RP [Die Screaming] A red death.

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

RP Date

YE-41

RP Location

FR-3 system 'Garden of thorns'

The following morning - Site Romeo

Few had slept through the night after the battle with the bugs and the arrival of the enemy.


For some, it was notions of impending death and glory, Others from the sheer adrenaline, and even some from injuries keeping them up from bugs and minor scuffles the nights' mayhem.

But when no ships landed be it friendly or foe and the falling stars started to cease as the largest ship chunks fell planetside many had begun to assemble a degree of calm anxiety. In the morning what everyone already knew had been passed down from the lieutenant himself through the sergeants to many of the marines themselves.

The Kuvexians had come.
Passive scanning meant they knew there where forces planetside.
Nobody knew why they had yet to blow them or the other sites off the face of the planet.

IPG Team - Tobias

Or at least someone knew what they had come for and why they were here. More than one marine had glanced sidelong at the IPG spooks still taking up their own little corner of the site in quiet contemplation. More than one had hyped themselves up to confront them only to have been chewed out by a sergeant or talked down by their comrades. Indeed some of the team did know just those things.

"They'll offload their security first," Locust stated, looking at a small tablet centered on a makeshift table containing a map of low-orbit pictures. "Best time is then."

More than one of the spooks nodded slightly and made comments at a small circle with an X in the center. Unseen by any of the marines many landing sights had already been scouted by the enemy fighter and drop craft and where being cleared for their own bases planetside.

Even what would be the planetside headquarters for the waystation the planet had become. None of the marines knew it yet but the kuvexian invasion into the system was well known by Duece and her team and was even a few hours early. The system was the perfect waystation and mid-way point into the Kikyo sector to invade not only the colonial expanse but also the Elysians as well.

"We slip in then and ride high until we get to the target, The Stilletto has already marked it and is in the system and black until we need to bail."

The plan had begun to come together nicely but still needed one little added measure.

Small Death- Sebastian, Lupin, Carina, Minnie, Molotra, Brin.

A briefing had been assembled in the lower deck of the Cobra Class Gunship, The Small Death to address many of the concerns. Nothing was hidden and not even their fate or orders. The escaping carrier had passed on orders planetside for full evacuation and many ground side elements had already packed up and fled in their own gunships and were no doubt rendezvousing with the main fleet at a rallying point outside the colonial expanse.

By the time the marines of the Small Death got the message and started the bug-out boogie it was too late and over fifty kuvexian ships now anchored in high-orbit. Stranding the fifty marines, seven freespacers, three NAM techs, and four NSN personnel planetside with a few other unlucky pockets of Nepleslian and Nep-aligned groups. The mood had gone downhill fast after the lieutenant, a genuinely uplifted sergeant who still had the NCO habit of laying it all out without holding back for the sake of his men did just that.

After the briefing, however, two small teams were assembled outside the disembarking marines. The IPG team stood off stoically like usual in the corner of the small hangar and watched on silently conversing with themselves while another, a larger team of marines and even a freespacer of the Viridian Array grouped up with their sergeant, the almost comically short Minnie Valentine waiting patiently after being told to hold fast by the lieutenant who was some distance away conversing with one of the NAM techs and the leader of the IPG team.

It was obvious that it was comprised of all the fighters who took part in the fighting in the vehicle bay by the presence of the spacer and two of the surviving marines who had failed to drag their comrade out of the very hole that started the whole fiasco.

Finally, the silence was broken in the group after a long while by the now familiar appearance of the six-inch tall glowing fairy that seemed to flutter from above and rest of the sergeant's shoulder with a soft flutter only to take a wide look at the assembled team and their surroundings and start giggling to herself at something she saw much to the quiet dismayed sigh of the sergeant who finally squeaked a rather high pitched "What, Cha-cha?!"

Causing the half-foot tall little girl to point past Carina to something in the background of the vehicle and power armor bay where a single VOID stood out among the rest by virtue of a single difference.

For one SOL member of the team he knew what he would find before he even turned around. As both of the VOIDs hands extended out 90 degrees forwards and jutted a singular offensive and universally know gesture in each hand upwards with no one else around to have committed the act.

 

[Gunhand4171]

Small Death

The past few hours had been hell for Private Armstrong. Not only the damn bug, but now the Kuvexian's were in orbit above their heads with no way out...

AND SOMEONE WON'T STOP FUCKING WITH HIS ARMOR...

