Supe nodded, but there was  intense  distaste on his  face, Hodden was looking at the  dec shaking her  head.

 Zia   looked at Roy and tried to force a smile..I will try, SM...

 Moss  just  looked around,   as if trying to find something to do.

Oscar  slipped his sidearm back into his  Holster, and buttoned the flat

Once he cleared the immediate area of the Hermes, Tulliun formed up with the flight that was his escort. He took it easy, giving the fighters plenty of room to react in case of attack.

Well hello there Phoenix. With you and Fury on the wings, we'll have no problem getting down there.

TI-JO turned to Esposito, with a look, Well...short story? he smirked, then his face turned sour, I had a suspicion, you know, things just... didn't feel right. he shrugged, I knew I needed to be fighting the empire, like we have for eons. his voice got terse, And I knew the reputation of this fleet and the Tip of the Spear. So, I turned in for the blue uniform, and put in for a request out here. Specifically, I requested to be in SM Spencer's command. That way, I knew I'd be fighting the right enemy. But, it turns out, instead I get to go fix some screw up by over ambitious humans who got in bed with the wrong people. he scoffed.

Unless, of course, only certain kinds of aliens are allowed on your ship? he raised an eyebrow. His voice didn't give much away.

 Lizzy waved her wing at the Meadowlark and she responded," Well you know we will do our best, but on serious note if we run into trouble just head down to the surface we will cover you ok."

Redundant post
This message was last edited by the player at 16:25, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

Copy that, Phoenix. Let's hope that doesn't happen. he chuckled slightly.

  There was  an edge on  the LC's  voice...more like   the voice he used in the tunnels, then  with his  pilots.

  alright.... we're Coming in..soon..less then an Hour.... anyone  checking thier  screens saw  ETA 8 minutes )... you best have the LZ lined off and Lit up..If  I decide its not safe, we're all going home, and you can throw  rock  at the bad guys when you run out of  Ammo, or your powercell charges   get hit

 Easy!  LC.. I'm Not one of  your  Crewman I'm....

 You're about to be left for dead... I will  tell the  Admiral its  Unsafe...and he'll shell that  Egg Roll until looks  like  gravel...

 Right, You damn glory Hound,,the LZ  will be lit up.

 after Shadow  signed off..Frans came on all Comes.....in under an hour?

 did I lie?

 no...but...

 Shuttle Pilots  and   Stick Leaders?  You here that.... that LZ is  going to be laid out  , half assed  at best.... I don't Like this... but were going  down... This is My Order, unless  the Admiral or SM over ride it.... If the LZ turns out to be too hot... we get the   Nine hells  out, Karl  will make the area around it a parking Lot,  Then    the  Fleet section can level the  damn mountain... Arch -tech  want to come, they damn well better be in that LZ.


.....................

 Vassar snapped into all COMs.....He can't  do that!..I have people down there...

A look of annoyance flickered across Roy's face at the interruption on the comms.  "Master Chief?" he said, the annoyance coloring his tone abundantly.  "If Miss Vasser cuts in on operational comms again without an invitation, please feel free to duct tape her mouth shut and leave her hog-tied on the shuttle.  There's enough bullshit around this operation already, the last thing I need is her compromising things because she can't keep her big mouth shut.  If she wanted people that were going to follow her orders with no consideration to the overall safety of the op, she should have hired an entire Merc force...and I'm not talking EMS, either.  You asked for our help, Vasser, and you're getting it, but if it's not the kind of help you wanted, we'll gladly pack up and go about our business and let you find someone who's too stupid to worry about their own safety."

He refocused, this time looking at Unbute.  "How about you, Corporal?  You ever actually been down in the bush, or is all of your experience ship-to-ship, as well?"  And there was no sign of the annoyance or cutthroat attitude that had filled his earlier warning to Vasser, just another casual inquiry.

She checked the immediate area, ensuring there were no threats. “How ya’ doin’ Machins?” she asked as she made a couple minute adjustments. A frown came to her lips as Shadow spoke up, the tone of voice suggesting his current mood.

In reply to shuttles (msg # 19):

Jug looked at the one they called 'Sonny'. "We go because we are asked too.  We fight our way and kill our enemy.  Of what use are you to anyone?" In effect calling him useless.
Uvuvu and Liig continued watching.

