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>>21823940

You and the others walk out of the observation area, back onto the CIC, then further back, into the Conference room, which doubles as a briefing and communications area for the bridge officers. Commander Holden, the ship's CO, and MacPherson are there. "Shrike, update." Holden says. The AI's holographic avatar doesn't appear, but her voice does emerge from the table in the center. "Emission sinks active. Approximately 5 hours of silent running time at current power use. Now receiving passive sensor data from Snake Pit." An image is projected of a greenish-blue spot in space, about the size of a soccer ball. "Detecting electromagnetic emissions consistent with the target on the daylight side of the planet." Holden and MacPherson exchange looks. "Well, that's a bit of wrinkle." Holden mutters, then he addresses no-one in particular, "Plot course and geosync orbit on the dark side of the planet. Shrike, prep one of the scout drones to launch on my command for a high-speed orbital pass." He looks back up at MacPherson and the rest of you. "Well let the recon drone do a satellite pass to be safe. The Shrike is hard as hell to see or hit in void or against the night sky, but I don't want to take any chance and park too low in the atmosphere when it's daylight outside, until I know their detection parameters." "In position, Commander. Drone ready." Says Shrike, only a few seconds later. "Launch it." He orders, simply.

>Any questions or inputs?

>>21824173

>Any questions or inputs?

Nobody? That's cool, guys, I can keep talking to myself until it comes time for you to actually jump out of the ship. Then I'll need somebody to roll dice.

I was kidding, BTW, I don't really want to talk to myself.

So, since we're not having any bites, I guess I'll just let this one sit until people show up or it rolls of the board.

>>21824448

Can you gave us short list of our squad? I can't remember their names or what their jobs were.

>>21825037

Unit Commander MacPherson, SOD Headhunters (Wetworks unit), armed with a Designated Marksman Rifle
Lieutenant "Angel", Enhanced Operations Solder, PROJECT MYRMIDON, armed with an Anti-Materiel Rifle
Operative Kent, Special Projects Division Operations (Also a Doctor of Astrophysics), armed with a SOD Suppressed Carbine
Operative Ingram, Special Projects Division Recovery (And this is literally her first mission), armed with a SOD Suppressed Carbine
Storm Trooper Chapman, Special Projects Division Recovery (Demolitions specialist), armed with a 40mm Grenade Launcher.

Who killed the thread? We should be killing space pirates instead.

>>21823940
Omega quest!
Let's get this started up then?

Rolled 44, 30, 27 = 101

>>21826308
yes we Jedi
lets use the force to try and locate the enmy on planet

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>>21826316
>>21826308

(3 hours later, I find some interested peeps. Truly, good things come to those who wait)

You and the others wait idly for the few minutes it takes the high speed recon drone to orbit the planet and pass over the target area. "Recon pass complete. Checking the image data now, Commander." Says Shrike. The table's holographic display shows a loading icon as the AI and image processors render the image. "Confirmed, one large landing pad structure built into the mountain side. Hangar like structure goes inside, some out buildings..." The AI's voice pauses, while the loading icon keeps ticking. "Commander, you need to see this." A flat image is projected and resolves, showing the structures described by the AI, and some more, you recognize outlines of point defense weapons, and communication & sensor equipment. And at the end of the long, almost runway like pad, two cylindrical structures of a material you think you recognize. "Is that...?" Commander Holden says. "Enhancing the image..." Say Shrike, digitally increasing the magnification, and correcting errors to resolve on the structures. "Confirmed, those are two Progenitor X-34 Point Defense Turrets, reporting name 'Hellfire Turret'." You exchange looks with MacPherson. "Well, there's our Progenitor involvement." He says, looks at the image for a few more seconds, then turns back to you all. "Alright, new mission parameter. No one's been able to capture a Hellfire Turret whole before. Priority one is now the recovery or destruction of those weapons, we sort the pirate's second. Understood?" You all nod. He turns back to the image, and Commander Holden says "Shrike, continue with the report."

>>21826557
I'm presuming Shrike will continue with the report?

>>21826557
Idle speculation while we wait?
I'm thinking that splitting up might actually work here. Create a diversion to draw forces away from the turrets, set off a tac nuke to take out them once they're clustered together, while the second team takes control of the turret?

Or do we want to keep the nuke as a backup to blow up turret once shit hits the fan?

