Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

The Marines are Berthed in the belly of the starship, and essential for attack and defense, whether it be on the gorund, or inside the ships during boarding actions. Fighter pilots and ships may win battles, but Marines will win the War.
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Kokuten
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Kokuten »

The hair on the back of Asher's head stood on end as his sense of danger began pierce into his spine. Just like back home, it all began with sounds. The distant clatter of equipment, the plodding of feet unlike their own, the splitting of brush and brick to forms and shapes that refuse to contort. When the first sounds flighting projectiles of Terran and Drathonian crossed, Asher came down to all fours, and clamored silently to a safe position. He appeared like fox, aware of hounds, and searched over his position to spot trouble. For all of his boasting and clamour, he seemed to keep a small presence. Especially as he abandoned his cover to give it to someone else. Instead of running upright, he hobbled rapidly, keeping his profile low, as he tumbled into a fresh position.

Clunk was the sound he made as he haphazardly hit cover. He looked up, seeing the various types of Drathoni moving about, and squatted momentarily to loose his Orc. He checked his slug drum, before contouring of the edge of cover, tightly shouldering the weapon in readying. Then with five consecutive blasts, the Orc roared over the immediate sounds of war like a small cannon. Bursting forth from each sparking roar came .919 Slugs, large, nasty projectiles seeking scales to split and tear.

Then, as soon as he fired, he slithered back into a crouch to avoid a little return fire. That's when he noticed the broken spine that had been tossed at him. He gave the item a quizzical look, before picking it up, and sniffing closely. The scent was mild, and fading quickly, but it was enough to taste the air that this kind drathonian exuded. He had the scent, no less.

"Smells like pizza. Bad pizza. Like one wit' pine-apples on it."
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Kai
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Kai »

The Initial barrage proved fairly effective; Enos' plasma machinegun caused a halt in the advance of the Whizzers, pinning them down as they tried to avoid being ignited by its fiery breath. However, that wasn't enough to protect them from the barrage of the Marines' own Tungsten darts, which smashed their way through the relatively light armored scales on the smaller, armadillo-like Whizzers, killing several within moments. By far, however, the most devastating weapon in use was Asher's Orc. While its accuracy was less than stellar, the slugs which hit the Whizzers turned them nearly immediately into dead husks, large holes ripped out of the couple that they hit. Even the misses proved useful as they kicked up rocks and dirt, obscuring the Whizzers' vision along with the cloud of dust blown up by Mills' mostly ineffective grenade.

And yet, the Whizzers continued shooting off their attacks, although now in disarray they were less accurate and less coordinated, flying every which way and smashing at random into the wall, causing it again to shake, but without concentrated fire it was like a few small drops into the bucket that was Foothold. Depleted, a few of the Whizzers began to hastily waddle their retreat back toward the forest, while a new wave of the creatures came running forward on their short , tough legs, accompanied by more Drathoni and Dragoons. While Armstrong and Capella's Gauss Utility Auto Cannon, or Guac, pounded away at the previous group, whom had somehow found cover in the jumbled waste of noman's land, the next wave came forth almost unchallenged.

The Dragoons this time, however, had been grafted with recoilless rifles, of a larger caliber, and suddenly, anti-armor shells began hurtling into the top of the wall, smashing through in places, and punching holes that could easily compromise the defenders' cover.

Directly beneath Asher, the second wave of Whizzers began to concentrate their fire, causing the wall to shake and shudder, and Asher's footing to be compromised. Camilla, as well, came under fire, but this time from the rifles of the Drathoni, peppering her location with return fire to answer the angry plasma weapon. Mills found herself, somehow, relatively unopposed- perhaps she didn't seem as much of a threat- but she would likely not be afforded such luxury for long.

Exposed, Card made herself a juicy target, and a hail of spines and bullets and other rounds made their way toward the former drill instructor- Luckily from the treeline, and so their effectiveness wasn't as high, but one spine smashing into her faceplate and causing a spiderweb of cracking let her know it was time to duck behind cover again. Dominic was likewise a juicy target as he forgot to keep himself mobile, instead choosing to grumble to himself about equipment that he didn't have. A second spine managed to hit his visor, though this one left a deep gouge as it hit from the front rather than lazily arcing in from above, the force almost enough to snap him out of his reverie. If it hadn't, Winter's Yelling would have.

