Project Warfighter - Operation: Mirror Force(IC)

[Relikai]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

While John reacted with a laugh at the comment of 'double date', Miyuki raised an eyebrow as she considered the words. For a moment, she forgot the meaning of the term, not one to care for such things during her training during ORPHAN. Staring at John as she sensed him smiling, Miyuki's head became the resting place of John's palm as the meter-and-a-half-tall girl turned into a blank expression. John just ruffled his comrade's head as he nodded.

"Sounds good. Am interested to know what they have here. Ah, apologies. I'm known as Raven-One, this one here is Raven-Two. She might seem small, but she's pretty much a nightmare for the insurgents back in our homeland." John said. Their uniforms bore no nametags, but ORPHAN allowed them to wear the Relikan patch just for identification for Task Force Atlas.

"Double date huh..." John' voice trailed for a moment as he sized Maria up. "Quite a nice one you got on your side, Echo Four. I'm sure your mechanical hands would do well on her..." He said with a cheerful voice, his charming smile telling those around that it was one of his own jokes. Miyuki simply rolled her eyes in an obvious sign of 'whatever', giving John an elbow to stop his nonsense, to stop him from embarrassing them any more.

"To the mess then!" John said through coughs, Miyuki's sharp jab finding a lung.

[Sonitusia]

---

Diego Garcia

"My, my, he's feisty," Maria purred in Sonitusian, which just got a chuckle from Sulthon as they made way towards the mess. The former S.O.N.I.C. agent respected that the Relikans were going with code names; it made real names something to be earned between them. Still in their full kit, it was rather odd to be going to eat first, but they couldn't lie that the trip had made them rather exhausted, and food was a perfect notion. "You'd be surprised, Raven One," Sulthon said, "The both of us use our hands for each other very, very often. Tracing her body, my own, fingers in constant motion..."

Maria blushed at the thought, but she also hid laughter in her heart at what the man was referring to. Sulthon, I didn't know you could be such a deviant~

[Relikai]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

John found the Sonitusians interesting. Not are they just as open as him, but they could take a casual quip, and return it with equal, if not more enthusiasm. There weren't many of such people back in the Republics, and definitely not in the ORPHAN Force where every Orphan who went through the projected ten years of training was a certified nutcase and asocial time bomb, including the one next to him. Training improved over the years, and now a discharged ORPHAN has enough skills to survive alone in Relikan society. Of course, the ORPHANs never really let them go, taking care of them in the shadows while the ORPHANs end up paying the money invested in them through the exchange of services.

"Oh my." John said with a tone with a tone of mock fright. "That must be some personal touch indeed." Turning to Miyuki, John was about to comment on something when three sharp fingers found his lung, where her elbow struck earlier.

"That... that's enough fingers..." John coughed out as Miyuki scowled at him.

"I apologise for Raven One. He can be quite the loudmouth, and often I have to stop him." Miyuki said, giving them an apologetic nod.

[Astronea]

Theowulf and his team had spent the majority of the flight to Diego Garcia catching up on sleep. Few words were exchanged among themselves or with any of the other passengers on the C-17 flight. The AWD operators were all awake by the time the plane hit the tarmac. Valk squinted as the sunlight poured into the cargo bay as the loading ramp of the plane slowly opened with a distinct hydraulic whirring sound. He gave a nudge to Eoghan who was still yawning. As the youngest of Spekter detachment, he was still somewhat shepherded by his cohorts, all of whom were over thirty years old. Valk himself was in his late thirties, while Theowulf was into his forties. It wasn't that Eoghan needed any additional guidance, he had nine years of combat experience under his belt, four of which had been spent with the AWD. It was more instinct than anything else that caused the rest of his team to be more protective of him than was particularly necessary. Eoghan himself was accustomed to it, he understood that the more senior teammates' almost paternal behaviour came from a place of care and comradery, rather than condescension. He pushed Valk back lazily with an outstretched arm, groaning as he straightened up and slowly rose to his feet.

All six men descended from the plane after the cargo was unloaded, weapons in hand or attached to their person via sling. The main weapon of the AWD, the TSK OSW, was equipped in several configurations among the team, as a carbine length battle rifle with undermounted 40mm grenade launcher for both Theowulf and Valk, as a longer length DMR with Nightstalker sight and bipod for Rybak and as a light support weapon by Corwyn, with 60 round magazine, bipod and foregrip. Sixty rounds of 7.62x51mm was nothing to turn one's nose up at, but it paled in comparison to Pavlov's KN-4 SOV machinegun, which boasted 200 round belt fed magazines, capable of being fired at up to 1,100 rounds per minute.

Valk rolled his shoulders as he adjusted the AG-57 Hallstrim slung across his back. The three round grenade launcher wasn't cumbersome by any means, but it did dig into his side ever so slightly as he moved. Still, the added firepower was more than worth the partial discomfort. Eoghan had been entrusted with the team's single D-PAT 64mm rocket launcher. They had debated bringing the larger multipurpose RBJ-CS launcher, however the order to "pack light" had been taken to heart by Theowulf, who made the decision to leave it behind.

"So, what's our first port of call?" Rybak asked, adjusting his shemagh to wrap around his face. Something about warm climates always bugged him. The smell that carried in the humid air reminded him of rotting food in the summer, specifically ruined meat, which in turn reminded him of...

"Let's get a walk of the facility, get settled in and refreshed before we're sent into the field." Theowulf said, stepping out in front of the group onto the tarmac.

"It'd help if we actually knew where the field is, exactly. Information is so scarce who knows what we're here for. Hell, we could be just a force multiplier for security, scare off whoever might have it in for us here." Pavlov remarked as he scratched his bare arm, not having even bothered with the jumper for his tropical DPM fatigues.

"All I know is I need a water fountain, I don't feel like draining my hydration pack before we even get isti paskaa." Corwyn exclaimed as the team moved in a collumn before naturally stepping into a line as soon as they weren't in the way of any other personnel. The term isti paskaa was an Astronean idiom that had become the motto of the Astronean Rifles, the most prominent infantry unit in the Army. Literally translated from modern Astronean dialect, it meant "Into the shit", a humorous take on Jon Treloar's poem The Fray. The phrase was considered one of the only references to foreign literature in Astronean popular culture.

