RP: Die Screaming [Die Screaming] Operation Glass Jaw

Barracks, now with explosive support!
Wait that's a bad thing

Quilly grumbled a bit as she had gotten up, the darker-but-not-really-dark-skinned bird trembling a bit. Luckily, her wings were still stashed within the jacket she'd acquired, and she was planning on keeping it that way for a while. Otherwise, it'd get cold. She can worry about cutting a hole to fit her wings through later, when there was a reason to do that. Speaking of, flight - not being able to fly is already sucking so, SO MUCH! Dammit!


"What a messy way to die, there's nothing fun about that," She said aloud when the first unfortunate 'oomie got his head turned into chunky salsa. She did a quick survey of the female end of the barracks, and was appropriately relieved to learn that there was nobody within her immediate vicinity that looked to be a rhinoceros-scientist. That didn't stop the one on the men's side from continuing his wanton experimentation. And, unfortunately, Quilly herself couldn't do that either on account of being on the other side of that line.

Luckily, some of the men caught on and were trying to put a stop to it.

Also, there was someone else important. And they were late. Fuckin' hell! The only thing Quilly had going for her right now, at least, was that she'd already recovered from the gas... At least, recovered compared to about ninety percent of the room.

Barracks - Everyone

As just about a half dozen people jumped into action to save Lupin a series of events took place. The first was Sebastian just about tackling the squads favorite panty-wearing pretty boy and overcompensating when the formerly unseen form of a lizard-faced mutant also diving for him mostly ineffectually but managing to trip the SOL into overshooting and pulling Lupin even further across the proverbial line of death.

Arms wrapped around the small man, the two of them slid half way across the line much to the shouts and screams of onlookers prepared for another set of deaths as they slid feet first and managed to halt their slide with Sebastians waist passing over and Lupin almost at the neck. But luckily without whatever sensor to the bomb was in their head not crossing the line didnt trigger the explosive. Recovering himself the lizard-mutant attempted to pull the two of them back on the safe side of the line but clearly struggled with the weight.

William on the other hand was unimpeded as he swung at the larger mutant and his fist connected with the fat of his neck. Despite his strength, it felt all the world like he had punched a leather sack full of sand. More surprised than actually hurt, Rhindol sputtered at him incoherently with his hands up in surender before blubbering out "A 'jus wanted ta make sure!" and following up with an exaggerated "Whaaaaat, I didn't do nuffin!" at all the attention being thrown his way

While all eyes were on the fiasco with Lupin, Carina was able to get a better look at Locust' restraints. The cuffs were a simple red glowing band on each wrist connected to each other by barely a half-inch to allow basic twisting of the hands. A small device connected them to a sturdy-looking tether that connected to a simular pair around the operator's ankles but with enough slack to allow a kind of shuffle-walk.

A small box-like device connecting the two halves gave the impression of some kind of small but powerful servo that would snap the two ends together and quickly hog-tie the wearer as their wrists were forced to their ankles and vice versa.

Examining the operator further when forcing their chin up and a pill down their throat there was the slightest flutter and parting of her one visible eyes lids showing a false state of unconsciousness. Despite this, and being ousted, Locust did not overtly react and showing a remarkable show of ventriloquism managed to communicate in a quiet and clipped fashion without moving her mouth and with only the slightest inflection from her throat moving.

"Despite what you may believe, my feelings for you are not sexual, Sanroma." She muttered at Carina's oddly tender touch. It was quiet enough of a statement that with all the noise going on around them only Carina and maybe Molotra could have possibly heard it. There was a long pause before a single bloodshot eye opened to look at Carina under a hooded gaze. The look she gave the younger woman was unreadable as she sustained an uncomfortable eye contact.

"Peaches?" she finally asked, the tone of curiosity not reaching her eyes. But before Carina could answer the fiasco had just about ended beyond them and she could feel movement from the operator as she gently unclenched one of her fists. Inside was a small pre-packaged pill-slip much the same kind as daily-use medications. Inside of it was no pill or capsule but instead a small, circular-looking gel device.

Popping it open with two fingers the operator separated what turned out to be two contact lenses. Reaching as much as she could Locust pressed them into Carina's hands.

"I cannot reach my face, assist me." She stated in her usual tone that implied that, like usual, it was not a request.

Before anything could be done or questions asked, however, Locust having read some kind of que closed her eye and went back to her comatose act. Unseen at first but now glaringly apparent a now-familiar voice broke the silence.

"Shit! Can't leave you freaks alone for a few hours without you offing yourselves!" A peaking feminine voice laughed as Master sergeant Erin Zeleger was now in the doorway, arm slung around an anxious and clearly uncomfortable ensign.

"Enough wrestling." Easy called out in a more serious tone a moment later. "Line up and get ready to depart. You lot already have us late and the warden ain't gonna hold a ship for you lot. So unless you want to break your parole and end up frozen for the rest of your sentences while your brain rots away to mush without a chance of seeing the light of day this side of a century I advise you form up your men, Lieutenant" She advised to William in the tone reserved for all senior NCO's trying to impart knowledge onto a boot-lieutenant but without the taboo of actually ordering the officer.

As if to reinforce a point the figures of golem armored guards lingered just behind her as an unspoken threat.

"And you, Sayonara." She stared down the end of the barracks at Carina. "Leave the vegetable. It'll get carted onto the ship. If it doesn't wake by the time we leave the system we'll space it and save the tax-payers a few davies. So save your free time for the rest of the medical-folks cause you lot have a mountain of forms to fill n'reading to do to get up to snuff with the NYRDs standards of field medical practice if you don't want malpractice tacked onto your list of charges!"

Without further fanfare the prisoners were lined up infront of the racks and cots and first the males, then the females, were lead carefully down the barracks and across a simple black line painted on the floor before the doors that thankfully did nothing more than mark a boundary. A few glances were spared for the two corpses and Locust left behind as the group was marched in a single-file line down an interior passage of double-doors leading off into what seemed like hundreds of identical barracks.

At more than one, Golem armored guards dragged out the occasional corpse on a stretcher with an indentation in its head.

The march was quiet and somber with the exception of an animated Rhindol Cruz who more waddled along than actually marched as he practically narrated his every thought on what he saw.

The barracks were awfully confusing like, too easy to end up'n a wrong one if'n you get the numbers on the side wrong. The corridors were too darn tight, would it hurt ta just build it'all outside like normal folks? The smell of the halls was too much'n like the pools they have them chemicals they put in and what not that hurts ya eyes and makes ya skin all itchy.

Finally he doubled back to how he didn't mean to hurt the little guy more than a few times much to the fact he clearly forgot which one was Lupin; Who coincidentally was right behind the Rhino-man and got more than a close-up view of his belt-less trousers and the flash of his backside.

