He himself didn't leave yet, watching the two Marines.

Mathias smiled a little and saluted half heartedly and walked off. "Sure thing Master Sergeant," he said with a tiny hint of sarcasm. "By the way," he said stopping for a moment. "Have they cracked the comm encryption?"

Teris Stearns regarded Mathias sternly for a moment, then shrugged. "Technically, I'm not suppose to say this, but... You never heard this, got it? The R&D Boys cracked the Devilish Comm Encryptions just a few weeks ago, and we expect the war to turn in our favor very soon." He nodded slowly. "Head Brass say that this war could be over in as little as ten years. With us as the victors."

Yawning again, Teris pushes himself off the wall, and heads for the doorgrasping Mathias' shoulder as he nears with one hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "Hopefully we'll all be alive and well when that day comes, eh?"

"Yeah, it'd be nice. But I'm not counting on it. Death is a thing I know longer fear. As for the encryptions," He turns to Thomas," There's your answer. But you never heard it." He leaves the room and heads to bed, having little intention to stay there.

Mikkel sat next to Aidyn and handed him the book.

"Tony Hillerman's Skinwalkers, murder mystery set in the American Southwest Navajo Reservation. Very good story, you can read if you want to."

Aidyn laughed. He pulled out his flask and took a quick swig.

"Shiiit...I don't even know what the hell a Navajo is, not from around the Blue planet," he said. "Where you from man, Earth?"

"Do you find me cowardly?"

followed almost at once by...

"I am sorry to ask such a question... It was impolite to drag you into my personal troubles..."

Kaylinde stepped into the room and settled herself crosslegged on the floor next to the pistol that Tylas had let lie...With a soft chuff she shook her head emphatically

"Cowardly? No not at all. Getting knocked out, or so damaged that you can't fight, isn't cowardly. That just the breaks."

She hesitated a second then continued, her voice very soft, barely reaching his ears

"And I'm glad that someone is thinking. I keep not thinking things through enough and damned near getting us killed."

Absently she hefted his pistol, automatically checking the safety. It wasn't safed. Her eyes were sharp as she flicked the lever and locked eyes with him

"Oh don't tell me you were thinking...."

Tylas' eyes avoided hers... He might have been better off pulling the trigger, there would be no use for explanations on his part...

"Suicide is unacceptable among my people..."

Was his only answer, repeating the fact in the half-hearted fashion of those who wish only to avoid follow-up questions...

'As are prosthetic eyes...'

His thoughts where different than his outward appearance. Tylas had never been a good liar, his defense was as transparent as the cockpit of a UNSSC fighter.

Hopelessness was an emotion the young Argonian had rarely expeirenced in his short life. While older than most other Marines, the average being 18-19, with Tylas barely clearing thirty-two, in the years of the Argonian people he was barely twenty. Unlike Kelas, he had no mate at home to mourn his death, only a mother & grandfather who supported his three sisters & Kelas' widow... He was sure word would have already reached home by now of his brother's passing...

Outside the room, Talen passed the half-open door, risking a quick glance as he moved past. He'd spent the past two hours in a combination of PT & weaponry drills. Now it was time for sleeping, so he would be fresh for his graduation tomorrow...

'Hmph... Tylas seems to have developed a fondness for softskinned females...'

As usual, Talen took most everything at face value, basing his opinions off what he himself would have done in a given situation. If there was a female in his quarters, he would be doing something other than speaking with her. Talen's manner had changed severely since that first battle... He'd become somewhat quiet & intense in his mannerisums. The code of emotional detatchment that was practiced among males of his age & status had fallen by the wayside. Anger, rage, lust, joy, all where expressed without any inhibition.

The older brother reached his quarters, then promptly threw himself into his bunk & drifted off into sleep filled with dreams of epic battles & hard-won victories. Death was now an old friend, he felt, and should no longer be feared. He'd stared it in the face once, he would do it again...

"Suicide is unacceptable among my people..."

"As are prosthetic eyes..."

"Good on their thoughts on suicide, hmmmmm on the other..." Kaylinde's voiced trailed off, then her chin went up

"To the Hells with being understanding of other cultures...I think thats stupid...and your eye can be fixed...a cloned eye from your own tissue..."

She went up on her knees, reaching a slender but strong hand up to stroke the fine scales about his eye.

"I'm saddened that your people aren't accepting of prosthetics, but you are more than any of your 'parts'...Do you see yourself as less than before?"

Kaylinde looked at him closely and answered her own question

"Yes I think you do."

Her voice was passionate

"Tylas, you are NOT less than before- I've seen you training..No one has had any criticism of you and you damn well know that if there was any question it would be spoken loud and clear....but only you can make youself believe that"

OOC: Hope you don't mind what I've got here...I think it'll do quite well to establish a sudden alarm amongst the UNSCC brass...

Hans peered into the landscape with cold, emotionless eyes. He turned his head slightly as his subordinate Exo's stepped up behind him, also fully nude, and like him, having exo augumentations on their spines. He raised his hand and flicked it forward as he watched a single light in the distance move across the ridge.

They moved out, and soon spread out upon his silent command. Mud and murky waters splashed softly under their footsteps. Soon, they came to the ridge and with swift movements, yet ever so silent, they dug their fingers and toes into the somewhat soft earth, and climbed vertically.

A voice called out above where Hans was climbing and he froze.

"Yo, Commander...you mind telling me what the hell those are?" a human voice called out. His arm was seen projecting over the ridge, pointing at the Exo's pods. Hans blinked his eyes, and instantly, the exo-skeleton platings wound themselves effortlessly around his entire body. He was covered in black plated armor, and his "helmet" slid over his face. Inside the mask, a screen lit up before his eyes, giving him a thermal scan view. The arm above was seen in a array of red, orange, and yellow hues against a darkened blue sky filled with shadows. He glanced to either side to see his squad having done the same thing with their exo suits. They themselves gave off a particular signature image, only visible to himself. To any other heat sensors, they would appear as normal humans.

