[b]04:01 Hours[/b]
[b]23 August, 2550[/b]
[b]Marine Operations Staging Area[/b]

Having left behind the inquisitive and chatty replacements, Lance Corporal Croft began to make his way down to the other end of the staging area. Marine ODST armor was cumbersome, but not to the point of limited mobility, and even a man as big as Croft managed to nimble his way around his fellows as he moved. He kept his M45E slung over his shoulder, stopping a moment to give an impressed nod to Corporal McCoy in regards to the latest addition to his already impressive armament. “Nice.” He remarked as he slipped past.

At the other end of the staging area, Sergeant Danforth hefted his old faithful MA5B Assault Rifle, taking a moment to admire each of the scars it’d gathered since he’d first been issued it. [i]Molly[/i] he’d named it when he was a kid, something Sergeant Leonid had discovered, and hadn’t let up on harassing him about since. Retrieving a thirty-two round box magazine from one of his ammunition pouches, he slid it into the receiver, pulled back the charging lever, and loaded a round into the chamber.

He then turned to leave his locker, headed over to join the mad Russian as he was again starting up some form of debate with one of the new recruits. But as he made a step, he overheard a comment made by Corporal Davis, and stopped in his tracks when it sent his blood boiling. Shaking his head, he made a hastened approach for the Corporal, grabbing him by his arm to lead him away from the others. When he was sure no one else could hear, he looked into the Corporal’s face.

“Drop that shit, right now!” he declared with an all too obvious fire in his tone. “Those kids might not be mustard yet, but at one point neither was I, and neither were you.” Taking a moment to look around again, Danforth took a deep calming breath. “Listen, those kids don’t need to hear that crap. None of us do for that matter. Cracking jokes like that a few moments before we drop is just stupid. Think, man! You’re better than that Wyatt. Act like it.” He punched him in the shoulder, then stepped away without another word.

Stepping into the staging area through the hatchway that lead into the attached hangar, Jameson stopped to take a moment and admire the state of his Detachment. He’d been a part of Ghost for a decade, and in that time he’d seen his fair share of Marines come and go. But he was certain that the core of this group was the best he’d had yet. Sure there were some new faces that hadn’t necessarily walked the walk just yet, but he was confident in all of them, even the newbies.

“Listen up!” he announced, getting everyone’s attention. When he was sure he had it, he stepped to the right of the hatchway and approached a six foot hole monitor. “I don’t know all of the specifics of our Op; we’ll have to wait for our esteemed ONI operative to fill those in, but I can at least give you a run down of what I do know.” He explained, pressing a key on the console attached to the monitor, which flickered to life.

[IMG] http://i58.tinypic.com/f0b3wl.png [/IMG]

“Omega Titanius III, or Solace Colony, if you prefer. About a year ago this place was blasted to shit by the Covenant.” He paused, looking at the monitor. “Underneath of Solace Colony was an Office of Naval Intelligence Research and Development Facility, codenamed Asgard Base. Now, this facility was believed to have been destroyed in the Covenant attack, but evidently it wasn’t.” He paused again, and looked to them. 

“That’s where we come in. We’ll be going down to the planet in the new D-79 Pelican we’ve been allocated, where we’ll make our way into the facility. Once inside, we’ll set a nuke, then exfiltrate back to the surface, and return to the Wanderer before it detonates. Expected resistance, if any, is to be light, but as we’re technically in Covenant controlled space, we’re not taking any chances. We lost six people in our last operation, and I…”

Jameson struggled as he tried to find the right words to express his frustrations regarding their last operation, but instead he shook his head, and returned his attention to the monitor. “To destroy the facility, we’ll be making use of a HAVOK Class Tactical Nuclear Weapon… Sergeant Leonid is on said detail.”

“Da.” Commented the mad Russian, who proceeded to sneeze loudly, and without even attempting to cover his nostrils, resulting in his sputum being launched carelessly off into the recesses of their staging area. After snorting loudly, he noticed the glares of everyone, and shook his head. “Keep inside, is keep sick!” he explained defensively before shaking his head in an aggravated manner, cursing under his breath in his native tongue.

“Now, we have some new people with us; they’re not green, but they’re not yet Ghosts either. I don’t give a shit what your feelings are about them, look after them, and guide them. We were all newbies once, and we all had someone to look out for us at the beginning. So I expect the same.” Jameson glanced confidently at all of the more senior members of the Detachment. It was clear he had no desire to see another six of his Marines KIA, and he trusted that his people would do their best.

“To you new people, just keep your wits about you, and keep your weapon level. You’ve been trained for this; trust in that training, and trust in your fellow Ghosts. You’ll do fine.” His attention went to them this time, but he didn’t feel the same confidence in them as he did the others. Only one of them had the mettle that Jameson looked for when he had to find replacements, the rest were forced on him by MARSOC. He believed in their bravery, just not their experience.

“Alright, now that we’ve got our objectives…” he said, checking the time on the monitor. It was obvious to the Ghosts that he was aggravated that Commander Aldridge still hadn’t arrived to give them the details she’d promised. He thought about comming her, but before he could activate the system, the hatchway opened, and she stepped through, along with Captain Ramsey and XO Campbell.

