Asim /Ogre/ Badir

// New faces New places //

@FourtyTwo
“Wilco.” Ogre responded over the radio to his new objective. Rose was quick to highlight the new positions of the fuel rods in the ship as they approached. Enemy fire started to come in as they approached and he made sure to return fire and suppress anyone thinking they could get a round off. All he could do was hope that none of the coatings for the fuel rods get hit and contaminate the area. This place is already bad enough.

@LadyAmber
“Thanks for the ride chaos. Frigga I’m at the ship and pulling the two exposed rods into cover.” Moving to cover near the ship, rose highlighted the two fuel rods near his position. Neither was emitting radiation that would show a breach in their containment heath but still enough that you really didn’t want to be close to those things without proper protection.

Stepping out into the open bounding from cover to cover to get to the rods. Turning here and there to present both a smaller target to incoming small arms fire and return fire of his own that his squad mates were not able to get. Keeping one eye on the rods and the other on the mech making sure that the others kept its attention while he picked up the first rod and moved it to the designated staging area.

This continued again for the second rod move, shoot, cover, and move. Again and again until the second tube was secured, stopping briefly to make sure that mech wasn’t looking his way. Securing the last tube and double checking his surroundings he could see his team mate closing in on his position and he knew exactly what he was going to do as he stacked up just outside the main entrance and fastest way to the other fuel rods.

@BigPapaBelial
“Frigga your suits environmental seal better still work or else this is going to piss you off.” Saying this as rose highlighted an area of the ship’s hull next to him that would lead to the cargo area in the ship. Using the can opener on his arm Ogre quickly tore a fist size hole in the ship. Bringing his left shoulder up to the hole his shoulder mounted launcher loaded then angled itself to launch two tear gas canisters into the ship. “This should smoke out the rats.”

The canisters were long duration tear gas grenades that could fill at least half the interior of the ship with the irritant gas. “All Call sign’s be advised Tear gas has been deployed in the ship. Pick your targets as they come out for air.” He made the announcement as he waited for his armored companion who should be showing up any time. That way they could quickly subdue most of the resistance between their current location and the fuel rods. After that he knew her mission was clearing out the rest of the ship while he moved the rods outside with the others and loaded them into a vic. Just like any team they all had a job to do and had to trust that the others could do there’s.

"Roger that," was all he said after meeting with Queen and now that he was cleared. So after putting away the last of the intel he had gathered. Mateo went about finding a good position to flank and cause some confusion. Things were already chaotic enough right now based on how his teammates were handling things, and some more chaos would not hurt.

So Mateo quickly went about repositioning himself and, after finding a good spot near where he was and quickly spotted some targets down range. He quickly looked down his scope and remembering Queen's advice from before. Mateo aimed for their heads and pulled the trigger. Dispatching the three of them with little noise. Now it did occur to him that this is unfair. Someone cloaked and hard to see with silenced weaponry. He might as well be a ghost, and that is how he likes it. Every advantage and opportunities he has over his enemies, the better. That is how he was trained, after all.

Now he stayed up there shooting at targets until Ogre mentioned on the radio about gassing the ship. "Uh, I guess that is time for me to leave" and without another word. He quickly exited the ship and started flanking people. Catching some unlucky souls that were trying to get a beat on someone, it looked like. Mateo was quick on the trigger and moved on once the bodies hit the ground. He was careful not to be spotted by the mech as he did so. While he did have some C5 on him that could mess with the thing, that was someone else's job, and he did not envy them. Either way, now that his main job was done, he was free to just flank and surprise some folks that going to cause problems for his team. Since there had been enough already and time to live up to his callsign.

Stafford perked up at Glitch's message. He was about 20 meters from his target position. But here would do. He slid into the sand, creating a small cloud of fine dust. Lucky for the mask, he thought. He rapidly drew his rifle, not prepping his position. Instead, he immediately loaded a superheavy depleted uranium anti-personnel slug into the chamber. Enough to turn just about any single person into a fine red mist. He loosely adjusted his form, spreading his weight more evenly and securing his elbow more. He lined up the cockpit in his sights, listening to his oppo's words. He gave a short affirmation and waited for the return signal. Following the barked signal from his buddy, the maw of the iron beast opened wide, revealing the shocked pilot to the brutal violence he had been previously shielded from.

@Awesomoman64
Relax. Inhale, exhale, inhale, squeeze, exhale. "Fired." He watched as his shot grazed the wall of the cockpit, shaving through the hermetic seal and passing straight through the center of the pilot's head. It burst like a balloon full of Kool-Aid; the viscera coating the interior with a fine paste of gore. The now headless body proceeded to flop out of the unmanned mechanical beat like a sack of potatoes, slumping to the ground at the iron warrior's feet. Stafford smirked, hoping that was good enough for his colleague.

@FourtyTwo
Next up on the menu: the other pilot. The Doctor humped his rifle over to a nearby rise in the ground, his rifle pointing upwards he properly set himself up, ensuring he was adequately covered by his cloak he scanned the air for the bastard Hind. He caught it hovering to the north of the ship, searching for an adequate target. He guessed. No matter. He adjusted the magnification on his scope, zooming it in and adjusting the picture ever so slightly. He attempted to train it on the cockpit, waiting for it to face him so he could try to take out the pilot. Short of that, he'd try to fuck up the engines. Not especially hard to do to a helicopter thankfully. As the whistle of the 'silencer' died down, he loaded another superheavy round. Before attempting a shot he keyed into the comms, "Queen, clear to take a shot at the chopper's pilot?"

@Awesomoman64@PerfectThought

The two hackers had gotten in close, and no doubt that only spelled carnage was going to play out- Sam dropping off the heavy of Asim and the pain in her ass of Xan to sort out the rods and mech respectively, whilst simultaneously fixing the SAM problem...not bad at all.

With a turn of the SAM platform, the missile flew off the rack of the platform that the other Sam had managed to hack into. That however, made the Hind bank out and dump flares, avoiding the first salvo, and before the second then flew out and actually scored a hit, the Hind's stray autocannon fire now ending and opening up the battlefield a bit more for everyone- now they could really go to town on even terms. Even with all of the advanced electronics, the team had fought their own fire with their own fire.

Meanwhile, the mech's pilot evisceration was every part as brutal as a high power uranium-tipped round would be, with Stafford doing his bit with Xan to sort that one out.
"Jesus, you redecorated that thing!" Skye chirped back at Stafford, seeing his scope view as she heard him ask for what next, knowing he was aiming directly at the Hind that had just in that moment, been struck by the missile.

"Chopper's down, so hold on that Stafford. Push in and help us clean up, there's a lot of bodies you'll need to take on. Glitch, take the mech and wipe anyone else out. If you can keep that thing running for longer than five minutes, we might be able to run some diagnostics off it...I want the data from that thing given we don't know precisely where it came from, and what the specs are." Skye retorted, knowing it would have probably stolen his thunder, but he'd done a hell of a service with his rifle today. That mech was no longer a problem they had to deal with, and he was professional enough to know it was an opportunity for a pipe before charging in as cavalry.

"Chaos, sit tight there. Got your feed, you've got more moving near your position but I've got the flank on them. Don't let the bastards destroy it before we have a proper look." Skye replied, knowing she'd probably just made the Australian's day- no doubt that he'd enjoy that, while Sam would need to hold her finding till Skye arrived.

@Theyra@ReusableSword@BigPapaBelial

Skye was also now turning her attention to the fact that the ship was going to be a slightly more uncomfortable are to be, with the distant crack of canisters of tear gas giving Skye the initiative to get the fuck out of her position.

"Aye, let's get 'oot of here, Jaguar! Frigga, Ogre, you got plenty of hostiles coming out from the far end of the ship, there's a fucking horde of them, do your thing!" Skye knew that while the gas had gone into the far side of the shipwreck, the gas would gather quickly, and right now, she wanted to be nowhere near.

There were a lot of troops ahead and Skye knew she wasn't gonna get involved in that fight, or even raise any attention- as much as she was collecting bodies, today she didn't want to die and wanted the experts at pest control to do their gig- given they carried weaponry the size of her, and the Australian of the team now had a mech that would be able to probably help redecorate that part of the ship, leaving Frigga, Glitch and Ogre to it would be best. So Skye was out, and moving on the find she spotted in her glasses, where Chaos had headed to- hoping Hornet was following her lead.

Skye moved on Sam's position, going topside again on the ship with a leap and a double jump, avoiding the clusterfuck below that was about to untangle- like rats pushed out of a hiding hole, Skye was leaping a container and skidding on the far side of it, clipping a couple more soldiers with her MG3 on the deck as she headed towards Chaos's position, knowing that the American was probably about to take a lot more heat. With a fluid movement, Skye reached the edge of the ship, moving with intent and purpose, her never say die only getting warmed up as she looked down at the camo tarp, and the troops in and around Chaos. A little help was in order, but she wouldn't do all the work, given Chaos had that covered it looked like.

Using her Carl Gustav, Skye picked up the other two exo-armoured soldiers that were coming into position to start suppressing Sam, using a anti-personnel round to literally just blow up the container they were on, given the MG wouldn't get accurate enough from the range she was at. With that expended, Skye lept down, almost cartwheeling down as she used the exo and jump-jet built in to softly clatter into the ground right next to her, thudding with a gentle pat into the soft sand.

@LadyAmber
"Well, hello. You seem to have had some entertainment out here...and that's some fun bruising you're gonna have from that round, Chaos. Try not to get shot, ey?" Skye noted with a wry chuckle, knowing the American had gotten herself into a spot of bother, but seemed to be holding up somewhat, and her find was particularly interesting. The mark in Sam's ballistic plate was clear to see- nothing fatal, but that would have hurt, and no doubt, Sam was going be aching with it.

Skye herself had taken a couple of rounds, but it looked like none had breached her armour- or at least, she wasn't showing it given the sheer amount of adrenaline in her system and the fact that her body had gone through far worse. Not invincible, no, but the little niggles just poked the fact she was alive a little harder more than anything, that stubbornness just underpinning her character. Her ribs hurt from being kicked by a hydraulic ram of an exo, but then again, she'd done worse as she wiped some of the blood off her face, the brief interlude given their immediate area was clear allowing Skye to take a look inside the camo netting.

"Oh my word...that is quite the stash. Terrorist aliexpress really is getting impressive these days."
Skye added, looking through, it a pile of exoskeleton frames, advanced western weaponry, rocket launchers, and more than enough ammunition to supply two company's worth of troops with modern 5.56 and 6.8mm ammunition. Hell, even a BTR-90 was here, though missing a turret which was located next to it. This wasn't skinnies with AKs, this was a serious setup of equipment, and within the back of it, she could just about see the most concerning bit.

"That is a very copious amount of explosives at the back. PETN. And about a quarter of a tonne of it....which will make a very big boom, and not exactly shite we can leave in the wild. It's more than I'm safely comfortable managing. Detonating it with our own explosives is one thing or trying to make it safe with time is another. But I don't think we have that luxury. What we do have, is a drone with a large ordinance on it which can delete this. Delete the lot of it. But I think there's something far more concerning to look about all of this when we get back to base." Skye commented to Sam, the Scot sincere yet professional, sliding the MG3 onto her back, the unarmed team lead moving inside the camo netting, making sure to keep her sidearm close to hand to take a bit more of a look.

