HRP - Theta Company - Act I - Operation: Grasping Maw

"What about Ricker's?" Jake asked as he passed both Rosie and Skip. He didn't hear anything else but Skip saying she felt sorry for a squad wasn't too good.

"Rickers isn't gonna be there to hold your hand," I answed Jake, sticking my tongue out at him. I nodded at Skippy, but suddenly I wasn't feeling as optimistic about our odds, but like she'd said, I needed to keep everyone's spirits up.
"I bet four desserts I'd kill the most aliens. You in?" I asked her.

Jeremy wandered off to the shooting range. He wasn't the most confident in his accuracy, despite having higher than average scores. He was somewhere in the top 50, he didn't know exactly where or care to find out. Once he knew where he was, he figured, he'd want to stop. That didn't sit well with him, so he continued to practice. At the range, he put on the safety equipment, picked up a Battle Rifle, and went to work on trying to keep the grouping within 8inches of each other.

Skippy chewed her lip.

"If I double your score, I want six."

"Very funny and as I said. I don't bet but it doesn't mean you have that great a chance of killing more then me Rose and Skip will probably beat us all anyway." Jake said with a grin before looking to Skippy. "So. Any info for the grunts or we running in blind?" Jake had to take a pot shot at asking about details. It would make him assured and he could make Chris feel assured with information. A proper apology to his jokes.

"You heard what the Colonel said. That should tide you over until we're en route to the drop."

Skippy checked the clock ticking away on the wall nearby before turning to Rosie.

"Get the squad suited up. Prowler's arriving in twenty."

I smirked, hardly any of the others played along anymore. Not since I'd had all of their desserts for a month after the mission on Venezia.
"Six desserts if you win, but only if there's anyone between us." I answered Skippy. "Jake, armoury."

"Fun. I'll get ready now." Jake said as he jogged off to go get his equipment for the pick up. Today was going to be hell or a walk in the park, or absolute bliss.

Twirling the blade idly, Chris simply bore a hole through the floor, truly unsure of what to do. Go to the firing range and see if he could move up on the board? Hit the gym for a sparring session.....and move his name up on the board. Everything was competitive in the S-III training, from who had the best accuracy, best win-lose ratio, test scores..... Was all that going to matter? It felt less like they were being trained to work as a team, and more like they were being trained to run a free for all race.

He probably lacked the context for it, but that methodology seemed beyond counter-productive. Maybe prone to make people take risks if it meant one-upping their fellow Spartan.

Her breakfast was as delicious as the first day she had arrived. The perfect blend of blandness and cardboard. She really never feels the urge to puke right after eating, anymore. Meaning, once you're set in a routine of eating the same bland schlock every single day for five straight years, you sort of get used to that schlock. She guesses it's better than getting nothing at all. After her breakfast, she went to the shooting range. She had heard Rosie's bet and even though she had lost on bets once or twice, she feels as though she can take this one. With the Battle Rifle positioned just right, she begins firing. Hitting and missing some of her marks. Overall, it isn't too bad.

I headed to the firing range first, knowing that there'd be at least one member of Karma there, despite having less than thirty minutes to gear up and report in.
"Jeremy, Evan," I told the two there, "Head to the armoury. You have ten minutes."

Jeremy leaned back out of the stall and pulled his gear off his head. "Well damn, that was quick." He moved quickly, jogging off to the armory to get stocked up.

She fires one last burst into the targets before putting everything back as she had found it.

"I'll take your bet" She says quickly before heading out to the armory to prepare.

Still at his bunk, Chris sheathed the knife and headed off for the armory. He hadn't been ordered to, but considering how much time was left before they shipped out, it seemed like the best place to go.

I spent a couple more minutes checking around for any other members of Karma squad before I headed to the armoury myself. When I got there, the rest of the squad had arrived. I pulled on my SPI Mark II armour, leaving the helmet off for now, and found my MA5K rifle, slinging it across my back.
"Last chance to get in on the bet." I announced.

Chris was among the last to get to the armory, arriving in time for Rossie to remind everyone about the bet. "Know what my answer is," he said. Going to his locker, he grabbed his SPI armor and began pulling the pieces on. As for weapons....well, he looked to Rosie and asked "Hey, should I be packing loud or quiet?"

