57 replies to this topic

[ChaosGrinder]

Skyfall high orbit
21:52 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship - hangarbay

Skyfall. A rocky, barren planet about the size of Saturn. His atmosphere is highly toxic but it is assumed that it´s crust contains large ammounts of iron and titanium. A first base was deployed about 2 years ago, recently it has gone silent. You are now here to investigate what happened to the base. But darker seecrets loom below.


200 miles. That was all that lay between them and the ground of the planet beneath them. Orbital flights allways where scary for her. She couldn´t tell why, but it allwas was kind of creepy.
The vehicles where all anchored in their hangar bays, a dim orange light put the scene in a strangely canny mood. On a crate beside the Omen sat Triss, a short girl in her mid-twenties, curly ginger hair and glasses wearing a latex fullsuit from neck to toe with gloves and socks, glasses on her nose, checking something on her laptop.
She stretched yawning and looked around, noone was around yet.

Meanwhile at the Bridge.


The commanding officer of the Razer shook his head. " There are too many storms down there, we can´t land yet !"
A figure in a black suit with glasses eyeballed him, stroking a white chinbeard. " It is from extraordinary importance, that our mercenaries arrive at the base as early as possible, i hope you can grasp the importance of this mission Anderson ! "
"I am aware of this Sir, but i don´t want to risk lives before necessary ! I will do what i can."
" I am therefor thankfull, keep a comminucation channel open to them until they have reached the base and are able of using the base relay."
With a thoughtfull face the officer nodded towards his attaché.

" Gentlemen, you are due in the hangar withing the next 15 minutes." Speakers declared on board.

Triss, also called Pepper, which was the name she ensigned with to this mission was cleaning her revolver and loading the speedloader, as a tall man in a black suit appeared in the hangar. His pointy nose held thin glasses and a white beard was sprawling from his chin. As he saw her sitting, he approached her and greeted her with a friendly nod.
"Allready here miss ? I hope the rest of the troop will show up in time, i have urgent news for all of you... oh and as you are lubricating your gun, i might add, you can supply you at the weapons locker anytime, just in case. "
" Best thanks, i´m well equiped, but thank you for your offer. Gotta say, i´m not sure what to expect from this mission", she said to the suited guy without looking up. He eyeballed her, obuoisly destracted by her unusual clothing.
" I know what you´re thinking" ,she said, before the man in the suit could say a word.

" Well... that´s what i´m here for. I will give you a short briefing, then you will be dropped somewhere close to the base."

Standing up, she looked around to the vehicles stored here, ready for the drop. " Then i would say, let the games begin", Triss said and yawned again. She hadn´t had much sleep last night, hopefully they would encounter a bed within the next 15 hours or so.

[dal10]

Jake, Darius, Larry, and Steve were in a bunkroom on the ship playing some poker.

"This planet is weird.." sighed Jake, the brains of the group and the driver of the Lariot.
"This entire mission is weird, no intel, no nothing. I mean, why would the republic of all places have a base out here. They don't even have a periphery border. (I think the republic is our employer, but am not sure.)" shot back Darius, the current chip leader and the overall leader of the group. as well as the group gunner.
"Well it should be a great adventure mate." proclaimed Larry, the groups financier, general pain, and radioman. "Maybe there will be some aliens I can take back as a trophy."
"Darius, do you think there are aliens down there? asked Steve in a slightly frightened voice. Steve was not that bright, but he was definitely the luckiest guy any of the others had ever met. That was one of the few things that all 4 of them agreed upon.
"I highly doubt it Steve. The base would have mentioned something in the 2 years it had been operating if there were aliens there." reassured Darius. Darius really disliked that Larry kept messing with Steve. But as long as it was not something serious he didn't mind. After all, Steve's incredible luck would keep him safe.

"Gentlemen, you are due in the hangar within the next 15 minutes" came over the loudspeakers.

"Well I guess this is where we end this game for the night, right fellas?" asked Darius. Then they stood up and filed out towards the hangar.