"Alright, mess hall seems like a good place to start." Theowulf seemingly concluded the dialogue and the decision was made. They would rendevouz at whatever dining facilities the base had for a brief refresher before hopefully receiving a much needed update on the mission brief. The six men seemed content to follow some of the other TFA operators ahead of them, assuming they were headed in the same direction as they were. At the very least, if they got lost at least they wouldn't be the only ones looking like total idiots when they stopped to ask for directions.

[Sonitusia]

---

Diego Garcia

"It's alright, he was speaking of sketching, yes?" Sulthon asked innocently, "Both of us enjoy drawing, sometimes each other. It helps calm the mind, takes off things we've seen... And has a use for work as well."

Maria continued to smile, and she found it interesting how the younger of the two seemed to be the more serious, though it could have been due to how laid back one can become with age. How old was Raven Two anyways? She couldn't have been much older than a senior high schooler, and yet she had achieved the level of skill required to become a Tier 1 operator. I've heard of Task Force 48 before, both from word of mouth and very short briefs to try and recognize them, just with any other special unit out there... Never thought they'd be ones to employ children.

"Often times its myself on the receiving end," Maria said, "Sulthon here's the more serious type."

"Only on duty," the man replied, noticing the group of other men following them but not making any mention as they entered the mess.

[Altito Asmoro]

Diego Garcia
En route to Mess Hall

"Oh, hey, Alex!" as Budi approached Alexander as he went outside the toilet. Oh, his stomach wasn't great back then. "Where's the others, sir?" asked Alex to Budi, who just shrugged his shoulder, "Inside the base, maybe on our locker room. Maybe in the mess. Could be anywhere. To the mess?"

"To the mess, sir," said Alex, still too serious. Never let his guard low, and frankly, he's never has any fun, all the quiet type. Budi didn't really liked his attitude, since he never really let his emotion loose. Don't know what happened to him in the past.

As they approached the mess, they noticed several other operators entered the mess.

[Relikai]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

John nodded as he coughed once more, catching the play on words as Miyuki nodded once again. She sensed Echo-Three's gaze on her, but did not react much. Everywhere she went, Miyuki has been questioned more than one of her role in many organizations, but her performance in the field has always yielded results, be it through a 'morally acceptable' route or not. The Namba Girl who could persuade a terrorist to harbour her in exchange for sex, and offer herself to more men till she reached the top, during which she thanked her target with a severed spinal cord. Miyuki hardly understood what was wrong with her line of work, seeing that it was morals which kept most nations back, allowing those without to wreck havoc and cause more damage to innocents.

It was pride which held many back, but it was pride which the ORPHANs and TF-48 does not possess. They will do anything to achieve peace and safety, even if it was forcing a fifteen year old to sleep with someone, removing her dignity as a human and transforming them into an Operator. Miyuki was that girl, her first mission at fifteen, trained to be a courtesan, trained to use everything a female has to fulfill her mission.

Entering the mess, Miyuki noticed other operators headed inside as well, so did John.

"Pretty large population I suppose... and plenty of auxiliary support too." He muttered. As if on cue, John sat down as Miyuki went to grab their meals. She has an innate understanding of what he would prefer, such was the intimacy between the two in understanding each other. Looking around, John slowly appreciated the place, noting the terrain around the island, some defensible spots, and perhaps a solid rock or something which could provide ad hoc cover should it be needed.

For Miyuki, she simply queued for the food, ordering a meal of Fish and Chips for John, while she ordered a Genovese pasta with extra oil and bacon. It has been a while since she pampered herself, hopefully the cooks were up to standard as she thought of how much she needed to exercise in order to burn off the excess calories, as well as to maintain her form for espionage and combat. Subconsciously, Miyuki did a light stretch, popping some joints as she placed her hands on the back of her hips, ensuring that she retained the shape which was so hard to achieve over the years.

[Sonitusia]

---

Diego Garcia
Similar to the Relikans, Maria took a seat across from Raven One while she waited for Sulthon to get the food. She set her rucksack down in front of her, turning the safety of her SMBR-1 on and having it lean against the bag. It was currently attached with a normal telescopic scope, unlike the thermals that she usually used when it got dark. Deciding to spend this moment of free time while it lasted, the Sonitusian began opening one of the pockets of her bag. Retrieving her sketchbook and pencil, she began to recreate the scene before her, though it was rather casual as she also began to speak with the Relikan.

"Tell me about Raven Deux, Un," she said, looking at him over the top of her book as she did, not stopping her hands, "Not background of course, just skill set. I'm rather interested... Not to mention she's quite a young beauty. I'd love to draw her, not to keep the picture, I'll give it to her if she wishes to rip it apart of course. Just for fun, oui?"

Meanwhile, Sulthon got in line behind Raven Two, ordering two plates of curry with rice, a dish which Maria and himself shared a taste in. Admittedly, he enjoyed the dish if it were made using Sonitusian grown ingredients, but he was sure that if they had Indian spices available, it should be alright. Afterwards he grabbed a tray and moved up the queue, also getting two glasses of tea. Watching the Relikan stretch, Sulthon began to remember the 'child soldier' program that he'd seen from files given by former researchers of Ignus. It fascinated him, but he didn't put anymore thought into it as he tried to strike up a conversation.

"The both of you seem quite close," he said, taking the cups of liquid he'd ordered as they were rather lazily placed on the counter, "Your mentor I presume?"

[Relikai]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

"Raven Two huh..." John muttered as he looked over at the queue, specifically at a young operator dressed in all black, before addressing Echo-Three. That the Sonitusian operator could casually take out a notepad and seemingly draw... Perhaps Echo-Four was on point, that the two enjoyed drawing more than John originally assumed. He could sense her finesse with the pencil, especially when she could draw even while conversing with someone else. Not that it was a bad thing of course, John always admired those skilled with the pencil in other skills other than simple writing and killing.

