French Quarter

-The discharge of the KSG had startled her sine her back was turned, but she easily composed herself. She did however bend over to look into the hole and saw that he had got the little fucker. She made a face of being impressed to herself. Her gun was still not holstered and instead in her hand hanging at her side.  Her eyes too glanced around because she knew the shit they were in.

There was a silence that came over them before Bandit broke it by asking that question. The question caused her to glance over at Vulkan and she let out a sigh while she spoke the number to him.- “496.” -she said flatly but it came out with that sigh she was letting out. It was a breathy number. Still no waiver in her voice.- “But that data was at least a year old. It could be more, it could be less.” -there was a pause in her voice.-

“Less now.” -she said because she knew how quickly these things moved. There would be no on else alive. It had taken them to long to get here. The chances of anyone surviving were slim to none. The chances of them surviving also got exponentially smaller. The number of species on the ship was undisclosed to them. The types were also undisclosed. Though Orion had a feeling Mr. Quint knew more then he was letting on. Classified information that not even she was privy too. Which was within the norm. Though she was informed about this particular species. That was the one that wanted brought back. Alive.

Her eyes glanced to Vulkan and she walked over towards him. And at first it might seem she would address him. One hand was on her hip and the other was still holding the gun. Her face softened looking at him, and a smile creeped across her face.- “Weapons free, Vulkan.” -she then slapped his arm with her hand in a friendly manner, while she was walking. There was a familiarity between he two that Bandit didn’t pick up on before, but right now the cat was out of the bag. She went against protocol and killed something. She was using lethal force. 

“Bandit, we are using lethals from this point out. You might have questions, but don’t ask. The less the you know the better. You’re XO is ordering you to shoot to kill, that’s all you need to know. It gives you deniability. Vulkan, Quint didn’t get into the armory correct?” -she asked him as she was walking and looking at her weapon.- “My site is off by a hair.  With the way these things move, I can’t have my site off. My trigger also felt a little stiff. Could just be bad weaponry but considering out distrust of Quint, I wouldn’t put it past him to damage the weapons.” -she was speaking to Vulkan as if Bandit wasn’t there. She would still take care with what she said to protect Bandit incase he made it out alive, the less he knew the better but it would only be a matter of time before he found out.-

“Bandit, the only thing you should know is:  No close contact with these things. Do not shoot at close rang and do not stab them. Their blood is acidic and it will eat right through you. Your uniform isn’t made to withstand it.

It took her minute to realize that the sound of the animals, the birds, the insects had silenced around them because she had been focused on the kill. Traying to keep Bandit in the dark and alive at the same time. Her eyes started darting around and she made a face while glancing at Vulkan.-

-Orion kept her mouth shut when Quint was speaking, however the stomp of his foot startled her, as it would most people who weren’t expecting it. She kept her cool. Her face no betraying her emotions to the situation. There was no room for emotions in this especially with the watchful of Mr. Quint. Orion knew the consequences of her actions, and unfortunately she was taking Bandit down with her. He had an excuse, he was just following his XO’s orders and she would testify to that if they survived this. Surviving might worse then dying here with what they would face once they got back home. That was something she could contend with, except she had no plans to return. All she needed was evidence.

She knew Quint wanted to add on to what she was saying and would have disagreed with her choice to split up. However, tactically it made the most sense. It also removed his watchful eye from her. She hated putting Deadeye and Stich with him, but they were more suited to what he needed. At least with Bandit and Vulkan she had a shot of completing her secret mission. Stitch was useless to her for that, and Deadeye she didn’t trust. She had gone through their files with a careful eye choosing her team carefully.

The weight of the ever watchful eye of Mr. Quint was off of her.  The weight that fell from her shoulders as visible if one cared to pay attention. Easily she fell in line behind Bandit with Vulkan at her six. Her eyes were watching, but not just the areas around them. They looked at the areas above them as well. Her eyes stayed more trained on the darker parts of the trees. For the most she stayed quiet even when Bandit was luckily enough putting in the upgrade to his KSG. While he was doing that she continued to watch the area like a bird. Orion was mostly quiet during this mission. At least at the moment. She did give a slight nod of her head in approval when he was switching out the shells.

Moving with the two men, she watched how Bandit moved and would glance behind her to Vulkan just to make sure he was still there and not stopped for any reason. She moved with a lithe grace, with eerily quiet footsteps. She might be Corporate but she had training under her belt. She was shorter and thinner then them and could move with a gentle ease. An unassuming threat.

At Vulkans words she stopped walking so she could listen. She heard nothing. Not a thing. Just the soft sounds of animals, which was a blessing. She would have worried if she didn’t hear them. The people…she didn’t expect to hear anything from them. The ship had been crashed for awhile now. It was almost fascinating on how fast they worked. Except now she knew they didn’t stand a chance. That was a frightening reality. There was sweat that had formed under her hairline. The weather was agreeable. Not to hot, not to cold. But the walking and the fear caught up with her.