The ID-SOL had been cleaning bug guts out of the 2 chain gun assemblies and prepping his Gatecrasher machine gun. With the bug rush, he hadn't had time to equip it. He had to solely rely on the secondary weapon systems of his VOID. On the topic of those bugs, Armstrong had to figure that his kill count had to be at least in the tens of thousands. He deserved a medal damn it. He took it upon himself to scratch 'EXTERMINATOR' into his the right chest plate of his armor a few hours before while he was cleaning bug guts of his suit.

Without even looking at the VOID he pinched the bridge of his nose with a thumb and index finger, while letting out a rather annoyed sounding sigh. A vein on his forehead pulsed rhythmically over and over before he finally spoke.

"I am going to remove those middle fingers from this power armor and shove it up the ass of whoever keeps doing it." He said in a low, even tone. Sebastian didn't even look up. He had simply pressed a key on his datajockey that had a preprogrammed command to lower the finger and return the arms to be parallel to the body once more. He then went back to clean bug shit out of his weapons.

 

[SirSkully]

Small Death

Lupin chuckled a little to himself as he finished fitting armour back onto his non-dominant wrist after having removed it earlier while eating, it just felt kind of clunky while he had been scoffing down rations and the young marksman counted himself lucky that nothing had gone for his wrist during the insect attack... no doubt that would have resulted in a very angry Sargent Valentine...

She was just the right height to punch him where it'd hurt too~

"Maybe actually try looking into it...?" Lou suggested with a reserved shrug, helmet sitting on a crate next to him as the wrist-plating was given one last check to ensure it was fitting tight, mottled black/brown hair swept back behind his ears as the lad's burnt amber eyes looked up towards Armstrong with one eyebrow raised curiously.

"Better than doing the same thing over and over again~" he mumbled to himself before drifting his gaze across to Minnie, instinctively sitting a little more upright before addressing the team's vertically challenged superior with an attempt to mostly ignore the shiny thing on her shoulder.

"Sargent Valentine, ma'am... I feel like I should be bringing my long rifle if we're going out, I can handle the extra weight, ma'm... please advise?" he queried, though half expected to be barked at for not making the decision on his own - still, even if it was his specialty, she had years of experience over him, the quiet kid from Funky city who was good enough behind a hunting rifle to make it where he is now.

Might as well ask now so he didn't need to ask again in the future.

 

[Soresu]

Carina couldn't help but stare at the little, glowing and floating girl again. Well... if it was a girl and not her mind fucking with her. When it pointed, the young medic turned her head slightly to look. And when she did, Carina couldn't help but let forth a mental snort of laughter. Clearly someone enjoyed screwing around with the armors. That simple gesture brightened her day just a little more. With her helmet in one hand, the other went up to brush strands of midnight black hair from her face. The hair was long, quite long, but she had it in a tight up-do that allowed her to wear the helmet with no complaints. Blinking, Carina looked toward the voice that had filled the silence that their Sergeant had left.

Carina simply stared at the young Marine. He wasn't the most handsome of men, nor did he stand out. Heck, if he hadn't spoken, it was likely this guy would've gone under her radar the whole time he was there. Long rifle? Could be a marksman she supposed. Though it was no business of hers. Brushing it aside, she began to do a mental checklist of the medical supplies she had on hand. Just something to fill the void until her superior began speaking.

 

[Alex Hart]

IPG Team

Tobias fiddled with a datajockey, brushing up on his intrusion routines and reviewing the system architecture of other previously encountered Kuvexian electronics. He set the small device down on the table. "After we're in, what's the agenda? Yank any intel on local systems and book it, or is there something else we're looking for?" The young man asked as he took a better look at the maps.

 

[OceanMan]

Small Death

Ethan didn't get much sleep last night. He ended up spending most of it thinking about his first actual assignment instead of getting the much needed rest. Speaking to Helena helped him calm down in the end. The teen field stripped his rifle, cleaned it, and put it back together again. He did it before sleeping last night, but it didn't hurt to do it again. Besides, it helped calm down those annoying jitters he's been getting in his stomach.

Ethan then looked up when he heard the others speak. So someone was messing with the power armor eh? He wondered who that could be. Considering the ID-SOL in the room, that culprit was gonna get his ass kicked. He ran a cybernetic hand through his silver hair and shifted the black face mask. The others might think he was blind, but really, Ethan could see quite well seeing as his eyes has a HUD. He stood up and thought, 'Alright. Time to make my presence known.' Facing the rather short Sergeant, the Private asked after saluting, "What's the plan, Sergeant Valentine?"

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Small Death - Carina, Ethan, Tobias, Lou, Molotra, Sebastian, Minnie.

Getting a slight grin from the pranking the shortstack sergeant allowed herself a moments respite from the stress of the situation before she had been addressed.

