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Post by Dr. Jessica Saturina on May 20, 2005 23:00:24 GMT -5
We arrived at our destination, Captain Maxwell proceeded to brief us on the base and its securities. We all listened carefully.
With the weather on the planet and the fact we came with only the weapons we could carry on us, it would prove to be a difficult mission, but nothing we couldnt handle. Once we arrived at our drop point we all stood, lining up quickly to disembark the ship quickly and efficiently. General Murlance and I were the last of the crew to jump, then came the equipment.
My leap to the planets surface was successful and uneventful. Once standing up I looked around to secure the area, did a mental head count, making sure everyone was present and standing. I then made my way over to General Murlance
Motioning to him, checking to make sure he was alright. He gave a thumbs up, I returned it.
Okay, split into your assigned groups. Once in your group, check your gear and radios. We are in a hostile area now folks so keep your weapons ready, but don't fire unless your spotted.
We then went to our assigned group, checking our weapons and other gear, testing the radio as, Captain Maxwell had ordered.
Captain Dillingers voice came over the radio Captain Maxwell, I'll see you on the inside. I'll contact you once we have entered the facility. My group, let's move out. Stay sharp, this tunnel is sure to have some surprises.
Everyone was checked and ready to go. The mission was on its way. I would have to just wait and take my ques from the General.
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Post by MechWarrior Sergei Zhukov on May 23, 2005 10:21:51 GMT -5
My mind kept going back to the message I received. It was rather unexpected, but I knew of one person on this mission that would like to know who it was from. I wasn't too sure that I could do what was asked of me, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to either.
Unfortunately, he wasn't in our group and until we ran into one another, I had until then to decide.
Sgt. Zhukov, look alive!
My apologies sir. There's just a lot on my mind.
I understand, but your carelessness almost cost us the element of surprise and your life.
To my horror I saw anti-personnel mines scattered about the tunnel. Looking down at my boots I saw that I had nearly stepped on one.
I wiped the sweat off my brow and continued on.
I think I'm going to do it...
I could hear the wind howling near the end of the tunnel. Commander Dillenger was leading a path that we were all careful to follow exactly.
Unless he dies before then...That would make it easier.
Unless more people know about it already...
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Post by Star Captain Killian Bekker on May 23, 2005 11:05:44 GMT -5
As we made our way through the tunnel, the last 50 meters were mined. No other defences were setup yet, but the mines were enough to ruin any plans for a decent attack. Unfortunately, they hadn't counted on a smaller force intent on infiltration.
As we entered the minefield, I noticed that Sgt. Zhukov wasn't "all there". I called out to him.
Sgt. Zhukov, look alive!
My apologies sir. There's just a lot on my mind.
I understand, but your carelessness almost cost us the element of surprise and your life.
His expression went from confusion, to horror to a more determined look. Satisfied that he'd be okay from here on out I went back to lacing my team safely through the mines.
Something about the Sergeant wasn't right. I decided to inform Capt. Maxwell.
Bishop-1 to Bishop-2 on a secure line.
Go ahead. It's just you and me Bishop-1.
There's something wrong with Sgt. Zhukov. He seems distracted, more so than the others. I'm not to sure we can trust him. Let's keep close tabs on him just in case.
I'm not to sure why you think he's not trustworthy. I've seen no indication that suggests he has an ulterior motive. However, I'll keep close tabs just in case. Bishop-2 out.
Capt. Maxwell was right, he seemed more likely to an ally rather than an enemy, but sometimes you just get that nagging feelling that you hope isn't true.
As we exited the tunnel, we found ourselves on a cliffs edge. We snuck along a narrow ledge until we were in an area that was ideal to climb down. This put us just inside the base. The terrain here was deadly, which is why it seemed that there were little defenses yet to be emplaced here.
Bishop-1 reporting that we have successfully entered the base.
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Post by General John "Aegis" Murlance on May 23, 2005 12:35:47 GMT -5
Zhukov seemed aloof - and nervous. Very nervous.
It wasn't the sort of "nerves" one develops during the early stages of a mission - no, his seemed more along the type of nerves that accompany a man ridden with some level of guilt - or something to hide.
As I made my way against the clumsily-rigged booby traps that had still nearly cost us all our lives, my eyes followed the contour of the cavern's floor to the eventual exit, beyond which a splash of starry sky on a frozen tundra awaited.
Dillenger was the first to exit, followed by the balance of the team, with Commander Black Mamba, Sergeant Zhukov, and myself bringing up the rear. As Zhukov and I arrived at the cave's exit, he stopped, and hesitated nervously.