After a few minutes of marching, some clearly in circles and in patterns only the more well-trained of the group could have been able to tell was an obvious tactic to keep them from getting their bearings if they chose to bolt, they were lead to a series of armored elevators that more than a half-douzen maximus tanks could have fit on before it took them up several levels.

At the intersection of each level, Armored glass showed watching guards at banks of monitors or armored kill-boxes with rifles trained on them. After more than a half hour of excruciatingly slow travel up a rather dark metal-walled shaft the elevator stopped at a pair of armored bulkheads massive enough that a Warbear could have strolled through them and had room to spare. It was not these doors that opened but instead a smaller utility-bulkhead behind them that swung open and the group was ushered through into a large room filled only with benches and armored if dented wall-lockers. At the end of the dressing room was a thick wall of transparent durandium with a small slit in it large enough to pass through any of the weapons visible on the other side.

"Gear up and line up. No not you too, Lieutenant!" Easy barked, before hooking a finger in one of Williams belt loops and pulling him off to the side and first to the armorer's window while the others were left to scavenge through lockers for dufflebags containing old ballistic vests dated back to the age of the Nepleslian Star Empire, doughboy helmets, rebreathers and gasmasks, flak-vests, the occasional piece of newer (if still years out of date) sets of webbing, etc.

At the window, a young and round-faced man more than a few doughnuts shy of being past overweight manned a desk on the other side of the wall and looked up and down at William with clear envy at him.

"What'll it be, Easy?~" He changed his tone at seeing Sergeant Zeleger and practically cooed at her with his full attention.

"Standard officers packet, Tommy." She smiled back with exaggerated kindness clear by a barely visible shiver at the admiration of the portly man. Oblivious to this, the man rummaged under the counter for a moment and slid over a clear plastic pouch containing a small codec book, radio-card with pre-assigned channels to insert into a comm-set, and a plastic card with a number that obviously fit one of the lockers.

"In #15 is a Nova, an HHG, and a styrling 45. Take one only cause as soon as you do the others will lock in their slots." He glared down... Or more up at William before passing his attention back to the object of his admiration. "Your usual was already taken up to the ship and should be waiting for you, Erin." He offered a genuine smile to Easy who only nodded and led William off to locker #15.

Inside was a dufflebag containing refurbished Golem armor sized for a SOL, and miscellaneous gear and necessities. The most obvious difference other than the armor compared to the enlisted lockers was three locked weapon silos with the aforementioned three pistols along with holsters and empty magazines.

While William got catered equipment most of theirs was sub-par at best. After the first person finished rounding up their gear and seemed to wander aimlessly they were directed by the clearly anxious older Ensign to the armors window where a line was quickly formed.

Each man or woman was issued a weapon catered to their MOS ranging from old SPAIDs to M3 or the occasional M2 rifle, shotguns, old styrling longbolts, and a plethora of other weapons and even a few of the women reading some vulnerability in the fat man were able to coo or coerce a much newer rifle or some attachments from him, but no ammo or magazines. Quilly, despite her hideously grotesque chicken-wings was even offered a large Shotgun looking weapon and held up the line for a remarkable amount of time as the tubby guard asked a series of gross and personal questions about elysian sex-habits ranging to if it was true how loose they were morally speaking and if they only did it back there to keep their purity.

He was shut up when Quilly was unceremoniously moved aside and a massive Rhino of a mutant leaned in towards the window making the armorer shirk back.

"Well'n i heard pigs like you squeal real good when they take it back there."

For his actions, Rhindo left with a little killer pistol which he actually laughed at and tucked into his pocket.


Next up was Lupin who got a sneer of jealously from the armorer who stared him down before a wicked grin creased his face. After disappearing for a while the armorer came back with an old but massive Na-w3301 scout cannon which he struggled just to leg to the counter.

"It's either this or the junk-rifle." He nodded at a rifle on the wall behind himself that only Lupid would recognize as his own CCR rifle however it ended up here.

After that there were few hang ups. Niche equipment was sometimes parsed towards females who even got in line twice to help out the occasional male who buttered them up, and even Molotra was given two M2 rifles cobbled together on a familiar mount the armorer stated that he "had no idea were they came from, but should fit what you've got there" in regards to her arms attachment.

No knives, ammo, or anything actually dangerous was issued other than weapons without or with empty magazines. With little time to fit everything in duffle bags the group was once again ushered along by an anxious NSN ensign and towards the other doors, the massive ones.

When they eventually ground open it revealed a massive underground hangar that was devoid of all life or activity with the exception of a massive elevator slowly lowering a full-sized starship down in the form of an ancient warhorse transport.

Relieved, the ensign ran off towards the ship despite the fact it would likely take the better part of half an hour to make it all the way down to the ground at the pace the massive starship-elevator was being lowered. Easy stopped the group from following and directed them to hold tight after the doors had closed.

"You've got some free time, do anything but fight or fuck. And be ready to embark in thirty!" With that she informed William he was responsible for his men and casually Easy walked off after the Ensign.

Left alone to their own devices many of the prisoners went back to their little formed groups and began to trade equipment, attachments, etc. amongst themselves; Leaving the genuinely innocent group alone and with a half hour to finally get their bearings...

The Sideline

"BREAK HIS FUCKING FACE!!!" Dyna shouted as the crew charged Rhindol she followed the exclamation with a series of boos interspersed by curses when Lupin's defenders ceased hostilities. It was unfortunately all she could do short of ready herself to spike Lupin back to his side before his head crossed the line.

Dyna fell in line with the rest of the group as they left their quarters. She had never been in a place like this, her military experience before the incident with the offer had been limited, she had seen combat on multiple occasions and bounced around between bases, but she never saw a place designed to protect the soldiers from each other! Not that she was upset, other than Lupin's little protective detail just about everyone here was either an intentional (or in Rhindol's case) an unintentional threat. If she wanted to make it through this shit show she would have to make friends quickly, and they seemed like the best bet.

When it was her turn to deal with the chunky armorer Dyna hoped that some gratuitous flexing would get her a SPAID with proper optics and a foregrip above all else. As a supplemental just before turning away to find her soon-to-be friends, "Let them know I like my ammo in big, heavy, thick belts. Okay?" She said punctuating it by winking with her unburnt eye. She didn't know if he controlled the ammo distribution but getting a few extra belts to throw over her shoulder probably wouldn't hurt when shit inevitably hit the fan.

With her gear collected she tracked down Lupin's crew. With a huff, she turned to the group she had attached herself to since waking up "Hey, I know we didn't get off on the right foot but I'd really like to stick with you guys..." She shrugged nervously but smiled none the less "You've got my word that I'll do everything I can to watch your backs, and I happen to be one hell of a heavy gunner." Her eyes bounced between Lupin and Carina since those two had been her main points of contact for good or ill.

Secret Agent Man?

