Mission 1: Operation Red Plunder

February 27th, 2035, approximately 9 PM local time

Onboard the Nemesis, flying across Asia, Commander John Doe got a report from his interface. The head of a resistance cell quickly informed him that there is a convoy just waiting to be plundered. With the intel received, John Doe announced the new mission, hoping it would draw the operatives like a moth to a flame.

"Alright people, we acquired a prime target to fill up our supplies and fuel our war effort! Now that we got the coordinates, we're deep striking right beside a supply convoy. Our friends in the resistance sabotaged, so a good majority of the forces have been neutralized. The rest we just have to clean up. This opportunity won't last forever. So let's hit them before the double-E bastards rescue the suckers!"

The grizzled commander quickly briefed the Griffin volunteers on the mission with useful details whenever they needed to know. Since the Emergence Entity favored subterfuge over brute force, the hidden convoy was exposed by the rebels and promptly sabotaged. As the convoy was caught in the woods, they were lost and trapped. While this moment was only fish in a barrel, this was also a test to see if the new recruits were up to snuff.

Ronan oversaw the new recruits. Differing backgrounds meant a calculated risk. Ronan quickly typed up a memo for the commander, "Since we're dealing with a ragtag bunch of misfits, we gotta adjust our cohesion. The ones that lack in training, they compensate with grit." He, Shahab, and Laleh boarded a transport that would take them there. The Nemesis was fortunately big enough to house a few VTOL transports for a quick strike. All three were ready to raid, waiting on others to arrive.

The Spaniard nodded at the announcement their commander gave. It reminded him of old times. He wished for months, no, years! Years to finally go to combat, something more real than patrols in the deserts of África del Norte or attacking insurgent camps. He had been trained to do ambushes when he was an official member of the Legion but noooo~! It had to wait until he was now 45 years old. He smiled nevertheless because it was the polite thing to do and also because he was given a chance, a fat chance to get on this mission.

So be it.

He rose to the challenge and told their commander

"Eso es bueno. ¡Vamonos! I hope we can do this well!"

During the briefing, he paid close attention. He liked the details and the odds. He was able to determine that this mission would really need someone like him. Like before, he could support his new team as they conducted the raid. He'd provide area security, looking out for any intruders or enemy reinforcements. If that happened, he'd be their first line of warning and defense.

Once the briefing was over, he turned to his commanding officer and agreed to come along. He had his gear and his armor and his bravery. What were we waiting for? He thought with a Spanish grin on his face.

---

There was a loud crash from the cafeteria, followed by another, then some shouting, and finally the culprit power-walked out of the mess, barely dodging a spoon that whizzed past her head as she cradled her freshly nicked bowl of chicken soup in her arms. Another successful heist, another bowl liberated. Soup grinned as she turned on her heels and walked backwards away from the mess hall, waving at the soldier that she had managed to steal from, before giving him a wink and picking up the previously thrown spoon.

“Cheers, owe ya big time!” She taunted back at him as she quickly brushed off the spoon, then plunged it into the bowl, then into her mouth, still keeping eye contact and a grin with the robbed man. It was all in jest, of course, and she’d probably make it up to him another day. Though not today.
Today was, in fact, a special day. She had two missions today, her first being the liberation of soup, as normal, however her secondary mission was perhaps a bit more important. There was an Operation underway, the first one she had an opportunity to join, and like hell was she going to let it slip past her. She needed to stick it to the Emergence, and this was her first chance to do so with Griffin. She started making her way to the hangar, downing the soup as fast as humanly possible since she wouldn’t be allowed to take it with her, which, given the temperature of the soup, was leaving quite the burn. A few more minutes of walking later, and she had arrived at her destination without any sign of the bowl from before. She had dumped it in a bin on her way there. She could think straight sometimes, after all.

Finally feeling confident, she strode right up to the VTOL Ronan, Shahab, and Laleh were riding in, and gave them all a salute, trying to look about as formal as she could. All things considered, she was basically a civilian compared to everyone else, so how successful she was in appearing formal and soldier-y was up in the air.

