Robotech - Southern Cross Adventure

[Psychie]

Lt. Hulsizer leads you out of the mecha hangar and down a wide staircase. As she walks, she looks over at Deunan and says, "Pretty tense," she admits. "We hadn't seen any direct raids on our post here before, with the Zentraedi focusing more on softer targets and staying away from military targets. But ever since High Lord Taniya has taken charge, the Malcontents have been riled up, and they have been much more active across the whole Zone, hitting BSURPs and larger towns, raiding them for parts and supplies at a pace we have not seen before. We know that the Malcontents have a base hidden somewhere in the Zone, but we don't know exactly where it is. Finding it is a high priority, and that is where your squad comes in."

She guides you into a large command center with at least a dozen people working at various terminals and at a large display of a map on the wall. On the map you can see multiple symbols marking Zentraedi activity across the Zone, just as the Lieutenant said. She motions for you to go over to one end of the room where you see a handful of unoccupied work stations. As you sit, a green haired Zentraedi comes walking up. She has the rank chevrons on her shoulder showing her to be the BSURPs First Sergeant.

The NCO says, "Good to see you, LT. These are the newbies from the ASC? Good to have you with us!" She looks you over and nods, seeming to be satisfied with what she sees. "I am 1st Sergeant Antonia, and no matter what these officers say to the contrary, I run this place. Lets get your paperwork taken care of, then I can get you settled in."

 

[Rykon]

Alan filed in silently by his squad. When asked to look over any documents, he took care to fill in his paperwork accurately before handing it over to the First Sergeant, even if his slow pace was somewhat aggravating. Always more forms with these people. He thought, trying not to let out an audible sigh. Could be worse, I reckon.

 

[Psychie]

With the assistance of a few of the other NCO's of the base, your paperwork is entered into the computers quickly. Antonia then has you follow her as she shows you about the place. For a temporary structure, the BSURP has a lot of amenities, including a recreation room, a small movie room, a small gymnasium, kitchen and mess hall, and dormitory style barracks with four people to a room for the enlisted, and a tiny solo cubicle for the officers to have a bit of privacy. All of this is below ground, along with ammo storage and fuel tanks under twenty feet of solid earth along with the kepalloy walls.

Above ground, inside the walls of the place, there is the heavily reinforced mecha storage bunker where your tanks are currently being rearmed and repaired, with several hover cars, trucks and cycles for use by the staff of the base. Antonia informs you that on a normal day, you would be able to sign out a car or cycle to go out to the nearby town of La Fuente to get away from the walls of Anton-17 and see the sights and sounds of civilian life. She does go on to inform you, though, with the recent attacks on the base, everyone is on alert so there is no leave time being given out.

There is also a small landing area just outside the walls where helicopters can land, refuel and rearm. In a pinch, there is just enough room for one of the smaller Mom's Kitchen transport jets to land, turn around and take off again. All of the comforts of home.

 

[WlfSamurai]

"You have a nice setup here, Sergeant," says Alissa. "Be real comfortable if it weren't for the Zeeks." She take s note of each of the rooms on the base, especially the gymnasium.

Might be a short stay, or might not be, Alissa considers. She'd rather be prepared in case the stay is extended. As the tour continues, she considers the day's battle. Power Armor and Pods hitting a convoy. And taking something from it, no less. She made a mental note to speak with Sergeant Conway about what could be been so important that the Zentraedi take a trailer from the convoy.

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan looks at Antonia and asks, "So, are we bunking as a squad, then? That would leave us with a spare bunk in our room if we are. On a different note, when the base was hit, were the attackers trying to go for a specific target, or do you think it was it just a random assault? Getting to know how our opponents are operating will help us figure out how to stop them."

 

[Rykon]

Alan tilts his head to the side in thought, "Hm, probably not boss. There's five of us and four to a room. So I reckon you ladies will take one room with a roommate then Marlon and I would have two roommates. That is assuming any of us are together at all. Otherwise, one of us is the odd one out, and that would be kinda lame."

 

[D. Rex]

Marlon looked at Alan disappointedly. "What? Come now, we are all adults here. No need to be so prude." He scoffed. "Don't tell me you get shy, now." He teased.