Tobias had been notably absent from the effort to save Lupin, opting instead to observe the crowd of inmates from a safe but unnotable distance. While most might not have noticed Locust's feigned state of unconsciousness, his enhanced eyes and training allowed him to spot the ever-so-slight eye and throat movement. Before the other operator closed her eyes, he moved just slightly to where he could be seen and gave her an IPG hand signal for I see you, trusting the other operator to know that he meant that he was aware that she was still alive, and would do his best to help where he could.

As the group moved to the armory, he gave a sidelong glance back into the bay, though not for too long as the group moved swiftly into the armory. Once inside, he stood in the line, watching as the line moved slowly and those he knew stepped away with weaponry. Eventually it was his turn, and the armorer seemed to fish around for whatever was on hand, coming back to the desk with a shotgun. While the type of weapon was familiar to him, he wouldn't have called a shotgun his first choice, or even his third. Tobias thought that either he had let his expression slip, as the moment he had started to think his disappointment he saw a mean-spirited grin spread across the armorer's face as the young operator was shooed away and told to fall back in line.

When they reached the massive hangar, Tobias couldn't help but let out a whistle as the antique starship was lowered on the lift. "Man, they're really bringing out the museum pieces for this," he commented as he ambled over to the group from the Little Death and their plus-one, setting his shotgun down on the floor and taking a seat next to it. "We're sure riding to our deaths in style."

NSN Tin Can: First Stop? Likely Exploding


Carina could only lift an eyebrow at Locust's perceived declaration of intimacy on her part. Guess the concept of checking the woman's response to physical sensation could've been misinterpreted as such. Or the killer was balls to the walls bonkers. Getting poked in the eyesocket with a shockstick could've caused damage to an already (Which to Carina was likely the truth of it) damaged mind. Though she blinked once the little capsules and contacts were palmed to her. Albeit too late as the focus of her newfound ire of their situation came back in. Chewing at the inside of her cheek in response, she wondered if the woman could even decipher what NYRDS stood for as an acronym.

Unable to do as whatever Locust was asked, she instead had to keep the things on her person, discreetly pocketed away. Better to ask Bottom Barrel what they were as she was unfamiliar with the things. Biting back a sneer at the thought of this crusty bitch actually doing paperwork, Carina fell into line with her fellow 'Convicts'. Being led out of their little barracks, the young Sanroma was taking stock of the niggling little details around her. The black line, the way where ever they were going was setup. Even the doughy fucker behind the glass. Diabetes on two fuckin' legs. she thought as 'Easy' sauntered up to him acting as sweet as cream and just about as artificial as a packet coffee whitener. The short stack of a medic's eyes positively glittered while looking between the two. Tubs of fun liked his fun on the slutty side it seemed. And it made her wonder if Sergeant Hotpants reciprocated judging by the way she'd seemed to shudder? Shiver? That just barely there bit. She filed that away for later.

As she watched weapons and armor being doled out to the others, Carina's fingers beat to some unknown tune at her thigh. At the word 'Nova', the young woman seemed to mull over what that had meant until seeing the weapon. Two years on the ice seemed to have let her fellow Nepleslians advance a bit in the art of making shit that kills. When it came to Lupin and Quilly, she held her temper in check, eyes alighting on the massive weapon the young sniper was handed with a bit of glee. It, however, did not extinguish the thought of trying to punch the suet out thunder thighs until Rhindol probably made him crap his bodyweight in frosting.

When it came to her turn, she beamed the man a smile of her pearly whites. Taking the rifle (a ZARC) and vest for herself, the girl couldn't help but add a: "Thanks there, sweetcheeks." another smile, and sauntered off before other convicts of the fairer, of probably guilty sex cooed and aahed at the man for their own weapons. Truth be told, she'd just wanted to dig at the bastard a bit. Both at the rhino mutant's very obvious observation and the fact the 'Tommy' boy as she now referred to him as would sweat powdered sugar if he ever taxed himself in anything more than opening a box of Krispin's Cream doughnuts.

And at the very end could only share Barrel's remark about their ride. But once aboard, the recyclers on the thing stank of recycled air, filters likely either needed changing or it was just damn body odor of some unclean bastard. Seemingly out of character, instead of seating herself next to Lupin, or her other squaddies, Carina elected to first sit beside Tobias. The butt of her rifle hitting the deck plate with a solid 'Plink'.

"Goldin' fuckin' oldy." she remarked, the contacts she'd palmed away earlier in her hand now nudging against one of his. Face going flat like their favorite psychotic killer's a moment, Carina appeared to be going over the weapon as she flashed them at him in a deft and discreet motion. The medic wanted to know what they were. And quick as a flash the expression was gone with a companionable chuckle as were the contacts themselves.

"Hell. Maybe we'll explode. Uh, y'didn't hear that last part." with a grunt, and hopping to her feet, Carina moved to plop down beside Quilly and Lupin just a seat down.

"Damn tha's a big gun..." then with a seemingly nasty grin she continued, "He didn't know what he gave'ya, Lulu. Fuck'n thing is 'bout five klicks'a fun'n games if'n I'm seein' what I'm believin. With a sore sho-" before she got any further, the amazonian Nepleslian woman who'd accosted her friend came into view. Expression going neutral, Carina sat and gave the woman a once over. Up and down. As if on reflex, she scooted a little closer to Lupin, a glower forming.

The girl rolled her shoulders as if she were some sort of wrestler herself. Granted, from the look of things, Carina certainly didn't have the build, nor height for it. But, Dyna had gotten a first-hand example of a Sanroma sleeper hold. What had that bag of digital bones called her fellow Marines? Fodder? No. She wouldn't start thinking of them as such. But what stood before her could be considered damned close for accosting one of her squadmates.

"Ya'fucked wit'em, he gets'ta decide." her voice cool before getting to her feet once more and sitting on the other side beside Quilly. But, Carina did give Dyna a warning look. The younger girl's eyes were still on the taller woman's a moment longer before getting to a function check of her weapon.

Barracks
CPL. O. Reiter


As the alarm began to sound, Otto sat up, his head throbbing, the familiar feeling of the Hard slab of a bed and the smell of metal, polish and a large number of people. before the sudden pop of the foolish Marine's brain and eye. He watched briefly before getting up to check his footlocker. the news and brawl in the prison seemed like a poor dream, until he stopped , his hands still in the locker to see What additional equipment was left. intense dark brown eyes fell upon the older officer, before returning to find only basic kit. Standing up with a sigh, Otto's body felt heavier than before. Still Sore it might seem, but calm and collected." Everyone sound off. What is your status?" His words seemed calm and collected, in an eerie sort of way, almost as empty as before the mental rollercoaster, that brought the squad and their compatriots to the Prison. walking over to the line checking on the girls...and tank. Before returning back to his rack, looking up to his fellow male Comrades. Moving once more to Lupin, Before resting a heavy hand on his shoulder. The grey now starting to show more than before." You did good Kennedy, Thanks for snapping me out of it." His gaze turned to Tobias with a nod before standing on the line, awaiting the next order.

