Chapter 9: TBD

The dropping wasn't that bad, I've done it loads of times in my career. So it wasn't really all that bad as it was for some.
I landed on something hard, I guessed a rock. I was wrong, it turned out to be a hunk of ice. I opened my door without any problems.
Once I got out I was met with ice, ice everywhere. Wonderful. I looked around for the other pods, finding them easily.

Presently, I running towards the friendlies that're marked on HUD. Going cover to cover to avoid those turrets.

Once clear of the drop pod, William took cover behind a nicely ice coated rock.
He drew his pistol and held it at the ready.
Not much I'm gonna do from here.
William looked for a way to get around the turrets, seeing a path with a good amount of rocks that could provide cover, and allow William to move to the right flank of the guns.

*Beta Commander*
Just so we're clear, how are we transporting the materials for the base?

(Jason)
We split our transports into two groups. Group one will transport soldiers and personnel to the LZ, while group two carries the building materials we need. The base itself won't be fancy, since all we have on hand right now are barriers, generators, and a number of other things that we can fit into crates. Once they land, primary work needs to be focused on establishing a sufficient communications relay to work as their ops center, otherwise coordination will be limited to short wave radio and tight beam communication, neither of which will suit our groundside forces as a whole.

James looked out from behind cover and saw a cluster of 12 auto turrets set aside from the other turrets. "Poor placement people..." Was what he mumbled as he threw a make shift EMP grenade at the cluster...he imidiantly ducked back down

*Alpha Commander*
Well, it seems that for now there's not much else we can really do to add to this plan, at least not until we know the terrain of the planet and the exterior layout of the base.

(Jason)
Agreed. Right now, what we can do is continue to prepare our forces. What's their status?

*Gamma Commander*
About a quarter of the garrison in Gamma Base has been transported up to the battlegroup, with forces being evenly distributed among the ships.

*Alpha Commander*
As have troops from Alpha Base.

*Beta Commander*
Same.

(Jason)
Good, I was worried there wouldn't be enough room. What's the word on our specialty forces?
=The term 'Specialty Forces,' was not the same as any form of Special Forces like ODSTS or Spartans. These were ground troops given special pieces of gear for specific roles on the battlefield=

*Alpha Commander*
Phalanx Companies have managed to work out the kinks in their formations, and the hard light shield plug in's are working without flaw. Runner Squads are good to go, though a bit grumpy with the fact that they're the weakest....or at least most susceptible to enemy fire.

(Jason)
You'd think being the fastest unit would give them a sense of being untouchable.

*Gamma Commander*
Well, to be fair here, they pay a price for that speed. Reduced armor and shielding all so they can move faster then everyone else? I'd be a little grumpy.

William went into a prone position and started to crawl out from the cover of some large rocks. All the turrets were focused on the rest of the team. He got on the same comm channel as the rest of them.
"Zeru this is Gitz. We got four auto turrets on the external of the base. They're shooting heavy rounds, probably fifties."
William grabbed a small black box from one of his pouches, it was no larger than an assault rifle magazine.
"I'll paint you the targets."
William held down a button and a green laser shot out from it. He aimed the laser at the turrets for the rest of the team to see.

James looked at the bodies around him...he had just finished eliminating the crew in charge of the turrets he had deactivated...as he started gathering amo from the bodies he found a pass key on one of them...he looked and saw a mantenance door that the key would open...he got on the comm... "Gitz this is Darnok...i found a way into the base and im going in...im setting up a tracking becon and leaving the key outside the door...wish me luck team..." with that he slipped inside and dropped the key outside the door like he said he would...he crouched down as he started into the base......

*Beta Commander*
What about defenses for the F.O.B? I know we're leaving most of our soldiers there for defense but what about aerial attacks?

(Jason)
At the moment, we have no anti aircraft turrets or defenses to transport. For now, we'll have to rely on any fighters we can spare, and any form of anti aircraft weaponry that troops can use.

*Alpha Commander*
There's still one issue we haven't really discussed yet.
=They made a motion, and an image of a GESTR unit appeared=

There's no doubt that by now that base will have GESTR units, and we have yet to properly train our troops on how to deal with them.

*Beta Commander*
Yeah, teach them how to deal with Frankenstein monsters....