[pinsndneedles]

21:50,
Taihou Class Dropship Razer,
Inbound,
Skyfall, Periphery.

Wilson sat on his bunk, smoking a cigarette and writing in a small leatherbound journal. He'd picked up the habit when he was out in the Periphery, and it had stuck with him since. The scratch of his fountain pen's nib on the paper had an oddly calming effect, and helped focus his mind. This was going to be an interesting mission, especially since there had been next to no intelligence. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'we'll take it as it comes and make the best of it. No sense worrying.'

The intercom crackled to life, "Gentlemen, you are due in the hangar within the next 15 minutes."

Wilson looked up at the speaker and took a long drag on the cigarette, nodding to himself. He turned back to the book and finished what he'd been writing, and stowing both it and the pen away. He stood and stretched, too much time sitting around was starting to make him stiff. He grabbed his coat on the way out, more as an act of habit than anything, pulling on the leather duster as he walked.

[Janitor101]

21:55.
Taihou Class Dropship Razer.
Skyfall, Periphery.

Kurt sighed, his rebreather echoing the sound loudly, he took a moment to stretch. His back was hurting after spending the last hour sanding and repainting sections of his Cougar where the paint had been scratched off from weapons fire or minor collisions.

He picked up the airbrush and flicked the little safety off, continuing to repaint the deep royal blue of his mech. Kurt was nearly done when the comm system crackled to life, calling everyone to the hangar. He paused long enough to glance away from his work to spot the others across the hangar.

He grunted to himself and turned back to his work, he had enough time to get there before they started. Besides, he was nearly done painting.

[Aegis Fate]

21:54,
Taihou Class Dropship Razer,
Inbound,
Skyfall, Periphery.

Tyla was irritated. Not at the people in the hangar, nor the fact that she was a complete and utter mess, but because the damn machine she was maintenancing was not being easy to repair. She constantly ran through her mind at what the hell could've been wrong, and each time another issue arrived. She was halfway to punching the box that contained it before a brief glimmer of success lighted across her face, the machine finally starting up and humming a soft purr. A sort of feeling of success washed over her, removing the stress of the machine and the trip. It was normal for her, the days always ending with fixing another piece of discarded junk in the hangar, even if its purpose was long abandoned. Such was her way, to fix what needed to be fixed, as nothing annoyed her more then something that would not work. Nothing.

The intercom summoning everyone to the hangar was all she heard, realizing the inevitable decline that was her time to repair the junk in the hangar. She shrugged, her slim plain form obscured by baggy dark clothes, her hair cut short to facilitate ease of work. Today was going to be an interesting one.

[ChaosGrinder]

Skyfall high orbit
21:54 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship - hangarbay

Triss was just strapping her oxygen-halfmask to her face, testing her air-supply as she saw the first people comming down to the hangar.
"Hey, good to see you", she said muffled through the mask.

More and more pople entered the hangar and came to her and the gray-haired man. A group of four people, all seemed to be one crew, followed by a single man and a girl, dressed in black baggy clothing. This was the team.

Sitting again on her crate she looked around and asked without taking of the mask,
" You´re all ? Or are we missing someone."

[Listless Nomad]

Skyfall high orbit
21:54 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship – hangarbay

"Gentlemen, you are due in the hangar withing the next 15 minutes."

Corporal Pavel Kowalski walked stiffly into the hanger, approaching the small knotting of people that had gathered around the young, latex clad woman. Pavel licked his lips reflexively at the attractive girl, but his countenance quickly soured as he reminded himself that they were all mercenaries, and that he was the only one here that actually believed in something more important than money.

These people are only here for a paycheck. They don’t care about the mission, or those people down there.

Filled with disgust, Pavel spit onto the hard metal floor of the hangar before fixing a grin to his face.

“Hey everyone, sorry I’m late. Did I miss anything?”

Dressed in his mission specific fatigues, he looked every bit the professional soldier. The small group parted slightly to allow him to join the semi circle that had formed around the young girl nicknamed pepper, where he stood in the military “At Ease” pose. His face still had the forced grin plastered on it, but his eyes were serious and determined.