"You should have your weapon at all times, Lou. Especially in a combat environment" She stared at the man with glowing blue eyes that seemed to flash and fade randomly with intensity.

She turned to the half-elf to offer another classic 'sergeant trademark phrase' that would in no way be obviously rehearsed before the lieutenants' shadow loomed over her. Not saluting due to the combat conditions the sergeant instead nodded casually towards her commanding officer who looked past the group at the VOID and its current predicament without comment before he spoke.

"We get off-world. Rendevous with the admiral, wait for further orders" The statement was short and sweet from a former sergeant uplifted to an officers commission who had yet to learn the politik language of the officer cadre.

In short clipped sentences that were more growl and grunt than solid sentences and with commentary translation from Minnie a simple plant was outlined.

The Small Death was fast but couldn't outrun or avoid the fleet above their heads and would in all likelihood be scrap and pieces before it even hit the atmosphere and was safest where it was. But neither could the marines sit idly by behind enemy territory and expect to do any good and was required to do everything they could to get offworld and add their strength to the admirals own or do some kind of severe damage to the enemies present.

Or die trying.

"That's where we come in." A sly and playful tone announced the spooks leader Duece, who seemed rather excited by the recent turn of events and her team behind her. Strangely enough, in the IPG issued Brivita armor the woman seemed awfully hard to place. The armor wasn't necessarily stealth but something about the woman seemed awfully plain and easy to glance past. Her hair color was unplaceable at what might have been black, or brown, or even a dark auburn and it felt almost impossible to look her in the eyes or even place a single facial feature that seemed rather plain and forgettable and had either many or no recognizable features, blemishes, dimples, or marks of any kind.

Everything about the woman seemed either completely at normal for an IPG spook or completely out of place and it was easier to pay attention to the motley crew of killers behind her, Especially the tall woman on double-jointed grasshopper style legs who offered a warm and inviting smile to any who found eye contact but put off all with a distant and disheartening look that spoke droves of distant horror and the thousand-yard stare of the walking dead despite the warm radiance the woman let off.

Tobias however finally got his own view of the marines up close and were less than impressive compared to his team. Many were young or clearly green; Unblooded marines, Stock privates, Rookies. Minnie was a clear exception despite her rather hilarious size for an NSMC sergeant and would fit better around a group of Neko who where closer to her size than marines. But all the 309th knew the names of Lieutenant Juno Ricckets marines from their fight on New Bernese and the IPG team had been included in that intel from Duece herself who had spent a couple years on the world and even knew Valentine in some capacity.

Juno's marines had suffered through ordeals beyond measure and the attrition rate had been staggering. Valentine was one of only eight marines from the first wave to survive. The majority of which being members of the tank crew and each bearing the scars of cybernetics of severe injuries sustained in the fighting.

Minnie Valentine, Lieutenant Darling, and two sergeants and a half the four corporals of the Small Death were the only non-green marines on the entire planet left and Valentine alone held the only combat hours out of all of them in any recent fighting.

And Duece had named her a pacifist...

Any train of thought however on that topic would wait as a slap and grab at the gear pouches that covered what would be the operators rear snapped him out of any thought process and the Spook leader sought a failed molestation on her usual victim before she addressed the marines further with a casual nod from the lieutenant.

"I have a ship. And can get all your tight little bottoms off-world" She grinned with a predatory smile that implied mischief to all present. "That is if you're all willing to earn a seat."

1-Hour Later. Corona Gunship

The team, With added IPG spooks were ushered out of the Cobra Gunship without further commentary and allowed a brief moment to gear up and allocate any lost ammo or ordinance from the night before and given Sebastian enough time to dawn his VOID armor and finally lower the two obscene gestures before being crammed into the gunship with the exception of the VOID which was forced to keep steady flight pace with the low altitude of the Corna at takeoff and headed roughly westwards towards the rising sun. Despite the fact that the Spook didn't wear a helmet When she spoke to Tobias and then repeated the question to the team everyone could hear her through their radio and even the VOID following dozens of meters behind with a clarity of tone that it could almost be confused with her casually talking in their ears if it weren't for the ambient rumble of the gunship.

"So other than Valentine who ever met a Red before?"