The gruesome reminder of their position laid motionless on the barracks floor, Otto kept to himself, his head began to throb as the static from his Optical implants became temporarily blinding, before fading in a short time. giving a cause for a concern, but with time passing, the now older Otto would simply pinch the brow of his nose, attempting to alleviate any additional pressure building up in his face, of course it was with little success. keeping the incident as Nonchalant as he could muster, The additional issues it might cause were not worth divulging to the team, the only plan thus far was to survive, yet again it would seem.

The Armory

as the group moved, Otto followed , waiting near the front of what could barely be called a formation. One after another stepped forward to be issued their weapons in a mix of small arms. Finally it was his turn to receive a weapon. The Armorer turned , rummaging around for a moment before handing the man a Carbine length M3 before quickly shooing him away to fall back into the formation. There was little verbal exchange to be had as the group then began their move to the Hangar. Hearing Tobias' Otto made a brief smirk, shaking his head in disbelief." Is that ship still Void worthy?" his question followed the IPG operators own comment, prior to moving towards their next destination.

Barracks
Once more Lupin was tossed around like a 6'3" ragdoll, the world spinning as he was shunted one way and then yanked back another, the fluid in his inner ears churning around like the wild waves that popped up whenever a storm would roll through Funky City's Quais area. Those fuckers would dash your bones against the stony, chem-stained floor of the harbour if you didn't respect them~

The young man squeezed his eyes shut and waited for it to all end... but a few seconds passed and he was having difficulties breathing, the sensation of Sebastion's treetrunk arms crushing his body meant his head thankfully hadn't exploded yet~
His eyes slowly fluttered open to the sight of that ugly rhino motherfucker that'd been so eager to push the young half-hanyan to his death.

"You... fucker!" Lupin growled, struggling against Sebastian's muscles a few seconds before realizing it was a futile effort, both because there was no way he could move until the 'SOL let him and the 'Rhino motherfucker' looked damn impervious to anything that'd been thrown at him thus far. Sebastian would feel the young sniper's chest rise and fall against his grip, hearing a small muttering of "Thank you~" before he was released.

Realizing how close he'd been to a sudden death with no chance to fight back had obviously shaken the young man a bit, to the point where he tensed up beneath Otto's grip and shrugged the older sniper's hand away with a deep frown creasing his boyish features.

"Just... fuck, don't do it again."

Armoury
He spent the slog along the black line in a slight stupor, barely remembering getting up off the floor let alone where the black line had told the ensemble of supposed criminals when to turn, the exposed rhino ass in his face only served to make his blood boil and his jaw clench tighter, fangs digging into the flesh of his lower lip hard enough to break the skin.

Then it was his turn at the armoury.

"Uh~" was all the lad muttered at first, being presented something designed to be wielded from either a static position or inside a suit of power armour, even with his newly acquired muscles it would be heavy as shit.

Then he was offered an alternative, an option that was squinted at for a few seconds before his eyes went wide. That wasn't a CCR similar to his, that was his.

"The S300, I'll take the bolt action," Lupin gulped, every greasy, clammy fingerprint the slob behind the counter left behind glowing something fierce for Lupin's mutant peepers. With an undone flak jacket cradling his chest, the rifle in one hand and assorted gear slung over his shoulder Lupin went to go meet up with the other surviving members of Small Death, taking a knee and fiddling with his gear, about to tell Carina why he'd opted to not go with the scout rifle when Dyna interjected.

Why was he the one making these calls? with a huff, a scratch at the back of his neck and a dry swallow Lupin gave his answer.

"I... look, she fucked up and tried to make good for it, I've nothing against her if she can carry her weight. Now if that's that can I please have a few minutes where I'm not the center of attention?" Lupin huffed, clearly in a bit of a mood from everything that'd been going on, both what the others had seen and then having the weight of sudden Royalty bearing down on his shoulders.

With that said and done Lupin moved to look over his beloved rifle, pouting at the big blue rack numbers that'd been scrawled on the side with a paint marker, though the thing didn't look like it'd been beaten up too much. At least the faded witness marks where the scope mounted to the rifle seemed to still be properly aligned, if nothing more it should still shoot straight.

Hopefully...

Hangar - Everyone.


As the ancient warhorse of a ship began to lower closer and closer to the deck the faint smell of ammonia was beginning to make itself noticed in the hangar. Light from the top of the lowering shaft softly illuminated mustard-brown gasses wafting in before being blown back up in a constant recycling process that implied that whatever was up there, be it the next level up or the planet's surface was probably not ideal if its atmosphere was saturated with highly toxic substances like ammonia.

While most complained about the growing stench, some simply ignored it.

Rhindol Cruz, being the most outspoken person present took one long sniff and thankfully for everyone around ignored it as if the small of cat piss in the air was hardly worth remarking on compared to what he likely had smelled in his time.

While most of the group idled about and tried to make friend in Dyna's case. Tobias was casually flashed the small gel contacts briefly. Out of context it would mean absolutely nothing to him. But with the given context clues of Carina's proximity to Locust, The operators faux-coma, and other clues he could likely hazzard a series of guesses as to what they could be.

A low-powered and non-cybernetic interface mechanism for a HUD or remote interfacing with equipment such as retinal scanners.
A sensor-filter lense made to detect certain types of radiations the group used to mark dead-drops.
A semi-permanent contact that adhered to the eye to change eye-color.
Contact-caps made to copy someone else's ocular profile for passing retinal scanners.
Caps made to shield from harmful rays, radiations, and airborn gasses.

There were, of course, other things they could be. But the possibilities fell off from there. A thought also occurred to him that with the operator being restrained and likely unable to administer them to herself had likely meant for Carina to put them on her.

For better, or worse Carina had them now. What it did mean, however, was that the IPG or Duece or whatever he was a part of was still in play and that this was an OP of sorts if Locust was given a dead-drop with these; And not him and this team of rookie marines being cast away as discarded assets.

If the hell he had endured was real it meant that there was still some powerful entity that was either connected to or impersonating the IPG out there calling shots for better or ill in the SMDIoN, and Tobias and likely these people were still a part of it.

This was later proven when the ship finally touched down and all the prisoners were rallied together and forced to carry unmarked and sealed crates up its ramp and into its hold. She didnt acknowledge any of them with more than a glance but Windchime, the BRR officer was directing the organization and securing of these crates in the massive cargo hold of the ship.

Wearing the loose-fitting uniform of the Nepleslian Star Navy, and bedecked with a pair of worn Commander rank tabs on her uniform she berated the older NSN ensign for their tardiness and stormed off shortly after giving the group a too-long glance without remark.

NSS 'Manager of Violence IX' - Three weeks later.