”Reportin’ for duty sirs an’ ma’am, pardon the look, came here as fast as I could after getting some grub. Do I uh, grab the weapons myself, or’ll we be given ‘em? I’m a bit new to this, sorry.” She held the salute for a while longer, before finally dropping it and placing her hands behind her back respectfully. She had seen other soldiers do it, so she gave it a shot too.

Shahab immediately responded to Soup. “I knew this would happen. Because you are fresh, I have readied your equipment for you. But next time, bring your gear from the armory.” The engineer-bombardier acted as a big brother to the group. Soup now received a conventional sniper rifle and a pistol as her sidearm.

Ronan rolled his eyes. “Don’t baby her.” The steely commando was sure that the new recruits were of somewhat good judgement and free of defect. While he seemed to be rough around the edges, Ronan cared about the success of the recruits.

Laleh helped Soup out on locking and loading. “Don’t do anything stupid though. Remember to keep your head down or the aliens will put it down for you.” She also greeted others who heeded the call to arms.

Shahab announced to the others, “Once you board, no turning back until the mission is done. The op won’t last forever. Lock and load!” Laleh chimed in. "This is a point of no return. Do think about it!"

Sirens. Sirens were heard from every directions as well as gun shots. Bullets whizzed by her head and all she did was laugh. "Gotta try harder than that boys. How are you supposed to impress any girls with shots like that? Men are such disappointments". Angeline laughed yet again as she took a few shots at the men trying to take her head off. Failing miserably might she add. Tiny little beeps could be heard from her communications phone. Putting up one finger as to tell the men to hold off for a second, she pulled the device from her back pocket. A wide sly smile spread across her lip. She tucked the device back into her back pocket and yelled out to the men. "Well boys, looks like it's game over for us. Though I did have fun playing with ya'll. You sure do know how to show a girl a good time. But I must cut this play date short. For my mistress calls to me. And she is waaaay more fun than you bunch". Pulling a grenade out from her side pouch, she pulled the clip and tossed it. Not even waiting for it to go off, she was already running towards pick up.

Once arriving she gave Ronan a smirk. "Aww, you waited for me. Keep this up and I might think you have a heart after all". She winked at him as she slipped into the vehicle. She just couldn't help to give that dude some hell at least 20 times a day. I mean everyone had to have a hobby right? She may or may not enjoy hers just a little too much. Passing by the siblings, she gave a nod to them and made her way to her usual spot. She never really talked much to the other members. No offence to them, she wasn't really here to make friends. Her only enjoyment from joining this group was to kill as many assholes as possible. As long as they kept paying her, she do whatever it was that they needed.

The Spaniard nodded to the words of the man who announced the last of it. He was sure of it. Once it was on, he would be on. And so, without waiting at all, since he was sure of himself and he had his things with him, he boarded the aircraft and told Shahab

"I'm in. Let's do this, Sir. It's time to fight those aliens and make our names known!"

As he boarded, he started to check his weapons, most especially his machine gun. It was getting old but it was still well maintained and he trusted in that weapon. He maintained too his own pistol and the rest of his equipment. Soon enough, they'll go to battle. Soon enough, they'll see if they are up for it or not. And he too hoped for himself that he'd be okay.

If Soup and Angeline and the rest of the team were happy and excited, then he was too. And for them, yes, he'd do his best. His machine gun shall provide the security they all need.

Morgan was sitting down in his room, doing a final check on his equipment before making his way out to the VTOLs. As he was calibrating his helmet, he watched the TV in his room as it broadcasted news of EE's "achievements". Even just listening to their messages made him want to blow several holes into the screen, fortunately he decided against it. After finishing his final check, he slips his helmet on and makes his way out the door and to the hangar.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As he arrives in the hangar, he catches sight of the nearest transport, which is already occupied by a few of his supposed squad members. He's already been here for a few months, so he does recognize some of them, most notably the Iranian siblings and a fellow armored person by the name of Ronan Stark. He looks towards them and nods to them as a greeting before finding an empty seat. Morgan would then begin checking his own gun, while keeping to himself for the duration.

