Meanwhile at Tolkeen...
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:33, Thu 08 Mar 2012.

A young adult with a dark hair and sunglasses was driving on his hovercycle. Jake again had survived another night but his squad hadn't been so lucky. He was to report for a briefing at 0600 hours tomorrow. His cruising around guided him to the nearest restaurant. In Tolkeen, with the mix of so many species and cultures, there was all kind of food, some of course weren't made for a human stomach and would be a death sentence. The edible food on the other hand, ended up being quite good and unusual. He could see and feel the presence of magic everywhere, it was probably overwhelming for a newcomer but when you have been in Tolkeen all your life, it was rather normal.

Jake sat down at the table and ordered some kind of pasta with seafood. Well alien seafood, he didn't quite know all the details of the seafood in his dish, just that it was hard to get and tasted deliciously. For now, it was a good day.

Zed ran a weapons shop out the back of an armored truck, with a walk-up ramp to enter the back like a store, and evven pull-out shelves on racks, to extend the "show room". There is at least one of ever Coalition ad Free Quebec weapon, as well as crates of ammunition and grenades. His partner, a mystic knight named Kelthos, runs a small magic shop from an armored van right next to the truck.

They also have a giant cyborg for extra protection.

Xander walked around checking on the order of Tolkeen, while he waited to be introduced to his new team.  Word was he had finally got his request for his cousin Jake passed.  He decided to check Zed's shop out, while he was in the area.  Just killing time as he boarded Zed's truck, Xander eyed various models of armaments.

Zed watched Xander window shop, and figured he wouldn't buy anything. "Lemme know if you need anything chum." He then goes back to working on an open energy rifle on a table.

Jake after getting his lunch, headed toward Zed Armored truck. He didn't exactly fancy weapons but could appreciate them for what they were and most likely his cousin would be hanging around these places.

Signal strolled into the area rather leisurely. He too headed towards Zed's Shop and walked inside. After looking around for a while he asked, "Do you have any flares? Just general basic flares, and where are the grenades?" Signal fully planned on dropping a thousand credits or so, spending money at the company store always put new bosses at ease.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:05, Mon 12 Mar 2012.

Zed looks up mostly uninterested as he won't be making much money on this sale. "Flares? Yeah, I should have some around somewhere... grenades, I have all kinds." (There are crates of ammunition and various grenades at the "front" of the shop. There are tables and these crates, along with the open truck with extendable shelves).

Zed begins walking around from table to table looking for flares...

Just as he was heading out to hit Kelthos' shop, he bumped into Jake.  "Hey cousin, I hear we will get to work together for a while."  With a grin on his face, Xander wandered out of the way of traffic.  He was glad to see Jake again and Zed was making some customers.

Zed is unable to find any flares and asks Signal to wait a moment while he checks the front of his truck. A few moments later, there are some screams, followed by a loud crash up the street about a hundred feet or so. There is an eleven-foot Brodkil jogging down the street towards the tables at Zed's shop. He is holding a bleeding mound of flesh in one hand, and a car door in the other.

He nodded. "Yeah I received the confirmation today, meeting tomorrow at 0600. Glad to see that you are still one piece cousin." Jake adjusted his glasses. "So found anything interesting?" As his eyes scanned around the store.

Signal immediately starts to take off his pack, satchel and sweatshirt. While undressing he calls out to Zed, "So am I on the clock yet, or are you guys going to handle that?" He undoes his belt with his spare hand and lets his pants fall. Wearing nothing but his Black Body suit he picks his satchel up and pulls a small solid case out of his pack. "Watch my stuff please, I'll be back for it," he calls after Zed, pausing just long enough to see the expression on his face, and with that Signal runs outside looking for the tallest structure in the area to climb.

"Huh? no way chum, I don't work for Tolkeen. I'm just selling weapons for the good cause... I'm sure Tolkeen will handle that thing, but if it comes in here, and starts causing shit, feel free to kill it."

Zed is shocked mostly when Signal leaves his belongings, thinking to himself that the boy is far too trusting of strangers.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:29, Tue 13 Mar 2012.

Once Signal gets outside and gets a good look at what is coming he decides that he might want his armor for this one. He heads back inside, with a bit of a sheepish look on his face and pulls his armor out of his pack and starts putting it on.

Jake looked at the Brodkil heading toward Zed shop. He wasn't sure if the Brodkil was looking for a fight or just coming to claim a bounty but he sure wasn't going to be defenseless and find out. He whispered a few things to himself.

The brodkil looks at Jake, and considers killing him... but desides against it for now, and simply tosses the bloody mess he was carrying. Turns out it was the torso of the poor schmuck he murdered a few moments ago.

The brodkil turns, and continues running down the street. Several TW wing boards are closing in, Tolkeen will have him killed or captured in no time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:26, Wed 14 Mar 2012.

Everyone's radio springs to life at the same moment. "Lieutenant Xander, can I see you please? I am at the barracks."


 - Zed's shop is actually just a couple blocks from the troop barracks. Yours is among many, but only 10 minutes away from Zed's shop.

Signal finishes getting his armor and gets up off the floor. He avoids looking into Zed's eyes and says, "I.. uh, I'll be back for some stuff. Sounds like I have to go." Signal heads outside and, feeling rather embarrassed and a bit lost he wanders around a bit more. Wondering where else he will get embarrassed today.

Jake seeing that his cousin was about to be busy with some official business decided to go look around Tolkeen and see what was going on. Maybe the Brodkill could be of interest at the moment.

Jake happens across a techno wizard extraveganza. Tons of goodies are being sold at a fraction of what they are worth. Just for entering the area Jake is given a burlap sack rolled up. The dwarf who handed it to him follows it up with "This sack will create an unlimited supply of fire wood when you channel into it." He smiles and then moves on to another person entering the site.

Jake looked at the burlap back curiously and he thought that it might come in handy on the cold nights outside. He moved to check around what was on sale.

Xander reports over the radio, "Be right there."  Then he headed hurriedly to the barracks.

Signal finds a place to get a bit of food, something he can walk and eat. He continues to wander around. He takes special care to note where everything is, building a mental map of sorts. He watches the others that he meets and he generally tries to be a wall flower of sorts, watching but not really engaging where it can be avoided.

While Signal walks around the city, he comes across a caravan just entering the city. There are trucks, and hover cars, and APCs, and towed flatbeds all filled with rows and rows of severely woudned soldiers. People missing arms and legs, or unconscious from massive blood loss, or horrible burns. They all look like they have received field-patchwork, and are in need of serious medical attention in order to survive. There are easily a couple thousand wounded here.

Most of the items at the techno-wizard bizarre are fairly expensive, but they are all great to look at and watch the demonstrations.

Xander arrives at the barracks, and tracks down the Major. He is in one of the offices arguing with a couple Lieutenants when Xander arrives. After a few minutes they are dismissed and they storm out grumpily past Xander.

"Ok, you can come in now Lieutenant. I just wanted to go over the upcoming mission details with you.

Firstly, Pluto Company has been reformed, along with the eight other companies (named after the eight REAL planets). Under the command of myself, Pluto Company has 5 platoons of approximately 16 soldiers each. It was shut down after everybody was killed except for 20 or so men. The numbers have been replenished and the entire company is heading out together, along with Battalion CO Lieutenant Colonel Andries.

You will be assigned to 3rd platoon, service directly under Lieutenant Nuitari. He is just getting settled in as well, but the men are decent people... mostly.

They have had some issues over the past couple weeks. They have lost 3 lieutenants in the field, and used to suffer from a great deal of infighting. The aggressors have since been relieved of duty, but I'm sure conflict still remains. Several innocent and good men were killed by demons and a rahu man on the team. The Rahu Man is still out there somewhere, but the demons are dead.

Tolkeen is strengthening their defenses for the time being, and as such, the entire battalion has been assigned to defend a series of outposts established to hold the Coalition back. They are closing in...

Pluto Company is assigned "Juyong" outpost, which just so happens to be the outermost position of all of Tolkeen's remaining defenses. Pluto is at the tip of the spear.

The HQ, and artillery platoons will remain at the outpost. 2nd Platoon will cover the route between Juyong and Gubeikou Outpost to the west. 3rd Platoon will cover the outpost and conduct patrols, while 1st platoon will cover the route to Jiankou Outpost to the east.

Following around to the west is Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus companies, and to the east is Terra, Neptune, Mercury, and Venus companies. Each with their own series of outposts to defend.

Each outpost is approximately 20 miles from the next. Fort Juyong is built just 350 feet from the end of a ley line, and the defended route to Gubeikou outpost protects it.

Troubling, is The Coalition have a series of forts, just a few miles south east of these fortifications. Coalition Fort Macduff, is exactly 30 miles to the south east of Fort Juyong."

He takes a moment to drink some water from a glass on his desk.

"Once they return from their current mission, I would like you to ensure everybody has a vehicle of some kind. Anybody who doesn't have them go see Zed and he will hook them up without cost."

Signal understands that he will not be able to help everyone but he follows the convoy. He looks for a lab coat or something that he can use for a quick disguise and pulls it on over his armor. He, as stealthily as possible he slips into the convoy and immediately begins to look over the wounded more closely. He inspects the field dressings to gauge their quality and make sure he can do better. He then looks for equipment he can use to help the wounded, and gets right to work.

PM

Xander enters the room and gives salute to the Major.  "Understood, sir.  Would you prefer skirmishes toward Fort Macduff or simply the defense of Juyong outpost?"

"You will be on defense and patrols, somebody else will attack Macduff if command decides to do so. Or who know, maybe it will be you guys who make the push. All we know for now, is Juyong will be your new home for the foreseeable future."