Once on the ground and ramp coming down the Gava came out quickly in a horseshoe shape, weapons at the ready.  Jurboa spoke first "Clear", Liig spoke next "Clear....so far"
Jug used cover of some of the ramp and shuttle as others began to disembark.  Vassar began to get to the ramp and exit too when she found Jugs spear blocking her path "You stay on shuttle till Mullins say you can leave... Go, sit.  No problem stabbing you in knee or ass"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:53, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

Karl set all his scanners to work on the surface...radar-mapping terrain, IR scanning for heat masses, UV to differentiate real vegetation from artificial camoflage, radio and energy emissions located.  Everything was compared against records of what had been sent on to the ESN forces by the settlers, discrepancies were noted and marked for closer evaluation as they got closer.

At this range, they were still too far away to do much of anything worthwhile...he could fire howitzer rounds, and gravity would take them to the surface, but turbulence and winds could drift them dozens of miles off target from here, and there was no way to adjust for that wind, because by the time a shell could make it that far, conditions could have changed.

"If you see anything out of the ordinary, Ed...other than the ass-end of a big spaceship poking out of a mountain...sing out.  No knowing what we're going into here."  He'd heard enough chatter around the hangar deck to know that none of the officers were particularly thrilled about this stop...and while Admiral Hack had said yes to it, nobody else seemed to understand exactly why.  And that made him more uneasy than just about anything he'd dealt with, as far as combat, for...well, years, now.  Hack ALWAYS had a reason...and it was usually pretty straightforward.  This apparently flying in on a whim didn't sit right with him...

Harry wouldn’t react throughout the exchange between Supe and Roy, keeping whatever she may or may not have been about to say or do to herself. After all she wasn’t stupid enough to carry on talking after the SM had told them to shut up, nor was she stupid enough to think that the SM was her friend and ally, or at least not in this instance anyway. Instead she would continue to sit with her eyes closed as she waited for the shuttle to reach it’s destination…though she would relax her grip on her pistol.

 Redundant post
This message was last edited by the player at 16:21, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

 ED spoke to Karl.......There  sems to be a  mass of   enemy to the South of the  Compund.. it is quite odd, that the  mass  is not brighter/ I do not think   Fighter and Shuttle  scans will pick them up...quite odd....

   On ALL COMs OK  folks, time  to earn our   Creds.. we  do this by the Numbers.... A , B, C and D fight to the front.. 'A' flight  breaks off to the  west..'B' and 'C' Flight  goes right over the Compound   and to the north...'D' Flight' break to the East...   The Remaining Flights   Fly  Top cover, and   watch to the   so...

 I am sayig this on record..... If you see  an Empire  SIG on your screens... Kill it..and sound off loud   and strong..if  any of the Arch techs repurposed   an Empire   vehicle and didn't change the  SIGs, , then we'll have a  brand new test entry for training  folks when we're  done.

 ...Spade...  Land according  to your  LZ plan, and  get  that  Big Ugly down, so we can start getting  those dum,basses  out of there.

 SM?  as soon as those skid  hit the Ground , Total control of the  ground troops is in your Hands.. Good  hunting..good luck...

 it wasn't much more then  1 minute later when the  fighters  broke  through the  Clouds some two thousand  feet  above the  Compound. There were  haphazard walls    around a  Half mile of circle.. Some  regular ESN  metal/composite  walls... Rocks... Jury-rigged palisades, made by people who 'saw pictures' of them, but never had to build them. the North end of the 'circle opened to the North, with  a Half miles of  'homaemade ' road  leading to  the  Massive Thrusters  sticking out of the Mountain

 The thrusters where  a Corvette  could    use one  for a hanger Bay, and there where  eight of them, at lest  three was  bent  and crushed, the others has  Vines  and   Brush  growing , The Mountain had lost its  top  when the giant ship smashed into the thing.

  Howe said over ALL COMS...Damn...look at that...Thoise scum bags could have  build..what?  two  Cap ship and  maybe a destroyer   with all that... we could have  had  6 times th ships when  we  first set out!

 Fitz  snorted in disgust,when was the Last time China cared about Earth?..Should have let the Japanese  take it over  in the old days, would have made the EArth a better place after the war was over... whatever happened to those on that ship? ..they deserved  worse...

