Futuristic ℋ℮їґṧ: SIGMA (Sci-Fi/Powers/Interstellar Warfare RP)

[LoneSniper87]

Ashley

"That was rather short." I said quietly. "Not asking for our opinion, just a review and then a possible op. That's wierd." I added to myself. "So Katherine, ready for your challenge?" I asked, standing up from my chair and walking away from the room toward my quarters. I opened the door and took a seat on the bed and rummaged through the nightstand for a minute before pulling out my beauty: A silver and wood handled Colt M1911 .45 handgun, something that has been used by the family until the sidearm was replaced as the standard sidearm for the U.S., and has since became an ornament rather than a weapon.

"Now this relic, as hard to believe as it may seem, still fires. But .45 ACP are hard to come by and I was wondering, as a favor, if you could modify it to accept holo-bolts." I told her, handing it to her. "If you could I couldn't thank you enough and would owe you big time." I added, giving an appreciative smile.

 

[Kabboom]

Joachim

The Captain walked into the room. All the other Sabre Corps soldiers stand up to salute him, post-haste. I stood up too, and my right hand twitched, almost reaching for a salute, but I restrain it. My experience in the New Union Army still has a place in my mind, it seems. The Captain salutes back, and everyone settles down. I, however, remain standing, and lean against the wall. It seems that I'm exploiting the fact that I'm not in the Army anymore too much, that even the Captain shot me a glare before continuing with his briefing.

"As you may know, having lived through that carnage, today's operation did not go off a smooth start. An unknown computer virus type managed to infiltrate our sophisticated military software defenses without triggering any alarms, causing our Recovery Fleet, Winchester, to start attacking itself in the midst of the invasion."

'No shit.' I thought to myself, deeming it unnecessary to tell the soldiers what they had already faced. But then again, maybe some of the soldiers were simply knocked out and disoriented for the most of the battle, and only made it back because their friends dragged their asses back to a dropship. A particularly unlucky Sergeant pops into my mind, but I push him away, and pay close attention to the briefing. 'Nice graphics, by the way.' I comment on the holo display.

"Yes, today was a demoralizing defeat for the New Union in this Cruento War. However, there is something even more disturbing that occurred today. I'll direct your attention to the sudden appearance of a green energy wave from one of the more heavily guarded orbital defense stations."

I try not to pay attention to the outright admission of the demoralizing defeat. It's not a good idea to admit that we got fucked over big time because some pencil-pusher in Intelligence didn't think it was necessary to double check a blurry picture. But I digress.

"This is a Smierc Collective weapon of mass destruction unlike any we've encountered so far. All possible WMDs of before could be endured with our New Union naval shields, but this attack completely negates our defensive advantage. We can't let the Smierc Collective develop this weapon further and prepare it for mass deployment. Sabre Corps, expect a mission to investigate further regarding this potentially destabilizing weapon. Dismissed."

I was slightly surprised, but I half-expected it all along. Typical New Union. We just got out of the jaws of death, and now they want to shove us down right into its stomach. It's almost as if the New Union Command has no idea what's actually going on at the front lines. Oh wait, that's exactly what's going on.

As we were dismissed, I exited the briefing room with determination. These men are not dying. Not on my watch. For one, it would sound really great: Twisted Wolf Hero Saves 50 Lives, or something like that. Two, I know these men. I've fought with them, I've bled with them, and.. I know I shouldn't say this, because they suffered far more than I did, but I've endured pain with them. I feel the same way they feel, when a fellow soldier falls on the field. And like hell am I going to let some wack general at New Union Command kill all these men with a 4-sentence order.

I headed towards my bunk, telling Carlison to hit the gun range in five.

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

I stood up as the captain came in, raising my right hand slowly into a salute, still rather pissed that they'd cancel an operation just because of some computer virus. As he return the salute and I sat down with the rest of the soldiers, my left hand shifted away from my pistol, though I was still waiting for whoever is making that scent to come up.

All around me, I could see eyebrows raising at the green wave projected on the display, which really reminded me of a 'plasma pulse' which I mean, it probably was, engulfing the ships one by one, followed by explosions and blackened, burnt out hulls of former ships. Reminds me of my time way back.

Waitaminute... "...completely negates our defensive advantage."

---

I had walked alongside Miller to the women's quarters, still going over the information that I just been given in my head. "Yea, I'm ready. Wait..." I look at the old firearm, "Oh dang, this is a classic." I said, pulling out my own pistol to compare the Type-BM to the M1911, taking out the magazines of both to compare the size of the cartridge and the magazine.

"So what do you think of that green energy wave thingy? I think it might have been a phased sort of attack. You know... Like what I did back down there? One hit to temporarily disable the shield, and then the second hit to deal hull damage. In fact, I have a theory on where the green color comes from."

I turn off my comms, and throw my DA on my own bunk to avoid any eavesdropping from other folks... "What do you think we smelled back there in the situation room?"

 

[LoneSniper87]

I nod at her reaction, the thing surely was old, but a beauty to behold nonetheless. I do the same and turn off my comm. "Well on the matter of the energy wave. I may have a way to combat what it was. Everythings runs at a certain wavelength, whether it be our thermal imaging to a rainbow. Since the pulse we saw had a green coloration and it was visible, it ran at a wavelength on the visible color scale." I said, looking around the room for something to use as a visual reference, I grab a pencil and hold it out.