The warhorse starship became the makeshift home of the prisoners for the better part of the next month when it finally left the world they learned was aptly named Poison due to its highly-toxic atmosphere containing only the one supermax prison belonging to the NPF and housing the cryogenically frozen bodies of not only the DIoNs most dangerous criminals but also an entire NSMC division without any defining unit designation of than being called the Penitent Damned that occasionally unfroze large quantities of marines, navy, etc. to throw into suicide missions in return for reduced sentences for the survivors.

Considering many of the SMDIoN personnel frozen there had upwards of 20-100 year sentences it was a better deal than risking their brain rotting in cryo-sleep.

Sealed away from the rest of the ship in a cargo-bay turned billet they never saw the massive starbase and rook defensive platforms as they left the planet, nor the douzens of other starships they fell into formation with containing even larger numbers of convicts-turned-soldiers once again. They were told this and much more over the following days as they were finally briefed now that it was too late to escape it.

The planet of of Ukk, long held in Nepleslian space of the former mishu-worlds, but never subjugated had finally punched its ticket and was being moved on by the forces of the former AASP; Now simply called the Fourth Fleet or Fleet Strike and its accompanying marine forces. Its new Grand Admiral Lysander Calloway; The very same former admiral who had sent the Small Death and many other suicide teams to hold ground against the Kuvexians was now following the same trend by calling up forces like the Penitent Damned to soften up landing zones for his Marines while his assault fleet crashed against and hunted down the remaining NMX/SMX assets in the system.

The brief outburst at learning about being used to soften up murder-cats even crazier than those found in Yamatai, and goddamn Squids only lasted so long when it became obvious that the ship; Sealed off from them was already off planet and en-route. Two women, however, refusing to even risk the fate many of their gender faced during the last Mishu war had silently taken their lives that very night rather than be sent to fight squids with outdated equipment and without support.

The following weeks while dour had many resigned to their fates. Military discipline was instated and daily routines of drill, physical fitness, and training were regulated to keep everyone busy while specialists like Carina and a handful of other medics were put to work studying and updating their skillset while being crammed with the obviously political propaganda of the NYRDs and Yellow political party. Basic cybernetics were supplied and installed in some, and re-activated in others.

Locust, however, was nowhere to be found and seemingly never made it to the ship...

The contacts Carina was in possession of quickly became apparent in their use when peering through them one could find discolored patches of wavy radiation against ship panels and in inconspicuous locations. Physical pocket-maps folded and laminated in pouches depicting unknown mountainous terrain, IR strobes, Rangefinders and artillery-marking devices, A datajockey with a dead battery that once charged showed a background of familiar operators seen in the simulation, weeks worth of long-term rations and water purification tablets, carefully hidden blocks of compound explosives and detonators disguised in empty M3 magazines, the scattered parts to make a power-source for Molotra, Miscellaneous pieces of equipment ranging from radio-keys and a familiar knife belonging to Carina were found over the course of weeks while other dead-drops were simply inaccessible. In one of them there was even a single familiar cybernetic leg belonging to Locust that weighed too much and was too noticeable to discreetly withdraw.

If Carina kept any or all of this hidden or distributed it among the team none of the other prisoners were aware of the surplus of equipment and goodies. Most were too busy in their duties led by the taskmater that was Erin Zelegar. And in their off-hours more than a majority would come together to entertain themselves in various ways ranging from games and activities to even performances from the Lizzard mutant; A semi-famous celebrity more than a few could place named Rungo Bungo who was a notorious performer and prankster on the InterNep before a failed assassination attempt against a senator.

One day, however, things changed as the general atmosphere in the hold began to change. Easy seemed more serious and on edge and a few crewmen were even seen conversing with her from time to time. Finally a mustering was called and the 50-odd men and women were assembled in formation.

"Its time. The Fourth Fleet has cleared us a corridor; We make planetfall in six hours."

The next six hours went on in a blur as equipment was packed away and gear was prepped. There was still no ammunition or ordinance issued but it was promised it would be shortly as it became obvious that the more desperate once again sought some escape or means to delay.

With few issues, the entire hold was packed up and carried on less than 50 marines and two spacers as for the first time the ships hold was unlocked and the marines were led down a corridor of sealed doors and through vacated parts of the ship until they reached another hold and were ushered inside of massive rectangular-looking construct housed inside of it.

The inside contained little more than two rooms. One housing a simple cockpit with three seats; Two of which taken up by William and Easy. And a larger row of four rows of 15 seats each containing a harness to secure the occupant to the seat and a locked container secured to the seat that was informed to contain the ammo and ordinance of the labled occupant.

Each of the team with the Addition of Dyna, Rhindol, Rungo Bungo, and a single stoic marine named Michael Carmine had a seat in a row facing the wall while a spot was left without a chair for Molotra but with restraints capable of holding her safely in place.

Shortly later what would become obvious was some kind of dropship was sealed from the outside and nervous chatter began to spark up between those sitting closest to each other.

"Its been almost a decade. All we have to do is mop up some stranded cats and aging squids and go home! Easy, right?" Michael Carmine leaned over and asked Tobias who was coincidentally sitting right next to him. "I've only got seven years left on my sentence i can be out in two once this is all over, you?"

NSS 'Manager of Violence IX' Dropship

"Data suggests your optimism is unwarranted." Molotra responded to Michael Carmine, coldly. A squakish voice now buried under multiple layers of gas filtration equipment and armour. "These NMX dolls haven't been so much trained, as conditioned via situation type 'survival of the fittest'... This is most likely why Yamatai can recruit them with basic acts of kindness and amenities. I would expect high propensity for close combat abilities."

The smell didn't bother them a massive amount. In fact, the degraded prison ship wasn't that far off some of the front line spacer ships she'd been on, supplied with garbage parts from who knows where. The only thing different was the sheer amount of human-meat around, and the lack of explosives saying they were likely going to be wasted as cannon fodder, and not some clever guerrilla tactic.

Time not spent silently spent following Carina around, was occasionally supplanted at just staring at Lupin or Dyna at a distance, dark lenses of their permanent mask emotionless. No tie or favour was forgotten. But the grasp the small tank had on their own small sliver of humanity had clearly been crushed.

They spent all month just building up supplies, like they were expecting to be dropped any minute. Taping spare batteries to their skin under their shirt necessitated wearing the body armour at all times, less a puncture wound from some random fight cause a puncture explosion... And talking to a whole bunch of other rotten scavengers, many of whom were much bigger than them, attempted muggings had happened more than once.

These days she was wearing both the gas mask and the helmet at all times. It started with getting people to stop passively-aggressively resting an elbow on their head, and ended when they got sick of twisting arms half out of their sockets. That meant even more armour panels, and a knife attachment on the underside of her double-barrelled cyberarm.

Yet, they still felt woefully underprepared for all this. Thoughts kept relaying back to that image of Locust laying there, unable to walk even if they weren't restrained. The possible future of just becoming a broken lump of meat loomed over them every waking minute.

They'd fight it. But that didn't mean they would win.

"They should have given us explosives." A macabre inspiration hit them, the worst and most rotten kind. "Or chemical throwers. There is no point in fighting fair, here."

