Athena IC

[Very Bahram]

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Outdoor Firing Range
Zarathushtra Reynder

Zarathushtra nodded. The introductions were going quite well, and he was the host. That was where the pride that Zara felt came from: for he had never had introductions run smoothly unless his brother was host.

He realised that Sage had shook hands with his brother and he hurried to introduce his sister, stumbling slightly as the loudspeakers began to echo, ''Yellow Alert. Yellow Alert. Small mission in progress. Following operatives, please meet with your given weapons in Hangar Two in ten minutes. The operatives in question are: Spec. Alexander Salamanca with a Sniper Rifle, Sgt. Masato Fukutsu with a carbine, Sgt. Aaron Johnson with an assault rifle, Sgt. Sophie Dieppe with a PDW, led by 2Lt. Hallbjorn Thorsson with a LMG. That is all,''

He recovered and began again, "Sage, this is my sister, Zsofia Reynder, we call her Karin. Karin, this is Sage."

---

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Outdoor Firing Range
Zsofia Reynder

Zsofia, or Karin as most call her, stepped forward to greet Sage, smiling in attempt to cover her brothers stumble.

"Pleased to meet you," She too held her hand out in greeting.

[West Aurelia]

"So comrade Ivanov, how are you this evening?" It still felt weird working with people who had technically been his enemy 48 hours ago, but if the aliens didn't care what nationality it victims were, who was he to care what nationality the man fighting next to him was. "Lets see now, severe burns to your left calf do to alien weaponry. Well the good news is that we don't have any infection or other complications. Is there anything I can get you?"

Oosterscheldekering
Medical Bay
Corporal Valentin Ivanov

---

Valentin looked up from his food as someone addressed him. Comrade Ivanov? A bald, bearded man had approached his bed. He had never seen him before, but the man somehow knew his name. From his accent and the way he had addressed him, Valentin assumed he was one of the base's resident Russians.

"It hurts like hell, but the quality of the food makes up for the discomfort," Valentin joked. "I need some water actually, but I don't want to trouble you." He called one of the nurses over and requested a glass of water.

"I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting, but it looks like you know my name. Corporal Valentin Ivanov," he added just in case, extending his hand. "Russian, I presume?"

[Altito Asmoro]

Oosterscheldekering
Cafeteria
Lance Corporal Lei Chen

His first mission was pretty hard. They had 2 wounded men, 1 was very stupid with charging forward, although that is what he most likely does if it was him, seeing that he tends to risks himself. On the other hand, beside from that man, others are fairly competent, even with the recruit one, new soldier. Fresh from their barracks down to the harsher barracks. How fun.

He's at the cafeteria, after unloaded his equipments, weapons, and armor. A quick shower was needed, but for now he headed straight to the cafeteria, and picked up curry. Indian curry, to be precise. He looked for an empty table, put down his food and his glass of cold water, and he started to took a bite and ate the rest of his food.

[Isle of Lithonia]

Lance Corporal Jessica Kiersten
Hangar 2

When the Lieutenant finished, Jessica headed into the V-44 and found a seat. Holding her carbine towards the ground, she leaned back in her chair, stretching out her back. This sounded like it could be a long ride, and she wasn't one for sitting on her ass. A sigh escaped her lips, and she began tapping her fingers on her thigh.

When the silence merely continued, she decided to make some use of her time. Taking out her magazine, she cycled the carbine several times, inspecting it to ensure that all was as it should be. Everything flowed smoothly, so she replaced the magazine. Next she took her pistol, doing the same. All was well there.

Next she checked her suits systems. Nothing seemed amiss there.

Honestly, she was almost disappointed. If there had been a problem, she would have had at least something to work on while flying. As it was, things were quite dull, with or without a speech from Lieutenant Thorsson. If only they'd just fucking arrive already..

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Medical Bay
Alexi Volnovsky

Alexi took the mans hand in a firm hand shake. "Sergeant Alexi Volnovsky. Yes I'm Russian. No I'm not the heavy weapons guy, and no I didn't name my gun Sasha" he replied. "I named it Elena if you truly want to know" he finished with a smile. "As for how I knew your name. Well, It be kind of hard to use medical reports if they didn't say who they were about. As for your leg, well that's going to hurt for a little bit considering that you suffered third degree burns to it."

"So Valentin Ivanov, I take it someone in your family comes from the Rodina?"

