Chapter 1: Activation

[Arcticus]

Remy James Lacroix

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Remy thanked Jessia for what felt like the hundredth time since the... "conscription" for lack of a better word. The weapons lockers were stocked full and there were even a few paramedic bags. Hardly enough for all the squads in the stadium, but enough at least to get his squad armed with a few spares leftover. His squad. His squad. It was only just now dawning on him that he'd taken on the responsibility of leading other people. Into combat. Him. The man who used to steal art and hack into personal accounts and steal whatever valuable information they had and sell it. The man who was trying to go legit until an impending alien invasion conscripted him into a long-lost Core Republic army. He scoffed to himself. Maybe he'd turn that into screenplay if he survived.

 

Coming back to moment at hand, the rest of the Teams 1 and 3 were loading up on gear and weapons when he went over to the security console. He saw the controls for the security doors around the entrances. It seemed like a good idea to him to limit entrances in and out of the complex. He brought up the squad freq. and said, "Squad, I'm going to lockdown all the entrances to the stadium but two. We'll still have a way out if things get too dicey, but if any Jaretul land outside the stadium, the civilians can still take shelter inside. David, Harry. Inform the other teams and mark the locations of the open doors, they should know where the exits are too."

 

He checked all the cameras to make sure all the civilians were out before he started locking down security doors. Civilians. Wasn't he still a civilian? Technically not, he guessed, but still. He shook his head and turned toward the door. "Alright, squad, doors are locked down and I've marked down the locations of the open exits on the shared map. Let's head down to the field and see what kind of goodies the Republic gave us."

 

He headed straight for the emergency beacon, taking the most direct route he could.

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HP 15 / 15 | AC 14 

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Saves | Physical: 13 | Evasion: 12 | Mental: 13 | Status: Going through an mini identity crisis

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OOC (empty)

 

 

[Basil_Bottletop]

Harry van Damme

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Harry was wholly in his own world when the supplies fell from the sky and landed well within his view. He watched them land and settle. They sat there untouched for a long moment before Harry even fully understood what they were; he was half expecting them to explode.

 

David's movement shook him from his confusion. He was outside the room before Harry even pulled his hand away from the keyboard and rose to his feet. Nothing inside him pushed him to follow and he was left feeling like a bit of a twit for not wanting to venture down onto the pitch. His eyes scanned the breadth of the whole stadium, assuring his decision, before he sat back down and kept one eye on the screen.

Edited October 6, 2022 by SerakHawk
Striped the background color and text color from the post (see edit history)

[Colin]

Mood Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92pwZ8zUGbE

  

Whiskey-1

David made it down the stairs and out to the football pitch in a couple minutes when he moved at a run, reaching the two pods, each one looking like a pair of 200 liter drums stacked on top of each other. The ground around them was scorched and melted from braking thrusters, and when the man got close his BattleBuddy registered a IFFIdentify Friend or Foe query from the pods. His hardware authenticated automatically, and doors popped off with small hisses of compressed air to reveal the equipment within. His implanted memories came in handy, helping him recognize eight pairs of Ground Forces scout armor, along with six CR-4 rifles and two CMG-1 submachine guns. There were enough magazines for three per rifle and six per SMG, so while it wasn't a lot it was better than being completely defenseless. The problem was going to be carrying it all, from the looks of things. There weren't any bags inside, and while the armor suits were all hooked together individually they were bulky enough that hauling more than two or three would be a challenge.

 

Whiskey-3, 4, 5, and 6

Remy's activation of the security doors was confirmed on camera as they rolled down, and then one by one all doors in and out of the stadium showed red except for the two he'd left open for ingress and egress options. Even as he talked about passing the information about the open routes to squads outside of the stadium, his BattleBuddy interpreted his desires and started updating the building map and then broadcasting the change via the strengthened relay on top of the stadium. With that complete he, Radha, Maia, and Jessie were free to move up to the football pitch, and they got there shortly after David started to go through the equipment in the pods.

 

Whiskey-Two

Harry waiting in the control room let his BattleBuddy help rebroadcast Remy's tweaks to the building floorplan, but aside from that all he could do in the room is keep talking if he so desired. He did have a good vantage point at least to see the rest of the squad arriving out on the pitch to help with the equipment.