Jeremy was working on the chest piece as Rosie spoke up. He always had trouble with the chest piece, no matter how many times they practiced. "I'm not getting in on that. Desert is like the one thing with actual flavor and doesn't taste like mulch. And Jake, go quiet. If nothing else, you can be the one sneaking up behind everyone while we shoot em in the face."

"Both of you are so boring," I said, checking my rifle. "You could get an extra twelve desserts if you win." I activated the photo-reactive panels on my armour, turning me invisible from the neck down, and then deactivated them. "It's up to Skippy whether we outfit for stealth." I added, looking over to her.

Nikki listened to the others talk while he ate. When he was the last one at the table with an empty tray, he left to wander. He always found that he could hear the most interesting things by just being near a door. Information, classified things no one else was supposed to hear. He would listen, and say nothing. Things felt tense.

He secretly hoped the team would opt for a quiet entry.

Less noise. More time to listen.

"Well considering our armor was sorta built for stealth, I'm gonna bet on quiet," Chris said. Either way worked really, but it helped to be prepared.

"Or nothing if we lose. I'm not taking that chance." A moment later he snapped on the armor and integrated it with the rest of it. His helmet went on, and he depolarized the visor so everyone could see him. "I actually like tasty food, you know."

Skippy finished clasping the last of her armour on and put on the SPI helmet.

"Pack loud but bring supressors."

"I can dig it." Jeremy replies, grabbing his MA5k and and loading up on ammo. The final thing he grabbed was a suppressor, useful for planning head but horrible for quick thinking, as threading and unthreading it took fooorrreeevver.

Nodding to Skippy, I took a surpressor from one of the lockers and stashed it in one of my armour's compartments. I took a deep breath to calm my rising nerves, before I sat down and pulled my helmet on, tapping the blade of my knife against my hand. I muted my armour's external speakers and opened direct comms to Skippy.
"Be honest," I said, "How many do you think we're going to lose?"

Skippy polarized her visor and muted the external speakers too

"If we can stay quiet, get in and enact Cole Protocol and then get out. None. If we go loud. We could be looking at anywhere from a couple of injuries to full squad loss. We don't know how occupied that base is."

Nodding at the order, Chris grabbed the usual MA5K, along with an attachment. Personally, he preferred the SMG's for mobility but the bright side about an MA5K was that the frame was cut down considerably, making it easier to maneuver with. He suspected it was meant to be an urban combat weapon for tight corners, but he never did ask. For a sidearm, he opted for the M6C/SOCOM, simply because the damn thing was silent but packed one hell of a powerful shot.....at least when aimed properly. Some spare ammo, grenades, the usual stuff went into a satchel or was attached to the belt of his suit, while his knife went to the usual place on his left clavicle. Well, over it.

In the armory, Nikki listened. Suiting up in the tight but comfortable spartan armor. Muted his externals, and screwed on suppressors to his guns. He wanted be ready to go quiet on a moments notice. Checked all his pockets and straps - making sure he had the combat knife secured and ready. When he was finished checking himself over he stood at the ready.

She had arrived before Rosie and after Jeremy and after some time fiddling with the SPI armor, she managed to get it on. Hearing the orders, she grabs the usual loadout. An MA5K, an M6C, extra ammunition, grenades and her knife. Everything she'll need to get in and out while hopefully keeping her life intact. She screws some suppressors on as well for the "lights out" approach. She tests her optic camouflage. With everything in working order she stands and waits, looking from person to person quickly.

They better not get me killed. I'll have to haunt them.

Skippy grabbed an MA5K, strapping it across her back, and a M41 SSR MAAW. Sure, she'd said quiet but that's why she had a knife after all. Once the rest of the squad had loaded up, she walked them to the hanger where there was already Pelicans loading other squads on board. She climbed into the nearest Pelican and strapped herself in, watching the squad do the same. Within a few minutes, she felt the thrusters burning as they lifted off and flew across to the specially purposed Prowler

I spent the pelican journey in silence, but I kept an eye on Lily. She was being uncharacteristically quiet. If she wasn't focused when we went in there, she'd get hurt. Again muting my external speakers, I spoke to her.
"You okay?" I asked, seeing her turn her head towards me at the other end of the pelican.
"I'm just worried, you know?" She answered, looking away again. "I'm scared, I don't want anybody to die."
"It'll be fine, it's us, Ralei and Hammer. We're the three best squads in the whole company right? It's the aliens that should be scared." I was lying, of course. Skippy had told me to be prepared to lose people, but I couldn't just tell them that. I was confident and optimistic, at least to everyone except Skippy.

