RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter One] Reinforcements

Fieke looked down at what parts of her armour she could see and hoped all the damage was superficial – otherwise her employers would be seeing another hefty transfer from her pay to keep things in top condition. Blanching at that thought and its effects on her other plans for where her pay should go the Abwehran jumped down from her perch into the body strewn trench.

“Quarantine the ones with fur and stomp the others' faces in if they are still using them, gotcha Riesenfeuer.” Crouching down at the closest grouping of fallen thralls Fieke added a PA appropriate sidearm to her growing list of 'What I need' to be prepared for a full range of field work. Shifting a body with a hole in its chest she could fit her armoured fist through aside the Abwehran kept both her eyes and her sensors tuned in for any sign of life among the pile of dead.

She also gave close attention to each of the particle rifles that turned up, throwing aside those that wouldn't see use as anything other than scrap but building a small pile of good conditioned – if bloody – weapons that she'd eventually have to pick one out of the lot. Blood covering the front of her armour from the chest up from her search Fieke opened up the squad channel. “If one of you isn't interested in getting dirty come over her and help police this mess I'm going through. I doubt I'd be able to get any of my weapons in position quick enough to end any problems as soon as they appear and I'd rather not try and meet a potentially suicidal attack with just my fists.”

Turning back to her slow going work Fieke grumbled to herself about the NMX's equipment distribution practices as she started throwing aside more rifles in hopes of finding anything else of tactical value.

Aya had been tested, but she had not been found wanting. Catching her breath in the aftermath of the skirmish, she beamed in pride at the blemishes on her armour. They weren't "just" superficial damage, but almost a badge of honour - she had fought with the enemy, and lived to tell the tale.

Sif's instructions, calm as ever, cut through her thoughts like a knife. She moved toward one of the heaps of corpses, but Fieke's request piqued her interest. "Don't worry, I'll help," said Aya as she trudged over. She momentarily considered using her LASR for this particular task, but quickly shot down the idea - if things were going to be always this hectic (not that she was complaining), every bit of ammunition had to be conserved.

Standing off to one side, the Nekovalkyrja kept her PEWs trained on the corpses, letting her own sensors probe the pile to ensure she didn't miss anything.

Anzu grunted at the civilian's suggestions. "I'm not a big fan of foreign food. Rice is good enough for me. Well, maybe a double helping of meat..."

Eventually she'd run out of targets. Now came the most boring part : cleanup. She sighed to herself, moving almost on autopilot. Scan for life signs, kick any Thrall corpses that might not be corpse enough for her tastes. Broken weapons in one pile, working ones in another. They could take the extras back to base camp, or at least destroy them. Didn't want to leave them for the enemy to find again, at any rate.

Simo worked mechanically, bored and uninterested. She just wanted to get this over with, so they could take a break before something more interesting happened.

At this point, the group was milling about - amusingly, they were bored. It was only the natural order of the universe that Sif would be the one to stir things up again.

"Mount up. We're moving in closer to the city," she spoke smoothly, walking away from a brief few words with the Juni. "Our squad will be providing backup for another 'depleted' unit." At that, the dainty storm-white plated figure sauntered her way back to the APC that carried them - there was a little liveliness to her gait this time around. Now that the fighting was over, it almost seemed like she was bathing in the afterglow of combat. Or, perhaps Nakamura had given her a little bit of news that lightened up her perpetually dour mood.

Even as the remnants of the other squad took to caring for their wounded and policing the trench, Sif took a seat deep within the vehicle, legs crossed. With the seat arranged to face to face them all, she easily eyed her squad. "We are to escort a lonely tank," the Mini-Neko explained, reclining into her seat.

Again, the feeling that she was amused tingled their spines.

Simo switched her brain back on as she heard new orders. Tossing one last weapon into the 'good' pile, she turned from the monotonous work to leave the trench. "Glad to see our ride decided to come back and pick us up." Once the bodies and sorted supplies were out of sight, they were forgotten. The troops that were going to defend this position could deal with them.

She hopped into the APC and settled in, moving carefully with those weapons still strapped to her back. Of course, Anzu's suit was filthy and gory after the battle, so she added to the mess already caking the inside of the vehicle. Yawning to herself, she tried to get comfortable. "Escort? Means we won't be getting to shoot anything with it ourselves." Snort. "Figures."

Damien had calmed down a bit since he assaulted the trench. While his adrenaline was still pumping, he was beginning to think clearly again. He looked down at his armor and it was covered in bloody and dirt. There was something inherently primal about melee combat and the fact that the Star Army brought that out in him was simply disgusting.

There was nothing noble or honorable about what he just did. Simply staying alive was his only concern. Even now, he watched his team pick over the dead like vultures. This was the part of war he had grown to detest. Commanders in far away parts treating the average soldier like a disposable asset. They were all "expendable" as far as they were concerned. It wasn't a pleasant thought, especially since Damien had almost died twice during the assault.

Even with those thoughts in his head, Damien tried to picture a happier time. Tried to give his work some meaning. But it was a hard task but Damien knew what he had signed up for. So when the order came to mount up, Damien did it without much thought. He plopped down in the APC and didn't say anything to the rest of his squad. Luckily his armored helmet covered his face or his squad members might actually see the growing scowl underneath.

Like Anzu, Aya perked up noticeably as Sif gave the order to move out again. Finishing up her scan of one last corpse, the young Neko wasted no time in following her superior and Anzu back into the APC. She planted herself on one of the seats with a rather casual air. One exciting adventure had just concluded, but from the update it sounded like another one was around the corner.

Aya, for her part, couldn't wait. Sure, escorting a tank didn't sound like the most enjoyable of activities, but you could never tell with this sort of thing. After a minute or two of mulling over what they had been told, a question occured to the Nekovalkyrja. Tilting her head to get a better look at Sif, she asked, "Is there anything unusual we need to be aware of?"

It had seemed like a reasonable enough query in her head, but now it was out in the open she started to feel a bit foolish. Surely Sif or the Juni would have pointed out anything requiring special attention already. Aya mentally shrugged and decided that it couldn't hurt to make doubly sure, even if the answer was "no".