 

While gear was being sorted multiple deep, echoing sonic booms sounded overhead, and looking up would show multiple large fireballs descending towards the city. They definitely weren't kinetic strikes; they were coming in far too slow for that... But the implanted memories didn't have anything to cover this, so it must be something that was developed after the Operative program was concluded. Some anti-aircraft fire rose up from the direction of the Planetary Security base near the harbor, but the fireball heading in that direction didn't seem phased by it. It wasn't until the fireballs started to maneuver and drew closer that it became obvious they were ships, and they seemed to be coming in at a speed more suited for ramming than landing. They dipped out of sight from the stadium pitch and then the broadcast booth, and earth-shaking tremors announced their impact along with mushroom clouds rising up over the impact sites.

 

"All stations, X-Ray One, looks like the Jaretul dropped their ships as kinetic weapons! We have Jaretul on the ground! My Goddess, they dropped one on the Planetary Security base, it's just...gone..."

"This is Echo Four, we're starting to track smaller objects entering the atmosphere at this time! Multiple fireballs, looks like dozens!"

 

"Echo Four, Charlie Six, we've got some stronger optics on the objects. All stations, be advised, Jaretul drop pods inbound! They must have launched and used their ships to clear the way!"

 

[TiffanyKorta]

Jessie Mae

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Whilst she was taking part Jessie still wasn't completely sold on this whole thing, so was "helping" by sitting on a table and pointing to places where they could possibly find what they were looking for. Thing were different when the news of the drop pods coming down, thing was something she could help with weapons or now.

 

"Stay here and keep safe I'll be back as soon as I can!" she told Radha, befre deciding more direct action was needed pulling her into a big passionate kiss

 

"I'll be back to finish that later." for once she gave a little smile.

 

With that she rushed out towards the exits trying to see exactly what was going down out there.

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HP 21 / 21 | AC 17

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Saves | Physical: 12 | Evasion: 12 | Mental: 12

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[Zhuub]

Radha T'Iisby

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One moment Radha had been trying to process the sudden and near effortless destruction of her planet's defenses, and in the next the world melted away in Jessie's arm's. She felt her cheeks light up, and saw her Battle Buddy flash an alert at her sudden heart rate increase. Her brain sorted out the jumble of words and rare smile as Jessie ducked out the door. "W-Wait!" She said, several moments too late. 

 

Nowhere was safe anymore, really. And she wasn't going to be left behind. Radha tried to assess what all from the security office she could carry, and realized it would be a decent amount with her renewed leg. She grabbed one of the paramedic bags and dumped it out, nervously sticking one of the smaller shotguns and ammunition in the now empty bag. She hadn't been raised explicitly as a pacifist, but this was the closest she had been to any firearms outside of fiction. Thanks to the upload she could sense the muscle memory of unloading, loading, shouldering, cleaning this and many other weapons. But really she- Radha- had never held one before. 

 

Radha then grabbed the other paramedic sized bag full of much more familiar medical supplies, and jogged awkwardly after Jessie. She was very thankful for the Battle Buddy's ability to provide a clear route out of the underground passages of the stadium. On the pitch, her squadmates stood around two imposing metallic containers and smoldering turf. "Alright fearless leader, what's next? Do we don the armor, make our stand? Hide? I don't think what we've got here will make for a very long last stand..." 

HP 13 / 13 | AC 9

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Saves | Physical: 12 | Evasion: 13 | Mental: 12

 

[Arcticus]

Remy James Lacroix

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Remy grabbed the armor David handed him, donning the foreign object like he stayed in it 24/7. He grabbed the closest CR-4 rifle, his hands moving expertly across the weapon. He knew his way around a gun, thanks to his uncle's instruction at the summer cabin, but he wouldn't have called himself an expert. But the way his hands slid the charging handle back, while pivoting it to make sure the chamber was clear made it seem like he was an expert marksman. These battle buddies sure are wild... he mused. I wonder what else I know.

 

As the others caught up to him and David, he passed them their armor and weapons. He helped the others don and adjust their armor. As he was doing this, he saw the fireballs in sky streak overhead, followed by yet another rumble. This wasn't usual Jaretul tactics. He hoped that was the only thing that was new, but he doubted that. A knot formed in his stomach as he listened to the ensuing transmission. 

 

"Every—" He coughed. His throat felt arid and the knot felt like it was growing larger. "Squad, we got Jaretul inbound on our position. Let's grab our gear and rendezvous with with Harry and we're gonna hold the area around media booth for as long as we can. Harry and David, I want you guys to focus on playing operator. Everyone else is with me."