"Skill set? Very good with light weapons, she can move from one place to another without being seen... she can also speak very well, contrary to the image she portrayed... Often you will find her behind enemy lines." John explained. While these were often the usual stuff employed by Tier One groups, there were things which he cannot reveal, especially in relation to Miyuki's controversial skills. "She's also very smart, able to gather intelligence very well. I think she won't mind a sketch, even if you want to keep it." John said. "Why not you try sketching me a little since we're waiting for them?" The Relikan continued, while throwing Echo-Three a wink.

Miyuki turned to Echo-Four while she was waiting, nodding as she observed the glasses he held. Perhaps she'll grab some later, the Relikans sure do enjoy their tea, but not during meals. Lightly salted soups of potatoes and carrots were the preference, or lotus soup with chicken essence during hot days.

Nodding as Echo Four started a conversation, Miyuki nodded. "Yes, he was my mentor for the past three years. He trains me every day in physical and technical training." She said in her soft voice, the Namba accent coming out in a slightly sing-song accent. "He's a good trainer. Cares a lot for me. How about you and Echo-Three? Partners?" Miyuki asked, a curious expression on her face.

[Sonitusia]

---

Diego Garcia

"While I may have excellent peripheral vision, you should have already expected me to be drawing you at the given moment," Maria said, still not taking her eyes off of Raven One, "Though, if you want me to draw you in a... Different way, I'd be happy to oblige.~"

She was given the typical answer to be expected, though it still amazed her how much of a black widow Raven Two was, and she began to wonder just what else the child would be capable of. With that body, I wouldn't be surprised if she could give someone a good time... Giggling from behind her book, she had already completed the base sketch of everything around her. She was fond of her creative skills, and even more so that she could get to enjoy it with her fellow teammate. Plans for her future included pursuing a slow career in art, spending the rest of her days drawing for people, sometimes paid, sometimes free.

Over at the mess line, Sulthon just smiled, thinking to himself as well on how he saw Maria. Was she a teammate, good friend, something more? He couldn't tell, though he was sure that the feeling wasn't love for her. Well, in a relationship sense. Love was abstract after all, it just mattered how one wanted to perceive it. The two had yet to say anything even remote to getting it on despite having served for several years together already.

"Partners," he finally replied in agreement, "Technically she's higher ranked than I, but that's mostly due to my previous background rather than actual experience. We met in 3S, found out we had the same hobby, got along very well up to now. And since both of our roles in the unit are of support, I'm often with her on field ops, like now." Two plates of curry rice were placed onto his tray, and after putting the payment on his tab, the man was ready to go.

"You must be like two peas in a pod since he trusts you enough to get his meal," he added, " Fish-n-chips and a pasta? If your choice is accurate, that must be more than a guess. Beats me what exactly Maria would want, I just know what she likes."

[New Gazi]

The three Vangazi were already on detail unloading the Stealth-hawk. The Gazilians had talked with the Vangazi throughout the flight and decided to tag along for the unloading. Besides, the African soldiers would be happy to have a look at the advanced aircraft from their Northern brothers. The Gazilian Air Force's Denel Rooivalk was advanced, but not like this.

"Jang... Jang!" SFC Pete Farnsen called out to the shortest member of the Gazilian team. "Get us some Pop Tarts from the chow hall, man."

Five of the Gazilians were present at the loading bay. Their officer, Captain Okeke was busy handling paperwork, signing for rooms and equipment, as well as listening in and contributing to plans that were being made at meetings that were sure to occur.

A wheeled tug rolled up behind the C-17, which sat open on the tarmac. The soldiers attached a long pole from the tug to the helicopter, fastening the two vehicles together. Slowly, the little truck went in reverse. The helicopter slowly revealed itself, its rotors folded back towards the tail for storage.

"Alright, I'll get some snacks." SSG Jang replied. The two had sat next to each other on the plane so this wasn't a weird request. Farnsen wasn't bossing him around, but seriously wanted to eat. The Vangazi couldn't leave the detail, the Gazilians could.

"Dude, get some Rip-its." 'Rip-it' was the name of an energy drink produced in Vangaziland that was quite strong. It came in little 8 oz. cans. Soldiers might sometimes drink 2 or 3 of them if they were tired. They were potent.

Soon other voices piped in, about four of them, also asking for drinks and snacks.

"I'll go with him", said SSG Julian Buhari.

"Meet us over at the maintenance bay", Farnsen said.

Even though the helicopter was out of the transport aircraft, the team was headed to the maintenance bay. Paperwork had to be signed, inventory had to be accounted for. There was also going to be lots of waiting around. It wasn't glamorous, but there had to be a reason for it.

The tug moved away from the group that trailed behind it. SFC Thao Sefu had his tactical pad out. It was loaded with a digital version of a mil-spec map. He was looking over the island's layout and figuring out what sort of plan he would have for his team. He figured they would probably pull guard shifts at the powerplant, airfield or barracks. He'd talk to the Captain later and see what the consensus was with the officers.

Next to be unloaded were the crates of Vannish MREs as well as the group's bags and other supplies from the second Vannish aircraft. The palletized crates were being unloaded and carried to the barracks area by forklift.

The C-17 pilots would spend the night. They had enough time for a good night's sleep and breakfast, but would be flying out soon after that.

The Vangazi would most likely be guarding the airfield and their asset. They would also be on constant standby in their new roles as air crew, ready to respond as part of the aerial response force (ARF).

The two Gazilians made their way back towards the general area, where they would follow signs to the dining hall.

[Relikai]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

John gave Echo-Three a smile, and 'posed', just giving her a smile as he ceased his talking for the moment. John's a helpful man, especially friendly around those who were on the same side as he was. Perhaps these would be the Republic's first military cooperation in the international scale, through Task Force Atlas. And so John posed, simply sitting back on his seat and turning slightly in the direction of the queue, while looking at Echo-Three with a charming look just for dramatic effect.