*Alpha Commander*
Our troops can most likely deal with GESTR's from a battlefield perspective, but the psychological? We're going to see some of our troops break down from this.

(Jason)
I know, but we can't avoid it. And forgive me for being blunt, but soldiers will always be at risk of suffering some form of psychotic break, regardless of the type of enemy they face.

*Gamma Commander*
Agreed. Now let's just hope our troops are ready.

(Jason)
Alright. Let's move out people, we still have work to do.
=With that, the conference ended=

=gets the laser read and fires at the spot marked blowing up the turret before ducking back down due to the large guns=

ok now all we got left is those big ones

--Algol System--

=The Run Silent managed to get closer to Adachi, and while not in orbit was able to make a more thorough analysis of the surface, especially the area near the Reclaimer Base. A topographical map, showing an area of 100 square kilometers, was made and relayed back to Haven. Soon after though, a group of Reclaimer ships arrived from slip-space, no more than six while the destroyer that had previously been in orbit, left after a small transport docked within=

=The inhabitants of the planet picked up on the Candlelight and brought the tiny vessel down to dock. Repairs were made, and just as last time, the crew offered their assistance in return for this favor. The people of this planet were of apparently militant sort, and were quick to agree. The warriors and crew of the Candlelight exited their ship and donned their weapons; MCR-III's, SMAR-18 Heavy Blasters, and an assortment of bullet-firing weapons as well. They were guided to a large empty room and told to wait. And so they did=

=gets comm from the bridge crew=

sir this is the bridge weapons team tells us the first spider jacket missile is ready for deployment

isn't that hte only prototype what happened to the regular ones why not use them instead

we completed all R&D so the prototype has no further use but to be used

what's the AOE of it

it will only land on and really close to the base chances of any being near raid force is neglible but be careful none theless

roger that fire in 15 seconds

=switches comm to the others in the raid group=

we're gonna have a few cluster missiles tank out those PDG's so take cover people

--1 Hour later--

(Jason)
=Still sitting at the desk, a new report from the Run Silent came in. New surface scans, and a topography map. Excellent, we would be able to make use of this. I stood to leave, when the doors opened and Miranda walked in. She looked rather upset=

(Miranda)
Why wasn't I told about the meeting? Or that you found another Reclaimer world and are planning an attack?

(Jason)
This was a military conference, Miranda. All we were doing was going over logistics, and planning our attack.

(Miranda)
Mi-Military conference? Vigil, is this military's version of ONI. Naval intelligence, Jason, and I'm the head of it.

(Jason)
Your job is to root out infiltrators and Reclaimer spies, not plan how our attacks fall through.
=She suddenly looked like I had slapped her in the face=

(Miranda)
Why you miserable, arrogant, son of a bitch. Do you even consider, how connected your...military, and my office really are? Yes, Vigil was formed to root out infiltrators, and any Reclaimer sympathizers, but having access to files recovered from their base helps us immeasurably.

(Jason)
Then I'll be sure to bring those files, back to you.
=I moved to walk around her, but she did something, some kind of martial arts maneuver I didn't know, and had me pinned to the wall=

(Miranda)
Jason, all of my people, can be trusted. They went through screening, hundreds of times before they were even considered for the job. How many of your own soldiers can say the same? How sure are you that some of them aren't traitors, who will wipe those files clean before they even reach your ships?

William crawled behind the cover of the rock he was poking around, and waited for the bombs to drop.

(Jason)
=I'll admit, that thought had not crossed my mind. Was I really that much of a rookie, at being a leader, that I couldn't consider the possibility of there being traitors in my army? And then I suddenly realized something else: I hurt Miri, with my words. And I was ashamed of that=
Miri....I am, so sorry. I didn't mean to question your experience, or your judgement on running Vigil.

(Miranda)
A bit late for that Jason.
=I let him go, and he slumped against the wall. He realized what he had said, though I had no intent of accepting his apology yet. I knelt down so that I was at eye level with him=

It's time for you to realize that you're not in control of everything. You can't assume that every soldier under your command is still loyal to you Jason, or that every plan will follow through. And more importantly, Haven, this whole planet, all the people living here, can't afford you thinking like this. You need to wake up, and be the leader we need.