 

He paused for a second, chewing his next words. "None of us have trained for this. None of have ever experienced this. Our battle buddies have given us a lot of knowledge, but none of us have actually been in a full-on firefight. Stay close to each other, watch each other's back. If we work together, we can make it through this. Let's go."

 

He distributed Harry's armor and weapons between himself and squad and started running for the media booth, praying the drop pods would wait until they got into position.

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HP 15 / 15 | AC 14 

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Saves | Physical: 13 | Evasion: 12 | Mental: 13 | Status: Mentally crapping his pants, possibly physically too

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OOC (empty)

 

 

 

[Colin]

Once fully armed and armored, Maia looks over at Remy and says, “One or two of us should probably be in the security room as well. I can guard it, but I don’t really…know how to work it very well. Not my territory.”

 

Tyse steps up next to the woman as she drops CMG-1 magazines into her chest pouches and says, “I can run it, as long as you’ve got my back while I work.” Turning to look at the rest of the squad, she says, “Just make sure we know what’s coming down, okay?” The two women turn and jog towards the route down to the basement and the security room, leaving the rest of the unit to head up to the media booth and deliver the armor and weapons to Harry.

 

Outside the roar of reentry grows louder as dozens if not hundreds of drop pods come down on the city, and over their squad-only comm channel they hear, “Whiskey 5 and 7, in position.” A moment later two of those fireballs scream down inside the stadium and a triple concussive blast comes from them, pods braking hard and blowing out the windows of the media booth in the process, sending tempered glass fragments across the armored squad inside. 

 

Harry’s BattleBuddy begins cataloging reports across the boosted comms of enemy touchdowns, but very quickly there is too much chatter for him to consciously follow. On the chewed up pitch below, the squad gets their first sight of the Jaretul outside of the implanted memories. Muscular, obsidian-skinned bodies leep clear of the drop pods as the side panels blow off with the sharp bangs of explosive bolts and ejection charges, looking around with strange, alien-looking rifles to their shoulders.

 

OOC

Please make sure to hash out who is using what weapons, and you will need to track your ammo consumption. 

 

[Arcticus]

Remy James Lacroix

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Remy nodded at Maia and Tyse. "If either of you think you might be overrun, you abandon position and try to string them along the tunnels. Head for one of the other squads if you can't reach us. We'll regroup later."

 

He went to each member of the squad and checked their equipment. Partially because it was ingrained behavior from the Battle Buddy, partially to calm his own nerves. This might be the worst part of it all. The waiting.

 

No sooner had Maia and Tyse confirmed their position when Remy saw the drop pods screaming through the sky toward them. Remy shouted "incoming" and threw himself against the windowed wall of the media room as they crashed to the field below. He'd never once had to shout "incoming" before in his entire life, but saying it felt natural to him, like he'd rehearsed the drill a thousand times over. The thud of the pods hitting the ground reverberated in his chest as the glass windows shattered over him.

 

He poked his head over the window's ledge to survey the situation beyond. A knot formed in his stomach, as he fought back the wave of nausea that washed over him. He knew what the Jaretul were thanks to the Battle Buddy, but this was the first time he'd seen one in the flesh.

 

It was terrifying.

 

As the the hulking black figures of the Jaretul emerged from the pods, Remy whispered through the squad channel. "Hold fire until they start moving our direction. We're command and control right now. We don't want to draw their attention right away." He paused and added, "We're on a prime piece of real estate. If they want to take it from us, we're going to make them regret it."

 

"Harry, let the other squads know we need them to keep attention off of us and keep them in the open as long as possible. If they're going to be overrun, retreat to the tunnels beneath the stadium. We can set up chokepoints down there."

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HP 15 / 15 | AC 15 Ammo: 21/21

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Saves | Physical: 13 | Evasion: 12 | Mental: 13 | Status: Remy's inner thoughts

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OOC

 

@Colin Remy is grabbing a CR-4 rifle with as many mags as he can fit on his person. He'll also have one of the shotguns staged next to the window for close quarters combat.

 

He is also trying to stay out of sight as best he can while keeping an eye on the Jaretul on the field. If they make a move toward the media room, he fully intends to light them before they get to the bleachers.

 

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Arcticus (see edit history)

[Basil_Bottletop]

Harry van Damme

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Just as he'd started to get a handle on this whole circus, the blitzkrieg of new information flooded in to his Battlebuddy as crews found drop pods, checkpoints, and other quasi-important things around the area. It joined his untrained eye, his rushed hand, and his bad viewing angle with the audio program for poor results. A loud audible mic squeak rang out over the intercoms. It was a short blast, but it was absolute. He'd been standing at the desk and splitting his time between the screen and watching the troops on the pitch. The squeak pulled him entirely to the computer screen at waist level. He plopped down into his seat, losing some visibility on the stadium for a moment.