Feet First Into Hell

Tobias had spent the past three weeks collecting the dead drops when Carina had been kept too busy by the medical staff to do so. Only ever in places he was meant to be, of course. When a drop was somewhere that prisoners did not normally go, he waited until some kind of task or errand took him there. Carina's knife had been delivered to her, and any gear had been carefully slipped into safe hiding spots inside the group's equipment, and physical media such as maps or photos had been recorded by his implants.

As the sole marine named Carmine spoke to the young operator, he let out a wry grin meant to provoke a sense of camaraderie in the marine. "I don't know if I'm ever getting out now. Too many people want my head it seems."

When the freespacer spoke, he gave a small nod to her before continuing to the marine. "The 'spacer is right, who knows what the squids have gotten up to while we're not looking." He reached over and gave the other man a pat on the shoulder. "Don't let your guard down, I'd hate to see someone go this close to the end of their sentence."

Retracting his arm, he turned to look at Carina, making eye contact for a brief moment and rubbing under one eye as if there was an itch. Each of them had one of the contacts now; it was a failsafe to make sure that whatever mission they had been thrust into would go on if one of them died.

Manager of Violence Nine
It's nine, not Eye Ecks.

Quilly'd found herself already busy trying to regrow her plumage - a task which hadn't quite been completed yet, but had at this point at least visually become apparent; these shitty meals weren't helping out, though. What Quilly's personal effort had borne so far was a moderately comfortable layer of soft, weak feathers. The down underneath had come first, but these budding primaries and secondaries weren't even properly covering that yet... But it was better than nothing. And a hell of a lot less cold. ....Until some jerk would splash her, soaking her to the bone.


At least eventually she might be able to make some trinkets or something. That horny armorer back in the prison mighta given her something nice if she had any feathers to trade with him! So far, nobody else has been as forthcoming about their... peculiar tastes. Which can generally be considered a good thing.

Tobias had some tricks up his sleeve, apparently - he's gotten her a couple of grenades, a little bit of plastic explosive... Not much but she's burnt down stuff with less. Needless to say, they'd be useful if a squid decided to try munching on her...

The Dropship

"Ah, don' worry about that too much. Whaddayathink they gave me that Gjallahorn for? 's not as good as a proper grenade, but it'll definitely tear a hole in any fool who gets a direct hit!" The bird responded to the comments about the relative lack of explosives. She seemed a bit giddy, from an external point of view... Unusually happy for somebody about to jump head-first into death.

It's nine, not Eye Ecks.

"Don't underestimate the Squids..." The new convict CO cautioned. "No matter their age, they are a terror to fight..." William said, with a tone that left no room for argument. He had fought them before, when the NMX had boarded the Kaiyo so many years ago. It was a night that, to this day, haunts his nightmares.

Lieutenant Sanders did his best to try and form some type of order in his new unit of convicts. He had read over everyone's files meticulously. The ones he had access to, and the ones he had to dig deep to find.

Still this hadn't sit right with him from the beginning. How did he even end up here? Especially being the Premier's son... not that he had ever used, or planned to use that card. Was he even still the Premier at this point? He had lost so much time...

As the Lieutenant was deep in thought Sebastian was at the back of the ship, bored out of his mind. Since being brought aboard the already ripped ID-SOL had done nothing but train. What else was there to do? He couldn't go drink and getting into fights around here ended very poorly for him. He tried to stick close to his old squad, but also found himself spending time with his new ID-SOL CO. The two would workout early before the regular PT started, to warm themselves up.

"Eh squids are squids LT. We'll squash them all the same." He commented looking forward towards William. "It'll be more fun than being hold up in here for days on end." He added.

William looked back to his fellow ID-SOL. "Careful what you wish for Pvt. Armstrong..."

Purveyor of Pain 10-1
The string of suicides were... an eyeopener to how fucked their situation truly was, and the catalyst that prompted Lupin into honing and getting familiar with his new body. Whenever he had a moment to spare Lupin would torture his body with non-stop weighted calisthenics in any form he could, bundling his few worldly possessions together for just that extra little bit of resistance.

It left him in a constant state of pain and fatigue but the young prince stayed the course. As the weeks passed Lupin's hair would slowly begin growing out once more, including a strange little tuft of platinum blonde amidst the sea of black and brown hairs, the patchy scruff lining his jaw made the sniper wish he still had access to the knife that had been a gift from his father. Something to carve if off so that his face didn't itch so damn much.

Eventually, through enough subterfuge and smuggling, Lupin had managed to get his hands on a crappy multitool that'd let the lad finally give his rifle a proper once over, so during a brawl the sniper snuck himself away to a quiet corner of the cargo bay where he could have a brief moment of silence. He'd gotten as far as tightening a few screws before the sound of feet padding towards him made Lupin quicky scramble to hide the contraband away in the ankle of his boot.

It was a young Nepleslian that looked more or less his age, green scales trailing up her exposed forearms and framing her otherwise fairly Nepleslian facial features, with a mischevious glint in her yellow, slitted eyes. Lupin rose to a standing position as she started speaking, bringing up threats of telling the guards he'd been skulking around suspiciously much to his protests.

When asked the price for her silence the young hybrid quietly wandered towards the half Hanyan and ran a hand down the length of his scientifically perfected physique, giving him a squeeze that started a quick yet brutal brawl behind the shipping containers. The young woman was left grasping at the gorey hole where her throat used to be as Lupin limped away, his back covered in claw marks and one eye bloodshot as more crimson ran down his chin.

He needed stitches and a good clean but nobody seemed to bother Lupin after that, no propositions or threats or anything, he'd prefer if he could have remained below the radar but this also worked well. It was self-defence after all, and he never faced so much as a stern talking to from the guards as repercussions for his actions.

The Dropship
"I feel woefully underarmed~" Lupin interjected with a hand on his bolt-action as he thought back to the scout cannon that'd been offered up, rubbing the yellowed bruise around his bloodshot eye as it took all his willpower to not scratch at the stitches and scabs holding his back together beneath his uniform. He was ten years old during the NMX offensive on planet Nepleslia and, while fortunate enough to have never been subjected to the horrors of the squids, he'd seen the aftermath first-hand and heard stories.

Still, that was enough to make the young man squirm around in his seat a bit and adjust straps that suddenly felt like they were digging into his meatsuit, he tried to not think about it too much and instead looked across the other people strapped into seats with explosives in the base of their skulls. Maybe he could get a pistol off one of them when they fell.

If he made it out of this mess his therapist would have a lot to say about that particular train of thought.

Eye Ecks

Dyna was just glad some of her hair had managed to grow back, granted it was mostly just fuzz at this point she would sometimes get lost in thought rubbing her hair back and forth imaging the shapes she was drawing them into. Boredom came quickly, she wanted to fight someone just for the hell of it now!