Recognizing that he is unable to help them further and would only get in the way, Signal puts back his cloak and slips out from the convoy. He then goes back to wandering around. Wasting the night away.

"Y'know what, we can take care of the vehicle assignments. Why don't you head out today to the outpost and start to settle in. The outpost crew is there, and the food trucks should arrive in the morning sometime. There should be a couple members of 3rd platoon in the city now who can head out with you. A mercenary named "Signal" and.... your cousin?"

"Yes, sir.  My cousin and I have applied to work together for some time.  It looks like we may finally have our chance."

He looked at various items, some were intriguing but he didn't have enough credit to spend on them at the moment. Jake after a little while walked out of the market and went to the closest park. Some quiet could be good for a change because most likely tomorrow, it was going to be a bloodbath.

"Perfect, you can leave whenever you are ready. The other two should already be on the correct radio channel."

Xander checked the radio broadcast before leaving the Major's office.  "Signal, Jake we are ready for departure.  Meet up at the motorpool A.S.A.P."  Once he got confirmation from the others, Xander headed that direction as well.

Jake heard the signal from the radio. "Got it, will be there." He walked out from the TW flea market and got on his Firefly MI-3000 and headed toward the Motorpool.

Signal heard the message and picked up his radio. "On my way." He looks around a bit and then starts jogging toward the motorpool.

Just a few minutes later, and everyone is together. Although Signal is slightly tired as he had to walk the entire time.

Signal is panting just a bit when he gets to the motorpool. He made good time jogging but it did take his breath away.

When he gets to where he is supposed to be at the motor pool he paces back and forth a few times; slower and slower, letting his body slow down until he has relaxed his muscles and caught his breath.

Once he is ready Signal asks, "So where we headed? And in what?"

It took Xander longer to reach the motorpool than he had expected, but seeing Jake and Signal ready to go was a relief. "Right this way."  He pointed at an armored jeep, that he then headed towards.  "We'll be stationed at Juyong outpost for the moment.  If you have a vehicle, follow me... if not we can procure one here or you can hop in my jeep."

Jake was still on his firefly hovercycle and would keep using it. He tapped on his vehicle. Those vehicles were fairly expensive and he didn't plan to just leave it laying around.

"Alright so to Juyong. I'll drive my firefly."

He was ready to go and waited for the others to depart.

Signal follows Xander, and replies, "I don't have a vehicle. If I will be needing one at Juyong, then lets go pick something out. Otherwise I'm happy to just ride along."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:16, Thu 22 Mar 2012.

Waiting briefly for Signal to join him in the jeep, Xander soon left the main camp behind heading for Juyong outpost.

Juyong Outpost is a short distance, at only a couple hours away from Tolkeen at cruising speed. The trio arrive at just around dinner time.



The outpost is twice as big as it appears, as the crew quarters have all been built underground by earth warlocks. There are currently only a skeleton crew of 15 on base, it really has very little defense until the rest of the troops arrive tomorrow. There are a few guards in the towers, and a few otehrs outside. The blue light of the near-by ley line can be seen and even felt by the magic and psionic users.

Inside the smell of cooked meat radiates from the outpost. Looks like this skeleton crew, have decided to have themselves a barbeque, and the trio has arrived just in time to join in.

A pair of armed guards acknowledge Xander's rank with a salute, and opened the gate doors. Once inside there are 10 or so people gathered around a bbq, eating various slabs of meat.

"BBQ, I could use something to eat." Jake joined the feast after parking his firefly safely. He wanted to get some food before it was gone.

Signal stays alert for most of the ride so he could find his way back if necessary. When they pull in he looks over to the gathered group and asks, "Do I have time to join them or do we need to be somewhere first?"

Xander returned the salute, followed by parking the armored jeep in the appropriate, designated area.  "We will start defensive patrols after dinner.  Let's grab some grub while it's still warm."

Following the sights and smells to the eating area, Xander stood in the line up while he waited for a turn to feast as well.

The Corporal waves to the others as they approach, although she does correct herself with a nod to Lieutenant Xander when she notices his rank.

"Hey there! Welcome to Juyong, I'm Corporal Grant, I'm the chief medic here. Well... I don't really have a team yet... but I will eventually."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:15, Sun 01 Apr 2012.

The man in front of her in line turned around when she started talking. He stepped forward to casually salute Xander, and shake the hands of Signal and Jake. "Hey, nice to meet ya's. Name's Roe, I'm in charge of maintenance... so lemme know if ya's need sumthin fixed up. What unit are yous guys with?"

Signal leans in to shake Roe's hand and replies, "Nice to meet you, both of you. Name's Signal, honestly I signed up a little blind. Lieutenant Xander here holds my leash." After saying this Signal gives the Lieutenant a sideways glance and a half smile.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 13:16, Mon 02 Apr 2012.

The sergeant walks over with a slab of some kind of steak, 2 potatos, and 2 corn cobs. "... you boys should be Pluto Company, hopefully 3rd Platoon. There are literally less than ten people defending this outpost until you boys showed up..."

The cook turns around to comment, flashing the rank of 2nd lieutenant on her shoulder. "Stop scaring them sergeant, we also have an entire squadron of Iron Juggernauts. We are well protected indeed, but we do need the support."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:55, Mon 02 Apr 2012.

Signal looks at them and shrugs, "Well, glad to be of service. If the two of you would be so kind as to excuse me I will be getting my own plate." As he finishes what he says Signal is clearly staring at the plate in the sergeant's hands and Signal licks his lips just before the first beads of drool over the food would escape.

Everyone's stomachs sunk when the alarm went off. One of the guards in one of the towers yelled down to those at the BBQ "SAMAS INCOMING! I count 24 of them!"

The Sergeant literally drops his food on the ground and charges to the back of the fort, and then walks down an invisible flight of stairs and disappears into the dirt.

Lieutenant Wynn calls out over the fort radio channel "Battle stations! Everyone! 3 squads of SAMAS incoming!" She runs inside the north-west guard tower (the one that spotted the incoming).

The other soldiers at the BBQ dash for their crew quarters to put on their armor and gather weapons.

Signal looks around a bit frantically and asks anyone where he should be. Once he has an idea he rushes back over to the jeep he rode in on and starts rummaging through his bag. He pulls out a black box and several extra magazines and shoves them into his pockets. He also grabs a small length of cable attacked to two cylindrical battery packs and tucks that into his armor as well. Satisfied that he has what will be useful, he heads to wherever he was told to go.

Jake heard the alarm and while he was enjoying the food, knew it was time to battle. He finished his burger and cleaned his fingers. He cast armor of ithan first, covering himself with an invisible layer of armor.


ooc: How long do we have until the assault?
Armor of Ithan +70 MDC, magic fire, lightning and cold do half damage to it.

OOC - We would have to guess. Assuming the fort has decent radar there should be lots of warning. However that is just an assumption. If you run to the sides of the fort you may be able to see them coming.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:07, Tue 10 Apr 2012.

Xander draws his rifle, but holds it down while checking the skies for the incoming SAMAS. In response to Signal "Find some cover, and if you can get a clear shot, take it."

The various SAMAS (Death's Head SAMAS,
Heavy SAMAS,
Smiling Jack Light SAMAS) stay several thousand feet in the air to remain out of range for most guns and spells. They fire dozens of mini missiles down at the fort, peppering the guard towers and the main area where everyone was just eating chow. Both guard towers are destroyed, likely killing the men inside them. One of their bloody torsos makes its way through the air and lands near Jake (the second bloody torso to land near Jake in 2 days).

They only make the one pass, and then move on. Leaving two towers destroyed, and 4 Tolkeen soldiers dead. In addition to the BBQ, and all the meat.

When Signal dove to hide he dropped the box and ducked through a wall. Once the first volley passed he popped back out. Looking at the barbecue and draws his pistol firing several times at the fleeing SAMAS. Knowing he won't hit anything he yells out "That was my dinner!!! Argh!"

After firing off a few shots Signal looks around and sees the rest of the destruction. He doesn't so much drop his pistol as it falls from his hand as he looks around in disbelief. As soon as he regains his composure he runs to one of the towers and dives head first into the rubble looking for anyone that might have survived but might be pinned in so he can direct the rescue effort.

Jake looked up and saw the blood torso land right next to him. He attempted to go and see if he could help any survivors or wounded people.

06:27, Today: Jake rolled 42 using 1d100. TN 75, first Aid.

It does not appear as though the SAMAS fleet will make another pass, they just continue on towards Tolkeen. The Coalition dominates the air-power in this war...

Signal and Jake find a survivor pinned under a large piece of MD metal from the south-east tower. Some of his armor is melting, and burning his skin, but it may have prevented his lower half from being crushed by the debris on top of him. He is screaming in pain, and begs for help when he sees Jake and Signal come closer. There is another, an elf woman missing everything from the belly down... she is still alive for the moment and reaches her hand towards Jake while coughing up blood.

It takes an embarassing 5 minutes before the Iron Juggernauts make it into the air, they take off through the "illusion ground" the sergeant disappeared in when he took the stairs down. The Coalition forces are long gone, but the Juggernauts maintain patrols for now.

Lieutenant Xander is also found to be unconscious. He appears to have suffered a head wound of some kind, he was maybe hit in the head with shrapnel or debris.

Lieutenant Wynn orders the survivors around to check on the other wounded or dead, while Corporal Grant comes out from hiding and runs over to Signal to make sure he has it under control.

Jake looked at the elf woman, she was obviously going to die very soon and the man also appears to be in trouble.He approaches the man under the debris first and place his hand on his forehead.

"Get to a doctor quickly."
 As he gives him the strength and power to get there on his own.

