UEEF Marines - IC Thread

[Eonivar]

Onni, who is also a weapons engineer himself, is happy to assist the big Karbarrian in the enhancements requested but politely stays more or less hands off which seems (at least in Onni's eyes) to give C'osmo more satisfaction. He has his own rifle triggers modified on both rifles of his 52F and 21 cyclones as well as having him adjust the color of his lasers to be harder to see. The Garudan is quiet since the encounter with the Haydonites, the strange robots really kind of bothered him, so Onni does as he usually does, keeps himself busy with various tasks.

 

[Sherwood]

The refugees on your ship have finally been relocated to the Atlas for the time being, giving everyone on the Normandy a bit of breathing room and a return to regular duty shifts once more. All the while that the Gunslingers are busy on the Normandy, the fleet continues to advance on the occupied Robotech Master colony world. The Invid are putting up a tough fight for every meter of space that the UEEF gains, and even with the swarming tactics of the slugs, the Dragon Slayers continue to rack up success after success.

It isn't long before the fleet is in high orbit of the planet, and the ground offensive is preparing to get underway. At this point, Cmdr. O'day calls for his ground forces to gather up in the briefing room to receive your marching orders. It is a tight fit with most of the ground troops of the ship present, but no one is complaining about the crowding. Everyone seems to be pretty excited to get into the mix and score some successful mission time like the Alpha and Beta pilots have been doing during the approach to the habitable world.

A sudden shout of, "Attenshun!" cuts through the babble in the briefing room as the Commander walks in. He goes to the head of the room and starts his briefing with little in the way of delay. "Good morning, Marines. I know that you have been waiting patiently for ground ops to begin so you can get your hands dirty, and that day has finally come. We are here to liberate this planet from the tyranny of the Invid, and by God, we are going to succeed." A few "Oorrahs!" break the silence, and O'Day simply nods.

He spends the next several minutes detailing the known planetary defenses of the Invid, and shows the various units that are tasked to deal with them. As he talks, icons are displayed on a high-resolution screen at the front of the room, showing planned paths of advance by each of the various squads. Noticeably absent from the screen is the Gunslingers. It isn't until the bulk of the briefing is over that your squad gets its orders.

Before everyone is dismissed, Cmdr. O'day searches the crowd and locks eyes on Lt. Pyrrah. "Gunslingers. I have a special set of orders for your team. You have been specifically requested to take this mission by our Haydonite allies; seems that they think you have the chops to get this job done." He turns to show a symbol on the map. "This was originally built to be a orbital defense weapon platform, but it was never fully completed. Even so, it is a hard target to eliminate. But that is not your mission. Normally, a target like this one would either be hit from orbit by shipborne artillery or pounded by air strikes. We are not doing that this time for two very important reasons. Number one, there are reports that there are civilians inside the base being used as hostages by the Invid. We want them out alive. Number two is the fact that the Haydonites have reported that there is a significant piece of their technology inside the place, a data core, that has invaluable information in it, information that will be used by the UEEF to upgrade our mecha and ships with new technology. That data core is vital to the war effort."

"In order to get you in, you'll be dropped from orbit to land here," he points out a valley that is fifteen miles out from the target, "where the intervening ground cover will help to shield your approach from the Invid sensors. During your approach, it is advisable to use your electrical motors and do not engage your Protoculture engines until the primary attack has commenced so you don't blow the element of surprise. Once you are at the bunker, you will need to either hack the door code to get in or blow the entrance. Either way, gain access to the inner structure and move in. Once you have breached the door, you can bet that the Invid will be all over you. Don't hesitate to use extreme force to get to the hostages and the data core."

"From what we have been told, the bulk of the Invid inside the bunker are Soldier class, relatively small and lightweight in comparison to the larger Shock Troopers. There is no solid intel on the number of Invid Soldiers that are in there; it has been seen to vary greatly from as few as a dozen to upwards of forty. Expect the worst, but your goal is not to clear the building of Invid. If you manage to isolate a group of them in a side room and don't wipe them out, that's fine. Your priority is to get the civvies out of there and that data core. Once the place is declared safe, it can be smashed flat like a mouse being hit by a sledgehammer."

"You will be deployed in your heavier ground Cyclones and the Silverback for your Karbarran, using orbital drop pods launched from the Normandy. Keep in mind that this is a hard target you are assaulting, so pick your weapon loadout accordingly."

"Questions?"

Eonivar Purr Psychie

 

[Psychie]

LT Pyrrah nods, asking, "Have the Haydonites given any description of what their data core looks like? Also, do we have any ideas of the layout of the place from the refugees? Knowing where to turn to find the hostages and the core will save us all a lot of time."

