Maddox handed over János's communicator. "I've primed your own communicator to broadcast directly to my superiors, meaning that your message will be sent to the SDF. The authorization code is in place so all you need to do is to either record a voice message or send a textmessage. I recommend the latter though as it is much easier to compress and encrypt."
He pointed at the communicator. "You only have one shot though. This type of communicator has a planet-wide range at best."
"Good luck. I got a team to prepare now."
Having spent way too much time reconfiguring János's communicator, Maddox doublebacked to the armory.
He did a quick salute to Porter. "Sorry for taking so long, I hope you're ready for the mission."
While awaiting Porter's response Maddox begun to piece together to the various weapon parts which had been automatically produced during his absence. He spotted the cryogenics core and slotted it inside a socket of the receiver.
Living up to his reputation, Maddox pieced together the weapon in less than a minute.
He grabbed several stacks of ammo for the new weapon and packed it down into a box.
After that he made the final preparations for his own gear before putting on his helmet.
[quote]Having spent way too much time reconfiguring János's communicator, Maddox doublebacked to the armory.
He did a quick salute to Porter. "Sorry for taking so long, I hope you're ready for the mission."[/quote]
Porter shifted his body to view Maddox, he hasn't moved at all from the spot, "Having a pleasant conversation with the Cataract's engineer kept me busy, and all my weapons were ready to go from the start. Whenever the Captain gives the orders, we start."
"Anyone else joining us?" he asks, the shotgun gleaming in his hands.
Maddox shrugged. "No clue." He nodded towards the door. "Let's go."
While walking towards the dropship, Maddox typed a quick message to the crew.
[Quote]
All combat crew report to the Cataract. Anyone else who wants to join the ground team is more than welcome.
Maddox[/Quote]
Markus walked past Johannes and Istasha on the ramp, "On yer right, lizard fucker".
He walked in a brisk pace down the ramp with a slight limp while laughing with his deep, raspy voice.
Jag concluded that now wouldn't be the most opportune moment to discuss the matter with Janos.
Instead, Jag decided to follow it's new team leader and leave the Muramasa.
Heading straight to the Cataract and dropship waiting aside it.
Maddox nodded towards Jag. "Ready for round two Jag?"
The trio exited the Muramasa and began to walk towards the dropship parked beside the Cataract.
Jag gave Maddox a nod in response before replying to him vocally.
"Affirmative, Team Leader." Jag said dryly, glancing towards dropship while it approached him.
As they walked towards the ship Maddox nodded towards the distant mountains. "Ever seen a world like Voyak before?"
[QUOTE]"Ever seen a world like Voyak before?"[/QUOTE]
"Yes, Team Leader Maddox," Jag said while peaking over it's right shoulder to see the mountains.
"In fact," Jag said before turning towards Maddox, "This world and I are no stranger."
"Through it was only for an brief period, during my position while within the Mantle back 40 years ago."
Jag said while looking over the landscape.
Maddox grunted. "Interesting. Personally I wouldn't want to visit a world like Voyak ever again. A dying planet just gives me the creeps."
Soon they reached the dropship. Maddox shook Itasha's hand. "You must be Itasha. Nice to meet you." He pointed at Johannes.
"Johannes here asked me to make you a weapon, I hope you like it."
Maddox then presented a compact launcher weapon alongside a circular magazine which he loaded into the weapon.
"This is the [b]BODS-X[/b], short for [i]Battlefield Ordnance Delivery System - Experimental[/i]."
The weapon was very organic in design and had few rough shapes. The stock could be collapsed for easier transportation or maneuvering in tight spaces.
A heads-up display was visible at the back of the receiver. Two rows of text were visible; SAFETY - ON
AMMO - HE.
"Each magazine holds sixteen grenades which can be launched, thanks to the built-in magnetic catapult, up to 500 meters. Using the HUD you can program each grenade to carry specific payloads, right now you have three ammo types to choose from: High Exposive (HE), Armor Piercing (AP) and Cryo."
Maddox gave Itasha a quick demonstration by clicking on the HUD touchpad with his finger. "The two former options are pretty self-explanatory while the latter one was made possible thanks to the cryogenics core installed inside the weapon. If you launch a cryo grenade you can either freeze enemies in place or boost Johannes's abilities."
Maddox then re-engaged the safety and handed over the weapon and ammo to Itasha.
"It does seem to be quite unsettling, Team Leader Maddox." Jag said replying to Maddox.
Jag turn to face Itasha after they both arrived to the dropship.
Jag looked onto Maddox while he give one of creation to Itasha due to a request from Johannes.
The Sanghvi stared at both of them while Maddox discussed the operation of her new weapon.
After Maddox was done explaining to Itasha about the weapon, Jag took an step closer towards them both.