After that, he approaches the elf woman and spoke to her in dragonese while picking up her hand.

"Any last word or request that I could transfer to friends or family?"


ooc:Casting magic adrenal rush on the man. He feels no pain, get superhuman strength, speed increased, no fatigue, immune to possession etc...basically he is super juicer for roughly a minute but after that he is dead tired for 1d4 minutes and can't even move.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:38, Tue 17 Apr 2012.

Signal immediately starts clearing some debris from off the soldier when Jake shows up to give him strength.

When Corporal Grant shows up, Signal realizes that Jake has the wounded under control and the next priority is getting any kind of warning to Tolkeen. Signal makes sure he has direct eye contact from the Corporal when he starts asking, "What kind of radio equipment do we have and where is it? Jake and the others can handle the wounded it looks like and I didn't see any other survivors while walking through the rubble. We need to warn Tolkeen, regardless of what sensors they might have an early warning will help."

As the Corporal starts to answer, Signal walks over and picks up his pistol and puts it back in his holster.

"I'm sure Lieutenant Wynn took care of warning Tolkeen, but it can't hurt to check. Thanks for your help."

She opens a medical kit and begins working on the wounded man.

The elven woman coughs up some more blood, and passes away while staring into Jake's eyes and holding his hand.

Signal is now less worried about the radio transmission now that someone else was on it. Lieutenant Wynn was sure to make it a top priority. He knows the man that Corporal Grant is working on was beyond his skill anyways. Signal heads over to the body of Lieutenant Xander and does what he can.

17:37, Today: Signal rolled 23 using 1d100. TN 75 First Aid.

Xander is bleeding from the back of his head, but Signal is able to slow the bleeding and stitch the wound. This allows Corporal Grant to move on to some of the other injuries.

Xander does not regain consciousness however. He definitely has a concussion, and potentially worse...

A few hours later, Xander has been sent back to Tolkeen hospital for recovery along with the man who was crushed, and saved by Jake. Pluto Company won't arrive until 1000 hrs tomorrow, so until then Signal and Jake are filling in on the Outpost duties. Both men are on guard duty until midnight, before they are relieved and permitted to eat again, or get to sleep before the unit shows up in the morning.

The debris is slowly being cleared away, but there won't be any new guard towers until tomorrow...

"We didn't get many chances to talk, I'm Jake by the way."

Jake decided to make some conversation while they were taking on guard duties for the rest of the night, hopefully xander would feel better later. He proposed a handshake to Signal.

Signal accepted the handshake and for the first time in his life felt a bit uneasy on what to say. His entire lives up until this point had been completely founded on lies, but he wanted this to somehow be different. He was here not because he believed in Tolkeen but because he hated the coalition. He had never taken up a cause before and now that things settled down, he was unsure of how to act. He would have to discover who he is as he went along.

To Jake this all translates to an almost awkwardly long handshake before he says, "Signal. You can call me Signal." He gives a weak smile with his name and decides to ask, "That was some talent, how you helped that soldier earlier. I hate those situations where I feel so... useless and unable to help."

"Magic does come in handy. I'm a ley line walker, far from being a master but I have some experience under my belt. What about you any special skills?" In tolkeen people with special skills weren't too odd, so Jake was checking what of partner he would to keep watch with.

"A few, I can more or less walk through walls if I feel like it. Makes me pretty good at hide and seek, though most of my jobs are Seek, then hide. I believe I have been most often labeled a "Psi-Ghost" but we have many names." Signal had never come right out and said it to someone before. heck, half of his handlers didn't even know. He had to keep reminding himself "If you want a different result then you must try something different."

"Glad to have you on board with us. Hopefully this is going to be a peaceful night. Let's begin our watch." Jake was used to stand still and meditate, well this time it wasn't meditation but just wait patiently for something to happen.

ooc: Are there some ley lines nearby? if more just rolling in case of, detection range 70 miles:
08:03, Today: Jake rolled 40 using 1d100. Sense Ley Lines TN 60.

Whoops, yes there is a ley line less than one mile away. Forgot to mention :)

"Yeah." signal looks around for any type of sensors array, or anything that he could use to detect incoming people other than binoculars.

"I'm going to check the surroundings on the Ley Line. Cover me if anything weird happen." Jake went to his firefly and headed to the ley line that was only 1 mile away from camp.


ooc: I can literally see it then lol less than a mile away. Read Ley Line is automatically active on it, so can tell if there is anything weird going on , get to know how long the line is etc...basically all the ley line information, major natural disasters, automatic detection of any rifts.  Then will go from there.
20 ppe per melee round...yeah I'm back to full on ppe.
failed on sensing  nexus points nearby:
08:36, Today: Jake rolled 84 using 1d100. Sense Nexus TN 70.

This message was last edited by the player at 15:44, Thu 19 Apr 2012.

The evening passes without any conflict, and both Signal and Jake are well rested by morning when Pluto Company and the food trucks arrive...

   Third Platoon moved out together, a group of 20 this time. Things looked promising, although there are 5 demons on the platoon...

As the platoon moves down the streets, there are hundreds of other soldiers and mercenaries moving out as well. Hundreds of civilians have gathered on the sidewalks, and are cheering and blasting fireworks. A young boy climbs onto Nuitari's skiff and kicks one of the Alu demons, then runs to hide behind Heinrich, before they can get him off the skiff, and back to his scolding father. A large man wearing an apron offers sandwiches to Drano and Comartin at the back of the group. There are people on the roof tops cheering, and dancing while they watch the spectacle of the machines of warfare walk down their streets and off to stop the invaders.

As they move beyond the city gates, there are blocks of soldiers gathered straight ahead to the east of the city. Major Karno can be seen in full, and perfectly clean armour, on a similar hovercraft, moving along with his own platoon. 4th Platoon consists of a dozen flying power armours, and a dozen flying iron juggernauts, keeping perfect formation in the skies above. The Majors' platoon, 1st, and 2nd are generally a mash-up just like 3rd platoon of various soldiers, mercenaries and men of magic. Ahead of Pluto Company is Jupiter Company, and coming from behind is Mars Company. There are over a hundred Iron Juggernauts in the skies, and dozens of massive Daemonix and other monsters. The entirety of the battalion (all 1113 soldiers) has gathered and is splitting up along the front lines of the Tolkeen defense line. Pluto Company is headed to Juyong Outpost, Mars to one side and Jiankou Outpost, and Jupiter to their other at Gubeikou Outpost.




The # 11 Refers to a series of Prison Camps where Tolkeen is holding thousands of Coalition prisoners. (Alpha-Epsilon)

The shaded area and the star are The Barrens and skelebot graveyards.

The Blue Dots refer to a series of Tolkeen Outposts : The 3rd from the left is Juyong Outpost where Pluto will be assigned. The one to the west is Gubeikou Outpost, with Mars Company assigned to it. And to the east is Jiankou Outpost with Saturn Company. The forts are 30 miles apart from each other.

The Green Dots refer to Coalition forts. The one across from Juyong Outpost is Fort Macduff. Fort Macduff is 40 miles south of Juyong Outpost. There is a ley line less than one mile from the outpost.

The remaining Tolkeen Cities and Towns in this sector :

A : Burland
B : Vrenor
C : Blueline
D : Center Gears
E : Magestock
F : Freehold



(The outpost is twice as big as it appears in this picture) The crew quarters, and hangar bay have all been constructed underground by earth warlocks. There are currently only a skeleton crew of 14 on base. Both of the main guard towers have been destroyed and some of the debris is still being collected and cleaned from the inside yard. There is also a large blood stain among the rubble. There are several pairs of patrolling guards outside of the outpost, and 6 Juggernauts in the sky above. The blue light of the near-by ley line can't be seen in the bright morning sun, but can be felt by those sensitive to its' energy.

The gates are opened as Pluto Company arrives, but all of the vehicles will be parked outside, on the western side of the outpost. Signal and Jake are just inside waiting to join up with 3rd Platoon finally. They are standing next to a lieutenant and a sergeant, obviously the crew of the outpost.

Among the troops of Pluto Company, were three food trucks, who slide open their doors and serve fried bacon, hash browns, eggs and toast to any who desire, with out a limit on servings. The cooks are all volunteer students from Tolkeen University. Major Karno calls the officers over to meet with him and the Lieutenant, while everyone else endulges in the free breakfast. The Major declares "You all have 30 minutes to eat, and rest before we take our posts." and then he turns his attention to the officers meet, while his aides acquire breakfast for them.

Nuitari -- You may post in the Officers' thread, everyone else is clear to post here, before we split up into teams if desired.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:43, Thu 19 Apr 2012.

Jake had been examining his stakes, not like he expected any vampires out there but he preferred to be prepared. He made sure that the stakes were sharp and ready to impale them. He was finally going to join his new platoon and was curious to see what they consisted of.

Signal waited anxiously when everyone arrived, but as soon as the food truck opened up he began inching toward it and as soon as he could he got a large plate of food. He stacked all the ingredients into several sandwiches and found a wall to sit against while he devoured the first sandwich. He ends up with egg and stray pieces of potato all over but after the first he sighs and uses a rag to wipe himself off and clean up what he spilled. After the first sandwich he savors and enjoys the second. After the second he gets up and walks around while nibbling at the third, looking for people to talk to.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:27, Thu 19 Apr 2012.

   Lotus leads Jack and heads straight for the front of the line to get food, in front of the new recruits.  She'll take two helpings of eggs with her hash browns and bacon before heading off to stand and eat near one of the fences.  Unless Jack says something, she just focuses on eating because from the looks of the broken towers and scant defenses, it is about to be a busy day.