  Stoly  listened to the ALL COMs...when it was finished  he   said over ALL COMs...Here we  go lads , Ladies  and LArgs/// were  Hitting the Dec in   50 seconds,, Har spin to  directed  out Guns  outwards  and the Ramps come down...keep your  heads  down
 and Kill bad  guys!

 the Door  Hissed open  as   Shory looked over his shoulder at Roy,if those   arch-techs  give you trouble, , Maybe   Doc henry could talk to them  on a  'classroom ' level?..if not..just taze the fuck out of them so we can go home...

 The   Shuttle  hit the Ground, Green lights came on and the Jaws of the shuttles opened, for the troops to pout   Out..The  BU  coming in slower   to land ,closer to the  opening to the   North that lead up , of what was left of the mountain side.

 larry   and Rigg  where  up  thumping thier  tails  like  humming  bird  wings... Tucker   fitted their head  gear on, without the    Bottom  Jaw, since  the   Atmo was O2  rich. but the   top part would protect thier eyes   and head.

  Cora  Gave  Will a  Peck on the cheek and his helmet went on, she Gave Shade a  pat on the  Back, the green  eyes  turning darker green  as the   Undenese  readied to    charge out.

 Supe  and Hodden  had  a mix..Hodden had a Heavy  Pulse  gun with a few extra power cels.. Supe had a  modified  50 call  with a  handle on the front  and  arm support grip on the  back,  two belts  criss crossed his crest,  another    hung over his broad shoudlers... Tucker  hand   two criss crossed belts, as  well as   tow pair of Ammo  cannisters  , bungied together.

 If they had  tails, the 4  younger  Troopers who have  been wagging, as they  Lined up  waiting foe the ramp... weapons ready head gear on..The three  transfers  and   4 Burians. two of  which had  Bows   fitted with an arrow, all 4 burians were light  armor  and   where painted  Green and Brown... The  new PVTs were nervous.. as   they clutched their weapons   a Bit More tightly..

 Maygin stayed  near Roy with  the  OminCOM

  Moss   motioned for her   people to stand up, Oscar  said  quietly to Roy...I was on the  Oned Jack  Jump off..i was on the transport base, that almost didn;t get out of the   wave of  dirt that wiped  pout alot of people..That's when i put inm  a transfer to an ESN assult  trooper.. i  was sent to the Hemdal... that whole transport base  could have been wiped out.... That's why i asked to come here.... I know who saved my life that day....

 as the  Ramp  opened, they Could hear Kira  'unclamp from the side.
......................
when they Hit, Morgan Unclamped ,turning to face the    forest.

The Gava   went out.  Vassar  was   stopped   by   Jug's spear anbd words.

  Fred    went ot  grab the spear, Lyri  twook two  quick steps , driving her shoulder into White, and didn't stop  Until the   hit  the  Hull...

 Fred's  eyes  where wide   with surprise, Until he realized what happened the Anger ..Lyri  spit through her teeth  as her   45 hard  ammo   shoved   hard   under the Merc's  chin...YOU....will apologize to..LT...Jug. I'm Not the SM...I am not  the LC.... I will pull this fucking trigger, and  i'll right up a report that says you killed yourself.... and it won't be  a lie,,,,Apologize to the LT..you have   10 seconds  before  Fennes  has to get the hull cleaned.

 Fred'd eyes    weakened a bit   as he saw the look on Lyri's face... he   stammered...I..I..am sorry...LT..I was Lookign ..out for my employer....

 Lyri's other  Hand    Pushed   Fred towards the  Ramp...Right now..the ESN is  your gods  be damed   emplyer...MOVE!

 Vassar looked at the spear, then gave   Lyri a very dark look...when this is over..you'll wish you were  more respectful to me and my people...

  Lyri N0dded to Jug and jerked her  head to the ramp.

 Nugest Picked Up  Fred  as he   stumbled out of the Ramp...you..no treat Ly gava  LT  mean, I use  to  to bet tent stakes with..

 Lirg   was scanning the tree line with his sniper  rifle...I suggest you listen to my friend..he....solves problems  quickly...and his choices t

 Teh feltites Bounded out of the ramp    linkig up  with Gava as they waitedfor orders...or enemies.end to last... Witha  Flick fred   bounced across the turf towards The Spade.

 Freddie and Hool  walked  on either side of Disna  as  all three seemed to be lokign for   enemies.

...................