Armament List:
- Modified Assault Rifle
- Modified Pistol Sidearm
- Several fragmentation grenades, sonic imploders, and EMP grenades

The next thing he would see was a familiar figure, whose eyes glowed green as he walked towards the transport. An audible "Oh no" would escape Morgan's mouth, this mission was about to get a whole lot more interesting.



The first thing RT saw when he booted up was the face of the head engineer, his creator in a sense.

RT-07E5: Ah, good day master. I assume you have something for me to dismember today?

Head Engineer: Yes RT, you've been chosen to participate in another operation. However, you will be deployed with a team of humans. So I'm begging you, please don't make a repeat of Zeta Squad please.

RT-07E5: Ah yes Zeta squad, I recall that they were not very skilled. It was command's fault for lumping me in with those who couldn't handle me. Perhaps if this new team is not as incompetent, I won't have to eliminate them.

Head Engineer: I hope not, your weapons have already been readied for you and the intel concerning your mission has already been uploaded, good luck RT.

The droid's glowing green eyes blink for a few seconds before reverting back to its solid green state.

RT-07E5: Thank you master, I will be sure not to disappoint you.

After RT breaks free of his restraints and recovers his weapons, he makes his way towards the hangar and towards his designated transport.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

RT would scan the surrounding area and see his assigned transport, which was already occupied by quite a few organics. He would pause for a moment before walking towards the VTOL, with a sniper rifle strapped to him. As he arrived he greeted all of them.

RT-07E5: Good morning meatbags, what a fine day for killing organics isn't it?

The droid would then make his way towards the nearest empty seat, which also happened to be the one beside Morgan.

RT-07E5: Hello there meatcan, I see you've been assigned to this mission as well.

RT would then focus on his own weapons, inspecting his sniper rifle and confirming that it was the one he had always used, as was his sidearm.

Armament List:
- Sniper Rifle
- Revolver
- Combat Knife embedded into his arm

With practiced motions, Tanya suits up in the Nemesis' armory. Securing her grenade launcher to her back and her LMG to a 2-point sling, the Canadian ex-army sergeant makes her way up to the airship's flight deck. As she approaches and boards the dropship, Tanya gives Ronan a casual salute before looking over menagerie of soldiers.

"Well, this certainly isn't the corps, that's for sure."

She says with a light chuckle, settling down into one of the ship's seats.

"So, do we have any idea of what to expect on the ground?"

She asks, taking her helmet off while they wait for launch.

Ronan responded to the questions. "Robots, Xenos, and Abominations." The tone changed to contempt when mentioning the last item. It was a derogatory name for the artificial beings or clones from the vat. The Emergence Entity allowed their citizens to have up to two clones as a substitute for undertaking dangerous missions. While it seemed altruistic, the Emergence Entity in reality wanted cheap cannon fodder. Furthermore, the clones looked human from a distance yet had an uncanny valley appearance. Cloning didn't typically come out pretty as function was a priority over form.

Once everyone was all aboard, the siblings gave the signal to roll. Although the seating was pushed to the max, claustrophobes may relocate to the other VTOL. This was going to be a raid. "Preparing to deploy! Going in!" Laleh warned the group, "I'm the first one to visit you if you do any wannabe hero antics. Too many of our finest operatives kicked the bucket trying to be a hero...and instead doing something stupid!"

By the time Laleh gave her spiel, the VTOL was in the air, deploying. They were going into the forest according to the coordinates. The forest was moderately dense, providing plenty of cover to use. While the trees provided some protection against projectiles, they should not be counted on. At the end of the day, the best defense was not being shot at! Since the operatives didn't come in hot, there was an opportunity for stealth as the stranded enemies were none the wiser. The pilot also made sure they didn't land far from the convoy, two kilometers away at most.

Morgan looked around the cabin as the VTOL took off and started flying en route to the mission area. So far, the new recruits didn't seem all that bad to him, save for one female that seemed particularly talkative. Hopefully she wouldn't be blabbering as much when the fight began. For the rest of the trip, he did reply to those who greeted him, but aside from that he mostly kept to himself and focused on reviewing mission intel instead.

