Robotech: Army of the Southern Cross - IC Thread

[Sherwood]

While that is going on, Steven takes a moment to strap Antonia into a seat to keep her from getting tossed around and getting injured if the APC is tossed around a bit for whatever reason. No sense in going through all of this effort just to have her get her neck broken in a fall while she's out, is there?

 

[Psychie]

From his position at the front of the APC, Dorsey calls out, "I got two airborne targets on radar coming in, ETA three minutes. Give me a second and I'll see if I can't get the APC out the main exit to the landing field."

Standing outside the APC, Lt. Renner yells, "What Colonel? Who's giving you your orders? What's your authority to take her like this?"

Nova replies with, "We have an arrest warrant for First Sergeant Antonia, issued by the order of Colonel Mark Greevey in Brazilia Base. We have air transport en route to take her back to face her charges. Stand back and open the outer wall and while we wait for the chopper, you can verify our orders."

Renner doesn't look very happy, but at least he doesn't order his men to open fire when Doug starts the APC rolling out towards the exit. He does grab for his radio and begins to angrily talk into it as the transport drives out.

It seems to take forever, but finally you can hear the distinctive whoop-whoop-whoop of the rotors getting closer. Off in the distance, you can see a pair of helicopters, one Commanchero gunship and one Supply Sergeant transport. The Supply Sergeant drops down while the gunship orbits, and the transport chopper comes in for a landing.

As you watch the helicopter flare and kick up some loose dust, Antonia lets out a pained groan, already starting to recover from the stun baton strikes, giving credit to her exceptional constitution.

What does everyone do now?

 

[Sherwood]

Steven takes his stun baton and gives Antonia another zap or two, keeping her out cold and not getting into trouble.

 

[Psychie]

After a few more shocks, Antonia is out once more.

The Supply Sergeant transport settles down on the open field that is used as a helipad by the base, and a side door opens up and a half dozen ASC soldiers in their megasuits jump out, weapons in hand but not pointed at anyone. Five of these soldiers are members of the Tactical Corps, and the sixth is wearing GMP armor. The TC soldiers are all packing rifles while the GMP officer is only armed with a sidearm. A glance shows that there is still a few people inside the rear of the helicopter, one is at the door manning a heavy MDC machine gun of some sort, providing extra firepower for the two helicopters.

Dorsey pulls the APC up close to the helicopter and yells out to those in the back, "Get her out the back of the transport and inside that chopper ASAP! Go!"

The five TC soldiers move forward and form a perimeter around the rear of the APC as the back hatch opens up. One offers up a wave, saying, "I am Sergeant Major Breckenridge, and I am here to pick up a priority prisoner from you for transport back to Brazilia Base. Here is our warrant for the arrest."

Nova takes the paperwork and looks it over carefully before she nods over at Steven. "Thank you, SarMajor. Everything is in order, Corporal Bishop. Take the prisoner to the helicopter, please."

Overhead, the Commanchero is still orbiting around, keeping watch.

 

[GunMan2]

Barnes winches as Steven did that. “Easy there scotsman. We need her alive not fried.” He joked then got a bit more serious.

“Think we might get company soon?” He asked, looking though the window for any kind of signs of activity

 

[Sherwood]

Steven unstraps Antonia from the seat he had put her in, cradling her in his arms as he climbs out of the APC. He then moves with a quickness towards the waiting helicopter, noting the members of the Tactical Corps and the one GMP officer there. At the helicopter, he climbs inside and once more straps their prisoner in, making sure that she is secure before turning to look at the others.

He asks, "Are we supposed to be flying with her to Brazilia Base, or returning to Anton-17 now that we've handed off our prisoner? I hate to leave her, but we are tankers assigned here, so should we leave our post?"

 

[Purr]

Kitty pauses, takes a deep breath, and assesses the situation. Then she answers. "This is a GMP matter. I don't think it would be much good if those of us in 3rd JSOG came along, lest you risk being marked for abandoning your posts and derelict of duty charges. Nova?" She asks her fellow Meltrandi. "Think we can keep Antonia unconscious all the way to the post? I'll be blasted if 3rd JSOG takes a hit for this, or if Antonia escapes between here and Brazilia Base. Are you coming along?"