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>>21826557

"Yes, sir. In addition to the two Hellfire systems, which, by the way, would take about two seconds to carve the Shrike into twice as many pieces at optimal range," The AI system sounds less like she's listing a bit of trivia, and more annoyed, "They have a pair of conventional 50mm chaingun point-defense turrets. There is a single radio tower that gives them signal throughout the valley. For sensors, they have a couple of low-powered orbital telescopes, and a primary radar dish." Holden nods, slowly to himself. "The mountain forms a blindspot in their radar coverage," He says, almost to himself, "But with the anti-air they have going on I'd be way to risky to try and sneak up behind them and park on top of them." Shrike had paused while the Commander spoke, and she continues, No clear signs of ground patrols. There are two guard houses with machine gun nests watching possible approaches from down slope, but they are not currently manned. EM scans suggest portable fusion generators on the underside of the pad. It also looks like there is some excavation activity going on. They may be digging out storage chambers or a retreat, but more likely they are manufacturing holding cells for captives, and possibly a geothermal plant." MacPherson looks the image over memorizing it. "Alright," Says Holden. "We'll do this the way we planned." MacPherson looks at him and nods. "The Shrike can fly us to the limit of their radar range, drop us outside of visual range and we'll hike in." Everyone nods. "If anyone has questions or comments," he says. "Ask them now. Otherwise, final equipment check in five."

>>21826764
Save the nuke. I doubt they're stupid enough to send their entire force out all clustered together. Do we have any of them cloaking devices? Infiltrating the base and taking the turret controls seems a good first step.

>>21826809
>>21826834
Changed my mind after the second part.
Looks like early targets should be the radio towers and sensors. It seems like we'll be able to get in at least past the guard houses without fighting any major forces, so we should be able to get an early attack off on one point.
Radio tower or turret controls?

>>21826834

Everybody on the squad is wearing armor that comes standard or is otherwise equipped with Chameleon Coating function. It won't make you invisible, but it'll make spotting you very hard, especially if you move slowly or are far away. Everyone's armor is also radar and thermal dampened, so sensors will have a hard time picking you out.

>>21826852
We're not even in charge of the unit we probably don't get to pick.

>>21826892
We're allowed to make comments, so we can suggest stuff that we should hit first.

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>>21826852

You study the image carefully, then say, "Unit Commander, I think we should prioritize enemy command and control. Their defenses for infiltrators on foot is almost nonexistant. It'd be relatively easy to take out the radar dish or the radio tower, or seize their control center directly." Angel nods and says, "We can even break into small teams to accomplish multiple strikes at once." MacPherson nods at you both. "Good idea Lieutenants." He turns to Chapman. "Well, Trooper, you have enough ordinance to handle that?" Chapman scoffs, and pats his satchel. "Boss, I have enough Demo Charges and Thermite Gel to sink that whole landing pad if you want." MacPherson looks at all of you, and gives a decisive nod. "Alright then boys and girls. If there's nothing further, report to the primary bay for a final equipment check, and we'll get everyone equipped with chutes." He turns to Holden. "Commander, begin your approach whenever you're ready." Holden nods slightly, and taps a holographic key. As you depart the room, Shrike announces "ETA to drop zone, 20 minutes."

>For Reference, your Loadout is:
>-Recon
>Primary Weapon: HG58SD Caseless SOD Carbine
>Armor Module: Chameleon Coating
>Equipment: x2 Signal Flares, x3 Smoke Grenades (Marking), x2 Stun Grenades, E-Binoculars, Targeting Laser

>

>>21827167
Well then. Report to the primary bay.

>>21827167

Forgot to mention, you're also equipped with a Combat Knife and an SOD Suppressed Pistol, Ah, the perils of copying and pasting from an earlier thread.

Anyway, if you want to switch out any of your gear, you can see what they have on the ship, but you wont have a whole lot of selection, so I wouldn't say, swap your weapons or anything. If not, we'll continue as normal.

>>21827167
I think we're good. Loudout is fine.
Lets head to the field.

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>>21827239

You move through the ship to it's main bay, a combination cargo storage and staging area. You can see the Shrike's only dropship tucked into a rack, taking up most of the space in the room. You see a couple of technicians and marines around, doing their jobs, though they pause to observe you all for a moment. "Last call." MacPherson says on the squad-com. You run the simplified armor diagnostic while you double-check that all your gear is securely mounted.