"Now let's say this is the Artemis. And my other hand." I raised my other hand with an open palm. "Is the energy pulse we saw. When the pulse is released, let's say we were to release a countermeasure at a wavelength that would counteract and destroy the enemy's attack." I offered, not knowing much on the specs, but the logic behind it made sense. When certain wavelengths came together they destroyed each other and canceled out. "Also, think you can make it work?" I asked, seeing the removed mags and seeing they were quite similar, though not exactly the same. "As for the smell earlier... could've been anything... We'll just wait and see what it turns out to be."

 

[Perambulation]

(Yo people, expect the 2nd ARC to start soon. Wrap up your interactions for this ARC)

Adrian

The debrief was a bit short to say the least. Not that I minded, since I hate debriefs that are unnecessarily long anyways. In the corner of my eye, I saw Corporals Amis and Ingris both walk out silently, whispering to each other. I guess they still disdain me, but I can't do much about that right now.

Deciding to get up and make my way to the bunks for the night, I made my way to the situation room's exit. Just there, I saw the Captain himself, motioning me towards him. I set off a salute.

"Corporal Morrison reporting in. How may I help you, Captain Nuremberg?"
"Corporal Morrison, my condolences for your loss in today's battle. I already have notified the families of Captain Pedersen and Sergeant Doko regarding their status."

The Captain then let out a sigh, and returned to my direction.

"From henceforth, the New Union has promoted you to Captain, and the Fireteam Leader of Fireteam Nexus."

I was a bit dumbfounded at the sudden promotion and revelation, and I staggered a little before resuming a proper posture.

"Sir, what are you talking about? I'm barely qualified to maintain my rank at Corporal of the Sabre Corps, let alone be a Captain. Sir, you know how my Fireteam has always viewed me... Knowing that, why did the New Union High Command do this?"
"Corporal. No. Captain Morrison, the New Union has always regarded your career with great interest. After all, you are the descendant of..."
"Not here Captain. Not here."
"Alright. In any case, the New Union High Command decided that this would be a chance for you to showcase your natural leadership abilities. Lead Fireteam Nexus as your ancestors have once before."
"Sir..."

By this point, the Captain is having none of it. He just forcefully dismissed me and referred me to a place to pick up by new rank insignia and room. After all, a Fireteam Leader gets his/her own bunk compared to the rest of the Fireteam.

This is not going to end well... I didn't ask to be put in Fireteam Nexus in the first place. Yet, the New Union just decided to ignore me just because I'm related to some people. I don't care what they did in the past, and I sure won't live up to the New Union's expectations...

What am I going to do...?

(Oh yeah, many of your character should overhear this bit. Feel free to interact with Morrison regarding this topic.)

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

"Well, for a countermeasure, we can use red and blue light to cause it to go white, or cause it to change color to reflect off of the hull's paint." Cause, after all, if this is a light-based attack, then we can go ahead and possibly reflect it back on the attackers. "The coloration could also come from a blue, EMP phase and a yellow, hull phase fusing together to make a green. Then again, we're not talking about pigments here."

The M1911 magazine does look rather familiar to the Type-BM magazine, though I know that guns as old as those run on gunpowder and the strike of a hammer on a primer. "As for the pistol, gee... I don't know enough about how holobolts are fired. Since holobolts don't explode when a ton of heat is concentrated on it," like what I did with my poor gun down there, "I'm assuming they don't run on gunpowder."

"You want to hit the range now, or you just want to call it a day?" I said, packing my weapons in their magnetic holsters, with my rifle in pieces still hanging, wrapped up in the shoulder strap.

 

[LoneSniper87]

"Well the coloration does have to with the lavewength of the attack." I responded. As for the 1911... Well what she said didn't sound good. "Well with a few days or maybe a week we can modify the Colt to take a Type BX reciever and firing mechanism, allowing it to fire the holobolts." I suggested, holding a hollowbolt and one of my last .45 rounds, and possibly the last unspent round in existence. I took the M1911 and put it in my holster, deiciding to fire the last few mags I possessed tonight.

"Maybe tonight we can do some research, see how holobolts fire and translate it too our project, yeah?" I asked, walking into the range and taking one of the lanes farther down. I loaded the M1911, pulled back the slide and took aim. Bang! The shot rang out loud and the gun kicked back, and round merely denting the metallic target. I fired the rest of the clip, then ejected the empty clip to load a new one in. "Wanna give it a go before I finish the last mag?" I asked Katherine, holding a third full mag in my spare hand.

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

"Sure, why not? It's been a long time since I handle these kinds of firearms before." I stuffed a little bit more cotton in my ears before taking the M1911 and its magazine, and loading it up.

"So, just a trigger pull, right?" I pulled the trigger on the metal target down range ricocheting downwards with the small slant the target was at. The pistol shot up with recoil, and it brings back memories of my first time handling a gun. "That was fun." I said, putting the safety back on before handing the pistol back to Miller, finger off the trigger, of course.

 

[Kabboom]

Joachim

I enter my bunk, and grab my armor. It's not required nor is it necessary for gun practice, but it's just a habit I have. It's better to practice with your full gear on to get used to it in the field. Or so I think. I'm not sure. I just want to make it hard on myself, since that will make me stronger. Probably.