   Her majestic gryphon follows closely behind her, feathers gleaming in the morning sunlight.  She will see it fed as well soon enough.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:51, Thu 19 Apr 2012.

Being too heavy for your standard transportation and - quite frankly - built to be a mobile platform, the big borg Perkins simply 'jogged' along side the caravan, cyber-jet nodes making the task a somewhat complacent one. He finally slows to a 'normal' pace of a couple kliks a minute, easing his way into a thumping walk as they finally pass the smashed in towers. His bare metal skull twists upwards to peer at the shattered buildings, the flat planes of his 'mouth' grinding back and forth. After a moment he pulls a relatively small cigar stub from a tiny compartment, 'bites' off the end like a pair of blunt scissors, and lights it off the residual heat of his cyber-jets. The air around him wavering slightly from the heat purge, his large frame clicking and pinging as it cools down with the heavy thrum of vent cycling.

He has one word for the situation as it stands. "Shit." His voice the metal reverberation of an empty, rusty barrel, the now glowing cigar clamped in his bare jaw again. Ammo chains and cables swinging behind him as he makes his way past the food truck, grumbling like an minor earthquake. Heading for the folks that -weren't- on the trip, that he could see; Such as this one guy making a monster sandwhich and trying to find an out of way place. That is to say, Signal.

"The hell happened here?"

Signal is a pretty average looking human, albeit a bit dirty right now, especially with how messy he was eating. Hunched over as he is, he looks pretty tiny, even more so next to the large borg. He is in a word average. his brown hair is a pretty standard civilian cut. He doesn't look particularly strong in his armor. Many human men have biceps bigger than his armor. He does however look quick. his movements are short but fast, almost twitchy.

Signal looks up at the borg and stops eating long enough to answer, "We had a big party. Bunch of Coalition SAMAS decided to decorate. You know, it would have been your kind of party I bet. Anyways after they got bored with us, they went on to check out Tolkeen, we think. Either way we called ahead to Tolkeen and made a reservation for them." Signal smiles a bit looking up at the big guy, hoping that his sense of humor got replaced with everything else.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:31, Thu 19 Apr 2012.

Jack followed Lotus with a smirk. He glanced at the gryphon while they were eating. But his main focus was on the feeling. He took a deep breath and the slowly let it out. "It'll be good to be near a ley line if...when...trouble comes along." He smiled as he looked up at the sky. "Too bad we don't have time to go for a fly."

He is ready when the 30 minutes is up, having eaten (though he didn't need to) and relieved himself. He stood next to Lotus and looked around at the 2 ruined guard towers. "Should get those back up."

Sometimes, it's almost a shame that Perkins' face is nothing more than a basic metal skull designed more to house the brain and clamp a cigar than actual emotive response. The glowing optics focus on the man for a few awkward moments, before there is a deep, reverberating growl somewhere in the chest; It might take a moment to realize it's laughter. The metal skull can't smile.

"Looks like we missed the fun, then. But where the hell are the anti-air units? Fireballs, lightning? The Wing blades?  Damn, I remember those summbitches from when I was a kid, and they always scared the shit out of me. Course, I was hell of a lot smaller then.." The big borg turns his glowing optics back towards the crumbled tower, plucking the cigar from between his clamped jaw as he reaches up to rub his metal chin with the other hand. The massive railgun slung on the outside clicking in a single cycle, to make sure all chambers were clear.

"Anyone working on getting the damn point defenses back up, or are we all in a lunch break?" There's humor in the voice, though the metal skull is simply grim, dark, and metal. With the faint traces of cigar smoke wafting through the 'jawbone'.

   "Its called breakfast. Enjoy it while you can, not all of us get to vacation in Kingsdale whenever we feel like it.  Why don't you tune your bionic ears in to the officers over there and let us know what the fuck they are planning?"
   Lotus takes another mouthful of food, chewing it calmly.

Signal doesn't know exactly what to think but he is put at ease enough to be honest with the borg, "Yeah, I'm pretty useless against a SAMAS a mile up so I hid like a little child, but I did fire a few shots." Signal keeps eating and watching the others.

Jake finished taking care of his stakes and put them back into his backpack. He moved up from his table and took some eggs, bacon and some bread. He listened to the SAMAS talk and just ate. They were probably going to put on a mission soon, so he preferred to get as much energy as possible.

Heinrich looks confused, "Samas? Wingblade... what are these things?"

"Robots suit basically." Jake resumed eating his meal.

The big borg glances over towards Heinrich, popping the cigar back in and rolling it back and forth with shifts of his lower jaw. At last his voice rumbles to life, crackling slightly from the back of his skull where the speaker's installed.

"Alright. SAMAS. Smaller'n me, but fly about real fast. Love to shoot things that go 'boom'. The word means something, but screw if it I want to take the time to remember what skull boys call things. Filled with squishy meat, but you gotta get to it first; Like a big, angry, flying lobster filled with boom. They're on the wrong side o' this fight. Got that? And a Juggernaut.. one of Tolkeen's finests. It's, uh.." He pauses, the cherry on his cigar glowing as the air cycles into his lungs. "... a lil' bigger than me. I think. Been a long time since I seen one. Big, thick, and metal. It's also magical." The twelve foot borg waves a hand vaguely, the railgun clicking around in a cycle as ammo chains jangle.

"The Juggernauts're on our side. That's the only important thing. Got all that?" The glowing optics then shift aside, towards Lotus, whom he regards with passive metal skull. The jaw shifts the other way, rolling the cigar, letting smoke waft up around the metal jaw bone. "Yeah. Vacation." He finally says, before turning his glowing gaze back up towards the air.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:34, Fri 20 Apr 2012.

Sometime between the chat about vacationing in Kingsdale and the SAMAS lesson, Keth slips away unnoticed. Leaving on his hovercycle, he disappears as mysteriously as he came and rides off on his own without an explanation to the others.

 Pretty much exactly like Perkins, 'Masque moves at a steady, ground-eating lope that's assisted by well-concealed jet assist units in a way that permits him to keep up a fairly evasive course in case of inbound fire, drifting back and forth across a flank position where an armoured escort wouldn't go amiss until the facility finally comes into sight and he unlimbers a heavy grenade rifle and advances steadily while awaiting a friendly signal - which, as it comes in sees him settle said weapon back into place and doff his ceramet 'borg helmet to let his visored, silver-fanged feline head catch some sun.

 The initial breakfast conversation he misses because he's walking around the outer perimeter with a thoughtful air to him but he soon heads back in, coming up on the far side of the discussion in time to remark "When sky is full of bastards dropping bombs, taking cover is damn' good thing to be doing." in response to Signals comment and nod at Perkin's rough-and-ready but pretty fundamentally accurate recognition program, adding "There is being 'know your enemy' powerpoint somewhere on induction chip. Is worth looking at if you are not knowing who is being who."

Heinrich nods to Smoke, "Right, SAMAS bad, Juggernauts good. I think I can remember that."

Having either sobered up or recovered from his hangover on the way to the outpost Drano eats a large breakfast.

Jack's brow furrows a bit at Heinrich. "How do you not know what a SAMAS is? Haven't they been doing breifings while I was gone? Don't they bring new recruits up to speed at all about the enemy and the things they employ?" His tone suggests honest confusion not sarcasm. Mostly he didn't want to necessarily be shoulder-to-shoulder with someone who didn't know who the enemy was.

Boris had no use for standard food. There was nothing left of the man he once was except his brain... well more of a boy really. 'Boris', the name he now goes by, lost his flesh body when he was 14. And, also his Cyborg body on two seperate occasions.

Feeling much more comfortable among his own, he gravitates over to Smoke and Masque, although keeping some distance from the morphed-dragon. His large, unblinking eyes glance back and forth between the two while they talk, and then over to Heinrich to see if the man was joking or not about what a SAMAS was, or if he really was THAT new to this world.

Realizing he should probably speak before the others think he is creepy, Boris joins in the conversation, speaking to Heinrich. "I have pictures and some video of several Coalition units in action. Perhaps sometime, you can view them." His skeletal face continues to stare at Heinrich waiting for an answer.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Sun 22 Apr 2012.

Signal sits listening for a bit but gets a little bored and he starts to twitch again. He decides to stir up a bit of trouble, something harmless of course, just to keep himself entertained until they all go to work.

Signal stands up and addresses Jack, "I remember my briefing, it was short but the officer was adamant that I learn our National anthem."

Signal puts his hand over his heart, tilts his chin up with his eyes towards the sky and begins to sing the coaltion national anthem.

"I'm sorry, I've only been on this planet for about 3 days at the most. So, I don't exactly know who these SAMAS are." he replies to Jack.

Jack gave Signal a look that could chill water into an icecube while in hell. "Don't make me strangle you. Stop singing." He gave a snort of amusement after that, however. Then he glared again. "Wait, why do you even KNOW their anthem? Are you ex-CS?"

He then turned to Heinrich. "On the planet? That's...an interesting statement. Where were you before this, if you don't mind my asking? and how did you become a mercenary for Tolkeen so quickly?"
This message was lightly edited by the player at 15:17, Sun 22 Apr 2012.

 "Is being complicated story with having many beautiful nurses and wicked, wicked villains." 'Masque interjects helpfully, as the situation in which he first met Heinrich comes to mind and he attempts to paper over the whole 'four people came away, one got carried back' thing before anyone should get the wrong idea.

Perkins nods once, a whirr of servos accenting the motion, his metal voice crackling as the air cycling intereferes slightly - cigar glowing once more. "Easy as that, bub."

He then turns his metal skull aside to take in the large, visored tiger, his jaw shifting slightly to roll the smoking ember. After a moment, an entirely new language rumbles out. "Etot aktsent zvuchit znakomo ..."* His Russian is passable, but horribly accented by English.