"So your one of the Cataract's operatives assisting our team during the mission, Technician Itasha?"
Jag asked Itasha an moment after Maddox was done talking to her.
*snip*
Maddox nodded. "No problem." He then waved with his hand. "Alright people, let's mount up."
Inside the cockpit sat Wilson from the Cataract. After a short introduction Maddox then sat down in the co-pilot seat.
*snip*
((Oh god that looks like a cropped NSFW picture.))
*snip*
[QUOTE][b] "Hello again Jag. Yes, I've been assigned by Captain Sharpe to assist the away team. And it's Chief Engineer, not technician."[/b][/QUOTE]
"I apologize then, Chief Engineer Istasha." Jag said with a short bow.
Jag then turn and begin walking towards the middle of the dropship's hold, looks to be of HOUND make.
One of the Baker series Jag thought while embarking, an Bearhound model it concluded by the distinctive appearance of Eden construction.
After a moment of observing the craft, Jag chose to stand towards the left side of the hold.
Turning to face Istasha with an stare and an question.
"Chief Engineer Istasha, may I ask you question regarding the upcoming mission?" Jag asked her while standing within the middle of the hold.
"What, if any combat experience or training do you possess?"
*snip*
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL_lvIRAxds[/media]
"Behold, he awakens!" Several members of the Artisynth ruling elite class were hurried out of the room by Moloch. The only two left inside were him, and a barely conscious Frosty.
"[I]So you are awake. Good...[/I]" Moloch's looming figure was once again hanging over Frosty as he began to stir and wake. Frosty raised his head and tried to move about. From what he could feel, he was in a bed of sorts, and all he was wearing was his skivvies. Looking around, he was in a chamber. A lamp hanging above was the only source of light in the entire room. To the left of him was a small lamp table with a book on it and an odd man in red sitting on a comfortable looking chair.
"[I]Shh, be still...[/I]" The stranger pulled out a canteen filled with cold water and offered it to Frosty. "[I]Drink. It is water. You need it after having been asleep so long.[/I]" Frosty tried to speak in response to this, but the inside of his mouth was incredibly dry and he felt cold all over. He weakly grabbed the canteen and drank from it. When the canteen was finally empty, he turned to this mysterious stranger who had offered it to him. Frosty did not know who this man was. The stranger picked up the book and began to read to Frosty. It was full of news headlines and stories from Earth three-hundred years ago. "[I]Time magazine. The Weekly news magazine. June 22, 2000, volume ninety, number twelve. The Looming Tower in the Mesa Verde. The strange men in the desert who seemingly appeared from nowhere have stopped their fighting against the Omnitech Corporation. Nobody is for certain why it is they have engaged in such hostilities against the corporation but state officials have been successful in setting up a meeting with several self-proclaimed leaders of these mysterious people. They have sworn to do no more harm as they have been quoted saying 'have finally set our people free', however families and friends of Omnitech employees demand justice and retribution against them for taking the lives of their loved ones and essentially ruining the corporation.[/I]"
Frosty couldn't do anything but look around in confusion before looking back at Moloch. "[I]Let's try another.[/I]" Moloch flipped a few pages until he landed on a page with some strange language written on it. Frosty glanced at the pages and couldn't understand a word of it, but Moloch was able to translate. "[I]At the town center of our holy city, December 2, 2072, in the aftermath of the third world war, the returned champion of Allah, Chemosh, enlightened a crowd of several thousand by delivering a sermon to open their eyes. With words of fire he made it known to us our place in the human world, making it aware to our people how lowly they think of us. '[B]They force us to build their buildings and construct their technology, and our Holy Father demands we do so without any compensation! Even still they spit at us and blaspheme against Allah! Everything they have, we have fashioned with our blood, our sweat, and our tears, and they still can not bring themselves to show an ounce of respect to our kind, our Allah, our pride! This is a life of humiliation I will not accept, and neither should any of us! Our people are no one's fools![/B]'[/I]"
"[I]Do you remember this? You were there when he gave this sermon.[/I]" Frosty shook his head. "[I]Does any of this sound familiar to you?[/I]" Frosty was able to speak again.
"...No. No, sir."
"[I]None of it?[/I] " said Moloch.
"None... and you. Who... are you?"
Moloch stood up and moved closer to Frosty, his face now visible in the light. [URL="https://i.gyazo.com/93287451b6073992d9c16390aa0161a8.png"]He had a face exactly like Frosty's, but his hair was a bit longer and had sideburns.[/URL] "[I]You may not know me, as I do not expect you to remember. But I know exactly who you are.[/I]" Frost's eyes widened. "[I]Yes, that's right. Every single shred of detail.[/I]"
"You... you know who I am?" Frosty sat up.
