Project Spearhead RP: Humanity's last stand against a relentless invader... - Games

"I know he may seem...dumb. But I've learned that it's best not to get in between a Russian and his drink. Especially in times when extreme concentration is needed." he said as the empty bottle rolled near his foot.

"You don't think 'e's got a stash up there in 'is cockpit do ya?" Alexander chuckled, starring at the bottle as it rocked from side to side, dripping a small fraction of it's non-existent contents onto the cargo hold's metal floor; there was now a small, dark trail of vodka that snaked across the floor, sometimes doubling back on itself. Alexander took a peek out of the window at the baron, featureless desert that greeted their squad, "Not much to look at is there?" he said as he turned back to his squad mates with a look of despair.

Joyce picked up the vodka bottle and examined it. "Well ain't no surprise if that fella got a whole booze chest up there." she pondered. Joyce threw the bottle to Alexander. "You betcha aint much to look at for a islander like you being cradled in his majesties sweet kingdom of green forests and sheep, for me tho, 2022 when that ol' hag jumped off the planet and 'straya became independent was the best year of the bloody century." she quipped.

Suddenly the dropship rocked, as if it encountered turbulence. The intercom came to alive. "Uh this is your pilot, we will reach the LZ soon. Lock and load or whatever it is you say." Said Valkov while chuckling. Outside the scenery began changing from the beautiful coastal deserts into a grey lifeless land, a product of the Crystalites. The LZ was only a few kilometers inland yet the changes outside were fast, showing how far the crystalite incurions had spread. A few hours earlier the Super Osprey had passed by the island of Malta which had been quite the lightshow as the island had been turned into a UEA fortress. The aircraft began slowing down, rotating its engines so that it could hover before slowly descending. Suddenly the squad AI, Merlin, came to life. "It appears that the landing site is clear." Began the AI. "However I strongly advise you to keep your weapons at the ready either way." "My name is, as you may already know, Merlin." With a bang the aircraft sat down and the ramp started deploying. "Time to go!" Yelled Valkov over the intercom.

Joyce grabbed her shotgun and jumped in the gazelle with the bomb. "Vasil, I want you with the tech guy in the other vehicle. Matchbox, frenchie and metal gear, you're with me." she explained calmly, then sitting down and starting up the gazelle. She took out a dusty and slightly burned Card with the Queen of Diamonds and stuck it into the front window lining.

"Let's not forget who's leading this, SO. I want outta this shithole ASAP so we don't attract the attention of our little red 'friends'. The bomb Gazelle is our priority target, without that, humanity dies at the turn of the century. One engineer, QM and heavy per vehicle. Firebug, on the car without a bomb, I don't want us to put a crater anywhere but the crystal's locale." Karl shouldered his guns and climbed onto the Gazelle without a bomb. "Techie, Roast beef, on the car with the bomb. Let's roll out!"

Donovan checks gives his checks his equipment a quick check before following Karl on board to the Gazelle without the bomb. "So, does anyone see anything? How clear is our route?"

A hologram projector at the center of the open-top passenger area came to life, showing a old man wearing a tall robe. "We are currently bound to AHWR 1, a highway built to transport samples between UCO-1 and GERU HQ. Assuming that it's intact it will take us quite a bit down alongside the western coast." Said Merlin before transforming into a map. "One of the entryways is within range, however we will need to pass through a small town first." Finished Merlin. The LZ itself was ontop of a hill which was entirely barren with the exception being an old rusty car. Dried blood was visible on the partially destroyed windshield and on the seats. Roughly 500 meters away from the hill was a small town comprised of mostly sheds and other smaller buildings. The wreckage of a UEA V30 Osprey could be seen in the center of the town, having crashed in what would appear to be a market. In the distance the silhouette of a vast highway resting on dozens of concrete pillars was visible.

"Merlin, see if you can bring up any radio contact within the town. If not, we circle around the town and enter as close as possible to AHWR 1. If there is a signal, we should see if there's anyone there who can help and, maybe search the Osprey for any valuable supplies."

"Scanning..." said the AI as the Gazelles rolled down the ramp. "One faint signal detected inside the town. Several biosignatures detected however it is impossible to determine how many there are in total. Several dormant crystalites detected on the outskirts of the town." The map lit up with several red dots.

Joyce reached over to the intercom, "well Jerry, you're the bossman. The crew of that osprey is probably in town but I don't like the look of those dots one bit"

Karl reached over to his intercom, "Well that's why we circle around the bugs and go in to save the crew." He put down the intercom and shot his glance over to Merlin, "Any other information about these dormant things? I want to know if it's just a couple of Drones or if we'll be dealing with a Rhino right out of the box here." After saying that, Karl grabbed his short-ranged radio, and tuned into the frequency Merlin detected, "This is Spearhead One with the United Earth Alliance, can anyone hear this transmission? Repeat, this is Spearhead One with the United Earth Alliance, can anyone hear this transmission, over."