The red-headed Scot adjusted her helmet a little, her gloved hands showing the sign of wear from the MG3 and movement, with the blood at least now wiped off a little now she had a moment. Claret was never a good thing to have, you know, professional image and all that to maintain, well, most of the time Skye thought to herself. She moved with a certain confidence, even despite being shot at, it seemed to her like another day out in the field, doing what she did best. It was strange- the enigma of her was one that certainly elicited respect, but under her blue eyes, you couldn't help but notice the wear that was always residual, like it never left. It wasn't PTSD, shit, she'd seen enough to make that run away in fear.

It was more the responsibility, the constant carrying of it that had gotten her to where she was, not wanting the easy option but taking the hard road wherever she could find it. Maybe it had worked well for her, but in another way, Skye Lyons was not someone who knew fully how to turn off. Family wasn't something she thought of, beyond the team she had, and the luxuries of life were just a comma inbetween the job. It was what made life a little more tangible for her, it felt like her place in the universe made sense doing this. A workoholic special forces mum, now, that was something of an enigma, and that one looked across to the American, unable to see her face through the visor, Skye's features visible beyond her bloodied cheek and blue buff.

"Keep an eye out for me would you?" Skye commented to Sam with a sincere nod, knowing that as unlikely as it was they would get visitors, she didn't want any surprises. Skye's direct manner wasn't meant to offend- well, she knew it did sometimes, but more to the point, it just kept people on track, and left little ambiguity. That came after a few more drinks, after all.

Going in, she took a couple of swabs of the PETN, and of the weapons too using another set of swabs she was carrying, taking footage through her tactical glasses, and recording the inventory of the pile for the post-mission briefing. It wasn't anything spectacular, but the intel haul on this was good. Enough to at least build a picture of who funded Artemis, who they were buying from, what they were involved in, and their capabilities. Oh yeah, and make sure they couldn't make yellow cake, the kind that tasted the literal opposite of lemon drizzle.

As seen, Raven had already done a number on them, and before that, other missions they had taken the fight to them in had gone their way. But this escalation wasn't good. So far they'd been in front. What happened when they fell behind and they had even more gear? Skye didn't want to dwell on that too heavily, because after all, they had to leave.

Leaving the netting, Skye brought her MG3 back into hands, looking across to the DPV, then across to Sam.
"Alright then lass, drive us back to the rest of the crew. All callsigns, clean up your sectors, and regroup at the position I've pinged to your display once you're done wasting these wankers."
Skye added to the team, clambering into the back of the DPV, MG3 at the ready, as she looked back over to the American, the Scot wiping the remainder of the blood off her face, for a moment, knowing that as strange as a time as it was to admit it, this would be a good opportunity.
"You held up well today, Sam, nicely hacked. I'm shipping you and Xander, mind. I haven't seen him this excited to work with someone since...well, about a month ago." Skye giggled as she spoke directly to her, adjusting her position in the seat, sighing as she knew that she always would find a chirp for her team, not every day, but when it was needed most.

--



With the clean up of the base nearly complete, all hostiles were about to be out of commission, or running. Short of a smash and grab, what would be a bad day for most special forces teams had turned into an utter hit piece against the Artemis deal. The other troops looked mostly Kazakh in ethnicity, perhaps some gangster outfit from the fact most of them weren't armoured, but there wasn't much left. There were not HVTs that Skye could see from the bodies- this truly was a grey deal, just a simple set up of shop, swap, and leave. Didn't explain the Hind, nor the mech, nor the exos of Artemis's mercs and various militants being more than capable of being a pain in her ass. That would come in the post-mission analysis she would have to undertake, and while this mission had been a relatively simple one, it wasn't over till they were back in the Osprey and homeward bound.

With both DPVs back at the rally point, near where the mech had been prior at the cracked opening of the ship, Skye had the chance to call in her commander, her comms line currently separated to the team.

"Oracle, we've secured what appears to be some fissile material, looks like it's plutonium rods from a Soviet sub. Found a fairly big weapons cache of some advanced kit, I've got photos, swabs and a nice cache of intel. Plenty for us to look at. Requesting drone on station to come and clean up a significant cache I've marked on the AR for destruction. Significant volume of PETN, guns and all sorts that don't tickle my fancy." Skye called out, like it was a takeaway order or something. Nothing too unsettling, even if Skye felt that deep down.

"Affirmative, Queen. Head to OP Delta, extract will be there in 20 minutes. Don't keep them waiting, drone's inbound." Oracle called back, Skye nodding to the invisible handler, the redhead putting hand to ear again.

"Roger that, Oracle."
Skye with that jumped off the DPV's side rail, keeping an ear, about to call the team to get in the vehicles and leave, the words almost leaving her mouth before her comms barked into life.

"Break, break, drone's gone offline, repeat, drone has gone out of link! Get your asses out of there!" Oracle's usual calm breaking completely, Skye stopped dead, in a manner the team hadn't seen so far from her yet.

"Shit! Bomb drone's been hacked, everyone, fucking run and split!" Skye didn't have the time or words to explain what it meant as she yelled to the others, but the team would know that from earlier, the drone that had been loitering and carrying a significant munition was now going to be out of control. And not in the hands of someone safe, either. There was only one outcome if that was the case, and it wasn't that Artemis was stealing the drone as a part-exchange for the plutonium that the team had stolen.

With that, Skye picked her angle, and with pelt, got running. The DPVs were more of a liability than it was worth, so too was the mech- they wouldn't start and get them out in the time they had, because that drone was going to be 20 seconds out in the munition hitting, and no Trophy System even on the mech meant it wasn't going to hold that thing. Glitch and Chaos weren't going to get control of that drone easy- and at best, they weren't going to be able to stop where it was going. Unable to fire the missile attached, Skye could see the propeller-based drone dive out of the sky and come into view, and only had one option in her mind. Don't fucking stop moving and dive for cover.

The drone whistled in, and thankfully, hadn't honed in on the team- instead aiming for the DPVs and the mech where they had stood 20 seconds ago, be it thanks to pure luck or shit hacking with a lag, Skye didn't know, but she'd ran her quarter and knew that the GBU-27 that was attached was now going to be set to do the damage they had wanted elsewhere, at another time, right here, right now.

The explosion was significant, blowing up the ship's fore entirely with remarkable destructive power and sending shrapnel flying and the mech into pieces with a secondary blast, with the explosion entirely throwing Skye off her feet as she dove into sand, aware that she had run the shallowest angle compared to the rest, who could at least run towards a dune for cover. Still, nothing had hit her apart from the percussive impact of the shockwave knocking almost all of the air from her lungs, the explosion mushrooming into the sky with a weapons cache inside the ship going up, shaking the ground and lighting the dawn chorus with a bright light.

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



Coughing a little as she looked back at it from being thrown in the soft sand that had taken much of the impact, Skye took a moment to sit back up, and her audio barked in once again.

"Queen, you breathing? How copy, Queen?!" Oracle's comms chirped into her headset, the comms broken but clear enough for her to react, coughing sand as she looked around, dazed and a little confused.

"Just about! What the high wain fuck was that?" Skye crawled up, her exo helping but her body trembling, the adrenaline rush coursing out and in, with her face an almost splattered mix of dirt and blood, completely removing any humanity that seemed to be left from her pretty face, her glasses playing up a little too and coming off fairly immediately.

"I've got multiple armoured signatures inbound to your location, looks like six to eight IFVs about four kilometers out to the west...break.....comms and any networked electronics on the line is likely to be compromised too...and we don't have any further assets on line....going onto radio silence until we know the encryption's back. Hold tight." Oracle called out, and Skye swore, the only reaction it deserved.

"Bollocks! Affirmative...." Skye looked to the rest of the team, just hoping they were holding together- and for a brief moment, even the Scot looked bemused as to what the fuck was going on. A million thoughts were in her head...was this a trap, an opportune moment to bag them, or just pure happenstance? It didn't matter right now. The decisions made were going to decide if they were going to all get clapped or live, and given there was a number of infantry fighting vehicles, equipped with autocannons coming in on the ship and cleaning house. Oh yes, and they were in the middle of the desert, with limited anti-tank, and already depleted as is with ammo, weapons and their armour.

Even by Skye's high standards of bad days, this ranked pretty highly.

With it being bleak as it is, Skye killed the team's networked electronics where she had access, including her display connecting to the team, and almost everything else bar the team's shortwave comms and exos, encrypted thankfully to a different frequency and from what she could tell of her arm's display, not currently frazzled by a cyberattack. It was strange as hell, but whatever it was, they'd surged something- this wasn't someone pulling strings, this was someone crudely trying to do as much damage as they could. Which didn't help her understanding of the situation, in fact, this was getting weirder by the moment. So she was effectively blind now to her team's actions, but she could still talk and move, and more importantly, frag the bastards delaying their return home.

Chaos and Glitch's hacking was going to be offline now too, their stolen mech was dead as was their two DPVs, and a significant amount of the ship had been removed from existence into shrapnel but remarkably, the weapons cache that Chaos and Queen had gotten to hadn't been blown up, located next to the intact part of the ship's aft. Of course it was.

In spite of the fact they were now very much screwed, it was time to put things back into their hand. Skye wasn't backing down today, as she dusted herself off, and looked across to the others, knowing they'd probably be asking as many questions as she was right now. There was no point talking to Oracle- the line was dead, and until the mysterious commander had restored that connection, right now, Raven Squad was on their own against whatever was about to be thrown at them. If they could destroy the counter attack, they could improvise something to get out, or at least await an alternative. Hell, even stealing an IFV was half an option, but survival came first when in a crisis like this.

"We all still alive? Christ, that was close....we're not done yet. We're going to get a counterattack come our way, armoured no less with a platoon's worth of IFVs coming our way. Likely to be highly armoured, autocannon carrying and full of infantry. They'll probably go for the front of the ship, try and secure the bomb site and anything else left."

"Shortwave comms is still secure, otherwise we'd have been hit by that cyber attack...if you have anything left that gives a long range signal, turn it off or else they're going to direct munitions on your wee fuckin' arse, first class. Oracle ain't getting us any goodies. We're on our own till we sort this out. Get yourselves patched up, and get some air in your lungs. We're gonna be busy." Skye started, moving with a bit of a stagger, still a little shell shocked and feeling a little weaker, her energy sapped by the shockwave, but she knew she had to remain strong to direct the team. They had limited time, and were very up a creek without a paddle.

"Alright then, let's give it back to the wee bastards. I was sick of watching yous on feed anyway."