[Rob Halfordia]

Hallbjorn stood up from his seat on the aircraft, and prepared to address his team, his helmet in his arm by his side. He had never led a team, but there had to be a first time for everything. Speaking in his deep baritone, covered in a light Swedish accent, he addressed his troops, "Alright everyone, this is going to be the first time we have faced anything like this, but, we are all here for a reason. We are here because we are the most skilled soldiers humanity has to offer. There is damn near no intel on whatever the hell it is that we're facing, aside from the fact it's big, and it's nasty. That means, losses are likely, and I doubt we're going to come out of this without anyone being wounded. Frankly, I'm terrified, but, that's not a bad thing. Fear helps us remain careful, and it keeps us alert. In my experience, those who claim to not fear death often find it knocking on their door. Fear is what keeps us alive, it's what makes us look back when we hear something behind us. But, don't let the fear panic you, let it keep you on your toes, and make the fear work for you, not against you. But, on top of all that, let's show that motherfucking ET why you don't fuck with humanity, and you don't fuck with the Athena Program!", he shouted, before motioning his head towards the M-ATV.

"Once we get on the ground, we strictly stick to callsigns, but, as long as we're here, I'll use your names. Sgt Johnson, you'll be driving. I'll be commanding from shotgun. Kiersten, you'll be operating the gun. Everyone else will find a seat in the back. And, you are to follow my orders directly. If I don't say 'weapons hot' you don't fire unless that fucker is charging right at you, but only then. Since our sniper is gone, we'll all be in the M-ATV, and upon reaching our location, we'll evacuate the M-ATV and move on foot. The V-44 will circle overhead and provide visuals. Maintain a sparse spread, but don't stray from the group. Once we find the target and evaluate it, we'll either drop it, or hold off until we call for reinforcements and something that can.", he said, before yelling to the pilot, "What's our ETA?"

[Krytonus]

he said, before yelling to the pilot, "What's our ETA?"

""We're looking at about three hours, buddy- Er, lieutenant Thorsson." Callum yelled over his shoulder as he flicked switches and quickly checked readouts. "Could be a little bumpy 'cause we'll be heading into a depression, but I should be able to keep us OK." He paused. "Hey, how come I don't get a cool callsign?" He asked as he adjusted the flight pattern slightly to the left. It was a very smooth ride for such a big aircraft. Callum had a feeling that he and Leprechaun would get along swimmingly.

[West Aurelia]

Alexi took the mans hand in a firm hand shake. "Sergeant Alexi Volnovsky. Yes I'm Russian. No I'm not the heavy weapons guy, and no I didn't name my gun Sasha" he replied. "I named it Elena if you truly want to know" he finished with a smile. "As for how I knew your name. Well, It be kind of hard to use medical reports if they didn't say who they were about. As for your leg, well that's going to hurt for a little bit considering that you suffered third degree burns to it."

"So Valentin Ivanov, I take it someone in your family comes from the Rodina?"

Oosterscheldekering
Medical Bay
Corporal Valentin Ivanov

---

"Naming guns when they tell you what to take on ops?" Valentin queried. "You might not get to use it every time, but I guess everyone has their preferences. I prefer to keep mine nameless." He gestured at his injured calf. "They say I'll be out for ten days and it'll hurt like hell. I think I'll need that rest after an op like that. Not every day you get to shoot an alien in the face."

Valentin smiled sadly at the mention of his family. It had begun to sink in that he might never see them again, and if he died, they might not even know what happened to him. His own SEAL unit back at Virginia Beach didn't even know where he was - only that he had been "reassigned." They probably assumed that he was now working for the CIA's Special Activities Division or some other secretive unit.

"My parents left Vladivostok in 1991, right before the Soviet Union fell. They had been saving up for over year for a flight to America, and one night they grabbed everything they owned and left. They got on a flight to San Diego, where I was born the next year. We've tried contacting our relatives back in Russia to no avail. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have any family other than my parents."

[Isle of Lithonia]

Medical Bay
Ooster
Lt. Marloes de Ruyter

''Thanks,'' she said back. ''It was quite the team effort. I'm just glad it's over. As for Thor, I read up on him. I'm pretty sure he's more then capable, seeing as he's the size of a small elephant,'' She took a plate and started to take bits of this and that. Soon, her plate was like the rests: Full of curry and rice, with a side of naan bread. It was divine, seeing as she hadn't eaten in twelve hours, and needless to say, she was stupidly hungry. Her first bite was akin to all of the gods of the world, the good ones, gently lifting her to the holy lands. In other words, she was a big fan.

Medical Bay
Dr. Selena Lightheart

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The sound of high-heels reverberated along the halls to the Med Bay as a young woman, pen and notepad in hand, headed steadily towards her goal. This woman was Selena Lightheart, Doctor of Psychology, and ATHENA's new Behavioral Psychologist. It was her task to study ET behavior, and uncover the secrets of their psyche. And to provide some counseling for those poor souls who faced these infamous creatures and lived to tell about it.

Her appointment to this rather high-priority position had come as something of a shock to her. Yes, she had much to commend her, but there were better psychologists out there in her opinion. Nevertheless, this choice gave her no small amount of excitement and anticipation. Now she would be studying creatures that she had always assumed were only to be found in sci-fi novels, creatures of such advancement that they would surely seem as magical in comparison to humanity. This would prove to be the most difficult, and yet rewarding, venture of her entire career.