=They waited in the empty room for probably 20 minutes before a few men came forward to greet them. There was a breif exchange in words before the men lead the warriors off towards what seemed like a Barracks, where they met many more soldiers. They were left to get to know eachother for a while=

(Jason)
How? What do I need to do, to meet the needs and expectations, Miranda? How am I supposed to be the leader they need?

(Miranda)
=I extended my hand=
You can start by listening.

(Jason)
=I looked from her hand, to her eyes. Then, I took her hand and my wife pulled me to my feet=
So...where do we begin?

(Miranda)
We can start with me saying "I accept your apology, Jason." But you ever talk to me like that again, and I will put you in a body cast.

(Jason)
=I just gave her a stunned look=
Uh...noted?

=the raiding party all take cover behind whatever they can find when a large object starts heading to the base before breaking apart and small missiles rocket into the base and embed themselves in the top like cluster bomblets before detonating sending a massive shockwave from the blast resonating out=


we're clear lets get going before they know what just happened people

(Miranda)
We can also go with discussing extraction strategies for any intel or files found on site. I recommend having either my people, or people we both trust to get the information.

(Jason)
Well right now the only soldiers I know well enough for that job are Alpha Team. I don't suppose any of your people have military training though?

(Miranda)
Not really....
=I felt my hands ball into fists as I rested them on my hips=

Alpha Team will have to do then.

William popped up from cover and slid over the rock he was laying behind.
It was as if the explosion was his queue to start running.
He slammed against the facilities walls, then started to walk to the a door, with his pistol in his hands.

(Jason)
=We both parted ways after that, each going to attend to our own business. Myself, I was headed for the airfield to take a transport up to the Hyperion, where I'd need to give Alpha Team a briefing over their new mission. Speaking of which, I sent them a message from my data-pad, informing them to head to the ship. As I walked, I noticed how active the base had gotten in the hour since my orders. People were moving like crazy, and transports zoomed above. So this is what it was like when a base prepped for war=

=gets up and starts heading to the base and kicking the damaged door down before moving into the bases main entrance=

time to go hunting

(Conner)
=We had all received word about the Reclaimer world, Alpha Team and I. All four of us were in the armory, checking on our gear when we got the message from the Admiral. He wanted to brief us on the Hyperion asap, so we got our gear on, and headed for the airfield to meet up with Sam at her dropship=

William sprints along side the rebel base, towards the door Zeru 'opened'.
Gitz entered the door behind Zeru.
"I'll go find the armor, and see if I can find that Spartan along the way... Wherever he got off to."

careful of and gitz

=tosses gitzs the spartan laser=

has 4 shots left so i reccomend just going through the walls with it to outflank the rebels

William caught the Spartan laser with surprising grace, surprising do to its weight. Guess some of his augments are still kicking, even with his old age.
"Thanks."
William picked a hall and started to run down it. He held the laser up with one of his hands, and rested its weight on his shoulder, while his pistol was in his free hand.
He was pretty quiet while running down the halls, after all his armor didn't weigh two tons.

(Chris)
=I picked up the pace until I was walking next to Conner=
So, any idea why the Admiral wants to see us?

(Conner)
I've got a few ideas. Chances are he's got us doing something special for this invasion.
=Trevor and Crowe didn't say anything, though I was sure they had the same idea=

(Chris)
At least we'll have an army around to help us.

The Rising Dawn was already angling away, heading for a vector to jump to Arzachel. Sora was getting ready to tackle Rika down for another makeout session when Xion sounded the alarm.
"Rebel fleet is on an intercept course. We have forces moving in to block us. The main fleet is led by...Well, resourceful. Covenenat Corvette. And by that, I mean, there is more human-made components then anything else. Froms scans, only one plasma cannon is intact. I'm surprised they even got the light switch." The AI laughed. ". Looks like a patched up pair of Stalwart-Class frigates flanking it..." She pauses. "And over there, is a UNSC Corvette. Mako-class. Rest are...well, that's nice. Mostly freighters that have been refit with autocannons and missiles."
"Alright. And the ones cutting us off?"
"Ten or so...pff, seriously? Two UNSC Corvettes. Rest are again, retrofitted civilian craft."
"Fighters?"
"A couple hundred."
"Sounds like fun. Send out our flyboys and move the frigates out. We can take the enemy fleet head on; have the Xerxes lead our frigates in and assault the fleet cutting us off; Rising Dawn will hit their fleet head on. Aim the MAC at the Covie vessel, and the Cortana Specials at the Stalwarts. Pick missile targets at random, just blaster the front. Show them how this prototype does it."