"SHUT UP, AND KEEP FIRING." she ordered, sounding more than angry, though it was mostly at Card and Connelly. "If you want to die that badly Card, then you can jump off that damn wall, But you'll be putting all our asses on the line if you do!" She managed to yell, interrupted several times by burst fire from her Carbine. "And You, Connelly, Just SHUT UP AND SHOOT!" The deck clanged as Winters dropped her first empty magazine, pulling a second from her belt and slamming it home, to continue firing, moving from slot to slot to get a better shot and keep the attackers guessing as to her position.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Camilla regretfully withdrew, plucking her Papa from its position with two hands, and lugged it away quickly to evade the sudden barrage. She reckoned about half a battery remained before it would need to be swapped. She caught her breath and readied the Papa to deploy and reengage; without warning she was swept off her feet and flung backwards from the force of an artillery blast. The Papa shielded her from most of the shrapnel and what was left failed to do any serious harm. The explosion had nearly cast Private Enos over the wall, winded her, and stripped away her weapon. Camilla had slid with the grating sound of armor on metal all the way to the lip of the barricade, helmeted head dangling uncomfortably until she regained her bearings; her ears continued to ring.

When she at last laid her hands upon the portable plasma turret Camilla found it scarred but functional. With a grunt of exertion, the Foothold native hefted it once more and planted it at left-hand edge of the semicircular hole that outlined the artillery shell's point of impact. Then it was back to business, raining deadly plasma upon her foes.
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by CadetNewb »

Her rifle -

All sorts of silly things happen. Silly, silly things, like taking an armored combat vehicle driver and making that armored combat vehicle driver a normal marine. I really know that feeling - it isn't all that good. Right now, I can't help but think that I'd be such a Bawws in a tank, blowing up big wads of these red things with the cannon, then sweeping them with the coaxial. That I could just run them all over and lock a tread as the other keeps running, grinding whatever's under into hamburger. Mmm....I like hamburgers. Though, I don't think Drathonians would make good hamburgers now that I sit and think on -

- chattered away as Pepper's finger held fast on the trigger. The girl hosed down the horde as best she could before giving a long burst aimed at a Dragoon; it practically went from groin to face, assuming she actually hit it dead on. With the muzzle flash, she couldn't even tell before ducking behind cover again - around the marine, scrap and metal exploded and shattered as the Drathonians' light cannons roared, tossing large, armor piercing and explosive shells into the Terran battlements. Opening her eyes after a blast too near, she saw a single pillar of scrap standing cleanly beside her like a waist high spire, the top of it perfectly flat. It was almost perfect, how the weapon fire had hewn it out of hardened fortress. Even as she ejected the spent magazine, she stared at it with a look of utter curiosity before -

- that of course. But, something else has been bugging me. What's with this 'Like a Bawws' thing? We say it sometimes still, but I just don't know where it all started. I guess considering how old that phrase is, it doesn't even really matter. Just that it means someone's doing awesome is good enough I guess. Right now, I wonder what Tommy is doing right now. Maybe he and I can play ball sometime? Because he always seems so -

- taking yet another grenade from her belt. But this one wasn't immediately armed and thrown. No. She pulled the pin and quickly reached out of cover, planting the explosive firmly on that lonely metal spire. And before anyone could so much as utter a word against her, Pepper rose and swung her unloaded rifle like a baseball bat, striking the grenade and sending it flying before ducking back into cover.

*****

Bored.

Elsewhere, the person she was thinking about was bored - he lazily stirred the pot of stew, taking a good whiff of the contents. Terran military rations weren't the best, as was the case with any military ration, so he always tried to add to what they had to eat with whatever could be snared or shot. In this case, the attempt seemed to be reasonably successful. As explosions went off at the walls, he looked up from the taste of the stew, merely slightly annoyed. And even more so when a marine barged in and demanded he do something.