Reaching the bay, she searched around for the CO of the last mission. Today, it was her assignment to gather info on the ETs from the CO, and provide counseling if necessary. Which, if what she heard about Lieutenant Ruyter was true, no counseling would be necessary. But one could always be wrong. There she is.

Approaching the woman with a smile, she held out her hand. "I hate to interrupt your eating, Lieutenant. If you wish, I can wait until you are finished. I am Dr. Selena Lightheart, the new head of ATHENA's ET Behavioral Analysis Department, and one of the military counselors on base. There are a few questions I would like to ask you with regards to the ETs you and your team encountered.

"Again, if you don't have the time now, we can meet whenever you may wish."

---

L/Cpl Jessica Kiersten

Kiersten nodded in acknowledgement. Honestly, she was quite satisfied to be the gunner, and hoped that she'd at least that she'd be able to take a couple pot shots at the alien. Of course, she wasn't one to disobey orders, so it's not like she had an uncontrollable trigger finger.

When he mentioned fear, she grinned. This intense feeling of wanting to get out there and tear some ETs apart wasn't fear. Rather, it was pure excitement and anticipation of blood. Was she stupid? No. But life was too short to not take some damn risks, if they would pay off later. And damn was she ready to go gun down some bastards.

[Bentus]

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Medbay
Emilie Girard

Emilie whistled. “Sans blague, ET tore through SAPI just like that? He sure as hell knows how to rain on our parade.” The armour plating had become a staple in advanced militaries throughout the world, and ATHENA had ensured that they’d got their hands on only the best. When a soldier put on a piece of SAPI, they felt like they could go through hell and back with that hefty sheet of metal. To find out that the enemy could pierce it with their bare hands – let alone with a weapon – was most definitely not a good sign.

A single bleep resonated from the computer sitting on the side of the room, drawing Emilie’s attention. Turning away from Artem as he continued to recount the mission, having entirely ignored his sharp jolt as she found another bruise, Emilie opened up the message with the developed x-rays. Her trained eyes ran over the black and white images, easily identifying fractures and breakages in all the places that she’d expected them. In a new window, she grudgingly clicked open the mandatory post-triage document. Did the patient respond to her instructions? Yes. Did they appear livid and conscious? Yes, otherwise how in God’s name did they respond to her questions? Did she think that they were ready for active service? Of course not for fuck’s sake: he had pieces of rib floating around in his chest – as anyone with half a brain cell could tell from a glance at the x-rays.

Emilie responded with the necessary sounds and indications of paying attention as Artem laid out some of the specifics of the mission – detailing their now-seen foes. Silently, the medic was cursing at whomever had come up with the idea of forcing her to fill in such redundant paperwork. Honestly, Artem would be more than capable of complaining about the pain once the drugs wore off himself. Why did she have to be subjected to such a torture in the meantime, when she could be getting a good night’s rest?

The woman waved a hand dismissively at Artem’s question, before unthinkingly taking another bite of what remained of her own snatched baguette. “I’m sure someone will bring food up at some point for you guys.” Emilie wiped away some stray crumbs from her mouth before turning over her shoulder towards her patient. “And it all seems to check out. You’ll fight again until ET fills you with too many holes for us to stitch shut. Although on the down side it means you’ll feel like absolute shit in the morning.” Her voice was somewhat ambiguous, making it hard to say whether she’d been joking or not. “Right now I’ve got you on a pretty steep dose of painkillers, courtesy of the bosses thinking that the returning heroes deserve a bit of respite.” She snorted. “Ridiculous, non? Man up or shut up I say. That stuff doesn’t just grow on trees.” Emilie paused, having reached the final question on the form.

“Say, how are you feeling at the moment? All bright and dandy?” It was the last one she’d need to fill out to have the bare minimum to pass under the radar of the powers that be. It was also the most useless one of the lot. As if a wounded serviceman would be able to helpfully contribute as to their own diagnosis above the input of a medical professional; especially one so flushed with analgesics that he could probably even get up and walk.

---

Emilie wheeled a now bandaged Artem out of the small treatment room into the larger main bay to see that the other members of Hatchet were being attended to. She smirked upon seeing the array of food that had been brought up for them, her stomach immediately growling in desire. “You’re quite popular up there, non?” She said to Artem, jokingly and half-wondering whether his hunger would be able to win over the pain of swallowing. “Alexei, I’m all finished up with this one – some painkillers, bed rest and hydrating fluids should do the trick.” Emilie yawned loudly, stretching her stiff limbs. “Anyone else you want me to take a look at?”

[Camicon]

*snip*

"This should be fun; I've never used MILES either, at least not the latest one. Ready?"

