[Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

The Roughest, the toughest, the Galactic Marines. Set in a world where peace is more prevalent than war, the Marines are here to ensure that the status quo does not get flipped around. taken from the best and brightest of every race in the United Galactic republic, the Marines will sacrifice everything to keep the peace they have fought for through generations.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

A lot of information was tossed around simultaneously, and before Camilla could call things to order, yet another surprise crawled out of the dark. Her boys in black were getting pretty antsy and weapons were half-raised, but she gave subtle motion to lower them. It was overwhelming, but the situation was still under control.

"Excellent, Specialist, I needed another cripple on the team. Report: are you being followed? And how did you escape? Is it a usable route to reenter the facilities?"

So many questions, so little time. The clock was still ticking. They needed to have a distraction before the orbital drop commenced. Though why they can't merely carpet bomb this mess is beyond me. Something about the thought, she knew, was why they preferred her making tactical decisions and not strategic ones. Which gave her another thought.

"Arty, do you have access to any restricted areas? The armory would be best, but I'll take what I can get."

Adding two to their number was a pleasant change of events, even if they were a crippled girl and a rust bucket with ammo and no guns. Now she just had to hope they weren't saboteurs about to backstab her whole unit.
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Gwathdraug
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Gwathdraug »

"Excuse me?" Imp's mind was chewing through information, shoving any and every sort of packet she could find to distract the banshee's oversight with. "Sorry I'm not in full plate and rig Ma'am, but let's keep my fucking competency out of everyone's mouths - nghn-" The specialist's jaw spasmed as her mouth suddenly clicked close in the middle of forming a word. Imp was glowering at everyone in front of her now as she pressed the back of one hand against where the muscles in her face had violently cramped.

"My apologies." Imp forced the two words out, her jaw nearly screw tight and her tone entirely insincere. "Report: I was assisting military intelligence when their building was breached. The unidentified assault squad got wasted, but so did everyone else." Finally pulling her hand away from rubbing the tenseness from her jaw Imp shrugged. "I pulled a prisoner out of it all if that makes it a win for you. So, either tell me you have the authorization for me to just put a bullet in her and I'll fuck off to my happy place or I can stick with... whatever it is that your building here and you can debrief the bitch that tried to kill me."

"Nice robot by the way - is he the kill all humans type?"
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Kokuten
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Kokuten »

The Arditi's head swiveled as Imp revealed herself. She was quite a sight to behold, a new Marine who was small and seemed to have a speech impediment. Arty shifted on his metal legs, clacking against the floor as he moved, appearing ready in case Imp turned out to be something more than just a sewer gnome. The unit's gaze turned to Camilla expectantly, seeming to wait on her before responding. When the Staff Sergeant seemed fine with it, it turned to look back at Imp, answering the NCO's question in turn.

"I been down 'ere for a'while. I think. Arditi units servin' with Terran elements should have free reign of tha' place t'establish security. I don't know how thass' changed in tha' last sixty, fifty years." the Arditi held up a small card, rotating its wrist around one time so all of them could see both sides, a series of designations with key-entries next to them. "I got dis list a'door codes, tho'. Maybe they ain't changed."

As Imp spoke her dissent, Arty waited for her to finish speaking before adding anything else on the access issues. Right as it seemed she was done, it turned its head back to Camilla.

"Nice robot by the way - is he the kill all humans type?"

The comment caused the Arditi's head to slowly rotate back to Imp's direction. There was a visible tension that built in its gears, a curling of its double-joints.
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Kai
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Kai »

Niall looked a little surprised when another figure appeared, this one of a slight woman wearing a UGR Marine's duty uniform, rather than their combat uniform, and acting somewhat strangely, though he was relieved to see that at least some Marines had managed to escape the separatists, and, as Camilla felt, was glad that they had at least a couple more 'bodies' to help out, as it were. Either way, he had his own mission and at this point these new people were distractions taking up their time, and he had a meeting with a pretty Sabeline woman that he did not want to be late for.

"Well, uhh, Ah figger yah can work out this'n on yer own, 'cause Ah got mah own stuff tah deal with fer now," Niall said, shaking his head to get back in the came and back on mission. "While Ah go an' make contact wit' tha folks inside, Maybe yah can all go'n cause that distraction or get to tha armory like we planned?" he suggested, taking a note of the incredibly outdated access card the Arditi had.

"And Ah'm sorry, but Ah don' think tha' Card'll get ya nowhere, Mister Arty," the brunette commented, trying to ignore the small awkward marine as she seemed to have some... Issues that were clear warning flags he usually avoided unless completely inebriated. With that comment out of the way, Niall made his way down the right-hand pipe toward the rendezvous.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Camilla's mind quickly snapped into leadership mode as everyone bombarded her with retorts, replies, and suggestions. One thing at a time.

First, to settle the tension in their new metal man. "Arty: The effort was appreciated. And no, for the record, you are not a kill all humans type robot." She looked around. "As a reminder, you are cleared hot on PG uniforms. Non-uniformed individuals with weapons and any uniforms that shoot first are also fair game."

Second, a minor commendation was in order. "Callaghan: good focus, get it done. But I'll say it again: we are not splitting this team. If your contact wants to make a distraction, they have the numbers. We're taking the armory." It didn't touch her voice, but she had already pegged him as a casual, listless soldier, so seeing him take the initiative on the actual objective was surprising and irrationally irritating.