 

[Psychie]

Antonia checks her data pad. "Looks like for the ladies . . . your other roommate is Corporal Penny Parker, one of our technicians. You won't be seeing much of her for a while, since our maintenance crew are all busy working overtime getting the mecha and the walls back up from the damage done. I just wish that we had all of our Phalanx cannons back up and running. The damn Malcontents took out three of our gun mounts on the wall before they were driven back by our Tomahawks and a air strike by fixed wing aircraft. Those replacement guns were a part of the hardware on that missing transport trailer. Looks like we'll have to make due without them for a while until another shipment can be wrangled up."

"Now, for the males of your team, they are bunking together up the hall in room 5. You have the pleasure of sharing the room with a couple of our infantry. Private Wilson and Private O'Connell, both are new arrivals with the convoy you were apart of. So, they should be quite happy with you for helping to keep them all alive."

 

[Sherwood]

"Well, there's the answer to that." Deunan doesn't look unhappy with the outcome. At least we don't have to worry about getting changed with some guys drooling over the sight of a naked woman. "How many troops were involved in the attack? From the rubble out front, it looked pretty intense."

 

[Rykon]

Alan seemed stonefaced as he replied to Marlon, "I grew up with two sisters and two brothers. This situation is barely different. I just know how things work in the professional sphere."

After hearing the First Sergeant elaborate on their arrangements, he continued. "See what I mean? Reduces the likelihood of us enlisted folks makin a mess of things... Though not by much. Battlefield drama doesn't make for a cohesive unit. I'd rather live to go home, thanks."

 

[D. Rex]

"So the answer to better unit cohesion is unit separation? Absolutely brilliant." He said with a grin. "And I'll have you know I specialize in cleaning up messes as much as making them." Did he mind? Not in the least. But that didn't mean it wasnt fun to poke at.


"Oh yes, given overclocked your crews are, I would be willing to volunteer my help during any downtime I get. The mecha, the walls, maybe even those cannons if there is enough left intact to make sense of. I can help, even if to just give some of them a break." He offered.


He then looked at Deunan, "That is of course if Sergeant allows." He quickly adds.

 

[Rykon]

Alan turns to Sergeant Deunan, "Likewise Sarge, I've got armory training and paramedic training among other things. Happy to be of help if I can."

 

[Psychie]

"Well, there's the answer to that." Deunan doesn't look unhappy with the outcome. At least we don't have to worry about getting changed with some guys drooling over the sight of a naked woman. "How many troops were involved in the attack? From the rubble out front, it looked pretty intense."

The Zentraedi nods. "It was. We threw everything we had at the Malcontents, and even then had to call in support of both artillery and air strikes. Even that barely did the trick. They had our signals so badly jammed from their Scout Pods that we almost couldn't call for help. If it wasn't for our land line, we would have been in a bad shape. There are not any solid numbers, but there are confirmed kills on twenty Regult Battle Pods and two Glaug Officer Pods. There were other mecha involved, but they were able to pull back and retreat out of range of our troops, and we were in no shape to pursue them."

When Alan and Marlon make their comments about the sleeping arrangements, Antonia blushes a bit of a darker green. "You humans and your sex drives. Always causing trouble. Look, I can't tell you that there is no pair-bonding going on here, but just be . . . discreet with it. Best if you take your recreational activities out to La Fuente and get a room there."

"Oh yes, given overclocked your crews are, I would be willing to volunteer my help during any downtime I get. The mecha, the walls, maybe even those cannons if there is enough left intact to make sense of. I can help, even if to just give some of them a break." He offered.

That offer gives Antonia a grin. "I will never turn down a volunteer. Just remember, your primary focus will be to deploy in your mecha. But every bit of work you can put into the base will help save lives of all of us here, including yourselves. Once you get your gear unpacked, you can report to Lt. Danfield and ask him what you can get started on. That goes for all of you. It doesn't take much to make a big difference if we all pull together and make it happen." She glances at her wristcomp. "I'll leave you to your unpacking. If you need anything from me, don't hesitate to come calling." With that, she turns and heads back out.

Once she is gone and out of earshot, Neo looks worried. "I wonder. What was the goal of the attack? From what I've been hearing of the raids, they have all been very coordinated and with a definite purpose to them. Attacking a single BSURP? What does that get them?"

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan nods. "You have that right, Neo. The Zentraedi here don't take a piss without a plan behind it. There was a goal to this attack, and the sooner we find out, the better. Now, lets try and find out what was in that transport that was snagged. We check out its inventory, compare that to what was hit here at the base, and see where they match up. Neo, how good are you with computers?"

Spoiler

I am wondering if I can try a Hacking and a Intelligence roll to evaluate the two lists?