 

[Psychie]

Dorsey climbs out of the front of the APC, coming around to the rear near the helicopter where everyone is gathering. He sees the GMP officer, a lieutenant, and offers up a snappy salute. "Sir, Sgt. Dorsey of the 3rd Joint Special Operations Group with a special delivery for you."

The LT, a man named Cooper, returns the salute. "Thank you, sergeant. If these charges stick, we will have you to thank for ferreting out a mole in our ranks that might just have been feeding the Zentraedi insurgents information and intel for months. But as the old saying goes, presumed innocent until proven guilty, and there is a chance that this Antonia will be found not guilty. Not very damn likely given what I've seen dug up on her, but it is possible. More likely, she'll get an offer to plea out a lesser sentence in exchange for giving us intel on the Malcontent forces. Maybe even the location of this High Lord that is running things out there."

Dorsey nods, saying, "We are just glad to be able to do our part, sir."

Lt. Cooper moves to stand in front of Nova and Miyazaki. "Good work on finding that evidence of the tampered signals and logs. I will personally make sure that a commendation goes in your files for this. Sergeant Dorsey, you have some top rate people here. Be proud of them all."

Nova stands up a little taller, and even though she's wearing her helmet, you are all fairly certain that she's got a pleased smile on her face. Doug says, "Thank you, sir. It was a team effort that we were all involved in, one way or another."

Lt. Cooper nods in understanding. "Of course. I don't mean to disparage the rest of your people at all. I'm sure that everyone did their part with distinction. You will all get a commendation in your files for this. Now, I have a prisoner to deliver to the Colonel, and even with the GMP stamp of approval on this arrest, I am sure that you will have questions to answer from your own Captain here. Just remember not to take any crap from these knuckle draggers. The 3rd JSOG is one of our valuable assets out here, and we will be keeping an eye on your progress. Keep up the good work, all of you."

With that, the officer turns and heads back to the waiting helicopter. Soon after he climbs in, the spinning blades pick up speed and the Supply Sergeant lifts off and heads for Brazilia Base with the Commanchero flying alongside it.

Now, Doug says, "Lets get back inside the walls with our borrowed APC and get our mission briefing done and over with." He then gets back in the APC and fires up the engine. With everyone inside and set, he turns the small tank around and heads back to the vehicle bay. Waiting for you is Capt. Shumer and Lt. Hulsizer, along with several dozen curious staff members, all wondering just what the hell is going on. Capt. Shumer's expression is unreadable, but you can tell that there are storm clouds over Lt. Hulsizer's head.

She takes a step forward and starts out with, "I don't care what kind of -" before she is stopped by a hand on her shoulder from the Captain. She is still fuming, but is quiet. He says, "Lets take this inside. You five, secure your gear and get to my ready room ASAP."

 

[Sherwood]

Steven is feeling quite satisfied with himself as the five of them hear the comments being made by the GMP officer. It is usually a good thing for a career to have officers putting good words in the personnel file. This certainly won't hurt my efforts at promotion! He keeps quiet while Sgt. Dorsey and the Lieutenant are talking, knowing that it's not his place to step in and say anything unless directly addressed.

As they head back inside the walls of Anton-17's outer barrier, he is already working on the verbiage of his report and how he will put his thoughts on record. Steven then gets a look at the expression of the XO and is wondering just how bad this debriefing will be. At least Capt. Shumer is taking charge and not leaving it to Lt. Hulsizer. I don't know if we'd survive the interrogation with as pissed off as she is looking right now, GMP approval or no.

 

[Purr]

Lt. Cooper moves to stand in front of Nova and Miyazaki. "Good work on finding that evidence of the tampered signals and logs. I will personally make sure that a commendation goes in your files for this. Sergeant Dorsey, you have some top rate people here. Be proud of them all."

Nova stands up a little taller, and even though she's wearing her helmet, you are all fairly certain that she's got a pleased smile on her face. Doug says, "Thank you, sir. It was a team effort that we were all involved in, one way or another."

Kitty bows in quiet gratitude to the GMP officer. She is pleased for 3rd JSOG. That this moment has brought them glory and positive attention from her human superiors is something the tank-bred Meltrandi appreciates though it is the deed itself that she is most proud of. Things could have gone sideways in a number of ways, but they didn't and after what felt like an eternity, 3rd JSOG did indeed perform admirably. Now if only they could decide on a squadron name?

