Turn 2: First Assembly at 0800

[JuanPerez]

<GAMEMASTER INFO: End Of Turn 10.10.2020>

<November 30, 2189, 8:00 am (board time)

USS Chimera

Crusader-Class Super-Stealth Long-Range Assault Troop Transport
Currently on approach to Polaris System

ETA 34 hours - Port Side Briefing Room>

Lt Harper entered the briefing room from the bridge-side. Although her BDU was not as "ragged and tattered" as of some of the veterans, it wasn't polished either. She was a tall, slender woman in her late twenties, wearing a fresh buzz cut. Being accustomed to the tightness of the USS Heimlichs briefing room, their former troop-transport, she took herself a few seconds to look around and inspect the room, before she addressed the assembled platoon in front of her.

"Good Morning, Marines, at ease.

First of all, to all the new guys, I am your CO, my name is Daniela Harper and this will be my twenty-fifth combat drop. Welcome to the Devil Dawgs, and congratulations, you have been called up to the Major League, you certainly earned it. As you have already proven yourself to be capable marines, there are only two things I would like to remind you.

First, we don't leave marines behind, second, you are part of mighty machinery now, that only works, if every piece does its job. So, follow your orders, cover your partner, look sharp, shoot to kill and don't strike out.
Ooo-rah.

Let's get to business.
7 days ago a Jingti Long commando unit broke into a top-secret USCM military bio-weapons storage, seized four ampules of a recently discovered alien chemical agent and brought them to Utica, the fourth planet of the Polaris System.
How do we know that? Because the ampules were stored in transportation tubes, rigged with an advanced tracer device, which broadcasts its status and position periodically. It is not possible to pinpoint the location exactly, but they must have been brought to a secluded and abandoned former mining complex on Utica. 15 years ago the mine in question was shut down by the Hiatt Corporation and only a few civies stayed behind, maintaining some sort of timber off-world-shipping business, so a perfect place to do some illegal research, as it seems. We are ordered to search and recover the four stolen ampules and secure as much data as possible about the perpetrators, especially who did the heist and what did they find out about the agent."

Harper activates a big rectangular monitor as she speaks and a kind of topographic map is displayed ...

whole_map.jpg (74.66 KiB) Viewed 19083 times

"Our operations area contains four target zones:

- a small planet-side spaceport, the southmost area on this map
- a living/hospital complex and a sort of administrative centre building, the grey area in the centre of the map
- and a kind of warehouse complex, which is the dark area to the north.

We will take care of the spaceport first, then proceed upwards and clear out area by area.

Any questions so far? "
<Tag Everyone>

[Corporal Hicks]

Sergeant Major Sykes stood beside Lieutenant Harper at parade rest. He listened and watched attentively, although he had heard some of this already. The Marine Corps usually restricted how much information was given to the crew before they shipped out. 'Loose lips sink ships' as the saying went. If one of them had so much as told their sweetheart what system they were bound for, the information could slip out and they could find themselves walking into a trap.

It seemed pretty straightforward. Hit the spaceport hard and suddenly, then carry on northward and wipe out the whole base.

"Ma'am, with so many Marines at our disposal, we might consider splitting up and performing a pincer attack. Also, what kind of air support can we expect from our fancy new ship?"
<Tag Lt. Harper>

[eyeball]

if Paulson was honest with himself, elite commando's sounded better than Xeno's death creatures, bullets and guns where dangerous but he was more used to them and they did not put that nightmare fear into his subconscious.
then again what had they stolen? did they have any of the creatures down there? had they or would they release them like they had last trip out?
these where the questions that paulson had so when allowed to speak he did just that
"Are the any Xenomorph on planet that we are aware of?"was his first question
"what does the chemical agent do?" his second
with these two asked he thought he would wait for more information before speaking up again.

[BarbarianMathematics]

Finding the room to be more spacious than their previous ship, she looked around at all the new faces before looking back to Lt Harper and the current questions at hand. She thought about what kind of questions to ask for the upcoming mission, then finally thought of one. "Do we need reconnaissance in the area before we go through any of the objectives?" she asked in her thick Ukrainian accent, making sure to take some mental notes about the mission to know the orders she'd give later.

《Tag Harper》

[wargamer]

Kelly stared up at the big display screen, trying to commit all the topographical details of the 3D map to memory. The area they were dropping into looked very exposed. No cover and lots of places to conceal an anti-aircraft weapon to pop them out of the sky on final approach. None of that was Kelly's area of expertise, however. He had to trust the marines around him to tend to their responsibilities and let him take care of his. To that end he waited for permission to ask questions and raised a hand.

"What does the atmo mix look like? Is this place fully terra-formed or will we need to go in under gas hoods?"