The massive bay doors slid open, revealing the cavernous bays. Longswords and Sabres swarmed out, then the frigates began to launch.
"Yeah, we weren't alone chuckleheads." Sora said, grinning.
Rika stole the captain's seat. "So, who was gonna be the captain?"
"Dunno. I stole it and left a note on Parangosky's desk. The beach picture postcard, ya'know?"
"Oooh, that had to piss her off."

(Burk)
=i kept my shield up and moved in a crouch walk forward ahead of the squad. I didn't want a guard to get a surprise shot on us, I radioed everyone=
We're on the security section right now, if the info is to be believed. We need to go down two floors to get to the prison one. Be careful if you go down there, the prisoners police themselves.

=i kept moving forward, Simile off to the side, Deniv on the other, and Punikav behind me. We all had our weapons raised, expecting fire anytime now as a siren blared all around us. I had my MP up, Punikav has a Battle Rifle and Assault rifle, while Deniv and Simile both have SMGs and Magnums. I had a shotgun on my back if I needed it, but hopefully my MP would do the job. We continued to advance down the hall, keeping our eyes and ears open=

=sees's the squad arrive=

follow me we're taking a shortcut at least one level down

=takes out his impact blade and jabs it down into the floor and drags it in the shape of a circle which requires considerable effort to do but is making decent speed=

(Simile)
Just be careful. If Dormii is right under that for any reason...

(Deniv)
Pair's right, Zeru. Hold on, I'll try to get a grip on it and pull it up when you are done.

=i extend my climbing claws, and push them into the floor as best I can while Zeru carves away. It's not a great grip, but hopefully it'll work=

gotcha

=puts more effort into it and after abit starts getting close to the stat point=

soon as it wobbles pull and i'll bend the blade to help flip it

(Deniv)
=i nod=
Got it.

=i wait until the panel wobbles a bit, then pull, trying to lift it up away from falling in=

William fast walked down the corridors, keeping his pistol at the ready.
Each locked door he was met with he could hack through. He came to a stop when he found a lift. He thought about taking it, but decided against it, too predictable. Near the lift he saw a service access. Much better.
William walked over to it, finding that that it was also locked, but it wasn't electronically shut, it used a key, and it had a reinforced lock, something a shotgun couldn't even breach.

A Spartan laser on the other hand... William holstered his pistol, then carefully aimed the laser at the lock. He held down the trigger... One, two, three, and red beam shot out and instantaneously vaporized the metal lock. There was now a huge steaming hole in the service access' door. The small door swung open and Gitz entered. There was a ladder that went down, though William hadn't known which floor the Spartan's armor would be on.
Guess I'll just wing it.

(Conner)
=We reached the airfield, and the all too familiar sight of our favorite red head was waiting for us by the jet black Trident=
Don't be so sure Chris. If it's our mission, chances are we won't get much back up. Sam, everything good?

(Sam)
=I snapped off a crisp salute as Alpha Team drew close=
She's good to go Conner. Just strap in and we'll be off in a few minutes.

The Xerxes let loose a MAC blast in tandem with the other three frigates. The balls of flaming steel ripped through the night, missiles flying. The Mako managed to avoid the MACs, but the Archer missiles using the MACs as cover slammed into it in a full broadside. Craters of fire erupted as the frigates came closer.
"This is Ryan aboard Xerxes. Simple and Clean, take the Destiny's Embrace around the left. Long and Dark December, come with us around the other side."

The frigates split, missiles and autocannons firing as the Longswords flew by, dueling with the Innie's older modeled fighters.


The Rising Dawn fired the Cortana Specials, lances of fire striking the two Stalwarts and, like scalpels, cut them in half. The other two sliced a few retrofitted freighters.
"Fire."
The MAC fired, followed by a swarm of Archer missiles, at the refit corvette. It stood no chance against the pure destructive power of the Rising Dawn.
"This is Sora - 013 to frigates, we'll be done shortly. The pride of their fleet and the Stalwarts learned the hard way that you cannot stop the rise of dawn."
Smirking, she dropped onto Rika's lap as the Rising Dawn smashed into the oncoming fleet like a typhoon.