I then walk to the gun range, passing by Morrison and the Captain. They were discussing something, I didn't hear much. They were almost whispering, but I did hear something about him "Leading Fireteam Nexus" like his ancestors. So I guess his Nexus blood runs deep. I still wonder why his Corporals hate him. Also, I guess he's a Fireteam Leader now. Yeesh. That's fun.

I head into the gun range, as Carlison stands waiting for me, while I hear a deafening gunshot. A gunshot that I've not heard in real life, ever. A gunshot that I've only heard about in very, very, very old movies. I look to the source of the sound, whilst grabbing some ear protection, and I see the two girls, Miller and Katherine, firing a M1911. Ancient, worthless piece of shit, to be honest, but can still put a man down in this day and age. Only if they have no armor whatsoever, which is not gonna happen on any battlefield these days.

I wonder, where the hell did Miller get those bullets? I suppose it belongs to Miller, seeing as she's the girl with the deep military traditions, what with her Fireteam named after a huge naval landing back in World War 2. Morbidly fitting, as it was a massacre, and the fact that the 'reinforcements' sent to my Fireteam from Omaha's, were all dead, except one or two. Speaking of which, I wonder how that Corporal is doing. Sgt. Parkins is fucked, I remember that much.

That reminds me. Parkins. One tough bastard. Saw Morrison drag him to the Medbay. If New Union protocol is still the same as I remember it, back when I was still in the thing, such wounds would have to be amputated. He'd be discharged from the Sabre Corps, most likely. I've got a decent amount of money, I could muster a prosthetic or two, maybe robotic limbs, that should enable him to remain in the Sabre Corps. That is, if he wishes to.

I tell Carlison to practice his rapid fire and target acquisition skills, while I just do my usual thing: spraying down the things with my things. I grabbed my Type-KJ and held down the trigger on the thing, releasing an almost uninterrupted stream of holo-bolts downrange. I try holding it on one exact spot on the metal target, with my last record being 11 seconds. 11 seconds of sustained fire, on a, what, 10cm wide target, at 100 metres? With this monster of a gun? Decent.

 

[Perambulation]

(alright, starting ARC 2 now)

DM

About a week passed since the disastrous Invasion of Yabrao, and the New Union is currently on edge. Several representatives of New Union planets are now publicly throwing out ideas of secession from the New Union itself in order to save their own planets from the Smierc Collective. The public is holding multiple simultaneous protests across worlds in order to demand more transparent answers from the New Union Armed Forces on how exactly they are going about in defending the New Union from the alien threat.

Meanwhile, the New Union government is trying to instate damage control for their humiliating mishap, using riot police to start cracking down on protesters and rallying their allies in the New Union Congress to stop possible secession of planets from taking place. Secretly, the New Union Armed Forces is preparing for a possible strike on another Smierc Collective to try and deliver a good victory for the New Union.

Through a small hit-and-run attack on a Smierc Collective, the New Union could claim to have a victory without being forced to expend precious military assets on an operation that's not even guaranteed to succeed (eg. the Invasion of Yabrao). The New Union Scouting Fleet, Spero, is being prepped for the attack.

Meanwhile, strange spacetime signatures start to pop up around the New Union's capital world, New Krona. The New Krona Defense Force is notified of the findings, and have started to alert its orbital defense stations for a possible engagement.


ARC 2: Homecoming

NPC Commanders

- New Union Armed Forces: Commander George S. Perez
- Smierc Collective: Lord Garbacz


STARTING LOCATIONS

- New Union (and Twisted Wolves employed): The New Union's Scouting Fleet, Spero, is stationed around New Krona under the guise of resupply. The New Kronan citizens do not know of the planned military expedition yet.

- Smierc Collective: (revealed through DM posts)

 

[LoneSniper87]

I stood at the range, my rifle laid on the table in front of me as I held my modified M1911, prepping it for it's first time ever firing holo-bolts. In the week that passed I was able to find this guy who helped me mod the thing, and I am very grateful that I can finally carry this into battle. I fired a shot, the recoil being subtle but still enough to cause a jolt in my wrists. The shot went out perfectly and went through the target, and I grinned. I set it down and couldn't stop grinning. I was so happy it worked, that it finally works. I took it and holstered it, then holstered my rifle and walked back to my quarters, still high off my giddy. I wanted so badly to tell Parkins about my achievement, as he was somewhat invested in my history, but only slightly more so than others I just outright told.

I took my rifle and set it against the wall and set the Colt on my nightstand and flopped onto my bed with this dumb grin still. It had been awhile since I last saw Parkins, niw that I think about it. A few days ago he was moved off-site for treatment, and I haven't hear or seen from him since. "Katherine?" I asked randomly, turning on the open comm channel. "I got it to work. Come by my quarters and check it out." I said, then closed my eyes, laying my hands behind my head and sighing. It felt suprisingly good to just lay down and relax for a few minutes.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

"Hey Gunny, why'd we bring the kid along anyway, between you and me, she weirds me out. That and I hate babysitting duty."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Gunnery Sergeant Sulano looked over at the girl, Riley. Technically a private, but no one really referred to her by rank. Hell, the odd 'partnership' she had with the Twisted Wolves was off putting to most. Either due to her less than mature appearance, or due to her fully mature attitude, most people got a surprise at her acuity for understanding situations and her calm demeanour.