As the pilot gave the clear signal for the team to land, Morgan immediately rose from his seat and moved towards the door, fully prepared to drop. He looks back to the rest of the group before saying:

Morgan: I'm going in, good luck to the rest of you.

He would then grab onto a cable line before rappelling down into the forest, weapons ready. Fortunately, his helmet's sensors didn't detect any sort of trap such as explosives or tripwire, which was good news. Morgan then switched to the team comms and relayed the situation to them.

Morgan: Sector is clear down here, no hostiles or traps nearby. Feel free to deploy.

Now he hoped that the rest of the team could deploy without alerting the enemy. Wouldn't want to lose the element of surprise so soon.

Pretty much for the entire ride there, she never spoke a word to anyone. That wasn't to say that she wasn't making mental notes about the entire team. I mean who could blame her, if she was to trust these people with her life, then she might as well try and figure out everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Although asking, Angeline to trust anyone but herself with her life was asking for more than they had thought. She didn't know these people from any Joe Shmoe from the street. About the only person she was willing to trust was ol' brooding skullface over there. And that pretty much had more to do with the fact that they have established some kind of banter between the two of them.

As they approached the drop zone, the quiet spitfire did a quick double check of all her weapons, making sure that her baby, her pride and joy was ready to give these assholes a warm welcome. Angeline tucked her 9mm into the holster attached to her leg, her 24 inch steal (basically a nightstick), into the loop that was attached to her belt, and then finally her baby always rested snuggly to her back. "Alright then, guess it's time to go and say hello". Angeline looked to the other members of the team and arched a brow at them. "We may be on the same team but mark my words, get in my way or cause some kind of disturbance causing me to not be able to do my job? And I won't be afraid to put one of my bullets between your eyes". With saying that, she looked directly at Soup.

With her being the one that usually stayed in the back of the group, given her specialty in sniper rifles, she got out not long after Morgan. She gave Ronan a smirk and mocking salute. "See ya down there Boss Man. Oh yea, try to not get yourself killed. I'd hate to be left with these low hanging fruit". She cocked her head to indicate that she was talking about the squad. Angeline, carefully repelled out the VTOL and went to find herself a nice high place, making sure that she was able to see in any directions perfectly. She may not be able to make certain that these people wouldn't get her killed but they could damn well make a bet that she wasn't going to let them get killed. That would just be an insult to her pride.

Ronan merely rolled his eyes. Angeline was just plain tempting fate. He beckoned to the rest of the operatives to follow him. Knowing how to be quiet, the commando rappelled down quietly and took advantage of the dense forest cover. Ronan was on overwatch against any enemy patrols. "Overwatch..." Any enemy patrols that threaten the group, he had his shotgun trained on them. A machete was readied in case of close encounters too. Though in case the entire group needed a clean getaway and a distraction, a single flashbang was on his hip, ready to be thrown.

The siblings took hint and followed suit. They weren't as quiet as Ronan was, as Shahab had heavier weapons. Laleh readied her dart gun and her assault rifle. The dart gun can accept a variety of darts to mend or murder from a distance. She really hates close quarters battle as she found it too risky against Xenos. Shahab on the other hand was fond of louder means of combat. He still could melee in a pinch though, owing to his heavy weaponry. Machineguns and grenade launchers didn't seem to be suitable, but a buttstroke from either was powerful enough to bruise at best and fracture a skull at worst!

All three were in a triangular position, covering all potential angles they could. This mission required teamwork to pull it off well. Ronan whispered over the comms, "Don't fuck this up." Shahab and Laleh nodded, "No need to tell us twice."

Santiago rappelled down the VTOL after the rest had done so. Just as he was doing so, he made sure to get a good look at the ground and the surroundings. He saw trees. Tall, good ones. Once down on the ground, he picked up the pace, looking around with his machine gun for targets and threats. Then once cleared, he made sure to run towards one of the big trees. He jumped on it, catching a branch and started to climb. He was telling his squad mates

"¡Increíble! ¡Estoy en! Hey! I'll get us a good look over the area from here. I'll cover you all."