Aldridge was suited in a new ONI Infiltrator variant of ODST armor, which meant she was as well as, if not more heavily armored than the rest of the Ghosts. “Change of plans!” she announced in a defiant tone of voice. She gave the Ghosts a cold gaze, before pushing right past Jameson. She all but shoved him out of the way as she took over the console attached to the hole monitor. “We’re dropping in now.” she explained, changing the image on the monitor to display a birds eye view summary of the situation.

[IMG] http://i57.tinypic.com/rtjhn7.jpg [/IMG]

“As you can see, one of the Wayward Wanderer’s Clarion Reconnaissance Probes has detected a Covenant patrol. This patrol has already fanned out from their Type-52 troop carrier, and are actively searching the area for an entrance into the Asgard facility.” She looked to the Master Gunnery Sergeant with a cold authority, then back to the others.

“Why would the Covenant be interested in an abandoned ONI Research Facility?” asked Sergeant Danforth as he stepped forward to examine the display.

“I’d say that’s a damn good question. Commander, care to elaborate?” Jameson was pressing, and his own tone was equally as cold as the one she afforded him. He wanted the details of their mission, now. He’d been pressing the spook ever since she’d come aboard the Wanderer, and had almost crossed the line of insubordination in doing so. But as she glared at him with her piercing blue eyes, he didn’t back down, offering his own glare back.

Finally relenting, Commander Aldridge rolled her eyes dismissively. “Fine.” She said simply, looking to the Detachment. “Two years ago, Allure Colony was attacked and obliterated by the Covenant in such a surprise manner that the Office of Naval Intelligence launched an investigation into the attack. They discovered that the Colony’s location had been revealed to the Covenant by an inside source.”

Raising his attention from the deck plating, Lance Corporal Croft pushed off from against the wall he’d been leant up against, and stepped forward to offer up his full attention.

“This inside source was believed to be a rogue AI, named Loki, operating from within the ONI Research and Development facility on Solace Colony. However, before ONI operatives could move on Asgard Base and destroy Loki, he again contacted the Covenant, who came to Solace, and obliterated it. It was believed at the time, that Loki had been destroyed along with the rest of Solace Colony in the attack, so the matter was declared closed.”

“But…” Jameson offered up as an attempt to keep the details coming.

Grinning sarcastically in response to Jameson’s verbal jab, Aldridge resumed. “But our assumption that Loki had been destroyed, appears to have been in error. Two weeks ago, ONI deep space communications buoys intercepted a message that was sent from Solace, directed to the Covenant. That message, once decrypted and translated, read simply; come and get me. We now believe that it was Loki that sent this message, and that he is offering to defect to the Covenant.”

“Now, are your curiosities satiated? Can we drop before the Covenant discover the entrance to the facility, and take up Loki’s offer? Or shall we continue this little pow-wow?” her snide remarks were directed to Sergeant Jameson, whom obviously gotten under her skin over the last few days. When Jameson simply returned an equally shit-eating grin, Aldridge’s own grin disappeared, and she pushed past him again. She left the staging area, and the Marines behind.

Shaking his head in amusement, Captain Ramsey waited until the hatchway had closed behind Aldridge to speak. “Right; you’ll be drop podding into Solace City, the epicenter of the Colony, and due to high atmospheric wind, we can’t guarantee the position of your drops. You’ll have to re-group once you’ve landed. Your rallying point will be the burned out ruins of the City Hall.”

Stepping forward Commander Campbell gracefully approached the monitor, pointing out the location of the City Hall on the map. “Now, you’re going to have to fight your way there. The Covenant Phantom has already deployed a number of Covenant troops in the area. From what we can tell, they’re made up mostly of standard Grunts, supported in the form of Jackals, and are lead by a small number of Elites.”

“The Wanderer will remain in high orbit to provide cover, as well as jam any communications from the Phantom. Now, in the event of a full scale Covenant incursion, your standing orders are to evac immediately; but failing that, dig in deep, and wait for rescue.” Though meant to reassure Ghost, they all knew that if a full scale Covenant incursion happened, there was no way they were making it back to the Wanderer. That was the life of an ODST, never any guarantee that they’d make it back from hell, after they plunge feet first into it.

Commander Campbell looked at the timer on the screen, then continued. “Once you’ve secured the area, and eliminated the Covenant patrols, we’ll send down a Pelican dropship to serve as your exfiltration vehicle. Any questions?”

“No ma’am.” acknowledged Sergeant Jameson as he nodded to Commander Campbell, who returned the simple gesture and bowed out of the staging area. 

“Good hunting!” Captain Ramsey offered his token good graces before he followed suit, making his way to the bridge of the Wanderer. It was getting close to time to commence operations.

“Alright, we have our orders. Make sure you uploaded the layout of the City to your personal data lace before heading to your drop pods. Remember what I said, trust your fellow Marine, and we’ll get this done. Move out!” he instructed, effectively dismissing his men as he went over to his locker, and retrieved his customized BR55HB SR Battle Rifle, lingering about the staging area in case anyone had any concerns they needed addressed before heading to their drop pods.