Miyuki nodded, taking in every word said by Echo-Four. To Miyuki, partners vary from end to end. From partner who helps her in a sniping mission, to a partner like John who she was supposed to give everything to. Smoothing her hair a little, Miyuki bowed her thanks for the two dishes as she arranged the two dishes. Together with the two plates, Miyuki collected a soup as well as two cups of cordial drinks.

"She seems a reliable partner, I'm sure you two kick off pretty well, seeing that your country trusts the two of you enough." Miyuki said with a smile as she followed Echo-Four back to the waiting pair. "It's good to have the same hobby too... I do share a couple of activities with Raven One..." Mostly shooting, exercising, and... you know... stuff of the ORPHAN Force...

"Well, I always loved noodles. Ramen... Pasta... even the spicy laksa dishes. As for Raven One... he's typical, sometimes we go undercover and he'll order the same dish. Fish, and chips. Always." Miyuki ended with a roll of her eyes, just as they approached the table.

"Aye, thanks little one." John said as he picked up his plate and soup, placing his drink next to them. "Ah, curry. Lovely dish." John commented on the Sonitusians' meal. Miyuki simply took her place, arranging her dishes as well, reverting back to her ice-queen form with John around. She simply loves playing hard-to-get around him.

[Vacif]

"Hmm?" Hriska turned to the man who had just approached him as he placed his 'toys' in his satchel. The man was a Vacifican, from his uniform, and looking like he was a person who'd like to blow shit up.

"Oh, something that I made myself that would make Human Rights activists shit themselves." he snickered as he takes it again and shows it to him. The device he showed was a crude looking cylindrical device with what seems to be a large rod-like object protruding from it's top, along with a safety pin, a Proximity Sensor on top of the rod, and wires connecting from the sensor to the inside of the cylinder and taped to prevent it from dangling. Four holes can also be seen on the cylinder.

"You probably think this is just junk. Well, you're partially right. I mostly made this. Wait no, these from shit I could find in local junkyards, electronic shops, hardware stores, you name it. Except the explosive compounds, of course. It's basically my own form of a bounding mine. This here's basically a passive IR sensor, you probably know about it if you have it in your house. Once this is activated, when this sensor detects movement from three feet away, it would trigger the fuse that would trigger a small propellant charge inside the cylinder that would launch it in the air, which it would then trigger the main charge and spray shrapnel all over the blast zone. You see those holes right here? Those are for er.... these...." he then grabs a wooden thick stick, with both ends of the stick sealed with tape, and shakes it, "You hear that? those, are rusty iron bits. For extra shrapnel." he gives a smug as Arkley rolls his eyes.

"Very clever, but there are a few problems. My main concern is how you plan on not blowing up friendlies? After all, we are defending a friendly base from an unknown force. We don't know where they're going to be coming from. If you just leave an IED laying around on a base in the middle of a war zone, someone, who's probably friendly is bound to get blown up." Questioned Dmitri. "I mean, the last thing you'd expect is an IED in the middle of a military base, but it's a double edged sword. Still, it's a nasty toy, which is a compliment." Dmitri took the initiative, and took the seat beside the Esgonian bomb expert. For the duration of the flight, Dmitri stayed there, talking with Hriska about explosives, and the uses for his IED during this operation.

----12 HOURS LATER----

As the whine of the engines started to die down, the landing gear of the C-17 made hard contact with the runway. It was a grueling 13 hour flight, but they were no worse for wear. Holt, Riley, and Fear had been playing with the card castle for most of the flight, amazingly their card castle had not fallen despite everything that had happened during the 13 hours. Now it was time to deconstruct the architectural marvel. The cards being sorted, and put back in their original boxes, and distributed back to their owners. The eight members of Oxide rose from their seats, and disembarked the plane. At the point of landing, they'd all been well awake. They did not have much as they only brought things that they could carry on their persons. First order of business for them was to grab a bite to eat. There was much to talk about, but not on an empty stomach.

[Saradena]

"Oh..right..I forgot that the bad guys aren't your regular joes who simply charge or something..." Hriska suddenly realizes, seeing that his mines probably weren't a good idea to bring. "Then again, I could just retinker this thing again when we get to Diego Garcia. Maybe turn it into either your regular explosive. Or a high-explosive hand grenade. The former being what I think I'd do." as the plane continued its journey towards DG, Hriska continued chatting with Dmitri. Talking mostly about explosives and the sort.

---

Diego Garcia

After a long several-hour flight. The C-17 finally lands in Diego Garcia. Mayumi sees the view of the base from her window and is wowed. Meanwhile, Gerard, wakes up some of the team members who had fallen asleep during the trip, including Yonatan, who had just slept for 13 hours, but it wasn't surprised, as he was awake for days prior to the trip. When the cargo doors were opened, the team lets the other operators exit first to prevent bumping with each other as Hriska tells Dmitri "Go ahead. I'll go last. I'll find some place to tinker these babies later." When the last foreign operator got out, the team stood up and walked out the cargo plane, with their bags in tow. "Well, this is something that I did not envision" Mayumi remarks as the team makes its way to the barracks to place their things. Next thing to do was to grab something to eat while Hriska finds a place for him to work with his explosives.

The team makes their way to the barracks and sat on the table where they would fit all seven of them, Hriska being an exception. Gerard asks them on what would they get, with all of them saying "Just the usual.." with Yonatan murmuring "also some crrckrs.", "Alright then, the usual, with some crackers for Yonatan here." Gerard stood up and went towards the counter to get their orders. Meanwhile, the rest just patiently waited for their food. They chatted on what kind of hostiles would they be facing and when would this operation be over. "Eh..as long as we get out alive, I don't care at all.." murmurs Yonatan.

[The Unified Isles]

The Royal Commandos were quick to unload from the Vannish transport plane. The Unit again “squared away” just to the side of the C-17. The Captain ordered them to stand still rather quickly, he found the whole situation to be rather awkward. The other operators leaving the plane gave them rather strange looks. The only ones who didn´t seem to care were the Vannish. Vangaziland and the Isles had been Allies for more than a century by now, and most Vannish and Isle´ish soldiers knew each other to a certain degree.