Edited by Listless Nomad, 21 October 2012 - 01:59 PM.

[ChaosGrinder]

Skyfall high orbit
21:54 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship – hangarbay

"Nah, nothing important. I guess we´re not all anyway, but i don´t know where the rest of the people are", Triss said pulling the mask down from her face leaving it dangling around her neck.

" By the way , call me Pepper ", she smiled at the mercenary and held out her hand. She was eyeballing the people who had gathered around, all seemed to be professional mercenaries with serveral years of experience.

" Are we missing someone ? As far as i can see, we´re almost complete. " the gray-haired man interupted her thoughts.

" Well then, we shall proceed. First and foremost i apologize for the lack of information about this mission, but it was counterproductive to release to much information."

With a grim look he turned to the crew.

" You are here today, because i need you to investigate one of our secret research labs on this planet. It had gone silent about 6 months ago, but due to hostile activity in this sector we where unable to reach the base. We believe that the base has drawn hostile attention and our researchers have been kidnapped, but we do not know anything for sure. This Dropship will drop you somewhere near the base and you will have to reach it on your own, as we can not approach the mointains due to storms in the area. The Ship will stay in orbit until you found out what happened and we will pick you and any survivors up after you found out what happened to the base. Any further information on the planet and the base will be provided via comm after you´ve landed. Please remember to refill your oxygen tanks and keep in mind that you can supply yourselves at the weapons locker. We will approach drop point in 10 minutes."

And with that, the man left.

" Ok guys, time tu rig up and head out, hu ? " Pepper said and grabbed her oxygen bottle.
" Anyone else for fresh air ? "

[Oni Storm]

Skyfall high orbit
22:00 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship - hangarbay


Lieutenant Commander Shimada Devalis, whistled for his crew to come together and gather round, the stark rooster red spikes of his hair, catching the bay's light like a beacon to bring them all in and home.

Slowly and deliberately Comm Officer Shichirōji stretched her long legs showing first one then the other through her side slit dress as she rose to join the others, grabbing her vibro-katana off a nearby crate and began securing it at her waist.

Twins Okamoto and Hayashida Tsushima, brother and sister respectively, were the next to show, their synchronized black and white gis rustling as they approached with their swords and snake vision goggles at the ready.

First Gunner Katayama Deleportas swung the turret of "Paradise" around in an effort to acknowledge she was hearing the call but too busy to comply. This would have been all well and good except that her sudden movement forced Loader Kikuchiyo Smalls to slide right and fall from the tank with a meaty thud followed by a series of clangs and curses as he tried in vain to assault the tank in fisticuffs.

Shimada just shook his head in other embarrassment and disgrace, before watching as the final member popped his head from the turret, turkey leg still in hand. "Yo boss you gotta see what I've managed to do to the loader, if we set this new hydroflashfoil on top and wrap something in it, it'll steam it in five loads flat" Kyūzō Milton said, grinning from ear to ear and producing a corn ear in the other hand as he pried his rather large girth from the top.

All total the full crew was there by the last of the fifteen minutes, even Katayama, spread out amidst the bay. Their various shades of black and gray and simi-mixture of their nation and clan upbringings and blending. Shimada looked around quickly at the others gathered, "Aww So, we have plan now? It is Go Time. No?"

[dal10]

Skyfall high orbit
22:00 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship - hangarbay

The crew of the Lariot was just going over the last few tests they had to run before drop.
Darius was in the commanders seat. "Guys it is time for the final pressure check, we don't want the Royal Flush here to spring a leak, not even Steve's luck would save us there." With this he sealed the top hatch of the Lariot. "Jake, check the seals."

Jake pressed several buttons on his dash to pressurize the tank. "The atmospheric seals are operating well within the confines of the marginal error levels."

Darius just facepalmed. "English please"

"We're good to go Darius."