@BigPapaBelial@ReusableSword
"Ogre, bury and tag the rods for now. You and Frigga need to hide in the intact end of the ship and come out only when they're right in front to take out the infantry, and go head on into the IFVs at point blank, and destroy any Trophy System or anti-missile systems they have, likely one or two has one for sure to help protect the cluster. That gives your various weapons systems the best chance to work and you can run at the bastards getting out, mortars, direct energy, anything to basically blast them open. I'll be with you above on the ship, so I'll cover your flanks from anyone trying to give you shit. If you can take the weapons out of one of them, see if you can make it spare to steal. Hornet, you're with me on top of that ship, see if you can grab any anti-tank, RPGs or anything that might be able to help us defend."
@Wayward

@LadyAmber@Awesomoman64
"Glitch, Chaos, I need you both to go to the weapons cache, I spied a few guided AT launchers in there...you can steal those and some LMGs, then find a position in the remains of the ship to defend from. We'll use those to ambush the IFVs masse when they get close and the Trophy Systems are dead. Bring spares, and we'll then decimate them. There's nothing you can do about that network- the hack's hit mine and Oracle's link, so we aren't going to be able to patch it locally and without that, we have no way out. Once our network's online, we need to keep any hackers off our patch and ideally, light their server up before they try again."

@PerfectThought@Theyra
"Stafford, Jaguar, set up a sniper position south of the ship, and get ready to snipe off troops coming in. Cloaking and camo will be needed- you need to make them confused from your firing positions, more chaos the better when they're figuring out who's shooting. Your systems might be fine, but don't count on them entirely."
Skye looked across to the team, knowing all of them were weary, and likely very pissed off, but right now, they had no choice but to get this done, literally, it was do or die.

"We're going to let them come to us, so don't fire till they're close- I give us about five minutes till they arrive. They'll know we're here, but they just won't know where. Let's make them work for this arms deal in bits, aye? On my order, yous' can unleash hell, so let's show them some proper hospitality if they want to come visit, ey!" Skye yelled, getting them back into a positive frame of mind, knowing with tasks to complete, they were going to get through this.

Some team leads would have panicked, but Skye seemed to be a bastion of trust, knowing she believed in them as much as they would reflect it back. Their tech was fancy and gear was good, but now with what little they had, they were going to hold their own. And use their own weaponry against them, no less. Deep down, Skye knew she was weary, but the illusion had to remain. A good leader led with example, and enough fire to throw it back. She wasn't letting that die down, they'd have to try better than that.

---

“Bloody brilliant, Stafford! You just earned yourself one free favor from yours truly!” Xander jested over the comms as he watched the sharpshooter repaint the cockpit a lovely shade of mech pilot red.

Now it was his time. Xander broke cover into a full sprint from going straight for the mech. He had to get there before anyone else noticed it was free for the taking. Once he had closed enough distance he launched into the air and slammed onto the mech. He grabbed hold of what was left of the pilot and tossed it out of the cockpit and climbed into the now vacant chair. With a simple press of a button, the hatch closed and locked into place. Xander now owned this mech, and he was just instructed to have some fun.

A terrible storm followed as Xander unleashed hell upon any poor soul Artemis had stationed out there. Bullets and rockets alike scorched the desert as the aussie made use of every second he had in that marvel of technical mayhem. Those who tried to use the ship for cover found their end at the barrel of the dingo, if not another member of Raven. Laughter escaped his lips with every ordinance fired… This was probably going to come up in his next psych evaluation… Oh well. These were terrorists afterall. It was really hard to find any sympathy or even feel remorse for them. Besides, they brought this mech to kill him and his squad. If they weren’t prepared to deal with it turning on them, that was their fault.

–

The carnage continued for a few more minutes until they had confirmed all hostiles were dealt with. The smart ones ran, and their reward was a chance to live as long as they could get out of this desert on foot. The rest were now permanent additions to the barren lands. The objective was secured, the area was clear, all Raven Squad really had left was to wait for evac. The happy hacker drove the mech to the regroup point and popped the hatch.

“Good on ya, mates! I think we taught those drongos a lesson they won’t soon forget.” Xander stated, satisfied with their performance.

He placed the mech in park and pulled out his tablet. He directly connected it to mech’s interface and started grabbing any and all data he could. It had a lot in there. Most of it was encrypted, which was to be expected, but he was more than happy to download it for now and decrypt it back at base. He had a whole setup for that in his quarters. A top of the line system completely isolated from the main network just in case there was any malicious softwares waiting to spring a trap. For now, he would kick back and take the moment to catch his breath while the download completed. He had just gotten comfortable when Queen started screaming over the comms.

"Shit! Bomb drone's been hacked, everyone, fucking run and split!"

“What? Ah quit messing, mum. There’s no way anyone was able to break into-” Xander started to brush off Queen's warning, until he looked into the sky and saw the drone descending: fast. His eyes grew wide behind his helmet as his mind taunted him with his thoughts from before about Artemis not being prepared to deal with tech they brought. “Oh bugger.”

Nothing could ever be simple. He ripped the tablet from the mech and secured it to his arm. Whatever he was currently downloading would have been corrupted by that interruption. Hopefully not all of it, but there wasn't time to check. He had to go now. He leaped from the mech and kicked his exo into gear. The drone was aiming at the mech, which meant he was starting from ground fucking zero. He pushed his exo to its limits, going as fast as it could even if it was more than his body could handle. A cracked bone would be preferable to death. He could only hope he was far enough out when he heard the bomb make contact.



Everything was dark. A void of nothing consumed Xander as he lay motionless in the sand. Finally, the void was breached by the sound of a high pitched ring. Then, a sliver of light appeared. It grew to encompass the void before manifesting back into his sight. The ringing too faded and morphed back into the sounds around him. It felt like forever, but it was only a few seconds before he returned to his body and Xander found himself laying face first in the ground. The last thing he remembered was the blast. Was he caught in it? Or was it just the shockwave? Didn't really matter at this point. He was breathing. And he could hear Queen in his ear asking for everyone to check in.

"We all still alive?”

He tried to reply, but the words wouldn’t come out. His entire body ached, no doubt he was beaten and bruised and bit delirious, but he was conscious and alive. If he couldn’t speak to let everyone know he was still going, then at the very least he had to get up and show them. He placed his right arm down and pushed up without issue, but the moment he moved his left arm and attempted to put weight on it, pain immediately exploded through it as he dropped back to the ground clutching his arm in agony. Rolling to his back, he used his right arm to lift his left into view. There was a thin bloody chunk of metal sticking out his left forearm. Only about 2 cm of it was visible while the rest was embedded pretty deep. Yeah, he was going to need surgery after this one. Fan-fucking-tastic. His tablet was obviously destroyed by this, not like it would do him any good anyway. And as long as the M.2 wasn’t damaged he could salvage whatever data he had downloaded.

That was stuff to worry about later. Right now, they had hostiles inbound and Queen was trying to rally the team so they could actually survive this. His job was to join Chaos at the weapons cache and move what they could to the remains of the ship and set up a defensive position there.

Okay. He could do this.

“Copy, mum.” Xan managed to grunt out over the comms. The jolt from the pain and adrenaline must have finally loosened his tongue “Just… Give me a moment… Need to… take some medicine.”. He reached into one of his side pockets and pulled out a syringe filled with… He wanted to say morphine or something? He wasn’t a doctor. All he knew was it was issued to everyone for field use and it made the pain go away. With a deep breath, he plunged the syringe into his shoulder and injected the solution into his veins. Immediately the solution took effect. The pain was still there, but it had faded drastically.

“Oh bloody hell that’s good shit!” Xan blurted out as he felt relief wash over him. Dropping the empty syringe on the ground, the aussie was at last able to push himself up, though he had to be careful how he moved his arm. It still had a chunk of metal protruding out, and he wasn’t sure if it was better to remove it or not, so he opted to leave it until he was told otherwise. Again; he wasn’t a doctor.

“Alright. One surprise party for Artemis coming right up. Let’s go, Chaos.” Xander said, nodding his head towards the weapons cache as he staggered to it. “I reckon we start with the AT launchers. Make sure we can deal with anything armored, then worry about LMGs. Worst case I still got a gun and a knife and those work pretty well on blokes. Tanks. Not so much.”

5 minutes is all they had. But even in this condition, it would be enough.

Sam was not watching as the surface-to-air missiles launched and took out the Hind. She was too busy defending herself from the soldiers that came up on her unexpectedly from under the tarp. Sam was too busy trying to breathe when Skye commented on Stafford’s shot and issued him new orders. Her armor had stopped the bullet but the concussive force of the bullet at least bruised her ribs. She had felt like she had been kicked in the chest by a mule. She pushed through and managed to get back to her feet. Her side was on fire with pain but her adrenaline was pumping with endorphins which helped her move forward to take out the last guard she saw.

@FourtyTwo
She was standing over the guard her rifle pointed down at him as she heard Skye come over the radio.
"Chaos, sit tight there. Got your feed, you've got more moving near your position but I've got the flank on them. Don't let the bastards destroy it before we have a proper look." Sam just acknowledged the order knowing she was still in the fight but not moving as smoothly or as agile as she had been after taking that high-powered round to the chest. “Chaos holding.” Sam kept her head up on and on the swivel since Skye had told her she had enemy troops closing on her position. She had a few stragglers trying to come at her from the sides. She was fighting an injury, so she chose accuracy over speed as she lined up headshots and took them out with 3-second bursts taking out six more of the enemy as they seemed to be working in pairs as she waited on Skye.

Sam spun towards Skye as she landed gracefully next to her. She took her finger off the trigger just in time. Skye’s face winced in pain as the quick movement pulled the bruised muscles in her chest. Recognition was quick but her reflexes even impaired by her injury were fast with the adrenaline pumping through her system. She nodded her head respectfully to her boss. “Welcome to the party Queen.”

Skye chuckled at her as she replied, "Well, hello. You seem to have had some entertainment out here...and that's some fun bruising you're gonna have from that round, Chaos. Try not to get shot, ey?" Sam rolled her eyes at her boss. Like she planned to get shot! You can’t plan for every contingency, even though they tried. Sometimes even the enemy got lucky. Sam gave Skye a cheeky grin as she replied, “Well I didn’t want you to get bored. Besides you know better than anyone that no plan survives contact with the enemy.” She sighed as she gave the boss an honest assessment of her injury. She would need to know. “I took a high caliber round to the chest. My armor caught it, but my chest is on fire. I don’t know how bad the damage is. I have bruising at least. It has slowed me down and weakened me on that side. The endorphins are helping the pain. I will push through.”

Sam motioned towards the camo net. Skye moved forward first as they began to get a look at what was hidden under that large camo net. Sam chuckled as she heard the boss mutter "Oh my word...that is quite the stash. Terrorist aliexpress really is getting impressive these days." Sam’s hit the record button in her HUD as she walked through the large tent with the boss. She recorded what was there. Her helmet had a satellite uplink to their secure network so that she could upload recon directly in case her helmet was damaged, or she was killed in the action. That way the intel got to headquarters either way. Sam went to the BTR-90. If she could get it operational, they would have a great way to transport the rods. She clambered up and then dropped down inside. It was a bit of a mess on the inside. Someone had cannibalized all the electronics in it. There were bare holes where components had been ripped out. The large tank could be repaired easily with the right components. She could jury rig something to make it go but she didn’t have that kind of time. Sam was climbing back out of the tank when she heard Queen’s report.