His attention is drawn down towards Boris, the OTHER obvious borg, who gets another respectful nod. Perkins knows all about having a face with literally all the expressiveness of a metal can. And finally, glowing optics shift aside to Signal as he starts singing.

"Gotta lotta balls, bucko." He grunts. Hard to say if he approves.


*That accent sounds familiar...
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Mon 23 Apr 2012.

Boris was already paranoid enough, without learning that the new Borg also spoke Russian, and could potentially be 'hunting' him... "Te iz RAsiyie?" (You are from Russia?)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:13, Sun 22 Apr 2012.

"A planet very unlike this one. There were no flying suits of armor that had... these missiles you call them. Arrows, wizards, swords, and mind witches like me. The tiger borg there saved me. I was being transported I suppose by these others you speak of, that's why I fight them."

Jake listened to the story of the man from another planet. He didn't get to meet many aliens and this did catch his interest. Quite possibly, this man might know a few spells that he didn't know.

"A mind witch you say, you practice magic? I could expand my magical repertoire, of course, I'm willing to share what I know as well. I'm Jake and I'm a Ley Line Walker."

Heinrich shook his head, "Forgive me, the term is one from my home. I practice powers of the mind. Not actual magic. I am sorry for the confusion. I'm not sure what people like me are called on your world."

"Uh? Я на самом деле из ..."* The big borg pauses in his horribly accented russian to rumble out a laugh. "Damn. Can't remember the word for it. No, born and raised on Tolkeen. Moved off to Kingsdale to make my livin'. The head o' my corps was a cyberdoc - Bebo something." A massive hand comes up, a single thumb flicked to encompass all of the twelve foot frame.

"Helped me come up with this, back when I was about your size. Man had a hard-on for killing demons, and a nasty habit of falling back on his native tongue under stress. Had to learn it bit and piece wise. Gettin' good, am I?" Another metal-barrel chortle, before that cigar is plucked out of his clamped jaw, smoke drifting up along his 'eye sockets' as dull optics peer bout again.

"Never got the magic stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love my land - s'why I'm here. But I like things nice, solid, and straight forward." He pats the massive railgun attached to his arm, causing the ammo chain to sway and tinkle.

*I am actually from...

Signal stops and laughs a bit. "Not ex-CS. before I joined up I could do the most damage by living near a Coalition city. I spent a great deal of time in the burbs pretending to be a 'citizen papers' waiter and in that crowd, the guy who doesn't know the anthem sticks out like a... well... more than he does" Signal says while pointing his thumb at Smoke.



He then turns to Smoke to answer. "Not a lot, no. Just fleshing out personalities of who I will be working with as fast as I know how." Signal stops for a moment and looks as if he is considering something and then decides to add, "Although I guess two is a ton, you know... comparatively." Signal smiles up at the big borg knowing this could go either way but feeling pretty safe after the earlier conversation. He does realize that he should ease off for a while, no need to rile so many up all at once.

Boris nods his head while listening to Smoke, but doesn't respond.

Thasha is spotted shoveling bacon into his mouth over with Mephisto and the demons, a hundred feet away or so. He is listening intently to whatever they are saying to him.

   Once finished with his conversation with Major Karno, Nuitari turns and walks towards his platoon.  He still has the breakfast plate in his hands and is trying to finish his meal.  He stands on the edge of the 'enlisted circle' while doing so before shoving the rest in his mouth and coughing a few times to clear his throat.

  "Alright people, listen up!  We've got our orders and here is what our assignments are.  We are responsible for completing some forward patrols, maybe lay eyes on Fort MacDuff across the field." Nuitari points in the direction of the front line, forty miles beyond the currently destroyed watch towers.  "Additionally, we're setting up a defensive position outside our outpost gates until the watch towers and structure are back in working order.  They are delivering new structures much later in the day.  We'll need foxholes and some camo-netting set up to at least provide some concealment from an air assault." Nuitari pauses to let the conversation sink in for a moment.  Likely a few of the team already have an idea of what needs to be done.

   "The platoon will be split in three squads to take care of our assignments.  The squads will be led by myself, Silvermasque, and Drano. with Silvermasque and Drano taking the first two patrols and my squad will take defense to start.  The two teams on patrol will each be getting one of the local soldiers from the outpost to join them.  Here are the squads:

                 Nuitari          Silvermasque         Drano
                 Boris            Comartin             Smoke
                 Heinrich         Signal               Lotus
                 Jake             Thasha               Mephisto
                 Alu demon        NaWa                 Local #2
                 Alu demon        Jack                 Brek-Shall demon
                 Mare demon       Local #1             Asurk demon


   Each patrol will be in the field for twelve hours.  We return to base for rest.  No camping in the field on this one.  Silvermasque, Drano, one of you can head southwest and the other head southeast before turning straight east on your patrols and making your way forward.  You are each other's backup as we can't afford to abandon the Outpost in case any trouble you get in is a diversion to draw us out.  We have Pluto Company's 4th platoon as our air support if needed.  Amy's dropship is with them and can make emergency pick ups if necessary. Lt. Charles is in charge of 4th platoon, so raise him if necessary."

edit: typo
edit #2: corrected patrol directions
This message was last edited by the player at 02:09, Sat 28 Apr 2012.

"Bet they're real shiny too, huh? Solid steel."

Rumbles the big damn borg, his voice grinning where his face could not. Optics shift aside to the small(er) damn borg Boris, before the talkative metal man grunts. "Don't have a lot to say, do ya? Well, don't matter. Talk's cheaper 'n ammo.."

And then the big hats roll in to make their announcements. Perkins, his skull letting loose wafts of smoke like half used stove, rolls that cigar across his clamped jaw again, surprisingly dextrous for what amounts to your 'generic cyborg skull' look. He then grunts, cylinders on the railgun spinning a cycle with a sudden whirr before clunk'ing to a stop.

"Well, hot damn. Where is this Drano son..?" Demons, he don't much care for - considering his previous occupation - but at least they're on the correct side. The borg's glowing optics shifting from side to side as they hunt out for some self-important summbitch with a big hat. That's usually how you spot officers. 'Silvermasque' just sounds like some druid summbitch or other, but that wasn't Perkins' problem. Not his assigned big hat. Nuitari he already knew, and had a grudging respect for. Didn't try to 'show his balls' to the new metal man on the force, and let a private speak words that no private should say.

Damn shame he was wearing a different shirt for this task.

Dusk wrapped up the last of the grub he'd scored from the kids in the trucks (one never knew when the next meal would be) and went to look for his squad for the night.  Crossing the compound he picked his way between debris and the greasy stains that used to be barracks mates and lovers.  This late in the game though his grey eyes barely registered the gore; just enough to keep his feet from coming down in the middle of it.

  The defenders of Juyong outpost had been hunkered down for fortnights, and with reinforcements finally in the DB should have been able to find the time tonight for a bath and a book.  Instead he was headed back out with a new pack of strangers.  Sometimes when new grunts join an established squad the old hands used them for bullet sponges.  After all, who would you rather lose: your buddy or some greenhorn whose name you can't remember?  The new blood that had pulled in with such glaringly lucky timing after the SAMAS attack didn't look raw - didn't move wrong, didn't talk too loud or smile too tight - but that just meant Dusk had to wonder, how many of them saw him as a potential meat shield for their friends?  Or themselves?

He was still scowling at such paranoia as he neared the biggest group of new soldiers - not the group containing the most people, but the one consisting of several tons of cyborgs - in time to hear one mention the Drano ("Sergeant 1st Class Drano Pierce") he'd been sent to find.  Stepping up he asked the biggest, ugliest man-golem, "Yes, can any of you direct me to ze sergeant Drahhno Piee-yurce?"

Jack frowned slightly when Lotus was listed elsewhere but then shrugged. "Them's the breaks, as I have heard." He faced her with his arm out for a warrior's arm-clasp. "Fare well. Kill well. Stay safe or take as many as you can with you."

Jack let out a small laugh when he heard some of his squadmates' names. He turned and grinned Na-Wa if he was around. "Together again, Na-Wa!" He pointed his fore- and middle-fingers of one hand at his eyes then pointed the same two fingers at Thasha. "And YOU don't get crisp-fried this time, yah?"

He then turned to the leader and spoke up louder. "Excuse me, sir? Do you want us to stay grounded or can those who can fly do so during patrols?"

Jake looked at the names on the people part of the defense. He didn't know them just their ranks but they probably didn't know him either. He finished his meal before standing up.

"Private Jake reporting for duty."

Signal has mixed feelings about not being in a squad with no one he has even talked to except one other person from the base. Overall he figured it would be good to meet more people that he would be working with. Signal watched the others a bit to figure out who Silvermasque was and then went over to introduce himself.

"Signal, I believe I am reporting to you."He puts his hand on his chest indicating that he is introducing himself and then gives a slight bow indicating respect to Silvermasque.

Meph and his two demonic companions head off towards Drano, where his squad is gathering.

Along the way, answering Dusks' question "You're with me Sergeant".

   Lotus returns the gesture, still amused at how human the dragon behaves, and she grasps his arm as well.  "Shut the fuck up Jack, I'll see you tonight after patrol."  Lotus walks over to her new squad with the large gryphon seemingly following of its own accord.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:34, Tue 24 Apr 2012.

Heinrich was thankful to be in Nuitari's platoon, he was sensible and Heinrich felt comfortable enough with him. "Heinrich here sir, ready for defense. The terminology is a bit different, but foxholes are just holes deep enough to hid in, yes?"