An Argonian stepped next to the soldier on the ridge and peered into the murky scene below. He was heard cursing in his native language.

In Hans mind, his mission repeated itself, supported with small alien text on the heads up display in front of his right eye. Locate. Track. Eliminate.

"Contact HQ, Rogers. Tell them we've got some Devilish pods in the swamps at vector delta one-one-nine." the Argonian scout commander said to an unseen person behind him.

Rogers replied with a curt, "Yessir." and pulled his comms phone out, "Whiskey seventy-five, whiskey seventy-five, this is Recon Zeus reporting, come in. Over."

A few moments later, a static reply was heard, "Recon Zeus. Whiskey seventy-five here, we've got you loud and clear. What's up boys?"

"Sir, we've located four Devilish pods in the swamps at vect--"

The soldiers voice never finished his report as the Argonian EXO snapped his neck with ferocious force, enough to spin his entire head around on his spine. The face was caught in a look of surprise and pain.

The body slumped to the ground, the radio crackling, "Recon Zeus, something wrong? Recon Zeus, we seem to have lost connection with your unit, check your wirings. Over."

Several feet away from the the dead Rogers, the other five recon soldiers were fighting Hans and the other three EXOs that had seemed to spawn from hell itself.

Hans approached the Argonian commander, paying no heed to the bullets that bounced off the exo suit with no damage. The Argonian snarled and cursed at him in his native language. He withdrew a blade at his side with surprising speed and swung it toward the EXO leader.

The sheer sound of metal colliding into Hans outstretched hand was heard as he gripped it and wrenched it from the Argonian's hand. The same hand then bent the sword with the thumb and rapidly bent the steel blade into an L shape. Hardly a second later, he launched it sideways and heard it hit the Kajit cat-man, followed moments later by a screeching wail of pain. The Argonian EXO silenced the cat-man with a powerful kick to the face, snapping the head back and sending the jaw into the creature's brain. Blood and gore spilled out of his mouth as he lay upon the ground, dead.

The Argonian in front of Hans stared at the Argonian EXO in shock. How could one of his own people do this against them?! It was completely dishonorable to the Argonian's name and family! It was perhaps the worst dishonorable thing to commit: defecting to the enemy's cause!

Hans snapped his hand out and buried it into the Argonian's gut, wrenching upwards and taking hold of the Argonian's pounding heart. The tearing of ribs could be heard as he pulled ferociously and held it up to the Argonian's shock and dismay.

The Argonian commander collapsed backward, clawed hands clenching his torso in a feeble attempt to cease the extensive bleeding. His eyes were locked with Han's head, the light of life quickly dying in them. His last thoughts were mingled with his coughing of blood, What the hell is that?--

Hans turned away as the clawed hands loosened and slid partially down the torso. He turned to the other EXOs and down to the other dead scout soldiers.

The radio crackled behind Hans. He turned to it and crushed it with his foot. Electricity shot out from the equipment and the command's static voice ended abruptly. He reached down to the unit and pulled out a small sensor: the emergency beacon. He crushed it between his fingers with superhuman strength...

He stood and looked toward the others as his EXO plates disengaged and returned to his spine's sheathing. In an alien tongue he commanded,

"Talralk gondo."

The four EXO turned and walked toward the main road, barely distinguishable from the surrounding terrain. They scattered apart a bit, so as to not look so suspicious should any enemy come across them.

They had stuck quickly, and with deadly force...

"G'night," said Thomas as Mathias left the room after Stearns. He gave a little chuckle, as he stripped down for bed. If he could get hold of the encryptions, a translator could be a very useful little addition...

"Night, trooper." Teris said, checking the other area of the ships, coming to Lieutentant Light's quarters. Pressing his ear against the door, he overhears a commotion, followed by a voice whispering something he couldn't hear. Thumbing the open door button, the door slides open to a scene of the Medic in the arms of one of the Marines.

"Trooper... What in the name of all that is still holy are you doing?" Shaking his head, he let out a frustrated sigh, "Normally, I'd let you have a few minutes to finish up, but something big's happening tomorrow. Hit your own sack, that's an order."

Sasha herself hopped away from David, glancing away, her cheeks burning red hot.

"Lieutentant Light, I apologize for this interruption." Teris glanced towards David. "Trooper, you heard the order." He watched as David begrugdedly left Sasha's room, closing the door, then he grabbed David by the shoulder, "When ya get to your quarters, do three hundred push ups. That'll work out all that energy ya got." Teris nodded, then left to the last area he hasn't been to yet, the park.

Walking up the hill, Teris spies the two Marines, Aidyn and Mikkel. "Troopers, not sure if you're aware, but lights out were called several hours ago. Big day tomorrow. Hit the sacks, that's an order." He tilted his head at the book Mikkel was reading. "Hmmm. Good book. Great reading choice."


((OOC: Sorry, I kinda took it upon myself to get everyone to be ready to advance the plot... Hope no one minds. >_> ))

OOC: No problemo
IC:

Aidyn glanced at the officer. So why the hell ain't you in bed? He stood up and hopped down from the hill. He walked down the hall he had entered the courtyard from towards his quarters. He came to the doors, which slid open before him, revealing a number of bunks lined up against the wall. Pretty much every bunk had a marine in it.

Aidyn stepped next to his own, a top bunk, and pulled himself up after sliding his pistol under the pillow. He leaned back and slowly drifted asleep.



OOC: Yes, he sleeps with a gun under his pillow :p

Mikkel got up from the hill, gave a slight nod to Teris and headed back to his room. He sat on the bed for several minutes before lying down and going to sleep.

As Mathias lay in bed his night vision kicked in. It was a mutation but it was handy at times. Sitting there he was thinking the exact same thing Thomas was. They needed those encryptions. He got up and peered out into the darkness, there was no one.

He moved along the hallway until he reached Thomas' room and he whispered, "I don't know about you but I'm gettin' thos encryptions. If your in meet me with Mikkel, we'll need help."

He continued on to where he found Mikkel. "Hey, I need help with a little project, you in?"