Then he shut up and started climbing up again, going quickly as if he was like a hyperactive kid again. He would continue to climb up until he finally found a really nice branch to stay on. He'd be there, with his MG set up on another branch, looking over the area. He'd have no trouble supporting them from here and neither would he suffer in his attempts to harass the enemy if they came.

---

Soup grinned at the sniper as she holstered her new pistol, then saluted both Laleh and Shahab before taking the closest spare seat to them, leaving the long-barrelled rifle cradled inbetween her knees while she inspected it idly.

“Cheers, I’ll do better next time. Sorry for being a strain already.” She glanced around the already filling troop compartment, and smiled to herself. Lots of variety, lots of silent types, lots of future fun. She even had to do a double-take when RT walked in and called everyone meatbags. Of course she had seen robots around the place, but she didn’t think that they were so… Terminator-y. She shrugged it off, but felt like her moment to say something would come soon. The rest of the trip was pretty silent by Soup’s standard, though probably less so for everyone else. Every couple minutes or so, she’d remark about how the weather didn’t change at such altitudes, though she never directed the comment to anyone. More just a passing thought she felt like vocalising. She was sure she’d start getting on someone’s nerves, but that was fine by her.

And then just like that, they got to the AO, and people started filing out. The vets gave warnings, as expected, but then one of the silent-types directed a comment towards Soup, which, admittedly, felt really cold and partially undeserved. Soup would probably shed a tear after the mission was over. Or it just set up a future prank victim. One or the other, nobody could ever really tell with the unruly sniper. She poked her tongue out at her the moment the other woman left Soup’s line of sight, then waited for the rest of the vets to rappel down before taking the next place and turning to whoever was left inside the VTOL and giving them a rough salute, before finger-pistolling RT with her free hand.

”Yo, callin’ us meatbags ain’t okay man- er, sorry, what’s your gender? I’d call you Buff Chappy or Megatron, but they both seem insensitive, an’ I don’t wanna come off as a twat. Talk later though, toodles!” With that, she grinned her prankster grin, and jumped out of the VTOL before she was forcefully removed. Her descent down was controlled, and while not as professional as some of the trained operatives, still pretty decent, for a ‘civilian’. She hit the ground a bit harder than expected, rolled to make it look like she meant to do that, and winked at anybody who looked at her weirdly. ”I’ma follow the leaders here, dunno trees that well, they all look the same to me. Is that racist to trees? Dunno, who cares. Let’s go shoot some spooks.” She shouldered her sniper, and followed, well, whoever took lead of the squad. At varying amounts of silence, of course. Soup wasn’t the best with foot placement, especially in the underbrush environment that they were in.

When the VTOL had finally arrived at its destination, RT's eyes glowed a fair bit brighter as he stood up.

RT-07E5: I'm excited for the slaughter already. You meatbags should hurry up and deploy, if you keep me waiting I might as well terminate you all as a practice run.

As the rest of the team started rappelling down, starting with meatcan #1, RT would stare blankly at them while gripping his rifle, waiting impatiently. However, one of the last meatbags to leave the VTOL, a human female, would casually insult RT as she rappelled down.

His three photoreceptors changed from the usual green to a bright red as he sprinted over to the door. Fortunately for the female, or Soup as she was called, managed to get off the craft before RT could throw her off himself. One would think she would be at least partially safe from his wrath on the ground, but one would then stand corrected as RT pulled out his silenced sniper rifle and immediately trained it on Soup's position. However, since he was requested not to eliminate any allies for the duration of the mission, he did not take the shot, so she would be safe from him, for the duration of the mission at least.

Despite this, he wasn't planning on letting her go without a message. RT then waited until she was still, before firing three shots in quick succession. The shots would whizz past her head, barely missing her, and land in the ground, forming a triangle around her. Although the shot was silenced and was most probably not heard by the EE troops, every Griffin operative in the vicinity would have heard it. If they looked towards the source of the shot, they would see a droid who seemed to be giving a death stare to a certain female despite not having any facial features. After the rest of the organic operatives left the transport, RT would move out of vision as the VTOL activated its engines. It would then hover closer to the downed convoy, descending closer to the forest as well. This new spot would serve as RT's vantage point, giving a good view of the battlefield, but partially exposing him to enemy fire as well.