It's just another mission. One more mission between me and freedom.

This is what she tells herself every mission. A sort of pep talk for herself. Since being taken from her family and trained, that's all she thinks about. Maybe they'll let her out after this one or the next one. Knowing the disappointment she'll face at the end of it all, that is, if she manages to survive. In fact, her death would be the only surefire escape plan, but she won't give up her life. That'd be too easy.

Sitting on the Pelican was......well, it was a pain, for Chris at least. He had a fear of flying and while his training had hardened him and reduced the fear, that was really all it did--reduce it. So as he sat there, strapped in with the harness keeping him bound to the seat, he had his visor at fully polarized.....so that no one could see he had his eyes closed. Come on, just a routine Pelican fight. You've been on dozens before. Hundreds even, he tried assuring himself. Then came that bit of turbulence where the Pelican shook, and he was back to square one.

Her eyes shut immediately when the turbulence begins to start. Her breathing increases somewhat as well. It's something she has never been able to shake off. When she had been taken and sent offworld, the flight had sustained prolonged turbulence. She had never experienced it before and that, coupled with her situation, terrified her to no end. Even now that she has had many trips via aerial transport, the association is burned into her mind. She takes comfort in the fact that she's with people she knows and that helps in calming her nerves.

The Pelican rocked as it came to a quick stop in the Prowler's hangar, jerking my body sharpy as it did. Marched out and lined up, we were made to wait patiently for the arrival of Hammer and Ralei squads, who were on the same mission as us. The other's were being deployed from other ships, headed to other parts of the planet. It was easily the largest scale operation we'd taken part in.

When the other squads eventually arrived, Skippy and the other two squad leaders left for a briefing, during which I ran Karma squad through several combat drills and maneuvers. I needed to keep them busy. People didn't have time to think over things when they were busy.

Jeremy didn't really notice the turbulence. Yes it was annoying, but he never got that feeling of dread or terror as the aircraft bobs in the air. It was just part of flying. When he was taken, there had been plenty of turbulence, almost violently so, but the people who had taken him were all unfazed as he looked at them. He realized, if these adults are not scared by this, why should I? He was busy checking his gun anyway, inspecting everything he could to make sure nothing would surprise him in the field.

Once everyone was disembarked and Skippy went off, Rosie had everyone do some training exercises, combat drills and what not. Jeremy took comfort in it, losing his mind to busy work was something he always enjoyed.

Only Rosie could have found a way to get everyone to do combat drills......on a Prowler. Not that the ship's were small or anything, no they could be big when needed it's just that they usually tended to be cramped on the inside, so much internal space taken up by the equipment onboard. Then again, it had a hangar big enough for three pelicans to fit comfortably, so clearly it wasn't as impossible as previously imagined.

That said Chris found himself silently grumbling a little; it wasn't that he didn't mind the drills, they kept the skills sharp and team focused. It was just...well it seemed like a poor place for it was all. Aboard a stealth vessel on the way to a major operation. Would have been nicer if they could go over the schematics of the place, find decent entry points and flesh out what to do.

Of course, that was dependent on the intel being reliable, the enemies behaving predictably, and overall the execution going according to plan. Which it rarely did. There was a saying for that, which seemed oddly appropriate.

Men plan. Fate laughs.......yeah, this is gonna go well, he thought.

[blank]

Nikki's mind was blank, his body was moving at the sound of familiar commands. He an automaton. His body was going through the motions etched into his brain by training. By training for basic maneuvers before heading out onto a mission. A mission that was likely to get people killed. People killed who he knew and trained with. Trained with for years and years, the only people he knew. He knew there were whispers of failure and suicide runs, he knew that this was a real combat scenario. A combat scenario that required him to kill Covenant aliens. Monsters who hunted and killed humans and wanted nothing but their extermination. So he and the others would repay them in kind.