 

When he heard the clattering sounds of people traversing the stands near him, he tore himself away again. A moment later, he was eye to eye with the crew that had just been down on the pitch. He didn't realize until now that he'd been plastered to the computer long enough for them to climb all the way up here. Gear is tossed unceremoniously on the desk nearby, and Harry looks at it with suspicion before looking back at the computer with newfound longing. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" He said exasperated. David heard the question and moved into the booth and around the others who were hovering nearby. 

 

It was David that helped Harry get his gear in place. The two men said nothing of substance as they double-teamed the task. Once moderately done, the two men seemed to understand that everyone needed some space again. Harry returned to the computer but before he could sit down, the incoming pods crashed through the atmosphere. Harry watched in horror. His comms channel exploded again. His eyes looked down at the aliens appearing out of the pods while he continued to listen to the garbled terror flowing in to his ears; it was straight out of a bad movie. 

 

"Yeah, sure." He said flatly in response to Remy. He lingered in his standing position a moment longer before falling hard into the desk chair. broken glass crunched and tinkled everywhere. He picked up the keyboard and shook it violently before slamming it back down and typing something into the command prompt on the audio program. Then his hand found the mouse and he was clicking through a series of windows again.

 

"They landed, everyone." The fake jovial tone in his voice was forced now to its limits. "Play the way you're facing, fall back if you have to. I'll be goalkeeper here, help me keep the ball out of the Onion Bag and I'll make sure we get to the final whistle. I've got a few sweepers, so just be my strikers."

Edited November 1, 2022 by Basil_Bottletop (see edit history)

[TiffanyKorta]

Jessie Mae

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Jessie had always been taught to use the weapon at hand and with weapons generally frowned upon she'd learned to realy on her smarts and her fists (and often so many knives). Given the opertunity she'd taken it completely and quickly put on some scout armour, though the coat went over the top, because it was a good coat and people deserved to see it!

 

Holstering a pistol, and pulling some knives, stealth until the opertunity arrose, she began to hug the walls and keep quiet keeping out an eye for the apparent foe they were here to face.

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HP 21 / 21 | AC 17

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Saves | Physical: 12 | Evasion: 12 | Mental: 12

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[Colin]

Mood Music

Home - Prismo

 

A total of twelve Jaretul emerge from the two pods, spreading out in two groups as they sweep their rifles across the the empty stands. From what Harry is hearing on the area comms Four Whiskey is hardly the only squad with problems, and none of the other squads sound like they are in a position to return to the stadium anytime soon. During the discussion in the sound booth the Jaretul seemed to focus on two ground exits from the field into the building itself, and then one of the nightmarish monsters pauses and looks up at the sound booth.

 

The creature must have communicated something, because the other five around it focus on the location of most of Four Whiskey and six rifles come up in an almost synchronized manner. The tempered glass of the booth blows out under a barrage of rifle fire, and with that barrier gone it is possible to hear faint, sharp whining bursts from those weapons cycling as well as the supersonic crack of the shots entering the booth. Most likely the Jaretul are using some type of EM driver-basedElectromagnetic driver, aka railgun or coilgun. rifles, but the implanted memories don’t have any records of projectile weapons. Fortunately the squad members are far enough away to make the shots difficult.

 

While the one group tears apart the booth’s front wall and ceiling, the other dashes out of sight into the stadium on the side closest to Four Whiskey.

 

CRS Acacia - Ground Strategic Control - 36th Fleet, Task Force 225

“ -key, Acac-“

 

The Battle Buddies of the squad catch a small burst of communication from high orbit, a sign that the voice from the ship earlier had started to reach range to resume communication. Almost in response, light streaks into the sky presumably form the out of sight Jaretul ships that had dropped hard from orbit. A few seconds later the signal comes through clearly, the mezzo soprano talking in the measured, calm tone familiar to first responders and military members worlds over.

 

CRS Acacia - Ground Strategic Control - 36th Fleet, Task Force 225

“Four Whiskey, Acacia. Be advised, your location has been designated as a temporary LZ at this time. I have eyes on the Jaretul landings in your AO, routing Four Golf to your location to backstop you. Dropships inbound, ETA one five mikes. Hold fast Four Whiskey, help is on the way.”