Mikkel grumbled something and looked at Mathias looking into his room. Mikkel put his glasses back on and dressed. He rummaged through his footlocker and found his father's old Walther P38 automatic and a small attachable silencer, he didn't have any bullets, but it defintaly looked meancing. He held the weapon for several seconds, put it back into his locker and instead took a small stun gun. He walked over to Mathias.

"Expecting any trouble?"

Mathias shrugged, "Not likely, but possible. We need the encryptions for a translator. I believe Thomas would be the type of person who would know where they keep them, I however do not. The only problem we would encounter are guards, they can easily be distracted though. Thomas should be here soon. for now we should just sit tight."

"...for now we should just sit tight."

Thomas caught the last of the sentence as he gently pushed the door open, padding in silently. The two occupants tensed suddenly then relaxed when they recognised his face in the gloom.

"Ready to go?" he asked, adjusting a belt around his waist. Attached to it there were various pouches, containing gadgets that would be needed on a raid such as this.

Just as Mathias finished his scentance Thomas walked in. He spun around. "Yea, I'm redy to go. All I'd like to know is where we are going."

OOC: Its cool with me.
IC:

David was shaken back to his senses when Terris entered the room. "Uh, yeah, um..." he stuttered, caught in the situation. He snapped to attention. "Yes sir, ma'am goodnight." He quickly exited the room, and headed back to his room.

"The Archive, we could go to the Comms deck but there may be some not in agreement with our plans. It'll be locked up tight as hell, but we'll get around that." Thomas said patting one of his belt pouches and smiling, "Only thing is, getting there, the only way we can get in is through a service hatch, then I need you guys to keep an eye out while I find the right files and download them. It'll be a quick midnight stroll."

OOC: I'm thinking that the Archive is like a huge mainframe computer data-bank, like the place from Dan Brown's Digital Fortress. It's effectively the ship's brain, holding all it's memory banks.

((OOC: ... I'll have nothing to do with this. I did my part to try and help advance the plot. You guys want to go off on this little side excursion. Count me out for this one. Hopefully, WA will pull your IC asses out of the sling again, ALA the "Hey, let's steal a ship and go rescue Hans" plan. >_> I wash my hands of it.))

Teris nodded, himself returning to his quarters, turning in for the night...

OOC: Not that Hans misses anyone anymore :P I'd say he's getting quite...adjusted to his new role...

((OOC: ... I'll have nothing to do with this. I did my part to try and help advance the plot. You guys want to go off on this little side excursion. Count me out for this one. Hopefully, WA will pull your IC asses out of the sling again, ALA the "Hey, let's steal a ship and go rescue Hans" plan. >_> I wash my hands of it.))


ooc: well, WA is the only one that ever actually advances the plot. Your attempt didn't give us much room to work with. So after this little excursion we'll probabl just go to bed and wait for WA


Mathias thought about it for a moment. "Alright. If anyone runs into trouble just whistle or sumthin'. Thomas, lead the way."

OOC: Well, to help clarify, I would say that WA has given everyone their appropriate upgrade in rank for a reason. So that we're not so dependent on him being the sole engine of this thread, so to speak. If you're a leader, step up and show the way. Just try to imagine what WA would have done, and you should be all right. If there's anything that needs to be done, WA will take care of it when he gets the chance. Don't be afraid to add an idea within your RP or two.

For example, you might want to have someone overhear something about that missing patrol that hasn't responded it. That's usually bound to cause some stirs in Communications, and might even activate some of you to duty to go figure out what happened.

Tylas nodded...

"You have a point... I am still Tylas Kerrich..."

His tone becomes more light hearted & his mood shifting up a gear or so...

"Now Colonel Syn & I have something in common..."

He'd made an attempt to crack a joke, but his anatomy prevented him from smiling. A lack of lips made interaction with other races difficult in some instances...

On the Bridge...

"Colonel, there's no need to deploy your people to the surface just yet. The Devilish have only been throwing those genetic creatures at some outlying villages, the militia & marines are holding fine..."

A haunting message played over the comm system...

"Alpha One-Two to Steadfast... Patrols disappearing all over the marshes, no signs of square-head activity, but these things definitely aren't those genetic things they've been throwing at us so far. Injuries are brutal, ruptured organs, broken bones, disembowelment... *Crackle*"

A wet snap punctuated the end of the list of injuries, clearly a bad sign from the expression on Colonel Syn's face...

"Sir, we've lost the signal from Alpha One-Two..."

The comm officer reported, visibly shaken...

"Captain, somethin' broke his fuckin' neck..."

Captain Jared Ripley couldn't argue with the Colonel's statement... With the General headed back to Earth, Syn was the ranking Marine officer on board...

"Get your people ready, we'll dropship them in at 0600 tomorrow... I hope that new team you had transferred from the Sepulcher I detatchement is up to speed. I hate..."

Colonel Syn interrupted his superior...

"Don't give me that, sir... They're survivors, they adapt, improvise, and overcome like it says in the training programs. I'll stake my life on the claim that they're the finest group I've ever trained... Goodnight, sir..."

The Colonel executed a smart about-face, then walked off the bridge without saluting...

"Damn SF cowboys..."

Captain Ripley groaned as he settled back down into his chair, keying in a command for a dropship to be ready to go the following morning, then a command to the SF teams to report to the hangar bay at 0530...

David sighed. He was just startign to get to sleep when the comm came through that he needed to be ready to rock at 0530. He tried to get sleep, but it wasn't happening, he couldnt get the lieutenant off his mind. He had to clear his mind if they were going on a mission, considering she would probably be on the ground with him. He layed back on the hard cot, closing his eyes, waiting for his alarm to beep, awaking him at 0500.

ooc: Now that the SF are being deployed we should probably quite the little adventure for the encryptions.

As Mathias followed Thomas they passed by the bridge he heard that he would be deployed. He stopped Thomas. "These encryptions wont be much good if we die tommorow. I'll see you in the morning."

Kylinde stared at Tylas long and hard for a moment, clearly dubious, then her lips twitched in a grin and her eyes softened.

