StarCraft Quest: Chau Sara

Draven stirs awake as a knock is heard at his door. The tiny metal compartment, serving as Draven's living quarters aboard The Merchant transport ship, rings with a thunderous boom. The security monitor screen lights up beside his bed, offering a panoramic view of the corridor just outside his quarters. A fatigued officer is seen standing at his door, accompanied by two subordinates. The knock pounds again.

Draven studies the monitor beside his bed as he sits up in bed, swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands up. He quickly pulls on a pair of pants laying on the floor at the side of his bed as he walks to the door and opens it while still zipping up his pants. The polyalloy door slides to the side, revealing an officer and two marine escorts. Half asleep, Draven does not salute right away. He receives a raised eyebrow from the officer. The two grunts to his side swap glances. Noticing the marine’s expressions, Draven stands firm and properly salutes the officer in front of him. "Good morning, Sir. How may I be of assistance?"

The officer replies in proper salute and furrows his brow somewhat. He ducks beneath the narrow arch of the door and strolls inside Draven's quarters, the two marines in tow. The officer looks around the quarters briefly and then returns his gaze to Draven. "Good morning, Private. You can be of assistance by first getting me some coffee. Black." Draven notices that the two marines maintain their position on either side of the door, just as it slides closed. He does not recognize the officer but notices the Colonel bars on his stiff shirt collar.

Select a mode of action and feel free to expand upon/direct the course
A. demand to see official documentation of the supposed officer's identity
B. casually inquire the name of the officer and purpose of his visit
C. begin brewing coffee
D. remind the officer that you have to report for work within the next few minutes
E. alternate action

>>1442678
>A. demand to see official documentation of the supposed officer's identity

>>1442678
A. demand to see official documentation of the supposed officer's identity

>>1442678
C. begin brewing coffee
E. alternate action
try and remember if our ship was ferrying any of these cocksuckers, try to identify the officers uniform, port authority? navy?

>>1444492
>>1444496
lets try not to be assholes to the first person to wake us up, we can do better.

>>1444576
second

>>1442678
>A. demand to see official documentation of the supposed officer's identity

OP is a fagbutt

>>1442678
B. casually inquire the name of the officer and purpose of his visit

Draven pauses for a moment and then smiles. He then turns to the microkitchen area of his docile and finds his liquid nutrient machine on the counter. "You wouldn't mind showing me your credentials, would you?" Draven asks as he depresses the espresso button on the machine. "You know, just for the sake of formality. I like to know who I'm..."

Draven's words trail off as the Colonel annoyingly pulls up his jacket sleeve and exposes the face of his chronocom, demonstrating a projected hologram image of his head shot against an official Confederacy background with the emboldened title of "Colonel Stuart Smiley" inscribed beneath.

"Thanks." Draven smiles once more and retrieves a cup of orange juice that he had abandoned on the counter the morning before. He peers into the mug and finds a thin layer of film floating on the surface of the remaining liquid within. "So," he says while still standing in the microkitchen, facing the Colonel, "what's the mission?"

"Package delivery," the Colonel replies. "In and out. Minimal resistance, if any. It's a milk run really. You've been recommended. But it's entirely off record-- clandestine, shall we say. It requires a verbal commitment. Do you accept?" The Colonel's eyes drift to the brewing coffee pot beneath the machine, steaming away. "I think you're pot is brewed, Private."

Without saying anything, Draven turns to the coffee pot simmering on the counter. He pours the Colonel a cup and hands it to him. The Colonel grasps the cup and takes a sip without testing the temperature first. His eyes quench as the steaming liquid flows down his throat. The Colonel takes another sip, seemingly undeterred and preoccupied with other matters on his mind. Draven looks at the two marines standing by the door. "You two want a cup?"

The marines shake their heads, almost in unison. "No, sir," says one of them. "But thanks."

Draven begins to drink his orange juice with a suppressed wince at its bitterness and looks at the Colonel. "Of course I accept the mission, Colonel... but you seem hesitant in giving it to me. Is there something else I should know?"

Staring at the far wall, sipping the coffee, the Colonel does not respond immediately. The seconds of silence tick by. Then, as if breaking free from a trance, the Colonel glances back at Draven once more. "Something else you need to know? Well, as a matter of fact, yes. Yes, there is. You must make absolutely certain that the package is concealed and delivered to the exact coordinates that are given to you. It must not fall into civilian hands. This is strictly a military operation, Private. Do you understand? All other instructions will be given to you upon arrival at ground zero. I shall see to it that you will have the proper commendations offered upon your success. As I said before, this is a milk run. Crucial.... but nevertheless, a milk run. So, unless there is anything else, Private.... you should prepare yourself immediately and arrive at docking within the hour."

A. ask the Colonel why you have been selected for such a seemingly mundane task
B. ask the Colonel what exact preparations he suggests
C. try to find out more concerning the package
D. ask if you'll be going in alone
E. thank the Colonel for the offer and bid him farewell
F. suggest an action

>>1444813
>F. All of the above except E

B.

>>1444813
>D. ask if you'll be going in alone

>>1444813
>B. ask the Colonel what exact preparations he suggests

>>1444836
This.

