Prologue: Lift off

[Corporal Hicks]

”Is it always like this? Crazy then calm then crazy all over again? Safe on ship then madness in the jungle those z species?"

“That seems to be the way it goes. Sort of surreal, isn’t it? To be sitting in a ship, bored off your ass again.” Danny pulled out one of his treasured cigars and lit it with his zippo. “Course that shit show was crazier than most,” he amended.
<Tag Eyeball>

Danny could feel the awkwardness at his chow table. He glanced around for something to break the tension. He saw the new guy smoking and sipping coffee. “Hey new guy, come here a second,” he said casually. “So, new guy,” he continued once Henniger was seated across from him, “what are you good at? What can you do?”
<Tag Henniger>

[LT_Chun]

Henniger sat where indicated and rested his coffee cup on the tabletop.

"Rifleman Sergeant Major. Got adequate with a bypass kit, I do languages some."

He sipped his coffee.

"Just assigned from 9th Marines, Gulf Company off the Epstein. A couple years checking on mining interests and pharmacy colonies on the Rim."

He looked at the senior NCO.

"Bad Op?"

[Corporal Hicks]

"Rifleman Sergeant Major. Got adequate with a bypass kit, I do languages some."

"Just assigned from 9th Marines, Gulf Company off the Epstein. A couple years checking on mining interests and pharmacy colonies on the Rim."

He looked at the senior NCO.

"Bad Op?"

“Yeah, you could say that,” replied Sykes. “If you can use a bypass kit then you’re my back up ComTech. What languages do you speak?”
<Tag Henniger>

Sykes saw another new face enter the mess hall. The man’s uniform bore the name ‘Rinzler.’ He beckoned the new guy over. “Hey there, new guy. I’m Sergeant Major Sykes, currently the ranking NCO on this lovely ship. What’s your name and what can you do?”
<Tag Revolt>

[LT_Chun]

"Roger that Top. I speak Spanish, English, Japanese, Arabic, and German."

[Revolt]

“Well I’m not much of a shot after losing both my arms, but I’m the kind of guy you want on your side when a brawl breaks out. I have a tendency hit people with my neck and ask questions later.” Rinzler proudly added.

[eyeball]

"Roger that Top. I speak Spanish, English, Japanese, Arabic, and German."

" holy fuck that's a lot" Paulson said between mouthfuls. " i got English and shoot at them that's it "
" i mend sentry guns usually but last mission they all got way to fucked up to be fixable by anyone let alone just a tech"Paulson said "finished special weapons so carry a flamer and fix the toys" He continuied.
"last drop was my first out of basic picked up a field promotion but i suspect it will get dropped back when we get to civilization or they realize whats going on, which ever comes sooner." Paulson casually discussed. " but yeah, as you asked, seems that last drop was not a good one, scared the crap out of me most of the time on planet the whole place was trying to kill you then those xeno's , never seen anything like those they talk about them and explain them when you join the company but the real thing was something else again." Paulson shivered with the memory of the creatures even now safe and sound.

[LT_Chun]

Henniger gave Rinzler a courteous nod and a small smile. His career so far in the USCM had given him an immediate gravitation towards new personnel.
"Howdy, good to know you, I'm Henniger."
He would have offered his hand but the comment to the sergeant major made him think twice. He tried to express welcome and good intentions with a smile.
<tag Rinzler>

He turned to Paulson, gave the senior enlisted Marine a respectful nod.
"Yeah I went to college in Old California before I enlisted. Growing up in San Diego gave me the Spanish."
He offered a smoke to the Lance Corporal.
"Shit. I've heard rumblings about some weird, dangerous killer bugs out in the Mid-Rim." He glanced around briefly.
"Bleeding corrosive acid type bugs."
"I got out of boot 30 months ago, not that I'm counting" he smiled.
"I'm apparently your assistant now, I can work electronics without blowing myself away from them, I'm sure you can teach me a lot."
<tag Paulson>

He turned his attention back to the senior non-com.

"Sergeant Major, any guidance on the upcoming grind?"
He finished his coffee and lit another smoke. He placed the pack of Woodbines on the table and indicated with a nod that they were up for grabs. He then leaned back a bit and crossed his arms comfortably, his fatigues bunching a bit at the shoulders. The Screaming Eagle Over Starstream patch appeared in his peripheral vision. He was proud of wearing the USCM Infantry identifier, but knew it was far heavier than the cloth it was embroidered upon. Far heavier. Even privates in the Corps these days had seen their share of shit, be it Company sponsored, or the Corps' rare doing-the-right-thing missions. He didn't know or much concern himself if the sergeant major had read his SRB file, he didn't wear his experience on his sleeves, he genuinely just wanted to support his fellow Marines. He'd do his best to prove that by being as quiet a professional as he could.
He returned his full attention to those at his table.

"Any guidance is welcome sir, I'm here to work."

<tag Sykes>

[eyeball]

" Acid for blood is right for sure ate right through someones Armour i mean dissolved the thing with off him, he's OK like but scary man, scary as fuck." " but they are still kill-able, just fast and mean but the armour piercing rounds still ripped right though them, never got to see what the flamer might do but i have heard it works too." Paulson idly chatted.

"the only electronics i'm any good at is the motion detector, i'll leave the rest to the experts"
Paulson shook his head at the offered smoke, "thanks but nope, used to but things got so damn expensive i kicked the habit years ago before the corp paid me a semi decent wage".