 

[Psychie]

Neo smiles shyly. "Um, very good? I hate to toot my own horn, but I was in the top five percent in my programming class. If that file exists, I can find it. I just need to get onto the network and poke around a bit."

Spoiler

Sherwood If you are going to hack the computers to get that list, you can either do it as a solo effort, or team up with Neo and work with her. Let me know how you wish to do that, and then you roll Hacking if you are diving into the system. Once you have your list, an Intelligence roll will be good.

 

[D. Rex]

Marlon couldn't help but laugh at making the big alien blush. And not just because pair bonding was a funny way to call it.


But it was nice to hear that they welcomed the help. He understood his priority was too his job. But he would not feel comfortable in the slightest during downtime when there was so much to be done.

At Neos inquiry, he chimed in his own thoughts. "The most likely answer is that this to them is a strategic position. While our Intel might be a bit limited in them, they know their own region. Having this base here would make it harder for them to move undetected if they have through ways nearby. Or to receive support if they are getting outside help. It would also act as a threatening point for us to expand our forces. Generally speaking. The closer you get to something important, the harder the pushback is going to be. The bigger the threat, the more seriously it will be taken." He pondered. "If this base didn't matter or hinder them. A tactical mind would just leave it intact so it would drain our resources trying to keep it running."


"As for the thingy. I can probably ask around the hangar to see what sort of things they were expecting. Like if they got something special to be worked on."

 

[WlfSamurai]

"Sarge, I was going to ask if you knew what was in the crate they took," Alissa says. "Guess I have my answer. You need me on station or can I head over and offer medical help to their wounded?"

There was always more to do. Alissa doesn't want to sit idle. Keeping her hands busy is how she's gotten through most of her military career. Sitting and thinking were the worst ways to stay sharp and effective. The faces she's seen. The gruesome scenes she's see creep back and haunt her if she sits and waits.

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan smiles. "Good. I'm not as good with a wrench as I am with a soldering gun, but I am sure that I can find something to fix. Marlon and Alan, once you two get settled, go to the hangar and make yourselves as useful as you can. Alissa, with all the wounded we have, I'm sure that your skills in the medical bay will be greatly appreciated. Neo and I will work with what electronics we can, and will try to get ahold of the list of equipment that was taken. Just remember what we were told, though. We are tankers first, everything else second. When the order comes to deploy, I want you all to be in good physical and mental shape to do so. You get me?"

 

[WlfSamurai]

"Aye, aye, Ma'am." Alissa salutes. She nods and heads for the medical bay.

 

[D. Rex]

A quick salute, "Yes ma'am." Marlon would go drop off his stuff and head to the hangar with Alan as instructed.

 

[Psychie]

"Aye, aye, Ma'am." Alissa salutes. She nods and heads for the medical bay.

Walking your way to the medical bay, Alissa finds that the casualties from the attack have spilled out of the small medical center and into a nearby supply room. Most of the wounded you can see are suffering from burns from the exploding fuel tanker spraying diesel fuel across the road and onto some of the APCs. As you look for some sign of order in the chaos, you see a tall redhead wearing a doctor's smock moving through the wounded, one side of her collar showing the silver bar of a first lieutenant and the second the entwined serpents of a doctor. The name tag on her smock says 'Lawrence'.

She sees you, and pauses long enough to brush a lock of hair out of her face and say, "Unless its critical, which I doubt it is, you'll need to come back later. We have our hands full here. What do you want?"

A quick salute, "Yes ma'am." Marlon would go drop off his stuff and head to the hangar with Alan as instructed.

Once you work your way up to the hangar, you can already see the difference in the status of the mecha as the repair crews work to get everything back up to one hundred percent ASAP. It takes a bit of hunting to find Lt. Danfield, but soon you are able to spot him shoulder deep inside a damaged Tomahawk's left gun cluster, working to replace the grenade launcher. "Eh? Yes? Oh, I remember you. One of the tankers, right? I have a pair of my people down there, working on slapping replacement armor plates on your rigs, so don't worry about that. Or are you here for some other reason?"

Neo and I will work with what electronics we can, and will try to get a hold of the list of equipment that was taken.

To do this, you know that the best place to find damaged computer equipment is in the electronics bay or the command center for working terminals. Which do you want to go to?

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan will make her way back to the command center and will look for Lt. Hulsizer. "Ma'am? I don't know where you might need the help the most, but I know a bit about basic electronics repair and intelligence analysis. I might be able to free up someone to work on a more critical system, or give you a fresh set of eyes to look over reports and forward intel. Just point me in the right direction."