Tommy sighed - putting the ladle aside, he went and made himself un-bored as best he could.
Last edited by CadetNewb on Fri Oct 19, 2012 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kokuten
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Kokuten »

Asher felt the walls beneath shake hard, and he compensated his fall to the floor by hitting up against the wall. His boots hissed over the concrete as he gently came down, before a strong shock against the wall made him drop harshly. There was a great deal of fire going back and forth, and he shook his Orc up and down to feel the remaining cartridges inside. The drum magazine was great for engagements like this. So, he stepped up again, and turned towards the combat, ready to bring down more fire.

Crash! One of the whizzer projectiles came high and crashed into his cover, blasting bits of hardened wall and shrapnel-like debris. The force of it all knocked him on his back, his armor sparking as it slid on the floor. Luckily enough, he had been wearing his helmet, but the rest of him didn't look as good as it did when he came up. His chest plate had cracked and he was dripping blood from his limbs. His face masked had a spider-webbing crack over it that occluded his vision, and small bits of metal were still lodged in the armor plating. Though most notable was a thick shard of metal protruding from his chest. The terrible damage had seemed to kill the man, were it not for the fact he had already begun to roll over a few seconds after he had landed.

"I need ta'... Find better... cover..." coughed Asher, rolling over onto his hands and knees. He shook his head, and began palming his mask, before punching the damaged plastic and shattering it. With that, his face was exposed, with a little blood dribbling over the left of his lip. Though, that was nothing compared to the smear he had left onto wall. A closer inspection revealed that the metal shard had gone all the way through his chest. "Oough, that stings." He complained, crawling into a stand, before hobbling over into another spot of cover, one less damaged. Instead of catching his breath, he leaned over the protective terrain and began to let another resounding blast of roaring gunshots, the mouth of the orc spitting out pointed plumes of gunfire.

He seemed to ignore the rod of metal, still lodged in his chest.
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Straken
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Straken »

Upon being struck a second time, Dom gave a much more audible growl as he reflexively ducked back behind cover. With one hand he felt over the deep scar that now traced its way across his visor, and his other hand tightened its grip on his rifle. “Alright, no more grumbling,” Dom replied to Winters’ orders as he popped back up over his cover, set his sights on a target, and opened up with several bursts while using as much precision as he could manage.
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Kai
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Kai »

The return barrage from the Marines seemed to do the trick, as well as a sudden burst of support from the nearby GUAC emplacements manned by Armstrong and Capella's squads, Orc shells, PaPa fire, and Gauss needles from the rifles and carbines did an amazing amount of damage. To add to it, Pepper's genius idea of using her weapon as a club to put extra force into her grenade 'throw' ended in spectacular success, with it landing on a Whizzer that had yet to unload, causing the explosion to be amplified, a scene which even cause the Marines' visors to auto-dim for a moment to save their night vision.

It seemed, as well, that the Drathonians had ceased sending in reinforcements, for the moment anyway, causing a slight lull. Unfortunately, it was only slight, as there were still enemies below, who still seemed to be doing their best to simultaneously bring the wall down and kill as many Terrans as possible. However, in the distance could be heard a dull thudding, as of something large plodding their way. along with it, amplified by their helmets' systems, the Marines could hear-

"Incoming Artillery, take cover!" Winters ordered; at this point there was not much to do aside from crouch as close to the wall as possible and hope for the best, but Winters seemed intent on ignoring her own order, making her way over to Asher, whom she spun not to gently for face her, then grabbed onto the large hunk of shrapnel lodged through his armor and into his chest. Adjusting her grip for a moment, she planted a boot on the man's stomach, and tugged.

With the swift, violent motion, the imbedded hunk of metal was freed, and cast aside, as blood started practically pouring out of the gouge in Asher's chest plate. Not stopping to hesitate, and obviously unperturbed by the blood, Winters reached to her belt and grabbed a small canister, which she shook for a few moments before popping the top off of and pointing at Asher's wound. A spray of reddish-pink foam flung itself from the canister, enveloping the wound and embedding itself within, the outer layer hardening to keep the area clean.

Asher's chest would sting for a moment before a slight numbing effect could be felt, and the pain from the wound disappeared, but he probably wouldn't notice, as Winters shoved him to the deck and helped to cover him just in time for a barrage of artillery to begin landing in the field before the wall, and the courtyard behind it, the occasional shell landing on the wall itself (luckily not on their weakened section) and blowing a sizable chunk away as well as the occasional Marine. With the barrage weathered, however, Winters was quick to the draw and got up to fire again- Immediately taking a spine to her helmet.