"Lets keep it at an eye being the only similarity..."

She broke off as the message of an Oh Six Hundred deployment came over the rooms comm

"Both of us need to catch some shut eye if we're hitting dirt that soon."

Flowing smoothly to her feet, she reached over and impudently twitched one finny ear

"No sleepy jarheads covering my rear!"

And before he could respond to the "attack" Kaylinde had bounded out the door. Moving fast she reached her bunking area quickly and in but minutes was soundly asleep.

(OOC - Yes he seems to be having a lot of fun...And it's going to be such fun to rescue the little monster and get him unmonstered - even if he doesn't thank us for it...:p )

"Sod." said Thomas, when Mathias spoke to him. "You're right, best to turn in. Seeya in the morning."

He began to follow Mathias, on his way back to his quarters.

Tylas nods in acceptance, unsure of what to make out of the ear-tweak gesture...

"I will, and thank you for speaking with me... You have my gratitude..."

Reassured of his abilities, the young Argonian set the pistol on his bedside footlocker, then dimmed the lights as Kaylinde exited the room...

'An interesting female...'

He mused fondly to himself as he attempted to get some sleep...

Mathias' eyes sprang open, no alarm necissary. He quickly glanced over at his clock. Ten minutes before Oh six hundred, right on timing. He rolled out of bed and dressed himself, today was a big day and he was rather nervous. He was soon armed and dressed, at which point he exited his room and headed for the ship that he would be transported on. He entered the hanger and glanced at his watch. Bingo, Oh six hundred right on the nose.

Aidyn swung around on his bunk, his legs dangling off the edge. He yawned then jumped to the deck. He quickly dressed in his uniform, then grabbed a battlesuit. After getting geared and ready, he reached under his pillow and grabbed the pistol.

He headed out of his quarters and turned to see other marines began to wake up. "Rise and shine, or the Sarge will come down ya," said Aidyn. He then turned on his heel and marched towards the transport-boarding area. He walked into the main hall and nearly walked straight into Mathias.

"Woah, mornin' man," said Aidyn, still trying to fully awaken. "Ready for another days work?" He asked, trying to lighten the usual tension before moving into the hell commonly known as war.

David was up and ready to go at 0545. He walked into the landing bay, armed with the MG09 Machine Gun, and armored up. He didn't look tired, despite his only four hours of sleep, and in fact looked more up to it. He nodded to Mathias and Aidyn as he walked in. "Mornin' gents."

At 0540 Thomas had awoken, he spent two minutes washing, then the rest until 0555 on preparing his kit, making it sure it was all there, in working order, then doubling checking it.

He turned up ready to go, bareheaded with his helmet attached to his belt. Greeting the other's in his unit. He was shaking slightly, he still didn't want to go back into the fight, but training had somewhat taken away his fear. He seemed to begin to understand his father.

However, he couldn't still couldn't manage a smile in reply to the more cheery greetings.

Mikkel slowly woke up and got dressed. He collected his rifle, pistol and other gear before heading to meet everyone else.

Talen had been in the hangar since around five o'clock... The new matte-black battlesuit issued to SF soldiers fitted him well, with an ADL laser balanced on his right shoulder. One of the SMG90's was attatched to his right hip, below the ever-present S102, next to which was the kinetic energy baton...

"Your replacement gear is over there... I'd swap out before the Colonel gets here. Reports confirm that the standard 6.8mm has a hard time punching through the Devilish armor plating unless you're aiming for the view-screens... 5.7mm didn't have too much trouble, though... With a tight grouping you'll drop 'em in no-time..."

The Argonian First Sargeant gestured to a series of personalized equipment transport lockers... Each contained an ADL, battlesuit, baton, and SMG90, along with ammunition for each. Tylas swapped out his armor & rifle for the new gear, feeling a bit more secure in his full-body armor than in the plated fatigues he'd worn before. The weight of the ADL was nothing new, they'd trained with them during the trip over to Argonia. It took a second or two to charge, but would put a hole cleanly through an inch of Devilish plating. It was basically a scaled-down version of the ship-based weapons the UNSSC had been using for years...

ooc: Was that directed at everybody? I'll assume it was.

Mathias went over to his transport locker and geared-up. He adjusted his helmet and realised he hadn't made his modifications compatable with his new gear. He would have to talk to Thomas about that on the ship. For the meantime he tried to get himself ready for the upcoming mission.

Aidyn stepped near a transport locker and grabbed his new gear. He put on the new battlesuit as quick he could then grabbed his new weapons, though holstering his old pistol.

"Well, let's hope these things work as well in combat as they did in training..."

Sasha sat on a nearby crate, watching the other soldiers. Like Talen, she had arrived early, already changed into the black SF armor. Unlike the other soldiers, she didn't pack an ADL. Hung from her waist was an SMG90, situatated directly across from her silenced S102 Pistol, with several spare clips for both in nearby reach.

The helmet she wore bore the red Medic Cross on white background, as did the white armband she wore.

She twirled the baton in her hand, humming to herself as the rest of the soldiers gathered. Once the Colonel came down, she'd fall in line with the rest of the troopers, but until then, she remained behind and to Talen's left.

OOC: I got net back! Wheeeeeeeee!
************

Kaylinde bounced into the assembly room feeling better than she had in days. She was humming under her breath as she glanced around and took in the sight of her Argonian teammates and others in the custom fitted matte black armour

"Oh mine eyes have seen the coming of the Zord, they're escaping from the basement where the anime is stored...GOOD MORNING BOYS AND GIRLS!"

She called out exuberantly as she saw the locker with her name stenciled on it and trotted over to it.

"Are we ready to kill something this fine morning?"

Throwing the top open she grinned down at the battlesuit awaiting her. She quickly shucked down to undershirt and shorts then began armoring up. Once Kaylinde had the battlesuit in place and properly seated she launched herself into a forward shoulder roll, modified to deal with the ADL. She came to her feet with a grin.

"Not badly done, nothing pinches and I can still move.."