Kitty realizes what she really desires is rank. Not just because it would bring 3rd JSOG more honor (which even she has to admit is never a bad thing), but because rank has a way of pushing away undesirables like the xenophobes her mates Chris and Steven had to put up with. Kitty surmises that things would have gone a little differently had all of 3rd JSOG been at the sergeant level.

But whether they deserved that or not was not up to her. She reminds herself that just her and Nova being Meltrandi was its own kind of barrier against promotion. High-profile Meltrandi like Miriya could rise like Super Valkyries but for the GMP rank and file like herself and Nova? As the humans sometimes said, "I wouldn't bet on it." Besides. In her heart of hearts, Kitty realizes she really doesn't put her neck on the line figuratively or literally for any other reward than to perform her duty. She is here to aid the Army of the Southern Cross and do what she can to help humans. She would take a bullet even the xenophobes who would take great pleasure in harming her. For they were human and worth more to humanity than her.

That ugly thought is immediately replaced by the sweet memory of Steven barreling through the lock-shot door and expertly nailing Antonia to the floor. What a hit that was! How she wished she could share that footage with her own gene-mates in Terror Team Six. Kitty could only imagine the comments and reactions her five "sisters" would make! Of course, such things were not to be. Kitty realizes she is left with the memory alone...

...and she is just fine with that!

 

[Purr]

Kitty secures her gear and meets in the office as ordered.

 

[Psychie]

Assuming that the rest of you also follow your orders and put your weapons and armor away, you then find yourselves standing at attention in Capt. Shumer's ready room. He eyes the five of you carefully, his face unreadable. Finally, he says in a quiet voice that almost seems to be more dangerous than if he had started out yelling, "I would like to know just why it is that the first I hear of one of my cadre coming under suspicion and getting hauled off by the GMP is when the five of you throw hand grenades into her room and haul her out in cuffs. Why didn't you come to me first? Anton-17 is my command, and if there is a traitor in my ranks, I would like to have some advanced knowledge of it before my First Sergeant is arrested."

 

[Purr]

Miyazaki is not the least bit deterred by Cpt. Shumer, but nor is she entirely comfortable. She had not wanted him to be in this position, but as Global Military Police officers and ESWAT, what choice had she and Nova? She remains at attention looking straight ahead.

Miyazaki delivers her reply evenly and with sincerity without the slightest hint of anything negative; the news she is about to deliver has enough of that, she thinks.

"The option was not and is not open to us, sir. This was not done out of disrespect for your command, but that we GMP officers were acting under orders from our superiors in the GMP. As much as I would honestly like to share with you details and answer your every question, this too is not an option. I must ask you to address all of your questions through GMP chain of command per our protocol, pending the resolution of the investigation regarding 1st Sergeant Antonia." Kitty pauses and adds. "Speaking only for myself, once permission is given me, I would gladly speak with you behind closed doors on the matter. This is indeed your base and your responsibility, along every soldier in it, sir."

 

[Sherwood]

Steven keeps himself locked in the position of attention as he stands there. He says, "Sir, our hands were tied by the orders of Colonel Spivey of the GMP, keeping information compartmentalized to prevent any accidental release of information to a potential traitor. Any and all contact on this operation should be directed to him."

 

[Psychie]

GunMan2 Do you have anything you wish to add before I move the scene forward?

 

[GunMan2]

"What they said and all that. Not much any of us can do once GMP get involved and i am sure you know the stink they would have raised here if they were to come here personally." Said Chris giving the Captain time to think on it and maybe his mind will get to the worse conclusion. "It was either we get Antonia to gt questioned or GMP Come here themselves." Though not entirely true that the GMP have better things to do than come to a Brazilian base than lets say chase down a terrorist cell or something.

He was not sure what to say but maybe a little by of honesty was allright, kitty might hate him for this though "Our initial investigation have given us reasons to believe that the attack was a bit too well coordinated to have been random and the things take were mostly missile parts and electronics. We suspected that there is a mole in the base. Unfotunately the GMP had send us a list of possible suspects, in which i believe kitty would be glad to tell you if she were allowed to. You can guess who was on the list..." Said Barnes as he was not really looking for anything just to stay out of trouble but trouble always finds a way to him. "So now while we wait on the results we have to worry of the malcontent either creating a super weapon or a super machine."