 

[Sherwood]

The commander replies, "A detailed description of the core has been loaded into your tablets. Study it and commit it to memory. As far as the floor plan, there are three subterranean levels, with data only on the top two. We know that the third level is a power reactor, but other than that, we just don't have any information for you. It is apparently a high security location and the hostages are not allowed down there."

 

[Psychie]

Pyrrah looks at the tablet to verify that the data is indeed there and gives the commander a nod. Their orders seem fairly straight forward: go in, kick ass, save the hostages and the data core, get out after causing extreme damage to the Invid. She says, "No other questions, sir. You can count on the Gunslingers to get the job done."

She keeps her attention on the rest of the briefing, then once it's done she'll gather up the members of the team to go over satellite imagery of their landing zone and insertion route and the info about the data core.

 

[Sherwood]

Once the briefing has wrapped up, the weapon techs send the message that they are in need of finding out what weapon selection that the squad wants for their mecha. This isn't going to be a zero-gravity mission, so you can take the heavier ground Cyclones without any worry. The motorpool just needs to know what Cyclones you wish to take, your chosen missile payload, and whatever hand-held weapon you choose. The same goes for C'osmo's Silverback, but with the added question of what he wishes to have mounted on his central equipment hardpoint and the four wheel ones.

Eonivar Psychie Purr

 

[Sherwood]

Both Torni and Keith decide to follow Pyrrah's lead and go with Saber Cyclones loaded with HEAP and Plasma missiles with an EP-37 Beam Cannon for a hand-held weapon. Now that the team has made their call as to what mecha that they will be piloting and the details on what missiles that will be selected, the team is brought into the launch bay to see the means for you to get to the planet: the Personal Insertion Tactical Torpedo, AKA the PITT. This is a micro sized single-use spaceship designed to swiftly and (hopefully) safely deliver a pair of Cyclones or one Silverback to a planetary surface. The PITT is made to be launched out of a special firing tube built into the launch bay of the Normandy for this very purpose, providing an armored shell with rockets on it to accelerate its cargo to high speed while protecting the passengers from the g-forces of reentry.

Once the PITT is launched, it races towards its target at high speed, propelled by the rockets until reentry, then the heat shield would slough off in pieces, creating a haze of radar-scattering materials in the air around the PITT to cause confusion as to which radar return is the real target. By this time, the outer shell of the torpedo has been shed away, exposing the Cyclones or Silverback to the upper atmosphere, still traveling at a horrendous speed. Before final deployment, the braking rockets will fire, slowing you down enough to be able to survive the landing under the power of the mecha inside the shell. Then the last bits of the torpedo lands and releases the mecha inside.

The Gunslingers are loaded into the three torpedoes one at a time, fastened into place with quick release straps that can be unhooked with a press of a button. You can then shift into your vehicle modes for rapid insertion into the armored bunker where the data core and the hostages are hidden away, preparing the place for a massive bombardment from air and ground artillery.

 

[Psychie]

Pyrrah looks at this PITT thing with a sense of trepidation. Intellectually, she can understand the tactics advantage to the insertion method, but she can't help but wonder about the safety of any vehicle that she has such limited control of. It's not like I can maneuver out of the line of fire if anything happens out there in the void. < shrug > I don't suppose the inventor of this brilliant idea ever had to test it out themselves.

Trying to hide her unease, she says, "Alright Marines! We aren't getting paid to stand and look at it; climb in and get ready for a ride that's better than any roller coaster on Earth. Let's go."

 

[Purr]

Pyrrah looks at this PITT thing with a sense of trepidation. Intellectually, she can understand the tactics advantage to the insertion method, but she can't help but wonder about the safety of any vehicle that she has such limited control of. It's not like I can maneuver out of the line of fire if anything happens out there in the void. < shrug > I don't suppose the inventor of this brilliant idea ever had to test it out themselves.

Trying to hide her unease, she says, "Alright Marines! We aren't getting paid to stand and look at it; climb in and get ready for a ride that's better than any roller coaster on Earth. Let's go."

With a big bear-smile on his enthusiastic face, C'osmo hustles his Silverback along in a quick march like a Karbarran on a mission (because if you think about it, that's really what he is right now; a Karbarran on a mission). He gives Pyrrah a big two-armed flex to show his battle-readiness and eagerness as he climbs into the PITT without hesitation.

"You got it, LT! But... uh... just asking for science here... ahh... what's a roller coaster?"