Kaylinde finished settleing her weapons in place and began inspecting the rest of the team. She might be a brand new Gunny but she intended to do the job properly. She started with Lt. Light, nodding approval at the weapons Sasha carried.

"You comfortable with those El Tee? That armor fit okay?"

She was concerned about Sasha's long and limber tail. Having the armor pinch it would be no fund she was sure.

They boarded the ship and Mathias took a seat with the others. He laid back an focused only on the task that lay before him. The ride there felt like an eternity as he got himself ready to die, after all, thats all that this was. He was trained and prepared for only one thing, death. He soon shook himself out of it, he couldn't be thinking like that at a time like this, he was fighting for a cause much larger than he was.

Mikkel was not getting use to the new armor. He had taken it off and put it back on several times before it finally seemed to go on right. He checked his weapons, all were clean, loaded, and safties on.

"I feel like I am inside a garbage can."

Mikkel prefered the old armor, and wanted to have his rifle. He liked the ADL, but thought it was impractical fighting against large numbers. He did one last check of his gear before leaning against the wall, thinking over what was to come. He looked around at the squad.

"Anyone got a smoke?"

They where soon joined by Syn, Hardcastle, Talen, and Tylas... A second dropship was beginning to leave the bay, laden with more special forces soldiers. The Marines where due to drop in an hour later, bringing the destructive toys that made their job so much fun...

"We're dropping into the UNSSC forward base outside of the capital city. After linking up with the rest of our unit, First Sargeant Kerrich will take three of you on a patrol to the north. I'll take on to the east, with Hardcastle covering the west. Argonian militia & our own Marines will handle the defensive duties while we're out kicking ass... Is that clear, people?

Okay, squad assignments... With Kerrich: Lt. Lightpaw, SSG Mikkel, SFC Aidyn... With me: SFC Kerrich, SFC Kaylinde, SSG Mathias... Finally, going with Hardcastle: SFC David, SGT Maylin, SSG Johnson. All that crystal-clear people?"

Aidyn looked up at his name. Lightpaw and Mikkel? He glanced at the two marines.

"Alright, let's get some!" Aidyn cocked his rifle. "Two hundred bucks to the one who gets the most?"

He looked from Mikkel to Lightpaw.

Kaylinde nodded to herself as she listened to Colonel Syns orders. She flashed a quick smile in Tylas's direction. He seemed over his funk of last night. The Argonian would be welcome at her side, not the least becasue he was a native of the planet below. That made him the expert on their team. Looking over at Mathias, she frowned slightly - he didn't seem to be listening to the briefing. Hopefully that wasn't a bad sign.

She also still had doubts about Colonel Syn. His ego could be a greater danger than enemy activity. She had a healthy ego, would openly admit to it, but his made hers look underdeveloped. She hoped to the depths of the seventh hell she didn't have to watch that as well for the Devilish.

Mikkel smiled at his squad assignment. It seemed like a solid group and Mikkel knew he could count on them. He hoped that he could be counted on when the time came. He glanced over at Aidyn.

"I ain't a beating man. Besides, don't have two hundred bucks. I send most if not all of my paycheck home to my folks. I only have twenty bucks on me."

He looked over at Sasha.

"What bout you Lieutenant?

OOC: For those of you who know me...I'm in that dangerous mood now *evil grin*

IC:
The sound of cracking bone could be heard penetrating the silence. The body slumped to the ground. A second later, four shadowy figures darted past in silence. Seconds later, another body kissed the cold unforgiving terrain. The gun was picked up and snapped in half and tossed aside, slightly in view. The body was shoved to the side of the path.

Each member of the EXO team moved with deadly silence toward their objectives. They had been designated by Hans as follows:

Both Argonians EXOs were AEXO 1 and AEXO 2. The three human EXOs were designated as HEXOs 1, 2, and 3. The Kadjit feline EXO was simply KEXO. ((OOC: Easier for me to know them apart for future use))

AEXO 1 and 2 moved stealthily to the sentry towers and quickly neutralized the guards stationed there...

HEXOs 1 and 2 moved to the armory...

HEXO 3 and KEXO moved toward the main compound with Alpha (Hans). Hans swiped the security card found on one of the patrols into the unit and the door slid open with a slight hiss. Alpha pointed in both directions to the left and right. The other two EXOs complied and made their way down the three directional halls. Alpha moved forward, and assumed a "beaten-down soldier" look about him.

"Hey! You ok?" asked a soldier who appeared around a corner, startled by the nude man that walked toward him. His eyes looked at Hans. Hans looked back, and blinked. He spoke softly.

"I need help...we were ambushed..."

"Damn...let me give you a hand then..." offered the soldier as he lowered the gun and stepped forward. He pulled off his military fatigues jacket and handed it to Hans. Hans accepted the offer, careful to cover the small plates that lined his spine. He allowed his arm to be wrapped around the man's neck. "What's your name?"

"Ricardo. You?"

"I...I can't remember."

"Shit man...you're lucky you're alive. Those damn Devilish can be rather tenacious in their missions."

"I guess so. Where are we going?" Hans replied flatly, taking note of which corners were being taken.

"Gonna see the commander...he'll want to know immediately what's happened out there...been getting reports of some patrols disappearing around here. Got the whole base in a bit of a tension."

Hans thought quickly, "I was in one of those patrols. Out by the swamps..."
During this, he methodically clicked off mentally his mission. Right about now, the EXOs assigned to the armory would have neutralized the guards there. So far, no alarm had been raised, which meant only one thing.

The mission was succeeding...

A door slid open and Ricardo called out. "Sir...got some guy here...claims to have been from one of the patrols by the swamps."

From a small radio, the song "Enter Sandman" was playing on low volume. The commander stood and approached, "You from the swamp patrol boy?" Hans nodded. "Well, tell me what happened. We lost contact with you all. We're convinced some attack occurred. Glad to know you're all right...what about the rest of your squad?"

Hans shook his head negatively, "Dead."

The commander sighed. He hated having to write out the death certificates.