“Thy orders, mine lord ?”, asked Powell. “Aye, of course. Uhm...” Duncan hesitated for a moment, “1st and 2nd Section, proceed to barracks to taketh thy patrol scheduleth there. Mister Powell, you´re going to stayeth with these Sections. Thee might eke wanteth to inquire if 't be true there is needeth for a did train Sniper.”, he then turned to the rest of the team “3rd Section, Corporal Jordan, we art going to maketh contact with our Vannish cater-cousins over there”, he gestured towards the Stealth Hawk “I believeth those gents still needeth some crew for their Stealth Hawk. Cashiered.”

After Powell´s Part of the team had left, Duncan moved his Section, composed of him, the Medic and three other Commandos, towards the Vannish, lifting his hand in the greeting that had become traditional in the Isle´ish military, lifting the hand slightly, the bare palm facing the greeted. “All the Lord´s Blessings upon thee, Mine Lord”, he smiled, “Methinks yond thee still need crew members for thy Stealth Hawk. I shall prithee thee to join.”

[Vangaziland]

To the average outsider, the phrasing of the Isle'ish would seem complex. You would think it would take time to hear those words and translate it into standard English. But for the Vangazi soldiers, this was not their first experience with the Isle'ish language. Vangaziland and The Unified Isles had major diplomatic ties. Many Vangazi were used to the accent.

Don Frazor and Mark Emerazi were over with the female pilot and her co-pilot. They were signing an inventory sheet and tracking that the helicopter was all present and in good condition after transit. The pilot and co-pilot of the C-17 were also there.

Pete Farnsen had seen the Isle'ish coming and stepped over to meet them.

"Good day, gentlemen." Farnsen offered a bit of a smile. He was happy to be deployed and to be closer to a mission. He listened as they spoke. "Ah so you are volunteering for the ARF?" The Aerial Response Force would be on standby, waiting for any emergency. It was suited more so to a medevac, than close air support. It did have the fold out minigun though. "Don will be glad to have an allied nation around the Hawk. Consider yourselves in. It's mainly an 'on-standby' thing, so we'll keep in contact by handheld radio. There are some over here, let's go."

He lead the group towards a rather Spartan looking table. There was a large, black charger box, where 5 radios were charging. He handed two of them over to Isle'ish. Farnsen took another radio and turned it on. He turned the knob, flipping through the stations.

"Channel 7 is quiet, let's go with that. So this radio will be the one that tells us when it's time to spin up. Just for when we're not by the helicopter. Sergeant First Class Emerazi and I will be here right after breakfast everyday along with the helicopter crew, so we'll have a radio with us at the barracks as well. The mechanics and some other base staff are going to pull radio guard throughout the night. They can wake us up if we get called up."

Emerazi joined the pair at the table. He asked, "What's the good word?"

"Just sorted out the ARF. How is the inventory going?", said Farnsen, asking about the helicopter.

"It's going... It's a bunch of officer stuff."

"Frazor is going to love that."

The pair laughed.

Just then, SSG Paavo Jang walked back in the room, with the other Gazilian soldier. "Special delivery", he called out. His cargo pant pockets were stuffed. He pulled out packages of Pop Tarts and handed them out to the two Vangazi. The other soldier handed them the small energy drink cans.

"A little POGey-bait never hurt anyone." That was the Vannish Army phrase for junk food. "Would you care to partake?" Jang offered some of the extra pastries to the Isle'ish. Jang brought enough for more people.

[Sonitusia]

---

Diego Garcia

Maria smirked, making small edits to the picture as she referenced the man's face, getting so focused that she didn't say another word until she heard the clatter of a plate in front of her. Lowering her book, she smiled at the sight of rice slathered in brown curry, taking a spoon and shoveling a bite into her mouth, careful not to spill anything on her or her drawing. Seeing Raven Two also arrive, she began to add the girl to the picture, saying, "Merci," to Sulthon as she continued, the man peeking at her drawing as he took a seat.

"Excellent as always," Sulthon commented, eating a spoonful before turning to Raven One, "It's her favorite, reminder of Clamo, her hometown. They produce a lot of the mountain spices Sonitusia consumes, near the former Ignus border."

He then pointed at the fish-n-chips, asking, "Any reason for the same food every waking moment?"

[Relikai]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

"Well, any decent place should be able to come up with a proper dory or salmon." John replied, cutting into the fried skin of his fish as he dipped it into a sauce dish with mayonnaise. Placing it into his mouth, John nodded as he chewed into the soft white flesh of the fish, nodding his approval as he complemented the taste with a chip dipped in chili.

"Seems like Raven-Two's been talking huh." John said as he playfully nudged the little operator's arm, causing her to throw him a glare containing more irritation than anger. John was always doing that, and even thought the submissive Konayama Miyuki had no trouble with him in private, she disliked it when she was disturbed in a public setting.

"Do that again and I'll stab you where it hurts." Miyuki whispered in Nambian, loud enough for the three to hear as her fork hitting the melamine plate a little harder than she'd normally do before scooping another serving of spaghetti, enjoying the little bits of chicken added to it. Normally they'd serve bacon, but Miyuki ordered a version which would be acceptable for all races and religions, unless they'd swear off meat altogether. Miyuki also can't help but notice Echo-Three drawing her a little earlier.

"Are you drawing?" Miyuki asked, however her voice was of a slightly higher pitch, as if she was excited about something. Instinctively, Miyuki gave a genuinely bright smile before falling into a little pose (Above), ignoring John's stifled laughter as her mentor laughed at Miyuki's photogenic skills, as well as her enthusiasm with artists.

[Sonitusia]

---

Diego Garcia

"Oui," Maria replied, her facial expression a cheerful smile, but only noticeable through her eyes closing for a few moments before continuing. Seeing Raven-Two pose rather naturally, she instantly added edits to the picture, with an absolute must to have such a good looking face in the fray.

