Max moves quickly through the compound, talking as he goes.
"Sounds like we're going in blind on this one. N'ialla, get a truck. Something tough. Leviticus, see what you can get for tools, medical supplies, food, and ammo. We might be out there a while. Meet me outside the base at my hovercraft; down the hill on the south side, it's right next to the oversized ATV."

Stopping for just a moment in the centre of the compound, Max looks at the two and adds, "...and make it quick."
Unless they have anything to add, Max turns and breaks into a jog toward the front gates.

The trio soon meets up at the vehicle lot, just outside the outpost, drenched in rain, and sinking 6 inches in mud. Leviticus has filled 3 backpacks with rations, ammunition, and robot medical kits. He even managed to secure 7 Talisman PPE batteries for the mages.

N'ialla acquired a small hover-van. A re-armored civilian vehicle, painted black.

The seats in the front are designed for a human sized driver, but the rest of the vehicle is an enclosed MDC vehicle with enough room in the back for someone larger, or supplies
It has been painted grey, and is approximately 19 feet long. The interior is all one room, with an 8-foot ceiling. There are various clips inside, and straps to fasten gear and armor.

Stats :

MDC : 350
Speed : Max speed is 150 kph, with full hover system. Can hover 3-10 feet off the ground (or any surface).
There are 4 doors (driver, passenger, and double rear doors.)

N'ialla parks the van, and hops out with a splash. She walks over to the other two to make sure they are all ready. She looks 30% skinnier, as her fur is soaked and flattened down to her head and neck (she is wearing body armour and a cloak). "How fast can you go Maxy? This thing can go 150 kph as far as I'm told..."

As the two approach Max's Wilderness Crusader, they see the back hatch is open, the ramp is down, and mud is tracked up into the small cargo bay. Three plastic tote boxes are lined up at the top of the ramp, under the folded wings of a detached flight pack. Max is farther inside, removing a pair of heavy cannons from a cabinet and leaning them against the bulkhead near the door. One is a Coalition particle beam weapon, and the other is a Triax-made rail gun. On the floor are a couple other pieces of gear; one forearm weapon unit with vibro-claws protruding from it, and one that is clearly a Techno-Wizard creation that consists of an 8-inch long capped tube and a series of synthetic straps to attach it to something. A PPE clip is snapped into a socket near the back.

Max has put armour on; the suit is painted in a matte camouflage scheme that matches the flight pack. Compared to the Super SAMAS and other heavy power armour dominating the battlefields these days, this suit doesn't look like much more than a bulky exoskeleton.

Looking up, Max shakes his head at N'ialla's question. "We're all going in the truck. A convoy would make us too big a target." He stops for a minute to strap a harness around his waist and thighs, making sure the flaps are properly securing the two small pistols, e-clips, and other ammo. As he does so, Max glances up at N'ialla and gives the van a nod. "Good find, by the way."

"Alright, help me get this gear loaded up." At that, he picks up the tote that has a quickly-scrawled label that says "AMMO". The other ones are labeled with a big "+", and "Etc".

When all the boxes and weapons are loaded into the truck, Max picks up the flight pack with ease and slides it in behind the rest. He straps it to the wall to keep it upright and easy to clip into when the time comes.

Then, he fetches one last rifle from the cabinet in his hovercraft. This one is long and more delicate looking than the rest, wrapped in camouflage webbing, and has a thick high-tech scope fixed to it. He wraps one arm through the strap and carries it by hand. The bay doors of the Wilderness Crusader close up as Max steps out, and he announces, "All set. Let's do this."

N'ialla grins, and helps Max load up. She then hops into the drivers' seat, unstrapping her sword sheath and laying it between her and the passenger seat. "We should be there in just a couple minutes." She waits until both men are ready, then she blasts off.

Having already stowed the recently acquired gear in the rear of the truck along with his own kit Leviticus has his hands free to help Max carry his things. With a 13ft wingspan and supernatural strength of 30+ he makes short work of any hauling that needs to be done. During the ride he begins a methodical check of his weapons and gear ensuring everything is just so. Without looking up from the task at hand he says, "I do not posess the wealth of mystic knowledge that a typical mage might however I can offer Armor of Ithan, Invulnerability, Chameleon and Superhuman Speed spells to you both if you would like any or all of them. If you are unfamiliar with their effects I can brief you in detail."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:15, Sun 30 Dec 2012.

With his rifle pointed down between his feet, Max braces himself against the movement of the van. He gives a light chuckle. "Thanks, Leviticus. Maybe in a pinch. For now, I'll stick to the tangible stuff, and you should save your energy." Max slaps an e-clip into his rifle and powers up the scope. Looking at his unusual companions for a moment, he sighs and grins a little, then focuses on the oncoming terrain for a while.

