RP: 4th Fleet (NSN) [Mission 5.5] The Digging Cavaliers

Ice came out of boost into a slide behind a reinforced tunnel braces, with just a touch of thrust in the opposite direction to bring her into cover. The suit carried a bit more inertia then it did in the sims, and she hit clumsily. But Ice recovered quickly and swung up to cover the door as one of the other troopers began fiddling with the electronic locks.

Francis continued to scan the horizon for any targets. He moved closer to the door, but stayed around the perimeter of the group facing out so that he could engage any hostile threats. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any, and the Cavaliers could get into the facility without any trouble. Francis realized, however, that they would very likely run into trouble. Lots of trouble. He kept his HPAR leveled to meet any attackers.

Clutching his AS4GS, he had shuffled out of the shuttle as soon as it had landed, following behind his squadmates. As he was on a look out for any dangerous targets, the sergeants voice rung through his ears. Luke surveryed the area while complying to orders and making his way towards the mines with quick, hefty steps in his hostile. A person was working with some of the wires for the door to the mines. Luke kept his distance from the door, but was close enough to keep up with the squad and awaited any enemies. Ready to shoot anything that is dangerous, he kept his gun close and positioned.

He could feel like there was something lurking, something coming, but maybe he was wrong. A rise of excitement grew in his stomach as he hoped he would have a chance to blow up some enemy targets. After all, it was better to get all of his chaotic impulses out here where he doesn't have to worry about the restrictions underground.

Like the others, Stan boosted toward the mine entrance. Anxious to avoid ploughing into the walls, however, he stopped boosting early. As a result, he had to lumber the rest of the way. He kept up a steady, methodical scan, wary of any unpleasant surprises that could be waiting for them. Even if things seemed alright now, there was no guarantee that they would remain that way.

Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to gain entry. He was sorely tempted to say something - anything - to break the relative silence, but he knew that it would be unprofessional of him. Gritting his teeth, he tried to push his nerves out of his thoughts. It was easier said than done, though.

The Marines suddenly found themselves under intense small arms fire and no cover between them and their attackers. NMX Nekos, armed with Impaler particle rifles, were gathered around the two turreted Anti-Air batteries which were still pelting high explosive shells at the rising shuttle.

Laura's pulse laser arrays whirred, firing lasers at the Nekos in her view. The lasers were linked to her eyes and brain impulses. Every time she looked at a Neko and wished to fire, the VOID complied. It usually took a couple bursts to take one down. Their resilience was greater than that of a Nepleslian. If they had cover and were properly trained to use their synthetic bodies' capabilities, Laura felt that the NMX would have been unstoppable.

"Useless, all of you!" Laura berated the newbies who had taken flight towards the door like a mob of amateurs. Not a shot fired in response from anyone besides her and one other idiot. Some guy who had decided he was in their squad AFTER she had checked everyone out.

Her waist-mounted gatlings stayed silent. Those were better at anti-armor. No need to drain her power right now. She did, however, activate the shield drones, forming a pair of shield walls. One covered her right flank, since no one else had covered it and the other covered Bastilen, who was the only mildly important at the moment.

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The headlong rush by the Cavaliers opened them up to an enfilade of NMX fire. Though the turrets had no line of sight on them, the NMX Nekos were plentiful and well armed. Most had dropped to their knees or gone prone as they fired their yellow-white beams at the Marines.

While accuracy by volume was the normal doctrine behind NMX combat philosophy, these Nekos were excellent marksmen. For all their speed, the Marines had to stop. And with seven of them clustered the door, with only Laura and Luke firing, it was easy for them to take a few shots before shifting positions.

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The doors slid open and then stopped halfway. The alarm had been sounded and, unbeknownst to the Marines, the lockdown protocol had been initiated. There was enough space for a Hostile to squeeze through but not enough for larger Aggressors and VOIDs.

"A little help with these cats?" Laura asked impatiently.

Francis heard Laura's call for help and immediately rushed over to her aid. He distanced himself from her so as not to allow an explosion to take them both out, knelt down, and began opening fire on the Nekos. He sighted down some of the cats that were kneeling and fired three round bursts at them. He used the algorythm provided before they dropped in to compensate for the three times gravity, aiming above the NMX. Hopefully the rounds he put downrange would do their job an splatter their blood all over the turrets they were hiding behind.

Talbain moved to engage the smaller group of cats on the east, placing himself at the edge of one of the shields Romero had put up. A full salvo of BOLTS already armed and launching from both racks for maximum spread. His AMP and PLAs joined in raking across the enemy group as well. By this point all his monoeyes were active and the targeting data was being forwarded to the squad. A mental command had one of the eyes looking through the door for the inevitable enemy response.

Talbain's mind started working at the problem. "ROMERO, BRANDT! RAKING FIRE AND GRENADES FOR THE GROUP TO THE WEST. PLAINSVIEW, DANIELS, STONES. ENTER, CLEAR, AND GET THAT DOOR OPEN. WRENO WITH ME. CRIPPLE THAT AA! LASALLE SUPPORT BREACH GROUP. EXECUTE!" The ID-SOL couldn't help but smile, he hadn't realized just how much he missed being in a firefight.