 Club

 Shoey had his viser up as he popped in another   stick of   Minthjuice  gum, he offered  a stick to AZ-EL who took it..she said to  Shoey,This is   a bad habit i picked up from you....

 Shoey grinned,there are worse  habits...

 Puskie jogged  down the ramps  as  Tess  and Gla  leaped  about , eager to run..or hunt... The Angels spread out   all of them Looking,  the OminCOM staying near AZ-EL and Shoey

 AZ-El said..why would  we not  have  the amount of troopers the other  have?

 I just know there is a reason..I don't  ask.. they point me..I shoot... i worry  about the why's  at the After Party..


Meadowlark

  The Iron Guard Looked   up  as  the first four Flights  had taken  Up   circular   flight  patterns  at their  designated areas,, Shadows  Flight and  C flight   circling the Mountain..

 Luke   said...few Months ago I would have had  other feelings..By  seeing them up  there , makes me  feel better...

The scots  came out , more at ease, but just as   ready, Hemsly   gave a  chuckle and whapped Luke on the back...That's the way it  is here  me  Bucko,  sort out the   weeds, let the  flowers   grow...

 Luke  looked at Hemsly...You calling me a flower?

Minnet pushed  passed them.....yeah.. a Bleedin' Pansy, he is... she grinned  and Luke shook his head  as them moved to set up

 Stee and Nok stayed near  Mila and henry, their   six paws dancing on the dirt ,,eager to do something

 Vaka  had  a light  SMG  with  bandoleers of mags  crisscrossed. Frakas  stepped   down a Pulse rifle  in this top  two arms,  his  lower  hand  a  hard ammo   sidearm. his lower left hand  was free.

 Andre's    mech was  turning to the   tree line..  Wukke and Hunrr flanked him

....................................

 a  dune buggy  fitted with a homemade    mount  for a 50 cal came   bouncing down the   road  from the Mountain... there were   3 troops who  had    torch gun guns  that used to  light the  LZ   torch pots.. they were Moving towards  the    gates  that were opened,  that   would bring the   buggy  through.

 The Buggy stopped  the  Gunner  was a Merc..his weapon was pointed. Into the   Compound..this   had  anyone  who had a sniper  rifle, or marksmanship  rate  bring thier  weapons   to focus on the Gunner.

 The  man  who  had an SMG  and   a pouch that held  2 of the  3   extra Mags,  walked towards the    group, even as   the Big Ugly was  slowly   beginning to land..

 hello my friends!!! big grin on his  olive  colored face...who is in charge? he looked  with   his big  smile  but  questioning  eyes.

 Supe said into   the ALL COMs  in his head gear.....great..fucking  Oil Lord.... let's save  time and kill him now...
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:30, Sat 02 Apr 2022.

Jugs eyes narrowed as her shark like teeth became bared.  To everyones surprise she did not just gut Fred right there.  only her great control and rational thinking stopped her. As soon as Lyri got Vassar situated and Fred down the ramp Jug turned her spear a bit.  She hit him nearly full force with the flat part of her spear (doing much pain but little actual damage), then spoke "Move.  You slow like oozy waste of Aqrans.  Do job right, problem?  we settle later" Other Gava knew Jug was pissed.  Gavans moved outward as others came off the shuttles, time for forces to link up.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:27, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

Karl keyed his comms.  "All forces, be advised--Morningstar is picking up a large IR mass South of the compound, that appears to be masked or subdued somehow.  Making that the center of my firing orbit...if it hits the fan, DO NOT run south."

He'd done what he could, at this point.  "Ed, cue up frag rounds, aerial burst at 5 meters altitude."  Detonating that far above ground would increase the effective spread of the shrapnel, and avoid "wasting" any of it firing directly into the ground.  He designated his target point, just above the mass at the point closest to the compound, and maintained his circle two miles in the air and five miles out from bullseye, leaving him a clear shooting angle throughout his loop and keeping him high enough in the air that he'd be hard to spot from the ground and out of range of most ground fire.  Unless there were hidden heavy guns on the ground, somewhere, he could operate with impunity.

When the announcement that they were about to land came, Harry’s eyes would snap open and she would unbuckle the straps on her chair and get to her feet. She would then move to stand with Roy and Maygin, pumping her shotgun as she does so ”ok then…let’s do this” she quietly said to herself as she waited for the shuttle to land and the ramp to drop.