Radio, check
FTL Ansible, check, synced to Shrike, synced to Aegis Base
Microwave link, check
Visual enhancement, check
Audio enhancement, check
Light amplification, check
Thermal, check
External lights, check
Chameleon Coating, check
Passive Motion Detection, Check
Topographical Radar, check
Emergency Medical Systems, check

With your armor in top shape, you take the Atmospheric Chute the Commander passes you, and clip it securely to your armor's hardpoints, then have MacPherson check you while you check his. A communication check is then done for all squad members, ensuring everyone is synced. Your HUD now displays the vitals and relative position of all your team members, and highlights the direction their weapons are pointed. "Now at the drop zone." Shrike announces over the PA, and the bay doors slide open, and there's a slight rush of air due to overpressure form outside. "Go, go, go!"

(Would somebody be so kind as to roll a d100 for jump accuracy?)

>>21827601

(PS, rolling lower is better)

Rolled 81

>>21827601
Hah! I always roll low on d100s when it's bad! I'm sure this will carry over and be helpful!

Rolled 17

>>21827601
geronimo

>>21827662
Nope, you're just a failure in general.

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>>21827662
>>21827663

(Y'all are lucky I average multiple rolls)

You're second out the ship, taking a running jump forward and well clear of the bay. As you start falling, you start adjusting yourself, and try and get a clear view at the ground below. At first it's hard, despite the relatively minimal cloud-cover, but eventually your vision focuses and you can make out the ground below you. "Ground" is overselling it a bit, because even at this height, you can tell almost all the area you can see, up to the foothills of the mountain range is swamp. The blue-green tinge of the water is everywhere, shaded by the slightly green-blue shade of the local fauna over it all. And also a small circle highlighted by your HUD as the LZ, though at this distance you know the marker must be several hundred meters across.

Remaining calm, you orient yourself on the LZ, following above and behind Angel, who jumped first. Suddenly, you're buffeted by a gust of wind, which throws you off your planned course. In a flash of reflex you readjust, and come back into formation, getting yourself back on course just as your HUD flashes at you to deploy your chute. You reach up and pop it open, hardly feeling the jolt inside your armor. You're able to slow your momentum and maneuver yourself into a small clearing, where you come to a stop by gently impacting a tree-like-thing. The instant you stop, you whip out your knife and cut the straps of the chute, dropping it into a pool behind you. MacPherson's voice comes over the squad-com a few moments later. "Status?"

>

>>21827851

I'm guessing my strategy of putting in > at the end to signify an open response or "wat do" moment doesn't work so well.

>wat do?

>>21827851
Check if we hit the LZ.
Report in that we're okay, and give our location if we can.

>>21828046
Say whatever the military say when they mean "I'm fine boss dude".

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>>21828062
>>21828075

You check you HUD's various readouts, and respond, "Clean landing here, sir. I'm about 30m away from your position." You use the tactical link of your HUD to orient yourself toward your Commander, as the others report in. "Everybody, regroup on me. Keep the channel clear." Orders MacPherson. You click the com in an acknowledgment, then make your way to his position as quietly as you can. Which isn't as easy as it sounds, because in some places the water is shin- to knee-high. You join up with MacPherson and Ingram, who was already there, and are soon joined by the others. Angel surprises you by being at least as quiet as you were, despite her bulk in the armor. "Alright," says the Commander. "It's radio silence from here on. We don't know who's listening. Hand signals or LOS microwave bursts only." You all nod, already obeying the order. "I've placed a waypoint over the target. We've got a long hike ahead of us ladies and gentlemen. Let's get started. Stay frosty."

(Time for EXTREME SWAMP HIKE ACTION)

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>>21828302

(Nope.)

It's a long, quite trip through the saltwater marsh, and then starting up the mountain slopes. With your helmet's audio amplifiers turned all the way up, it's even more startiling how quiet this world is, just the gentle swaying of the space-tree leaves in the occasional breeze, and the six of you gently moving through patches of water. Of course, Snake Pit hasn't been around long enough to develop anything complex enough in the living department to make much noise. You're not even sure it has fish-analogs yet. The journey takes several hours, during which you exchange nothing but hand-gestures with your squad-mates. Eventually, you begin to climb uphill, and the semi-aquatic, tree-like plants get smaller and less dense, before giving way entirely to some very bluish lichen like stuff. MacPherson gestures for you all to drop low, then activates his chameleon circuit, and the rest of you do the same. You look behind you to see what was once a parade of matte black figures transformed into a barely visible collection of blue-green figures. Ahead, you can now barely make out the outline of the edges of the landing platform, jutting out above you, still several hundred meters up. MacPherson calls you forward, and then, through hand gestures, signals for you and Angel to move up and scout. You tuck your E-Binoculars out of their dedicated hardpoint on your armor, and follow after the sniper. You move up the slope a ways, and both lie prone on a lichen-covered rock. You begin scanning the area with the binoculars, which wirelessly sync with your HUD, while sets up her rifle, and deploys the sensor enhancement down over her visor.