>>1444813
E. thank the Colonel for the offer and bid him farewell, its obvious he's given us all the information he's going to give. When he leaves, do a quick background check on this guy.

Draven takes another hard swallow of his bitter orange juice and then briefly contemplates why he is even consuming the foul liquid as he glances back inside the cup. He nods to himself and then looks back to the Colonel. "I'm a little unsure how to prepare for this... 'milk run'... sir. Any suggestions as to what I can anticipate encountering?"

Colonel Smiley takes a final swig of his coffee and then places the mug down on the counter as he stands. "Take the usual precautions," he says solemnly.

Draven looks hard at the Colonel, being somewhat confused over the need for heavy armament for a supposed cake walk mission. "I understand, Colonel. The package will be safe with me."

"Very well, then," the Colonel responds. He then looks over Draven in a manner that seems almost forlorn. "Good luck, son." The older gentleman turns to leave as the marines stiffen their stance. Draven salutes the Colonel as he departs. The metal door slides back into the wall and the Colonel exits the living quarters, stopping briefly to offer one last final glance at Draven.

As the door slides closed behind the marine detail, Draven begins to prepare for the mission. He starts by taking a hot shower and getting dressed in his familiar dark purple fatigues. Draven then lays out all of his gear and equipment on his desk. He selects a freshly cleaned gauss pistol from his handgun drawer and removes the Torrent SR-8 Shotgun and Mark VII Rifle from out of his closet rack. Draven affixes a strap to his shotgun and secures his Mark VII and pistol into their respective back and leg holsters. He then heads to the designated docking bay, located just outside the academy living quarters, between several supply depots and the star port.

Five dropships are seen with their turbine engines steaming. Draven notices several marines standing about in addition to special operative ghosts boarding individual dropships. One pair of marines is seen carrying a large metal box between the two of them, accompanied by a pilot and another ghost. He sees two marines walking toward him carrying a similar-looking box.

Draven studies the activities happening around him and takes special note of the boxes being carried by the marines, especially the two headed towards him. As the two marines approach Draven, he nods at them and asks, "I was told I'd be given further instructions upon arrival here..."

The marines grunt unintelligibly and seem to strain somewhat with the weight of the metal box, despite the servos of their powered armor. One of them raises the visor in his helmet and looks around the dropship platforms as he replies. "Well, all that command told us was that we're supposed to protect you from getting all shot up while you do your thing with the package."

"Yeah," the other marine adds as his visor rises. "You ghosties can sneak alright... but when it comes to the mixin it up, you have to call on us regulars!" He chuckles heartily. "What good is all of that training gonna do you when you got one of them Xenomorphs up your ass?"

"The only training I need is how to reload faster!" the other marine chimes.

"I got your load right here." his comrade says, grabbing his metal-encased crotch with his spare hand.

"You took my load last night... right in your mouth."

"What you talkin about? That was ghostie here. He slipped in and out like a breeze and nobody saw nothin.”

The two men heartily laugh at their own dry humor.

A. confront the marines for their poor attitude by saying: _______
B. inquire into mission details that the marines may have received by asking: _______
C. walk past marines and board awaiting dropship
D. bypass the marines and continue looking around for any familiar faces or ranking officers
E. suggest an alternate action

>>1446230
>B. inquire into mission details that the marines may have received by asking: _______

Which ghosties is that? Is he behind me right now?

Look behind yourself pretending to be all worried, turn back and smile.

Depending on how they react, we'll either ask a follow up or something else.

Bump Op still here?

>>1446405
This

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"Which ghostie was that?" Draven asks sarcastically. "Is he behind me right now?" He looks behind himself, pretending to be all worried, then turns back to the marines and smiles.

"Anyways," the first marine says to Draven, unamused, "we're told that we hit the drop point, escort you to the locale and then you do your thing. I guess you're the only one who can operate this damn thing-- whatever it is," he says, while looking down at the metal crate and hefting it up and down a few inches.

"Yeah, it needs a ghost to get it going," the second marines says. "That cuts me out. I fight like a real man. Face to face. " He chuckles again.

Draven chuckles mockingly along with the two marines then cuts himself off short. "Yeah, you're right, I was slippin in and out last night.... with your Mom." He suddenly losses his smile and stops laughing. "Alright, girls, let's get the hell out of here and get this job done. I hope you two shoot as well as you drizzle." Draven turns and walks towards his designated dropship.

A. look for another ghost within an adjacent dropship to speak to
B. board your designated dropship
C. continue bantering with the marines by saying: ______
D. try to hail Colonel to find out what exactly the marines meant by "do your thing"
E. alternate action

>>1449669
A. look for another ghost within an adjacent dropship to speak to

E. alternate action
Try opening it....

Are we a ghost? Do we have psi powers?

>>1449669
>B. board your designated dropship
Let's just get the job done already.

>>1449721
Yes, Draven is a ghost... and as such, he has psionic abilities. The exact nature of his abilities are unrefined and relatively unknown, as he is still learning to utilize them.

It appears we have two divergent suggestions for action here (investigate further vs getting on with the mission). Let's see if another player wants to break the stalemate. If not, I'll make a die roll and see which direction to go.