[taimdala]

Dmitri cast a look over his shoulder on hearing the joke about having no arms. It was someone he didn't recognize. He looked the new recruit up and down, moving just his eyes, and turned back to Sam.

"Who's the fresh kid?" For Oksana's sake, he didn't say "fresh meat". He hooked a thumb at the other table, careful to let his body hide the gesture from the person who'd caught his interest. Of course, it was rude to talk about somene behind their back, but worse still to be caught doing it.



TAG: Sam, Tanya, Oksana

[taimdala]

"Perhaps, Sokolova, we could talk later? When you come off duty?" Oksana took a final bite and put her fork down. She'd long since become accustomed to eating only a little at any given time. Being denied food was a favorite tactic of her captors to ensure compliance. If denial of food was something her captors had enforced, sharing what she had was what Oksana had done as a counter to their cruelty. Of the many deaths incurred on her watch, she did her best to ensure simple starvation wasn't one of them. She pushed her tray a little closer to the Russian woman. "Would you like some? It's a shame to waste it."



TAG: Tanya

[LT_Chun]

Henniger looked at Paulson earnestly.
"This regiment hasn't gotten any plasma weaponry yet?"
He lit another smoke, leaned back.
"With the contact you guys made out there, I'd assume SpaceCom would have refitted y'all with the new tech."
"How big are these bugs?"
He blew out a cloud of smoke.
"I got to play with the small arms versions a bit out on the Rim. Wey-Yu has them in spades out in the mining interest garrisons."
He shook his head slightly and smiled.
"Not that I'm not completely confident in what ArMat gives me to blow holes in things."
"As for the smokes, I've got plenty, I got real lucky in Spades games on the Epstein. I'm well stocked and willing to share." He looked around at the small groups of his brethren and civilians in the DFAC.
"You guys are pretty far from a PX, and if the Corps sticks to their protocols, we won't get a proper refit any time soon."
"Where are you from Lance Corporal?"
<tag Paulson>

[eyeball]

"Where are you from Lance Corporal?"

"Small mining world called Cobers-Pedi, back end of no where, nothing to do but dig or join up....not keen on digging so guess what," Paulson replied
" but plasma weapons you say; thought that stuff had a tendency to go off in your face about as often as it fried targets?" " they having good success?"
Paulson waved away the smoke cloud, "as to bug size the ones i saw where around 2 meters maybe a bit more but apparently they come in all shapes and sizes" "some like scuttling spiders that leap on you, then the ones i saw, roughly man sized, all the way up to huge egg laying variety , never seen the small or big can't say i want to either but guess we should know whats out there."

[LT_Chun]

Henniger gawped. He didn't realize his mouth had sprung open and quickly regained his composure.
"Christ, it sounds like a nightmare. They show up on motion track and IR?"
He put his smoke out in the dregs of his coffee and shook his head in obvious surprise. SPIDER/ACID NIGHTMARE FUEL. Great. And when the Corps had an outfit who'd come out on top against shit like that, they kept sending them at the pointy, nasty things.
He returned his attention to Paulson.
"These are new-gen. The only problems I encountered were the ammunition restrictions and the fact that you give away your position like a god damn spotlight."
He paused.
"But when you make your target melt, even light tanks, you respect the firepower. The only reason I bring it up was that I saw that stuff out in Company space in the ass end of nowhere. I haven't been back to Gateway or even Mars since my last deployment. I'm in a bit of an information vacuum."
He looked thoughtful.
"Might be why I got assigned here, I'm a nobody who hadn't gotten scuttlebutt in the Core Systems in like a year Cryo and Real Time."

[Corporal Hicks]

"Sergeant Major, any guidance on the upcoming grind?"
"Any guidance is welcome sir, I'm here to work."

Sykes scratched his chin. “Well, I wish I could tell you more. We found evidence that Jingti-Long may be planning some trouble in Orion’s Belt. It’s plainly our duty to go straight there and warn them of the danger before returning to Earth. I just hope there’s no need, but we will see.” He puffed his cigar before continuing, “As for what we’re up against, I’d be prepared to fight Chinese mercs. Couple of missions back we went up against some spec ops types. They were experimenting with the acid bleeding cockroaches that Paulson told you about. So I’d be prepared for those too, but again, it could all be nothing. So, try to be ready for anything!” Danny chuckled. The new guy seemed pretty good, but he would see once the bullets started flying.
<Tag Henniger/anyone>

"Christ, it sounds like a nightmare. They show up on motion track and IR?"

"Motion tracker, yes. Infra-red, no. If you're interested in the history of it, I'll tell you. I served briefly with a unit called the Easy Eights. Some of these guys like Morse and Hall go way back, I'm talking like a decade. The Eights had a successful encounter with these bugs way back in '76 or something like that. Unfortunately for them, that made them the experts on fighting these things. So they got type-cast if you will, stuck fighting xenomorphs wherever they popped up. Well they dissolved the unit back in '84, when our El-Tee and Sarge both got killed along with half our unit. That's when the Corps decided to make it official. They took the remnants and formed the Devil Dawgs, a spec ops unit that specializes in fighting xenomorphs. I'm sorry to say that's where you landed, buddy."
<Tag Henniger/Anyone>

[LT_Chun]

Henniger took a moment to absorb that.
"Merck's and Lurks, roger Top. Thanks for the intel, I don't feel better but I may live longer knowing."