The blow glanced off, but it had enough force to it to snap her head back and give her a nasty case of whiplash. Like Dom, her helmet was now cracked as well, but she ignored it to issue one more order: "Barrage is over, back to shooting!"
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Shoomshoomshoomshoom, clickickickick, was an approximation of the Papa reporting its final discharges before declaring the battery dry. Camilla flung herself low against the wall. To facilitate easy reloading she cradled the Papa like a child in her arms, the barrel tip scratching against the rough wall just over her shoulder and the grip scratching on the parapet, leaving its belly and depleted battery exposed. She swiftly replaced one heavy pack for another, gave it a good slam of the fist to lock it in tight, then looked both ways to see where cover would be best.

She did a double-take, eyes scanning Asher's form dubiously; what she had thought to be rebar or shrapnel jutting out of the man's backside was in fact a chunk of rebar jutting of the man's backside. And he was ignoring it! Before she could call out to him or determine what sort of emotion it evoked in her, the artillery struck, deafening and disorienting about as much as it destroyed and killed.

The Foothold native attempted thereafter to aid her comrade, but their CO was already on the case, and she was amazing. Winters plucked the rod from Westwood's chest like she was pulling up limp weeds in a garden- effortlessly. In that moment Camilla knew that Asher and the Sergeant were borne survivors and would be proud to name them as fellow Footholders.

"Barrage is over, back to shooting!" bellowed the Sergeant, tearing Private Enos from her brief reverie. With a fully charged battery and a second wind from the admirable displays of her teammates, Camilla was delighted to summon another hail of plasma to rain upon her foes.
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by CadetNewb »

Pepper fell.

Fire blossomed as her grenade exploded. In fact, it blossomed far too well. The ensuing concussion and surprise caught the girl unawares and sent her stepping back, tripping on loose rubble at her heel. "Ow, ow, ow!" she muttered, rubbing her sore backside as Drathonians were at the wall. As Asher lay bleeding, his wounds being worked on by Lucette. As artillery rained in on them, threatening to take apart their battlements. As she rolled away, hunching under a bit of fallen metal for cover from the barrage, she checked her rifle - deep down, she was hoping something good was waiting back at base. 'Maybe some apples,' she thought to herself. 'I don't think we have pineapples,' Pepper's mind trailed off, tracing a line of thought all on its own.

Idly thinking of pineapples, Pepper was only vaguely aware she was grabbing her remaining pineapples. The hard shelled fruits were activated, cooked briefly, and chucked over the wall to feed the hungry Drathonians clawing away below.

'Boy, they're hungry.'

Her gauss rifle joined the din as Pepper tried to pepper the more distant lizards.
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Kokuten
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Re: Foothold:Ch. 1, Wall.

Post by Kokuten »

"AUARGHAUGH AHGA A-- Oh, that ain't so ba--..." Asher spoke woozily as the rebar sticking through his chest was yanked out and replaced with medi-foam. The soldier first had to get over the sensation of having someone yank a solid rod from his chest, and secondly, the large amount blood that had gushed out from him. "Bah.... bad..." He stumbled a bit around his cover as the ringing cleared in his ears, and he looked to the other Marines looking at him. In his dreamlike state, he simply raised a hand, and waved at them. Then, he keeled over onto the floor, tipping over like a toppled tower, slamming right into the ground. A little bit of blood still oozed out of him, still coagulating natural and with dirt. Yet he was still. Motionless. Dead. The shock of being ripped apart as he was too much for his body, as was his blood loss.

But not really. He had collapsed near Camilla, appearing to have truly died, but he looked up at her suddenly, as if raised from a restful slumber so rudely.

"Habuabhbfhff," He said in a daze, looking up at the woman, and then with a sudden clarity he spoke again, "Didja know 'dat tha' angel of death's got some sweet tits?"

He pushed himself up, grabbing his Orc and firing it one handed into the fray a few times, blind-shooting in their direction. He then turned back to Camilla, with a look of strange and utter disappointment of his face, as if he had been cheated. "She looked like you if you were naked."
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