Sulthon chuckled, starting to eat again and then turning around squinting his eye so that he could see the Havoc 1's outline in the distance, barely in view as it took shade under a tree. "Even if this is just an island, defending it would be quite a hassle," he mentioned, sipping his tea quietly before biting in once more, "Our light artillery should be able to cover most of the area just by sitting in one place, but then it'd be prone to attack..."

He looked at Raven One, his face now turning into its usual serious face; the one he had when on duty. His gaze was stern, but his expression open to suggestion. "Like I said to Raven Two, Echo Three and myself specialize in a support role. Counter-terrorism on island terrain is also something that we trained in due to our own trouble with Lant island. It's good to know how our allies will generally play out, so if you don't mind..."

[Relikai]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

Miyuki continued to hold her pose, one of her favourite poses taught by a specialist instructor. Bringing out the 'cute' in Miyuki was one of the harder things to do, especially when needing to convert her from image to image. John on the other hand was hardly affected after years of near-constant interaction, and was able to focus on Echo-Four's comments. Looking out, John could see the assault gun, and wondered who would be manning it. Like most of their most valuable assets, it would come under heavy attack, perhaps during the second phase of a surgical operation. Whoever was tasked to operate it would be in hot soup, counting on their abilities and whoever was attached to them for support.

"My concern would be the terrain. The little irregular bit of land... Last time I saw the maps we span about eight kilometers from this base to the other 'leg'. Well within range of a high powered mortar."

John took a sip of cordial, letting the drink moisten his tongue as he took another bite of his fish.

"Several plans, an all-out perimeter defence, or Sun Tzu's Art of War, whoever defends everything, defends nothing. Concentrated defence around our assets, whoever wants to hit us has to do it fast, and we can win a war of attrition of supplies."

Hearing Echo-Four describe the role of the two, and knowing that keeping secrets from allied forces in a potentially deadly campaign, John nodded as he stuffed five fries into his mouth, earning a kick from Miyuki onto his shin. The Namba Girl did not even flinch from her pose.

"Oomph... Alright, we're mostly all-rounders, but I'm a person focused on weapons and direct action. Urban Operations, terrain warfare, I'm your man. Not as quick as my earlier years, but all types of weapons, I'm the Direct Action person usually found in the thick of the fighting. Raven Two tho..."

John looked at Miyuki, and his expression dropped a little.

"She's more 'behind the scenes', an excellent infiltrator, hundred percent success rate so far. She beats everyone in close combat, could wield pistols, sub-machine guns and carbines at will. She could improvise as a sniper, but her role would be recon and stealthy infiltration. If you want to consider the value of troops, she's one of the best in our Republic, and I mean, the entire United Federation of Relikan Republics. If we're talking about open combat, she might suffer a little, but Raven-Two will find her way around."

[Congreveopia]

Diego Garcia, Airstrip Perimeter Fence, Congreveopian Team:

Prichard looked over as the first Vannish C-17 landed. A thin puff of smoke as its wheels hit the tarmac, then the roar of the thrust reversers being deployed on the engines; as if the entire airplane was letting out one cacophonous sigh at the effort of slowing its incredible mass.

Then Prichard felt a hand he hadn’t noticed reach around him neck tap his neck, and turned to see Halcombe standing behind him.

“We are outside of the secure area,” said Halcombe “And we have intelligence suggesting that an attack on this base could occur at any time, and you’re watching our six. Stay alert.”

“Yessir,” replied Prichard. “Sorry, sir.”

“That was quick, sir,” said Avery, who had been walking beside Halcombe at the head of the four-person group seconds before. “I would have barely had my rifle up in time if you’d actually been a hostile, and you were in my peripheral vision when you turned.”

“In fairness, not all of Silicon is as trained at this as I am,” said Halcombe. “Primary specialization in CQB, secondary in Stealth. I went directly for the ‘ninja infiltrator’ line of training. Set a defensive perimeter here, and we’ll take a break until the runway’s quiet again.”

“You don’t need to be so hard on them,” said Nexus through Halcombe’s earpiece. “You’re not in much danger right now.”

“And hw do u knw tht?” Halcombe, like everyone in the Silicon guard, had spent countless nights in training learning how to type on his glasses with facial microgestures faster than most others could type on their computer with a keyboard.

“Because I wouldn’t attack right now,” answered Nexus. “If I could have moved fast enough, I would have made every effort to attack before TFA caught on. Now that reinforcements are here, I’d stop to reevaluate my plans.”

“Mybe thyr waitng 4 evry1 2 b distrctd wching T preety planes land, thn thy attk?” Halcombe noticed that the group had basically finished getting into a defensive posture, and he’d have to wrap up this conversation with Nexus.

“Maybe they’re going to sneak in disguised as food, and you don’t have to worry until next week,” replied Nexus.

“I actuly kinda lk T idea of snkng in w/ suplys.”

“Actually, I do too. If they don’t have someone on the inside to feed them info on the defenses, and maybe let an airplane of theirs slip in, it could be the safest op—”

“—So, I’m stealth and clearing buildings, what are you guys all good at?” asked Halcombe, muting Nexus’s radio “I’ve read your training and service records, but that’s not the same as your own opinion.”

Prichard and Rubin turned to Avery. The Lieutenant from the Silicon Guard was keeping them both on their toes. They were more focused than they had been in ages at their old base, trying to impress him, but they certainly weren’t going to go first and trip over any conversational landmines in this new test.

“Okay, I’m a medic,” said Avery “Battlefield trauma stabilization focus, not long-term reconstruction. I still remember all the training, but I’ve never had much of a chance to practice. I used a parachute more times than a firearm aboard Fortress, so there weren’t exactly many people who needed bullets pulled out of them.”

“Have you ever used your medical training in the field?” asked Halcombe.

“Many times, but more often because some idiot twisted his ankle on a rock than because of enemy action. I’ve only dealt with potentially critical injuries three times, all serving aboard Indiscriminate Vengeance. All of them lived, but I’ve probably got the city-block-sized balloon we were exfilled to each time to thank more for that.”

“Well, we’ve got a friendly base right here for medevac to,” said Halcombe. “Anything else?”