Roy gave Oscar a nod.  Everything that had involved Elipsians also involved a lot of people almost dying...and more than a few who actually did.  He filed the comment away in his mind...almost dying at the hands of known allies of Vicrock made the likelihood of his being a turncoat even lower.

Hs eyes narrowed as he heard the report about the unknown mass.  "You heard the man," he said, in a low but penetrating voice.  "Eyes on the perimeter, but pay special attention to the south.  Try to look casual about it, though...no sense letting them know we suspect anything beyond face value, here."

As they stepped out, Roy looked around, hoping to spot someone with sergeant's chevrons...if it wasn't Church, it would be someone that would know where to find him.

  The 6 wheeled  Dune Buggy  sat in the Middle of the  Gate, the Gunner  hand   not  turned his guns a  away from the   troopers  who were exiting the shuttles..The Big Ugly  had  settled  down and its   massive side  ramp dropped, the   BU was empty save for 6   crewmembers ready to take in  the loads  and such.

The  fellow  with the Big grin. looked around at the   'mix and match  troopers',who is the 'incharge person?' I shouild know.Yes..to talk and get this started.


 the  troopers could hear Lyri her through her  Mic...is that oi;ly bastard  the  Guy you hired  for  the dig?

 I don't know him..but he is  a Non-EMS  Merc, he doesn't have the EMS  patch...

 I can see that, you bottle of fluff... I asked if you hired him

 No , Yuri was in charge of the  mercs  for the dig....

Roy scowled...anyone with any legitimate business would have the sense to elevate the gun barrel, even if they kept the gun manned.  "Larry," he said in a low voice.  "Would you be so good as to remove the gunner from the vehicle?  Don't kill him, but I don't mind if you break him a little..."

Without stepping forward, or doing anything else to identify himself, Roy called out, "Who wants to know?"

 Larry was Tilting his head  at the talking person...Roy  mentioned  the Gunner, the   Talking Person   saw larry Flatten out, then charge,  Dirtm dust and ricks   flew up, The Gunner  saw  larry  charge, he  went to  swing the  weapon, to  shoot the  Larg,, he   had  to try and bring the  weapon down  , and LArry   launched himself slamming Into the screaming  Gunner... then the  Gunner  stopped   scream as he was bent in half, the   wrong way over the  rear of the  Buggy..

 a petulant  Larry   came over,, the   'oddly bent' gunner in his Mount..he drop the dead fellow  by  the talking man,, and slinked over to Roy


  The speaker was  greatly upset... That animal killed   Akika......  .his  grin  soon came back as he tried to compose himself.....I..I  am LT Aba  Rakul..I am  from the mercenary Group, Black Rain... we   are in charge for the protection of this  camp and the people...

 Shoey chucked out loud..Supe and a few others   Joined in as they looked at the  walls of the  encampment

 The Lt tried to smile, his lips going up and down  as his eyebrows   went up in questions...I did not think, I said something    funny...

Roy stepped forward.  "I don't like assholes pointing weapons at my people.  And nobody gave us any information about someone being in charge of protection down here.  That means, Lieutenant, that either you're lying to me, or Miss Vasser's been lying to us the entire time.  You care to clarify the situation?"  He still didn't identify himself...but, then again, there really shouldn't have been much need.  The armor had clearly visible ESN markings, and while they weren't glaringly obvious, an attentive eye could pick up the chevrons and rockers that marked the Sergeant Major rank on his outfit.  It wasn't like there was an abundance of sergeant majors operating in the ESN...

As the ramp dropped Harry would exit the shuttle at a brisk walk that was ready to turn into a sprint when the lead started to fly with her shotgun held ready to send some back in the opposite direction. However it would appear that not everyone was working from the same script as they were met at the gate by a Middle Eastern man and a buggy.

Standing just behind and to the left of Roy, she watched the exchange taking place between them with the look of someone who feels they may have taken a wrong turn somewhere and were now in the wrong place and decidedly overdressed for the occasion. As so far her first ground mission wasn't really going as she'd envisioned it, with them finding yet another group of mercs rather than the enemy soldiers she'd been expecting "Boy they cut all the corners didn't they?" Harry quietly said to herself as Roy asked the guy what exactly was going on with it clear that so far this new set of mercs weren't impressing her either.