"Thank you. Larry proceed with Comms check."

"Eye, Eye General Lee." then into the mike, "Testing 1, 2, 3. This is the Lariot doing a comms check, anybody copy?"

"Lariot this is control, we read you."

At this Darius pressed a button stopping the comm station from sending a message as he knew what was coming.

"Hello everyone this is Larry Baker, and I will be your DJ for this evening. Now for some smooth jazz from the old Free Worlds League." with that, he put some music over the radio, not aware that Darius had disabled the communications station. Darius knew that Larry does that every time they drop into a new mission.

Now, the 4 of them just awaited for the maw of the bay to open, and let them charge into the abyss.

Edited by dal10, 24 October 2012 - 09:24 PM.

[Janitor101]

22:01.
Taihou Class Dropship Razer.
Skyfall, Periphery.

Kurt had finished the repaint and was strapped into his Cougar -which he fondly referred to as 'Jailbait'- awaiting the final load of munitions. A familiar clattering sound from the left half of the Cougar signaled that the SRMs were being loaded. A few moments later the clattering stopped, followed by the tech pounding his fist on the hull of the Cougar, signalling that all equipment was clear.

Kurt checked the seals of his Neurohelmet, and the air hoses connecting to his mech, along with a system diagnostic, everything was running well and smooth.

He reached for the comms, flicking them on.
"Control this is Fury, all systems are in the green. Let me at 'em ."

[Oni Storm]

Skyfall high orbit
22:10 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship - hangarbay

In one quick flash the crew of "Paradise" each ran and darted unto and in their precious tank, even Milton who despite his girth or because of his lack of hygiene and half lard laden body shot right through the hatch like a greased pig. The hatches were quickly buttoned, sealed, and and the environmental seal and purifiers online. Shimada flipped the external, "We Ready!"

Edited by Oni Storm, 25 October 2012 - 04:13 AM.

[ChaosGrinder]

Skyfall high orbit
22:10 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship - hangarbay

After she had filled her airtank and placed everything insider her cockpit, she started powering up and ran through a quick check-list. With a click her cockpit hatched sealed off and soon her mech was humming to life.

" This is Pepper, and this is a comm-test. Allright, we´re up and running."

She felt a jolt and then the dropship started to shake. " I guess we´re descending", she said, checking her screens.


Skyfall, desert plains
22:13

A heavy sandstorm was approaching the barren surface of the icy rock formations, as the approached the dropzone. Heavy winds shook the aerodyne, sand swished around the plane, making it almost impossible to see. Radar had gone blind too.

" I´ll have to drop you right here guys ! This storm is killing us, no way we´ll reach the drop location this way ! " The pilot shouted via comm. A few seconds later they touched the ground. Everything was shaking, as the plane grinded to halt on the sandy rocks beneath them.

" Get out as fast as you can, this storm is dangerous for the dropship ! "

Pepper arcellerated and stepped out of the cargo hatch into the whirling sand. Vision was almost zero, sand bombarded her front screen.

" Ey people, can you hear me ? " she tested the comm. " Gather here, this is halfway calm." Pepper had placed her mech behind a surreal, twisted rocky formation, where the wind wasn´t as strong as on the open plains.

" With that storm going on, we´ll have to wait, or we won´t get to the base at all ! "

With a last howl of its thrusters the dropship climbed up into the glooming sky and left them at the surface alone.

[dal10]

"Not even the cat houses on Galatea were rocking this much" whine Larry as the Lariot was buffeted from the sandstorm.

"if you think this is bad, imagine how the guys in the Savannah Masters feel." replied Darius.

"The sensors aren't working Darius..." Steve pointed out.

"Have you turned the Bloodhound Active Probe on yet?" Darius asked.

"yes darius. The electric umbrella (this is Steve for ECM) is up too."

"Damn, this sandstorm is intense if it is blocking the bloodhound. I also doubt our weapons will work too well in here as well. least between the sandstorm and the Angel unit we will be nigh undetectable. Larry get on the comms and see if anyone else is having the problems with the sensors. plus, we can see how comms are working in this storm."