"You...you go ahead...s-sir. I'll bring up the...the rear."
Something was definitely afoot.
"Sergeant - are you certain you've got your wits about you? Excuse me for being blunt, but you're a hair's breadth away from coming across like a walking disaster area today."
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on May 23, 2005 12:45:45 GMT -5
The twin snowmobiles tore across the arctic tundra, sending plumes of snow billowing skyward as their weatherproofed treads churned away at the million-year-old glacial ice beneath them. Since the shuttle's cargo hold had been nearly full, we'd had to settle for two of the vehicles, and as a result, our squad had doubled up between the two. Corporal Kintaru now rode with his back to me, keeping an eye on our six, while I squinted against the billowing snow, trying to follow the nav point projected on my eyepiece. Captain Gunman and Sergeant Holms Net flanked us, their seating arrangement similar to our own.
Eventually, we arrived at the top of the precipice from which we would be making our descent. As I began to power the snowmobile down, Kintaru suddenly gave a yell.
"Captain! To the west! What's that?"
We dismounted the vehicle as Captain Gunman and Sergeant Holms Net crunched to a stop behind us. Kintaru pointed to an off-white shape, slumped in the snow just a few yards away from our current nav point. He gave an uncertain shrug as I glanced at him, and so I drew my plasma pistol from its holster, and thumbed the safety off.
Advancing slowly toward the shape, its identity was quickly revealed.
"A parachute?"
Telltale tracks, leading up to the edge of the cliff, as well as a recently-cut rappel line, completed the puzzle.
"Yes, Corporal...it would appear...we have company."
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Nicholas Schuster
Regular
DECEASED
"Blakists are like a virus. And WE are the cure."
Posts: 139
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Post by Nicholas Schuster on May 23, 2005 13:04:46 GMT -5
Inside the installation...
The guard slumped lifelessly to the floor, a ferrosteel bolt impaled firmly into the base of his skull, blood pooling beneath his left ear. I dropped silently to the ground, and re-holstered the miniature rail gun.
Poor bastard. Hope he took out life insurance.
Coming in through the steam vent had been an incredibly good bit of mission planning by the Command, though dealing with the optical grid had proven interesting. The Blakist bastard now bleeding out on the frozen concrete had been the only resistance I had encountered thus far, but in my paranoia, I had heavily booby-trapped the face of the cliff, as well as the stem vent, with an assortment of goodies that would keep the Blakists busy for a good while...if they ever figured out I was even here.
Crouch-walking a short distance, I arrived at my next nav point - a conduit that ran the length of the complex branch I was currently in. The conduit was packed with data cables, power transfer lines, and plumbing pipes, and was never intended to be occupied by anything larger than a maintainance droid, but there was just enough room for a small-framed human to squeeze through, if there was ever a need.
And right now, there was most assuredly a need.
My portable plasma cutter made short work of the PVC-rubber sheath that encapsulated the conduit, and in under a minute, I had fashioned a nice breach through which I was able to squeeze. Working my way into the confined space, I belly-crawled another twenty meters or so before I reached the third objective - a maintainance interface panel. Prying its cover open, I connected the field computer strapped to my arm directly to its motherboard.
Time to play...
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Post by MechWarrior Sergei Zhukov on May 23, 2005 13:33:39 GMT -5
Sergeant - are you certain you've got your wits about you? Excuse me for being blunt, but you're a hair's breadth away from coming across like a walking disaster area today.
I nearly panicked like a green pilot in the face of imminent combat. I would give myself away if I kept acting like a blundering fool.
I'm sorry sir. Not having a few tons of armor to cover my hide is getting to me. Even though I served in the militia, I was always in a tank. I've never done anything on foot before.
I hoped that my lie would go over well. In fact before I was allowed to operate a tank I was a combat engineer. Something I'm sure Captain Maxwell might be aware of even though I conveniently left that out of my dossier.
You'll do fine if you stop being so high strung. Relax some. You'll do fine.
There was a hint of something in his voice that carried a more serious tone. It came across as more like a parent scolding a child with words that weren't quite as blunt.
Yes sir.
The reward has better be worth it if I go through with this.
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Post by Holms Net on May 23, 2005 14:50:52 GMT -5
We made our way closer to this parachute. There seemed to be no signs of whoever used it was, or who he worked for. We looked about, trying to find anything we could. I went up to the footsteps, and examined them, perhaps there being something to find. Considering there was one parachute, we could assume there was only one person, so not much to worry about in the way of enemies, unless there aws some hidden motive in the parachute, like some sort of radar linking up to the base.
Nah, couldn't be, the facility couldn't of been here that long...