Francis looked up from his sights after Talbain had shouted his orders. "Got it!" he shouted back at the corporal. He stood up quickly and rushed over to the group at the door, waiting to assist them in their breaching attempt. At least, Francis thought, there were people who could keep their cool under comabt. He stood at the back of the others getting ready to enter the facility, laying down covering fire so that they could get inside safely. He re-sighted the Nekos and continued shooting at them in three round bursts. Hopefully, at least one would go down.

"Move it! We can't stay out here forever!" Francis shouted at the others, trying to prompt them to go through the door.

Finally, orders. The marine could now act more efficiently since he knew clearly what he was supposed to do.

Wulfe already had his AS4GS on hand as he boosted towards the building, noticing how his shields took some hits from the enemy small-arms fire, so he didn't waste any time on the outside of the building as he was in a haste to get out of the immediate danger.

"Breaching!" He announced over comms as he was the first one in through the half-open door and into the building, getting in and moving to the side not to block the field of fire of the next person to come in.

The full helmet on the Tech Expert's head had no way of conveying the distaste that had risen up in his mouth and forced a grimace. He was sure he could taste a little bile. That's how it was when something that seemed successful suddenly ended up a mild failure. Worse yet, he had none of the sense to separate the door from the main system when the pulse had come through. Stupid stupid stupid.

If he had a little more time, he could override the lockdown, but he could already feel the rumblings of enemy fire over his shield. He had orders, and every reason not to do what he really wanted to sit and stop to do. It was always this way, never enough time or room for anything. The marine missed the days of being shot out of a ship. If they had been shot out of the ship, they wouldn't have given the Nekos the time or the satisfaction of knowing where to go.

The panel started to crumble in his hand for a couple of seconds. Gravity bent rather chaotically on the end of a push-pull rod when it charged. And then, right as Wulfe passed by, he let loose the mincing force of his PPG on the edge of the door to push one shutter into the wall. He had done it on the Mishhu ship almost twenty-five hours ago. Hopefully it would work.

He wouldn't have time to examine the results. The man had orders to answer to.

Abandoning his work made a little more mental bile rise in his throat, but he quickly choked it back down. He took to Talbain's side, crouching to one knee next to the Aggressor's leg, treating it much like a tank.

His SAVtech picked one of the the firing solutions that had taken the least damage, and he laid waste on it with several controlled bursts from his HPAR.

Ice took advantage of the covering fire to leap up, over and into a boost towards the stalled doors. This was why you didn't bother with sneaky shit. Two and a half bricks of RX. Saving the heavy slugs in her AS4 for Mindys, she returned fire to the unarmoured nekos with her pulse laser array, taking time to aim, as well as a fast moving Hostile could, at the Nekos along their line of advance to the door rather than just spraying and praying. But her goal was the door, not picking off some light infantry that the overwatch team were supposed to cover.

She slid through the door on Wulfe's heels, not having enough time to process what the techie was trying to do with the door. She quickly shifted to cover the opposite side from Wulfe, clearing the doorway for the next Marine through. She fell into a kneeling position that kept her DART launcher on target, sweeping the room with her shotgun set for plasma torch mode.

Suddenly they were being ambushed by a small band of NMX nekos. Luke didn't hesitate to start picking them off one by one. He lunged forward to get a closer shot and fired at them with his AS4GS. He knocked a few of them out and they got some minor hits on his hostile when he heard someone's voice through communications. They were giving out commands.

Luke sighed. Being in action and blasting the cats was thrilling, but he knew he shouldn't get too carried away. "Got it, but next time, don't be so greedy on the action," Luke replied to Talbain. A few more shots from his AS4GS was fired before he boosted himself towards the mines. He slid under the door and moved out of the way for the others. After sweeping the area, Luke put up his AS4GS and took out the sub-machine gun. Not wanting any fatal shots unless need be, the AS4GS will have to be the backup weapon.

He planned on using DARTs and the sub-machine gun if any one of them get crazy. Although using the AS4GS will be limited, he hoped to still have a chance for fun if anyone of the prisoners get too close. He was hoping for some close quarter combat and ready to use the hostile's plating guard to hammer down any dangerous targets that were within reach.

Phaedra fired short bursts from her HPAR at the nearest NMX emplacement, mindful of her close proximity to her squadmates. She targeted the AA gun itself in an attempt to destroy it. She was glad to have Talbain in her squad; he ordered the Cavaliers to take out the hostiles while she remained in contact with the Minutemen.

"Corporal Morris! We've got multiple NMX positions surrounding the facility! Get the Minutemen over here now!" said Phaedra into the comm. She needed the Minutemen to anchor the perimeter of the facility if the Cavaliers were to push inside at all.