"I am sorry if this caused if our unit caused you any trouble and we mean did not mean to make you feel like we undermine your authoirthy in this base but lives are at stake here and time is a luxury that we do not really have."

 

[Psychie]

Dorsey adds, "Sir, this is an ongoing investigation, and we cannot compromise our hunt for any other possible moles in the base. That's why you were not briefed in on this. All we can do is let you know to forward your comments and requests for information to Colonel Spivvey of the GMP, and once we get his approval to release information, we are all yours, sir."

He is about to add something when there is a loud thump that shakes the very foundation of the base, immediately followed by the lights going out. It is pitch dark for a moment, then the emergency lighting kicks in, giving everyone a chance to look around. The Captain grabs his belt radio and shouts into it, "Ops! What the hell just happened?"

The reply is chilling. "Sir, there appears to have been a small explosion in the power reactor room. Primary power is off-line, and we are running on battery power only right now. No word yet on the extent of the damage or any casualties."

He snarls out, "I need info ASAP. I'm heading to Ops and by the time I get there, I expect to have some answers. Sound general quarters. I for one do not believe that this is a coincidence that a potential mole was taken just before we lose main power." He releases the radio and jams it back on his belt before looking to the five of you. "I am not going to say that I am pleased with how you went about this, but now is not the time for finger pointing. With our main power out, that also wipes out our defense turrets and early warning systems, so we have to assume that this is a prelude to an attack. Get to your tanks and prepare for contact."

Dorsey nods. "Yes, sir!" He salutes Capt. Shumer and turns to get moving out the door with the Captain right on your heels.

At the armory, there is controlled chaos as dozens of men and women all are suiting up in their heavy armor and pulling out weapons, but everything is running smooth showing a lot of practice in alerts like this one.

Up in your tanks, you are not the only mecha pilots that have shown up ready to fight. The other heavy Destroids of Anton-17 are all manned and ready, along with the handful of armored vehicles in the bay. As Dorsey is going through his power-up routine, he calls out, "Barnes! You are my comms man. Get on the horn with Ops and find out where they want us deployed, and see if there is any word on what happened in the power room yet."

 

[Sherwood]

Steven doesn't waste any time with small talk as he hurries to the armory to gear up in his megasuit and pull out firearms once more. This time, no stun baton, but instead he elects to go with a LP-10H pistol and an HLW-6 heavy laser and a wearable power pack to get more oomph for the weapon.

As he secures his gear, his mind is racing. He idly asks of the rest of the team, "Anyone think that this is in any way a coincidence? Because I sure as hell don't. Something tells me that our spy has left us a few other surprises here and there that we need to be on the lookout for. Besides the power room, where would a small explosive have the best results? Especially a location that our mole had regular access to. I'm thinking that Ops is a high priority place to sweep for more explosives. If we lose it, we have no comms or anything else going on."

He looks over at Sgt. Dorsey and asks, "Sarge? I am really thinking that needs to be called into the people manning the control room. I hope and pray that I'm wrong, but if I'm not . . . "

Spoiler

Combat Bonuses
On Foot / In the Tank
Number of Attacks: 5 / 7
Strike: +7 / +10 with cannons and long-range weapons, +12 with EU-11, +10 in HtH
Parry: +11 / +15, +1 with Shields
Dodge: +9 / +12
Roll: +5 / +8
Initiative: +1 / +3
Pull Punch: 0 / +4
Horror Factor: +3
Maintain Balance: +2
Perception: +6
Critical Strike From Behind
Knockout/Stun on a Natural 19-20

Eu-11: 1d6x10+10
APFSDS - 3d6x10+20: 15
MPAT (AoE 50ft) - 2d6x10+10: 9
HEAT - 2d6x10+10: 9
Incendiary Plasma (AoE 25ft) - 2d8x10+10: 9
Canister - 1d8x10 (AoE 25ft), 1d4x10 (AoE 50ft): 3
Smoke: 3

 

[GunMan2]

Barnes was on it immediately after he entered the his tank. "Control this is the spartas squad calling, acting coms officer Barnes. We need the cord on where we need to be deployed as all pilots are ready for action." He said as his tank finished powering up. He heard what Steven said "Additionally have bomb squad do a thorough sweep for any explosives in the OP in case our mole left us any more surprises. As well as a sweep of any high priority areas in the base. We can't lose these or else the entire base is toast"

 

[Psychie]

The response to Barnes' message comes through quickly. "Noted, 3rd JSOG. We will have a bomb crew sweep the place ASAP. At the moment, all of our eyes and ears on the detection line have gone dark, and the initial reports are that the damage to the power generator will not be fixed for at least two hours. The CO wants you deployed out several miles to recon the road approach for any sign of Malcontents approaching."