Just then, the alarms blared... The commander spun about quickly and approached the comms unit, "What's going on?" he demanded, linking directly to the security station. "Sir, we--"*static*

The commander stared with a pale look at the screen as he frantically worked to secure a visual of the other room within the panel. Finally, an image locked in. Just then a fearsome creature stepped into view and bullets could be seen richocheting off the plated armor.

"What the hell?!" the commander cried as he spun, picking up his pistol from a desk. He started to speak, "Fucking attack on the ba--"

He never finished what he was saying as he came face to face with Alpha, fully in plate armor and glaring down at him.

A hand shot forth and gripped the man's head and crushed it swiftly. The body slumped down to the ground and the hand released the pistol. The dead eyes stared openly at Ricardo's dead form in the corner. Alpha departed the room a moment later...

Ten minutes later...

All EXOs approached from different directions, perfectly unharmed, and still in their armor. Blood was splattered across their armor, the blood of their victims.

Alpha looked at each of them and nodded. Each nodded in return. They turned and disappeared into the wild, leaving the base behind...

Suddenly explosions rocked the area as they tore apart the entire base. Bombs destroyed the entire infrastructure, and demolishing the entire base into a large smoldering heap of flames and debris. Thick black clouds roiled upwards angrily into the sky, a clear declaration of the numerous deaths that had occurred within the last half hour...

Her armor was specially made, to acommadate her tail just fine. Nodding to Keylinde, Sasha flashes the other woman a thumbs up. "Armor fits like a glove. Nice and comfy and safe."

She filed into line as Colonel Syn came out, and read off the duty roster. She tilts her head towards Aidyn and Mikkel, especally to Aidyn, as he offered up a bet. "Two hundred bucks to the one who gets the most?"

To which Mikkel replied with "I ain't a betting man. Besides, don't have two hundred bucks. I send most if not all of my paycheck home to my folks. I only have twenty bucks on me."

He looked over at Sasha. "What bout you Lieutenant?

Shrugging, Sasha stashed her Baton in its holster at her waist. "I got that, yeah. But... I'm the medic." She points to the armband, "'Sides, I don't think I'll get many kills," She smirked at her two partners, "Cause I'll be too busy saving you two." She stuck out her tongue, playfully winking.

Her and the rest of the Marines boarded the dropship. They were going down...

I get to hang out with my old buddy, Syn. Could my day get any better? Oh, wait, it could! Mathias was in a bad mood and being assigned to someone he couldn't stand didn't help. It was an hour until the mission was schedualed to begin which gave him and hour and three seconds before he deliberated whether or not to blow his own brains out.

Mathias was waiting for the man with the ego bigger than he was to stop talking. He wasn't really listening but he got the gist of it. He noticed that Kaylinde saw him tuning Syn out. Either way he could care less. He wasn't all that concerned about what she thought of him. Other's opinion's never had concerned him before and they weren't about to now.

'Oh great' was Kaylindes mental comment as she watched Mathias sink further into what ever state he was in. Now she had to deal with more than just Colonel Ego, but Sargent Don't- give- a- Shit as well. 'Just friggin wonderful' She didn't have any idea of what had happened to cause Mathias's attitude, and it bothered her to discover she cared. It could easily get him killed and that she did not want....though a part of herself, old and well established wqarned her that her careing was going to not only get herself hurt, but others killed. It always had in the past.

'Just remember you are bad karma' she warned herself as she settled in to a sling seat next to Tylas. She had recieved a thumbs up from Sasha on the armor and that was reassureing. The team the medic was with was a good one - Aidyn and Mikkel were chaffering with each other, making bets about the upcoming out come. That spoke well of their mental state.

She smiled at Tylas and made her own quip

"Wake me when the war is over" And was instantly asleep. As any soldier knows you get all the sleep you can, when ever you can.

OOC: Tarlachia you are not the only one in a mood...lucky you you get to indulge it....

Tylas nodded...

"Indeed..."

The ship fell silent as it slowly dropped from the artificial gravity of the 'Steadfast' into the cold vaccum of space. Boosters flared to life, sending the small craft speeding towards the green jewel designated Argonia by the UNSSC. Ten minutes later the dropship touched down outside the forward base, with Colonel Syn shouting at the top of his lungs for everyone to move. Sargeant Major Hardcastle joined him, reinforcing the wish everyone had that Sargeant Roper had survived that first engagement...

"Alright people, take your squads & move along the designated patrol routes... Holler if you encounter anything & the other teams will do their best to get to you..."

Talen's group moved off away from the main group, then Syn's team split from the pack. Hardcastle's crew moved off last of all...

OOC: Imitora, feel free to control the members of your team, since we didn't have enough players to make three full squads, I added a pair of faceless SF grunts for Tarl's slaughtering pleasure.

Alright, easy shit, patrol...Let's hope there's somethin' left out here for me..

"So guys," Aidyn said as he walked along the overgrown patrol route. "Here any of those interesting rumours floating around? I hear there are entire patrols gone missin' out here, somethin' new sent out by the Devilish."

He cocked his rifle. "'Course, new or not, they all die the same...One in the head, two in the chest..."

Mikkel's eyes scanned the foliage as the patrol moved through the dense brush. He checked his sub-gun and held it tightly. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Aidyn.

"No...no I haven't. But, I suggest that we don't get to cocky. Take it in strides and see what we are up against. Sound cool?"

Kaylinde was content to let Tylas take point. This was his homeworld, thus making him the expert. She'd take rear guard. Mathias was acting too indiferent to entrust him to anything but the middle. His self absorption would be less dangerous there, even if it put him in closer contact with Colonel Syn. Kaylinde was pretty well decided that Mathais really, truely didn't like Syn. She was also decided that Mathais needed to get over it and get back to soldiering, or he'd get them all killed. And she damn well wasn't going to allow that to happen

ooc: hope you dont mind me advancing the plot.

Mathias got middle. Oh well, at least I have a clear shot at Syn's nuts if need be. The squad continued along the route and soon the sun was high in the sky.