 "You are saying what now..?" 'Masque asks in his deep rumble as the other borg's mangling produces something closer to Slovak than Russian - particularly his Eastern-accented breed - and causes the myomar muscles in his jaw to quirk (fine detail work there) into a smile as he recognises that an accent means a native speaker rather than the best guess of an electronic translator, even if 'native' would be stretching it more than a little in this particular case.

 From that point on he listens, reaching into the mag-clamped pouches worn over his battledress to produce a cigar of his own, which he clips short with a pair of vibro-claw fingers and lights on the test-cycle of a palm-mounted particle weapon of some sort, setting it between his fangs as he perks up and turns his head to listen to Nuitari's briefing, committing some details to memory and others to onboard storage.

 After that he gives a big, digital sigh and stands up straight, making a 'come here my children' sort of motion for the various people assigned to his leadership and waits for them to start assembling, giving off an air of concentration as he does so, rumbling to Jack "I am thinking to be sticking to ground and low-level flights until we can be sure Coalition is not having good radar cover. For higher sweeps, is best to be doing with spells that stop being seen." then nodding to Signal, politely returning his bow with a thickly Russian-accented "Welcome aboard crazy train." as he leads his small group back a little ways to brief.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Iron Juggernauts take to the skies, and take care of the night patrols, while everyone else gets to rest. As soon as the patrols are back, and the prisoner is detained, Lieutenant Nuitari calls a quick meeting.

"I am glad to see everyone made it back alive. Tolkeen will be sending the necessary supplies, and a team to allow us to complete the outpost defenses by end of day tomorrow, with a few upgrades from what was there before we got here."

"The squads will be changed, again from today's structure. Hopefully, they will remain this way for some time.

Nuitari          Malefic              Drano
Comartin         Silvermasque         Heinrich
Lotus            Signal               Boris
Jake             Disharmony           Settle
Alu demon        NaWa                 Dusk
Alu demon                             Max
Mare demon       Mephisto             Jack
Smoke Perkins    Asurk demon          Thasha
                 Brek-Shall demon



This message was last edited by the player at 10:11, Thu 13 Sept 2012.

"One last thing, a new LT is coming aboard sometime before morning... a second lieutenant... named... Malefic. His profile is an interesting one...

In any case, squads 2 and 3 will head out again first thing tomorrow morning at 0600 hrs, on the same routes as today. We will check over the camera squad 3 returned and the pilot squad 2 brought back, we will keep you posted on any relevent intelligence. Until 0600, enjoy Juyong."Nuitari then heads off to the HQ with Major Karno unless stopped for questions.

Unfortunately there isn't much to do on the fort other than sleep, excercise, eat (there is a cook, but no seats), or volunteer guard duty...
This message was last edited by the player at 10:02, Thu 13 Sept 2012.

 'Masque stands down his patrol when they get back with a quiet "Well done... I know some of you were expecting fight or trouble, but we went out, we saw what there was to see, came back with prisoner and intel and did not get shot. All in all, was success." before heading along to the briefing, taking the news of his demotion from squad leadership with absolute equanimity, since after all he's only a Merc in the middle of this (although it has to be said that given his experiences with Tolkeen command staff so far, someone called 'Malefic' being in charge doesn't fill him with optimism), right up to the point where it's revealed that he's going to be deployed with Disharmony, whereupon he swallows reflexively (which is impressive for a 'Borg whose reflexes have been rewired) and manages to spend the rest of the meeting looking a little nervous.

   After returning from patrol Dusk sees to his animals before eating his own meal alongside them.  He started to ask for the prisoner - bodies and meat always being useful to one in his situation - but decided not to bother when he saw the med kits (plural!) that had already been expended on the captured pilot.  Clearly he was meant to live.  So after a bit of meditation near the ley line the DB mage led his entourage (the ridged and plated rhinoceros/xenomorph/pitbull and the guppy-tailed demon-faced cat/horse DBs, along with a particularly malevolent looking squirrel that had appeared after patrol) over next to one of the piles of scrap left from the earlier bombing attack and bedded down to catch a few hours' shuteye.  With the spells taught to dimensional scouts in his homeworld he could easliy go without sleep for as long as he liked.  But sometimes one just needs a little oblivion, and so the naturally nocturnal DB tossed fitfully until reveille, curled between familiar and mount while the tree rat perched on top of the ruins and watched all who approached with hate in its beady black eyes.

Disharmony remained quiet accepting with approval that she'd be working with Silvermasque in the next mission. It was relatively pointless to appoint someone in charge of her. She was intent on finding out the mission before she decided to join in or not.

She remained on her haunches, watching the others. She didn't need to eat for a few days yet. Her fingers a toes splayed out, digging into the ground like a cat as she stretched running her self diagnostics. Her movement lithe and sinuous as she walked through the camp, deciding to have a look for defensive weaknesses.

Jack noted that he was still being teamed up with Thasha, Dusk and Settle, but that Silvermasque and Na-Wa were in different groups. He was disappointed to not be teamed with Lotus again but that was the way of things. He gave a fatalistic shrug of his human-sized shoulders. He walked over to check out the new teammates he didn't know with a smile.

Upon returning form the patrol Na-Wa heads out by himself to go hunting. The dimwitted Psi-Stalker asks one of the officer if he can do so only because Whon-Ecke told him he should ask first.

Signal took a look at the list and shrugged. He barely remembered who the different soldiers were so it made little difference to him who he rode with. Signal was pretty hungry so he walked toward the food. Signal got a double portion before finding a place to sit. He dropped his bag next to himself and dug into the food.

Dressed in a plain grey jumpsuit with a data pad tucked under his arm, Malefic entered the room and quietly sat down in the corner. Bringing up the datapad he glanced up and looked for the members of his new squad. He hadn't seen much action recently and was anxious to get going.

With Malefic arriving at 0500 or so, both patrol squads are on their way a few minutes early. With their bellies full, and a full night's sleep behind them, it looked like it could be an easy day. However, as if it were timed, a merciless downpour of rain, and thick, black clouds make the early morning trek a gloomy one, as the ground turns to mud within minutes.

(Please refer to your squad's thread from here on. Vehicles will be figured out in OOC and PMs)

This message was last edited by the GM at 14:32, Tue 09 Oct 2012.

The Cyber Knights arrive by the thousands, and deploy along the front lines. Many are to remain on the bases as defense, including a hundred or so at Juyong Outpost. Several hundred have been assigned to the Tolkeen army here, to be divided among the units again to serve as mercenaries (unpaid mercenaries).

One such Cyber Knight by the name of Jelme has personally requested to be assigned to Pluto Company, where he was just a few short weeks ago. With him, a comrade-in-arms Sir Aries, an elven Knight. There is also a Holy Terror, who goes by the name of Bob with them, and two other human Knights.

They arrive on their various hovercycles, or mounts in search of Major Zor Karno.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:01, Tue 09 Oct 2012.

(The outpost is twice as big as it appears in this picture) The crew quarters, and hangar bay have all been constructed underground by earth warlocks. There are currently only 40 or 50 visible troops on base. Both of the main guard towers have been recently rebuilt and some of the debris is still being collected and cleaned from the inside yard. There are several pairs of patrolling guards outside of the outpost, and 6 Juggernauts in the sky above. The blue light of the near-by ley line can't be seen in the bright morning sun, but can be felt by those sensitive to its' energy.

The gates are opened as the company of Cyber Knights arrive, but all of the vehicles will be parked outside.

The rain is relentless and everyone is soaked and covered in mud from the trip. A soldier points to the HQ, where Karno should be found, and Jelme leads the way.

Two soldiers outside, look the squad over and step aside allowing them to enter. Jelme opens the door, and steps in. The floor is wood, and is already messed with mud on the floors, and dirt on the walls.

The Major is wearing his armour, with his helmet on a table nearby. He has been on the news recently as he was thought killed, but was then rescued by Pluto Company (safe, except one less eye, now covered with an eye patch) along with a dragon hatchling and a dozen other brave soldiers of Tolkeen. Jelme fought at this battle.

Major Karno is looking over a map with a Lieutenant of the outpost and the outer defenses that are being set up. There is another Lieutenant, and a young private in the room as well.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:26, Tue 09 Oct 2012.

Upon seeing the Knights enter he and the Lieutenant look over and end their current discussion. He walks over with a smile on his face and reaches his hand out to shake with Sir Aries "I am very glad to see you gentlemen" trailing off at that last syllable as Bob enters the room...

"We needed the support. Are you with the defense company, or the squad assigned to Pluto?"

"We're here to join Pluto Company.  You've apparently made quite the impression of Sir Jelme.  Our blades & skills are at your disposal Major.  We are all experienced combatants & harbor no love for the Coalition."

Sir Aries Misjahamind is a High Elven Cyber-Knight born on Palladium World to wealthy parents.  He stands 6'6" with light skin, blonde hair & green eyes.  On his back he carries a long sword (uncommon for a cyber-knight).  Though not overly fond of humans, Aries has a great deal of respect for Atlantians.

BOB walks in, he is at least 10 feet tall of well, armor, spikes and a very long red cape..He is big..

He looks down at the man, and sticks out a hand, that is, well, a metal giant sized armored hand that ends in silver spikes/claws.

What makes it even more odd is that Bob was coverd in Weapons and Gear..He had Items that had jewels placed in them..Those of you that were in the Know knew he was not only a Holy Terror but a TW as well..

He has a soft grip and dosen't squeeze at all..In a low voice that is surprisingly gentel.

"Im Bob or Mr. Smiles, we are Pluto company..Happy to help in anway way or form that is needed". He says.  Considering his face is a metal visor it is hard to show any expression.