N'ialla struggles to keep the ride as smooth as possible with the rain, and mud, hills, craters and debris. Keeping her eyes on the road, she says out loud : "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they find out the reinforcements that Juyong sent are just the three of us..."

"I was just thinking that. Three people can be easy to miss in a battle."

Max turns and pulls a couple pieces of gear from the back seat and puts them in his lap. He begins fastening the FIWS and TW launcher tube above and below his left forearm. From the arm of his power armour, he connects a power cord to an e-clip adapter and slides it into the FIWS. "Personally, I intend to make an impression."

Trying hard to remain calm in the presence of the Rakasha the Ramen raises a furry eyebrow at her comment regarding backup. "Arguments of quality over quantity aside Max she does make an excellent point."

Max shakes his head. "Doesn't matter if there are three or three hundred of us. Our job's the same. We do what we can to get supplies in and put some hurt on the Deadboys. Believe me, the friendlies will just be happy to see a couple boxes of ammo and bandaids. Anything else we can do is a bonus."

As he speaks, Max watches out the window, taking in the terrain. He pulls up the holomap on his pocket computer to compare.

After a couple minutes, the crash site can be seen in the distance. Thick black smoke is bellowing high into the sky, while a second transport has unleashed an army of paratroopers from several thousand feet from the ground. A swarm of skelebots descend toward the Tolkeen platoon below. Every few seconds, a crash of lightning illuminates the battle field, and the soldiers of third platoon can be seen scrambling for cover by the crashed transport, while the glitter boys open fire, trying to destroy as many as possible before they land. The Coalition robotic force return fire with a barrage of mini-missiles and completely engulf the guardsmen, likely destroying both of them.

The hover van should be there just after they land on the surface, but will be in standard weapon's range within 45 seconds.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:50, Fri 04 Jan 2013.

As the situation becomes more apparent, Max uses his years of experience in battle to present his tactical assessment of the situation:


"Shit."



He narrows his eyes at the transport and the countless automatons streaming out of it. With the slightest look of disappointment he adds, "I guess I won't be needing this today." He slips his JA-11 into the back seat, wedging it in the corner.

"Alright N'ialla. Keep it steady and try to put the downed transport between you and those Skelebots. Don't make the van a target. I have something to take care of. Good luck out there."

Max secured his helmet, opens the door, and in one smooth motion is up on the roof of the van. The door clicks shut, there is a scraping sound, then silence.

A few moments later there is a loud thud at the rear of the van, and the sound of the loading doors opening.

Radio transmission : << "This is Major Karno, there will be another joining you momentarily. An elf named Lyrran" >>

Max pauses a moment in the back of the van to fire a message back. "Roger. Tell her to look for the hover van and get her protection up before getting anywhere near this place." From what he knew of elves, Max figured she had to be another spell-slinger.

Max takes the opportunity to pass some basic intel to the Major. "Inbound is one Death's head transport and two-to-three companies of Skelebots. One Death's head transport and two-to-three companies of Skelebots. Over."

Lyrran had been dispatched earlier in the day and by time transmission of his arrival came over the radio he was on the field although still some distance from the group. Luckily he had their coordinates and he reached into his rucksack and took out the portal device he been given. Channeling his energy into the device, Lyrran watched as a small energy portal arose before him. Without hesitation, he stepped through.

In the back of the van, a slight electrical crackle could be heard before the portal opened and Lyrran stepped through. He was clad, head to toe, in dark grey battle armor detailed with spikes on the shoulders, elbows, forearms and knees.

Corporal Lyrran Ravenshadow reporting for duty. he said.

Poised at the rear doors in full power armour, Max reacts to the appearance of the portal by pivoting smoothly and leveling a particle beam cannon at Lyrran's head. An enormous clang reverberates in the cargo area from one of his collapsed wings hitting the side wall.

After a moment, he relaxes and broadcasts through his loudspeaker. "Fuck. He wasn't kidding about 'momentarily'."

Gripping the barrel of the weapon with his left hand, he reaches out with his right. "Max."

"Here's the sitrep. We're a couple minutes out from the crash site. There's a small battalion of skelebots dropping from the sky. N'ialla and Leviticus," Max gestures to the front with two fingers, "...are going to try to get in before they land and deliver some supplies. And we have no airborne units. Except for me."

Max turns and opens the doors, raising his wings halfway to horizontal.

Taking Max's hand in his own, Lyrran shakes the man's hand and nods in reply.