 

[The KrimsonWulf]

P3C
Louis Fekete

"the small death"

Staying mostly behind the scenes, Louis finally began to relax, the severity of their situation crashing against his mind like a constant storm of anxiety. Looking around to the small group of Marines and IPG operators. Life seemed to finally peak, a sense of dreadful calm came about as he began to prep what few explosive charges they had left. Sifting through his additional pouches for smaller shaped charges, hand grenades and the like he hummed quietly, organising the explosive grocery list back into their respective pouches.
checking each magazine and taking a mental note of each round as well as secondary magazines for his side arm. The detailed list of destructive devices helped ease his nerves and calm his hand.

hearing the IPG commanders question, he sat quietly before raising a gloved hand." I've run into a few in my home city, almost fought more than one due to my family. Though I'm not sure why it would help now ma'am." His voice trailed off looking back around his makeshift squad.

 

[club24]

Brin knew he was a greenie but he didn't expect this many of them to be in the same boat as him, he knew he had some experience with his security work and some past jobs and work from what seemed like a lifetime ago but he had no idea about these others. The situation seemed pretty hopeless for the most part as he rested his large shotgun on one metallic shoulder during the briefing if he could call it that. When they were told there was a way off this planet his slight smile widened a bit more, that was good news indeed, Kryss would probably bring him back from the dead to fire him if he died while away from the company.

Once on the smaller ship Brin had taken a seat and tended to his gun and arms, making sure all of them weren't going to seize up on him if they got into a fight, something this questions seemed to hint at indirectly.

"Can't say I've ever met one before, though depending what they're like I may have an old colleague who is similar in attitude." He said, thinking of Argus the Separa with a distaste for pretty much everyone he'd ever met and the skills to kill quickly and precisely if he so desired, something Brin suspected he may have used as a job skill in another life.

 

[SirSkully]

Inaudible over the deafening thrum of the gunship was Lupin, armoured head-to-toe, constantly removing and replacing his pistol's magazine mixed in with the young marksman rapidly racking back its slide a few times just to ensure it'd run well if it was needed - the piece in question? A Styrling Silver Special he'd been given as his service pistol, a bit of a smaller thing chambered in .45 though he liked the integrated compensator, meant it was much less likely to be pushed out of battery if he needed to use it up close.

His eyes panned up from his weapon when the greenies were asked the question though, loading up his sidearm's magazine and flicking the safety on before it was shoved into his holster, Lupin leaning a little further into the bag holding his DSR-01 as his forearms went to rest against the M3 on his lap - he couldn't help but flick his helmeted head towards each answer given, somewhat like an attentive looking puppy as the various Nepleslian accents and inflections hit his ears.

"I've met a few," He piped up with a little sniff as Lou studied Louis momentarily with a small squint, "There's a lot of Red history where I grew up but from what I have heard they used to be a lot less... tame," Lupin finished with a small shrug, shimmying his M3 a little further up his thighs as he fell back to silence.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Corona

The answers where not at all what any sand person would admit to an operator of the Intelligence And Pacification group and quickly showed when many of the spooks seemed to lock onto those marines who outright admitted they met a Red and had not beaten them half to death on the spot.


Even the questionnaire herself, Duece, seemed rather displeased by the answer when her teasing smile pulled into a line and a distant light in her eye seemed to pulse as she accessed some system or performed and action with her cybernetics. She had been about to say something when Minnie cut in.

"These Reds. The ones on New Bernese where the reds that ran from the fighting at the end of the civil war." She brought up her own experience fighting the Reds on that world. A world she left more than a single part on some could guess as she oddly thumbed a strange magnet on her breastplate that some might notice looked a lot like a cartoonish caricature of someone's male genitals. The story behind the lucky magnet untold.

Looking as if she was about to continue with some deeper and profound knowledge on the reds the Corona began to defend enough that its occupants could tell identify the depress into a landing maneuver, The side doors of the gunship sliding open to reveal a large tract of land on the top of a massive hill with an equally massive metal fortress-like tower protruding over fortifications that overlooked an airstrip burned and cut into the forest that was three times longer than it was wide with a number of wicked and twisted looking fighter craft off to the side of the runway in small ironwork bunkers with small figures running around in controlled chaos on the ground.

They where all wearing red...


Red Airbase

The Corona landed in a designated area off to the side of the runway under the watchful eye of the hillforts fortifications and easily resolved into a tense standoff as aircrews and security forces surrounded the gunship loosely in dark red and brown uniforms with many, despite the great humidity and heat of the jungle world wearing thick cold-climate greatcoats with little discomfort who openly brandished weapons that where held low but still at the ready.

After disembarking the spooks seemed content to take the lead and casually lingered about the gunship with little a care in the world despite the situation. The marines where left mostly to their own devices with their sergeant corraling them near the gunship with weapons kept safe and untrained on their rivals. Neither side looked particularly happy to see one another and more reds seems to be approaching the gunship and silently glaring or conversing amongst themselves at the spectacle until a commotion at the rear of the reds seemed to clear a path for a tall, wiry woman with a drawn pistol who strode forwards with a handful of other pilots identifiable by their flight suits who unlike here were armed and seemed more eager for bloodshed.