Choe Hath
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
M.I.L.E.S. Training Facility

"Alright, everyone ready up!"

Chloe picked up an MP5, slinging it about her shoulder. All the guns in the MILES room were custom made, with receivers unable to loaded standard mags, instead only a custom ATHENA mag that could only be loaded with blanks; to avoid any accidental live-fires. Various handguns, SMG's, carbines, assault and battle rifles, machine guns and shotguns hung in a large weapons locker that spanned the length of one wall. There were no sniper rifles or rocket launchers, as the enclosed nature of the MILES facility prevented them from being used for their intended purpose; nor were there any grenades aside from the standard fragmentation, as the MILES system was unable to accurately reproduce them. Along the other three walls hung a series of matte black jumpsuits, and beneath those a matching set of MILES equipped armour. All were similar to what a soldier from any regular military would wear, as ATHENA staff had yet to tailor facsimiles of their own uniforms.

In total there were ten people assembled, including Chloe and Tine. Five per side, in an urban environment search-and-destroy exercise.

"Remember," Chloe called out, "When you're hit your weapon's laser shuts off, so firing it isn't gonna do jack shit. Lay down and take a nap, listen to some music." Chloe racked the MP5, chambering a blank. "Two minutes to move to your starting positions, let's go." The two groups would start at opposite ends of the arena, and then work their way towards each other.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Oosterscheldekering
Medical Bay
Corporal Valentin Ivanov

---

"Naming guns when they tell you what to take on ops?" Valentin queried. "You might not get to use it every time, but I guess everyone has their preferences. I prefer to keep mine nameless." He gestured at his injured calf. "They say I'll be out for ten days and it'll hurt like hell. I think I'll need that rest after an op like that. Not every day you get to shoot an alien in the face."

Valentin smiled sadly at the mention of his family. It had begun to sink in that he might never see them again, and if he died, they might not even know what happened to him. His own SEAL unit back at Virginia Beach didn't even know where he was - only that he had been "reassigned." They probably assumed that he was now working for the CIA's Special Activities Division or some other secretive unit.

"My parents left Vladivostok in 1991, right before the Soviet Union fell. They had been saving up for over year for a flight to America, and one night they grabbed everything they owned and left. They got on a flight to San Diego, where I was born the next year. We've tried contacting our relatives back in Russia to no avail. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have any family other than my parents."

"I'm sorry to here that" Alexi replied. He still counted himself lucky that his family was in St. Petersburg and not Moscow. He knew men who hadn't been as lucky. "Let us see what we can do about that pain though." He gave Valentin a localized painkiller. Enough to take the edge off but not enough knock him out or effective his brain to much.

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Hangar Bay
Emilie Girard

Emilie wheeled a now bandaged Artem out of the small treatment room into the larger main bay to see that the other members of Hatchet were being attended to. She smirked upon seeing the array of food that had been brought up for them, her stomach immediately growling in desire. “You’re quite popular up there, non?” She said to Artem, jokingly and half-wondering whether his hunger would be able to win over the pain of swallowing. “Alexei, I’m all finished up with this one – some painkillers, bed rest and hydrating fluids should do the trick.” Emilie yawned loudly, stretching her stiff limbs. “Anyone else you want me to take a look at?”

"Not that I know of Miss Girard. I've got this one on roughly the same as yours, with the additional antibiotics to ward off any infection. I'd say we've earned our suppers don't you think?" Alexi walked over and grabbed a box of food for each of them. "So" he asked putting the food on a table. "How long is our friend here going to be out of action?"

[Socarux]

Here Patrick was with a pile of form in his hands with no Iidea whom to give them too. They where intended to be given to the CO of the base. It was nostalgic none the less though he really was not familiar with the layout and was fairly rusty at navigating such a large base after such a long time. He asked aloud, "Hello, does anyone know where I may find the office of our CO? I have some paperwork to give him."

[Tiltjuice]

Here Patrick was with a pile of form in his hands with no Iidea whom to give them too. They where intended to be given to the CO of the base. It was nostalgic none the less though he really was not familiar with the layout and was fairly rusty at navigating such a large base after such a long time. He asked aloud, "Hello, does anyone know where I may find the office of our CO? I have some paperwork to give him."

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Chef Sekar Paquet

Dinner had been a great success, and Sekar left the cafeteria feeling quite satisfied. As she made her way back to her quarters for the night, she encountered a much taller, stern-looking man who hadn't been in the dining hall. The military bearing gave away what he was, even with or without a uniform (which was not apparent).

"New?" she asked, and without waiting for an answer beckoned him to follow her. Her relative lack of height made her seem quite fast by comparison as she took several strides for every one of Patrick's. Lieutenant Thorsson she knew was on mission, from the PA announcement. Most of the others who weren't in training seemed to be up in the medical bay, so she went there, figuring Lieutenant de Ruyter was looking after the injured. She peeked inside the infirmary's doors, then waved Patrick up and pointed at the brunette wearing the blue beret.