Joyce turned off the intercom and leaned back into the drivers chair. "Save the crew..." she muttered. "This is why UEA contracts are the worst, you end up being paid to done one job but there are always a million small things that you somehow also end up doing." Joyce scoffed, "After I'm done with this the UEA can kiss my dusty aussie arse an' start cleanin' up their own toss-ups".

"Wait, how long has this crew been stuck here for?"

"I'll be damned if I enjoy the idea of jeopardizing our entire bloody mission for a couple of grunts who got splashed in that market", interjects Felix, gesturing towards Joyce in agreement. He continues, "so far as I see it, they can go ahead and die on that godforsaken hill, or we can blow our cover, and give them the once in a life time oppurtunity of humping our gear just to die with us on another bloody hill". "However, that doesnt mean they cant offer us any information", twidling his comms equipment, he tries to make contact with anyone possibly near that downed Osprey.

"It is impossible to determine what type of crystalites from this range. As for the Osprey, vegetation on and around it suggests that it has been here for quite some time." Said Merlin.

"We can't abandon them."

[All right, finally settled on Joyce's final appearance and armaments. It's final now.] Joyce stood on the drivers seat and looked trough a pair of binoculars, visually trying to locate where the crystalites might be burried in the terrain according to the map. She looked down on Felix in the co-driver seat as he worked the comms. "Radiohead, you got anything?"

[Also Lion, could you make a list for who is in what vehicle.]

[Certainly.] [b]Command Gazelle[/b] [i]Driver: Alexander, Trooper Front Passenger: Karl, Squad Leader Gunner: Donovan, Heavy Rear Passengers: Vasil, CE Eric, CT Chuck, QM Cali, Medic [/i] [b]Bomb Gazelle[/b] [i]Driver: Joyce, CE & SO Front Passenger: Felix, CO Gunner: Aida, Heavy Rear Passengers: Zachary, Heavy Nick, Marksman William, QM [/i] [Keep in mind that the gunners have a limited firing arc covering the front while the rear passengers utilize the open-top to fire out and cover the rest of the vehicle. Read the intel if you're unsure on details.] [editline]23rd November 2015[/editline] [Added: Alex to the list, Aquired Intel-section in the OP and link to the Gazelle setup.]

Cali double checks all of her equipment and gets ready for insertion. She's got her trauma pack at the ready, and some field dressings in her pockets ready to go.

[QUOTE=Radley;49171335]"Radiohead, you got anything?"[/QUOTE] As Felix scanned the local frequencies, only static could be heard. Suddenly it was broken by a weak transmission. [I]"Golf. Sierra. One. Two. Seven. Dash. Eight. Niner. Sierra. Oscar. Sierra."[/i] The message repeated over and over untill Felix shut it off. It would appear that there was some kind of pre-recorded message being sent from the town.

Meanwhile in the command gazelle, Alexander was fiddling with the dashboard radio, "come on you bastard, pick [I]something[/I] up, anything" he muttered irritably. The chances of picking up [I]any[/I] radio stations were were near impossible, after all, their area of operations was a lifeless wasteland. Alexander leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the sky through the gazelle's windscreen, what was a vast expanse of blue, cloudless sky, was now a mass of yellow clouds. To his left Alexander noticed a violent dust storm sweeping across the land; the town and Spearhead One were directly in it's path. "Squad leader! there's a dust storm heading our way! A violent one!" Alexander exclaimed, turning to Karl.

Joyce reached for the intercom "Looks like the forces o' nature are on your side. We better hurry into that village if we don' wanna get sandpappered in these overgrown dunebuggies". She leaned back and grabbed the wheel while looking at Felix, " Sounds like its a beacon stuck in a loop." She said with a grin "My best guess is that all that is left o' that crew is torn rags and bones".

Karl's head snapped to look out of the window. "Son of a..." He immediately grabbed the intercom, "Looks like anyone still alive there is gonna be choking on dust. Floor it through the town, looks like we're gonna need to forego planning!" He slammed the intercom down and slapped Alexander on the shoulder. "You heard me, move it!"

As the squad readied themselves the ramp to the super osprey closed. In a moment the aircraft was airborne and was circling the LZ. "Good luck, comrades!" Said Valkov over thr radio while russian music could be heard in the background.

"Well, he's gone. Commander, what do we do now?"

Joyce looked over her shoulder and gave Nick a smug smile, "You heard Jerry over the radio, we move". Joyce started up the gazelle and waited for the command vehicle to take point.

Alexander put his foot down, the gazelle slowly set off and gradually gained speed. Alexander checked the mirrors every so often to make sure the bomb gazelle was behind him, he looked to his right, noting the sandstorm's progress and reporting it to Karl. The road was nothing more than a wide dirt track with tarmacked areas that appeared every so often.

Eric checked his ammo counter quickly.