More to come...

>>1449781
I'll switch over t look for another ghost, I don't want to fuck with the container as that is more likely to get us tagged with our neural chip.

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>>1449788
Well we can just speak to the ghost and then head to the drop ship right after, we are going to open the box anyways.

>>1449721
>>1449788
2 for find a ghost to speak to.

Draven turns and walks towards his designated dropship. He catches glimpse of another pair of marines carrying an identical metal crate, three vessels down the row of primed aircraft. Trailing behind the two hardskins is another ghost. Draven averts course and jogs over to his fellow covert specialist. The man looks up at him as he nears. “Specialist Dravin,” the other ghost says as he halts his gait.

Draven recognizes the man immediately. “Specialist Daniels,” he says.

The two men experience an awkward moment of alpha male assessment of each other.

“I thought you were on… assignment,” Daniels states.

“I was,” Draven replies. “Now I’m here.”

“Is that right? You never struck me as the volunteering type.”

“I didn’t volunteer,” Draven says. “I was asked to be part of this.”

Daniels raises an eyebrow. “Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“So. I can see that you’re definitely prepared for this little delivery service.” Daniels utters as he looks over Draven’s apparent presentation of being over-equipped for the simplicity of the mission. “You’re prepared for the worst as usual.”

“Never hurts to be prepared.”

“Guns slow you down, Draven. I thought they taught you that in the academy by now.”

“Look, we can compare tactics later. We aren’t in a sparing session right now. We’re on the same team. This time. So if you have any intel on the current op I would appreciate you sharing what you know.”

Daniels laughs. “What? They asked you to join up for a mission and didn’t brief you?”

“Something like that.”

They didn’t tell us much either, Daniels transmits telepathically. But I happen to know someone who knows someone.

And?

The eggheads over at bioweapons think they figured out a way to keep the xenomorphs out of our perimeter.

I thought those things had been contained a long time ago.

They have but they’re just taking precautions apparently.

So why call in special ops to do a science experiment? Draven asks.

Daniels looks around to make sure no one is privy to their conversation, albeit shrouded in telepathy. Because we both know this really has nothing to do with keeping xenomorphs out of the perimeter. And you can be damn sure that there’s psionic wizardry at play here. That’s why they need us. The marines are just a little extra muscle.

“I see,” Draven says out loud.

“I best join up with my charges,” Daniels states, nodding his head toward his dropship. “I got stuck with a couple greenhorns who have yet to be brain-panned. I’m not sure if they’re going to make a run for it the first chance they get. I may have to put a few rounds in them to keep them around.”

“Thanks for the intel, Daniels. I’ll see you back on base.”

“You got it.”

A. return to and board the Dropship
B. delay boarding the Dropship for any additional observations that may be gathered
C. relinquish some of your equipment with a nearby porter to be less burdened
D. investigate one of the metal crates being loaded onto the dropships
E. talk with a pilot as to the coordinates of the landing zone
F. suggest an alternate action

>>1450167
>talk with a pilot as to the coordinates of the landing zone
Would prefer somewhere close, but enough that drop is not detected. If nothing else don't just bail.

A. return to and board the Dropship

>>1450167
A. return to and board the Dropship
and
D. investigate one of the metal crates being loaded onto the dropships
Only if its on the same Dropship as us tho.

Boarding the dropship, Draven notices that the pilot is going through a standard systems check. "All aboard, boys," he says without turning around. "Strap yourselves in."

The marines strut up the gangplank and place the metal box on the floor between them. They stow their rifles next to their seat harnesses and strap themselves into the chairs. "Hey, man, you think we'll be back before lunch time?” one of them yells up to the cockpit. “I'm hungry as hell."

"No problem," the pilot responds. "You just do your job and I'll do mine."

"I guess that means he'll be busy masturbating while we're out saving the world," the second marine grinds out.

Looking towards the two marines, Draven asks, "Hey, do you guys know what's in the case? I haven't been briefed on it."

"I got no idea, sir," the larger marine says with a snarl. "You know Vanishe?"

"Nope. They didn't tell me nothin."

Dropping to one knee in front of the metal case, Draven snaps open the six locking snaps and looks inside. He observes a collection of electronic components coupled between an intricate array of wires and microprocessing units. The entire box resembles the guts of a mainframe computer condensed into an area the size of a footlocker. Sitting atop the electrical cluster, a neural crown is found. Draven nods to himself and then closes the hatch on the case.

“So what’s in there?” the larger marine asks Draven.

“Don’t worry,” Draven replies as he finds the nearby bench within the dropship. “It’s not a bomb.” He begins to strap himself in.

The two marines look at each other with dumbfounded expressions. The larger marine then turns back to Draven and pats his shoulder piece, indicating a small mechanical device protruding from his leather bandolier. "I have the coordinates right here. We're supposed to check in once we're on point and get further instructions from there."

A. ignore any further questions or comments from the marines and enjoy the ride
B. strike up a conversation with the larger marine by saying: _____
C. engage the smaller marine, Vanishe, in conversation by saying: ______
D. ask for further information from the pilot by saying: _______

>>1451281
>strike up a conversation with the larger marine by saying: _____
"In the likely event of you being a bad ass and going out swinging and shooting while smoking cheap ass cigars, what's your story private?"