Thankfully she managed to find a sense of purpose in the group by running distractions while the others managed to find dead drops or lift contraband off of some poor idiot. Dyna had a habit of starting brawls or what she kept insisting should be called matches, where during any free time she would issue some kind of accidental shove or bump that would quickly escalate into a fight. It then became her job to keep it lively enough to take attention off of her comrades but not violent enough that it got anyone's minds blown so to speak. Only once did a smaller prisoner/marine keep fighting past where she wanted them to, his brain bomb went off mid-sentence. Dyna didn't really feel the urge to fight after that.

When drop day came she wasn't exactly happy her SPAID still felt disturbingly empty without ammo. She wasn't too afraid of the Squids, they were more stories than anything else to her. Back in her wrestling days there were always a few weirdos who would claim to have gone against them in some back alley ring but no one had seen it. Sure she remembered the attack on Neplesia but her side won! At least they did have ammo though...

Dropship - Everyone

All the clatter and commotion was cut short when the dropship began to vibrate and with a thwump and a vibration something in the ships hold opened and the dropship jerked as magnetic clamps were released and passive retro thrusters pushed it out of the hold.

Inside, the marines where subtly jerked around against their harnesses as the ship began to move. In the cockpit Easy sat at the controls beside William while a connection to the ships ACE remotely pointed the ship in the right directory. They were the only two with a window view who could see what all the others were spared.

Hundreds and thousands of kilometers away a space battle was being waged as distant pinpricks of light battled between one another. William would know from his own briefings that the 4th Fleet was clearing a corridor for the vanguard to land and clear the landing zones for the main force to arrive in a couple days time after the SMX void elements had been all chased down and space-superiority was achieved.

The Manager of Violence had been spared and its cargo blissfully unawares of the battle between the overwhelming NSN forces and the out-of-repair bio-ships of the abandoned SMX of the Ukk system. But even damaged and outmatched the squids still had fight in them as was apparent when the just recognizable form of an Atlas was cut in two with a flash of light from an SMX light cruisers aether weapon. The ships death looked as if it was in slow motion as the plume of exploding gases spread and the two halves of the ship cartwheeled away from each other.

Simular scenes were playing out all around them as other vessels displaced simular dropcraft as what appeared to be hundreds of gray-black drop craft where jettisoned out of ships by the handful; The Manager of Violence being the rare one-off as simular vessels practically threw out a half douzen dropcraft each.

None of the marines inside Williams craft except him and Easy would see the SMX corvette in their midst either, maneuvering around like a shark as its secondaries plucked dropcraft from space and turned them into spinning hulks full of holes that tore themselves apart. It spoke volumes that even the few military vessels displacing dropcraft held their fire; Content that the corvette didnt have their eyes on them but instead the fodder.

Inside the dropship gravity had finally left as they distanced themselves from the ship and the only thing that kept them secured to their seats was a harness. Eventually that too changed as the ship began to shudder and shake violently; Easy calling out that they had begun to breach the atmosphere. At that point the lack of gravity had turned into too much all at once as the G-forces rose more and more to the point that breathing became labored and more than a few with weaker constitutions simply blacked out.

But as soon as it had happened it ceased as the small craft broke atmosphere and the resistance faded. To their sides hundreds of other streakes followed, a couple hitting at od angles and bounding off the atmosphere and back into space where they would drift eternally.

The ship vibrated and jerked occasionally as it hit turbulance but was proceding smoothly enough that the worst had clearly passed.

"Holy shit that was crazy!" Michael carmine barked a laugh as he was tossed around in his harness. He was about to say something more when Easy yelled something unintelligible and a blank light nobody had noticed turned green. With an audible clunk that was even felt beneath each marine and next to Molotra the ammo bunkers unsealed to reveal magazines, knives, smoke grenades, shotgun shells and drum magazines, belts of ammo, flares, and other utilities. And most of all enough spare ammo to wage a small war.

For most it had finally sunk in that now most of all their was no escape and this is what they were prepared for; A hostile alien world with not a single friendly on the ground and no way out. It was fight and live or fight and die. Most fumbled anxiously as they scrambled for magazines and equipment to shove into pouches with more than a few dropping them out of reach and only a few others were able to snatch them up for themselves or kick them back to their owners.

Michael Carmine was not one of the ones who fumbled or was anxious as he propped his M3 between his legs and began to seat a magazine. It was against every code of firearms handling but seeing how effortlessly the marine performed the action more than a few began to copy him.

Grinning ear to ear he looked over to Tobias and opened his mouth...

Michael Carmine was the first casualty of the drop when the dropcraft took a close hit from a ground battery that sheared away one of the primary landing thrusters. A magazine on the floor still unrecovered flew from the jarring force and struck him hard enough in the temple that it embedded itself for the briefest of moments before cartweeling away. Bits of blood and graymatter spattered Tobias and a nearby Dyna as Carmine began to lul about and thrash with the new G-forces as the dropcraft began to spin and attempt to correct its path.

The only saving grace was that Carmines' death grip was on the grip of the rifle and not its trigger or else the barrel; Pointed at Sebastian, would have blown the Sol's head off when his hands clutched.

Just like in space, none inside sans for Easy and William would see the ground rapidly approaching or hear Zelegars cursing as she overrode the control and fought the descent. They would never know just how close they were to death by mere seconds when she managed to finally get the other three thrusters to compensate and the ship drastically began to decelerate.

It had been just a kilomiter off the ground when the ship reached a safe crash-velocity that wouldn't paste them against the soil of Ukk. By the time it hit the ground not too gently and even began to skid for several dozen meters as the other engines shore away and the landing spikes slowed their slide until the large box of a dropcraft stopped with a violent jolt.

"Errybody out!" Easy slurred as she wiped blood from her temple where it had impacted the console as she and a half hundred others fumbled with their emergency releases and the explosive bolts of the one hatch in the craft blew to expose the dark interior to a dim sun.

With the cockpit the closest to the exit the officer and SNCO were the first ones out as the others filed out behind them; The more in-control and coherent marines following their drilled-in training and forming a perimiter around the craft.

Above them, other craft streaked by whole or in flaming wrecks as the occasional flash somwhere they couldnt see from beyond the lip of the defalade they landed in caught another dropcraft and tore it apart.

It was only due to the craft being hidden by defilade that it was in Dyna's sector of control that the group of a half douzen brown-armored neko over two hundred meters away crested an outcropping beyond them and began to jog too-fast in their direction. Beyond them a bakers dozen more set up on overwatch but had yet to see the craft thankfully as the three smoking engines each hundreds of meters away where they broke apart and landed made the exact location unsure.

A Small Box Hurtling Towards the Ground

Dyna didn't hate heights or falling but she decided that she really hated this drop-ship, being restrained and thrown around wasn't anything new but at least there was a person doing it. Here there was just a machine and Michael Carmine's fucking elbow bouncing off her shoulders over and over again. Just when the feeling of powerlessness was just about to really get to her the ammo popped up! "About sweet fucking time" She shouted as she grabbed a box mag of 11.5mm. Like a kid in a candy store she was ignoring everything but her favorites, opting for extra boxes of both 11.5 and 6.8.