=Alpha Team piled into the dropship, grabbing seats and securing themselves in their harnesses. Sam climbed into the cockpit, and once she cleared it with air traffic she took off, and headed for the Hyperion=

(Sam)
So, what have you guys been hearing?

(Crowe)
I heard we found a Reclaimer base.

William climbed down the ladder and passed multiple more doors, he figured they'd keep their good stuff pretty far down. He gets to a promising level then tries opening the door... Oh right... Locked. He looked at the Spartan laser he hefted with him. That could cause me some damage. Instead he put his back to the ladder and held it with his two hands, then started kicking the door with his feet, making loud banging sounds.

After some time of him trying to break the door he heard movement on the other side, along with muffled voices. Oh boy... Gitz climbed down the ladder further then jammed the laser in it. He drew his compact shotgun and waited a few moments. The door above him slid open and a light shone in the dark service access.

(Rebel 1)
"I'm telling you I heard something, like loud banging!"

(Rebel 2)
"I was in the other room and I didn't hear nothing. You're just hearing things. Take an hour off to sleep."

(Rebel 1)
The first rebel stuck his head through and pointed a flashlight upwards.
"I'm telling you I-"

The rebel was quickly silenced when Gitz grabbed his head and twisted and broke his neck. He quickly pulled the body in the access and let it fall to the bottom, while he popped up with his shotgun and let a shell rip into the second rebel, who was just becoming alert.

(Conner)
Same here. Admiral's mounting the first invasion force Haven's ever really seen. I just hope we're actually ready for it.

(Trevor)
Is anyone really ready for their first real battle?
=Silence greeted me=

Let's be honest, most of our fellow soldiers have more experience in combat sims than in real combat. Do you really think they're going to be able to be professional?

(Chris)
We have to hope their resolve to defend their home will keep them in line.

William holstered his shotgun then climbed through the door. He pulled out his pistol and pointed down the hall way he just entered. Seeing it was clear he grabbed the dead rebel and dropped him in the service access with the other one.
"Sorry mate. Just doing my job. like you were"
Gitz then grabbed his laser and continued down the corridors.

(Jason)
=I should have been up on a transport, headed for the Hyperion to give Alpha Team their mission briefing. But I still had a full day left to prepare our forces, though in all honesty by now the wait wouldn't really be needed. Chances were we could launch early, though I wanted to make sure we had all our bases covered=

=soon as it starts wobbling starts pulling bends the blade and then quickly grabs the bottom with his spare hand when it comes up and flips it onto the floor=

well that wasn't too hard so who wants to go first?

(Simile)
I will.

=i turned on my cloak and sat on the edge of the hole, then jumped in, SMG raised. There was one guy, talking into his radio. I put a few rounds into him, the force of the shots dropping him flat on his back dead within seconds. I called up to the others as my cloak went back to invisible=
CLEAR!

(Punikav)
=i watched Burk and Simile hop down, sitting down on the ledge and then jumping in. It came my turn, and I sat down, jumped, and landed on something on the ground that slipped away, I fell backwards. Sheepishly, I got back up=
"You falling already, 'splosions?"

Yeah, yeah, shut up Hope.

"Yeah Hope, shut up. We all know he only falls for me."

"Pssh, yeah right Deniv, only person gonna be falling for you is your next kill."

"Oh how your words wound me so."

=drops down after them blade still active =
lets focus people got a job to do

(Jason)
No, we've gathered as much as we could, and we're as ready as we'll ever be for this. I may not like having to rush things, but time is of the essence. We move now.

Continued in Battle of Adachi

=checks the calender=

ok February 12th we're ahead of schedule and what the hell are the usnc idiots doing if those odst's don't get in before the emergency doors lock they'll die

William stopped at a crossroad in the corridor, with four halls meeting each other.
Choices, choices... Gitz then saw markings on the wall, in green letters it said 'ARMORY' and had an arrow pointing down the hall to his left. Well, might as well see what they have in stock, weapons wise. William then made his way to the armory.