 

[Purr]

Earlier...

He was not sure what to say but maybe a little by of honesty was allright, kitty might hate him for this though "Our initial investigation have given us reasons to believe that the attack was a bit too well coordinated to have been random and the things take were mostly missile parts and electronics. We suspected that there is a mole in the base. Unfotunately the GMP had send us a list of possible suspects, in which i believe kitty would be glad to tell you if she were allowed to.

Kitty smiles a little at Chris as the handsome dark-skinned human delivers the point-blank honesty that she being GMP is denied. Kitty isn't certain that Dorsey is right about this - only Nova and Kitty are GMP; everyone else is subject to their own rules an regulations. If Chris, Steven, and Dorsey screw up with the GMP, well, it's the GMP they'll have to answer to. Nova and KItty's hands might be tied, but not so the human members of 3rd JSOG.

Now...

Kitty is relieved to be out of the drama and into the action where her Meltrandi brain and body were meant to be. Even with the red alert, Kitty cannot help but give Maru a walk-around. "Did they take good care of you, my sweet?" she asks the machine. "One single scratch in the wrong place and someone is going to find out this Kitty has claws! Errawr!"

 

[Purr]

Earlier...

At the Armory, Miyazaki kindly waits her turn in line if there is one. Once at the counter, she makes her requests. "One Mk. 25 AGL with 96-round belt, two IPP-5H Heavy Ion Pulse Pistols, 6 Cobalt Grenades, and 2 Cobalt mines, if you please?"

 

[GunMan2]

Barnes nods and begins to relay the orders to Duresley. "All right, Command wants us to recon the road approaching for any malcontent. Not sure why but i got a bad feeling about this boss. Should we have some remain at the base in case they attack from the other side" Barnes communicated to Dursley. His machine had gone to life with the now familiar feeling and sounds that came with the machine of war waking and once it is awoken she knows its time to fight.

 

[Psychie]

As Dorsey runs through the checklist on his tank, he says, "According to the satellite feeds, there is a high point a few miles out from here that we can get some good views of the area from. We'll set up there." With a low rumble, the powerful engine of the Spartas tank starts up. "I want everyone to stick together. There are other mecha and infantry forces that will be staying here to cover the base if there is an attack from some other direction. If the stuff does hit the fan, I want to make sure that the whole team is there to cover each other. Alright! We have our orders. Lets roll out." The twang in the Texan's voice is thick, showing that Doug is feeling the pressure of the moment.

Shooting out through the heavily reinforced walls, Anton-17's other mecha forces are starting to deploy around the exterior of the base while the infantry take up positions on the walls and in pre-dug fighting positions around the place. The bad feeling that Chris has seems to be being felt by everyone as the base prepares for a nasty fight.

It takes the five of you only a few minutes to head off road the few miles to the low hill that Sgt. Dorsey was talking about. It is not much of a hill, but you do have good visibility and your radar view is clear, giving you the view you desire. As of this moment, things are quiet. But that can change quickly.

As you position yourselves on the hilltop, Doug orders everyone to take turns putting up some rough camouflage around the tanks to try and reduce your own visibility from a distance, making sure that there are at least two people in their tanks to keep an eye out on the radar and with their good ol' Mark One Eyeballs at all times. While you work, you are able to continue to receive updates from Anton-17. Apparently, other explosives have been discovered inside the base, all rigged with a timer that can be remotely reset. Apparently, it was a fail-safe that was being used by Antonia in the event that she was ever discovered. You may take her away, but the timers on the bombs would continue to tick down until all hell would break loose at the base. She must have miscalculated the timer on the bombs, since they were supposed to all go off at the same time. Even so, with the main power out, the defenses of Anton-17 are compromised, and until the power is back up, everyone is at high alert status.

Everyone, please give me a Perception roll and a Sensory Systems roll. Dann, let me know what your numbers are and I'll roll for you.

 

[Sherwood]

Rolling for Steven
Sensory Equipment is 60%, Perception is a +6