(Roll d100 for binocularsgoggles doing something)

Rolled 4

>>21828475
Better luck this time aye?

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>>21828496

Immediately, you spot the "guard house" that was indicated by the drone pass. Prefab plates of metal slapped together to form a structure akin to a pillbox. You can see the LMG inside sticking out, aimed at the easier to climb section of the slope, less than a hundred meters from your position. You just barely notice the outline of a guard inside with his hands on the weapon. More plainly visible is another guard, leaning against the far side of the structure, a non-standard assault rifle patterned after an old Russian model slung over one shoulder while he smokes a cancer stick. A breathing mask is clipped around his neck, but not on. Interesting, atmosphere is breathable normally at this altitude. You turn on your external speakers and whisper so only Angel can hear, "Two tangos. Armed, one inside on the MG, other taking a smoke break. No obvious radios." She responds, just as quiet. "I got them." She leans down to look into her rifle scope, confirming her aim. You roll onto your back, and point the microwave emitter to point back at MacPherson, and give a report. "If it wont inconvenience us, neutralize them. I don't like leaving guys behind us who might walk into our backs." Is the order that comes back, you roll back, and convey the message to Angel. She places one hand on her heavy combat knife, the other on the grip of her rifle. "Well, Norm, how you want to handle this?"

>Wat do?

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>>21828701

Options here include leaving them alive, dropping them from range, taking them out close quarters, etc. Be as imaginative as you like. Also

>>21828496
See image

>>21828701
"Angel, can you shoot through the walls? They don't have radios, so they shouldn't pose a threat of raising the alarm."

Basically, sniper take the shot.

>>21828899
They must have some way of contacting the base or they'd be useless as a guard post. Norm should probably sneak closer to be ready in case something goes wrong when she fires because he's pretty out of range here.

>>21828899

So, before we actually issue that request in character, a little reminder. Angel is using a 14.5mm Anti-Materiel rifle. It's technical purpose is to engage enemy vehicles or equipment, but it's very handy at accurately making people dead from a long way off, or making them dead from behind thick cover.

Norm would know that Angel could easily penetrate the sheet steel or whatever the cheap pre-fab structure is made of. She could probably kill both guys with one bullet if she had the right angle. But, even with a flash hider and a suppressor on the end to muffle the shot, that is going to make quite a lot of noise people could possibly hear from a ways off. Do you want to take a chance at blowing cover this early?

>>21829081
I'd rather not.
Send them to sleep with jedi mind tricks or something. I forget what our powers are.

>>21829112

Psychokinesis, Telepathy, Telekinetic Barrier, Mental Reinforcement

>>21829138
Sneak up on them while telepathing?

>>21829138
Why are we whispering out loud on speakers that can be heard by the enemy and using cumbersome hand signals if we're a telepath?

>>21829138
Have Angel stay back here lining up the shot. Sneak up and get a closer look.

>>21829165
Seems reasonable. Hopefully we can take them out quietly seeing as they're separated. If not we have super-sniper backup.

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>>21829165
>>21829187

"Cover me. I'm going to take a closer look. Drop them if I give the signal." Angel just nods, pushes the sensor package up, and looks down the scope of her rifle, making small adjustments to the aim. You scamper over the rock, and crawl your way forward, staying low to the ground, and trying not to stand out to much. With little effort, you come up to the side of the building. Your camo alters to fit its new surroundings as you use the grip pads in strategic locations on the armor to scale the side and up onto the roof, without making a sound. You find an open hatch on the top, and a ladder to climb up from inside. You look in, and see the gunner. He's about your age, maybe a little older, swarthy and scruffy looking. He has a machete on his hip, and a couple of grenades on a belt. You also see a simple folding table along one wall. On it is what looks like a compact communications uplink, and an active radar display, probably piped from the landing field. You also see a laser targeting device similar to the one you're carrying. Clearly the pirate were not expecting someone to sneak up and get within touching range. You draw your combat knife, and remain perched over the opening. It'll be easy enough for you to take one or the other, and if your quiet enough, you can snag the second before anybody notices. Or you can have Angel take the shot. You're not a marksmanship expert, but you're pretty sure you could have enough time to drop both of them with a semi-automatic rifle, let alone an enhanced soldier who is a sniping specialist.