Ronan got closer to the convoy, seeing how ripe with supplies the disabled and destroyed vehicles were. However, something caught his ears. "Sensed a patrol up ahead." Ronan coldly alerted and gestured to his colleagues that he heard a patrol coming ahead. So far, the nature of the patrol was unknown until they approached. The two siblings readied their weapons, fully expecting resistance. "Overwatch!" Both were ready to unleash walls of lead upon any attacker. Good thing that Morgan and Ronan acted as eyes and ears for the squad.

The skull-masked commando trained his shotgun ready in case they go after the group. Instead of charging, he hunkered down and kept his eyes peeled. He was going deep as he expects the convoy to come loaded for bear. At this moment, he saw nothing, but he heard mechanical and squishy footsteps. Suspicions about what the group would face off against may turn out to be correct. Ronan then messaged to Soup, "Don't blow cover." If his message fell on blind eyes or deaf ears, Ronan may as well regret not bringing duct tape with him.

A patrol of six bots and clones revealed themselves. They were none the wiser of the group in ambush. They seemed to be looking to see if the coast is clear and buy time for the convoy to either recover or send a signal for rescue. As if booby traps were bad enough as they tried to take a shortcut, an ambush would certainly rub salt into their wounds. Both were armed with what seemed to be standard Emergence Entity equipment: carapace armor that appeared similarly to flak armor, assault rifles that operated with magnetic propulsion, and batons for use in a pinch. They certainly weren't expecting paramilitary force, but hooligans and criminals instead.

Moving in with rest of the squad, Tanya advances forward as quietly as one can in heavy combat gear. Taking cover behind an old fallen tree, she watches the E.E. squad slowly patrol the perimeter of the downed convoy. After watching the patrol for a couple of moments, the heavy weapons specialist quietly speaks up over comms.

{Hit them now with a flashbang, or wait to see if there are any other patrols?}

She asks, one hand reaching over her shoulder for her grenade launcher.

Closing her eyes, Angeline calmed herself. It would do none of them any good to have shaky hands and a frantic mind. Though she would never tell him or anyone else, that she did jump when she heard Ronan's deep voice over the comms. Again, that's something that she was not ever going to share with any of them. At least not before killing them that is. But that was something for another time. Right now her focus needed be to on the squad that was coming through the clearing. She had a good clear shot but she wanted to wait for some kind of order from Ronan. It would do her any good if she took her shot and then all hell broke loose. Ronan would definitely have her flayed alive for that. Well that was if Skullboy could catch her. Then again, that idea did sound really good. She was awfully tensed up. Maybe getting into a fight with him is just what she needed.

Fuck it. She was doing it anyway. "Hey Ronan, hold my beer". She chuckled to herself before she aimed her rifle and took her first shot. From where she was stationed, the wind played a factor in where her shot landed. It wasn't a headshot like she hoped but it did land in the clone's shoulder. And if she was lucky enough and hit it in the perfect spot, said arm would cease to have any function. She basically just Crippled his arm. Not a lethal shot, but he it got the job done. And it allowed the Twins and Ronan, to rush them if they wished. Angeline could definitely could be a good distraction of nothing else.

Ronan rolled his eyes, annoyed at what Angeline did. "Seriously?" He had to blink twice to regain his composure. Nonetheless, he messaged to the group, "I need a distraction. Fire at will." He was ready to sneak across for some shoot and loot action.

Shahab and Laleh followed suit. "Pumping them full of lead!" Shahab readied his machinegun to blast a clone's head off with a barrage. Just as the barrage connected, sounds of an exploding watermelon came to the minds of any witness to the carnage. Laleh on the other hand gunned down the injured clone as they tried to run. The distraction was provided as the remaining enemies scrambled to cover.

Ronan was quick to exploit their fleeing retreat by quietly dashing across among the commotion. None of the sensors or eyes were able to pick up thanks to the speedy getaway. He was also able to flank the enemy too, with none of the robots aware of the commando on their tails. Two down, the rest to go. Ronan gave the signal for all operatives to open fire.