"That is Lieutenant de Ruyter, one of the team's 3 officers."

[Socarux]

Here Patrick was with a pile of form in his hands with no Iidea whom to give them too. They where intended to be given to the CO of the base. It was nostalgic none the less though he really was not familiar with the layout and was fairly rusty at navigating such a large base after such a long time. He asked aloud, "Hello, does anyone know where I may find the office of our CO? I have some paperwork to give him."

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Chef Sekar Paquet

Dinner had been a great success, and Sekar left the cafeteria feeling quite satisfied. As she made her way back to her quarters for the night, she encountered a much taller, stern-looking man who hadn't been in the dining hall. The military bearing gave away what he was, even with or without a uniform (which was not apparent).

"New?" she asked, and without waiting for an answer beckoned him to follow her. Her relative lack of height made her seem quite fast by comparison as she took several strides for every one of Patrick's. Lieutenant Thorsson she knew was on mission, from the PA announcement. Most of the others who weren't in training seemed to be up in the medical bay, so she went there, figuring Lieutenant de Ruyter was looking after the injured. She peeked inside the infirmary's doors, then waved Patrick up and pointed at the brunette wearing the blue beret.

"That is Lieutenant de Ruyter, one of the team's 3 officers."

He looked down and saw a woman much smaller than him. She asked him a quick question wich was possibly rhetorical. He was wearing a blue business suit with a kevlar vest under it. "Yes, I am new here. You can say that I was pretty much abducted by my ambassador from my workplace. My name is Sgt. Patrick S Socarux. I work for FN Herstal right across the border, my country recalled me into service, I figured there may be a few perks to this job."
Upon arriving to the destination he said, "Thank you for bringing me here maddam."
"Liutenant, I have some paper work that I have filled out. By an absurd amount I mean 14000 pages that I have been working on since this morning."

[Altito Asmoro]

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
M.I.L.E.S. Training Facility
Lei Chen

Lei had finished his lunch/dinner at the cafeteria and was wandering when he stumbled into the training facility. He's spent his time here training, but that's it. He's never really has any other things to do here, though. Then again, he just went inside the facility.

"This should be fun; I've never used MILES either, at least not the latest one. Ready?"

Choe Hath
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
M.I.L.E.S. Training Facility

"Alright, everyone ready up!"

Chloe picked up an MP5, slinging it about her shoulder. All the guns in the MILES room were custom made, with receivers unable to loaded standard mags, instead only a custom ATHENA mag that could only be loaded with blanks; to avoid any accidental live-fires. Various handguns, SMG's, carbines, assault and battle rifles, machine guns and shotguns hung in a large weapons locker that spanned the length of one wall. There were no sniper rifles or rocket launchers, as the enclosed nature of the MILES facility prevented them from being used for their intended purpose; nor were there any grenades aside from the standard fragmentation, as the MILES system was unable to accurately reproduce them. Along the other three walls hung a series of matte black jumpsuits, and beneath those a matching set of MILES equipped armour. All were similar to what a soldier from any regular military would wear, as ATHENA staff had yet to tailor facsimiles of their own uniforms.

In total there were ten people assembled, including Chloe and Tine. Five per side, in an urban environment search-and-destroy exercise.

"Remember," Chloe called out, "When you're hit your weapon's laser shuts off, so firing it isn't gonna do jack shit. Lay down and take a nap, listen to some music." Chloe racked the MP5, chambering a blank. "Two minutes to move to your starting positions, let's go." The two groups would start at opposite ends of the arena, and then work their way towards each other.

And somehow he was involved, suddenly, into this military tag-games. He did played this back in China, though, so there's that. Various handguns, SMGs, carbines, rifles, machine guns, and shotguns all are here. Since he's a bit tired of slinging around with machine guns, he minding for awhile before picked up the carbine of G36C and a handgun, HK Mk 23, as his sidearm. He's on the opposite of the team.

[Tiltjuice]

Tine Lorenzen
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
M.I.L.E.S. Training Facility

One of the facility staff spoke up, following on Chloe's explanation of the gear. "Thanks, Sergeant Hath. Now just a quick overview of how things will go and where you'll be. The setting is London. One team will start off at Point A1, Leadenhall Market, in the east. The other team starts off at Point A2, Knightsbridge Station, in the west. You'll meet in the middle - hopefully - at Point B, Gordon's Wine Bar, just a bit inland from the Thames. Can't miss it. Probably none of you have any idea about the layout of London, so we've programmed in holographic map readers for each of you; they'll be available in-simulation. How you get to B is up to you, but the distance is about 2 miles from either A1 or A2 to B.