"That is a very copious amount of explosives at the back. PETN. And about a quarter of a tonne of it....which will make a very big boom, and not exactly shite we can leave in the wild. It's more than I'm safely comfortable managing. Detonating it with our own explosives is one thing or trying to make it safe with time is another. But I don't think we have that luxury. What we do have, is a drone with a large ordinance on it which can delete this. Delete the lot of it. But I think there's something far more concerning to look about all of this when we get back to base." Sam nodded knowing the post-op debrief would include pouring over any intel they had gained during this op. She moved to rejoin Skye.

Sam respected Queen and recognized the look in her eyes. She had seen it in the eyes of those who had seen the worst that humanity can do to each other. You can only see so much darkness and depravity before it leaves its own mark. You learn to function and move past it, but it takes a little bit more of your own humanity along the way. She knew her eyes didn’t carry the weight of experience that Skye’s did. She had her own list of shit; she would never be able to unsee. Sam did this work so that others could live their lives blissfully unaware of the depths of depravity that humanity could sink to. She did these so innocents like children could laugh and have joyful childhoods. Sam did this work so others would be spared the pain of experiencing the tragic loss of their loved ones. Whose lives were cut short by terrorists.

Sam nodded to Queen as she told her. "Keep an eye out for me would you?" Samantha’s only reply was “Roger that.” She moved to a location where she could see what was coming from both sides of the large ammo tent. Sam utilized her sensors to highlight any movement caught in the area. She kept her head swiveling and scanning as Skye inventoried the remainder of the tent. Skye finally came out of the tent with her MG3 in her hands. Sam nodded acknowledging her orders to drive them back towards the rendezvous spot as Skye gave official orders over the radio. "Alright then lass, drive us back to the rest of the crew. All callsigns, clean up your sectors, and regroup at the position I've pinged to your display once you're done wasting these wankers."

Sam left her automatic rifle on the tactical sling so she could get it in a hurry. She got behind the wheel and started up the DPV. Her movements were a little stiff. She was driving them towards the rendezvous spot Queen had designated when she told her. "You held up well today, Sam, nicely hacked. I'm shipping you and Xander, mind. I haven't seen him this excited to work with someone since...well, about a month ago." Samantha laughed at her boss. She guffawed incredulously to hear Skye giggle. She never thought her straight laced workaholic boss would giggle. Laugh yes but a girly giggle? Never! Samantha just grinned and laughed as she shook her head as she replied. “Thanks boss. I aim to please.... Xander has his charms. For all, I know he is only interested in his next beer. He hasn't indicated that he is interested in anything. I do find him highly entertaining.”

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

Samantha was waiting at the DPV on her next set of orders. The operational mop-up was nearly done. The resistance the team had faced was wiped out with a few stragglers here and there. Sam kept her head on the swivel and occasionally fired on a hostile that came towards their vehicles. Skye was nearby looking over the field of combat and talking on her radio. Sam couldn’t hear what she was saying as she was in the command channel. Sam assumed she was talking to HQ. She was looking out over the sand when she heard Skye start barking orders.

"Shit! Bomb drone's been hacked, everyone, fucking run and split!" It took a second for Skye’s words to penetrate. Sam began running in the opposite direction away from the DPV and the ship. She began to run in a crazy pattern to make her a harder target to hit from the air. The concussive blast from the explosion knocked her off her feet and into the sand face first. The force from the secondary explosions were enough to flip her over onto her back. The helmet protected her head, but her battered body was slammed into the ground hard even as the ground shook with secondary explosions from the ship. The world went black as her eyes rolled back in her head, not that anyone could see that since her helmet covered her face.

Sam came awake gasping for air. Her chest was on fire. Her body bowed in pain. Her HUD was cracked, and the screen was full of static. Samantha couldn’t hear anything. She tried to suck in a deep breath of air but felt like she was trying to breathe through a small straw. She felt as if tight constricting bands were around her chest. She fumbled with her visor but couldn’t get it to open. She fumbled with the straps to her helmet. Her hands felt heavy and clunky. She eventually managed to pull her helmet off. She lay there breathing deeply. Her chest was still on fire, but she no longer felt like she was suffocating. The constricting bands had loosened some. She began assessing if she could move the rest of her body. She managed to push herself into a sitting position. Her manual dexterity seemed to be coming back. She felt weak and shaky but her gross motor skills seemed to be functioning. As she held her helmet, she noticed a piece of metal shrapnel sticking out of the visor. She looked down her body to find her armor had taken a beating. She was covered in an dark greasy sooty dirt. Her armor had bare plate showing in spots. She dug into the pouch at her waist for her backup earwig. Her hand shook as she managed to get it into her ear. Samantha got the backup shortwave radio piece connected and active in time to hear Skye giving orders.

"Ogre, bury and tag the rods for now. You and Frigga need to hide in the intact end of the ship and come out only when they're right in front to take out the infantry, and go head on into the IFVs at point blank, and destroy any Trophy System or anti-missile systems they have, likely one or two has one for sure to help protect the cluster. That gives your various weapons systems the best chance to work and you can run at the bastards getting out, mortars, direct energy, anything to basically blast them open. I'll be with you above on the ship, so I'll cover your flanks from anyone trying to give you shit. If you can take the weapons out of one of them, see if you can make it spare to steal. Hornet, you're with me on top of that ship, see if you can grab any anti-tank, RPGs or anything that might be able to help us defend." Samantha shook her head trying to comprehend what was happening. She looked over at the smoking pieces of the ship and the huge shrapnel field that spread out from the point of contact toward her.

"Glitch, Chaos, I need you both to go to the weapons cache, I spied a few guided AT launchers in there...you can steal those and some LMGs, then find a position in the remains of the ship to defend from. We'll use those to ambush the IFVs masse when they get close and the Trophy Systems are dead. Bring spares, and we'll then decimate them. There's nothing you can do about that network- the hack's hit mine and Oracle's link, so we aren't going to be able to patch it locally and without that, we have no way out. Once our network's online, we need to keep any hackers off our patch and ideally, light their server up before they try again."

"Stafford, Jaguar, set up a sniper position south of the ship, and get ready to snipe off troops coming in. Cloaking and camo will be needed- you need to make them confused from your firing positions, more chaos the better when they're figuring out who's shooting. Your systems might be fine, but don't count on them entirely." Her brain was finally rebooting from the jolt she had taken. Right, the drone had been hacked. Skye mentioned IFVs. Samantha nodded to herself acknowledging the orders.

"We're going to let them come to us, so don't fire till they're close- I give us about five minutes till they arrive. They'll know we're here, but they just won't know where. Let's make them work for this arms deal in bits, aye? On my order, yous' can unleash hell, so let's show them some proper hospitality if they want to come visit, ey!"

They had hostiles inbound. Samantha tried to get her shit sorted out. She didn’t have time for injuries. She dug into her pack and pulled out the first aid kit that was designed for the team to use in the field. She pulled out the autoinjector in the kit. She placed the autoinjector on her neck before pushing the button. It was the only place not covered by armor that she could reach easily. Samantha winced as the needle jabbed into her neck. She gave a sigh of relief as the cocktail of antibiotics, painkillers, and stimulants hit her system. Samantha pushed wearily to her feet. She knew when the drugs wore off, she was going to go down like a marionette with cut strings. Hopefully, by the time the shot wore off, they would be homebound and out of danger.

Samantha pushed to her feet once more. She swayed a little bit but it was easier this time. She reached into the same pouch and pulled out the microphone strap that went around her neck. She quickly plugged everything in and secured the strap around her neck. She pressed the transmit button on the neckpiece. “Chaos inbound to pick up new toys.” She didn’t bother to give Skye a condition report, this time. Skye already knew she was fucked up. “Queen my favorite toy was in the DPV. Nothing was left of it.” Her eyes surveyed the blackened twisted pieces of the DPV frame and smoking debris pieces laying around. Queen needed to know that her laptop had not survived the fallout from the blast which had taken out their DPV. Chaos had nothing left to hack with. Well unless you gave her a cell phone. She might be able to work a minor miracle with that.

Sam heard Xander’s reply. “Copy, mum.” His voice was hoarse with pain as he replied. “Just… Give me a moment… Need to… take some medicine.” Sam suspected he was using his autoinjector too. “Oh bloody hell that’s good shit!” She grinned as she heard his response to the injection. “Yes, it is Glitch.” Chaos had begun moving towards the weapons cache. Her movements started out slow and jerky. As the injection went to work, her movements smoothed out and she sped up.

She heard Xander address her. “Alright. One surprise party for Artemis coming right up. Let’s go, Chaos.” Samantha laughed as she was already in route. Samantha had managed to kick up into a run. She was approaching the cache as she heard Xander’s reply. “I reckon we start with the AT launchers. Make sure we can deal with anything armored, then worry about LMGs. Worst case I still got a gun and a knife and those work pretty well on blokes. Tanks. Not so much.” Samantha chuckled as she headed towards the AT launchers and LGMs. “Well Glitch, I haven’t gotten to show off my knife-fighting skills yet on this mission. A tank would not be my opponent of choice.”

She tore down a side wall of the camo tent. She spread it out on the ground. She began loading ATVs and LMGs onto it. She also grabbed a case of explosives. Maybe one of the others had demolition experience and could rig some charges for them. Her plan was to use the heavy cloth wall as a sled to pull what she gathered across the sand. She dispersed the weight of the cargo over a larger area so it wouldn't tear the durable fabric. Once they were done loading everything they thought they had time and room for Sam turned to Xander. "Let's work smarter not harder. I can take one side you take the other? Did we get everything?" She didn't need to tell him that she was not capable of lifting much. She could use her bodyweight to help her pull the stuff. It would be easier on her poor battered body than trying to make multiple trips back and forth. It would be faster too!

Mateo was just finished dealing with some punks and went to reload his weapon when Skye came on the radio about finishing mopping up and regrouping. "Roger that Queen," there were still some holdouts where he was, but it should not take that long. So after he was done reloading his weapon, Mateo went about finishing the holdouts where he was near.

It did not take long, being hard to see and hear helped, and by the time he was done. Mateo reloaded his weapon for the last time. He was done here, and it is time to get out of here and back to base. A long trip that will be, he thought and deactivated his cloak. He did not need it anymore and was walking to the rally point. A nice mission end, everything considered, he thought, and these pricks did not even see him coming. Having silenced weapons and being cloaked does help with that. But having good teammates to cause some chaos does help too.

Mateo was just about halfway to a DPV when Skye got on the radio about the hacked drone. He stopped dead in his tracks, almost not believing what he had heard. "Repeat that again, Queen, what are you..." Mateo was unable to finish his sentence as his eyes went wide as he spotted the rouge drone close in. Silently cursing as he reactivated his cloak and ran as fast as he could opposite the DPV. Could the drone detect him even while cloaked? The thought crossed his mind, but he was too busy running and acting as it could. Hitting the deck when the explosions hit and waiting there on the ground until the explosions stopped. Breathing heavily and he took stock of his surroundings. He was near the ship, and while he seemed to be fine, how was the rest of his team?