>>1451573
kek this

>>1451573
DO IIEEET!

“In the likely event of you being a bad ass and going out swinging and shooting while smoking cheap ass cigars, what’s your story, private?” Draven asks.

The marine looks at Draven with a natural scowl. “Private Wiker from Lodi,” he says. “At your service. Been in the can 7 years… infantry four years… 27 combat drops, 4 deployments, 6 planets, and over 167 confirmed kills. That’s not counting bugs or critters… or the cold bodies that nobody knows nothin about before my service. I don’t fuck with no one unless they fuck with me and I like my women just like my coffee… black. I’m one of only a handful of sons of bitches round here who hasn’t been brain-panned.” Wiker leans forward. “You know why?” He quickly snaps back up, sitting straight. “Because I’m damn crazy. That’s why.”

The gangplank closes, sealing the mean inside the cargo hold of the dropship.

“Can’t fix crazy,” Vanishe resounds.

“Damn right,” Wiker adds. “And don’t try any of your ghostie mind shit on me neither. Every time one of you get inside my head, you go running back out scared from what you’ve found. Just a fair warning is all.”

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With a loud whine, the dropship is released from the docking bay platform. The pressure doors are heard drawing back from the hull of the Battle Cruiser. The pilot’s voice comes from the cockpit in a steady cadence as he communicates with the on board control tower. "Release on my mark: 5, 4, 3...."

Vanishe scratches his rugged cheek and quickly pulls down his helmet visor over his long beard and mustache. "In an out just like a robbery, Wiker. In an out."

"Roger that," Wiker replies, drawing down his visor as well.

"... 2, 1. Mark."

Support clamps press away from the dropship as an incredible force sucks the armored troop transport down into the atmosphere of the green planet below. The pressurized hull of dropship shields its passengers from the gravitational pull. Although the air inside remains still, the walls of the dropship quickly warm. Draven feels his backside begin to sweat, despite the insulation and temperature controls of his powered armor suit. He looks across at the two marines braced firmly in their seats. The gravitational force downward suddenly breaks, just as the primary thrusters kick in. Lurching forward, the dropship begins a 45-degree dive into the clouded surface of Chau Sara.

"We're in the pipe, 5 by 5," the pilot announces. "Prepare for some chop."

The dropship rocks back and forth. Draven watches as the heads of the marines bob to and fro in unison, bouncing to the rhythm of the turbulence. He wonders how such a short marine such as Vanishe would have be recruited. The man is just shy of six feet tall, even with his powered armor suit. Draven realizes that any standard issue suits adds a good foot to its bearer's height.

"All right, gentleman," the pilot announces. "We're reaching the drop point. We'll have a green light in 10 seconds."

Vanishe and Wiker quickly unstrap themselves and brace their stance as they stand in the aisle. Vanishe grabs his gauss rifle from the weapons stow and throws a mini-missile tube over his shoulder. Draven watches as Wiker acquires his own standard issue gauss rifle and grasps hold of one of the handles of the metal box. Vanishe takes up the other side. "You coming with us, Ghostie?" Vanishe asks with a sneer.

A. remain seated and allow the marines to dismount dropship first
B. unstrap, stand up, and lead the charge off the gang plank
C. attempt to coordinate a quick strategy by asking for input: ______
D. take control over the fire team and issue the following commands: ______
E. alternate course of action

>>1451935
B. unstrap, stand up, and lead the charge off the gang plank, "Stay behind me, keep the package intact."

>>1452096
This, also I like this guy, he'll make a good meat shield or at least a good spotter if we have to shoot shit

>>1451935
A. remain seated and allow the marines to dismount dropship first

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The dropship levels out and suddenly stops, landing upon the ground. The gangplank begins to lower in the rear.
Draven unstraps himself from his chair, stands up, and throws his auto-shotgun around his shoulders. He grabs the rest of his gear and heads out the rear of the dropship. “Stay behind me! Keep the package intact!”

"Go, go, go!" Wiker calls out.

"We're on the move!" Vanishe chimes in. "Let's make it happen!"

As soon as Draven exits the dropship, he runs a sufficient distance from the ship so as to not get blasted by the heat from the engines as it takes off. Draven drops to one knee, brings the butt of his Mark VII up to his shoulder, and surveys the surroundings. Wiker and Vanishe follow after him out of the dropship and secure the flank.

A small cloud of dust kicks up around the three men as the dropship lifts off the ground. Orange curtails of flame follow the ship as it quickly soars off into orbit. Draven motions for the marines to near his location. They carry the metal case between them and hustle forward. As the marines approach, Draven activates the communications unit inside his helmet and says, "Alright, boys, let's find out what our further orders are." Looking at Wiker, Draven says, "You said you were to receive instructions upon arrival, right? Well, get to receiving."

"Roger that," Wiker returns. He sets that metal case down and retrieves the relay from his shoulder pouch and begins to search for a signal.