None of you have encountered our ETs yet, so we're throwing IRA terrorists in as the op force in this scenario to give you a taste of things. They're played by suited-up actors also equipped with MILES gear. The place has been taken over and occupied by an unknown number of them, possibly as a staging ground for attacks on 10 Downing Street. Your job is to go in and clear them out, taking prisoners if possible, but don't risk yourself for that. First team to get there and radio in the all-clear wins. Bonus points for taking prisoners and having more members of your team survive. Any questions?"

From the control room, another one gave the thumbs-up, signaling the holographics were in place. Jonathan White, in his usual lab coat, stood farther back, watching the monitors showing what went on inside. The DARPA scientist sought to see if the troopers' current tactics could be helped along by new weapons or accessories.

Tine glanced at Lei, on the other team, then back to Chloe as each team began to file in. Once through the doors, they were able to see...a covered building with vertically hung British flags. A large, rotating sentence hung in the air, spinning slowly like something out of a 90s screensaver.

No calling a black cab, ladies and gentlemen.

She shook her head at their odd sense of humor and charged her own MP5 as the text disappeared. Consulting her guide, she traced the different routes with a gloved fingertip.

"So we're at Leadenhall Market. It looks like there's three different routes - one following the A3211 road and the shore, and two inland. I think the first one along the A3211 is the shortest, so we should probably head south to the Thames to take that one."

The 1500 feet or so to the north end of London Bridge passed by fairly quickly.

[Tiltjuice]

He looked down and saw a woman much smaller than him. She asked him a quick question wich was possibly rhetorical. He was wearing a blue business suit with a kevlar vest under it. "Yes, I am new here. You can say that I was pretty much abducted by my ambassador from my workplace. My name is Sgt. Patrick S Socarux. I work for FN Herstal right across the border, my country recalled me into service, I figured there may be a few perks to this job."
Upon arriving to the destination he said, "Thank you for bringing me here maddam."
"Liutenant, I have some paper work that I have filled out. By an absurd amount I mean 14000 pages that I have been working on since this morning."

Gareth Tang
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Medical Bay

The smell of Indian food was still strong in the air as Gareth set aside his magazine. Unlike most of the others, no uniform identified his background.

He held out a hand to Patrick. "I'm Gareth Tang, from Hong Kong. Sorry, Lieutenant de Ruyter is still making her rounds, I think, visiting with some of the injured from a mission we just had."

Acknowledging the sheaf of papers and Patrick's comment about the ambassador, the ex-cop replied, "Governments have a way of complicating things with dead tree skin, don't they? Never fun. Anyway, I can take you over to the common areas of the base, to see if we can find one of the other officers."

He had no way of knowing that Patrick had just come from the direction of the dining hall; but he started to lead the Belgian back there.

[Senkaku]

Previously
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Gym
Lieutenant Addilek Surayud

---

Addilek took in a deep breath of the clean, dry, sterile air of the gym, letting the scrubbed oxygen flow into his lungs as he continued jogging along on the treadmill. Jogging wasn't really the right word for it- most people didn't jog at such a rapid clip- but nonetheless, he continued, idly watching a movie on the little screen in front of him with his earbuds in. It was in English, meaning he couldn't understand some of what they were saying- so far he gathered it was about a stockbroker who had been for unclear reasons arrested, as well as a homeless black man who was somehow connected to the stockbroker and the two old men he'd seen earlier. Fortunately for Addilek, he'd been told by the program's admissions people that his English was probably good enough, when coupled with his excellent French.
The Thai lieutenant sighed, finally giving in and turning on Thai subtitles so he could follow along. Oh, his name is Winthorpe. That makes more sense now.

About thirty minutes later, he switched the treadmill off, hopping down and wiping his face with the small towel he'd put on the machine's handrail. He headed to the changing room and took a fast shower, putting on the standard uniform they'd issued him, and headed towards the cafeteria, ordering himself some food and taking his time while he ate.
Once I'm done here, I should probably go check in with Commander Pier and see if there's anything he really needs me doing.

...
Damn, this food is pretty fucking good.

---

Now
MILES Training Facility

---

Addilek checked his guide, mapping out the different routes on the unfamiliar streets in his head as he went.
"Right. So we head down on Knightsbridge, cut through Green Park, head up The Mall past Charing Cross and then turn, khap?"*
The 2,100-odd feet to Hyde Park Corner passed fairly quickly, and soon they were entering the Wellington Arch.

---

OOC: *I'm typing what Addilek is trying to say. Use this link to get a better idea of how he's pronouncing the English words. Later, I may have him break into French, in which case I'll highlight the text blue.

[Vacif]

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Medical Bay
Vince Farkas


With his personal mission complete in the medical bay, he bid those in the medical bay a farewell and good night. He marched his way back to the barracks and sat down in his bunk. It'd been a fast day, and surprisingly taxing. He laid down onto his bed and stared at the bunk above. He taped a picture of home, family and friends to the top and smiled at the pictures of his home. His body relaxed, his eye lids became heavy, he closed his eyes and dozed off into a deep sleep.