As the group came under fire, Stan felt his mind about to start berating him, but he managed to fight off the urge. Finding himself almost reacting to Talbain's orders instinctively with a terse "Understood!" he tried to regain proper seperation between himself and the other Marines - foolishly, he had allowed himself to clump together with the others instead of maintaining his distance - he got into position and settled into a kneeling stance, facing the western group of NMX forces.

Taking a moment to check that he had the RED rounds selected, and that he had a clear shot toward the Nekos, Stan sent some fire down range. The first few bursts were intended to relieve the pressure on his comrades by getting the NMX soldiers' heads down, while the following shots were intended to hit any that were foolish enough to remain out of cover. Admittedly, it wouldn't be terribly accurate, but suppressive fire wasn't particularly concerned with that anyway.

The door facing Bastilen flung open to allow the Cavaliers in. In front, Wulfe entered a spacious, metal lined atrium with cargo lifts on the far end. There were two large swinging doors to his left and right, which obviously led to other rooms.

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Faced with the firepower of a Marine Power Armor squad, the Nekos were swiftly annihilated. The two turrets which had been the foundation for their defense were similarly dispatched. No one had expected a large, well-armed military force to pay attention to this outpost. The guards and weaponry was more than enough to deter any prison labor from breaking out, if they were indeed using forced labor.

Laura walked up to a wounded Neko, examined it curiously and then put a laser pulse to its head. "Weird. I always thought they had this instant-regen thing. Or maybe its only the Yammie ones," she commented. "All clear out here, Sergeant." Behind her helmet, Laura grinned. They were good. Some of them always had been but they had worked as individuals.

Now. Phaedra was a good leader who didn't just sit and snipe from somewhere. And people listened to Laura now when she said something. It was a good feeling. The squad at 87I or Tange was nothing like this. They had cut off the dead weights and left only the best. Or most of the best.

Bernhard had always been a good soldier and a good medic. And after the disaster at 87I, maybe that old man thought Bernhard was better off in a unit in the 1st Fleet? Maybe the transfer wasn't as temporary as everyone had thought! No. The idiot said he'd be back, that he'd write. But neither had happened yet.

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Talbain's gun was still smoking as his AI reported that the targets had all been neutralized. Suddenly he heard and saw a rumble of explosions in the distance.

"Green Squadron, on our way out. Looks like we got some. Spitfire Wing will have a couple birds on station in twenty. Have fun, mud pups!"

"Atrium clear." Ice announced over the squad's channel once it was clear that there wasn't an army of Rippers ready to open fire. A quick look showed that it was just the nexus of whatever it was they mined here, either for workers or ore. But there were three openings for the two marines in the building at the moment. She edged around the perimeter of the room, shotgun still at the ready, to cover both the elevator and the double doors on her side at the same time. "We've got three more places to cover in here Sarge, two side doors and the mineshaft." She didn't go quite as far as saying 'could we have some more bodies in here for a proper sweep', but her tone indicated it.

Not wanting to clog up the entrance, Wulfe quickly moved forward towards the doors to the left, AS4GS ready and Monoeyes passively scanning the surrounding area.

"Moving up to clear the left room." He announced over comms, not lingering on the atrium so that the assault didn't lose its momentum.
He was sure there would be infantry in there, mostly, but there was always a chance some enemy PA might be there as well, and it that distance his AS4GS would give him a bigger edge than the HPAR.

The marine didn't even bother opening the doors, the hostile simply crashed through them after picking up enough speed, weapons ready.

Ice bit off a curse under her breath. She didn't even need military training to know that kicking down a door by yourself when there was likely someone angry and heavily armed on the other side wasn't a bright idea. Weapons ready, she added a quick sit-rep as she followed the other Marine's charge. "Plainsview here, Wulfe's gone gate crashing. Moving to support."

Content that he had supported those that were entering the facility, Francis followed in behind Ice. Recognizing that this would be close combat, he exchanged his HPAR for his AS4GS. The shotgun would be of far greater use here. His monoeyes scanned the rooms for any possible enemies, and he kept his weapon up and at the ready. Any hostile activity would be met by rounds from Francis' gun.

Francis was annoyed at the way Wulfe had chosen to go about the breaching. There was a far more effective and useful way of going about clearing a room, and the three power armored Marines could have made the process clean and smooth. With a grumble, Francis boosted his way over to the door Wulfe had just burst through, ready to help eliminate any threats that presented themselves.

"All clear out here, Sergeant," said Laura as the last of the NMX resistance crumbled.

"Atrium clear. We've got three more places to cover in here Sarge, two side doors and the mineshaft." said Ice.

"Good work Cavaliers. Let us make our way inside," said Phaedra, lowering her HPAR.

"Wreno, see if you can find a terminal with blueprints or a layout of this facility."

Before she could order it, Wulfe, Francis, and Ice went to clear the left-hand room.

"Remember, all the personnel in this facility may not be hostile. If they are hostile, challenge them and force them to surrender. If they do not comply, eliminate them."

"Laura, cover the atrium. See if you can set up some shield drones across the entrance."

"Talbain, Brandt, with me. Clear the room on the right," she said, stacking up next to the doorway.