"Im usually Heavy Armor and Magic" He says in his deep rumbling voice.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:35, Tue 09 Oct 2012.

Jelme nods to Karno, and the other officers in the room. He did not serve with Karno for very long, and has never met the others.

"I am very glad to have you all with us out here on the edge." He raises his eyebrows and smiles, as he adds a little theater to his voice, making "the edge" sound like something scary...

"Frankly, we're spread pretty thin out here."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:25, Wed 10 Oct 2012.

A large base radio in the room blasts to life, ~"This is Lieutenant Malefic, squad two. We have a crashed Death's Head transport one mile from our position. No sign of survivors at this time... Request reinforcements to secure crash site."~

Zor moves quickly to respond "10-4, secure that crash site. A squad is on their way."

He turns to look at the Lieutenant by the drawing board. "Nuitari, take your squad out." He then looks back over to Aries, Bob and the others. "You boys ready for a fight?"

"Yes sir." He replies, before turning to face Sir Aries "Meet me outside the gates in 5 minutes."

Lieutenant Nuitari then walks out the front door of the HQ to gather his squad.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Wed 10 Oct 2012.

"We won't let you down Major."  Aries checked his gear and mounted his cyber horse.  "Lead the way Lt.  If we don't hurry every merc with a grudge or wanted poster will be on that transport looking for salvage."

Bob gives a nod..

He grows another 5 feet, his spikes big and mencing..

"The good fight!" He says with his booming voice!

Just under 5 minutes, Lieutenant Nuitari is ready on his hover skiff, along with his three demonic minions. Joining him is a female mystic knight on a gryphon-mount and a massive cyborg, obviously planning on doing the run without a vehicle.

The rain continues to pour, and lightning streaks across the sky. Everyone is already covered in mud, but those on hovercycles do their best to avoid splashing the others as everyone moves out, south east toward the crash site.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:35, Thu 11 Oct 2012.

Lotus makes a point of nodding to Jelme. They were never friends, but they survived a lot together, and the man was worthy of her respect.

"Beautiful night huh Jelme?" She asks jokingly, as she scratches the back of her gryphons' head.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:36, Thu 11 Oct 2012.

Jelme returned the nod, and shouted back over the sound of the wind and rain "magnificent Lotus!, absolutely magnificent."

Smoke nodded to Sir Aries and the others, and took a long look at "Bob". He stood patiently waiting for Nuitari to give the order.

Nuitari wasted no time with speaches, and took the lead, with the hover skiff racing at 180 kph across the muddy plains, towards the old batlefield (and recently-confirmed mine field).




This message was last edited by the player at 15:56, Thu 11 Oct 2012.

Bob stood ready.

He took of his cap and folded it up and put it into his pack.

He jumped onto the Skiff, ready to go.

He gave a nod to Smoke knowing that he and smoke would be the ones that took the main force of the damage

The two squads race towards the crash site, through the rain and winds. You will arrive in approximately 4 minutes at the current speed.

"Is there a plan of attack?  Or do you expect this to be a free for all?"  Aries inquires.  "At least the enemy is polite enough to be wearing the same colors."

"That will depend on their situation when we arrive. Our primary objective is to secure that transport. I will have to assess the situation and take over command. Just stick close to me, until I figure where everyone needs to be..."

"Well looks like Weerzbookskee or whatever her name was is going to beat us there..."

Bob looks about..

"What is the goal of this mission..Kill everything or support?..

Bob pulls out a wicked looking sword that has rubies in it and a ppe battery.

Nuitari repeats the mission objective to ensure all were clear "We are to secure the transport, and await further orders. Once I see the site, and depending on if the others are under fire, we will go, where we are required most."

The cloud of black smoke bellowing from the crashed Death's Head Transport can be seen in the distance as Squad One, along with the Cyber Knight squad races to arrive before the reported Coalition squad.

As they approach, it appears Nuitari's original guess was wrong, and you are the first relief squad to arrive, before any real combat has begun.

Disharmony, a massive Dragon-Borg can be seen circling in the air above the transport, and a small crew is set up near the front end, with another hover skiff.

(You will now be posting in the Squad Two Thread. I will make a GM psot for your team's arrival, and then you are in, right before the CS squad arrives :) )

---

Tolkeen was focusing a lot of its' power on the outpost line. After sending the Cyber Knights to the front, The Juicer Army of Liberation was organized and ready to head out to the front lines.

Numbering just under 10 000, the massive army moves out as a caravan. Thousands of hovercyles, hover vehicles, and riding animals move out as one force toward Juyong and the surrounding outposts.

Along for the ride is a small contingent of newly recuited mercenaries. Approximately 500 in total; comprised of cyborgs, man-at-arms, mystic knights, Crazies, and all sorts and sizes join the Juicer army in their trek toward the front lines.

It is a 2 day trip, but mostly uneventful (other than picking up a few more stragglers, and learning the town of Burland has been wiped out by The Coalition.

Soon the caravan moves into a ruthless storm, and everything and everyone is soaked and covered in mud within minutes. Eventually, Gubeikou outpost can be spotted in the distance, and the caravan splits apart.

The 500+ mercenaries head on to Juyong Outpost. Vehicles are parked outside, and everyone is welcomed inside. A large tent has been set up for people to stay out of the rain. There are dozens of tables, and only a dozen or so troops currently already at the tables, curiously watching all the new arrivals.

The designated mercenary officers head off to discuss placements with the Tolkeen officers, while everyone else is free to try to dry off, and have a short rest before moving on to specific positions on the line.

*Scroll to the top of this page for a basic pic of the outpost.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:59, Mon 19 Nov 2012.

Eager to spend time anywhere that wasn't in a driver's seat, Max makes his way into the bustling tent.

Within a few minutes he finds a place to sit down with some real damn food, and sets up his handheld computer. As he eats, his eyes pour over a two-dimensional holographic map being projected across the surface of the table in front of him. It is a composite map of the region, made up of military charts, aerial photographs, and hand-drawn sketches superimposed on top of a scanned copy of an outdated pre-Rifts tourist map, fold lines and ripped edges included. The various pieces were difficult and expensive to collect, but the knowledge would be invaluable. He pays special attention to the last known location of some Tolkeen and Coalition military units, as well as ley lines, rivers, and other landmarks that would be visible from the air.

Remembering his conversation with a cocky mage at the gates, Max adds a Point of Interest to the south, marking the rough location of the recent Death's Head transport crash.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:02, Tue 20 Nov 2012.

PM

A fist fight breaks out between a few mercs just a few feet away from Max, and one man is thrown over the table. It is broken up pretty quick, but it is clear these people can't be kept here for long.

A Gromeks' wing bashes Max on one side, and then the other when the creature realizes he smashed him the first time and spins to see what he hit. He continues walking away without care, at least avoiding hitting Max a third time.

The slender figure of a fantasy warrior-princess stands next to Max, before taking a seat next to him and taking a look at the map.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:49, Tue 20 Nov 2012.

"What are we looking at here? A map of the outpost? Are you familiar with human history?"

Bumped the first time, Max cocks his head to the side quickly to catch a glimpse of the offender. Seeing the situation, he produces the slightest smirk and braces himself for the remainder of the winged onslaught.

Relaxing a moment later, he turns his attention back to his map. It takes him a full second to realize the woman is speaking to him. He starts to answer as he looks up, but pauses when his eyes settle on the woman's face.

He then continues a split second later, seemingly unfazed.
"Not just the outpost." He holds a button on the mini computer and zooms the map out to a several-hundred-mile area. At this scale, the projected hologram seems less like a map and more like a complex series of holes separated by clusters of data.
"The map's about as complete as my knowledge of history. I know bits and pieces."

Max looks up at the creature again. "...enough to know that this is sort of a cultural tradition." He motions to the part of the map containing the highest concentration of images; the front lines of the war. His face is deadpan, making it difficult to tell if he's mournful or making a joke.

"That's fascinating! I'm N'ialla, nice to meetcha!" She smiles and extends a hand to shake.

"I've been reading human history for a while now, and this outpost is named in Chinese. Juyong was the name of one section of the Great Wall of China. All of these outposts are named as such. Gubeikuu... all of them. Interestingly enough... Juyong was defeated by the Mongolians. The Mongolians were able to move past the lines, and attack from behind... I hope history doesn't repeat itself... ... ... I hate Mongolians."

She returns the dead pan stare, but a smirk creeps across her face as she tried to hold in the laughter. She clearly got Maxs' joke, and made one of her own. She looked down shyly, and then back up at Max, one hand twisting the fur growing into a spike on top of he right ear.

Max turns toward the woman and watches her face as she speaks, his mind drifting to the last time someone tried to talk his ear off about pre-Rifts history.

N'ialla's last comment about Mongolians catches Max off guard, and he chuckles despite himself. "You'd think they would choose a better name for the place."

He puts his hand forward suddenly. "Max."

"I take it you're here to make sure the Mongolians don't succeed the second time around?"

"I go where the adventure is green bean." She says with a devilish grin, "What about you? Here to get rich?"

His smile fading, Max shakes his head and says curtly, "Not really. This is just where I need to be."

Remembering how much he hates when other people speak in such vague terms, he goes on.
"The Coalition's put a lot of people in a bad situation. The quicker they figure out this war isn't winnable, the better off everyone will be."

Max leans back and straightens his faded leather jacket, looking at N'ialla skeptically. "Besides, what makes you think I'm not already rich?"