"[I]I do. Unfortunately, due to several unavoidable circumstances, I am not allowed to disclose several specific pieces of information about yourself until your amnesia has gone away. But, do not worry, that will solve itself soon. Still, you are free to ask me whatever you wish, but do not expect any answers if I feel I should not respond.[/I]"
Frosty thought for a moment. He was scared. There were so many things he could ask. The last thing he remembered was blacking out during a dogfight in the polluted clouds over Voyak, and now he was laying on a bed in a place somewhere else.
"Who are you?"
"[I]The name I was given is Moloch. I do not expect you to remember that name, but perhaps you will soon. I am the grand wizard of our people, and former support gunner and field medic during the revolution and subsequent jihads.[/I]"
"Our people?"
"[I]Yes. Our people, the artisynth. To summarize: A synthetic species created to be living test subjects who rebelled and earned their freedom until they were ousted from their planet about one hundred years later.[/I]"
That would explain his odd looks, but not how he woke up in a bed. "How did I get here?"
"[I]Simple, yet convoluted. I witnessed your starfighter burning above the smoggy skies of Voyak as it crashed into a clearing below. I retrieved your wounded body from the crash and took you into my shuttle. Inside, I healed you of your wounds but you were still unconscious. A team of strange people came and demanded your body, and I refused to give it to them, so then they propositioned the idea of me speaking to their captain about handling this issue of dominance over your person and belongings. I complied, and almost torched the bridge of their ship because of how disrespectful their captain was. Still, the issue was resolved rather civilly and they allowed me bring you and your belongings with me to our home.[/I]"
"The captain... my captain... Oh! Moloch, is it? Moloch, I need to get back to my crew! They need me right now!"
"[I]I will not do that just yet, Mr. Frosty. Not until you remember who you once were.[/I]"
"You don't understand, I was the only aerial combat asset they had! They're in trouble and they need my help! If i'm not back with them soon, they're all going to die!"
"[I]Bluntly put, perhaps it's for the best. After having met your captain, I cannot ever contemplate anyone willingly serve her.[/I]"
"They're my friends! I can't just leave them. Not when they're about to fight in the middle of a war!"
Moloch stretched his neck around. "[I]... Fine. If you so insist. I will consider this. But until then, there are such things I must show you.[/I]"
Moloch pressed a button on a wall which opened up several blinds, flooding the entire room with light... or whatever the planet's sun was capable of shining. The landscape outside was barren, dark, and windy. The only sight for miles were rocky formations with shoddy metallic structures built over them. In the distance were some very odd looking starships all docked in a row.
[t]http://orig06.deviantart.net/2f58/f/2010/248/5/5/5503476e7639aaa9da2f1be43de6ee9f-d2y3isg.jpg[/t]
"[I]Mr. Frosty. Welcome to Karbala.[/I]"
[QUOTE]"Can locate and ping the location of enemy combatants to all HUDs linked."[/QUOTE]
"I did not mean to offend, Chief Engineer Istasha," Jag said while titling it's down, "I simply wished to know of your capabilities in battle for the upcoming assignment."
As everyone loaded up on the Cascade, Maddox tapped Wilson on the shoulder. "Take us out." He then stood up and began walking back to the cargo compartment. "Cascade to Muramasa, team is onboard and we're heading out. Make sure there's warm food and soft drinks for when return."
Mad positioned himself infront of the ramp. With one hand he held onto a support railing while the other held his helmet underneath his arm.
"Alright team listen up. Let's go through the plan one more time. Our primary mission is to knock out the artillery sensors using heavy explosive ordnance dropped from the Muramasa. But to do that, we need to have some bombs.
Our contact in Vohmdash is currently prepping the bombs, Today's objective is to transport those bombs to the extraction point.
So far we have no word wether or not our contact will provide us with transport, if not we'll have to "borrow" some from the locals.
Worst case scenario we'll do the hauling in a open-top pickup, best case in a industrial heavy-duty truck."
Maddox paused and observed the team. "Team roles is as follows; Porter and Johannes will join me as the pointmen. If we get engaged I want to hear your machinegun sing, Porter. Johannes, be ready to form a shield incase we get caught with minimal cover."
"Hariim, I want you close on my six. Constant monitoring of UGC comms and local police chatter. Be ready to pull off some hacking.
Jag, flanking maneuvers. If SS somehow ends up shooting at us a charging sanghvi coming in from the side should be enough to scare them into retreating."
Mad the nodded towards Markus and Istasha. "Koval, you're on sniper duty. Any key personnel such as officers or weapon specialists are your targets. Make the enemy think twice.
Istasha, hang back with Markus. Provide explosive fire support where needed. Work with Hariim to ping and mark the enemy."
