USCMRPG

Date: September 23, 2189
Location: Tartarus Sector Space
Operation: Operation Tartarus
Mission Time: 1930

The dust and rubble had settled; the Easy Eights were on their feet in a hedgehog formation with Dirk, Max, and Giosso in the center as ordered by Lt. Gruber. Once the debris had stopped falling the sounds of the motion tracker began to sound off. A quick glance at the screen showed a large force incoming. The smartguns began to dance as they picked up the approaching lifeforms. A musky scent mixed with decay washes over the marines as four of the Harvesters step from out of the depths of the cavern that they found themselves in.

<Actions>

Roberts spotted his smartgun not far away. It was coated in dust, but appeared to be intact. His hat lay beside it, attached to the smartgun headset. He picked the gun up with one hand, and used the other to put his hat back on. As he took the gun in both hands, he saw the eyepiece jumping around and felt the slight tug of the gun when it had a target. Then he saw the immense harvesters coming up towards them. Without thinking to wait for orders, or considering that it might not be hostile, he acted.

"OPEN FIRE!!!" he shouted and squeezed the trigger. The smartgun whined as it send hot lead down range. He just prayed it would be enough.
(Roll Gun Combat x6)

The sound of the Motion Tracker rang out louder then anything around Morse. After so many years doing the job that they did, he'd learned to tune out other sounds and pay attention to important ones. The sound of incoming was one of the most important sounds that he had ever heard in his life. Simply hearing the sound had saved their lives on dozens of occasions, and this was to be no different.

As the creatures were advancing on them, Morse wondered for a moment how horrific their attack must have been. These animals were likely native and had no ability to comprehend what was about to happen to them. They were minding themselves and then people from the sky with guns were about to tear them to pieces. On some level he felt bad as they were essentially like giant wild dogs which he'd seen when he was younger, that could not possibly grasp what was about to happen to them.

But then there was the other, far more realistic view which Morse always carried when viewing a new species. It looked only to them as food. Lack of comprehension hadn't stopped the Xenomorphs from eating their troops and colonists all over the galaxy. Simple confusion hadn't given the blue monkey people pause for thought before they'd been throwing spears through marines. And certainly those same issues were not going to stop these "Harvesters" from running them down.

In that mindset, there was only one answer, and to Morse's surprise he was not the first to have answered, but he certainly echoed the sentiment.

With his Smartgun already shifting to adjust to new targets, Morse focused up, steadied his hands and gave a very appropriate response.

"Cut em' in half!" He roared, pressing his thumb to the trigger on the back handle of the weapon, unloading heavy volleys down range to the charging enemy.

< Roll Machine Gun
< Roll Awareness.

Sam's Caribbean accent got real thick as she talked....well, mostly cursed....to herself. Seeing Robets up and on his feet, she turned to make sure Mark and Scarlett were okay and right about then, she noticed the 4 Harvesters.

"ARE YOU F-ING KIDDING ME MON?"; she shouted to no one in particular, then with a sigh, she started to slowly backpedal while aiming and firing careful bursts at each creature....


<Aim for 2 actions, then Fire 4 bursts; one at each creature>

As the Marines formed a defensive line Dirk lit a cigarette, as the light from his Zippos flame danced across the walls of the cavern. Looking around for a way out of this trap he froze as the motion trackers started to signal the approach of the new enemy.
"Son of a bitch" he said as he looked into the darkness only to see the four harvesters appear.

He knew his orders were unnecessary, but he gave them all the same. " Contact front. Open fire!" He said over the comma to the Marines who were already shooting.
<Tag everyone>

"LT, this is Pitt. We have contact and are engaging. Request reinforcements." He said. Then raising his M41A he opened fire.
<Tag LT>

Roll fireing M41A

Gunfire echoed and reverberated. Jacobs had to make a conscious decision to blink he was staring so attentively at the source of the sound. He took deep slow breaths, waiting. Each moment felt like an age. He wondered who, or what, would emerge...

<roll awareness> (is overwatch a thing? Can I do that? If so, I will)

Dirk Pitt wrote:As the Marines formed a defensive line Dirk lit a cigarette, as the light from his Zippos flame danced across the walls of the cavern. Looking around for a way out of this trap he froze as the motion trackers started to signal the approach of the new enemy.
"Son of a bitch" he said as he looked into the darkness only to see the four harvesters appear.

He knew his orders were unnecessary, but he gave them all the same. " Contact front. Open fire!" He said over the comma to the Marines who were already shooting.
<Tag everyone>

"LT, this is Pitt. We have contact and are engaging. Request reinforcements." He said. Then raising his M41A he opened fire.
<Tag LT>

Roll fireing M41A

As Lt. Gruber listened to the radio chatter her anxiety level elevated at Pitt's order to open fire. Her hand was reaching to flip the switch to speak directly to her sergeant when Pitt's request for backup came through. "Sergeant Jacobson, I want those Marines out of that hole and I want them out on the double."

Turning to where Pope sat in the driver's seat of the APC, "Get this vehicle to that building on the double. Lay down covering fire to protect those men and women." The engine roared as Pope hit the accelerator rumbling over the rough terrain. He hit the brakes sliding the nose of the APC into the ruined front of the building. The lights on the front lit up the entire scenario for the Lieutenant. Two of her squads were facing a quartet of the Harvesters. The creatures were roughly the size of a White Rhino, so they dwarfed even her largest marine. The side of the APC opened and Sergeant Jacobson rushed in to the row of equipment lockers and quickly grabbed several rappelling ropes. Returning to the front of the APC he tied the end of one onto the front grill, tossing the line over the side.