Then he heard Queen's voice on the radio with good and bad news. Switching to his short-range radio, "Roger that Queen, and we will give them hell." He says with a semi-frustration in his voice. Not at her, of course. Since when did Artemis start hacking their stuff? It is not her fault, and he can not worry about that now. They have company, and he was sure to give them a proper welcome basket. Looks like he is going to hang back with a sniper after all.

It did not take long for Mateo to get to his position and set up shop with some minutes to spare. Bringing out his sniper and aiming it at where the pricks will be showing up. Artemis may have played their hand with the drone and the backup, but Raven still has some aces in their hand. Mateo will make sure of that.

---

@LadyAmber
Despite his injuries, the aussie wasted no time in getting to work. Chaos was already one step ahead, turning the side of the tent into a sled to carry all the equipment in one go. It would be incredibly heavy to say the least, normally not an issue for his exo-suit, but with only one arm it could prove to be quite the task. That being said, the time it would save more than justified this plan.

Following his own advice; Xan started with the AT launchers. He opened up the nearest container that held one of the launchers and let out a whistle as he laid eyes on the merchandise. FGM-148 Javelins. Not only could these things punch through any armored vehicle coming their way, but the advanced guiding system was so precise that anything it locked on to was as good as gone. As long as Ogre and Frigga removed any trophy system in play, the Javelins could do the rest of the work for them.

“Well well. Can’t say these plonkers don’t know quality. This’ll make a mess of any armored vehicle they got.” Xan laughed as he placed the first Javelin in the tent.

They loaded a total of four launchers. It gave them each two shots which would hopefully be more than enough. Then it was time for the LMGs. Once again the weapons they had were high quality. There were a number of M249 each with its own crate of ammo boxes. Since these could actually be reloaded, they only needed two guns. But just to be safe they also packed enough boxes of ammo to feed the incoming company three servings of lead. Personally Xander was satisfied with the haul and thought it enough to hold the position. But Chaos must have had other ideas as she loaded some explosives into the pile as well. Xander raised an eyebrow and looked at his fellow operative.

“I trust you have a plan for those? I’m not exactly an explosives expert, meself. And we certainly don’t have the leisure of setting up traps around the perimeter.”

Whatever her response, Xander would go along with it. After all that had happened today, Chaos has more than earned his trust. Not that she or really anyone on the team didn’t have it before. They were all hand picked for this squad for a reason. If anything all today did was remove any doubts that may have lingered. Well, as long as they got out of this alive, that is.

Packed and ready, it was time to move out. Chaos suggested they each pull one side, something Xander was more than happy with given his current condition. It was a slow and exhausting pull, but together they were able to lug the tent and all the equipment on it to the remains of the ship. Once they had gotten close enough, Xander released his grip on the tent and dropped to his knees. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and his face was no doubt drenched in sweat beneath his helmet. The fatigue was setting in. Between the adrenaline wearing off and the possible blood loss he could tell his body was on the brink of passing out. But he couldn’t let that happen. No matter what he was going to push through this even if it cost him.

The aussie used his good hand to smack the side of his helmet a few times to wake himself up and pushed himself back up. His first action was to set up the LMG. He started with placing the weapon in a small opening in what remained of the ship's hull facing the direction the enemy convoy was approaching from. He used the bipod to hook the gun into place so that he would be able to grab it and start firing at a moments notice. He then grabbed a javelin, removed any remaining casing so that it was prepped to fire, and hoisted it onto his shoulder. He had no idea how much time had passed, but they probably had less than a minute before things kicked off. Ready for whatever was coming, he looked over at Chaos and smiled. He couldn't tell if she needed any reassurance, or if it was for his own nerves, but he chuckled and gave her a friendly nudge.

“Don’t worry. After all this, you’re definitely getting that five star review. Though I do wish we had some bevvies for this send off. Hell, I’d settle for that juice box.”

---

Sam missed her helmet. Her combat suit with its built-in climate control system had helped her deal with the heat of the desert. Sweat was pouring down her face now that her suit was missing its control center. Her helmet was trashed from the explosion and her HUD was unusable. The shrapnel had lodged itself into the faceplate. If she had not been wearing her helmet, she would have taken a heavy piece of metal shrapnel directly to her face and would probably be dead. Sam’ short black and silver hair was matted to her head with sweat. The autoinjector cocktail was all that was keeping her on her feet. She was still struggling to use her right side. Thank goodness most of what she needed to lift wasn’t that heavy and she didn’t have to lift it far to get it onto the tent wall.

Sam knew that Xander had more experience with heavy weapons and allowed him to decide how many they packed and what. She knew the basics from her training, but it was not in her wheelhouse. Her training was on intelligence gathering and cyber security. Sam knew her niche was more a specialist support role than a front-line tank like Frigga or Ogre. Sam did her best to follow Skye’s orders. Her attention went to Xander as he spoke.

“Well well. Can’t say these plonkers don’t know quality. This’ll make a mess of any armored vehicle they got.” Sam smiled as she continued to help him load stuff. “They seem to have stuff they shouldn’t have access to. It’s worrying but I won’t complain at the moment since we plan to use it against them.”

Sam was grateful the pain killers were working. She was still struggling to lift her left arm very far. It was still really weak. Her breath came in short pants. She still felt like she couldn’t take a really deep breath. She grunted as she placed a crate of explosives on the tarp. Xander indicated the explosives as he told her, “I trust you have a plan for those? I’m not exactly an explosives expert, meself. And we certainly don’t have the leisure of setting up traps around the perimeter.” Samantha grinned “I don’t either. I am hoping one of our teammates does. I was thinking we can have someone with an exosuit toss them out as grenades if we can rig them to explode.” Samantha shrugged. “I was hoping it might inspire some creative destruction from those who know how to use it.”

Samantha’s first mission with Raven Squad was not going quite how she had pictured it. She had come to trust the team and rely on them. She knew she couldn’t do this work alone. She trusted the amazing talents that Skye had assembled to work together. She knew what she could do and what she couldn’t do. She was determined that they were all making it out of this place and the group arrayed against them would be left here entombed in this desolate place.

Xander nodded, took up his position one side and indicated that he was ready. They both grabbed one of the front corners and began to pull. Samantha grunted, leaning into it with effort. She had taken the left side so she could put the weight of her side over her right shoulder. She gritted her teeth and dug her feet into the sand. She was grateful for Xander’s strength since her suit didn’t really help with strength. Her suit was designed to help her operate the team aircraft and vehicles. She might need to rethink her kit and plan for a combat suit as well in the future. Sam felt as if fire was once more filling the left side of her chest. Once they got the sled wall moving, it took less effort and they sped up some. By the time they made it to the ship they were both breathing hard.

Sam looked at Xander with concern when he fell to his knees. She watched as he smacked his helmet a few times. She followed Xander’s movements and instructions on how to set up the weapons. She found an opening in the side of the ship not far from him. She knew time was running out and the enemy was almost here. Chaos chuckled as he gave her a friendly nudge and a smile as he told her. “Don’t worry. After all this, you’re definitely getting that five-star review. Though I do wish we had some bevvies for this send off. Hell, I’d settle for that juice box.” She shook her head laughing.

There was not enough time to do much for him. Her canteen was in her backpack which had been in the DPV. She couldn’t even offer him a drink of water. She did have some quick clot packs in her first aid kit. She pulled them out and showed them to him. She tore them open and poured them along the wound on his arm.

“Well I don’t have a beverage to offer. How about we stop this bleeding, and we can get a drink together when we are back on base?” She winked at him as she finished and moved back to her weapons. “Maybe we can discuss how many stars you deserve.” She smirked as she placed her weapon so that it rested against the hole of the ship instead of on her shoulder. She used the edge of the hole to stabilize the weapon. It was not ideal, but she couldn’t lift the weapon to her shoulder. She would make it work. Her sniper rifle had been in the DPV. She still had her machine gun, but it didn’t have the range she would need. Her eyes focused on the incoming enemy. Her brain calculating trajectory angles based on the weapon's position as she began to track the incoming enemy.

"She's...around here..." The Opfor soldier said as he and 7 others stood behind some C-Can containers, "Jewel Squad said she was coming this way. Trying to meet up with the other big orge of a guy on the other side of the yard...that's what they think anyway." The pointman peeked around the corner of the C-Can. one of the others calling, "Jaques? Anything ou..." He never finishes as Jaque goes flying, the impact of a fist sending him spinning off and bouncing off a railing then another C-can before coming to rest limp. And coming around the corner, Frigga. Tall, graceful for all her size, and clearly battle ready. Her AEW held in hand flicks and whirrs. The soldiers level their rifles and begin firing, automatic fire pattering off the giant woman's armor. She levels her own weapon, the tip of it clattering and opening, then with a crackle a lance of lightning crackles out of it, coring through the soldiers. Frigga hums waving away some smoke left over, "Hmmm, finally on my way." She growls into the comms unit.

@ReusableSword

First she links up with Ogre. Striding up beside him, energy rifle held to her side, and the Starbreaker, held on handed to her side, the heavy weight head of the massive combat maul almost like a toy as she whirls it in short circles at her side, "Ahhh there you are my large friend." She grinned watching him punch a hole into the ship then dump several tear gas canisters inside, "Ahhh you know how to show a lady a good time I see." She chuckles, and swings her rifle up into it's holster. Then reaches back and up pulling the Suns Core down and into position. Cries of distress and pain, and the patter of feet. And the first of many pattered out. Clawing at their faces, eyes running with tears, noses running with snot. The first coughing and shouting, "Ahhh it burns!" And then Frigga leapt in among them. The man looks through blurry eyes as the Suns Core roared. Bright hot blue plasma, the fourth state of matter, and near as hot as the Corium that burned through the Chernobyl powerplant floor floods out. The man has a brief moment to scream, "IT BURNS!" Before the super heated material consumes him.

Frigga hums, and sprays another enemy soldier before her comms unit beeps. She looks over and spots the stream of soldiers coming out of the ship, "Copy that Queen, targets sighted." The giant of a woman turns and starts to stride that direction. She soon breaks into a jog, then a run. And in the span of 10 long running strides her suit whirrs and switches from combat mode into travel mode. different coding and power pathways activating, and soon she's sprinting across the ground. The enemy have only enough time to witness something akin to a female shaped locomotive before she's barreling into a knot of enemies, smashing and crushing into them. Hammer in hand again, and so restarts the whirling dance of death. She's there as cover to let Ogre get at the rods after all. And she does her job well.

Frigga is inside the ship when she hears, "Shit! Bomb drone's been hacked, everyone, fucking run and split!" She turns towards the front of the ship, and is about to start moving, when the damn thing touches down...hard. And poor Frigga is inside a tube...the chamber of a gun...and all that pressure gets shunted right down the ship. Her comms unit crackles as she lets out a hiss of pain. Her mask sealing even more then it was before, but the sound enhancers on the outside short and all she can hear is a vibrating echo in her head.