Her hand was outstretched for a nice belt of ammo to throw over her shoulder when half of her vision went red! Dazed for a second she thought she'd just been hit but as she turned to see what the hell hit her revealed Michael Carmine remains slopping around like a dummy. She wiped her eyes and brows clean, with a good look at his corpse now available "Shit, fuck, shitting fuck. Was that his fucking bomb, how did his head even do that?" out of habit she ran her hand through her almost hair and feel something akin to raw sausage stuck to her fuzzy head. She wondered if she looked like a freak or a badass with half of her face burnt to hell and the other half bright red with blood.

Rather than process anything else related to the meat sack formerly known as Michael Carmine, Dyna opted to focus on gear, adding a knife to her kit, more for dealing with jams than anything else.

On the ground, Dyna threw her belts to her side and dropped the boxes on top of them. She straddled her ammo and set up her gun, popping her bipod out on the defilade and quietly thanking the chunky armorer for putting some optics on her MG. "Contacts incoming can I shoot?" she asked unsure if her speaking voice could be heard beyond the roar of the engine. She started calculating the range of the closer jogging group while she waited for the firing order or for some trigger happy loser to give away their position first. As soon as either of those occurred she'd be ready to drop a controlled spray of fire on the incoming nekos, before quickly pulling up to indirectly fire on the overwatch group and tie them up while the rest of the crew cleaned up the remains of the joggers.

Within the Atmosphere

Quilly managed to almost ride the chaos and turbulence of planetfall, her airborne nature proving to still be useful even in a situation like this. The eye of the storm, she said not a word as the landing craft tumbled through the sky, barely under its own power. The ammo came, and she saw it instantly. And then, she smiled. There was a variety, a buffet of destruction awaiting her.

She didn't hesitate to dig in.

By the time she'd filled all the magazines and pouches she could carry, the little birdy was loaded down with a nice mixture of 20mm HE shells, flechette darts, and aven a handful of sticky grenades. Unfortunately, she only found two plasma shells.


Landfall
Engine machine broke

That launding was rough. Quilly just happened to not break something on impact - Elysians are known for their fragility in such aspects. But, safety harnesses also are known for reducing the overall deadliness of a crash. They didn't protect against squids and catgirls, though, and THOSE were the more immediate threat.

"If they get on top of us, we're done for. Ever seen a cat-fuck in melee?" Quilly curtly responded to Dyna. The little bird had something round in her hand, mostly concealed. Seems she was itching to throw it at a tasty clump of reds...

Plan Nep From Outer Space

The metal hand reached for a HE round; Snatched away by that fluff-winged girl with a sinister grin.

Hoarding freaking cockatrice! How was the featherweight thing so fast off the mark!?

Settled for two smoke grenades and five of the M2 banana mags, the later of which mostly because nobody else seemed to have that garbage gun, and it was a proprietary calibre.

Basic cargo securing tethers weren't really enough to stop Molotra rattling around, their fully armoured body and a low centre of gravity being both a blessing and a curse in this kind of situation. Suspension coils and track bolts squeaked and clattered against each other, creating a discordian rhythm inside their bones that turned their stomach inside out. They also couldn't see a damn thing, weakened physique entirely messed up by the rapidly shifting G-forces... But hey, wearing all that extra plating meant they weren't immediately murdered by all of the stray ordnance flying out of the locker next to them, so that was a net gain.

For a pace, euphoria overcame them, and the awkward metal creature just stared at the others whilst breathing heavily, as if still waiting for one more gigantic smashing sensation that indicated final landing. But the others were already up and out of their seats, scrambling to arms.

Did they even want to be first out of the landing craft? A nearby violent explosion said being last wasn't the greatest option either... She could hear Dyna yelling, already engaged...

Snapping off the harnesses tying them down- Down the ramp, and into the mud- It made a wet slapping noise and went right the way around her treads instantly. Fantastic.

Molotra took one look at the situation outside, and turned the dial on her smoke grenade to give it a good distance. Lobbed it with the strength of their cyber-arm, hard enough to cause her armour plates to clatter loudly- Landed at the tail end of the charging cat swarm, billowing out a grey mist that disrupted the enemy overwatch...

Then, they heroically paused and used Dyna's larger, muscular form as a meat shield, chambering both arm-rifles in turn.

When the war dolls were twenty or thirty meters away, that was the time to start unloading...

On a rock, in a hard place

As the dropship skidded to a halt, Tobias quickly unbuckled and retrieved the rest of his gear from stowage. A few grenades and an additional few helical magazines for his shotgun went into the bag he'd been issued, falling down inside with any of the scavenged dead drop materiel that he'd retained for himself. Then, the operator slipped through the trampling crowds to retrieve Carmine's fallen rifle, pausing for a moment over the man's corpse before coldly wiping his face off and picking the rifle and some spare ammunition up, slipping the sling over his shoulder as he moved out of the dropship.

As he moved alongside Dyna, he explained what he'd seen, his implants making sure there was no way he could have missed the impact even as fast as it was. "A magazine on the floor, it got sent flying when we got hit." He paused for a moment, "It's a shame," He said, before turning to the explosive-happy Elysian. "Ms. Bird is right, we'd better keep them off of us at all costs."

He then pulled back slightly, making a show of checking over his weaponry but secretly surveying the battlefield, looking for something, anything, that would indicate the course of the mission. With Locust gone there was nothing left to guide him, and Carina, he said to himself, to their objective but the contacts that Locust had passed off at the last minute.

The Frontiers of Good Decisions

Everyone’s words were certainly enough encouragement for Dyna “Better now than ever!” she said with a sigh.

The wrestler turned marine started firing off burst after burst of surpressing fire into the mini horde of catgirls. Once about half of her first box of 11.5 was sent express towards the cats she announced “picking targets!” She took advantage of her optics and started taking longer gaps between bursts of fire to zero in on particular nekos and fire at them in focus before moving on to the next one of that initial half dozen attackers.

By the time she was finally through that first box, Dyna was starting to worry about the Molotara’s smoke finally dissipating. Loading a loose belt of her light ammo she said to the Tank person behind her “I’m going indirect on the overwatch.”

She leveled her machine gun up to start pouring fire into the smoke in longer full auto sprays to keep the overwatch as busy as possible.

Her heartbeats and the thumps of round after round started to feel indistinguishable. She started to feel a smile fighting its way onto her face as the adrenaline began working its way into her head. Moments like this certainly weren’t why she joined but damn it certainly made things easier. Feeling herself get worked up she started taking longer breaths keeping her breathing synced to her trigger pulls she did her best to stay under control.

She could almost get used to this. Almost…