<Tag Harper>

[JuanPerez]

SgtMaj Skyes
"Ma'am, with so many Marines at our disposal, we might consider splitting up and performing a pincer attack. Also, what kind of air support can we expect from our fancy new ship?"
"Good point, Sergeant Major, we will definitly make use of our manpower. The USS Chimera has basically the same air support as the standard Costagoona-Class light assault troop transport"
<Tag Syles>


LCpl Paulson
"Are the any Xenomorph on planet that we are aware of?" "what does the chemical agent do?"
"Jingti Long has made progress in weaponizing Xenomorphs, so a remote and secluded former mining complex plus Jingti Long special operations on the ground plus a chemical agent, that ... "
... Haper takes a brief look at her Pad, looking something up ....
"is describes as an extremely potent and virulent mutagenic pathogen, composed of millions of small micro-organisms, chances of xeno presence are very high, although not confirmed."
<Tag Paulson>

LCpl. Tanya Sokolova
"Do we need reconnaissance in the area before we go through any of the objectives?"
"Definitly for the first target zone, the space port, further operational tactics will depend on the outcome."
<Tag Sokolova>

PFC Kelly
"What does the atmo mix look like? Is this place fully terra-formed or will we need to go in under gas hoods?"
"near 1G gravitiy with standard atmo, the place is fully terra-formed."
<Tag Kelly>

"...Further Questions?"
<Tag Everyone>

[LT_Chun]

Henniger raised his hand.

"Real time IR satcom coverage ma'am? Fixed positions, choke points, roving patrols on the surface? Vehicle traffic?"

[maxvale76]

Samantha Hall had done her best to chat with each of her new squad mates, happy she still had reliable Dmitri as one of her squad and making sure to let him know she'd be counting on him as her strong right hand.

When the mission was given to them, her brain wrestled with something that bothered her that had nothing to do with how they should strike the base or even what the equipment they stole was; but rather how in the hell did they know WHERE to get it.

Raising a hand, she asked the Lieutenant, "Ma'am....how exactly did this Commando group learn the location of a 'Top Secret' Marine site and that there was some alien chemical agent there. This reeks of being an inside job....and dat bothers me ma'am...."

[eyeball]

Xenomorphs, literally the stuff of Paulsons nightmares and probably other peoples too. He shivered involuntarily at the information, how could people be so foolish as to mess with these killing machines, they weren't going to be controlled, the worst was always bound to occur. then he remember what someone else had said to him, a person can be smart, but people, people are always stupid eventually!
this was true here no single person could possibly think that weaponizing these things was a good idea, just far too dangerous, but the company well removed from the danger thought it could work and just didn't care.

Earth standard atmosphere and gravity was nice beats a heavy world or thin air any day although he had been on an oxygen rich world before which made exercising easier, if a little light headed.
Paulson wondered if he would be roped into help with recon, he sorely hoped not, although he had passed infiltration, it was only just, and his scouting skills where at the same standard, he just hadn't had the use since early in his career and where rated novice at best by those around him, he could do it and knew the basics but his field craft was sadly lacking.
as others continued asking questions he rested at ease waiting on more information for now.

[TemplarGFX]

Dwight was standing rank-and-file boots square as he listened to the breifing, but felt somewhat overwhelmed. He had been on missions similar to this in the past as part of a task force on the mining planet Barron IV, but the tone of the room told him this was different. The stakes are higher here than anything he has been involved with before.
Now that he had access, dwight spent some time before the breifing reading up on the available intel on the computers mainframe. The Jingti Long mercs look like they will be tough to break, but this Xenomorph scared the hell out of him.
He had heard rumours of Marines encountering some type of alien but he never really believed the crazier descriptions, but the reality of this creature was far worse than the most outlandish of them.
'Don't let em get close. sounds easy enough, in theory' Dwight thought to himself, thinking of his Smartgun. He would have to trust his new platoon will know what to do if those things show up, he decided for now he'll just focus on the mission and the Commando's.

Dwight raised his hand and once Lt Harper looks his way he asked
"Pvt Dwight Sir! Once we have secured the Spaceport facility is there any way for the Jingti Long to re-inforce via land? It looks like there is a potential ingress point on the western side of the map. Do we know if they have any other assets on the planet?"

<tag Lt Harper>

[lordstrand]

Davros's eyes darted around the 3D image in front of him studying the buildings, as much as a satellite picture would allow.
Ma'am...Do we know how many commandos infiltrated the original facility? How many civies were there on this rock when they came and took it over? Do we know if there are any plans for the mining complex? I'm sure that the facility has been altered but it can give us an idea of a layout.
Taking a deep breath he reminded himself to slow down.
The pathogen Ma'am, Do we know how its transmitted, is it airborne or contact?
If we are not sure it might be prudent to pack the masks even with the terraformed atmo. If one of the Xeno's cuts a good fart it could be the end of a squad. He had a little smirk at the joke mixed in with the serious question.
Do they have any other info on the pathogen? If infected is there any chance of stopping whatever process it starts, or is it game over?
Since there are the potential for Xenos here do we know of anything that might neutralize their blood? Or at least slow it down? Might be good to add to out medical kits.

Looking up from the 3D image and rubbed his eyes with his index and thumb to refocus his eyes. So they have Xenos on a leash? How well do you think they listen to what they're told, think they have been taught any tricks?
<Tag Harper>

He took a quick glance at the more veteran marines, noting the anxiety in their body language. It was subtle but it was there, it disappeared quickly as whatever inner walls they build sealed it away and they became all business. These Xenos must be the stuff of nightmares when you see them in person. He felt his own sense of anticipation/fear welling up, but did his best to keep it under control.