"Yea, well, command got tired of her sitting around wasting resources, and apparently she's been insistent of going on missions to help out, so we're dealing with it Cherry. Besides, you know the ammo crates that I usually have your lazy ass bring on board? Who do you think did that? Why don't you go talk to her. If she's going to be part of the fireteam, you may as well learn a bit about her, right? When you're done, come back and give my your first impression."

With a sigh, 'Cherry' stood up from his seat in the ship and walked across the bay, weaving between a couple dropships as he neared the crates Riley was sitting on. The girl didn't look up at him once as he neared her, instead throwing a ball and skillfully bouncing it right back to her hands, always catching it and releasing it yet again fluidly. What the soldier didn't know was that Riley had heard the whole conversation across the cargo bay, she just didn't care too much even as he sat next to her.

"Hey kid, I'm Lance Corporal Cherinsky, figured I'd come thank you, the Gunny told me you brought all the ammo crates aboard. Usually that's my job."

"No worries."

"Uh huh," Cherry grunted, letting the silence linger before speaking up again, "You don't talk much, do you?"

Riley suddenly caught the ball and placed it next to her before turning her head to face Cherinsky, her eyes piercing unnervingly into his as she spoke in a surprisingly formal tone, "You do not want to talk to me, you were just told to. It is perfectly alright, people do not like me. No worries though, as I am just here to assist." Her voice came across not sharp, but soft yet firm as it lilted with a distinctly near old world British accent, though it was obviously muddled with another accent of some form.

Struggling for a few moments as he tried to reconcile himself with being found out in his entirety, Cherry looked at the neutral, if not somewhat disappointed expression on the girl's face. Honestly if she had cried, or been angry, it would have been easier. Instead she just accepted she was the outcast. It reminded him of how he felt when he first got swapped to Sulano's squad. Sighing in defeat, he offered a hand to the girl in greeting.

"Well then, fine. I'm Lance Corporal Cherinsky, and as a member of your fireteam I want to introduce myself, not because it's an order, but because I've been in your shoes. Welcome to Gunny Sulano's grunts, and thanks for bringing all of our ammunition onboard."

It was basically the same greeting, but when he spoke it this time Riley could tell the soldier meant it. Reaching out, she gingerly took the man's hand in hers and gave it a shake.

"A pleasure to meet you, Cherinsky, I am Riley. Bringing aboard the ammunition was no large feat, a simple task for myself, but I am quite pleased to see it made your work just a touch easier."

Nodding with a genuine smile, Cherry had to admit, once you got past the whole well rounded vocabulary, adult eyes, surprisingly formal accent and upright manner Riley carried herself with she was not bad. His mind drifted towards thoughts of relief workers' attitudes as a solid comparison. Nodding a ways down the bay, Cherinsky pointed out the rest of his fireteam.

"Want to go meet them Riley? If we're all going to be working together, we may as well get to know each other, right."

Not speaking, but nodding assent, Riley hopped off her box, catching Cherinsky off guard yet agai. He knew she was short, he just hadn't realised how short until she'd stood up. Shaking his head, he made his way over to the rest of the fireteam, not even bothering to be surprised at Riley's ability to keep perfect pace with him. It wasn't worth being surprised by her ability to match adults anymore.

As they neared the group, Riley's attention was first directed to a decidedly tall and brawny woman cleaning off a large machine gun, introduced to her as Coats. Next was an introduction to a cheery, one eyed, older fellow with salt and pepper hair and a well trimmed, greying beard. They called him Uncle. Following that was a man that easily rivalled Coats, his whole face practically one massive burn scar. He quite ironically went by Looker, but he seemed fairly easy to get along with. Her final introduction was to a man sitting on the fringe of the group, keeping to himself. Cherinsky told her that to get to know him, she'd have to talk to him herself, and that he went by Joe and was the only one other than her on the fireteam that hadn't been former Union soldiers.

After a brief chat with each of the members, Riley learned that Coats used to be a cook for an orphanage, joined the Union forces, then retired only to find her old home gone, Sulano had served until he'd been dishonourably discharged for refusing a questionable order, Uncle had aged out of the acceptable range for the Union and been forceably retired, Looker had been left for dead after a danger close friendly fire incident, though he kept a friendly demeanour and held no ill will towards the Union, and Cherinsky actual lost both his legs in his first deployment, but survived and joined the Twisted Wolves. They called him Cherry because his first deployment with the Wolves saw him taking a round right in the rear. While it was a joke Riley didn't quite get, Looker and Coats both laughed heartily at the story.

Smiling and giving them all a slight bow, Riley explained that she remembered little of her past, but knew that she was able to help people, and that was what had driven her to join the Wolves. Once initial introductions were done and most of the group was more at ease Riley turned her attention to the Joe person, who had largely kept to himself.

Once the group had settled Riley made her way over to Joe and introduced herself.

"Hello there sir, I am Riley, and I have only just recently been assigned as a member of your fireteam. I felt, after the successful introductions to the rest of the team, that mayhaps introducing myself to you would the the polite thing to do. All that said, a pleasure to meet you."

Giving a slight bow followed with an offer of her hand in greeting, Riley awaited the other persons response.

An Khang

 

[An Khang]

I looked up, breaking away from my thoughts. I put my cigarette back in my mouth and shook Riley's hand.

"How's it going." I leaned back on my chair and blew out my smoke.

 

[Kabboom]

Joachim

So... That was an eventful week. Protests, riot police, separation,... all of this because some Smierc pushed a button on a hacking device, and another button on a weird light show control panel. Alright, that was a gross oversimplification of what actually happened, but it probably did happen.