[Socarux]

He looked down and saw a woman much smaller than him. She asked him a quick question wich was possibly rhetorical. He was wearing a blue business suit with a kevlar vest under it. "Yes, I am new here. You can say that I was pretty much abducted by my ambassador from my workplace. My name is Sgt. Patrick S Socarux. I work for FN Herstal right across the border, my country recalled me into service, I figured there may be a few perks to this job."
Upon arriving to the destination he said, "Thank you for bringing me here maddam."
"Liutenant, I have some paper work that I have filled out. By an absurd amount I mean 14000 pages that I have been working on since this morning."

Gareth Tang
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Medical Bay

The smell of Indian food was still strong in the air as Gareth set aside his magazine. Unlike most of the others, no uniform identified his background.

He held out a hand to Patrick. "I'm Gareth Tang, from Hong Kong. Sorry, Lieutenant de Ruyter is still making her rounds, I think, visiting with some of the injured from a mission we just had."

Acknowledging the sheaf of papers and Patrick's comment about the ambassador, the ex-cop replied, "Governments have a way of complicating things with dead tree skin, don't they? Never fun. Anyway, I can take you over to the common areas of the base, to see if we can find one of the other officers."

He had no way of knowing that Patrick had just come from the direction of the dining hall; but he started to lead the Belgian back there.

He sighed and followed Gareth,
"Hello, and thank you Mr. Tang, I should expect as much in light of the current circumstances. Though I think I came this way before. My name is Patrick Socarux, Sergeant is my given rank. I feel like I was demoted.

He gave a slight chuckle and continued, "So what do you do or better to say did do, before today?"

[Generailia]

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Mess Hall
Recruit Chris Ackermann
A ridiculously long amount of time back in the past..sorry.

Chris finished eating with and sighed softly when he did. He had been eavesdropping on a few people talking about some MILES thing. Yet after trying to lift his weapon he noticed he hardly had the strength..not even considering the minor wound he got himself. Yet once he looked around himself for a bit he was able to find a place where he could hand in his dirty dishes. Then once he did he exited the mess hall.

Shit..now what? I could go to the gym but I'll just kill myself..guess I might just check on those guys I worked with who got off with worse then I did. But..well fuck I don't think I could take that. I damn well dealt with one of them for god knows how long..I sure as hell hope he is alright. Chris thought as he leaned against a wall next to the door used to enter the mess hall. Guess I'll just get this fucking gear off first then I'll see..but what I could really use is a good nap.

Chris then began his walk towards his barracks. After having forced himself to get off the wall reluctantly. He just hoped that the damn pain won't last till the upcoming day.

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Barracks
Recruit Chris Ackermann
Not so long in the past.

Chris reached the barracks after a short walk. Most of the walk he thought about what happened..and ways he would improve himself once tomorrow came since he really didn't want to move from that damn bed till it was the next day. Then once Chris reached it he put his weapons into it along with his armor and helmet. The only things he kept on were the things that were light and that he needed to sleep in unless he wanted to be some asshole sleeping in his fucking underwear for no damn reason at all.

Then once he finished he simply sat on the bed as he sighed to himself thinking. I was fucking useless today wasn't I? Didn't kill fucking shit..I have to get stronger if I am to keep up with these people. Bitching will get me nowhere. He then gritted his teeth angrily as he continued to think. Got to visit the guys in the med bay..I helped one and the other damn well taught me how not to look like a fucking fool out there. I will talk to them sometime tomorrow..whenever the fuck this weird ass day ends.

Chris then chuckled to himself silently as he simply lay in his bed and began to daydream. He did such a thing for a rather unusually long time.

Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Barracks
Recruit Chris Ackermann
Present.

Chris eventually stopped as he looked around. He didn't know how long he had been simply laying there staring at the bunk on top of him but he sure as hell hope nobody saw him.

Shit..I got to get some sleep. Chris thought as the simple word sleep caused a yawn to come out of his mouth. Ya..I'm no use to anyone completely fucking exhausted am I?

Chris then rolled around in his bunk for a bit before he was finally able to get in a comfortable spot. Then after some effort he was able to start to dream such dreams of which he was fairly sure he would forget by the start of the upcoming day.

[Tiltjuice]

He sighed and followed Gareth,
"Hello, and thank you Mr. Tang, I should expect as much in light of the current circumstances. Though I think I came this way before. My name is Patrick Socarux, Sergeant is my given rank. I feel like I was demoted.

He gave a slight chuckle and continued, "So what do you do or better to say did do, before today?"

Gareth Tang
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Medical Bay

"Gareth, please. I was a police officer. Tactical medic for our special response unit, SDU. Later on, I did some witness protection for a while. And you?"

