Co-OPed by Arengin Union, Bingellia, Europa Undivided and Khasinkonia
Welcome to Orphan Company, a character RP set in the year 2137. In this RP you will play the role of a one of the few free human survivors in the aftermath of a brutal alien invasion, or one of their friendly alien allies.
Nine years ago earth was invaded and overrun by a seemingly unstoppable foe from outside of the Milky Way, humanity was ill prepared and the few survivors fled underground where a few small settlements have been established in the tunnels under earth's fallen cities. However, humanity was not alone. A coalition of other races, the 'Federation of Civilised Worlds' are resisting the invasion.
While humanity was never a part of the Federation, anyone lucky enough to get off earth has generally ended up in Federation Space where most people capable of lifting a blaster have joined the 'Orphan Company' (actually a Division sized unit, despite the name), a force of volunteers from Earth and other displaced communities who are determined to stem the tide and, one day, take back their homes. Your character is a member of Company A of the 6th Light Infantry Battalion, one of the best in the Federation. For the purposes of your app, assume that your character is a Corporal unless I tell you otherwise: in some scenes you might be on the front lines in command of a fire team of disposable redshirts, in others you might be part of an elite group behind enemy lines with just the other writers. Not entirely realistic, but hopefully good fun!
The RP is set in the Andromedaverse universe, though there is no requirement for you to have read any of it or even have the faintest idea what it is about.
Finally, this RP is open to latecomers. If you want to join a bit late, we'll just assume you are a private soldier who just got a promotion for some act of bravery.
Two Days Ago...
Rebecca Cohen ducked under the camouflaged tent's entryway, offering a swift salute the the blue-skinned officer inside. He saluted back, "At ease Cohen."
General Shrandat was tall by Inuv standards. Very tall for a human. At 6'6'' he towered over Cohen by just over a foot. He motioned at the map he had spread across the folding table in the middle of the tent. Yes, they lived in a world where you could have a holographic display with pieces moving in real time and some commands had that, but sometimes it was easier to carry an old fashioned paper map. It folded up into your pocket and worked even if the Ragons bombed the power station.
Rebecca stepped forward, glancing down at the map. It was a highly detailed topographical map of the land to the West of Saridat, the Berdikon capital city that was currently the front line of the war for the Milky Way. Shrandat had taken a big blue pen to it, marking lines and circling areas of importance. It looked like a shambles, though she knew half the information would be held inside the general's head, "Front line Sir?" she half-asked, half-stated, "Where do you want the Sixth?"
Shrandat didn't answer the question right away, instead, drawing his line across what appeared to be a wide valley, perhaps two miles across, that Rebecca deduced was the Orphan's section of the front. He finished on a hill which he tapped, "Hill 7382. We want you there spotting for the artillery we have dug in here," he tapped another position behind the crest of the hill.
"That's a little further forward than I'd position that battery," Rebecca remarked.
"It is," Shrandat smiled, a smile that tweaked up the corner of his thin dark moustache, "We expect the Ragons to start the battle by launching a series of probing attacks across the line. They will find that the hills on either flank of the valley are strongly defended, but that the brigades positioned in the valley itself are less experienced and form a weak spot in the line. Naturally they will seek to exploit this weakness, but they will also be concerned about the potential for an encirclement. So they will push against the 6th, and discover that they are fighting a single battalion sized unit with artillery support. They will find a similar situation on the other side. They may decide to neutralise the batteries, but then they will, if all goes according to plan, focus their attack on the centre."
Rebecca nodded, having some idea of where this was going, "The artillery is a ruse?" she suggested.
That got a nod in return, "Your actual task is to keep the Ragons from breaking out of the valley. If they attempt to move up they will be vulnerable to enfilading fire from your position and units have been instructed to give ground by retreating out of the valley where possible. When the time is right, we will move our reserve armour along the reverse slope and attempt a double envelopment of whatever units have pushed into the valley. Do not expect any reinforcements until that point. We don't want tip them to the fact we have any to supply. So expect things to get desperate. I of course have the utmost faith in you and your troops," he paused, before adding with a slight smile, "Consider it a punishment for a job well done in the past."
Chapter One: The Battle Of Saridat
(Click here for theme music)
Hill 7382
"What took you guys so long!" one of the engineers called as the troops from the 6th made their way up the hill, carting their gear on their backs.
It was a well fortified position. With three lines of reinforced trenches built in a circle around the crest of the hill where someone, presumably a human, had hung a banner that read '¡No pasarán!'. They shall not pass. Federation High Command had sent an order to all units earlier that day:
'No retreat. No surrender. We hold them here.'
The humans in the Orphan Company had seized on that and 'they shall not pass' was getting scrawled on walls, vehicles and home made banners in as many languages as were spoken. The order wasn't pure propaganda either. If the Ragon ground forces could destroy or, worse, capture the Saridat batteries it would make the position of the fleet in orbit untenable and if Greskia had to be abandoned then it would be a catastrophic blow for the Federation's war effort. Conversely though, the Ragons were clearly running out of steam.
As if to punctuate that point there were a sudden series of explosions in the sky, dull rumbles by the time they reached the trenches below, "Ragon flyers," someone called, pointing in the direction of a number of grey dots on the horizon. A few moments later there was the boom of a squadron of Federation fighters as the streaked over Hill 7382 on an intercept course, leaving long vapour trails in their wake.
In the first battles the Orphans had fought in, the Ragons had enjoyed easy air superiority, but now... they still downed two Federations aircraft for every one they lost, but they just didn't seem able to replace them. From the handful of prisoners the Federation had taken, it seemed that the shortage was manpower rather than equipment, though that was hard to confirm; getting good information from inside Ragon held space was difficult at best.
"Everyone get into cover!" Cohen called from the front of the column. Despite her size, Cohen had quite a voice on her. If they were here to bomb the position then it would be better not to be caught out in the open.
Aside from the trenches there were a series of bunkers that offered some degree of cover. Cohen dropped down into the nearest trench, navigating her way towards the central bunker which she had already marked out for her headquarters, leaving everyone else to get themselves into position. They had a few moments to set up, position sentries and maybe have a quick chat to the person next to them, but all too soon battle would be joined, once again...