"Greens." The single accusation dripped pure malice from her mouth as some of the reds teetering on the edge either fed off of or finally fled from whatever was to come.

"Windchime." Minnie commented more to herself to assure herself it was the same person than to the lower-ranked marines around her that seemed all but forgotten as the two locked eyes.

A tension built beyond the boiling point as the pilots and their ace, who had a long history with the NSN and NSMC elements on New Bernese flicked an audible click on the safety of her pistol which finally drew the spooks into action as the more quiet female of the group designated as Locust seemed to rise to almost nine foot tall as her double-jointed cybernetic legs rose her and her intimidating SPAID to draw an elevated firing position on the whole crowd of Reds.

The Pilot, Windchime simmered and bristled visibly before the standoff ended with her holstering her pistol and jerking a head towards the hillfort.

"Boots wants ye in the CP, Leave the mouse and her pups here." She grimaced at the IPG spooks before turning away to lead them apprehensively as her pilots started bearing into the crowd of soldiers and crewmen clogging up their flight deck.

With the departure of the standoff and the IPG operators into the hillfort a lone pilot who Minnie identified as Facet lead the marines off to a side hangar and out of the sun where even more pilots seemed to be crowding around a large table and relaxing with many conversing amongst themselves or playing various games to pass the time while some even sprawled out half-naked on nearby cots with one woman naked from the neck down with her back to the marines as another pilot seemed to be working on a particularly intricate tattoo on her back that where it was finished looked either like seven conjoined snakes in a strange mating coil or a giant knot of arms ending at the shoulder each ending in wicked claws that with the red dripping ink almost made it look like it might be tearing her back open.

The team had no time however to relax before a great and resounding WHAM sounded with a resulting shake of the ground that drove everything around them into a frenzy as an alarm started to sound in the distance.

Far out in the distance, those that left the hangar could see distant specks on the horizon that seemed to grow larger by the second.

Hillfort.

Right before the marines made it to the hangar down the length of the airfield the IPG team was lead up the fortified earthworks towards the massive fortified tower and past dozens of fortified positions each with gun crews, watchmen, and filled to the brim with soldiers in red and brown greatcoats easily numbering in the hundreds that seemed not to drop in density as they turned towards a tunnel that seemed to cut into the hill itself.

Their guide, The pilot ace Windchime offered not a single word to the operators other than to chastise them for perceived moments where one of them would step too far out of line and accuse them of planting bombs or listening devices much to the stress of most of the nearby red troops who would ready weapons in anticipation before fading into the background as they passed.

The tunnel itself passed several elevators of all things and multiple bunks, dorms, and rooms and even armories. In one such armory, a massive twisted interpretation of a modern red suit of powered armor exited and cast down the hall towards them. Its red and white and brown camouflage making it oddly hard to describe but it was easy enough to see the twisted ball like joints and swollen midsection of the armor before it claimed the right of way in the hall and stepped onto a large elevator which must have been positioned close to its armor bay just for it as it was large enough to fit even a mid sized armored vehicle in it. Four such identical armors waiting in the elevator which took the five armored suits upwards and out of sight.

Finally the team passed through the controlled chaos of a command and control center where high ranking pilots and officers alike conversed over holographic tables and charts on a central table that showed the loose holographic playback of what had to be the prior nights battle in orbit while many offered comments or reminded sections to make small observations or create holographic marks.

Standing above all others in the command center a massive ID-SOL towered high enough that he almost brushed his head on the ten-foot ceiling of the command center when he looked up to appraise the newcomers. He wore a simple greatcoat like many of the soldiers but over his shoulders and an equally large flight-suit with a scarf large and long enough it might as well have been as long as he was tall that was simple but ended in a series of gold characters in yamataigo that what members of the team could read its language read Sky Colonel.

After staring neutrally at the operators for some time he continued the common act of the day of opening his mouth to speak before the entire command center shook violently that those caught the most unawares fell over.

Shouting immediately took over in the command center as the holographic table turned to an overlay of the Red base and its outlying area with dozens of Red triangles slowly closing in towards the base from the south.