Listening to Max give a breakdown of the situation, Lyrran says Understood. Well we have two flying units now, as I can fly also. Any chance they could be drawn away by use so the ground forces can get to the wreck with the supplies? I can make quite a bit of noise when I want.

Turning her head slightly so those in the back can hear her, while still keeping he eyes on the road, she replies "Our guys are already at the wreckage, and can't leave until relieved. The CS are trying to secure it for themselves. Nobody is getting drawn away anywhere."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:41, Thu 10 Jan 2013.

Max's flight pack bursts to life and starts generating the harsh whine of turbines spinning up. He turns up his loudspeaker volume to compensate. "She's right. They won't back down from this one easily. I'm going to see what I can do about that transport up there. Good luck."

At that, he turns and leaps from the back of the van. His wings snap into their flight position, his jets flash, and he takes off at a steep climb.

Your vehicle is approaching in the Squad Three thread, just a few hundred feet out now. You now all have access to that thread. The other players in that squad are Sergeant Dusk, and Heinrich (mercenary).

---

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This message was last edited by the GM at 18:43, Thu 10 Jan 2013.

   The battle wages on for nearly an hour before Tolkeen manages to send enough reinforcements to relieve the members of Pluto Company and hold the crash site from the Coalition long enough to unload everything of value from the crashed transport.

There is no time for looting, and most everything is damaged or destroyed in any event. It was a long and brutal battle, where ammunition was running slim, and many of the company were engaged in hand to hand combat.

There were several casualties of course, and no one made it out without a scratch. Most body armour was heavily damaged, or missing parts entirely. Anyone with a mortal flesh and blood body was exhausted, mentally and physically. What took an hour, felt like days and the company earned a well deserved rest upon returning to Juyong Outpost.

The next day, Pluto was back on patrol duty and two squads met medium combat again that day. In the days following, the first month of Pluto Company's service came to an end. It passed just as any other day, but it was impossible not to reflect on how much most of them went through in the last 30 days. It was more than most mercenaries see in their entire careers.

Within a week, the combat all but completely ceased along the 'no man's land' between Juyong Outpost and the Coalition base on the opposite side. The seemingly endless patrols began to deaden the senses, and almost made one wish for the frequent fighting of September to return.

Weeks turned into months, and soon Pluto Company was patrolling in the snow, and freezing cold of an extra harsh winter. It wasn't until the 19th of December when the monotonous routine patrols came to and end. On the eve of an invasion...

With both sides of the conflict holding off on any large scale battles, seemingly until the end of winter, the soldiers begin to get restless. There are lots of internal conflicts, brawls and even a few fatalities while they wait to unleash their anger and frustration on the enemy.

Tolkeen have been focusing their forces deep in their remaining territory, near the City of Tolkeen itself. They have gathered the largest invasion force the City has ever put together, and has finally unleashed them to attack. Over a half million soldiers of Tolkeen pass right through Juyong outpost on the 19th of December 107 PA. From Dragons, to decked-out mercenaries on hovercycles, the massive invasion force moves right through Juyong, and toward the Coalition front line.

Pluto Company is never informed of what is taking place, and never requested to join the invasion force as a whole. Every Iron Juggernaut from the outpost is collected however, and sent into combat, leaving a very weak anti-air defense force at the outpost.

The soldiers of Pluto are being left out of this one for some reason, and can do nothing but continue their patrols and watch as well over 500 000 soldiers march toward the largest battle the war has seen yet.

The advancing army carries a weight of weariness with them. A sullen mood is washed over them all as they prepare to kill or be killed in the coming days. There is a very noticeable level of discontent among the troops, and many can be heard criticizing the idea of just marching a sea of troops into the Coalition's waiting spears.

Soon enough, the army advances out of sight, and the distant sounds of battle can be heard on the horizon...
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:51, Fri 25 Oct 2013.

Days pass by without any word on the status of the invasion. Major Karno seems to know, but he is not sharing...

Finally, late on the 23rd of December, 107 PA, Pluto Company is given a mission to assault a prison the following day, which will coincide with other battle plans falling on the same date.

Once again, Pluto Company is assembled and once again 3rd platoon is the only platoon heading out into the fray.

It seems there is a Coalition prison, known as Camp Purity, in need of liberating...

3rd platoon is gathered inside the mess hall, when Lieutenant Nuitari arrives and prepares to begin the mission briefing...

All remaining players : please update your characters to the next experience level. Also, you may restore all MDC to 80% (patched up), and can update ammo to as much as you can comfortably carry. Also, you may update your credits for each day according to your daily salaries.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:04, Fri 25 Oct 2013.