Anyways. Back to the present. My contract has brought me back into the arms of the New Union, and even though I resent those welcoming arms almost as much as the Smierc scum, I can't resist rooting for them in the big fight. After all, it's just like the movies: outgunned, outnumbered, the heroes must survive, against a ruthless, advanced enemy, no matter what the costs. While I've glossed over how they are just creations of cinema, and that the actual logistical and political, military difficulties of fighting a technologically advanced enemy are in fact, a lot tougher than they are portrayed in movies, I can't help but feel like a movie hero.

Not that that's a good thing.

I've packed all my stuff, brought some extra magazines, and I am ready to go. Fireteam Comet is looking as good as ever. The whole 'joint-ops' thing was a mixed bag. Some did good, others... nope. I've heard lotsa stories back at HQ. Of this one guy who was shot in the back because his grunts weren't paying attention. This guy who was abandoned because his Corporals panicked and retreated without his order. Then there were the successful Fireteams, like that one Fireteam with a lot of Heavy Gunners, that managed to hold an entire flank, letting a lotta New Union troops cover open ground without fear of enemy fire. Or that one team, who managed to kill 2 whole squads of Smierc Dziki wearers with well placed sticky explosive traps.

Whatever the case, Fireteam Comet has been selected to continue its existence and assist the New Union while it still exists. New Corporals have been assigned to my Fireteam. Their names? Uh... One was... Danny? And then... John? I think? Yeah, I think. And a special addition to our new Fireteam, one that we actually paid for. Carlison's still here, better than last time. Hopefully, no surprise anti-air missiles and we don't lose our new team to a crash. Hopefully. We're ordered to board one of the troop ships in the Spero Scouting Fleet. Huh. That reminds me. Imagine how nice it would be if Dav and I could bring our own gunship into this op. It would make things so fun. But then again, the thing is being impounded by government officials for investigation in "Criminal Activities". Though it'll probably be dropped, like the 4 previous similar investigations before it.

We stand at the entrance of one such troop ship, whilst waiting for our new member. He was brought here at a different location, as 'reinforcements' or something, so we have to link up, and where better to link up than here? Right? And he'll be here any time now.

Aaaaany time now....

In my boredom, as we wait for him, I spot a peculiar sight nearby. A fully decked out team, seemingly also Twisted Wolves, like me and Dav, but there's... a child? With them? What? I'm immediately intrigued, so I told Carlison to stay put while Dav and I go investigate. Engage in some chit chat.

As I walk closer to them, I could hear the surprisingly mature voice from the child. This is a really weird child, if that is a child at all. Now, that could be a person who takes her physical appearance very seriously and with a heavy weight. I should be delicate and precise in my choice of words to carefully approach the issue-

"Hey. Why are you so short?" I spoke to the girl, as she introduced herself to that gentleman over there with the cigarette.

'Holy shit that was a stupid question fix it fix it fix it' Screamed all of the voices in my head, and I quickly added into my previous phrase. "Not that I mean anything. Just curious, is all." protruding my awkward smile. I subconsciously brace my weapons. Something in my gut tells me this woman is better than I think she is at close quarters.

 

[Trappy]

Daelen

"Come on, what the hell is takin' him so long? He should be here by now."

I turned to the Corporal, Jaime Carlison, as he spoke. I gave the man a soft smile.

"We're all eager to see the man, Carley. He'll be here mate."

Fireteam Comet is looking just as good as last time. We've been assigned 2 Corporals as replenishment after Yabrao. That shit really went down for the New Union. Riots, protests, I heard some governors even came as close as breaking from the Union to save their own asses. Long story short, it was one hell of a week.

Anyway, once again we were backing the New Union with their resistance war against the Smierc Collective. I looked at other members of Fireteam Comet, and I'd like to imagine that we were one good looking bunch. The new chaps, Corporal Danielle Barnaby and Corporal John Galveston. According to their bios, these men were at Yabrao as well, and they are the only survivors of their Fireteam. Ambushed by Berserkers or something. Well, at least now we're not a squad of greenies and old wolves.

We stood at the entrance of a dropship, expecting one last member of our Fireteam. And about that lad, hell, I hoped he was doing good. Those bionic limbs weren't cheap, I really have to work my arse off after I'm done with the New Union. But whatever, I figured, the man would be one special addition to the bunch.

Suddenly, without saying a word, my friend Joachim walked towards a group. I left Carley with the new lads and followed my friend, as he walked up to one of them. I noticed a surprisingly mature voice from a figure. She was short, too short, unnaturally short. Was she underage? Why was she there with us? Did these men abduct her somewhere? I don't know! And as I was surrounded by questions and assumptions, Joachim spoke up to her.

"Hey. Why are you so short?"

I was too close to laughing out loud, but I resisted the urge. Knowing the man, I had my doubts. But at that moment, I was sure, Joachim does have shit for brain. Well, maybe that was too much, but he was a dumbass. Out of all the ways to greet new people and make friends, he went with this. I wouldn't be surprised if she gave the man a big, good smack across his jaw.

"Not that I mean anything. Just curious, is all." - Good save, Joachim. Good fuckin' save mate.

"Please excuse my friend here." - I said. - "I'm Dav, and the idiot here is Joachim. I'm sorry if you're offended, miss, but I do share the same curiosity with my friend."