Her lips parted as if she was going to finally speak, except that Bandit suggested they keep moving. Finally she found that brave part of her again. A hand quickly and roughly wrapped around Bandit’s forearm from the top.-

“Don’t move.” -she said to him, she quickly released him.- “I’ll go into the clearing first. When I get half way through, you follow my exact path. Keep your guns trained on the sides of the clearing. Vulkan you aim east, Bandit west. Stay out of sight till I’m half way through.”

-Pull out her revolver that was attached to her hip she started to slowly and systematically walk into the clearing. Her gun was trained in front of her because she was trusting Bandit and Vulkan to aim theirs in the directions she indicated. They wouldn’t even had time to argue with her. This was the best way forward. If there were UPP there, they would go for her first. If there was mines, she would trigger it first. If there was something else lurking in the shadows of the trees.

The sun was brighter then she expected, but her eyes easily adjusted to the tree line in front of her as she was slowly crossing the clearing. Her knees slightly bent as she took each careful step forward. One foot exactly in front of the other. Keeping her movements tight.

She stopped suddenly in her tracks. Her gun aimed. There was a rustling in the brush before her. She quickly dropped down to one knee with her foot up and her revolver trained. Moving slowly back and forth to figure out where the sound was coming from. The trees slightly to her left started move.

An unfamiliar animal with fur came out. Resembling a bear and a cat at the same time. It was not an animal from earth that they knew. It was slow moving but started to make it’s way towards Orion. She held up her fist to indicate not to shoot it.  Not yet. It shambled before it fell to the ground.  Staying still has a statue, not even breathing. While it was laying in the ground it started to look as though it was seizing.

Orion quickly jumped up and ran over towards the beast, but not directly at it. More to the side. If Vulkan or Bandit could see the beast, it’s chest looked like it was being pushed out. Once close enough she fired into the beasts chest. The blood cam spurting out of it but she was far enough away to not to get anything on her.

She turned towards to where Vulkan and Bandit were, if they hadn’t moved. And spoke to them.-

“Move. And quick.” -once again offering no explanation. However, they were probably used to that from corporate types.-

“Copy.” -she said to Jaeger, however she knew that UPP didn’t have PDT and neither did any the crew members aboard the ship. They were mostly used for the colonists. They would actually be super helpful right now, however they didn’t have that luxury. People were not exactly her priority, it sounded horrible but they were dealing with a different truth in this situation. Any person they come into contact with might be compromised. Orion wouldn’t, no, she couldn’t take the risk of bringing anyone back.

There were no windows where they sat to look out, she knew what the terrain would be like. It wasn’t unforgiving. Except the forest areas worried her. They were a perfect place for an ambush.

The landing zone was worse then the scans suggested. Angular crags knifed out of the earth like broken vertebrae. Tress that loomed and their roots curled and twisted on the ground.  It was mountainous and rocky.  The drop was quiet and lucky uneventful once a safe place was found to land. But it seemed little to quiet. Especially for a place Weyland-Yutani claimed was a dead rock planet which was why the UPP took it over so easily.  The ship landed and there was a barking of orders to get out. Honestly, she couldn’t tell who was saying it. Her mind slipped off into her own world for a moment. Her eyes closed and she reminded herself to get in the game.

The ramp descended with a hiss and the soft clanks of the metal joints.  She felt the wind immediately, like it was pushing through lungs that never learned to breath. She glanced at something on wrist a small watch looking device.  She unstrapped herself, putting her game face on. As she walked down the metal ramp, her boots absorbing most of the sound, but the soft thud of her boots could be heard along with the Marines as they filed out.  Once out she would turn to the Marines.-

“Alright line up. This isn’t going to be done exactly by the book.” -at that her eyes shifted to Mr. Quint.- “But we’ll keep it close”-she looked back to the rest of the team.

“We have a lot of land to cover and we will be splitting up into two groups of three. Mr. Quint you will take Stitch and Dead for team one. Team two will be Vulkan, Bandit and myself. Mr. Quint you’ll take your team to 12 clicks north and report back. Two team will be 12 clicks south and report. Remember comms are be used for emergencies or checks ins, if you need chatter keep it an absolute minimum. And remember your directive. Do not kill the specimens, it’s trap only no lethals.  If you run into the UPP, subdue them quietly if possible. Attempt not to use force if it can be avoided. If you have any questions...” -she paused for a second before glancing across all of them.- “you should have asked sooner.”

“Let’s move out. We have a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time.” 