The hour was getting late and Gareth supposed they'd have a better chance of finding one of the officers tomorrow. Suggesting it to Patrick, he added, "We can find you a place in the barracks first, if you like. It's not far from here. You don't seem to have a lot of gear, unless you've already dropped it off?"

[Altito Asmoro]

Previously
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Gym
Lieutenant Addilek Surayud

---

Addilek took in a deep breath of the clean, dry, sterile air of the gym, letting the scrubbed oxygen flow into his lungs as he continued jogging along on the treadmill. Jogging wasn't really the right word for it- most people didn't jog at such a rapid clip- but nonetheless, he continued, idly watching a movie on the little screen in front of him with his earbuds in. It was in English, meaning he couldn't understand some of what they were saying- so far he gathered it was about a stockbroker who had been for unclear reasons arrested, as well as a homeless black man who was somehow connected to the stockbroker and the two old men he'd seen earlier. Fortunately for Addilek, he'd been told by the program's admissions people that his English was probably good enough, when coupled with his excellent French.
The Thai lieutenant sighed, finally giving in and turning on Thai subtitles so he could follow along. Oh, his name is Winthorpe. That makes more sense now.

About thirty minutes later, he switched the treadmill off, hopping down and wiping his face with the small towel he'd put on the machine's handrail. He headed to the changing room and took a fast shower, putting on the standard uniform they'd issued him, and headed towards the cafeteria, ordering himself some food and taking his time while he ate.
Once I'm done here, I should probably go check in with Commander Pier and see if there's anything he really needs me doing.

...
Damn, this food is pretty fucking good.

---

Now
MILES Training Facility

---

Addilek checked his guide, mapping out the different routes on the unfamiliar streets in his head as he went.
"Right. So we head down on Knightsbridge, cut through Green Park, head up The Mall past Charing Cross and then turn, khap?"*
The 2,100-odd feet to Hyde Park Corner passed fairly quickly, and soon they were entering the Wellington Arch.

---

OOC: *I'm typing what Addilek is trying to say. Use this link to get a better idea of how he's pronouncing the English words. Later, I may have him break into French, in which case I'll highlight the text blue.

MILES Training Facility
Lei Chen

"Well, if it is the best choice here, Officer, than I will go with it.

Lei had barely known the officer, and as far as he knows, he's a Thai and he's not really fluent in English (not that he fluent with it, either). Given the position in that there are two routes possible to attack and to defend, he though of the otherwise

"Surely no one is in the Embankment, I'll head there and establishing some sort of defense point, kay?"

[Socarux]

He sighed and followed Gareth,
"Hello, and thank you Mr. Tang, I should expect as much in light of the current circumstances. Though I think I came this way before. My name is Patrick Socarux, Sergeant is my given rank. I feel like I was demoted.

He gave a slight chuckle and continued, "So what do you do or better to say did do, before today?"

Gareth Tang
Oosterscheldekering Dam Base
Medical Bay

"Gareth, please. I was a police officer. Tactical medic for our special response unit, SDU. Later on, I did some witness protection for a while. And you?"

The hour was getting late and Gareth supposed they'd have a better chance of finding one of the officers tomorrow. Suggesting it to Patrick, he added, "We can find you a place in the barracks first, if you like. It's not far from here. You don't seem to have a lot of gear, unless you've already dropped it off?"

He smiled, "Police work huh, honest work. I was or still am a member of the militia back in my home town, joined up at 16. Was already in college by then too. At 17 I l graduated with a business degree and three years ROTC. Then I joined up with the Marines for a few years. I got bored so I tried out for and bacame a navy SEAL. I did that for a while before it got awkward one day when my CO came onto me and I left cause I gave him a broken nose as my response. I joined up with Delta Team for a short year before the Colonel and I where requested by and transfered to a classified team by Intelligence. Four years later, I retired from working for my country joined up as a PMC for FULCRUM, then I got tired of that and decided that I would mobe to Belgium with my.... *Cough* where I joined up with the SWAT team in Brussels shortly until they gave me my citizenship papers until I finally settled down as the Chief of Security and expert/arms testing and development consultant for a little local company known as FN Herstal, my current employer other than Athena. Lucky me, that job can be done remotely and they need not see my face."

His face dropped and his brow furrowed. "I am afraid I must decline, you see half of this paperwork is to move my kids to a nearby secure safe site. I would worry too much if I knew that they weren't in the safest place possible. You would understand if you were a father. After all, I fight for them. So what I am going to do is buy the closest building to this site, call security at home and tell them to bring them over, call a furnisher in Amsterdam to get something thrown together in that time. I'll be back at 0600. I'll pick up the gear as for the rest of my paperwork is my enlistment papers and request forms to use my own gun. What do you think Gareth?"