[Morse]

New people came in, and with new people came questions. Maybe Lt Harper knew that, she'd been out on drops before. There was an eagerness to all new recruits to get their say in. Especially if they were the reinforcing element to what was already a special forces unit. Bright eyed and glory seeking they all had the glistening white toothed smiles of those that were eager to get out there and kill. Any E1 that was sitting in that unit probably should be recognizing why they were there. Being in a special forces unit and making E1 pay, with just the bonus, was probably not a good thing. The bonus was hazardous and imminent danger pay... and they were only making that tiny amount on top of their usual contract. Hell some of them may have even extended their contracts to be there.

It may have been a morbid thought, but the newest ones were just drawing a straw like everyone else. Morse had been there for a long time, and he did not see his chances as being better any time he went out. Was he more experienced? Sure. But did that make a caseless round fly any slower at his neck? Not at all. And the worst part was the new ones probably had the longest contract to go. Most of them, if not all of them, probably volunteered for the transfer when it was offered. Why wouldn't you? The pay and prestige were there ripe for the taking, all you had to do was say yes and pack your gear. You'd be making a difference in no time... the same tactics that got guys to sign up... were the same tactics they used to keep them going deeper.

But they were all just drawing straws, and the missions were getting more and more difficult. If they were being reinforced... it meant command was expecting to need more bodies to drop and did not get anyone older to say "hey, put me in, I'm ready to roll the dice for a few extra thousand."

Morse inhaled, and breathed out. There was probably no way to sneak a drink passed Lt Haprer... and certainly not Sykes if he was on the ground again... so a sad sober trip was ahead... and Morse was expecting serious fire and a horde of the monsters to follow.

But the new guys had their questions and their jokes. No word from Morse would bring the gravity of the situation further home, so he looked at Sykes and Sam with a flat expression, kept his mouth shut... and thought about his next and maybe last drink before the drop.

[JuanPerez]

Questions came in, like bullets flying in a liquid situation ...

PFC Henniger
"Real time IR satcom coverage ma'am? Fixed positions, choke points, roving patrols on the surface? Vehicle traffic?"
"A high-altitude stealth recon sat and several low-altitude recon drones will be deployed, before we drop, providing real-time surveillance feeds during the operation. There is no such intelligence available right now."
<Tag Henniger>

SGT Hall
"Ma'am....how exactly did this Commando group learn the location of a 'Top Secret' Marine site and that there was some alien chemical agent there. This reeks of being an inside job....and dat bothers me ma'am...."
"I see your concerns, Sergeant. Unfortunately, because of ongoing investigations, everything about this heist is classified. Our SoD liasion officer assured, that our mission has not been compromised."
<Tag Hall>

PFC Dwight
"Pvt Dwight Sir! Once we have secured the Spaceport facility is there any way for the Jingti Long to re-inforce via land? It looks like there is a potential ingress point on the western side of the map. Do we know if they have any other assets on the planet?"
"Typically Jingti Long forces do not scatter, but operate in or out of fortified positions. This is backed up by the fact, that all four tracer signals seem to come from this place."
<Tag Dwight>

PFC Davros
"Ma'am...Do we know how many commandos infiltrated the original facility? How many civies were there on this rock when they came and took it over? Do we know if there are any plans for the mining complex? I'm sure that the facility has been altered but it can give us an idea of a layout. The pathogen Ma'am, Do we know how its transmitted, is it airborne or contact? If we are not sure it might be prudent to pack the masks even with the terraformed atmo. If one of the Xeno's cuts a good fart it could be the end of a squad.Do they have any other info on the pathogen? If infected is there any chance of stopping whatever process it starts, or is it game over? Since there are the potential for Xenos here do we know of anything that might neutralize their blood? Or at least slow it down? Might be good to add to out medical kits. So they have Xenos on a leash? How well do you think they listen to what they're told, think they have been taught any tricks?
"As said before, it's classified, but the infiltration unit was very small. According to the last confirmed report from sevend days ago, about fourty civis. And no, there is no xeno acid blood neutralizer, so don't get splashed. According to non-onfirmed intel, the agent is a black liquid, transmission is by contact, not airborne. This means, our science guys seem to not have the slightest clue about it. So we will play it safe. More on this later."
<Tag Davros>

"Further Questions"?
<Tag Everyone>

[Medic Guy]

Clint listened and took notes on his tablet during the briefing. The fact that a secret facility had been compromised oozed of betrayal on some level or just sloppy work on someone's part. Some surveillance to help them get eyes on prior to and during the operation would be helpful as it was pretty rare in his experience for that to be available, despite the fairly advanced technology that they often brought with them on missions.

Clint sketched the map and details that he could observe into his tablet as well to attempt to review and plan out 3rd squads mission.

Raising his hand and waiting to be acknowledged "El Tee, ma'am...how are we planning on splitting the group and are we bringing all personnel down to the planet?"

<awareness
<tag Lt. Harper