As I had said that, it occured to me that these footprints would of had to be fresh, if they were still noticeable with the weather. Whoever they were, though, we didn't know about them. Or, at least I didn't... there are just some things people keep to themselves, though. Especially this Kintaru guy. I glanced over to see Kintaru checking out the area. I quickly looked back down at the footprins, so as to not seem suspicious.
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on May 23, 2005 16:39:16 GMT -5
I crouched down, inspecting the parachute carefully. The threads and the way the fabric appeared stronger than usual. This was a parachute made for rough entries. A few metres away from the chute I noticed the splash zone were the “para-trooper” had dropped in. Even though there was a rough blizzard kicking about, it still told me everything we needed to know. It was a clean splash indicating we were dealing with an expert. If this guy had managed to create such a small splash in this blizzard he HAD to be a professional. As I was about to get up and report my findings to Ben, I noticed Sergeant Net peaking at me. More likely he was inspecting me. Of course this was justified, I had never had any dealings with this gentleman and I being the quiet character that I am, he had every right to be suspicious. As soon as I began hinting at turning, he looked away “inspecting” the snow. I gave a light chuckle and walked over to Ben, who was having quick words with Gunman.
“Bishop - 2… we are dealing with a professional. Without a doubt” I said giving him a “follow me” sigh with my hand. Crouching by the chute, I gave it a hard tug. The fabric did not adhere to my strength and remained tightly woven.
“Our guy had the right equipment to do a job sir and if you look over here…” I added, walking towards the splash spot.
“He also managed to create a minor splash insertion… in THIS weather. Even though the blizzard has covered this up slightly, you can still see he kept very low on his descent. When he landed, he kept he knees together and allowed a slight pivot…” I imitated the splash. Landing I then said:
“… thus allowing a very silent and near invisible landing” I finished, standing up. Maxwell looked over the splash zone and chute.
“This is very suspicious… very suspicious indeed” He said in a grimace tone. Maxwell then walked over to the cliff edge and inspected the cut rappel line. He gave a hard tug on the remaining tether, indicating the fabric was also tightly woven for use in extreme conditions.
“Could our “professional” perhaps be on our side, the WOB’s or from a third party?” Gunman said surveying the area for any clues. Maxwell replied with another shrug.
I went back to inspecting the chute, still very curious of what the fabric was indeed…
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Post by Dr. Jessica Saturina on May 23, 2005 20:36:52 GMT -5
Our trek through the tunnel was not an especially hard one, there were mines planted, but none that we couldn't navigate. This one guy was making me really nervous though. I didn't know his name right off hand, but he seemed very nervous or maybe had his mind elsewhere, which in this situation could be very dangerous for him and everyone around him. I was just about to say something to him when I seen him about to place his foot on one of the mines when I heard Captain Dillenger
Sergeant Zhukov, look alive!
My apologies sir. There's just a lot on my mind.
I understand, but your carelessness almost cost us the element of surprise and your life.
I was glad someone in charge had noticed, I don't like to overstep my boundaries of command, but when it comes to keeping everyone safe, I would have.
We finally reached the end of the tunnel, I was towards the end of the line, when I heard Sergeant Zhukov and the General exchange words
"You...you go ahead...s-sir. I'll bring up the...the rear."
General Murlance didn't look like he felt secure with this
"Sergeant - are you certain you've got your wits about you? Excuse me for being blunt, but you're a hair's breadth away from coming across like a walking disaster area today."
The Sergeant looked, for a moment, like a trapped animal, then replied
I'm sorry sir. Not having a few tons of armor to cover my hide is getting to me. Even though I served in the militia, I was always in a tank. I've never done anything on foot before.
You'll do fine if you stop being so high strung. Relax some. You'll do fine.
Yes, sir
I gave a signal to General Murlance that asked him if everything was ok, he gave me a thumbs up, so I went on my way through the end of the tunnel, but I kept a sharp eye out on the Sergeant, he was still making me feel uneasy
We all followed along the cliffs edge quickly, just as quickly climbing down the side of the cliff. We were now inside the base, I smiled to myself
Things should get very interesting from now on......
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on May 24, 2005 7:40:31 GMT -5
A closer examination revealed still no traces of the origin of the gear that had been left behind. I was becoming very leery, especially given that whoever had beaten us to the planet's surface inserted in the exact location we would now be travelling through. Had any more favorable options presented themselves, I certainly would not have been slow to take them, but as it was, we had not choice but to press onward.
I dropped onto my stomach and made my way to the edge of the cliff, peering down into the base with my binoculars.