“Diplomatic qualification. There’s good room for career growth with unsupported deep operations —original Platinum Soldiers classic missions, but you need a diplomatic specialization before you can lead a team on that.”

Halcombe nodded. “And you two?”

“Marksman working my way through a drone qualification,” said Prichard. “Frankly, I was never the best marksman on base, though. My strength is more in overall situational awareness; hence why I’m tangenting into maybe switching to a drone tech.”

“Right,” said Halcombe. “I’m going to test you on that situational awareness claim later, but it’s a good skill to have if you can pull it off.”

“Yessir.”

“And you, Rubin?”

“Demolitions,” said Rubin. “Qualification in light anti-tank weaponry.”

“You like explosions,” said Halcombe with a smile.

“Can’t say I don’t,” returned Rubin with a grin. “If I had some ‘special power,’ though, I’d probably be thinking well on my feet. There’s a bit of mind-reading that goes into placing every charge when you’re trying to get a hostile to blunder into them.”

“And have you ever used this skill in combat?”

“Not outside of training and exercises, no. Neither me nor Prichard have actually seen real combat yet, sir.”

Halcombe’s heart sank a bit. They’d never seen combat. There were days when he’d prefer standard infantry to Plutonium Guard just so he knew they’d been shot at before without breaking under pressure. He was careful not to show any of these thoughts outwardly, though.

“Well, let’s hope it stays that way,” said Halcombe. “Come on, let’s move out.”

[Ghondra]

Naval Station St. Margo
Empire of Ghondra

The small and darkly lit briefing room contained the four members of Schneider Squad and the assorted Intelligence and Support personnel who were tasked to them. It never ceases to amaze Lieutenant Commander Elaine Dawes of how many people were required to support a mere four Special Operators of His Majesty's Armed Forces. Intelligence Officers, Quartermasters, Logistics personnel, Pilots, and god knows how many other roles helped them in prosecuting and executing their mission of keeping the world safer and ensure the safety of Ghondran interests. There was someone in the room who Elaine never seen before, not even passingly in the hallways. He wasn't wearing a uniform, instead he was wearing civvies in the form of a suit and tie, the ID around his neck indicated that he wasn't one of the personnel assigned to Naval Station St. Margo nor even assigned to her unit.

That was when she realized that he must be the representative of Task Force Atlas, the multi-national Task Force dedicated in maintaining the global order for its members. It surprised her that it took the Empire this long to join the program, considering its success but no matter, she expelled any thoughts of Atlas from her mind, instead focusing on Major Richard Hawke, the chief Intel officer assigned to Schneider.

"Good Evening Schneider, before we begin let me welcome Mr. Alan Morgan, he is a representative from Atlas and will be their chief Attache for JB-SOC. Now, let us begin" The middle aged man cleared his throat, stepping aside so that Schneider had a clear view of the projection.

"Yesterday at 0300 Hours Local Time Atlas Command lost contact with an outpost. Despite it being a minor base, due to the rarity of this kind of attack TFA Command has saw it fit to assign more operators to its bases. As of this moment we have little to no intel on who attacked the base, or why they attacked, we are essentially in the blind ladies and gentlemen."

"Schneider has been assigned, along with several other Operator squads to Diego Garcia. A Vannish Transport Plane is touching down in an hour, they already have most of the Operators there. Get your equipment and any supplies you can't get in Diego Garcia and join up with the group. Any questions?" There was silence, everybody perfectly understood that if there was more intel, Hawke would've told them, "Then dismiss. Report to Airstrip 3-17C ASAP" Schneider stood up, then saluted, before filing out of the briefing room, followed shortly by some of the support personnel.

When they reached the relative privacy of the Armory, the stoic faces of Schneider was lifted. Immediately Leroy Tanaka broke the silence, pointing towards the squad's senior NCO and by far the most experienced member of the squad, Derek Mayhew. "So what's your take on this Sarge?" Although Dawes shussed him, she secretly wanted to know herself. "Its too convenient. No motive, no cause, no perpetrator, nothing. And we're being ferried to a single location, where whoever did this can take out Atlas in one bold stroke. Its like Verein all over again" The squad nodded, they agreed with him, it was all too convenient. But there was nothing they could do about it, they had their marching orders and as soldiers their duty was to obey.

An hour later a Vannish C-17 Aircraft touched down during a rainy night on Airstrip 3-17C of Naval Station St. Margo. The squad filed in, Dawes nodded to her counterparts already seated on the plane. And a few minutes later they were in the sky again, inbound towards Diego Garcia.

[New Gazi]

Captain Okeke entered the hangar as the enlisted soldiers traded pop-tarts. The C-17 pilots were still signing paperwork over to Don Frazor. They were about done though and were just going over a few details inside the helicopter. Everything appeared to be in place. The group counted off and inspected the various radios.

Many people don't realize that pilots monitor multiple radios at once. There were actually physical radios for each network monitored, 5 in this case. Communications were important in such a high-tech aircraft.

There was also a digital map readout which was plugged into the soldier & vehicle tracking system employed by Atlas. Every vehicle or soldier could be plotted on this map and any soldier could update the location of enemy or other hazards. It was a good method of secondary comms. Soldiers could also send secure digitial text messages in the system, but it was kind of a complicated system. Relaying information over typical radio transmissions was quicker and easier.

Captain Okeke walked up to SFC Sefu. He motioned for him to step to the side with him for a quick chat away from the soldiers. "Sergeant, what were you thinking for the guard shift?"

"I was thinking we'd pull in shifts at the airfield, barracks or powerplant."

"Let's stick to the powerplant and the airfield... We'll consider ourselves on standby at the barracks when we are off guard shift."

"Okay, sir... Sounds good."

"I'll check in with Frazor and let him know we'll be around the airfield", Captain Okeke said. "Also tell the guys they don't have to stick around here. People are getting chow. Bags are being unloaded and are under watch, so people will be able to get any gear they shipped. I'm going to stick around here with Frazor though."

"Alright sir, I'll get the guys out of here."