Pequeno Burraidh

(By the way, Twisted Wolves don't have ranks They're mercenaries.)

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

"Very well, if it isn't too bold of me to say, meeting you all has been a joy thus far. I never pushed myself upon others back at base because I feared for causing people undue stress, but after Lance Corporal Cherinsky offered to introduce me to everyone, I decided it would be best to meet you as well. That said, you seem to be a man of few words, and we have just docked, so I am sure there are other things to be done, such as off loading equipment."

As she spoke, she honestly didn't even need her enhanced senses to be able to figure out a few people were milling about behind her, but with them she knew two people, either large women or average sized men, were approaching. It wasn't until one of them spoke that Riley chose to face them, namely the man who had spoken, his proximity of his voice matching the range of distance, yes, she had indeed chosen to specifically gaze idly at the man who had spoken.

In mere seconds, far faster than most should have been able to, she took in the man's appearance, and his sudden tightening of his grip on his weapon as well. Clearly he expected a negative response to his rather blunt statement. Still, violence did not seem like the best answer to respond with and instead Riley smiled brightly and cocked her head sideways just a touch.

"I foolishly chose not to listen to my parents and refused to eat my vegetable at supper. I suppose they were right, I was indeed unable to grow big and tall one day." Riley jibed in a friendly manner as she closed the gap between her and the new comer before she whispered in an equally friendly manner, "You have no need for that sir, but if you had, it would seem you chose to come far to close to begin with. What is it called, the twenty one foot rule?"

Turning her attention from the first man to the second almost instantaneously. They stood a ways apart, but with a single powerful stride the girl carried herself about a metre to the second man and likewise looked him over, her smile never leaving her face as she finally chose to respond.

"Offence was not ever intended, and as such offence has not been received, sir. Besides, curiosity is good for the mind, else wise we would not ever find ourselves a chance to learn new things. Like how much I adore chocolate, despite its initial visual similarities to mud."

Her voice was light and airy, obviously showing that she had, indeed, taken absolutely no offence at either of the men's inquiries. Stepping away from the second man, Riley performed a deft about face and made her way a couple metres to Joe's left, where she easily hefted an ammunition crate up onto her left shoulder before facing the two newcomers.

"My, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Riley, it is a pleasure to make both of your acquaintances! If you don't mind, however," she bowed slightly before continuing as she hefted up another ammunition crate and put it on the first, "I do need to offload these crates. I do not need help, either, but should you wish to, do take care, these weigh one hundred pounds each, and I would much hate for someone to hurt themselves simply trying to lighten my loaf, as I do believe the saying goes."

As she finished speaking she hefted on more box up, manoeuvring herself carefully as to not drop the bulky crate as she flipped it up with her right arm and caught it on the same shoulder.

Trappy
Kabboom
An Khang

(I do know the Wolves don't have rank, but if you look, I noted that all the Wolves in that fireteam are former military, and utilise their old ranks out of familiarity. The two with out ranks were noted to be Riley and Joe.) (Also, yes, lighten the "loaf" was intentional)

 

[An Khang]

I hid my surprise that Riley was able to carry that load. It was easy to assume she was just a kid, or treat her like one, but there was definitely more to her. I had a feeling she could be very helpful.

She was easy to make acquaintance, while everyone else had only gave a quick hello or handshake, and a few suspicious stares. No one's gonna give a damn if I get hit in the knee or something. I need someone who's got my back. And there must've been a reason someone looking like her was put on the team.

She's my best bet for a backup.

I sighed and stood up. "I'll help." I picked up two crates and put one on each shoulder. "I don't know how you're able to carry one of 'em if you don't eat your vegetables...Where do I bring 'em?"

 

[Perambulation]

Adrian

It's been about a week since my sudden promotion to the rank of Captain. Corporal, no, Sergeant Amis was also promoted to fill in the role of the deceased Sergeant Jun Doko, but Corporal Ingris decided to just stay at his rank to show the newcomers around. Fireteam Nexus got two new members in order to replace Captain Pedersen and Sergeant Doko: Corporal John Carboni and Corporal Lucas Seidel, Recon Trooper and Heavy Support Troopers respectively. Amis already got the newcomers up to date with our long history as the most prestigious Fireteam, etc. etc.

The NUSS Artemis III, where our Fireteam is still stationed, is leading this hit-and-run strike on a Smierc Collective planet. We still don't know which one the New Union will be striking, as the plans are still being tweaked with according to incoming intelligence. The latest scouts should start coming in any minute now.

Meanwhile, I have Fireteam Nexus start to get their KAISYS suits on for combat operations, since I can tell that the Scouting Fleet Spero will leave soon for the attack. Once that happens, it should be smooth sailing, or as smooth as it's going to get against Smierc Collective.

"Sergeant Amis, did you make sure the Fireteam got the latest software updates to their KAISYS suits? Would be real bad if we ran on old software and end up like that Yabrao attack..."
"Yes Captain, we've got that covered."

As Amis walked away, I could hear him whisper, "Get a load of this... he thinks that we're too stupid to check for software update... gosh...".

Not that I expected him and Ingris to change much, but it still gets annoying.


DM

The New Union Commander, Commander Perez, receives the incoming transmission from the latest scouts. Their voices seem a bit shaky and filled with heavy breaths, indicating that something is wrong.