Whether he was worried about Vulkan believing their story, he didn’t seem concerned. He seemed concerned about the crew, and he spoke with a familiarity that his file may not have afforded. There were parts in his file — in everyone’s file — that were redacted up to a certain clearance. He had accomations for bravery, service, as well as pain. But he also had reprimands. Things that could get a person ejected from military service. “Insubordinate” was used earlier in his performance jacket. “Reckless” used in write ups by superior officers that otherwise got him medals. Did he have a guardian angel? A blackmail cache? Or had his gambits simply been lucky?

Bandit could respect she stood her ground, and respect further that she didn’t pull rank on him. Yet as he moved to go suit up, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should have telegraphed his general support for… well, whatever she was up to. But if she was wondering if the Colonial Marines knew that something was up… well, either everyone was oblivious to the potential dangers ahead, or it was just another Tuesday.

Black Ops was a small, tight lipped community. Tight knit, but people kept to their own in typical unspoken fashion. Back before the Corporatist takeover, the Army worked for the CIA. Now, the Marines worked for WY. Bandit and the fireteam were just tools for a dirty job. Sometimes those tools were handled with care. Other times…

The Marauders wore form fitting black uniforms, almost resembling wetsuits with tactical alterations. Their armor was painted a true black color, and seemed like a lighter, sleeker version of the standard Marine battle gear that included a vest, elbow and knee pads, as well as elbow and shin plates. For now, their helmets were clipped to their tactical belts, where they looked like little more than balaclavas with built in red lenses and accompanying gas mask.

Bandit stood examining the material covering his cybernetic arm, making sure the ports were properly covered or exposed, whichever was appropriate.. At his leg, a Hyperdyne pistol called a Twinhammer was holstered, a standard UPP service weapon. They would all be carrying one. At his left, a machete. His K-Bar knife stuck out of his right shinguard. At his back, along with his small pack, were the KSG-AL (Electro-gun) for his right hand, and a double-barreled shotgun for the cybernetic left arm. She could also see what appeared to be a crowbar.

[Twinhammer]
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[DKT- Double Barrel, "Little Bear"]
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As the medic, Stitch had a much larger ruck sack; aside from the Twinhammer and Electro-gun, he had a PPZ- a powerful and light submachine gun.

[PPZ Submachine Gun]
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Deadeye wore patches of gilly-netting over her armor as part of her sniper load out; completing the ensemble with the Twilight v4, a sniper rifle that had been used on the USCM to great effect, and usually with their own ammo, as the Twilight used 10x24mm Caseless. It could shoot twice as far as any pulse rifle, and likely 3 times that with her aim.

[Twilight v4]
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Vulkan didn’t carry the twin hammer, but instead wore the Frontier Revolver on his right leg, with nothing hanging off of his left cybernetic leg, now covered in the wet-suit material. The handle of a large knife jutted out behind his head, tucked within his armor. A Heavy Support Harness was fashioned around him, but instead of a smart-gun, the OPAC-91 Volcano flamethrower unit was fashioned into place, suspended and at the ready behind him to his left. If it was needed to deploy, he barely would need to reach around and swing the incinerator forward. The harness allowed him to carry extra ammuntion, though he only had one fuel pod. Instead, he carried a Rapid Repeater — the gun Bandit mentioned earlier. It was similar to the “StreetSweepers” that Gangers had back on earth. In space, it was known as a “Riot Gun”. Rubber bullets, bean bag rounds, or the lethal buckshot or full slugs.

They were not to use these weapons on the research subjects — the company’s “guinea pigs”, as Bandit alluded to — hence the Electro-guns. But they were dropping into hostile territory. If they were caught, they were being disavowed. WY and the Corp would deny they ever existed, and that they had gone rogue, acted alone.

Bandit was fine by that. But he wasn’t walking behind enemy with just a beefed up taser. Mr. Quint knew that and so did the Company. But they all knew that the droid was going to be watching them. Whatever they were going to hunt, they wanted it in one piece. Bandit was fine with that, too. And sometimes, one had to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

There were a dozen other Hyperdyne weapons, ranging from shotguns to plasma rifles grenade launchers, as well as portable auto-turrets, though the goal was not to resort to that cache of firepower.

Mr. Quint had shown up with his own Electro-gun and a small laser pistol in a holster on his hip. He was neatly buckled into his seat in the ship while Jaeger did last minute checks.

The drop was quick, the Sepctre flying through the atmosphere. After a rocky start that saw them burning through the upper layers before evening out once they lowered altitude. The planet had an oxygen rich atmosphere, more than breathable. The terrain looked like the Appalachian or Rocky Mountains, with great swaths of dense, bristling forest interrupted by great, jagged peaks of rock. C’Tan was rick in ore and minerals, a perfect mining colony that could support multiple mines and towns.

“Scanners aren’t picking up any signals. No anti-air, nothing. Coming up on the LZ in two minutes…” Said Jaeger from the cockpit.