Last point of business. "de Vos: get rid of your prisoner. I'd prefer to interrogate, but we're on a strict timetable."

"Everyone else: last gear check. Hopefully our insiders have something to spare, but no promises. Make every shot count."
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Kokuten
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Kokuten »

The Arditi's head turned sharply when it heard its name, and the tension in the joints seemed to melt away the moment she told him he wasn't a kill all humans kind of robot. It didn't know why, but it didn't like the notion of being one. And then...

"Ha ha ha thass' right, it's fightin' time," suddenly the Arditi was much more lively, before clapping Imp on the shoulder, "You heard tha' boss lady, I'm not a kill all humans type, I'mma kill some humans type."

For some reason this made Arty feel better, and it jaunted up in the sewer ahead after giving Imp a good smack on the backside before it did so. It started whistling a little tune, a song that hadn't been heard in almost sixty years. The tune was something Camilla would recognize, but something that sounded far before the time of the rest of the people in the squad.

Set'm up, sight'm out, pull the pin an'throw,
Lie in wait, kill tha' lights, shoot'm while they glow.


It was a strangely cheery song about killing Drathonians.
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Straken
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Straken »

"Yeah, mate, don't you know you never split the party?" Cormac chimed to Niall with a friendly jab to the shoulder. With discomfort passing, Cormac seemed back to his peppy self. Turning his attention back to Camilla, Cormac chewed on a couple quips he felt like making. Normally he jumped at the chance to take jabs at sergeants, in fact, toeing the line of insubordination was one of his cheap thrills; all the push ups helped him keep in shape. Staff here though, he wasn't sure. Maybe cause she was old. Any sergeant that old had taken her lumps already. As such, Cormac did an equipment check. Thankfully he was in his civvies, so that amounted to his pistol, straightening his cap, and making sure his shoes were tied. With a flourish, he twirled his saftied pistol and slid it into his holster.

"Specialist Flynn; locked, cocked, and ready to throat punch some seps."
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Gwathdraug
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Gwathdraug »

COMMAND: IDENTITY REDACTED ACCEPTED. NEW TARGETS DESIGNATED: EXECUTE ORDER.

Imp's fingers closed about Arty's metal arm as he passed by her. The contact between the two was momentary and quickly released, but brought down far more force than simple human fingers should have as the android's plating had groaned ever so slightly. "Me. You. The gym. That's the payment for the ass grab." The words were a simple murmur that seemed like they should be a hiss but was devoid of any emoting.

Then, spinning on her heel, the specialist nodded in response to Camilla's order. "Give me forty seconds to clean up my mess and I'll be good to go."

Hooking her hand over a fallen pipe covering the debris choked side tunnel she had appeared from Imp tossed herself back amoungst the rubble. Rapid footsteps echoed back out from the passage the small marine had disappeared down. Just as the sound traveled far enough to be barely audible there was a loud, dull thud intermeshed with the high pitched ring of something colliding heavily against hollow steel. As quick as she had disappeared Imp slipped back to the group - one of her hands now splotched with fresh blood.

"Loose end is all tied up Sergeant." In her unbloodied hand the specialist was holding a wad of cloth the same colour as the Planetary Guard uniforms. With a quick scrub the cloth scrap mopped up the last of the prisoner's blood and was tossed aside.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Finally, everyone was falling into their roles. "Arty: point; Bentoo: rear." She was tempted to put Imp at the front. The woman was efficient and cold, but Camilla was concerned she might be too cold, dead inside. Those types made her just as nervous as the cowards that somehow squirm their way through combatives and into active duty. For now, she would just have to keep an eye on her.

Then a sudden thought struck her. "Dhalsim, follow Niall. They may have numbers, but I doubt they have any armor." The man nodded, face unreadable behind the helmet's tint. But she knew there was only grim determination on his face. Despite the group's banter, Dhalsim took everything very seriously. In fact, banter was a learned skill for him. He was the perfect choice to support Niall.

Once organized, the group advanced through the sewers. Her team had enough solvent left to burn through the security bars at the end, after which Camilla called a brief halt. "As soon as you're out, about-face and it's about 200 yards uphill to the armory. We'll be approaching from the south; front entrance is on the east side, and there's a secure entrance on the west side for armorers. We don't want to announce ourselves by sitting in the open, so we're taking the front. Quick and quiet, emphasis on quick. Sooner or later, they're gonna know we're coming."

Once she was sure everyone understood, she gestured toward the exit. "Go."
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Kai
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Re: [Chapter 1] Once a Marine.

Post by Kai »

With the plan known, Niall remembered that he could still contact Brownie, and had told her to wait for their signal, and so, he touched his Marine issue communicator, snd sent the pre-determined signal, and then continued with Dhalsim, making the way toward the armory as stealthily as they could. Very swiftly, it seemed like they make have been found out, as they spotted a pair of PG guards patrolling the armory, however, a sudden noise of small arms fire was heard from a different part of the base. a bit of garbled radio chatter was all it took and the pair of guards ran off, to help with whatever was causing the disturbance elsewhere.

"Awright, our distraction is now in progress," Niall let Dhalsim and the others know, "So let's hurry! Our window ain't gonna be too long, an' we need ta help tha others, too."
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