He had travelled in with a large contingent of Cyberknights. Given his Crusader style armor and large white dragon skin cloak complete with red Templar cross he could easily be confused for one. In truth his ideals and persoanl belief set puts him more in line with the minions of Lord Coake then most of the other various creatures that have flocked to Tolkeens banner as of late. At 12ft tall and almost 900lbs the leonine warrior towers over most around him. The six foot long rifle on his back before customization was a two man portable field artillery piece. It is his most obvious weapon. He also has a nine foot high tech compound bow and a crystalline sword hilt on his belt with no blade. The rain has transformed the road dust he was covered in into muddy rivulets running down his armor and clumped into his luxurious mane. Given the current state of weather and general clusterfuck of mercs and soldiers he has decided to forego finding command for now and ducks into the closest tent pavillion he sees that will accomodate his bulk.

Stepping in his gaze sweeps the room his eyes golf-ball sized black orbs of cold discernment. He simulataneously reaches out with senses both mystic and psionic to complement his formidable mundane perceptive abilities. Settling his stare briefly on N'ialla a low growl unconsciously starts from deep in his chest reverberating up into his throat momentarily. The Ramen mentally chastises and reminds himself, not for the first time, that the enemy of his enemy is his friend. It goes against everything in his nature to work with such fell creatures but his intent is to keep as open a mind as possible. To that end he shakes moisture from his mane, no doubt spattering mud on those closest to the tents entrance, then makes a beeline directly towards the Rakasha and consequently Max. Pulling up within conversational distance he balls one paw-like hand into a fist brings it up to heart level and thumps it into his breastplate in salute. His voice is a rich baritone and his American while succinct has a litling quality that suggests Dragonese is his native tongue.

"Greetings. I am called Leviticus. I am to report to Zor Karno but it is a bit chaotic out there just now so this seemed as good a place as any to find respite. What unit is this?

Nestor had arrived along with the mercenaries, riding in on the back of one of their hover trucks. His story from young CS officer to Tolkeen Lieutenant is a long and interesting tale, but "on the back of a hovertruck" sums up the very end of that journey to reach this place, Juyong Outpost.

He brushes by Leviticus as the large Ramen stops to talk to the two seated "D-Bees" at one of the rows of tables. He had intended on walking much further past them, and finding a quiet place to sit and rest in quiet, but his bad hip was acting up, and he had to choose closest seat of a faceplant in the mud.

Landing heavily in the seat two down from Max, he grunts in pain and rubs his lower back, while facing away from Max. There was no way he would show any sign of weakness if he could avoid it... especially here...
This message was last edited by the player at 11:54, Fri 30 Nov 2012.

N'ialla smirked at Max's assumedly rhetorical question and starts scratching a groove into the table with one of her long claws. She looks up as the others arrive, and just watches, and listens for now.

Max watches the enormous knight approaching through the crowds. He glances at N'ialla briefly when he realizes the cat-like d-bee is coming directly to her.

As Leviticus comes into conversation distance, Max finds himself dwarfed and leaning back against the table just to make eye contact. After the introduction, he replies dryly, "I don't think this is a unit. Not yet."

With a casual wave to the opposite table, Max says, "Have a seat. I'd guess some reps will come put some order to this chaos in the next few minutes. Hopefully before any more fights break out..." He spares a glance at the old man half-collapsing a couple of spaces down. "...and someone gets hurt."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Fri 30 Nov 2012.

The young private jogs through the crowd and stops suddenly when he spots the seasoned Lieutenant seated next to Max. He nervously, and awkwardly salutes the old man, then stutters as he speaks "F-Father? I thought you were staying back home..." Leckie looks visibly terrified.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:49, Sun 09 Dec 2012.

Nestor's face distorts into a scowl as he responds coldly to his son "And I thought you were part of some forward assault team! Not some nancy-Officers' aide!"

He puffs out his chest and angrily replies "I am on the front lines aren't I?? You think I chose this? I want to be out there fighting with the others but I was assigned to Major Karno instead! He is a great leader, and he sent me out here to gather a strike team to be sent out to fight the CS right away! And I'm not even going to choose you! I'm choosing all those guys!" He points over at the other three local warriors of course...

"Thank you." Leviticus replies to Max and he does have a seat if it looks like the chair will hold his weight. While the young man and his father share their awkward exchange the Ramen watches his curiosity piqued. "Hmm... interesting. I never met my sire but my lady mother was dominant enough to fill the role." Hearing that the Private is in direct contact with the Major he has no intention of letting the young man leave without him.

Max blinks off his holoprojector and slips the computer into a pouch on his belt. He adjusts his jacket and nods absently at Leviticus' unusual comment. Max seems to be distracted listening to the conversation between father and son while eyeing up some of the Ramen's gear.

Upon hearing "I'm choosing all those guys!", Max looks over, making brief eye contact with the boy, and then his father. He keeps his comments to himself.

He steps forward, past his father, to stand next to Max, and look at N'ialla and Leviticus while he talks. "Major Karno is the commanding officer of Pluto Company. The greatest company in the army! Everyone here is being assembled into some sort of invasion force, but he needs help. One of our platoons is currently under attack, and unable to be relieved for some time. His hands are tied. He does however have a small fortune to his name, and intends on hiring his own mercenaries to head out and reinforce this platoon as soon as possible. If you accept, please follow me. He will ensure you are still employed by Tolkeen, but receive a special bonus instantly for signing with him."

Leckie looks down to his father, pleased he has been impressive, and then back to the three mercs to see if they take his offer.

Leviticus smiles a toothy grin at the young private in what is meant to be a friendly gesture but in reality would be terrifying to the weak of heart. He stands adjusting the big rifle strapped to his back and straightens his white cloak. "Yes of course I will come. It is what I am here for." The huge Ramen grabs the inside edges of his voluminous dragonskin cloak and pulls it around himself in preparation to travel.

Max sits up straight and watches Leckie's face as he talks, thinking he may have misjudged the young aide. He looks back at N'ialla for a moment, reading her expression, the gives the Private a solid nod. "Sign me up."

He zips up his jacket, then reaches up to push his mess of black hair back and hold it there with a piece of electrical wire. "Where's the briefing?"

N'ialla's ears perk up at the mention of being hired instantly for some important job. Seeing that her new friend Max would be going, she grinned and nodded to the young human indicating her interest as well.

"We will discuss pay with the Major?"

Young Leckie nods in confirmation to the Raksasha demon.

"Follow me, I will take you to the Major." Private Leckie ignores his father, and leads the trio of mercenaries back over to the HQ office inside the outpost. Two armed battle mages, and four cyber knights stand guard outside the doors. Leckie walks up and opens them, leading to a series of wood boards covered in water and mud, but preventing an easy slip.

He leads the group down a short hallway and into a room on the left where Major Karno is going over troop movements with a female Lieutenant, a Juicer and a Cyber Knight. They stop as the group enters, and the Major approaches with a forced smile.

"We must make this quick. Hopefully Leckie explained everything to you, but if not I will clarify. I have a platoon pinned down in no-man's land in need of support. Tolkeen won't let me send any of my air units in, and the only other platoon I can spare is half of 2nd platoon who are already on their way now. The group you arrived with, along with the Juicers and Cyber Knights have other orders and cannot assist.

Plainly speaking, my boys are about to get sliced up, and they need all the help they can get to secure a crashed CS transport, until Tolkeen gets off their asses to relieve them. I will pay each of you 30 000 credits right away, and then ensure you are picked up for an additional 15K per day if you allow me to recruit you into 3rd platoon right away. I would need you all to leave immediately, and prepare for extended combat."

Karno points to an area on a large map indicating the location of the crashed transport, about 5 miles from here. "I am not sure of their current status, but please, make haste and report to Lieutenant Nuitari once in range - he's the CO of the platoon..

He quickly prepares the previously mentioned credits, and hands them out. "Questions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:25, Fri 14 Dec 2012.

Faced with the officer, Max finds himself standing "at ease" through the informal briefing. He accepts the credits when given, telling himself that now is not the time for unnecessary talk.

As the Major wraps up, Max has already prepared a rough list of gear for the mission, and some questions. He states them curtly, making them sound more like statements. "Number and type of Friendlies, same for Inbound."

"Hmm? Well let' see... there should be 20-25 for third platoon, and a squad from 2nd on route. Type of friendlies? I don't see how this is more important than haste."

Taking off his armored glove the Ramen extends a large clawed hand palm up to accept the credits. Placing them in a belt pouch away apart from his personal wealth he steps back from the table and salutes with a fist across his heart and slight bow. "It is an honor to serve sir."  Leviticus will wait to see if any transportation that fits his size is made available. If not he prepares to use magic in order to follow along quickly.

The Major's attitude comes as a surprise to Max. Anyone with combat experience knew that intelligence made the difference between life and death, or from Zor Karno's point of view, success and failure. Max hoped he had simply misunderstood the question; maybe the military jargon wasn't as universal as he thought.

Max doesn't react outwardly, but makes a mental note to get the information from someone else before they leave the base. He stays in place until the Major finishes.

The Major is quite finished.

Marking the end of the conversation, Max slams his heels together and throws his hand up in a salute.
He breaks form and looks at the other two. "Let's move. We have work to do."

Max steals a full second look at the troop movement information, then makes pointed eye contact with Leckie on his way out the door.

"Hovercycles, or a hover truck can be made available at the vehicle lot. They are well-used but will get you to the crash site quickly."

"Also, here is the list of necessary radio channels for Pluto, and the platoons. Lieutenant Nuitari has 3rd, and Lieutenant Pukt has 2nd."

(Assuming you all have radios, if not they will give you some. You can now hear all of the chatter in the Tolkeen radio thread, and can reply if desired).
This message was last edited by the player at 16:27, Thu 20 Dec 2012.

N'ialla happily accepts her credits and follows Max back outside and to the vehicles.

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.