She's moving, how is she moving...where is she going...what the...why is everything so dull. Why can't she hear the team? Something about IFVs? Asking if people are okay. Her voice is thick as she tries to speak without being able to hear, "Frugga...ch...cheek....cheeking...on...cun...jear...'ead...rinng...oky...doo."

She steps out into the open, the open air allowing her mask to slide open and she breathes steady trying to come back to herself, the ringing lessening slowly. She reaches up to rub at her eyes, thinking coming back into focus. Standing there as survivors of the opfor stagger away as well. She doesn't have the presense of mind right then to do anything, still coming back to herself.

Until one of the reinforcement IFVs shows up. Turns a 20mm cannon on her. And several rounds slam into her. She staggers and then turns and dives for cover, something someone in such large armor really should not be able to do. She groans and gets into a crouch behind about a foot of steel hull plating the height enough for her to kneel behind, "I believe My Queen, I have just escaped from one of the IFVs." She looks at her HUD for a short bit then growls, "Minor damage to armor plating, though I think I have a dent on an actuator that might make using the AEW a bit of a problem." She slides her hand around her cover, a camera in her vambrace allowing her to see the IFVs and back up soldiers as they gather, "Interesting. They aren't shooting yet boss lady..." She chuckles over the radio, "I think they believe they can win." She looks about for Ogre, "Ogre? What's your twenty? I can wade into this alone at first but as my mother would say, 'I'd really like my bodacious ass covered.' Where are you so I know which way to point it?"

Skye wasn't in the best state herself, but hearing the yells from the rest of the team, knew she must have been incredibly lucky. Beyond a likely broken rib, and being generally disoriented, Skye was somewhat shipshape. The team lead didn't look hurt, or at least, it didn't show on the surface, Skye aware that the cocktail of adrenaline and endorphins running her system right now was enough, that and her absolute grit that seemed to boil her over. There was a healthy chance she wasn't gonna be in much of any mood to do anything when they were back on that aircraft, but that was just a norm, everything in her head and heart pumping to get not just her, but the rest of them out to safety.

Considering the injury list, it could have been a lot worse- Xan had a pretty nasty piece of metal in his arm, and Sam was not much better. Freya was kicking, as was Mateo, but this wasn't going to be a fun run to finish off the fight. They had no easy run at this, but they had to keep going, because this crappy Thursday was gonna be an even worse one if they couldn't gloat about it afterwards. It would make a hell of a story at the bar, or at least it would if there wasn't the NDA of all NDAs involved in their work.

Maybe the grandkids would get it.

Anyway, Skye left that thought behind and knew that the team was coming back to itself, and Skye had the chance to respond.

@BigPapaBelial@ReusableSword
"Eyes on that one IFV, Frigga. They've broken from the pack. That'll be be mine, so your fat cheeks will be covered...I hope your armour is holding up there at least or by Christ, I'm not gonna have time to contain the lot of the team if we survive this. Anyway, switch to your secondaries, or improvise something. There might be a mounted HMG in the ship with rounds in it you might be able to pinch, and it might dink the armour a bit to make them think twice. Or just smash it with a hammer. Either way, be ready when they come close, you and Ogre." Skye chirped, knowing as professional and coy as she was, Freya deserved the teasing sometimes. She was professional, analytical and to a hilt, completely focussed in on her professionalism, to the point she forgot her beauty and her well, questionable interpretation of the Geneva Convention. In Skye's view, it was pretty vile, but then again, so was selling plutonium on the black market, and one had the capacity for a lot worse than the other. Besides, it made the fuckers who didn't get it hit run, so score one for terrifying mercs reconsidering their paychecks and political values. It helped her sleep at night, Skye at least thought to herself, though it was never going to really fly in front of anyone with a normal sensibility on them.

@LadyAmber@Awesomoman64

"Oi, Love Actually, we got a minute or so to contact. Don't sweat the PETN, we won't have the range to get close or time. But I like the creativity. Both of you, if you can, get a hemostatic powder on Glitch's arm before we get started. It'll cull the bleeding for a few minutes before we can tourniquet it and pull that metal shard out, or else when that injector wears out, I'm gonna need to find him a bionic arm. And he does not need another appliance to start hacking...." Skye bantered out to Xan and Sam, and it was almost as if the adrenaline was bringing out the other side of the team mum- the kind that gave endless shit now, given her number of fucks to give was completely out. She had that care, some would almost call it love for her team, but it was currently on top of the now buried niceties that came with it. It was all in good humour, and Skye knew that she may have come across as a bit harsh, but under it, did respect them really.

@Theyra@PerfectThought
"Affirm. Get ready to pick away, they'll be dropping troops off. Your rifle will come in handy. They won't see it coming. We'll strike when I get this isolated IFV. Then we start raining it down." Skye replied, a more neutral tone to the Colombian, Skye knowing he responded well to professionalism, though even her end was beginning to fray a little.

Setting up on the deck of the ship with a leap, Skye unholstered her Carl Gustav, aware that Freya had just been hit by one of the IFVs that had spotted the two heavies inside the ship, and that wouldn't do. Picking it up, Skye saw it coming in, Hornet following Skye's lead as always, and keeping an eye out.

Four IFVs total, Czech-made Pandur II IFVs with an upgraded set of systems were rolling in and it showed that Artemis didn't have bad systems to bear- this was a modern, western-made weapons system. That they'd have to kill, so perfect. With a gentle move to the side of the rusted ship, Skye took aim and launched away at that isolated IFV, knowing its gaze was turned, and the Trophy System would be in the blind from her position. Her single AT round slammed into the rear of it, and with that, the Pandur IFV went kablooey, creating a crackle of smoke and dust as Skye very clearly underlined they weren't hiding anymore.

"Contact!"

And with that, the ambush was sprung. Skye peeled back as rounds flew over her head, Skye running from one set of containers to the next, flinging another AT round into the Gustav, flicking the breach back and ducking down by a shipping container, aware she was repositioned, but still exposed. One IFV down, and the others would start picking away. But it was no guarantee.

"Queen, line is secure, do you read?" Skye's other channel came back to life with a brief static, though no team lead would ever be as stupid as to trust her longwave right after a major hack had hit the team.
"Run the auth code." Skye yelled back, knowing it was a protocol to run, as simple as needed, a code run on numbers that were analogue, hard wired and more importantly, an emergency backup, Skye awaiting his response on that.

"Zero, Niner, Niner, Seven, Six, how copy?" Oracle's voice was real, not some figment of an AI voicechanger, so that had something for it.
"Yeah, you aren't some bot. Okay, we're not dead, few walking wounded and we're in contact, what's the status?"
"We've got the Osprey available to pull you out, but we've got more forces on the way so whatever you're doing, make it quick."
"Working on it, give us five minutes. Tell the Osprey to have medical kit ready, out." Skye finished with the Gustav in the same breath, as an autocannon round slammed into the container, forcing Skye to relocate, aware it was now picking her up as she moved.

"Shite! Yous can get tae' fuck an' all!" Skye yelled out, that patience she was famed for running thin, though she knew it was one our of four dead, and at the least, a little distraction. @PerfectThought Hornet followed her down, and stayed on her back, Skye somewhat glad to have a companion here, covering her sixes, even if the French woman had no AT of her own.

She'd taken down one of the four, but the rest of the team had their part to play now she had been spotted, as she dove down off the ship away from the IFVs into cover and back down into the sand, the exo's damaged components barely stopping her as she uncomfortably piled into the sand, scraping out of it and checking her MG3 once more. Turning the corner, a few disembarked troops were trying to get a flank on through a hole in the ship, but Skye was there to hold them off, blasting them with a spray of the LMG, the uncomfortable burst hurting with a pinch in her ribs, the kind that stinging nettles might have, not the worst with everything but just sharp, horrid and shite, probably causing worse to her. But no matter. It had to be done, and four troops down, she moved in, knowing that the heavies could do there thing, as could the snipers and the improved AT and LMG team.

---

Samantha felt the tension rising as the enemy approached. She glanced over at Glitch and was gratified to see that the hemostatic powder she had poured onto his arm was working to slow down the bleeding. Sam understood from watching Xander and his explanation how the Javelins worked. She had never fired one before. She was kind of excited to play with the new toys. She just wished that she could use it the way it was intended. She sat down cross legged in front of the hole in the side of the ship she was using like a tripod that came with the javelin. She was grateful that the weight of the weapon was resting on the edge of the ship. She managed to get it set up so that she could duck under the weapon to put it on her shoulder without lifting it fully. She made sure the weapon was resting on her good shoulder. She began to look through the viewfinder as she looked for a target to track. Sam paid attention as Skye began issuing more orders.

"Eyes on that one IFV, Frigga. They've broken from the pack. That'll be be mine, so your fat cheeks will be covered...I hope your armour is holding up there at least or by Christ, I'm not gonna have time to contain the lot of the team if we survive this. Anyway, switch to your secondaries, or improvise something. There might be a mounted HMG in the ship with rounds in it you might be able to pinch, and it might dink the armour a bit to make them think twice. Or just smash it with a hammer. Either way, be ready when they come close, you and Ogre." Sam couldn’t help but grin at the snark coming from their exalted leader as she told Frigga that her butt would be covered. She looked over at Xander and rolled her eyes as she ordered her to help him with his arm.


"Oi, Love Actually, we got a minute or so to contact. Don't sweat the PETN, we won't have the range to get close or time. But I like the creativity. Both of you, if you can, get a hemostatic powder on Glitch's arm before we get started. It'll cull the bleeding for a few minutes before we can tourniquet it and pull that metal shard out, or else when that injector wears out, I'm gonna need to find him a bionic arm. And he does not need another appliance to start hacking...."

Samantha cleared her throat before replying. “Roger that Queen. The powder has already been applied. Bleeding has slowed.” She wanted to snark that they were just ducky but that was not really the truth. “Chaos is in position and ready.”

Sam paid attention to what everyone would be doing. She needed to know the whole plan.

"Affirm. Get ready to pick away, they'll be dropping troops off. Your rifle will come in handy. They won't see it coming. We'll strike when I get this isolated IFV. Then we start raining it down."

Sam was watching through the scope as Skye’s shot hit the lead IFV. She blinked to clear her vision as she pointed her weapon towards one of the IFV’s in the rear of the formation. She heard Skye call out over the comm. "Contact!" She cursed a little under her breath. She really missed her helmet. Her helmet had built in filters to protect her vision. The bright flash of light from the explosion was like an ice pick to her brain. She blinked her eyes and tried not to move her head. She was pretty sure she had a mild concussion from the blast. It didn’t matter though. If she didn’t push through, she wouldn’t be alive to complain. She saw spots for a moment and then picked up her target vehicle once more.