"The base's defended exactly as Intel reported." I murmered, as Kintaru and Holms Net also edged forward to join me. "No sign of anything unusual."
"By unusual, I assume you mean, 'other than the fact that there's a WoB installation out here in the middle of nowhere'?" Captain Gunman quipped, arriving to join us.
I chuckled, and simply nodded.
"Alright. We're going to have to proceed with our descent, but let's be extremely careful, gentlemen. I've advised Captain Dillenger's squad of our situation, and he's aware of our heightened alert level. Hopefully this isn't anything major - but let's not get complacent."
With that said, the four of us rigged our climbing gear, and began a quick, but controlled, descent into the installation.
About halfway down, as I made a "springboard" landing on the glacier's face at the end of a rappelling arc, my foot made contact with a metallic object embedded in the ice. I quickly slammed my arms forward against the snowy projection and stopped my descent, glancing down at the object my boot had connected with.
It was an anti-armor mine - the old-fashioned type - pressure activated - but with a twist. It didn't posess a simple "on/off" setup, where pressure meant 'no explosion', and the release of pressure meant 'explosion.' Rather, this device was painstakingly calibrated to detonate at the moment any fluctuation in the current amount of pressure being applied took place. It was designed specifically to kill. And I had just initiated Stage I of the detonation sequence.
Damnit!
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Nicholas Schuster
Regular
DECEASED
"Blakists are like a virus. And WE are the cure."
Posts: 139
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Post by Nicholas Schuster on May 24, 2005 8:08:49 GMT -5
Meanwhile...
A subtle green light began flashing on my wrist computer. I couldn't help but smile grimly as I mulled over the chaos that must have been taking place on the surface, as I continued my illicit entry into the Blakist computer network. When I descended into the base, I had peppered the glacier's face with spring-launched anti-armor mines - not that I thought anything armor-class was going to be rappelling down the cliff, but I wanted to ensure that anything less than a 'Mech would not survive the drop. Evidently, someone, or something, had just encountered the first of them.
I wasn't worried about the Blakists being alerted by the explosion. They would immediately suspect that outside forces were attempting an incursion into their base, and move to defend their perimeter, making my job that much easier.
A feeble chirp from my computer indicated a successful bypass of the proxy server shielding me from the inner workings of the installation's LAN. I smiled. Even Star League-era technology had exploitable weaknesses.
Now that I was in, some of the base's lower-level functions were mine to manipulate. I couldn't access higher functions, such as weapons or security, from my current vantage point - that would have to wait until I could interface with a more privilaged terminal - but a certain amount of havoc could be wreaked from this location as well.
I began by activating the outlets for the steam vent I had just entered through. The base's boilers had been dormant for nearly a hundred years, but they responded to my activation command, their fusion-powered fires igniting quickly, sending near-boiling water throughout the installation's water mains. I wasn't concerned with the sudden plume of steam I knew the Blakists would be seeing on the surface shortly. After all, what insurgent wouldn't appreciate a hot shower?
The other advantage to this act, besides the obvious hygenic revolution that this would most likely cause, was that anyone now trying to follow in my footsteps would literally have the flesh burned off of them if they were foolish enough to try descending through the vent.
I decided to see what other fun preventative measures could be taken before I moved on to my next task...
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Post by Holms Net on May 24, 2005 14:55:39 GMT -5
As Kintaru, Gunman, and myself looked to see what we that metal "clang" was, we saw the look of 'oh, in the name of... time to run' in Captain Maxwell's eyes. We glanced down to see an anti-armor mine right below him, obviously having been just activated.
"Hmm... I suppose that blinking isn't good.."
Considering this wasn't the best time for a joke, we all just kind of stared at the mine. There was no way we could let it explode, as it would give away our position... if we died, we'd at least give the other people some cover. Then again, it wouldn't be horribly great to have both Captain's die.
I quickly took a step up closer to the mine. It must have had a delayed reaction, probably intended to just kill whoever stepped on it in pain of knowing they were going to die. Although, the amount of time we had could of just been the pure last few seconds of our lives trudging on, as most people's lives would... erm... you could assume, at least.
I wasn't really wanting to die, though, so I took a quick leap next to the mine and bent down, seeing if I could disarm it. Whatever kind of mine it was, there was no identification of who made it that I could see, but identifying things wasn't exactly my forte. However, I could tell that it wasn't any kind of technology I had seen, at least not for a long time. Of course, things happen when your life is in danger that make you crazy, so it could have been a Legionnaire mine and I wouldn't of known. It occured to me thinking wasn't going to do any good, so I further attempted to disarm it. Fortunatly, even a direct explosion wouldn't kill me if I had placed my armor right... which I sure hoped I did. Although, chances are I wouldn't make it much longer if I did get hit at that close range.