As if not noticing whatever hit the base Duece casually stated "They're early~"

 

[Soresu]

Carina, having kept mostly silent checked her Hypolathe again and again just to make sure it was loaded and ready for use. Beside her had been her large medical kit, and at her hip a large revolver rested on magnetic clamps ready for quick use. This she checked, spinning the cylinder after seeing another member of her unit, Lupin doing so. She watched him a moment before looking back to her armored thighs and knees. Tucked in a small calf sheath was a butterfly knife, the inscription on the side named it: 'Fukov' a treasured family heirloom of the Matsobuki family, her adopted family. And at her other side rested the standard-issue, M3 rifle. It'd go on the magclamp on her armor's back once they landed.

The steady thrum of the gunship had been almost comforting just before they landed. Even after, as the tense situation with the Reds, to which she had rested a hand on her large revolver, only relaxing when the others had done so. Staying tight-lipped, the young Sanroma simply followed the rest of her unit.

 

[The KrimsonWulf]

The thunder of the gunship was almost deafening, rattling back and forth like a shuttle on a chem run. Louis looked to his team once more before stowing the explosive charges into additional pouches on his chest and left leg, before checking the magazine of his m3 rifle. Clearing any additional debris before doing a final inspection to clear his mind.

Seeing the reds, Louis immediately drew to a low and ready position."sergeant, what the hell are we doing with these bastards? What are our orders!?" He continued watching each red that passed by, some sneering and others Making threatening gestures. Following, still watching the pilot at the head of their group. Their command center was a chaotic mess, far more unorganized than he had ever seen a military facility. It was almost comical.

Stopping in the command center, louis kept his rifle close expecting a situation or skirmish to break out. His shoulders slumping in Surprise and shock, when the red blips came into the holograph."no way.." his blood ran cold, first reds now kuvexians!?there was simply no break it would seem. The tired marine laughed to himself in an almost disbelief." I'm going to need a lot more charges before we can go home...if...we do." His words laced with a heavy dose of of almost false brovado.not used to truly overwhelming numbers such as this.

 

[Gunhand4171]

Outside the Corona

Sebastian flew alongside the gunship as they were enroute to their destination. As such he was first to see the airbase as it came into range. He smirked maliciously. He may have never met one but it didn't mean that he knew nothing about them. Part of being an ID-SOL meant you were 'born' knowing certain things. So as he saw the Reds as his armor touched down it took everything he had to not start gunning the pathetic soldiers down were they stood. He wasn't given the order to fire yet anyway.

As the others filed out he watched his fellow marines and waited with the Sergeant while the spooks did whatever spooks do. "Cool your jets Louis. If they wanted us dead they'd have already started shooting at us." The armored marine said coolly to his squad mate.

That was until his own tactical overlay began to update and showed multiple enemy contacts approaching. "Well I have to give it to the Kuvies, they know how to time their attacks." He unslung his machinegun and prepped the rest if his weapons. Fusion motars loaded while chainguns began spooling up. Armstrong grinned under his helmet. "Hey boss, permission to is set off my fireworks display." He asked the Sergeant. Sebastian was ready to not only increase his personal kill count but to show up a bunch of Reds while he did it.

 

[Alex Hart]

Hillfort

As the Kuvexian attackers came ever closer to the base, Tobias stood with the rest of the IPG operators. He observed the holographic table and kept an eye on the out of place Marine who had tagged along with the IPG team and their guide. "Hopefully the Marines and our hosts can handle things." He said to Deuce, as he reviewed what he knew offhand about the gunship they had come in on. It was a decent little ship, with good point defenses, but it wouldn't be able to hold out forever on its own. "Speaking of which..." Tobias said as he turned to Louis, "I think they may need your help out there."

 

[club24]

Brin had mostly kept to himself on the walk across the base, he may not have been a patriotic nepper through and through but he knew of the distaste for the Reds. Their journey into the command center was very tense, the large Nepleslian man keeping his huge shotgun slung across his chest to avoid coming across as hostile, definitely not what they needed right now after all.

On his way through Brin tried to give a nod to anyone looking his way, anything to help calm nerves would be useful, all that time working as security and dealing with the public had taught him the importance of putting people at ease with a simple acknowledgment. Compared to the people around them Brin was below average for a Nep, not a giant, not made of cybernetic enhancements, and cleanshaven and tidy to boot, he often wondered if joining the marines was a good idea but if nothing else it was a fun new adventure.

When the attack began Brin had his shotgun ready, watching their team leaders for direction, he could handle himself but he wasn't the boss anymore and given who's airfield they were standing in it was probably best to wait for instructions.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Airfield - Minnie, Carina, Molotra, Brin, Sebastian, Lupin

The Airbase exploded into action. Many of the pilots could hear the distant craft before any shot was actually fired and through some knowledge of audio identification or unknown means bolted for their own craft in their hangars with the one the team was in being no exception. Even the red pilot getting a laser tattoo barely winced as she jerked away from her comrade while the laser imprinted left a permanent line down her back as she sprinted off, naked from the waist-up out onto the airfield. it would take time for many of the craft to take off with many of the VTOL capable craft simply lifting up and then off away from the base to await their comrades.