"Alright third, provide cover fire for the other two squads," he growled as he dropped over the side of the hole rappelling Aussie style down into the Stygian blackness below. " Landing softly on his feet, bending his knees to absorb the blow of the impact, he quickly unclipped the gear releasing himself from the line. Drawing a bead on the nearest Harvester he opened fire, his bullets hitting the back of the beast. "Dirk and Sam, get your squads over here so we can begin extraction."

<Tag Easy Eights>

He heard the order, and focuses his aim. Targeting the furthest forward creature, he aimed down at them, and fired bursts selectively, trying to assess where the creatures were vulnerable, aiming at joints initially.

<roll to fire aimed bursts at limbs if I can>

Samantha had her Pulse Rifle tucked into her shoulder and she snapped off a quick burst at the first Harvester; rushing her shots and missing which led her to curse herself as she switched targets. Taking a quick breath and releasing it, she fired a second burst at the second harvester, happy to see her aim was true this time. She proceeded to do the same thing twice more, landing bursts on the third and fourth harvester respectively....

Hearing SGT Jacobson's orders over the comm, Hall risked a quick look back and saw the rappelling lines hanging over the edge. Knowing that Dirk would ALWAYS be the last one out, because he was one helluva heroic son-of-a-bitch marine; Sam turned to her people. "Giosso, Scarlett, back to the lines and get up out of the hole! Roberts, you and I will backpedal, giving them cover fire. MOVE!"

Quickly taking aim, she fired a pair of quick bursts, both at the harvester she missed. As she was firing, Samantha fell back and when her people were up and out of the crater, she would clamber onto a line as well for extraction. If/when her people were all out; she'd call out over the comms; "Dirk; First is out; move mon!"

<Tag First Squad>
<Tag Everyone>
<AIM 1 action; Fire 2 bursts; use 3 actions to run/climb/cover her people's withdrawal>

maxvale76 wrote: Quickly taking aim, she fired a pair of quick bursts, both at the harvester she missed; Samantha fell back and when her people were out, she could clamber onto a line as well for extraction. If/when her people were all out; she'd call out over the comms; "Dirk; First is out; move mon!"

<Tag First Squad>
<Tag Everyone>
<AIM 1 action; Fire 2 bursts; use 3 actions to run/climb/cover her people's withdrawal>

Dirk watched with a grim satisfaction as his rounds slammed into the creatures. He wasn't entirely sure that his rounds would kill the things, but he would keep fireing at the charging things. Hearing Sam's accent over the comm he grinned slightly. There was a woman that could get your attention with a word.

"Roger that Sam. Keep these bastards off us for a few seconds and we'll be up there."
<Tag Sam>

"You heard the woman second. Fall back to the extract point, they have our back." Dirk said as he slowly moved backwards, fireing at the creatures as he went.
<Tag Second>

Reaching the lines Dirk stepped took a quick glance at Morse."Get the men up and out Morse. I'll be right behind you."
<Tag Morse>

Dirk waited for his men to start up the wall before he hooked on and allowed himself to be pulled up.

(Roll fire on all enemy targets while falling back. Climbing once the rest of second is up)

Though not the sort that enjoyed retreating, Morse also hated being stuck in an ambush. While this was not initially the case, the fact that the creatures were bearing down on them in this hole there was a serious problem. And given that he had a tendency to opt for retreat. A retreat which was called out for by the command structure.

Though he was slamming through the targets, he did not know if their fire was enough to stop the sheer momentum of the creatures in front of them, so he did not refute any order that was put forth.

First squad was covering their retreat, and Dirk had ordered them back. There was no need to question that.

"Deadshots! Outa the hole!" Morse roared at the pair beside him, retreating with them.

Morse turned completely around, but being an expert in handling the two images in his eyes from the smartgun eye piece, he continued to fire back at the Harvesters. They moved quickly towards the exit and hooked on. Morse once again had to tie the Smartgun to his chest for easing purposes, and he proceeded out with the others.

"Move it, Dirk!" Morse called out to their squad leader once they had moved off, which he of course had done before he was even called on.

Roberts began to back up, still firing his smartgun at the aproaching targets. He stayed close to Sam as he made his fighting retreat.

(Roll fire x4)
(Retreat for 2 actions)

Jacob saw one of his bullets strike the right hindleg of the furthest creature. He smiled, and breathed slowly. All of the chaos of his head melted away in the rush. There was only one thing to focus on, and with this purpose he was mighty. He continued to aim and fire, targeting limbs and joints where he could.

Dirk slowly backed up, covering his squad's escape from the tunnel they had fallen into. His pulse rifle bucked and spat fire as it sent round after round into the advancing creatures. "Just a few more steps and we're out of this damn hole. Just a few more." His mind said over and over, like a chant from some Viking as a plea to the gods for protection or victory.

That's when he felt it. Like some vice wrapping around his foot, camping down and holding him tight. "Shi.." He managed as his legs were taken out from under him violently, slamming his head against the hard floor of the cave.

A flash of light blinded him for a moment as his head struck. Then the darkness swept in from the edges of his vision, sending him into the oblivion of unconsciousness.

(Roll, don't want to be eaten. Roll cancer for the creature if I do get eaten from years of Dirk's smoking)

Clint felt like he'd just woken from a nightmare. He watched as one of these giant creatures snagged one of Pitt's boots. He targeted the creatures eyes in his scope and began firing repeatedly. He glanced quickly at the damage to see if it was affecting the massive creature changed mags and set up to fire again.

Aim, fire, repeat.

Private Clint McKenna
Sniper, Armorer
8th Platoon