UEEF - The Shadow Chronicles - IC Thread

[jaydude]

Ian smiled a little. "Just our job, Brac. Though I can see how it might be more than that for you, given where we are right now." he replied to the Karbarran.

Once back in the Veritechs, he'd waste little time leading the rest of his squad back to the command cruiser.

 

[Sherwood]

It takes several hours of uneventful flight time to get back to the MacArthur, but sometimes boring is good. Especially when exciting means that something is probably trying to kill you.

Finding yourselves back on the flight deck, the first order of business is to take a quick shower and grab some grub while the grease monkeys dive into your mecha to rearm what missiles have been fired and to repair what little damage was done to your gear. Looking about, you notice that your squadron is not the only ones to have seen some Invid activity. You can tell by the scattered Veritechs that are getting repairs from recent battle damage. With any luck, there won't be any empty bunks due to losses in the field.

As you settle into your seats with a tray of hot food in front of you, you are starting to feel a bit better as you dig in. Around you, you can hear the various pilots and crew members gossiping about the upcoming missions that they anticipate to come around. Apparently, the big problem that the fleet is learning about is an advanced early warning system that the Karbarrns had started building prior to the Invid occupation that the Bearmen were forced to finish, and any attempt to take the system is going to be met with strong opposition unless something can be done about it.

The early warning system is operated out of a space station that the Invid took over and turned into a hive complex. From what you are hearing, the word from the Karbarran miners is that this station is heavily armed and armored, and will probably take the larger guns and missiles of the big ships to be able to take it out. The issue with that is no ship can get close enough to be able to engage it without being detected by the sensor net, making a direct approach to be quite a nasty prospect for any invading force.

 

[Psychie]

Bigs dives into her meal with gusto, not realizing until now just how hungry she was. "Mmmm. Faux-hamburger. Delish. What I wouldn't give for some fresh beef. A hearty steak. Some ribs. Or hell! Even a simple grilled burger, with plenty of ketchup on it." She looks to the other members of Manticore squad and mumbles through a mouthful of food, "It sounds like the secret to keep our losses down is to be able to get the fleet into range of that starbase with the early warning system on it and take the sumbitch out. The trouble is, our mecha have Protoculture power systems, and that is a big no-no in getting a sneak attack on the Invid. What we need is a way to get onto that station without tripping every alarm so we can eliminate the ability to detect our ships from long range. Something that can either sneak in without the EWS seeing it, or let the EWS see us, but look like something completely different than what we really are."

"I'm thinking . . . . there was that mining ship we saw docked on the asteroid we were at. How big was it again? Do you think we could fit our mecha into its cargo bay and have the miner ship simply fly us right into the place as a cargo run of some sort? Then, either with Marines or our Veritechs, we move into the place and take the control center off line to let our big ships come into the inner system without being discovered. We might have to destroy the station, since it is so heavily armed, but the fleet was built for big targets like that."

She looks around at the rest of the team and says, "What do you guys think of that? Suppose it might work?"

 

[jaydude]

"Maybe." replied Ian, grinning a little from watching Bigs devour her meal. "I'd have to run it by the top brass, to get their approval if nothing else. But if it works, it's as you say; we'll be able to take out the EWS, and then have a much easier time liberating Karbarra."

 

[WlfSamurai]

Brac shovels mounds of food he had piled on his tray into his maw with the grace of a—what did the humans call them again?—Tyrannosaurus. He swallows each spoonful before his brain registers the taste. The mission had taken a lot out of him with its physical demands, emotional rollercoaster, and stress. The adrenaline didn't help either.

When Bigs mentions her idea, Brac pauses his gorging. A roll sticks out of his mouth as he looks back and forth between Ian and Bigs. He flicks his muzzle up and opens his mouth so the rest of the roll flips in.

With a mouth full of roll he says, "I actually think that's genius, Bigs. If we did it right, they wouldn't know a thing. He spoons more mashed artificial-potatoes in behind the roll. "Especially if we can get the Veritechs in there. We'd have a huge advantage."

 

[Psychie]

Bigs nods in agreement. "If the Invid are using this station as a hive complex, its interior corridors should be big enough to fit our larger mecha no problem. Hell, we may be able to squeeze in a few squads of Marines in Cyclone armor too, and we can all rock and roll in there, us in our Veritechs running interference for the smaller mecha. Yeah. That can really work. I like it. After we finish our food, lets go talk to the CAG and pitch the plan to her."

 

[WlfSamurai]

"Wait!" Brac says, waving a paw and swallowing his mouthful of food. "You know what would sell it? A diversion. I mean, send a few Veritech squads to throw their weight around or use some ships to pull a maneuver nearby to draw attention and we'd have a better shot. Just a thought." He goes back to shoveling food into his maw.

 

[Random Word]

Tisiphone vacuums up about three trayfuls of food with a speed that suggests someone might take them away from her at any moment, her single-minded focus only broken when Bigs suggests getting up close and personal with the enemy, prompting her eyes to light up. She takes a moment to swallow her last mouthful before nodding with a grin, "You have command potential. Any plan where I may strike down an Invid and see the life drain from its eyes is a good plan. It is daring, but the risk is well worth the reward. Your... our superiors would be wise to listen to you."