For the marines however things were simpler. The massive Explosion from earlier had come from above of all places it was learned when a large section of sky cover in the clouds above parted in an instant as a purple and black stream flashed downwards almost faster than the eye could perceive. It struck where the hillfort would have been if not for the now visible shield fading with the past damage.


"Form up. We're out of here." Was the simple order from Minnie as the team ran out of the hangar. Having to take the length of the runway or risk being run down by one of the massive craft it took longer to reach the Corona than when they had left with even Sebastian being forced to run on foot with all the spacefighters simply throwing themselves into the sky. Eventually the team managed to pass under the massive shield as they drew close to their extract as the shield was directed almost completely heavensward.

Another strike from somewhere in orbit struck off to the side of the shield this time on the opposite side of the runway causing a massive tremor and an explosion of ground debris hundreds of feet in the air.

Another after that glanced off the shield and blew into dozens of streams of energy that like a shotgun blast peppered the runway in small holes the size of a mans head that luckily didn't disrupt much of the takeoffs.


The corona, to the skill of its pilot was already hot again and ready to take off and had yet to have taken any damage being luckily under the hillforts shield..

"We give the spooks one minute then they're on their own!" Valentine shouted over the wash of the gunships engines before narrowing her eyes at the team as if counting, Her lips pulling into a sneer as she cursed when it was clear Loius was missing.

Command Center - Tobias, Louis.

"The first wave consists of two wings, Available craft on hand adequate for-"

" Landing craft detected, They're using plasma to clear landing zones 3.7 kilometers out from-"

" Sir, Bombardment is coming from a frigate in low orbit. Two additional craft moving in parallel to it, Seven minutes until- "

"The shield can hold against one frigate but two will press us hard. If we overcharge we can hold out for-"

" If we shake off now the losses would be-"

Voices sounded off from their stations, in turn, to be occasionally drowned out by the impacts on the hillforts shield as the massive SOL seemed to assimilate the information while still looking down at the IPG team without being even the slightest bit rushed or concerned. His voice seemed to cut above all others despite how quiet it was backed with a tone that could instill apprehension and fear of imminent death in even the hardest of NSMC veterans.

"You." He towered over the team leader who still seemed unperturbed enough to simply poke a finger into her cheek and wonder aloud if the massive civil-war era SOL was referring to her?

"Wasn't us." Locust, the tall cyborg had risen somewhat as if she could match the SOL in his intimidation but even she stiffened when the red commander so much as side-eyed the woman. There was no stammer as she reaffirmed herself to the man but it was obvious that she was gripping her SPAID a little bit tighter as she declared that their arrival was pure coincidence and that the kuvexians were clearly taking advantage of the reds pre-bug out lack of scouts to have gotten the drop on them so early.

Boots digested the information momentarily before turning away from the spooks and started barking out orders to all the stations in the command center, obviously brushing off the spooks as if they weren't there.

To her credit, Duece did seem rather annoyed when the SOL had turned from them but for a different reason.

"The timetable has moved up again." She stated matter of factly before turning to her team.

To each of the team members, she remotely sent an encrypted order to their HUD who left in a large group leaving oddly enough Tobias and Louis behind with her in the command center as each team member bolted back the way they came.

" Im going to butter up the big-guy to get what we need. Toby be a dear and make sure Mouse doesn't leave without us. Deploy the couriers from the gunship while you're at it we'll be here a while. And you~" The woman turned a mischievous smile towards their marine stowaway that was Louis Fekete.

"Go play with Tobi, If i need something blown up ill do it myself, boy." Her tone seemed rather bored of him as she made a visible Shooing motion with her hand but not before casually plucking a grenade from the marine with a mischievous look in her eyes and giving the two men a push towards the exit as she moved to take a spot beside the massive SOL and over the holographic table.

Hillfort - Minnie, Carina, Molotra, Brin, Sebastian, Lupin, Louis, Tobias.

The Marine sergeant was less than pleased when Louis and Tobias appeared on the ramp leaving the hillfort. Even the tremors from the impacts on the shield didn't little to take away from the visible bristling of the small woman until the two men rendezvoused with the rest of the team at the gunship.

"Just you? So be it." She asked Tobias before turning and not waiting for an answer as she started off towards the idling corona and shouted for the team to hear. "Load up we're bugging out!"