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on May 24, 2005 17:44:48 GMT -5
I rappelled below Maxwell and opposite Holmes. Holmes looked long and hard at the mine, trying to think of a way to disarm it. I could tell Maxwell was beginning to feel strain on his leg. God help him if he got cramp. The Sergeant, after what seemed like an agonising eternity, finally found a small hatch located at the bottom of the mine. In this blizzard it was near impossible to see, but thanks to Holmes’ keen eye he managed to find it. However, this wasn’t a time for celebration. The tiny hatch door was only half shown; the other half was buried in the glacial side of the cliff. This meant that someone was going to have to bury under the hatch, VERY gently so that the mine would not detonate. The Sergeant and I glanced at each other. Without any words we knew what to do. As I produced a small bladed dagger, Holmes reached for a small device similar to a Swiss Army Knife. I began the pain staking task of borrowing under the mine while Holmes prepared his screwdriver. After digging away gently at the ice that clung onto the mine like cellophane to glass, I successfully managed to give Holmes enough to remove the hatch completely. I nodded to Holmes to start his work. Resting back on my rappel cord, I gave a huge sigh of relief. Looking up I noticed Gunman exchanging words with Ben. It sounded like he was trying to comfort him. It sounded like he was preparing Ben for the worst.
Another metallic click startled me. Spinning my head to Holmes I noticed he had released the hatch, revealing the inner shaft of the mine. My heart was still pounding away; for a second I had thought someone else had stepped on a similar mine. Holmes moved over to get a closer look at the inner workings of the trap.
“Shit…”he said, just below a murmur.
“Is it bad?” I whispered back hoping Maxwell didn’t hear.
“This is very complicated. This isn’t a case of “cut the blue wire” here” ” Holmes replied, sounding a little desperate and short on ideas. Taking a quick look I didn’t see any wires at all. I only saw a circuit board with two LED’s on it. The first one “green” was not emitting any light. The second LED “red” was emitting light brightly. In the land of common sense, this was not good. Suddenly Ben gave way. Cramp must of set in. We all tried to scramble away from the device as it made deafening “bleeps”. After 3 loud bursts of sound, and as everyone scrambled as far away from the trap… smoke appeared. There was silence. Well, other than the howling winds of the blizzard which had masked the “bleep” sounds from the WoB’s. Holmes was the first to creep back to the mine. He very slowly ducked under the bomb, squinted and gave out a slight laugh.
“Boys… we have ourselves a dud” he said still chuckling. Ben still remained in the same position he was in just after cramp. His face was screwed like a fist. A few seconds later it relaxed and he looked down. The small area that myself and Gunman had scuttled across to wouldn’t have provided any protection at all. This was mainly because it was two foot away.
We all let out a huge sigh of relief. After a couple minutes of rest, we carried on our descend.
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Post by Captain Adam "Gunman" Wolf on May 24, 2005 18:03:21 GMT -5
Rappelling down the glacier edge with Captain Maxwell directly below me, and Kintaru and Holms above and slightly to either side, I listened to the gentle clap of the MAG-18 thumping against my armoured thigh, securely holstered at my hip. The sudden mechanical relay sound, caused me to abruptly stop as I looked down, a faint blinking could be seen coming out from underneath Captain Maxwell's foot. Not Good.... I though to my self.
Rappelling over to the side a little farther, I dropped down slowly to the other side of Maxwell as Holms lowered down as well. Carefully watching for any additional mines as I came closer to Maxwell's foot. Examining the mine with Sargeant Holms Net, I wasn't able to identify it anymore than what Maxwell probably already knew. A pressure activated mine where any variation in pressure will cause a rather unforgiving explosion, even my heavy combat armour would be lucky to survive the brunt of that blast, there had to be another way to get out of this prediciment.
Upon further examination I noticed a few small cross hatch marks lightly molded into the sides of the mine, barely visible against the edge of the ice. The hatch marks appeared to form a small pattern of arrows, pointing outwards from the ice wall. Turning up to Maxwell I said through my comm unit.
Maxwell, it appears your in quite the predicament here. But I believe I may have found a way out for you,where you keep all your appendages intact. There are some small hatch markings that seem to indicate arrows pointing away from the ice wall's surface. I believe the mine is a directional blast. If we can haul you straight up the glacier's face quickly enough, which shouldn't be too hard with all three of us pulling you, you should be clear of the majority of the blast before the mine detonates. Only problem would be the obvious attention an explosion half way down the glacier will cause.
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