Draven scours the landscape and assesses his location. He sees dense forest all around him, the drop zone being located in a small clearing, apparently created after a behemoth tree was struck by lightning and crashed a hole through the upper canopy. Through the thick wall of trees, Draven is able to make out a skyline of a distant city, nearly two miles away.

"Private Wiker at drop zone outer third, northeast. Request delivery location of package, over."

~Copy that, outer third northeast squad. Proceed to designated locale and await further orders, over. ~

The communication relay beeps inside Wiker's gauntlet. "We got a mailing address, boys. Let's make the delivery. It looks to be 3,000 feet west... probably at the base of them rocks over there."

"Hey, isn't that the power line heading into the city," Vanishe points up through the leaves, indicated a series of large metal towers concealed within the trees.

The men look up and notice a conglomeration of suspended cable running across a series of metal towers, lined in a row toward the heart of the nearby city. Based in a heap of rocks near the location that Wiker indicated, is one of the main support towers, climbing nearly 250 feet in the air.

"They want us to drop this case at the base of that tower?" Vanishe asks.

"I reckon so," Wiker replies. "We aren't paid to think. We're paid to take orders. Let's move."

A. make further observations before heading forward, specifically looking for:
B. issue the following commands to the marines: ______
C. stand up and take point, leading the marines into the trees
D. get to know the marines a little better by asking one of them: _____
E. alternate action

>>1454967
D. while moving towards the drop point, hang back with them marines, keeping a watchful eye out, but take a moment to get to know them a bit better, "You seem fairly experienced, Vanishe. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a little short for a standard marine."

>>1454967

A. make further observations before heading forward, specifically looking for:
Odd shapes, disturbed ground, odd smells, and see if we can sense anything.

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"Just a moment," Draven commands while holding up his fist. "Shhhh.... listen."

The two marines stop and look at each other, then at Draven, then peer around into the surrounding trees.

"You hear that?" Draven asks.

Both marines slowly shake their heads.

"There's nothing here. Silence. Almost too silent." Draven slowly stands. "Let's stay frosty."

The three men move in unison toward the trees, the marines hefting the metal crate along between them while toting their rifles with their off hands. Draven carefully observes his surroundings and find nothing out of the ordinary. Once he figures that all is clear, he says, "You seem fairly experienced, Vanishe. Don't take this the wrong way but you're a little short for a standard marine."

"I'm not the typical recruit," Vanishe replies. "I volunteered. I'm one of the few jarheads you'll meet who doesn't have a criminal record."

"And he knows his way around an engine too."

"Yeah," Vanishe agrees. "I used to work motor pool but when the troop count started getting low from the Guild Wars they got desperate for bodies and called me up. I'm happy to serve."

"It's to have you along," Draven says.

The men make their way to the drop off point through the trees, all the while keeping a lookout for any hostiles in the area. Draven's hostile environment suit allows for easy travel over the uneven ground. Within a few minutes, the three men reach the rock bed.

"Yup, this is it," Wiker announces, looking at the communication relay in his palm. "This is the delivery point."

"Why the fuck would the brass want this thing out here?" Vanishe asks.

"Like I said before, son, we're not paid to think."

The two marines stow the metal case at the base of the large tower. "It's now on you, boss," Wiker says to Draven, handing him the communications relay. "We've done our part. Now do yours and let's go home."

Draven surveys his surroundings as he reaches out and takes the communications relay from Wiker. He activates it and awaits his instructions. The relay crackles with a low voice emanating from its small speaker.

~Specialist Draven, open the metal case and locate the neural crown inside. Place the crown on your head and activate the response toggle. Maintain for 30 seconds and disengage. Leave response toggle on and secure the perimeter. Do you copy? ~

"Copy that," Draven responds to the voice emanating from the device in his hand. He turns to look at the metal case now laying at the base of the metal tower. Then Draven looks at Wiker and Vanishe in turn. "Don't you guys think this is a little odd? It looks like were about to destroy one of the main power lines into that city." Draven points in the direction of the city off in the distance that the cables are running towards. "Or are you still getting paid not to think?"

"I don’t think it’s a bomb," Vanishe snorts.

"Yeah, I never heard of any bomb that needs a ghost to activate it," Wiker chimes in. "It's gotta be something else."

"If it was just some damn bomb, what's with all the special ops?" Vanishe asks.

Vanishe peers inside the crate. "That don't look like a bomb to me, boss."

A. close the crate and further discuss the situation with the two marines
B. follow your orders and place the neural crown on your head
C. refuse the orders abandon the mission-- you didn't come here to harm civilians
D. attempt to determine what is the nature of the mechanism inside the crate, as it does not appear to be a bomb
E. alternate action

>>1458319
>attempt to determine what is the nature of the mechanism inside the crate, as it does not appear to be a bomb
Judging by the nueral crown in addition to the rather large power lines we are currently near, I wanna say it's either enhancement of our abilities via power surge, or we are attempting to draw out zerg to try to knock over the tower...Or something like that.

>>1458319
D. attempt to determine what is the nature of the mechanism inside the crate, as it does not appear to be a bomb

>>1458319

D. attempt to determine what is the nature of the mechanism inside the crate, as it does not appear to be a bomb

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Vanishe peers inside the crate. "That don't look like a bomb to me, boss."