Many of the craft had now taken airborne and burned off towards the approaching craft and had begun to dogfight leaving the runway rather clear with the exception of soldiers and aircrews still running about while the odd red and brown suit of twisted and bulbous powered armor seemed to jet across the runway to take up a position. At the end of the runway small figures had begun shooting at something in the distant treeline as approaching kuvexian troops neared the airfield.

"There's no time to waste. Is Duece coming or not?!" The sergeant squeaked her question at the operator while looking apprehensive towards the distant dogfight.

Above them a second trail of energy projectiles started slamming against the shield which began to glow brighter as it began to overcharge to compensate with the addition of a second ship in low orbit directing fire at the hillfort.

 

[SirSkully]

Airfield > Hillfort, the Greenies
One minute Lupin had been calmly taking in the environment with his m3 nestled in the crook of his arms, trying to not look at the bare back of the pilot with an in-progress tattoo despite what the hormones drenching his system were telling the marksman to do, daring one final side-long glance through the polarized visor of his helmet before everything went to shit - causing the mocha-skinned marksman to flinch instinctively but manage to not shoulder his gun in the middle of a bunch of reds, no need to add to the chaos and get anyone's wires crossed as to who was an ally and who was not.

No, instead Lou just kept his mouth shut and moved when he was told to, adrenaline in his system spiking enough to make his stringy muscles jitter a bit though that at least helped him keep up with Minnie and the others despite the extra weight on his back, though having lanky legs and a history of doing long-distance running prior to enlistment did its part too~

When told to hop back in the corona what did he do? just that of course, stepping up into the back with the others in one fluid motion that wasted little of his gained momentum from the run over, though those keen amber eyes couldn't help but snap to the shimmering air each time it protected them from yet another blast, "Fuck... shield doesn't look like it can take much more~" Lupin muttered to no-one in particular before tearing his eyes away from the deadly spectacle, only for them to fall upon the team's revolver-toting medic.

He had no doubt she'd make it onto the gunship by herself though he did notice the... trend of both their sergeant and the Sanroma in question being vertically challenged, the act of kindness she'd shown an hour prior when they were gearing up may have been part of her job but Lupin was thankful regardless and wanted to show some kindness in return, so he silently offered Carina one gloved hand to help pull the medic up into the gunship's belly.

 

[The KrimsonWulf]

Hillfort-Airfield

L. Fekete

The IPG Squad leader tugged at his harness, slipping a grenade out. Looking still to the group, mildly annoyed by the interaction he quickly nodded, without saying a word, knowing the possibility of alerting the Reds was far too high.
Keeping a healthy pace back to the Corona gunship, Louis gripped his M3 tight, making sure to "aquire" any loose ordinance in his way back to the ship. Feeling the tremors, and hearing the loud crashes against the shield was certainly cause for concern. Despite the massive beams spraying down across the airfield, the dogfight and soon after the initial skirmish in the treeline could easily be heard. The distinct sound of aether pulse against the mechanical boom of the Reds older generation rifles, quickly became fuzed, into a terrible cacophony combat.

Reaching the corona just after Tobias, Louis looked to his Squad leader." It is just us for now Sergeant, the spooks are...negotiating 'things we need.' and asked us to stand by and send out couriers. Those were the orders of a spook, should we maintain a perimeter Sergeant?" His voice now loud to carry over the engines Roar. Looking over to each squadmate, checking near his seat on the ship, making sure he had enough ammunition grabbing his rucksack, keeping rifle and pistol ammunition, explosives, food and water in the large pack. Still awaiting orders he returned to Minnie, kneeling down to adjust the pack in conjunction with his rifle and pouches.

 

[club24]

Brin had sprinted across the airfield with everyone else when they booked it for their gunship, getting out of the hotzone, a sound plan that he could get behind 100% right about now. As if reading his thoughts another of the bolts smashed into the shield above as Brin looked up to try and catch a glimpse of the ship that was most likely doing it as well as check on the ariel situation if there were more enemy planes than friendly their own takeoff might not be so fun.

With all the noise from various vehicles, personnel and the consistent impacts of the orbital strikes it was hard to hear their superior even as they yelled above the engines though the meaning still came through despite the broken words that reached his ears. It seemmed no matter which nation he was in the more experienced and secretive your job was the less they waited for you, sometimes because they could handle themselves and other times it seemed the more regular forces didn't like the secretive nature of, secretive agents.

As he pulled himself into the ship he found a seat and kept his shotgun pointed at the floor but ready enough he could bring the muzzle up and fire if need be.