In the darkness of space floated an egg-shaped craft; engines burning a gentle blue in the inky black of space. While silent outside, inside the ship, things were bustling, The crew scrambled about, attending to various duties as they made ready to make planetfall.

Enormous harnesses were removed from mechs, having been previously secured for warp jump. Techs flitted about the immense machines, making last-minute repairs and checks. Through the chaos strode a human woman, tall, blonde, and most assuredly in charge. Just beyond the Mech bay was a briefing room, where her pilots were gathered around a holotable, chatting and potentially bickering with each other. They quieted as she stepped into the room, and pressed two buttons on the table, one dimming the lights slightly, the other, projecting an image of the planet they were headed for. Information regarding the planet popped up beside the projection.

Planet Name: Imhotep 3
Location: Imhotep System
Description: A large Earth-like planet with an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Swamps and bogs cover the entire surface. A large penal colony has been established on this world.

"Alright, people, listen up. The situation here is going to be messy, prisoners from the penal facility have broken themselves out and managed to get themselves some of the Mechs stationed there. These are dangerous criminals, and they've not only stolen the mechs but destroyed the other mechs guarding the facility. They've since decided to take out their new toys and use them on the civilian population. They're moving pretty slowly thanks to the swamps, so you'll be intercepting and taking down those Mechs before they reach the cities. You'll be shuttling down since the Argonaut won't be able to land."

She looked around the room, "Any questions?"

[color=0072bc][/color]IC: Juliana Winters - Briefing Room.

"Mechs is a bit of a broad term," Juliana spoke up, anxiously tapping her fingertips on the tabletop before her, "Do you have some more solid Intel on what kinds of mechs and weapons we'll be up against, and how many?"

"Reports from the surface say that you shouldn't be facing anything larger than Medium class Mchs, mostly armed with weapons effective against infantry. I doubt that's all you'll see in terms of weaponry, so be alert."

IC: Iral Vijil

The Hihijli's arms were crossed. "Does it matter? If we don't outnumber them we'll definitely outskill those degenerate bastards."

IC: Brae Tessen

The Apatagor grumbled as she looked over the holomap. "Swamps and bogs will be hard to traverse in Praetorian Ruin. I'll need someone to cover me." Brae said.

"We don't know, but it's a large prison, with a lot of security, housing a lot of dangerous people," she said, "Including imprisoned Mech pilots," she added pointedly.

"My guess is you shouldn't see more than six mechs down there."

IC: Juliana Winters - Briefing Room.

"Okay, that sounds doable." Juliana relaxed a little, "Six shouldn't be too much trouble."

IC: Brae Tessen

"Don't underestimate them." Brae warned. "Like Faust said, some of them are mech pilots. They'll be more adept than regular prisoners."

Brae rubbed her chin, thinking. "We should drop in pairs. Less chance of being taken by surprise." She suggested.

IC: Iral Vijil

He silently hoped that, if that were the final decision, he wouldn't get put with Brae. In fact, even if he wasn't working with an Apatagor (Or heaven forbid a human), he'd still much rather handle himself on his own.

That being said, moist swampland wasn't his territory either. The Judge's jumpjets would allow him to stay airborne for very brief moments but he would most likely be stuck in the mud for the majority of his time on the ground. Perhaps teaming up wasn't such a bad idea...

IC: Juliana Winters - Briefing Room.

"Hang on a sec. Before we just go dropping down, do we have any kind of aerial map of the terrain? I wouldn't mind having a better idea of what the layout of the area is, if there's any high ground we can take advantage of, and where the enemy mechs are positioned."

More specifically, she didn't want to drop out of the sky just to land directly in the middle of a crossfire... which had happened to her before, on more than one occasion.

This won't be like that. We're not that kind of unit. Faust isn't that kind of commander. Unfortunately, logic didn't make the fear any easier to dismiss. Things went wrong so easily on the battlefield.

IC: Brae Tessen

Brae huffed. "I agree. Some assessment of the terrain would be useful."

"We do, in fact, the planetary government was kind enough to send up some satellite imagery of the area."

She tapped on the planet's image, and it shifted into a square image that showed an enormous square for green and brown. she traced a few lines on it and began to explain.

"You'll be dropped off here, near an airstrip on the outskirts of the city that the criminals have been estimated to be moving for." A red x appeared by the airstrip in question. "if they manage to get beyond this line, we forfeit our pay." another line, this time purple. "They've split into two groups and are converging on the city from here, and here." she drew two yellow arrows to indicate. "How you organize once you've been dropped will be up to you. I'll be on comms to keep you up to date if the situation changes.

"Your mechs have been loaded onto the shuttles, I suggest you get moving, Mech pilots. Dismissed."

OOC: Here is the map in question:

IC - Taia Sal - Briefing Room

The catfolk examined the map, and nodded.

"Alright, so long as we aren't dropped too close to them...I should be capable of supporting from afar. Even if the trees are thick, it should be easy enough to hit 'em."

IC: Juliana Winters - Briefing Room.

Juliana nodded, and turned to leave, before hesitating, "You said our mission was to take down the stolen mechs. Do our employers have any preferences on how intact those mechs should be? Do they want the pilots taken alive, or taken out?"

She didn't want to come across as whiny, or prying, or over-inquisitive, but she knew the hard way how important it was to have all the information before setting out on a mission.

"You'll know as soon as I do, Ms. Winters."

With a crisp turn, the commander exited the room, likely headed for Communications.

IC: Juliana Winters - Briefing Room.

"Got it, boss," Juliana gave a curt salute, then made for the exit.

IC: Brae Tessen

Brae nodded and rolled her muscular arms with a yawn, then moved to the exit with Winters.

"Eager to get to work?" She asked with a smile.

IC: Juliana Winters - Hallway.

"Eager might be too strong a word." Juliana replied, with a smile of her own, "But it's what I'm good at."

IC: Brae Tessen

"Hah! You and me both, Human!" Brae chuckled as she slammed her fist into her palm. "These prisoners will put up a good fight. But we'll fight better, hm?"