Draven gets on his knees to better examine the mechanism housed within the crate. “This thing is definitely electrical,” he says while looking over the array of components. “It has a large power generator…”

“For alternating current,” Vanishe says.

Draven looks up at the marine. “You said you worked motor pool. What do you make of this? Ever seen anything like it?”

Vanishe sets his gauss rifle next to a tree and flips up his helmet visor. He takes Draven’s place and looks over the crated mechanism. “If I didn’t know any better… it looks like a giant alternator.” Vanishe stands erect once more. “There aint no power cell that it’s recharging so it’s gotta be a transmitter of some sort, you know sending a signal out somewhere. But that would require an antenna to be any good range and that box sure as shit aint gonna do much sitting on the ground.”

Almost in unison, the three men look up at the metal tower that they are standing at the base of, suspending a series of thick electrical wires high into the air.

“There’s your antenna,” Wiker says.

Draven withdraws the neural crown from within the crate. “And I think I know what this thing is intended to transmit…”

A. discuss findings with marines: _____
B. proceed as ordered
C. express concerns with command by hailing them via comm and saying: ______
D. destroy the device
E. alternate action

>>1458930
> what do you think boys. I reckon whatever this does is gonna kill everyone in that city. Want to commit a war crime?

>if they say yes go ahead do it
>if they say no dont.

>>1458956
sure

>>1458930
>B. proceed as ordered

The marines look to Specialist Draven, waiting for further orders. “What do you guys think?” Draven asks them. “It stands to reason that whatever this mechanism does, it’s likely to kill everyone in that city. Want to commit a war crime?”

“Shit,” Wiker says, “there’s no such things as war crimes around here, boss. We work for the Confederacy. Not like anyone can go arrest them.”

“It’s more likely they’ll arrest us for not following orders,” Vanishe points out. “I saw we do what we came here to do and get home. I gotta take a shit and I’d rather do it outside of my hardskin back on the cruiser.”

Draven removes his helmet and places the neural crown on his head. The marines watch in wide-eyed stares as Draven activates the response toggle and waits the allotted time.

"What the hell is supposed to happen now?" Wiker asks aloud, breaking the silence.

"Maybe we can build a campfire and sing songs," Vanishe says, chuckling softly.

After 30 seconds elapsed time, Draven removes the neural crown from his head and leaves the response toggle on. He then stands up, replaces his helmet and walks 20 feet away from the metal case to secure the perimeter. "Come on, boys, we're to secure this area until further instructed."

"I'm on it!" Wiker says boldly.

Vanishe looks around for a moment and then peers back into the box.

Speaking into the communications relay, Draven says, "Package has been delivered and activated. Securing perimeter and awaiting further instructions. Over."

~Roger that, Specialist Draven~ the relay crackles back. ~Prepare for immediate dropship evacuation. Proceed to previous landing zone location. ~

Just as the transmission ends, Vanishe calls out to Draven once more. "Hey! Look... it's moving."

The men all turn toward the metal case and witness a small dish arise from the center of the box, resembling a miniature satellite hookup. It begins to spin around slowly, making an audible beeping sound.

Wiker stares at the revolving dish. "Now that is just plain weird," he says.

Draven hears a power surge over the speaker of the communication relay in his hand. It peaks and then sharply declines until there is no radio static. Wiker looks back at Draven with a concerned expression. Draven looks from Wiker to the metal box and the satellite dish that has risen from it. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but it probably isn't good."

A. continue maintaining perimeter security
B. return to dropship landing zone
C. further observe the mechanism
D. watch for any effects on the nearby tower or the adjacent city
E. suggest an action

>>1465335
>B. return to dropship landing zone

Nope. Time to get outta there, and also orders.

>>1465335
C. further observe the mechanism
D. watch for any effects on the nearby tower or the adjacent city

We have 3 guys, one watch the tower another the device, another the town.

>>1465343
>>1465335
Time to GTFO don't want to run into zerg

Draven looks from Wiker to the metal box and the satellite dish that has risen from it. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but it probably isn't good."

"Nope, sure aint," Vanishe snorts, raising the visor of his helmet. "Let’s just head back to the LZ and go home. Not our problem anymore.”

"From the looks of this thing and its odd activation protocol," Draven pontificates to the two marines, "I'd say it has something to do with amplifying psionic energies...brain magic for you barbarians."

"Brain magic... what the hell?" Wiker asks. "Why would the Confederacy want to amplify some brain signal?"

"Who cares?" Vanishe says loudly. "That's their business. Let's just get the hell out of here."

Vanishe lowers his visor once more and begins walking back through the trees. “They weren't kidding when they said this was a milk run. I haven't been this bored since boot camp."

As the fire team travels back to the pickup area, Draven cautiously takes a look about. "Keep your eyes and ears open, we could be hitting some shit soon."

"What are you talking about?" Vanishe asks. "There's no hostiles around here."

“You never know…” Wiker replies.

The men make it back to the landing zone in short order, easily retracing their path through the underbrush of the forest. Entering the clearing once more, Draven finds no dropship awaiting their arrival. He looks to the skies and sees no signs of incoming air traffic.