"What's the matter? What happened with the scouting mission?"
"Commander, they're coming! They're com... AHHHH!!!!"

With that, the transmission shuts off and only leaves static. The Commander quickly orders for the Scouting Fleet to activate their scanners for any nearby threats.

That's when the assault began.

Immediately, several Smierc Collective ships jump out of hyperspace, firing their multitude of missiles and lasers to catch the Scouting Fleet off guard. Several New Union Defense Fleet ships are taken out instantly by the sudden strike, and the New Kronan Defense Force is notified of the situation.

Commander Perez changes the Scouting Fleet Spero's mission objective from a military strike on a Smierc Collective planet to the defense of New Krona.

"All troops, prepare for battle! All troops, prepare for battle! Sabre Corps Fireteams, please report to the hangers for your impromptou briefings regarding the situation. This is not a drill! New Krona is under attack!", blares all of the New Union Scouting Fleet's PA systems.

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

I can hardly believe it's been a week since our attack on Yabrao. I'm still never letting that operation go, especially when we could have done more. People on the ground seem to be pissed at the New Union, which I can't blame because, I for one, would also be pissed if I knew my world could be attacked just because it was associated to the New Union.

Over the course of the week, I reassembled my weapons printed out a brand spanking new reinforced barrel, heat resistant, for my Type-AB rifle, along with a custom hybrid receiver designed to accept holobolts, as a Type-AB should, and crystal bolts, which was quite difficult to make due to the whole oscillating whatchamicallit, though with a friend, we eventually got it to work, transferring in a whole component from the Zmija I had earlier.

Other than that, nothing else really happened, except the usual training like target practice, skill practice, especially that shifting thing, and nearly tearing off several people's limbs off in close quarters practice. They had to give me ankle and wrist weights for heavens sakes.

I rubbed off the aching in my wrists from having the weights attached as I walked over to the shooting range as I got a message from Miller. I ran a little faster to the range when my comms suddenly started getting very loud with chatter, and then the PA system came on, blaring,

"All troops, prepare for battle! All troops, prepare for battle! Sabre Corps Fireteams, please report to the hangers for your impromptou briefings regarding the situation. This is not a drill! New Krona is under attack!"

"Well, Captain Miller, looks like you'll be able to test it on some unwilling subjects, I'll see you in the hangars." I was about to turn around to go back to the hangars before I remembered what I wanted to ask Miller, "Hey, mind if I join your Fireteam for the time being? Unity got disbanded and I'm one of those left hanging."

I reached my bunk, grabbing my weapons, checking to make sure I have all the ammo that I need, 6 magazines of AB holobolts and 10 magazines of BM holobolts, before continuing to run to the hangars, where I was met by familiar faces, and the hustle and bustle of defense preparations. This was going to be some defense, and if we don't win... No, let's not even think about it.

 

[Kabboom]

Joachim

I relax at the light hearted reply. And then I tensed up again, as the figure approaches me, too close for comfort. She then turned to my friend, Dav. Said a few things. Boy, she talks fast. It's a little odd to see that small figure walk quickly. And then she went over to the ammo crates and... woah. Damn. Damn.

I decide to stay out of her way. And the other gentleman's way. Those are two strong fellas. And, judging by the looks of the rest of the fireteam, they're all strong, too. Better stay out of their way. However, they would make valuable allies in the field...

I snapped from my thinking, as Carlison called out to me. Our final member had arrived. I turn to give a warm welcome... to ex-Sergeant Gregory Parkins. The man volunteered to get back in the fight willingly. We had to pay good cash to the right people to get him those fresh bionic limbs. The left arm, we got it from a doctor on Thorix, after we agreed to protect his convoy that was carrying a sizeable amount of supplies smuggled out of Portus. The right leg was freshly applied right here, on New Krona. And now, he looks as shiny as ever. Though that's probably because of the bionic limbs.

He reports as a Twisted Wolf now. Or at least, for the time being. We sent an application for re-enlistment into the Sabre Corps, but it's still processing. In the meantime, he will just have to fight without the uniform. At least he gets to pick his own gun: the Remington Maximum Performance Field Rifle Mark 2. Complete with his own selection of attachments. That we paid for.

"Hey Parkins. Feelin' good with your new self?" I asked him. "Yeah. It's still a bit weird, but I'll manage." he replied, the mechanical whirring noise starting up as he begins to flex his arm.

"All troops, prepare for battle! All troops, prepare for battle! Sabre Corps Fireteams, please report to the hangers for your impromptu briefings regarding the situation. This is not a drill! New Krona is under attack!" blared the PA systems, as a series of loud rumbling could be heard outside. I peer out the windows, and could see... missiles hitting... our ships? The Smierc are here? How?

"Better put that thing to good use! Comet, on me!" I yell to my Fireteam, as the ship starts to rumble.

 

[Trappy]

"My pleasure."

I answered the lady, as I walked towards the ammunition crates before stacking one of the crates on another, and lifting them up. I carefully avoided the other gentleman as well, wouldn't wanna fall and mess up my back before the job. And despite her small appearance, the lady was doing a surprisingly good job with these crates of hers. Something told me they were going to be a great help on the field.