Samantha trusted her teammates to engage and help confuse the targeting systems on the IFVs. Sam took a deep breath to steady her aim. She took careful aim at the IFV in the rear right. She began to pace it, tracking its progress. She lined her shot up like she would a sniper shot. She tucked her body as close to the ship as she could. She pressed the button to fire the missile. She felt heat along her back as the rocket fired. The rocket flew away from her position on target to hit the IFV. Samantha felt the jolt through her whole body as the bulk of the energy was transferred down through her spine. Firing the Javelin jarred her injured chest, stealing the breath away from her for a moment. Samantha breathed through the pain and pushed it away. Samantha began loading another rocket before she even knew whether that one hit or not.

---

Xander held his arm completely still as Chaos poured the packet on his wound. It was a good thing she was thinking more clearly, as Xan hadn’t even thought of stopping the bleeding in his arm. In his mind the biggest and most immediate threat was the on coming wave of enemies and he was using all his brain power to focus on eliminating that. Anything else could wait until after that was dealt with.

“That sounds like a plan to me!” Xan chuckled at Chaos’ remarks. “Heh. Hopefully I can get more than four stars. Otherwise mum is going to chew me out at my next performance review. Not that she doesn’t already have enough reason to do so.”

Once the powder had been applied, Xander pulled his arm back and examined the wound. The bleeding had already slowed if not stopped altogether. He’d still have to worry about possible infections and whatever damage it had done, but at least bleeding to death was off the table.

Her ears must have been burning, as Queen came on the comms very quickly after Xander’s joke. She too reminded Xander to at least get the bleeding stopped before they moved forward with their ambush. Chaos let her know they were already ahead of her on that, but of course Xander had to chime in with his own comments.

“Yeah nah. I’ll pass on the bionics, mum. Unless the doc has no other choice, I prefer to stay 100% Xander.”

Smirking at his own words, Xander began looking at the Javelin’s CLU system to verify it was still functioning. Everything looked good, and he could already see some of the heat signatures of the IFVs in the distance. While calibrating the system, he gave a quick glance over at Chaos just to see how she was doing. He really must have been too focused on the task at hand because he only now noticed she was struggling to lift the launcher. He wasn’t certain, but it seemed like she couldn’t even lift her arms past a specific point. He wanted to ask if she was alright, but he had a feeling she would dodge the question and just push through and deal with whatever pain. It’s what he would have done, anyway. So instead he would just make sure he could offer any assistance while she set up.

By the time they were set up, Queen’s voice came over the comms calling for one final check to make sure everyone was in position and ready for what could be their final stand.

“Glitch in position” He responded over the comms. He briefly glanced down at his arm again before adding “and ready for some payback.”

“Oh, Chaos!” Xander’s gaze snapped to Chaos. Looking over his wound he realized he had almost forgotten to thank her for tending to it. “Thanks for the quick fix.” He said a bit sheepishly. They may have been in a war zone, but he still needed to mind his manners.

"Contact!"

No more banter. It was time to kick things off. Queen gave the command and was the first to engage with the enemies. The angry scot showed Artemis what happens when you mess with her squad by opening with an AT round straight into an IFV. It was a hell of an opener, and now it was time to follow that act. Xan popped out of hiding and aimed his sights as the nearest non-exploded IFV. Taking note of his position and making sure Chaos wasn’t liable to be hit with the backblast, he honed in on the IFV’s signature and locked on.”

“Target is locked.” He confirmed over comms. “Give me the signal when countermeasures are down.”

As soon as he was given the green light, Xan grinned from ear to ear and pulled the trigger. The missile’s thruster roared to life as it jumped out of the tube and flew up into the air. After a few seconds the missile redirected to the locked on IFV and came crashing down on top of it. The once heavily armored vehicle was now nothing more than a flaming ball of wreckage. Two were now confirmed down, and with Chaos firing at anothing one it was more than likely three. Just one more, then all they had to deal with were any infantry that remained.

“HA! How’s it feel to have your shit blown up by your own equipment, assholes? You want another one?” Xan yelled as he tossed the empty tube to the side and grabbed the next javelin. He could feel a dull pain throughout his body as he crouched down to pick up the launcher. His vision was shifting in and out of focus as he hoisted the weapon up and onto his shoulder. His exo was doing all the work at this point, while he mentally fought to make his second wind last as long as possible. Shouting random insults at the enemy certainly helped in that aspect, even if they couldn’t hear him.

Another Javelin on his shoulder, he repeated the process once more. Standing out of cover, locking on to the next IFV that was still moving, and calling it out over comms.

“Missile 2 ready to bring to thunder! Just say the word!”

"Roger that, Queen," Mateo replied as he was finishing setting up in the perfect spot to snipe some pricks. Looking through the scope of his silenced Remington MSR and tracking the IFVs as they came to them. To say that Mateo feeling tension was a understatement but only one he knew how to control. It helped that even though they are in a bad situation. Now they can turn the tables on these Artemis goons and give one last surprise to them.

"Contact!"

Mateo heard on the radio and watched with his scope as one of the IFVs exploded. "Right on Queen," he said to himself as he watched the lead IFV turn into scrap metal. Then as two other IFVs got hit by Glitch and Chaos. Three out of the four IFVs are down, and only one is left. Mateo smiled as they were getting payback on Artemis. Hack our drone and light us up. It will take more than a drone to take us out, and we still have time to get some payback. But his job was not the IFVs, and he was sure that his teammates could get the last one. Mateo's job is the troopers.

Now it was his turn, as he noticed some disembarked troops were on the move near the ship. So he took aim at and focused on the lead trooper. Slowing his breathing, and things seemed to slow down as he aimed, and once he was ready. Mateo pulled the trigger, and the trooper dropped to the confusion of his teammates. Mateo quickly bolted the next bullet and sniped the nearest trooper before the rest went to cover. Mateo watched them and waited as he bolted his next bullet. Then one of them peeked their head out enough and was quickly terminated.

They must be scared since not only is Mateo cloaked, but his sniper is silenced as well. So a very hard target to find and hear. But did he feel sympathy for them? Almost but these are Artemis goons after all, and they did hack their drone, so. They had it coming, and as his targets tried to move and Mateo picked off one and then the final one tried to run, they were taken down as well. One squad gone, he thought, and he moved on to other targets.

Mateo spotted a group that looked like they were going to get close to Glitch and Chaos. Can not have that, so he soon focused on the group and repeat. Picking them off as fast as he can bolt his sniper rifle. He went to reload and kept looking for targets once the threat to Glitch and Chaos was gone. There were still targets out there and Mateo just kept sniping. Time to see if they can pull this off.

The scene turned to shit, as Skye got flanked by a couple more Artemis soldiers whilst pushing the flank of the ship, a bullet richocheting from Mateo's sniper rifle, slapping a bloody scene in front of her, as one other IFVs got hit with a missile. @Theyra The two that were about to open up on Skye got pasted, and well, she was all glad for it.

"Cheers!"
Skye yelled out, as she turned the corner, another squad pinning her down and sending rounds flying, Skye not wanting to go into that hornet's nest. With a clutch of a flashbang, she riococheted it off one wall and headed to another, the squad ducking and yet Skye coming from the other angle, blasting the depleting rounds of her MG3 into the team, their armour no match for high-rate of fire, but still taking a stubbornly long time to do the deed. Coming back into cover, the sound of the Javelins slapping up the remaining two IFVs was a resounding crash-boom, even if one of the missiles had gotten intercepted.

It had made a rather nice mincemeat of the situation, and all that was left was the infantry massing around, making a situation left to deal with. That said, they had two heavies in the fight, and plenty of other force multipliers to throw back at the attack they were getting. Mateo had certainly picked off a number, Sam and Xan had turned the area into a killzone, and the heavies, well, they were doing what they were doing.

Soon though, even that had been subsided, the team chirping off and taking enemies down, left, right, and centre. It was going to be a bloody and brutal fight, and given the state of the team.

But eventually, they would get there, and the voice of the team's pilot came through, not just on Skye's radio, but on everyone's. A reassuring voice to say the least.
"Queen, Hawk is on station, is the LZ near your position clear, over?" Vincent called out, the smooth, breezy tones of the Senegalese-Frenchman one for sore ears, the kind that indicated some sort of end at least.

"Affirm, Hawk. Good to hear your voice. Team, rally on me and break from the fight, let's get to the bird." Skye called out, knowing that with things getting wrapped up, they needed to take their extract option whilst on station- and before they got attached again.

Skye was hurting all over, and the toll was beginning to feel. The noise of the distant V22, however, was somewhat of a reprieve, as she scanned her sector, and covering, spraying fire towards a group of soldiers as she knew the rest of the team were coming in. The fast approach of the V22 and the combat pass of the tiltrotor was skillful, given it had a sketchy as hell landing to make. But it made it all good, and all the well, they were finally able to get out of here. The V22's ramp opened, and with a bit of a walk through the sands, their window had been kept open. They were getting out. Skye would be the last to board, and the first to go to the front of the aircraft, walking through the frame and finding a jump-seat close to the pilot, checking the team with a silent look.

"A pretty shit day in the office, ah Queen?" The dulcet tone of Vincent Cisse, pilot extraordinare was nice to hear through her headset, as he looked into the back, seeing Skye walk in, the blood and dust covered face of Skye making her usual charm and beauty, her red hair and blue buff turn to a shade of brown and dark crimson, her hair completely lost in the chaos of war.

Skye simply leant back and sighing, feeling the pain in her ribs get tighter, as she took her helmet off, exhaling hard, the blood visible from the cut on her forehead, and it began to pour a little more now the pressure had been pulled off from her half-cut helmet being away. She checked the squad was in one last time, before looking forwards, her voice croaking a little. The team had taken fire all the way out, but they had made it out, just about, as the tiltrotor took off.

"Get us home."

---

Kaitiaki Homestead, Raven HQ

Skye sat nursing a couple of broken ribs that was just part and parcel with hurting the way she had on that mission- like a drum getting hit a bit too hard, the explosion had certainly decided to hurt rather than fuck up any internal organs. She'd come off well- what with the piece of shrapnel that Xan had got, and the hurt that Sam felt, yeah, it could have been worse. But still, it sucked and in the aftermath, was holding her back from going for a run. Doctor's orders.

Like that was stopping her from enjoying the view, the office and her late night working away, well, now switching to a book. A Scottish crime novel, like well, that was escapism that would work. But she had forced it. A reluctant thing, a luxury she had to have, something to take her constantly spinning mind engaged. She had to do something, and some triviality always kept her mind off things. Skye was a real throb deep down, beyond the facade of the hardened team leaders, as she sipped her Earl Grey down a little, her grey t-shirt and blue jeans contrasting against her now tidied crimson-coloured hair and piercing eyes. This place really was becoming like home, and her solace this afternoon and evening had been rather jolly, to say the least. A light legs session in the gym, getting her gear back together, a debrief with Oracle, it had been busy. Now this, paperwork and her book.

The uranium had been secured at a separate drop-off so it could to go into the IAEA's hands and into disposal, and it had been a day and a half to get back to New Zealand- so to say the least a mixture of jet lag and admin was certainly enough to wear the most seasoned operative out. Thankfully, they weren't quite alone when it came to the ops that took the wind out of their sails- and Skye was glad to know they weren't completely home alone.

