posts on the ground for Invasion

As the shuttles lifted off, Roy keyed his comm, transmitting g to all the ground troops on the three shuttles.  "Okay...we didn't really get time to talk shop before lift-off, thanks to Adem's little demonstration of just what kind of soul-less prick he really is.  Intel has Adem and Evert dug in up in the hills in some kind of fortified estate.  Admiral Hack is gonna have the Fleet lay down a rolling barrage across the fortifications, with Captain Nilsson following hard on its heels to take out any triple-A that survives.  Then a couple of dropships will be landing troops to work their way up the middle."

He paused, and grinned, even though only those on the Spade could see him.  "Right now, most of you are saying to yourselves, "But we aren't dropships!"  And you're right.  Believe it or not, that "Main Thrust" maneuver is a distraction.  Our objective is a comm center on one edge of the plain, out on the flank of the battle.  We take it, establish a beachhead and hold it until reinforced...and then we get to play tunnel-rat in the escape tunnels that run from the Estate proper to just a stone's throw from the Comm Center."

He paused again, giving that just a moment to soak in.  "If the Verian defenses hold, we'll be sneaking 8n the back door of the estate.  With Captain Nilsson laying down cover fire for the troops on the plain, I don't expect those defenses to hold...which means Adem and Evert and their hand-picked favorites will be coming into the tunnels opposite us.  Keep 8n mind, everyone we're facing today has already pledged to follow Adem, in spite of the damage his presence is gonna do to Vera...so we are NOT taking prisoners.  Now, I would normally say if they throw down arms and run, let them go...but Admiral Hack has explicitly requested a maximum body-count.  So if you have any question at all about whether they should live, pull the trigger.  This is not just an invasion, this is retribution, for half a hundred things Adem has done to try and screw us.  And we want proof that we got them, both Adem and Evert.  I mean this literally...I mean to deliver their heads to Admiral Hack.  They don't deserve a platter, a dirty duffel bag will work just fine."  There was no mistaking the finality in his voice.

"First things first, though.  We're taking that comm center.  Each shuttle has a larg...don't be afraid to use it, but don't waste it.  The Spade will land due south, I want the other two to go either east or west of it, one on each side, so we're isolating the target from all sides.  Make sure of your targets...with us on all sides of this thing, there's a high risk of friendly fire. I don't want anyone shot...but if any of us get shot, it damn well better be with a Verian weapon.  We close it, cut off comms, clear the center, call in reinforcements...and then we go hunting.  Any questions?"

------------->>>>>>>>>> From Hanger Dec



 Meari listened to the SM and in a short time meeting him in person she has earned his utter respect, the plan they came up with very well conceived and it put her right where she wants to be, in the middle of it hunting Adem down. When the SM was done she shook her head no and got herself ready for combat, said a Udenese Motto of the Warrior, it sounded beautiful but very cold. She then waits for further orders.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:37, Tue 31 Mar 2020.

on Vera , sirens blared... people , who haven't gone to cover  were  headed there now..  They fought  Udenese   a few times  on thier planet, but this was different.. The people  coming were angry... Most  Verians  did not understand?.. why..why did they  want to harm them... they only wanted peace.. to be safe.... The Empire promised to help them.. they would save them..right...

   it was   early evening.. the stars  were almost gone.. a  faint twinkle now  and then  as  a cap ship left room for a star  to look  down, but  would vansih as  Transportbases    covered the rest

 a few brave   civies  stood near the entrances  to the   bunkers and tunnels, or basements. staring up words at the   sky...

 then..it  started..  many.many flashes of   lights  from 80+ cap ships..  lit up the   sky... and   continued ... those who didn't live near the plains  would see  streaks of  Pulse Blobs.. or the reddish yellow   of  superheatd Hard  Ammo.   to those  far away, Vera  erupted  if   flames..gouts of  Dirt and  the  odd  twisted Verians trees..

 to those  near the  plains, the   rounds  came  screaming  down like  unholy monsters..slamming into the  ground..shaking   building and  people with in a mile or two of impact.. this was the start..slowly moving .. rounds   hammering   slowly making thier  way  closer to the   Estate...   there were some hiddeen armor  and   troops stationed  on the plains... Most of them never   knew they were dead..until they were..

  The   shuttles   were filled    with the normal   folks.. some looking around... some  relaxing , some chatting..LArry   was  curled up half asleep.

 lyri  had her   sniper rifle.. and some 'Verian killer' rounds.. she also   had  a carbine.

  Jaxc and Nifty  were talking , they seemed to not have a care in the world... heck? they had guns  and armor...

Melia sat back waiting. There wasn't much she could do while they dropped in. That was the pilot and the gunners jobs to get them there. The rumor mill had that the Verian's had some fancy anti-aircraft. All the same she kept her helmet locked on, in the case they took a hit on approach. It didn't hurt to play smart.

Jug had the gava board one of the shuttles as indicated by the SM.  She had them all check and recheck weapons.

The Morningstar launched with the shuttles, Karl nosing it down toward the planet faster than the Deuces were descending, but not so fast as to beat the barrage to the surface. Holding steady five miles above and to the south of the plains, he watched as the planet's surface began convulsing under the explosive hail of death coming from orbit, his expression a little grim.

"Coulda used that against the Creshians on Astra," he mused aloud, his comms not open and transmitting.  He snorted softly as the AI responded.

"The Delta Fleet didn't have sufficient ships to lay down anything close to this style of bombardment when we were at Astra."  It was matter-of-fact...but Karl couldn't escape the impression that the AI was giving him a little bit of a hard time, and just being really dry about it.

"Fine.  You're right, we were about as good as anything the Fleet could have mustered in that scenario.  But it doesn't change the fact that a sustained bombardment like that would have totally changed the face of that UE advance."  He didn't wait for Ed to process the argument and come up with a response.

"Okay, I'm gonna take us down to one mile high.  I want you to start scanning in the wake of that barrage, and ANYTHING that looks like a viable target needs to be highlighted.  I want to make sure we've got their anti-air assets knocked out before the shuttles and dropships come down...I'm sure the fighters would appreciate not having to worry about aerial artillery, as well."  He sighed resignedly as he nosed the plane into a dive, gambling on getting down while the rain of death was throwing out so much motion that tracking systems on the planet wouldn't realize anything else was coming in until after he was in place and firing.  The Morningstar bucked around, atmospheric turbulence taking on whole new dimensions with the constant stream of large objects falling from the sky, their high-heat trails creating all kinds of uncommon air currents, and the shockwaves of the explosions down on the surface just adding to the mess.