The only thing that really mattered was the mission objective. It would need to be achieved at any cost. Even if that cost was a few lives. Nikki steeled himself against the potential onslaught of emotions a the potential death of a friend. Imagining the Covenant hold their dead, lifeless corpse, and gunning the Covenant down.

Jake had packed a battle rifle, sidearm and his knife, making sure to bring extra ammo for the rifle for it was going to be the only good weapon he would bring besides the ordinary sidearm. Suppressors for each weapon of course while the knife was just generally silent.

On board their flight, Jake was starting to get a little bored. "They should add a dart board to the wall. May be cramped but still think we should get one." Jake said while looking at his knife he pulled out while speaking. He wondered if he could stab something on the mission. Be it an elite or grunt.

Then once ready we were onto drills to keep at a good status for when they landed on whatever planet the covenant were on. Jake never really slacked off when it came to drills, how could you when you thought they were fun and easy to do once you use to them and Jake was very much use to them.

"Hammer, Ralei and Karma squads report to your designated SOEIV bay immediately."
I swallowed. The mission was officially starting. I marched my team to the bay where we waited for Skippy's arrival.

Skippy skulked her way over to Karma's pod bay, in a bad mood after the briefing. She ordered the squad into the pods as she climbed inside her own, strapping the launcher and rifle alongside the seat. She sat on the seat and reached up to pull the door closed with a slam. She'd have time to brief the squad during the journey.

Jake followed suit with the others to the bay where they waited for Skippy to arrive and once she did and it was simple orders of get in, be quiet and wait. Or that's how Jake liked to interpret it most of the time and that is what he did, setting the battle rifle and pistol into the locks and sitting on the seat, slightly regretting that he didn't pick up a shotgun but it was silent first and he wasn't sure if he wanted to get close to the covenant on this mission. Not yet at least.

I followed Skippy's lead and strapped my MA5K and handgun into the pod, before I climbed silently in, briefly noting that they weren't regular SOEIVs. I stayed quiet as I pulled the door down and went over the pod's features, checking that they worked.

The drills were ultimately nothing special, just something to pep us up and to take our minds off of the worry we might be feeling. Mundane exercises to numb the brain, or something along those lines. After the drills, she followed Skippy's order and entered her pod. Checking over every last detail before sliding the door shut and strapping herself in. May god have mercy on Karma's souls.

Nikki placed his MA5K and pistol into the compartments of the pod before getting in. He slammed the pod closed with more force than was necessary. His body was full of excitement for the mission. It was ready to move, to act, to kill. His visualizations of dead friends held by the Covenant made him angry. He was pumped for the mission. He was ready. As ready as a 12 year old who is about to go kill aliens could be.

Jeremy slammed his door closed and double checked his equipment to make sure everything was in order. This is the part that gave him trouble, when his heartrate started to climb and his body tried to sweat. Drop pod were notorious for giving the user hell, and Jeremy hated that they had to use them almost all the time.

Jake slammed the door shut after watching a few of his squad mates enter close themselves. "Boy oh boy. Ready to drop I am." Jake said to himself as he looked at the features and buttons of the drop pod, passively resisting the urge to touch one or two.

When the order had been given, Chris went immediately for the drop pods, weapons secured and his person strapped in. Beyond that there was little else to do, besides flipping the light switch and dimming the light level in the pod. Now the only source of light came from the buttons and his screen, Chris waiting patiently for the drop.

Skippy flicked some switches and brought her squad up on the internal pod comms.

"The prowler made the jump to Slipspace a moment ago. We'll be dropped in a few minutes time, travel through Slipspace and hopefully into the system undetected. Once we hit ground side, we've got no more than three minutes to get into the base before the rest of the platoon drops. Hammer are taking the lead on this one, so we'll be following their orders."

Three minutes? A lot can happen in three minutes, including my death. Especially in the hands of another squad. She thinks to herself.

It isn't like she doesn't trust Hammer or their leader, but she'd rather place her trust in her own squad. One mess up from them could lead to Karma being annihilated as well. Well, that is a possibility that is always present. Once this roundabout thought process ceases in her brain, she gives the only response she can.

"Roger, let's get this over with so I can have those desserts."

"We both know that they're mine." I answered Evangeline. I just hoped that that'd be the main thing on our minds when we got back, and not any casualties we'd taken.