The sergeant smiled, bowed his head and turned to walk back towards the Gazilians and the Vangazi enlisted.

"You guys have got a little personal time. Enjoy it while you can, because we'll be pulling a lot of guard. We'll be in groups of 3, 12 hours on, 12 off. When you're off, you'll be on standby guard. It'll be split between the Powerplant and the Airfield." The sergeant first class looked at his watch. First formation at 0600. Dismissed."

[Cascadia Nation]

. . .


Rhys didn't get a response, something must have been up and that was the reason why TF: Atlas Command wasn't responding. A frown formed on his face. The MRT (Military Rugged Tablet) vibrated on his lap. Rhys looked down to see Aegis was talking to him.

Code: Select all

Aegis: TF:Atlas assets are all mobile, I have limited access to TF: Atlas's channels, I suggest leaving this to me and i'll find you our marching orders.

Rhys: Alright, don't start anything you can't finish.

Aegis: Come-on Rhys, you know me, I'd never try and do that, plus what are the chances that others have the same level or higher level tech then us? :P

Aegis has left the conversation...

"Ohhh boy" Rhys thought, "Famous last words"


Aegis was one of the "Smart" Combat Intelligences that were able to conduct some advanced field hacks to assist team members in the field. Each of them took a bit of personality from the people they worked with which allowed it to bond with them and thus "feel" for the soldiers and thus "genuinely" care for them. Which worked with a slight set back, it was slower making moral decisions that effected their team, and they didn't like following chain of command.

With this said Rhys pretty much allowed Aegis a Advanced Machine Intelligence to waltz into TF: Atlas's Com network to poke around for orders for them which could come back with a whole list of reprimands for that or they wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. Regardless, the only thing that could be more dangerous would be having a rouge AI running about.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Aegis stood in front of a door it was marked Communications, she could theoretically walk through but she wasn't registered with TF: Atlas. So for all she knew alarm bells would start ringing. However the Handshake protocol would allow her to send messages through the door but not allow basic runtimes from her through. She thought, and there is probably some sort of anti spyware on the other side just waiting for me to try breaking in and that would send off alarms in the real world and this one. She walked up to the door and began to run a decryption algorithm to attempt to create a shunt that would let her in for only a moment. That's all she needed, just one moment she would send several sub-routines in to find any thing that had their name on it or in better terms literally her name on it and have them come back to her. All she needed was time, she sighed as the decryption completed and she grabbed the door handle and pulled. The door didn't move. She placed her foot on the door frame and pulled hard. The door opened partly and she was able to send her sub-routines through but she had to stay here and hold the door open.

"Yup that is defiantly going to cause issues" Aegis thought.

[Sonitusia]

John Gravosia 'Graves', Konayama Miyuki 'Milky'
Task Force 48 // Task Force Atlas Liaisons
Diego Garcia

"She's more 'behind the scenes', an excellent infiltrator, hundred percent success rate so far. She beats everyone in close combat, could wield pistols, sub-machine guns and carbines at will. She could improvise as a sniper, but her role would be recon and stealthy infiltration. If you want to consider the value of troops, she's one of the best in our Republic, and I mean, the entire United Federation of Relikan Republics. If we're talking about open combat, she might suffer a little, but Raven-Two will find her way around."

---

Diego Garcia

"Well she won't have to improvise, I've got her covered," Maria smiled, finally putting down her book a little before turning it over, revealing her drawing, "Here's what I have so far, take a look."

It was a stylized picture that she had created, not fully realistic, and radiated with the emotion that the artist had felt. One could see that how rough the lines were still, considering that it had only been around ten minutes to a quarter of an hour since she had begun, but it still looked smooth and natural. The shading had already been laid out, shadows lurking in from the outside, falling gently onto the floors of the mess hall. The current occupants could be seen with varying emotion; some laughing, some silent in thought, and others depressed as they awaited what the future had in store. Despite only using a pencil, the scene was captured like a black and white camera, almost too good to be true. But again, it was not realism. Maria had a taste for the cartoonish side of art, and her work showed faint hints of Western and Eastern styles into one.

Of course, in the foreground were both Raven One and Two, the both of them smiling to one another; Raven One with his charming grin as he sat diagonally, and Raven Two with an innocent smile that seemed to hide a bit more happiness towards her companion. But Maria's eyes were sharp, and even picked up the emotions that both had through their eyes, though she herself would not indulge too far; Raven One's care for Two as if she were his child, albeit a tad daddy like, and Two's annoyed, yet equally caring stare. Also in the far right of the sketch was Sulthon, only his left eye visible as he enjoyed his curry. And yet, one could tell she had put as much detail as possible into that area, despite limitation on what she could fit inside. She let the book stand as she cracked her knuckles, beginning to focus eat in earnest.

"I'll continue working on it, though if you'd like any changes, feel free to comment," she said. Sulthon whistled in amazement. "It's as good as always, Ma-" he said, stopping himself at the last moment before continuing, "Echo-Three."

Shaking his head, he smiled awkwardly before taking out a tablet, something he'd been using since his days as the president's aid. On the screen was currently a live map of Diego Garcia. "I've been studying the terrain myself, and indeed, it doesn't seem very helpful. Choke points are available, which our Havoc can exploit once it drops, but I believe that our commander's going to have them deploy somewhere where they can use the forest to their advantage. Simply put, we're not going to see much of them close by, and I'd rather not."

He swiped the screen, and pictures of the vehicle in question appeared. "Small, open topped, airdroppable, semi-automatic 57mm cannon, the Havoc 1 was purpose built as light artillery support for paratroopers," he explained, "It's fast, mobile, accelerates quickly, and gets around rough terrain very well. Problem is, well, it has to keep moving, or stay out of sight."

He laid the tablet out on the middle of the table, letting everyone take a look. "While rather unorthodox for units of our kind, we've managed to turn our Havocs into excellent guerilla vehicles," he said, "I'm here to keep it running. Someone has to keep them in check on enemy movements, and if the tankette stops moving, they stop going down. I hope we can work together on this."