I looked up after placing the 2 crates next to Riley's stack, to see the last member of Fireteam Comet. Sergeant Gregory Parkins. The man was severely injured after Yabrao, lost his right leg and his left arm was reduced to a pile of meat and shattered bones. He was put off-duty after that, but he was eager to go back. Joachim came up with the idea, we paid for his bionic limbs and implants, so that would make him fit to return to the field, a favour returned, considering he saved my arse from that Berserker. We sent an application for re-enlistment into the Sabre Corps, but it's still processing. So, Parkins reports as a Wolf now. I walked up to the man.

"Hey Iron Man!"- I said with a huge welcoming smile. Parkins laughed, flexing his bionic arm.

Suddenly the floor shook, and the alarms sounded.

"All troops, prepare for battle! All troops, prepare for battle! Sabre Corps Fireteams, please report to the hangers for your impromptu briefings regarding the situation. This is not a drill! New Krona is under attack!" blared the PA systems, as the ground shook again, harder this time. The Smierc are here, but how? How did they get so close to New Krona, without being spotted by our scanners and sensors? I don't know! And I didn't have time to figure out answers.

"Better put that thing to good use! Comet, on me!" -Joachim yelled, as the man picks up his MG. I did the same. I gave Parkins a bat on the back before turning around towards Riley's squad, wishing them good luck. Hopefully, we wouldn't get our arses kicked this time by the Smierc again.

 

[LoneSniper87]

I cursed under my breath and holstered the new M1911, quickly rushing off to the barracks and getting into my armor, grabbing my rifle and a few spare mags before jogging to the dropship. I noticed Parkins and I stopped dead in my tracks. Oh my god... He was a Wolf now! While it was logical and it was him staying in the fight before he was readmitted as a Sabre Corp. again, but it still shocked me. "Hey Parkins, I thought you were out of the grunt phase, shiny!" I joked, then continued jogging to my dropship. I sat down and rested my head on the stock, closing my eyes and just sitting thier quietly.

 

[Perambulation]

DM

As the various Sabre Corps Fireteams started to gather, along with their respective leaders, the briefing officer decided to start the sit-rep and the defense plans.

"Alright, listen up! We've got a major Smierc Collective offensive fleet in New Kronan orbit, and that's not going to fly for us, will it?! The NUSS Artemis III's Sabre Corps Fireteams will focus on boarding operations to destroy the enemy ships from the inside. Get to your dropships! Dropship pilots are already briefed on the order of Smierc Collective ships to board. Let's move! New Krona counts on us!"

With that, a rousing cry emanated from the mass of Sabre Corps operators, as they rushed to their respective assigned dropships for the defensive operation.


Adrian

As I listened to the rather rushed briefing, I saw the rest of my Fireteam begin to get a bit anxious. After all, even the new recruits knew of my reputation, and I was to be their commanding officer for this battle. Before the two new guys broke down in a nervous wreck, I got in close and put my hands on both of their shoulders.

"Listen here... I'm not going to get anyone killed out there, understood? I know you guys were one of the top graduates from the Sabre Corps Academy, but the real world is a lot messier. Stick with the older guys and we'll make it through this."

With that bit of assurance, I led everyone to our dropship for the day, Zulu-03. The pilot saw us coming and fired up the booster engine for a rapid take-off. From what I could see, several other dropships are already launching with permission from the NUSS Artemis III's launch tower.

That's when I saw a New Union fighter crash into the hanger, trashing a couple of dropships before exploding, causing a massive commotion in the middle of launch. Our dropship immediately canceled the launch and returned to its landing spot, as the PA system began to blare.

"ALERT ALERT! SMIERC COLLECTIVE BOARDING SHIPS INBOUND! ALERT ALERT!"

The Smierc Collective's boarding ships possess one of the strongest energy shield the New Union has ever encountered, and several of them managed to tank the point-defense guns without too much trouble and started to ram into the ship's structure, releasing numerous Mortus Troopers for their boarding operation.

"Cancel the dropship launches! Sabre Corps, defend the ship!", came in the orders from the Commander through our military comms.

 

[An Khang]

Joe

After placing down the packs and hearing the alert, I drew my weapon out, pulling the lever.

I tried to act like I cared, and I'm sure a part of me did, but I was badly itching for some combat. I've struggled and fought for so long and for so much, I got hooked on the thrill on fanning ambushers or sniping a target in a crowd. I always jumped at the opportunity to a shootout. It's been weeks since my last one, but I think I hit the jackpot by joining the Wolves in this little war. And of course, the pay was higher than normal.

"Shit. Where are they boarding?" I said, acting concerned.

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

My pistol, in my left, and holding my katana in my right, I run over to an evacuation plan of the ship near the entranceway, which wasn't enough to serve as exact pinpoints of where the enemies are flooding in, but based by the sound of metal clashing metal, I won't be seeing any shortage of action. From... Anywhere for that matter.

"I'm hearing combat everywhere. Check the outer rooms and the port and starboard halls."

"Commander, can you give us a good map of the ship on our devices?" Cause not everyone's using their helm to project, and not everyone's using eyewear like me either.

---

I start hearing crashing and thud sounds nearby. Probably some Berserker trying to run through one of the ship doors, which were locked when combat started.

"Here comes one of them," and as soon as I said that, the door gave way as a Berserker came hurtling straight at me. And into my blade. His Bio-field gave out as I pulled out the rose gold katana, as I shot 5 bullets through his helmet and into his face.

"Something there's more Berserkers that that. With grenades. And Arm Blades." Cause, common logic. After they capture the ship, they're gonna either blow it up or kill everybody and clam it as their own.