They were in a heavily vegetated area and vision was obscured. Mathias, even with his special eyes could only see ten feet ahead of him. Soon he saw movement in the trees. He pulled Tylas out of the way as three rounds passed by his head.

They were lying down in the dirt, in a small depression and the supressive fire failed to let up. Mathias was good with his new weapon and he dropped three hostiles. He informed the others in the squad with 'tango down' repeated three times. However, it was of little help because no one could know how many of them were out there.

In an attack too well timed to be human, seven Devilish Grunt units hit each patrol at the same time... More could be heard chittering in the dense underbrush...

Talen's Team

Talen, who had point in his patrol, was stabbed deeply in the chest by a Grunt unit as it launched itself from the jungle trees. 5.7mm rounds shredded the viewplates & speaker grille of the small bipedal robot as he fired his back-up SMG, the larger ADL knocked from his grasp...

"Fall back to staging area... There's too many..."

Blood was leaking from three puncture wounds that had penetrated his armor. Devilish Grunt claws where razor-edged, supplemented further by vibration generators at the base of each...

"First Sargeant Kerrich to all patrols... Looks like they're starting a major offensive. I'm hit..."

The Argonian dropped to a knee, securing the SMG90 again at his hip, and bringing the ADL to bear, blasting a clean hole through another incoming Grunt unit. The unit was inactive, but still deadly at its speed. Claws extended, it hit Talen in the lower torso, stabbing deeply. He groaned as he tugged the claws out of his armored suit...

"MEDIC! Argh..!"

Colonel Syn's Team

Tylas was a bit more lucky than his brother, and was able to sidestep the incoming Grunt unit... The second he blew the head off of with his slower-firing ADL...

"Sir, the others have been hit as well..."

Syn was too busy to respond, trying to hit a Devilish advancing his way by leaping from tree to tree. Finally, it pounced, catching the Colonel across the throat with its claws. Syn died clutching at his neck, trying to bark out a final order...

"Fallback..."

Tylas nodded...

"Let's go..."

Kaylinde's SMG90 scored glancing only hits on the Devilish charging her, it's erratic leaps throwing her aim off. It scored deeply along the arm that had taken injuries back in their first encounter with the Devilish. It leapt away, turning back for a second attack run, but by then her ADL was charged and waiting. The Devilish didn't survive the perfectly targeted blast.

She whirled back toward the rest of the patrol, her eyes narrowing as she watched Colonel Syn die, his throat torn away. But he had managed to slay his killer, the Devilish corpse draped across his body- the Colonel's ADL having blown a respectable hole completely through it.

"Fallback..." Syn managed to gasp as his life faded

"Lets Go" Tylas nodded and turned back the way they'd come.

Kaylinde didn't have time to respond. The Devilish first wave had been wiped, with Mathias taking down three, Tylas two, Kaylinde and the Colonel one each. However there were more coming and Kaylinde was useing her SMG to sweep them.

"Mathias, up and moving! Hells Take it! MOVE!"

Sasha's Team

Sasha's tilted her head at the two. "Merow... I got a bad feeling." She said with feline ears twitching, her eyes darting from one side to the other as they pushed their way through the dense foilage. Something moved off to her right, and a Devilish Grunt came flying out at her like a projectile with claws poised to strike. By pure cat-like reflexes alone, she managed to fall backwards onto her rump just as it passed her, yet she did not escape completely unscathed.

Orginally aiming for her throat, when it saw it missed her, the Grunt twisted it's body and raked it's claws across her chest, searing her armor and leaving some gashes. She cursed through gritted teeth as other Devlish units began their ambush on her squadmates.