 

 

OOC

Block initiative being rolled to keep things simple. Everyone gets a round before we’re in combat, figure out what each of you is doing to prepare to receive your visitors. Questions in Discord for surroundings, I’ll update this OOC tag as required for theater of the mind.

 

[Arcticus]

Remy James Lacroix

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Well... thought Remy. There goes that plan.

 

Shots crashed into the ceiling above him. Everything around him was happening in slow motion. He felt disconnected from his body, as though he was inhabiting someone else's body and not his own. He didn't feel afraid, just... numb? He tried to move away from the window, but it felt like his body was rooted in place.

 

A thump sounded as a shot came hit near his position just a bit too close for comfort. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts, as his mind returned to awareness. The Jaretul were bounding their way forward into the stadium and would likely be on their positions in maybe 30 seconds. He needed to make a decision. Fast. Either they stay and hold the booth or fallback to somewhere a little less confined. This booth was holding up surprisingly well, but for how long? There was only one exit from this room, that would likely be blocked by Jaretul in a few moments. There was the window but that was taking heavy fire from the other squad that would undoubtedly be moving up as well, tightening the kill box. He didn't relish the idea of being surrounded.

 

He growled in frustration. Yeah, Jaretul were designed for war and were the ultimate killing machines, but did they have to screw up his plan and compromise the squads position so quickly? If they'd opened fire immediately, maybe they would've held this position a little while, but he made the wrong call. Knowing that only made him more frustrated. But he knew he couldn't dwell on it.

 

There was only one right answer now. Stay mobile and fall back.

 

"Tyse. Maia. Heads up. Jaretul are entering the tunnels. Keep your heads on a swivel and don't be heroes. Our position in the booth is compromised. We're falling back to your positions."

 

"David, Jessie, Harry, you guys are Alpha Team. Me and Radha are Bravo Team. We're falling back to the Security Room. Jaretul are closing in so go fast and go hard. Column formation, alternate bounds. Bravo will provide cover first. Keep your spacing."

 

He slung the shotgun over his shoulder as he headed toward the door and peeked out checking the concourse beyond. ***This is assuming there's no Jaretul immediately outside the door. If there is, he's just shooting at it with his rifle. He steps through the doorway, rifle up and ready, and takes a kneeling position outside the door to the left. He waves for Alpha team to start moving.

 

 

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HP 15 / 15 | AC 15 Ammo: 21/21

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Saves | Physical: 13 | Evasion: 12 | Mental: 13 | Status: Improvising, Adapting and Trying to Overcome

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OOC

 

@Colin Remy is holding his Main Action to shoot at the first Jaretul that comes into sight.

 

 

[Basil_Bottletop]

Harry van Damme

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Whatever Harry was doing, he forgot it instantly. The shots into the booth were so jarring that his fingers stopped moving mid-click and he couldn't even use muscle memory to finish whatever task he had started. The delay almost cost him more than his functional synapsis too, before he realized he should take cover. His saving grace was likely the big monitors that skewed the view of both sides. 

 

Crouched down between the chair and the desk, Harry glanced upward at the monitor. It was blank and shards of plastic suggested something had decided to forcibly move from one side of the monitor to the other without going around. The lights of the CPU were still lit up, but any chance of messing with the program running were nil without finding a new monitor. Regardless, he felt some of the others shuffling about nearby and he gave up the ghost on working the radio any longer.

 

Remy's commands seemed as good as any. His hand slipped over the lip of the desk and grabbed the forgotten gun he'd laid next to the keyboard. The weight caught him in the chest as it fell free from the desk, but he recovered quickly. Harry scrambled over to join David and Jessie before moving in a cluster out into the hallway.

[TiffanyKorta]

Jessie Mae

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Jessie flattened herself against a wall as she considered her options. Whilst she'd been in more fights than she could fight, gun fights were remakably rare. But she knew that they went nothing like what you saw in the vids, if she stood a chance against an armed trooper she'd need to catch they unaware, more than one and she would probably be in trouble.

 

Dropping down slightly, hopefully out of there eyeline, she peered around the corner to see where they were and if they're would be an oppertuity to ambush them. With all that in place hopefully the prophet would be on her side today, if not she'd have a few question for her in the afterlife...

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HP 21 / 21 | AC 17

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Saves | Physical: 12 | Evasion: 12 | Mental: 12

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