>What you gonna do?

>>21829377

PS, if what you gonna do involves killing someone yourself, roll a die.

Rolled 57

>>21829377
Stabbity stabbity. If we're really quiet the guy outside won't notice us take the guy inside seeing as he's facing the other way but as long as we're between him and the comms it should be fine anyway.

Rolled 7

>>21829377
First priority is neutralizing the sat link, preferably by not shooting it. It might set off a panic signal if it goes off suddenly.
If we can time it, have her shoot the other one as we drop down behind this guy and hold the knife to his throat.

Psychic interrogations time?
Rollan' in advance

Rolled 38

>>21829377
Psy up our speed and str the get to stabbing some bitches

>>21829463
I thought the whole point of sneaking down here was so that we didn't have to use the noisy sniper.

Oh hey! Omega is back. Give me a bit, I just finished reading the last two threads.

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>>21829433
>>21829463
>>21829477

Silently, you position yourself and lean in, upside-down into the gun nest. Taking a moment to focus, you use your psionic abilities, heightening your awareness and reaction time. The gunner pirate is idly bobbing his head from side to side, like he's listening to music. You hope he likes the tune. Then you drive your combat knife into the base of his skull, and twist. He ragdolls, but you manage to keep hold of him, and rest him against the gun on it's mount, keeping him close to looking active. Then you silently drop down into the room. You walk over to the radio unit, and check it. It isn't a live connection, but it would be pretty easy to hit a button or something and call home. You pull the battery pack out of the unit, and grind it to dust in your power armored hand.

Your ambient motion tracker notices a disturbance behind you, and you swiftly move to press your back to the wall opposite the door, as you hear foot steps coming around. A voice speaks in some Slavic language. Your armor's translation software renders it as: "Alright, my friend. It is my turn to stand behind the big gun." Then he rounds the corner and says what translates to: "Hey, buddy? Are you alright in there?" The pirate takes a few cautious steps into the bunker. "Goodnight." You mutter under under your breath, then drive a powered elbow into the side of his neck, which breaks with an audible crunch, and he falls sideways onto the ground like a string-less puppet. You kick his rifle away, and then pull the other guy away from the gun. Then you lean out the opening, and give the "all clear" sign. A rock behind a rifle moves and gives a countersign.

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>>21829704

(While I'm sad to do this while some of you are just coming in, this has been going on for a while, so we're going to end it here, with a little something-something)

You turn back and secure the little fortified box, also disabling the radar connection, and examining the laser marker. Lightning quick, but some how quite enough you didn't notice until your motion tracker picked her up as being right there, Angel is with you, rifle slung back over her shoulder. You pass the device to her. She catches it, looks at it for a second, then stuffs it into a softcase on her armor. You send a microwave pulse down the slope to Commander MacPherson, confirming the kills and the situation. "Good job Lieutenant. Hold the fort while we advance up. I sent Ingram around to scout beyond." Within a few minutes, MacPherson, Chapman and Kent are with you, standing inside the bunker. You notice Chapman lean down and palm a couple of the pirate's frag grenades and tuck them away into his goodie bag. A burst transmission from Ingram comes in. "Sir, I'm looking at the underside of the plate. You need to see this, sir." Ingram sounds urgent. MacPherson looks around, and quickly issues orders, "Angel, overwatch. Kent, Chapman, pull these two clowns down the slope, out of sight. Lieutenant, you're with me." You follow him along as you stealthily move further up the slope, to Ingram's position. What you see is something you were not expecting. MacPherson leans forward, as if to get a better look. "Is that... a village?"

-
And that's where we're calling it tonight. Hope you all enjoyed actually operatan like an operator. Next time will feature even more operating, probably some moral dilemmas, and possibly some psychic mojo.

>>21829876
A village? That does sound like a moral dilemma. If we kill all the space pirates now they won't be able to breed and make more space pirates for us to kill later.

>>21829947

LAYERS UPON LAYERS.