It was like they knew exactly where they were going to be...

~~~~~~~~

Teris Stearns

The Communication officers Stearns monitored the comm systems from the safety of the staging area. The Devilish had begun their ambush. Soon, they would swarm this area just before the squads got back.

"Sir...? I'm picking up a weird transmission." A private at his side said abruptly.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It's weird. It's transmitting something from inside the base to somewhere... In the jungles? I'm reading here... The comm transmissions, and current GPS locator tracking information for all the away troops..." The private double checked the instruments in front of him to make sure he was correct, which he was.

"It's probably a relay for the benefit of the local militia, to help them co-ordinate more effectively with our own units." A pure lie, of course. But the private didn't know any better.

"That makes sense. They're so underdeveloped, that must be why I'm not getting a reply signal."

"Yup. Damn backwater planets. Just ignore it. Don't even bother mentioning it to the brass. They don't like to know how their machine is running beyond 'everything's going as panned.'"

The private chuckled, "I hear that. Alright. Thanks for explaining that."


((OOC: Basically, Teris Stearns is not only broadcasting everything your characters say over the comms, but also the tracking information for the GPS locator attached to your suits/helemts, meaning they more or less know exactly where everyone is. Just to help make it a tad bit harder for everyone. :D))

"...Move!"

Mathias didn't have to wait to be told again. He was out of the dirt and following the rest of his squad into denser coverage. Fision was almost at nothing and Mathias continually stumbled. He hadn't realized Syn had died until he glanced back over his shoulder.

It was funny that once you have lost something, you can't find it within yourself to hate it anymore. Mathias almost felt bad for the man, giving his life for him men. Still there was little he could do now. It would be best to press on.

They ran for several more minutes and Mathias had scratches all down his legs from branches and thorns and whenever he looked back there was always a sillouhette chasing him from far behind.

He looked back one final time and saw it only for a split second, it seemed to be a streak of smoke followed by a pain. One he had felt before, only once though. It was the pain of a bullet, like a hot iron being driven into his leg. He fell and glanced at the wound. It had narrowly missed a tendon. He was lucky, he would recover if his team had hear his muffled cry of pain.

The Exo subordinates had taken up their positions as they heard the gunfire in the distance. Each hid expertly in the bushes, waiting, much like a predator would.

Hans himself, completely covered in his exo armor remained in the middle of the path. He waited, completely still, his visual scans detailing everything that happened in the distance.

They were coming closer...

Suddenly, Mathias came running out of the bushes, and ran smack into Hans. The dull sound of flesh smacking into the immovable body of the EXO was magnified in Han's hearing and he picked up the man swiftly by the neck. Just then, the rest of the group traveling away from the Grunt ambush arrived and beheld the new enemy that stood before them...

Hans turned his head slightly to analyze the new arrivals. He turned back to Mathias and gripped his exoskeletoned hand tighter around the man's throat...

Kaylinde was still rear guard as she and her survving patrol mates pounded back the way they had come. There were plenty of targets to go around, and all of three of them seemed to be wounded to one degree or another.

A Devilish leapt on her from behind, over balancing her, but it's vibro claws did not strike square enough and did not penetrate her armor. She managed to throw it off her and make it to her feeet in time to blow it away as it came back for round two. Kaylinde had lost sight of both Tylas and Mathias by the time the dust had cleared, but her enhanced hearing heard a cry of pain from her right

Sprinting she headed in that direction - it had to be a fellow marine, the enemy was mute as far as she could tell. She broke into a clearing, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of of Mathias in the hands of a Devilish.

Without slowing Kaylinde dropped her SMG , and flung herself to the side, turning the fall into a compact roll. Her right hand flashed to the holster at her hip as she came up on one knee. A SMG was not accurate enough, but the pistol that she came up with was.

The world slowed, her pulse no longer thundering in her ears... her target locked in with crystal clarity...all her senses focused on the strange Devilish that was holding Mathias aloft by the throat. The under arm area, the armor might be weaker there...and she caressed the trigger, intimately familiar with its break point..crisp and clean and perfect...the round leaving the 4 inch barrel and boreing toward its target ....

The bullet screamed toward the EXO leader, and hit its target true to aim. Yet, the unexpected happened. The bullet deflected off and flew into nearby bushes. Such was the strength of such exoskeletal armor.

Hans turned to the female and growled quietly. She could see that this was a new breed of Devilish, a construction of flesh and technology that comangulated into the perfect killing machine.

He turned back to Mathias in his grip and roared, his voice deep and much like that of a predator creature. With sudden swift moves, he threw the helpless man powerfully into a nearby tree. He moved toward Kaylinde instantly taking grip of the pistol in her hand and literally crushing it under his powerful fingers. A powerful kick was delivered to her torso, also sending her away into the foliage.

The other EXOs moved through their hiding places, quickly surrounding the group. Yet, they moved out of sight, still waiting for their command...

Kaylinde managed to get her hand off of the pistol as the powerful new Devilsih creature crushed the pistol with appaling ease. It was fast too, as fast as her enhanced reflexes, and when it kicked her she was unable to block the blow. However her own armor, while not of the caliber of this foes, protected her from the majority of the blunt trauma.

She went with it, letting her body relax as it flew through the air. Then Kaylinde was rolling and coming to her feet undaunted. The growl rumbling low in her throat may not have been as loud as the Devilish's but was as primal. Civilisation had never been more than a facade upon her... Her movements were swift and sure as she closed with the Devilish.

OOC: What exactly is Kaylinde again? A cat derivative?

OOC: Kaylinde (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=8004387&postcount=24)

Genetically engineered human - definitely not your run of the mill normal/average human

Mikkel fired his weapon at the charging Devilish, he managed to dodge much of the attack of one, but the momentum of the massive enemy grunt knocked away some of his arm armor. Mikkel hurtled several grenades into the surrounding area, one lodged itself between a large branch and the tree it was attached too.

When it exploded, the branch fell and smashed across the head of another Devilish, stunning it long enough for Mikkel to aim his ADL and blow its head off. Hearing Talen's call, Mikkel ran to the Argonian. He grabbed Talen's arm and holding his SMG90 in the other hand, he fired as he dragged Talen back to Sasha and Aidyn.

He put Talen next to Sasha and continued to fire at the rapid moving grunts. Not knowning who else to call for support, Mikkel keyed his mic.

"Master Sergeant Stearns! We need heavy support! We are pinned down by a shitload of grunts. Lock in our GPS and try to bring down artillery and aircraft support! Do you read me? Over."

OOC: Woah, out a day and miss a page
IC:

Aidyn dove behind an old fallen log and held his assault rifle to his shoulder. He squeezed off a burst, dropping a fast moving grunt. He lined up another shot and fired quickly, the grunt fell to the ground behind a clump of bushes.

"Gods, they came outta no where!" he said as he fired another burst at an oncoming grunt. It fell dead and Aidyn quickly jumped up to one knee and pulled an empty clip of ammo from his rifle. As he reached to his hip for a new clip, three more grunts came rushing towards Aidyn and his two comrades. He ripped out his pistol and new SMG, and fired as fast as he could pull the trigger.

"Come on you sons of bitches!" he shouted as he fired wildly. Two fell dead, the third collapsing, holding its shot-to-hell legs. Aidyn quickly reloaded the pistol and SMGs and slung the rifle over his shoulder. Rifle isn't made for close combat...

He glanced over at his two comrades and the bleeding first sergeant. He fired a few rounds from his pistol at a nearby grunt.

"You guys alright?" he shouted over the sound of gunfire. A grunt rushed from behind a cluster of strange trees, and its claws just missed him. "Holy shit-" He fired three rounds into the skull of the grunt as it turned to strike again. "There are so damn many of these bastards! We ran into the hornets nest here!"

Kaylinde spun fluidly into an untelegraphed roundhouse kick as she entered close combat range and the blow connected solidly with the Devilish's midsection. In the split second that followed, as the creature was rocked off balance, her leg came round again, this time targeting the Devilish's ankles. The combination was designed to take an opponent off their feet and it did the indended job

Back in position, over her now prone oponent the next move would be a hatchet kick. If it landed, given her strength and skill, it could crush the Devisih's chest cavity, stunning the heart and vargus nerve which controlled the lungs, if not breaking ribs and driving them into the lungs. It was a targeted blow designed to severely incapacitate- or kill. Kaylinde didn't intent to leave this foe merely wounded.