 

[Sherwood]

Torni takes a moment before getting into her own torpedo to answer C'osmo. "It is a ride at an amusement park designed to entertain and scare the riders for fun. It's not really dangerous, but the ride can be pretty wild. I don't know if any of the parks survived the Rain of Fire during the Zentraedi war, but I'm sure we have videos of them that you can see when we're back in the ship."

 

[Psychie]

Pyrrah climbs into her side of the torpedo and takes a deep breath as she tightens the retaining straps down around her. She then says, "Once we are planet side, don't forget to shift to our vehicle modes quickly and rely on the batteries for our power source. There Invid can sense our Protoculture engines from a good distance, so the closer we can get to the bunker before they discover us the better. We sneak in as quiet as possible until the Invid are distracted by the attack from the other air and ground assets, get our objectives secured, and get out. Got it?"

 

[Purr]

C'osmo rubs his paws together and pats his Silverback. "Aye aye, LT! Lemme at 'em!"

 

[Sherwood]

The torpedoes are a bit cramped for everyone but C'osmo. He has more room sitting in the control seat of his Silverback while the pairs of Cyclones are held in place with just your arms free to move. At first, the PITT interior is dark, but as toy are moved into launch position, display screens come on to show you radar and other information feeds from the Garfish. Before long, there is a loud bang and a surge of acceleration as the torpedes launch one by one.

Once you are free from the troop ship, the acceleration really ramps up to keep you from being a sitting duck out in space. Finally, the sensation of having your brains getting sucked into your feet eases off and you are free in space, coasting along as you approach the planet's upper atmosphere.

As you start your entry into the atmosphere, the ride gets rough again and you are buffeted around. A computerized voice comes on over your headsets, saying, "Prepare for braking thrust in ten seconds." A digital timer counts down and as the timer hits zero, another bout of heavy weight pushes you down into the pads.

Once the retro rockets fire, the outer shell of the torpedoes breaks free and scatters away, giving you all your first unrestricted view of the planet's surface rapidly approaching. It is quite the view, but you have little time for sightseeing.

One by one, the three torpedoes slam into the ground and crumple up to help absorb the energy of the landing, but even so, you are all jarred by the impact. Lucky for you there is no Invid around to take advantage of your disorientation.

According to your data feeds, your touchdown point is within ten meters of your target landing site, so at least you have that going for you. A light snowfall is dusting the air and crunching underfoot, but it is not heavy enough to slow you down very much. The valley you are in is lined with large trees giving you good cover from visual detection from the air for your drive down to the bunker.

What do you do now?

 

[Psychie]

Once Pyrrah is able to, she climbs out of the landing craft and quickly scans the surrounding area, both with her eyes and her radar set. Assuming that she had no targets, she'll call out, "Clear! Gunslingers, sound off! Is everyone down and ok?"

 

[Sherwood]

Torni kicks her way clear of the torpedo and says, "These things are well named. They are the pits! That whole method of insertion sucked."

Keith just let's out a chuckle. "Oh, I don't know. That wasn't so bad. At least we hit our drop zone and don't have to hike for miles just to get here. It's a short ride to the bunker and we can shove our boots up the asses off the Invid and get the job done. What about you, C'osmo? You ok, big guy?"

 

[Purr]

One by one, the three torpedoes slam into the ground and crumple up to help absorb the energy of the landing, but even so, you are all jarred by the impact. Lucky for you there is no Invid around to take advantage of your disorientation.

Torni kicks her way clear of the torpedo and says, "These things are well named. They are the pits! That whole method of insertion sucked."

Keith just let's out a chuckle. "Oh, I don't know. That wasn't so bad. At least we hit our drop zone and don't have to hike for miles just to get here. It's a short ride to the bunker and we can shove our boots up the asses off the Invid and get the job done. What about you, C'osmo? You ok, big guy?"

Inside of his trusty Silverback with Norwood recording all, C'osmo staggers and stumbles about as if he has just survived a bare-pawed boxing match with one of his own kind. His chest is heaving with exertion and under his confuzzled eyes, you can see this big half-crazed smile across his face. His wishful gaze casts up to the sky whence the Gunslingers came. With stark reverence and heartfelt joy, C'osmo exclaims his reply to Keith.

"OH MAAAAN! SCIENCE IN ACTION! WE GOTTA DO THAT AGAIN!!"

(C'osmo looks like the bear in this GIF.)

"Hey, LT!" C'osmo activates his Silverback's Sensor Suite to pick up anything out there. The nerdy Karbarran points up to the sky. "LT! Can we get picked up so we can go a second time?! I, uh, I don't think we're close enough to our target vicinity! Yeah, that's it!"