"A-ok Darius." Then into the mike. "Anyone else near blinded by this here wee storm? It is interfering with our Bloodhound Active Probe. But at least if we can't see anything else, Nothing else can see us." (I would guess Que very static filled comms)

Edited by dal10, 25 October 2012 - 07:51 AM.

[pinsndneedles]

22:10.
Taihou Class Dropship Razer.
Skyfall, Periphery.

Wilson flicked the remained of his cigarette to the bay floor ground it out under one of his suit's boots. He closed the faceplate and grabbed his assault rifle from the rack near his armor's berth, securing it on the mountings on his back and sliding the magazines into their pockets. The systems began displaying green all across the board, and a quick comm check proved him linked with HQ.

Wilson sighed as the dropship doors opened and it became obvious how nasty the weather was outside. Shrugging he activated the jumpjets on his suit and caught onto one of the handholds on the Couguar, scuffing the paint somewhat. 'So nice of the Clanners to put these on,' he thought as he got comfortable. 'Certainly beats having to walk around out there.' The thought brought a smile to his face and he began whistling to himself as they moved out onto the surface.

[Oni Storm]

Skyfall, desert plains
"Paradise" Crew Compartments
22:14 hrs

The whaling alarms of multiple boogies was playing havoc on the "Paradise"'s crew. Commander Shimada couldn't take it anymore and began shouting in Japanese, something to the effect of [Shut the da^n thing down then!! There's obviously too much interference for the old AntiAir Flak System alone. Tie in the backup and try to boost the signal, but cut those warnings off!!!] Immediately Kyūzō Milton, began to work on the request, greasy fingers and all, getting him a look of disgust from Shichirōji. "What it adds to the conductivity." Milton said. "And your girth adds at least a pound a day, but that doesn't help any of us either, now does it? except maybe if we actually have to run from something." Hayashida added, bringing the group into a uproarious laugh, before everyone calmed down and began focusing on the task at hand.

Commander Shimada spoke then through the comm to all the team units "Paradise here. We clear path, if you follow us close. Please advise."

Edited by Oni Storm, 25 October 2012 - 04:22 PM.

[guardian wolf]

Skyfall high orbit
21:54 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship – crew's quarters

John checked the pump action on Kim, his shotgun. It was smooth as ever, with a resounding click, the pump cycled a shell into the breach. John then set down Kim, and picked up Jennifer, his AR. He double checked her action, it was smooth, and clean. He had heard that they were headed into sandstorm like conditions so, he had made sure that when he clean them, they were dry before he tested the actions. He then checked his vest's reloads, bag of shells for Kim, and clips for Jennifer. All there. His grenades were as well, with his knives, along with a small 15 minute emergency tank of air. He then checked his pack, extra ammo, grenades, charges, and another spare tank for air, that was rated for one hour. Their NANG suits also were checked fifteen minutes before hand, and the oxygen supply was for about four, maybe five if you were lucky, hours. They heard the call for the meeting, and began to walk towards the meeting spot. John noticed Wilson, was missing. Probably there ahead of time. John shook his head as he shook the bad feeling about this op. He'd been screwed in an op before, and it felt like one of those times. He banished the fear from his mind, as it had no place on the battle field. They arrived at the meeting spot to see that everyone was already gone. Wilson was casually stand there almost as if he was bored.

"So, what's the sit rep on this one?"

"Little to no intel on the base, and it hasn't reported back in quite some time. Sounds like some of our usual black ops boss,"

"Too much like one, suit up, we're getting ready for drop,"

"Yes sir,"

The men then ran back to their quarters, got their gear on in seconds, and were ready for drop. The walked back into the hangar wearing their armored NANG suits, looking like smaller elementals. Their faceshields polarized, and Chris got a heads up display of the surrounding area, the Cougar, identified by IFF transmitter, was ironically a friendly. Piece of Clan trash, thought Chris. They walked onto their transport, and sat down into their appointed spaces.