Draven activates the communications relay. "This is Specialist Draven and company, requesting immediate evac from northeast landing zone. Do you copy?" There is no response. No radio static is heard and the typical beeping from the broadcast channel is absent.

An awkward silence follows.

Wiker quickly snatches the communication relay from Draven's hand. "Here, let me see that!" He taps the speaker and then speaks into it. "This is Private Wiker requesting evac from northeast landing zone. Package delivered. Mission accomplished. Can we go home now?"

The communication relay remains silent. There is no radio static, no sign of function at all.

"Hello? This is northeast squad, over. ... Come in, over. ... Requesting immediate evac. .... Anyone out there?"

Vanishe marches over to Wiker and looks at him hard. "Don't you know how to work that damn thing?"

Wiker slowly looks up at Vanishe and then to Draven. "The line is dead."

"This is the LZ right here,” Draven confirms out loud as he looks about the forest clearing. He looks up to the sky and pans around a bit. "They'll be coming any minute now. Just sit tight."

"I guess we could always hoof it to town," Wiker suggests. "Maybe our relay will work out there."

"What do you mean?" Vanishe asks loudly. "I aint staying here, man. No damn way!"

"Pipe down," Wiker commands. "We just have a dead line. There's no need to get your panties all in a bundle. They'll come for us. It's probably just a downed transmitter... or maybe that little gadget over there is cropping up interference."

"Listen, boys,” Draven says, “if they don't come to get us, we'll just head into that town like Wiker suggested and snag some transpo there. But, we wait here first and continue to secure this area. It was suggested by HQ so it might be a good idea to stay on the lookout."

"For how long?" Vanishe states rhetorically, almost on impulse.

“Secure the LZ,” Draven commands.

A. try to hail HQ once more
B. attempt to contact the dropship directly
C. maintain radio silence and wait for ______
D. return to the drop off area
E. get out of the clearing and take cover in the forest
F. begin walking toward town
G. suggest an action......

>>1465881
>C. maintain radio silence and wait for ______
>E. get out of the clearing and take cover in the forest

We can't contact them, maybe they will fix whatever is up and contact us.

>>1465907
>maybe they will fix whatever is up
whats up is we have been hung out to dry.

>>1465881
G. suggest an action......
"Turn off" or shoot/destroy the transmitter thingy we turned on. See if that fixes anything...

>>1465881
Dig in make fortifications wait for evac. Just sharpen some stakes and make dirt trenches

File: 7fe9c5dde00a77a2359cb8976a9314b4.jpg (357KB, 1900x1031px) Image search: [Google]

357KB, 1900x1031px

"This just don’t make no damn sense," Wiker says. "There’re no hostiles round here... and they tell us to be on the lookout. We're supposed to do a milk run and our dropship bugged out. Dead relay… some strange box with a dish gizmo out in the trees... I don't get it. Wait a minute... what do we know about the civvies here, Vanishe?"

Vanishe keeps looking up at the sky through his open visor, his face showing a bit of fear. "I don't know," he says off-handedly. "Some rim world... a few rebel uprisings here and there. That's why we're here... to keep them in check. Remember?"

"It’s standard Confederate protocol to maintain order," Draven states. "There's nothing the politicians can't handle with their inner dealings and influence but sometimes you need a little muscle to close the deal. The Confederacy usually has the wellbeing of the people in mind."

"Yeah, like the same concern you give to a dirty wash rag," Vanishe snorts.

"Alright, here's the deal,” Draven says. "We stay here for 20 minutes, keep a lookout for hostiles, and wait for the dropship. If it doesn't show by then we'll assume they've left us for dead and hoof it to that town. Once there we'll scout the area before entering to see if there's any shit hitting the fan and to see if we can ascertain their general attitude towards the Confederacy...not all peoples like us. Then we'll try to hitch a ride off this rock. If that doesn't work we'll just steal a dropship and get the hell out of here that way. What do you think, boys?"

"I don't think we got left for dead, boss," Wiker states. "They wouldn't do that to us. That shit's unheard of."

"What if they really did, though?" Vanishe asks. "You think we can still get out of here right? I'm sure it's all just a big misunderstanding."

"Yeah, well... let's just wait a bit and find out," Wiker replies.

The three men wait in silence, continually scanning the trees and the horizon. A slight breeze rustles the forest foliage, causing Vanishe to startle. The minutes tick by and no sign of any Confederate air traffic is detected. After waiting the allotted time, Draven speaks. "Alright, let's get out of here."

"I can't believe this shit," Vanishe blurts out.

"Relax," Wiker responds. "We'll get on the horn back in town and find out what's going on."

The three men begin to trek toward the nearby colony, swathing a small path through the dense undergrowth within the forest. Aided by their powered armor suits, the men traverse across the rough and uneven terrain with no difficulty. They quickly near the outer edge of the colony's outer perimeter and conceal themselves in the tree line. A Vulture hover cycle is seen patrolling the perimeter, pausing momentarily to set spider mines. Just inside the polyalloy fence, watchtowers and bunkers are seen bustling with silhouettes of figures inside, each armed.