 

[Sherwood]

Your radar shows multiple contacts in the air around you, but they are several miles out and not in your general area, much too fast for the Invid to be able to detect your mecha by the Protoculture emissions of your power plants. Still, your mission orders call for you to approach the bunker using your secondary electrical motors to keep from raising any red flags for the enemy to react to.

Both Torni and Keith shift to their motorcycle modes and switch off their main power to use the back-up power of the Cyclones. Keith speaks for the two of them by saying, "Ready to roll, LT."

 

[Psychie]

Pyrrah follows suit and shifts her Cyclone into cycle mode and goes to battery power. "Alright, we go in quiet as we can to avoid a shit storm, but once we are in the thick of the fight, hit the Invid hard and give them no chance to hurt any of the hostages. I'll take point with Torni, then C'osmo, and Keith you bring up the rear. Keep it tight and under the tree cover. Remember that stealth is our friend for this. Any questions?"

Spoiler

Hit Points: 36 +2d4 per level
SDC: 121
Action Points: 7

Combat Bonuses
On Foot / In the Cyclone
Number of Attacks: 7 / 8
Strike: +6 / +7
Parry: +8 / +10
Dodge: +8 / +10 auto dodge
Roll With Punch: +8 / +10
Initiative: +3 / +4
Perception: +5
HtH Damage: +2
Critical Strike from Behind
Critical Strike on a Natural 20
Death Blow on a Natural 20

Missiles
HEAP 6
Plasma 6
AP Cannon 60

 

[Sherwood]

Looking at the terrain, you have two choices for travel. The first is more open and you can get more speed going along safely, topping out in the 80-100 mph range.

If you stick to the trees, it will keep you going slower, dodging trees at a top safe speed in the 40-50 mph range before needing a Piloting skill roll.

How do you wish to proceed?

 

[Purr]

Pyrrah follows suit and shifts her Cyclone into cycle mode and goes to battery power. "Alright, we go in quiet as we can to avoid a shit storm, but once we are in the thick of the fight, hit the Invid hard and give them no chance to hurt any of the hostages. I'll take point with Torni, then C'osmo, and Keith you bring up the rear. Keep it tight and under the tree cover. Remember that stealth is our friend for this. Any questions?"

"Yeah!" C'osmo waves. "LT? Ya wanna keep for cover or roll the dice in the open?"

 

[Psychie]

Pyrrah thinks for a moment, then says, "Stealth is important here. We'll stick to the trees and keep our speed down so that we don't wipe out and draw attention to ourselves. Once we lose the element of surprise we'll kick up the speed, but until then it's quiet time. Let's roll."

Spoiler

Hit Points: 36 +2d4 per level
SDC: 121
Action Points: 7

Combat Bonuses
On Foot / In the Cyclone
Number of Attacks: 7 / 8
Strike: +6 / +7
Parry: +8 / +10
Dodge: +8 / +10 auto dodge
Roll With Punch: +8 / +10
Initiative: +3 / +4
Perception: +5
HtH Damage: +2
Critical Strike from Behind
Critical Strike on a Natural 20
Death Blow on a Natural 20

Missiles
HEAP 6
Plasma 6
AP Cannon 60

 

[Sherwood]

Using the electric motors on your mecha, the squad moves out nearly silently through the trees. The loudest thing that you can hear is the crunch of the light snowfall under your tires as you drive. Sticking to the tree cover was probably a good idea, because on two different occasions you are able to spot on your radar an airborne patrol of Invid flying along, and you were able to pull over and sit still to reduce the chances of being spotted.

Finally, you come to the edge of the tree line, and moving forward from here will be in the open. You have a span of about a half mile of open ground between you and the bunker that houses your objectives. Looking out, you can see that the attention of the Invid occupiers is being held by the Veritech force making a series of probing attacks against them. With the ground being open, you can make the crossing to the bunker at much higher speed than your trip through the trees. The only question you have to ask yourselves is, do you go at the lower speed provided by the electric motors, or do you hit your highest speeds with the Protoculture power supply and hope your small signals are overlooked by the Invid with the attacks being made by the air wing of Veritechs.

How do you proceed?

 

[Purr]

"Welp," C'osmo keeps his eager paws on the Silverback's control, "silent and sneaky has served us well this far. Whaddya say there, LT?" Both Karbarran and Norwood the drone turn toward Pyrrah as one.

 

[Psychie]

Pyrrah does some quick math in her head and says, "We go at the Silverback's top speed of 120 mph, because at the bunker, we'll be using our Protoculture engines when we go into the bunker on our mecha modes. Let's get there ASAP and accomplish our mission."

 

[Purr]

C'osmo readies himself with a confident air. "Let's do it! You ready, Norwood?"

"Yeeesss!"