Skyfall high orbit
22:10 "Razer"
Taihou-class dropship - hangarbay

Chris had his helmet mike turn on. He then made the hand signal for comms check.

"Wilson, checking in,"

"Jenkins, checking in,"

"Scorch, checking in,"

"Darman, checking in,"

"This is shield squad, we're c*cked, locked, and ready to rock,"

Chris looked around at his marines, and felt the dropship noticeably shake, and when it hit the ground, he watched the doors open, and the sandstorm begin to enter the ship. He motioned to his squad to move forward, and he switched to mag vision to get a better view through the sand. They moved off of the dropship, and took a kneeling position next to Chris. They watched the rest of the troops file out, and then moved up to the battlemech that seemed to heading for a small amount of cover.

Quote

" Ey people, can you hear me ? " she tested the comm. " Gather here, this is halfway calm." Pepper had placed her mech behind a surreal, twisted rocky formation, where the wind wasn´t as strong as on the open plains.

They then took a crouch when they were decently close to the mech. Chris heard the chatter from the mech, and immediately thought to himself, if they were scared of this, then his squad was surely screwed. He called out through the comms.

"Hey, my boys have encountered stuff like this, why don't you follow us? We'll have to go just by the map, and Wilson here I'm sure can lead us to the damn place,"

"Damn right Sarge,"

He waved at the mech, making sure it could see them, and motioned in the "follow us" hand signal.

[Aegis Fate]

Tyla was suited up in a matter of minutes, her Hostile Environment equipment looking stark against the heavily armored men and women in both Battle Armor and vehicles around her. She looked up briefly at the mechs assorted in the room, swearing at herself for the work she most likely was going to end up doing. Her pistol was loaded and strapped to her thigh, her toolbox and all of its important machines was strapped underneath her O2 tank, the bulk ensuring that she would be mistaken for a man any day of the year. The alarms began to blare as they began to land......

Skyfall, desert plains
Outside, the surface
22:14 hrs
She stumbled, the numerous comm checks all over her radio as she fell to the ground in the unrelenting sandstorm. She struggled back to her feet, hearing the call of shelter from the unrelenting storm. She trodded forward towards the location other men were advancing to, her suit's bulk slowing her down slightly as she barely made it behind the rocky outcropping and the mech hiding behind it, cursing underneath her breath the whole time.
This job was going to be a big pain in the ***.

[Janitor101]

Kurt grunted in response to Wilson.
"Not a scratch, you hear me? Not even one." Kurt grumbled over the comms.

Kurt feathered the throttle, easing himself out of the group of mechs, vehicles and armored personnel.

Kurt opened up the throttle, the Cougar tearing off in the direction of the base.
"I'm taking point."

[ChaosGrinder]

Skyfall, desert plains
Outside, the surface
22:14 hrs

" Ok everyone, stay put, until this storm has blown over. My radar is blind, Mag does show me ... weird things ... Ey man ! Stay here ! Are you mad ? If you´re heading out in this storm, you´ll never find the base. If you wanna suffocate go ahead. "

Pepper was annoyed. The weather was bad and they had no real idea how close they where to the base. This was a particular problem for all those who where on foot, as they couldn´t carry that much oxygen and could possibly suffocate on the way to the base.

" Man, this weather sucks. I thought there´d be at least a bit of sun, not a crazy *ss storm !"

Tucked in behind the rock formation she watched the sand racing through the air. Despite the storm, it was almost silent, only the creak of the sand in the wind. And a good fifteen minutes later, the storm disappeared as fast, as he came.

Suddently everything was dead silent. The Landscape, now visible for endless miles was bizarrely beautiful. Sand falts , only broken by bizarre, twisted rock formations of dark brown stone stretched to the horizon, far away was the looming shadow of the Mountains visible, north of them the mountains where closer. That was the way they had to take.

" Allright, i´d say let´s go. Ration your air supply, i´m cutting mine down to 80% now. This could be a longer way than expected."