 

[WlfSamurai]

Alissa salutes. "Lieutenant, Corporal Alissa Kerensky of the 3rd Heavy Reconnaissance Squad reporting for medical duty, Ma'am. I'm a trained M.D. and Field Surgeon. I'd like to help." She takes it all in. The wounded and burned, the spillover into the hallway and supply room, the bloody smock Lieutenant Lawrence is wearing. Alissa can feel the building of an emotion she can't name. As always, before she can truly identify it, the warrior's fire in her heart forges the emotion into resolve to do anything she can to help. To "fix" the situation.

 

[D. Rex]

"Lieutenant." Marlon said in greeting. He already liked Danfield. The type of guy to get his hands and clothes dirty. Always nice to see. "Yes sir, I was indeed coming to give you a hand. If that is what you need me most on, then that is what I'll do."


"But there was another thing i was wondering. That ambush that hit our convoy took some stuff. I didn't get to see the inventory." Marlon stated.

"Big gal mention some replacement cannons that got taken. While I'm partially concerned about them getting used against us, correct me If I'm wrong, but I wouldn't think we would be carrying much armaments that they the Zentraedi could make use of. I'm more worried about the other supplies that might have went missing." He said as he looked towards the worn torn lots and destroids.

"I was thinking, that on patrol, if we come across any mecha or outposts, I can ask Sarge to report any goodies or salvage that we are hurting for. Was there anything that went missing you want me to keep an eye out for?" He asked.

 

[Psychie]

Deunan will make her way back to the command center and will look for Lt. Hulsizer. "Ma'am? I don't know where you might need the help the most, but I know a bit about basic electronics repair and intelligence analysis. I might be able to free up someone to work on a more critical system, or give you a fresh set of eyes to look over reports and forward intel. Just point me in the right direction."

The Lieutenant looks at you for a moment, probably trying to decide just how to best utilize your skills. She then nods over at an empty terminal. "Take a seat, sergeant. As you said, a fresh set of eyes. There has been much speculation on what the Zentraedi in this sector are after. Look over the reports of what has been taken in the last few raids, and see if you can get a picture of what they are up to. Perhaps you can find the needle in this haystack."

Spoiler

Sherwood , go ahead and give me three Intelligence rolls. There is no need for Hacking, but if you have Research, give me three rolls of that, too.

Alissa salutes. "Lieutenant, Corporal Alissa Kerensky of the 3rd Heavy Reconnaissance Squad reporting for medical duty, Ma'am. I'm a trained M.D. and Field Surgeon. I'd like to help." She takes it all in. The wounded and burned, the spillover into the hallway and supply room, the bloody smock Lieutenant Lawrence is wearing. Alissa can feel the building of an emotion she can't name. As always, before she can truly identify it, the warrior's fire in her heart forges the emotion into resolve to do anything she can to help. To "fix" the situation.

The officer's face softens, then she says, "I'm sorry, Corporal. Too many times I've had some crew member in Medical looking for a pain reliever for a headache when I have serious casualties to treat. Your help is much appreciated. Go scrub up. We have already triaged the wounded that we can treat here, and the charts are on the wall."

Spoiler

WlfSamurai , lets get three rolls of Medical Doctor. Field Surgery is not need here, since you have a full operating suite to work with. The bonuses you would get from the med center are canceled out by the minuses from the seriousness of the injuries.

"Lieutenant." Marlon said in greeting. He already liked Danfield. The type of guy to get his hands and clothes dirty. Always nice to see. "Yes sir, I was indeed coming to give you a hand. If that is what you need me most on, then that is what I'll do."

The grin you get from him is bright and infectious. He says, "If you get your hands dirty with me, you can call me Max. Just in here, though, and not in front of any of the Captain or Lt. Hulsizer. They are good people, but a little stiff with the regs, if you know what I mean. Slide in here and give me a hand with this grenade launcher." He slides to one side to make room. "So, what did you want to know about that trailer? What was in it? Well, I know that there were three Phalanx Air Defense Guns that were going to go up on the wall, but they wouldn't be useful without the sophisticated targeting and tracking system that was being sent along with them. That software is the bomb. It can track on a missile fired from as close as five hundred feet and engage it, stopping it from hitting its target."

Spoiler

D. Rex Give me three rolls of Mecha Engineering.