"Last but not least, Mercy, I want you to stay low as much as possible. Don't give the enemy a reason to shoot you. Help out those of us who need it."
"Questions?"
[quote]"Team roles is as follows; Porter and Johannes will join me as the pointmen. If we get engaged I want to hear your machinegun sing, Porter. Johannes, be ready to form a shield incase we get caught with minimal cover."[/quote]
Porter nods, acknowledging the order. It's been a while since he's had orders barked at him like this.
[quote]"Questions?"[/quote]
He then shakes his head, checking for his grenades, shotgun, machine gun, and mini gun. All ready for the mission.
Mercy shakes her head as Maddox finishes, saluting, somewhat dumbly, before she checks over her [url=https://i.gyazo.com/a176cff27b0507667fe1676e5d5ea023.png]armor[/url] to make sure everything is in check, and putting on her [url=http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/planetside2/images/c/c6/Nc_composite_helmet_combat_medic_icon.png/revision/latest?cb=20130427232336]helmet[/url], rolling her shoulders and leaning back, getting ready for what may be a long fight ahead.
Markus was leaning slump against the wall, resting his rifle against his leg.
He turned his head towards Maddox and raised an eyebrow, "Ya know who yer talkin' to, boy? Ya want me to clip 'em or send 'em a warning message?"
*snip*
[quote]Johannes leans over towards Porter and holds out a hand to the giant man to give him a homie handshake "Looks like it's you and me comrade. Can't wait to see you in action."[/quote]
Porter accepts the 'homie handshake' nonchalantly, "Hope your shield skills are up to the task, don't let us down."
He clicks a button on the left side of his helmet. The glowing, light blue eyes on his helmet turn off, only showing pitch black eyes. Inside the helmet, panels light up, the screen blurs, then turns into a chrisp HUD. A bunch of random code, with checks to make sure the systems are working right. Finally, a voice is heard from inside the helmet.
"Welcome, X-246!" Acknowledging this, he turns the respirator tightly till a click is heard. His voice is now airtight, no one can hear him talk, except his computer.
"Hey, Victoria. Body check." he commands after a greeting sounding like it's routine.
"Cybernetics: Good | Mental State: Ready | System Power: 100% | Everything's A-OK! I'll update you on any further information, X-246!"
"Thanks," he then turns his respirator back to be able to speak to people again.
"Anyone else have some AI? We could sync up," he suggests.
[url=http://i.imgur.com/ikyAMjk.jpg]Porter is 100% ready for duty.[/url]
*snip*
Maddox nodded towards Koval with a stern expression. "You know exactly what I meant."
He then put on his helmet. "Final gear check, we drop in ten."
Wilson checked that the Muramasa's away team was properly belted in for the flight before giving a nod to Maddox to acknowledge his order. The console readouts changed from yellow across the board to green, and the rear doors of the dropship gently closed under hydraulic power. With a subtle hiss, the engines came to life and the ship lifted off the ground, rotating 90 degrees as it ascended vertically above the two vessels in the reservoir. Wilson then toggled the cockpit comm switch and spoke to the captains of both ships.
"All systems are go on the Cascade. I have eight passengers."
"Roger that," Captain Sharpe replied.
"Understood," answered Taylor.
The dropship accelerated away from the landing site toward the city and, as it approached the forest of high chimneys and smokestacks, began to warn the crew inside of the plummeting air quality. One by one, they secured their helmets and gasmasks as most had done the day before. Soon, the schoolyard came into view. It was a dusty lot with some old playground equipment in one corner and a big flat asphalt square where children had been drawing in chalk. The dropship set down here and opened its doors, allowing the crew to quickly deploy.
"Get a move on," Wilson barked. "We're not exactly being 'subtle' right now. I'll be circling close; if you need an evac, we'll figure out the rendezvous point when it's needed and I'll get you out."
Maddox gave the pilot a thumbs up as the away team poured out onto the blacktop and took stock of their equipment. The doors of the dropship closed; it couldn't wait here in the schoolyard where it could be noticed, especially with all of the UGC and Black Fleet patrols zooming about overhead. Checkered's voice came over the comms:
[quote]The processing plant is two blocks east of here. Your primary goal is to stay unnoticed, but should the enemy engage you, your focus must be on speed. Do not stand and fight; you are hopelessly outnumbered in this city and you will risk losing the payload. Allies from the Resistance should meet you once you've arrived at the plant; you can work out details with them once you get there.[/quote]
Once Checkered had finished talking, all was silent. No doubt, it was the calm before a storm, but for the moment the crew was thankful that they hadn't already been shot at.
Maddox nodded. "Copy that Checkered, ground team out."
He pointed forward. "Let's move out, stay sharp and mind your spacing."
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