"What the hell are they doing?" Vanishe asks in a near whisper. "I thought this was a civilian outpost. Where'd they get all that hardware?"

"I'm not sure," Wiker replies. "But I don't see no Confederacy anywhere. Them bunkers have civvies in them. Probably militia. They got no hard skins and they aint packing gauss either."

"What now?" Vanishe inquires. "We just gonna go over there and ask to use their phone?"

A. walk out of the treeline and approach the Vulture rider
B. wait for the Vulture to pass and approach the nearest city gate
C. circumvent the colony perimeter to gather more intelligence
D. attempt to hail HQ or the dropship once more
E. alternate action...

>>1467909
D. attempt to hail HQ or the dropship once more

If that fails then

E. alternate action...

Switch to short range radio, on all open and encrypted frequencies, and see if we can hail the vulture rider or the folks in the city.

Keep in mind, they are laying spider mines so.....

>>1467959
This is a good idea. If nothing else we can offer our services

>>1467959
>>1467993
Yeah, supporting this too.

Draven tosses the communications relay to Wiker. "Wiker, try to contact HQ again."

Wiker catches the relay. “I’m on it, boss.” He attempts to activate the device and is unable to locate any signal. Wiker begins to talk blankly into the receiver. “This is Northeast team on the outer third. Wiker, Vanishe, and company. We got no transport. We need immediate evac, over.” Silence replies. “It’s still dead, boss,” Wiker says, “I got nothing.” He hands the relay back to Draven.

Draven fidgets with the relay for a few seconds and switches to planetside frequencies. “This is Specialist Draven of Alpha Squadron. Is there any Chau Sara local responders? Repeat, requesting Chau Sara militia, over.” Draven waits for a few moments before giving up on using the relay. “I’m not getting any chatter on any frequency. There’s no white noise or static. This relay has either malfunctioned or is being jammed.”

The three soldiers stay hidden in the tree line surrounding the city and watch the activity happening before them. "They look like they're preparing for something,” Vanishe announces. “And considering we just left some crazy hardware near a main power line into their city, I don't think they're going to be too receptive towards us."

“They may not know anything about it yet,” Draven says.

“Don’t matter,” Wiker speaks out. “This sector’s under Confederacy control. We have control over this whole base.”

“Are you gonna tell them that before or after they start hosing us with them weapons they’re packin?” Vanishe asks.

"Alright listen,” Draven interjects. “We need to get the hell out of here...there's going to be some ass kicking back on the cruiser when we get back but we need to get off this rock first. I don't know what's going to happen with our delivered package, but I do know that I don't want to be around when it does."

“Yeah, this looks bad, man,” Vanishe agrees.

“What about them other teams?” Wiker says brightly. “They gotta be around the city too. Maybe they’re stranded like us.”

“Who says they are anywhere near this city?” Vanishe asks. “Did you see any other drops leaving near our LZ?”

“No…”

Draven attempts to examine the buildings behind the iron wall, looking for any dropships or other suitable transport. He sees two starports and several adjacent landing pads, all completely devoid of air transport. “Let’s survey the perimeter of this city and see if we can find us a ride outta here. We're leaving, boys." Draven starts off to circumvent the outer perimeter, remaining within the tree line.

“This is some dumb shit right here,” Wiker asserts. “This is our sector and we’re out here hiding out in the woods like some criminals.”

“Aren’t you up on the latest?” Vanishe asks, following behind Draven. “These colonists have been on the uprise for a good two months now. It’s us against them, buddy. And I only count three of us…”

"Exactly." Draven states as he continues forth through the forest.

A. step out of the tree line and attempt to flag down a Vulture rider
B. locate and approach the nearest gate
C. suggest infiltrating the walled city undetected
D. alternate action...

>>1470847
D. alternate action...
Try and hail the vulture rider with our comms.

Fuck stepping out into the open like that.

>>1470939
>D. alternate action...
>Try and hail the vulture rider with our comms.
Seconding this.

Vanishe continues to scour the perimeter, looking for any signs of hostility. After a few moments of continual scouting with Wiker desperately attempting to make contact with someone, Draven gives up on the evacuation. “Turn it off,” he says. “I’m going to try and reach out to those Vultures.”

“You’re what?” Vanishe asks in surprise.

“It’s our only shot at this point.”

>Note what is to be transmitted and outline potential exchange

>>1474247
Ask: You guys look like your expecting some trouble? Mind filling me in on whats what? I've been outta the loop for a few days.

>>1474320
2nd

Draven activates the local comm system his helmet, transmitting to the local forces. “You guys look like you’re expecting some trouble? Mind filling me in on what’s what? I’ve been outta the loop for a few days.”

The lone Vulture rider, now some distance away, stops his bike and hovers in place for a moment. He looks down at his console display and then peers around both sides of his vehicle. Without seeing anyone, the Vulture spins around with the engine compartment now facing the city wall. “Come again,” the rider’s voice creeps through the comms of Draven and the two marines. “Who’s this? Where ya at?”

>Your response....

>>1478349
Names Maverick, I'm nearby. Now mind filling me in why your turning the city into fort knox?