The support team had gotten to know Skye in various forms. From Sophie, who she'd passed by after the rest of the team had, to Raphael, who was now trying to figure out why they'd been hacked. There was Javi, who was pissed his DPVs hadn't come back, but then again, Skye had underwritten him something else to work on...something she knew would soon be keeping him very busy, but only if he kept it a secret. So alas, the team had a few interactions to make, both with their support crew and between themselves.

For this moment however, Skye had the team's lodge-keeper visiting, the person who looked like they preferred the clutch of a .50 cal rifle rather than an office and logistics orders. Skye seemed to at least acknowledge her, knowing the Kiwi was as straight as she was, albeit with an antipodal charm to the Highlander.

"You still working late, boss?" Tahlia asked, poking her head through Skye's open door, the dusk sky turning pink, almost glowing the last remaining bit of light onto the green pasture-like hills. Her voice had a slight Southlander charm to it, rural and husky, and a fitting opposite to Skye Lyons. She thought she'd hate the figure that Skye cut, but rather more than anything, saw some common ground. Perhaps a taste of a life to support, given Tahlia wasn't exactly fit to fight.

"Reading. It's a wee novel. I guess I got bored of working late."
Skye's response was succinct as she put the book down, Tahlia's demeanour in her polo shirt and cargo trousers looking casual as would be unexpected for someone working in a formal position, yet something exemplifiying the nature of the base here. The calmed down, chilled measure of the site.
"You know, for the person I thought would laugh their way through a broken rib, working late to cope isn't one. You're a workaholic, ain't ya?"

"Yeah, well sometimes shite happens. We had a lot to go through. In fact, you know, if half the squad wasn't hurting and there's some...ahh, never mind."

Skye sighed, adjusting her position in the chair, her lungs hurting against the bandages underneath, as she adjusted her position, before replying to Tahlia again. ""You got what I was looking for?" Skye knew that the team could be spared their end of it tonight, after all, what had happened had happened. It was on Skye to be responsible here, give them some reprieve from that at least.

"I got the supplies. And you already started looking at your next gig with what I got in that state?"

"I think we're all hurting. But Oracle saw an opportunity, and Raph thinks it's legit. So may as well take a wee little chance and poke at them."

"That dress you ordered is the lest Skye Lyons thing I've ever seen though. Crikey, you really sure?"

"I'm no' gonna sneak my way in. So may as well try something else." Skye replied, a lick of a smirk on her face, knowing she hadn't revealed the plan yet, well, not until they were feeling a little better. They had time, but hey, Skye knew she wasn't going to be fighting the next time they went out to go get intelligence. At least, she hoped not.

"You better bring that thing back intact. Whatever you're gonna do." Tahlia looked still bemused, but almost confident enough to give shit to the base's real commander, the fact that Skye held some clout here probably. "Righto, boss, that should be it. Got replacements for any damaged kit, and a few upgrades too. The team certainly will be impressed."

"Good, good. You've earned a beer. Or whatever that Kiwi brew yous drink." Skye replied, satisfied as ever, glad at least that wasn't something to worry about.

"That beer is good stuff, you really should try it soemtime. On that note, see ya. Don't work too late." With that, Tahlia headed out of the office, Skye exhaling as she played everything back, standing up out of her seat, looking out of the window at the dying of the light.

It had been a lot. A lot to take in. For starters, they'd been hacked. The fuckers had broken a very critical link, and whilst no data or anything had been hit, it had been enough of a shock to the system to make her rethink a lot of things. They'd started to underestimate Artemis, what they were capable of, and how well armed and equipped they were. They weren't backing down, Aral was a message, perhaps something worse.

But they had time. No more nuclear material in the wild, and a significant amount of weapons, ammo and explosives had been destroyed. The other big positive was that the contact had been identified, and he certainly was an interesting fellow to go make some enquires with, once the time came. The world was a safer place for a little while longer.

For a few more days.

Thinking of that, Skye took the small case across the desk, and with it, walked out of the office, and walked on down the stairs to the rec room, passing through the corridors, standing tall as always, if not a little hurt. It would take time to heal, but then again, she was never one to back down. Two days, she said to herself, and she was going back at it again. Against any doctor's orders. She wasn't one to stay cooped up.

Coming into the rec room, Skye slouched down onto a couch, and reaching across the table, uncomfortable as it felt, managed to unclasp the case, opening it up and revealing a cherry-red fiddle, and a horse-strung bow, petite in her hardened, calloused hands, her arms hurting to take the thing but needing to.

Pulling the fiddle to shoulder, Skye stayed sitting down as she looked into the night sky and sea, the sun now past the horizon now, hiding and going out of sight. The sinews of the strings hurt, the vibration itself echoing into her shoulder, yet the music, it soothed away. And what felt like pain whittled away as she continued to play, the sound emanating from the fiddle filling the rec room's interior. It was soulful, almost enriching music, the kind that felt like home. A home she'd never really seen properly in a while. Maw, she hadn't seen in a few years, but she was ok, last she remembered. Getting better. No siblings to look after her bar a few family friends. Shit, was this was it led to? A life like this? It felt odd, yet as far as home could be, the strings brought her back to the Highland glens, the mountains, the fresh, cold air that would fill her now expanding chest pushing against ribs in recovery.

But the fiddle felt like it healed, and in spite of the pain, she played on, to herself, or any audience, it didn't matter. She just enjoyed it, indulged, and filled the quiet void of the evening with a warm, silky aural depth that only sought to reinforce the pink sunset and mountainous isles outside. It was a relief all its own, and she hoped the rest of the team had enjoyed their evening too.

Fiddle

Happy with the assassination of the mech pilot, Stafford righted himself and gave his person a brisk dusk off. He released a slight grunt as he stowed his rifle. Old age had treated the man well, but the wear of combat inevitably would take a toll. He engaged his suit to a brisk, yet comfortable pace as Queen called for the squad to rally for extraction.

He was skirting past the ship's fore on his way back to the DPV when he was made aware of the incoming blast, whilst desperately trying to disengage his suit without breaking his legs, he slowed in time to be caught in the first stage of the high explosive blast. Knocking him back just far enough away to not be pulled into the second more lethal stage of the explosion. He landed painfully on his large rifle, and a gruesome crack sounded below him. Unknown if the sound emanated from himself or his prized rifle. A secondary bolt of pain from his lightly armoured calf shot up through his person. After the short patter of spall from the ship against his visor he looked down, spying a gnarly hunk of rusted hull poking out of his leg.

His hand made its way to his belt, where he drew a pen-sized autoinjector from a pouch and dosed himself with expert precision. The ringing in his ears sounded, disorientating him. He searched for cover, not knowing fully what was going on. He spied a cavity under the main deck interior, presumably a ballast. He dragged himself over and took account for him person, drawing a revolver with one hand and unslinging the rifle with the other. He started by applying a thick sterile bandage over his suit, wrapping it carefully around the violently red piece of earthen metal. As the powerful stimulants he had injected himself with began to wear off, Stafford's vision began to dim and he felt his body go limp as he blacked out. For the short amount of time he was out, by the time he had awoken he was surrounded by the din of combat. Sadly it looked like he had missed the majority of the fight, but he was just in time to pick off a few straggling opfors with his heavy revolver, the heavy pop of the weapon being dulled by his apparently damaged hearing.

The injured man spied the incoming extraction and propped himself up against the hull of the ship. He placed the butt of the rifle securely into the ground and propped the folded bipod under his arm; he was using it as a makeshift crutch, ensuring no sensitive parts were bashed or the barrel was dug into the ground in the process. He limped his way over to the dropship, giving a disgruntled nod to the team lead as he emerged from his covered position.

Gloomily the elder emerged from his chamber, his crutch shouldered with grim experience. In the end, the mystery crunch in the battlefield did originate, from his wrist in fact. Fortunately, his dominant hand was left intact, but his right hand could not have the same said about it. His left had been through the wringer. With the wound cleared and cleaned, the extent of damage was revealed. Fortunately no major damage to the bone. But that was the only good news. It was a deep, ragged injury that would leave him crutch bound for longer than he would've wished.

@FourtyTwo
He morosely entered the rec room, silently pouring himself a glass of port. He sat himself vaguely towards the back of the room gazing out at the sunset panorama as Skye fiddled away her quaint highland tune. He took a moment took recount his mission. In his eyes a failure on his part, the successes tainted by his lackluster performance after his injury. He was deeply disappointed in himself for letting his team down. As the beautiful melody came to an end he wearily began, "I let you and the team down out there, I should've been able to help more. I'm sorry, old friend."

---

By the time Samantha had managed to get another rocket ready to fire all the IFVs were gone. Now it was just mopping up the troops they had managed to get into the field and extract. Samantha dropped the rocket and grabbed her machine gun instead. She began shooting at anything targeted their area covering Xander as best she could as he did his thing. Samantha pushed through the injuries and pain to do her job. She kept up a running mantra in her head, deep breath, sight, find a target, pull the trigger. The noise of the battlefield, the smell of smoke, the heat from the flames and the desert had faded into the background. Samantha was grateful for the extra ammo as she popped in her last magazine. She had just taken down a trio of soldiers who were trying to hit Xander from the sand outside of the ship through the hole he was firing through. She had turned to take a shot at another when her radio flared to life.

"Queen, Hawk is on station, is the LZ near your position clear, over?"

"Affirm, Hawk. Good to hear your voice. Team, rally on me and break from the fight, let's get to the bird."
The voices from the radio pulling her from the focus that had kept her operating. She trembled as she touched the mic at her throat to answer Skye’s summons. “Chaos acknowledges.” Samantha climbed shakily back to her feet. She went to see if Xander would need help getting out.

Samantha focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she kept her gun moving. Artemis’ soldiers had rushed towards the ship as the team began a tactical retreat. She took down soldiers trying to stop their escape. She fired to take down soldiers trying to get into a position to fire on them. She helped with suppression fire as they worked their way towards the LZ. She struggled through the sand as the meds she had taken began to run out and the injuries she had sustained began to take their toll. She kept moving and firing until she ran out of ammo. She then switched to her handgun. It didn’t have the range of her machine gun and with her shoulder mangled, she had lost accuracy. She finally clambered on board the V22. She collapsed into a transport seat along the wall and buckled her harness. She was covered in dust and blood and black soot. As the V22 took off and gained altitude, the pain and pressure in Samantha’s head exploded and she passed out.

---

Samantha woke up to find herself in the infirmary at Raven headquarters. Her body ached from head to toe, and she had a killer headache. She felt groggy and sleepy still. The team doctor was standing over her. She had met Sophie when she had joined Raven Squad. Sophie had done her mandatory physical exam and an extensive review of her medical history. Samantha winced as the light above her bed caused pain to stab into her brain. She groaned and tried to talk but her voice was raspy, and her throat was dry. “Owe… can you turn the lights down Doc?” Sophie chuckled at her and dimmed the lights over her bed before replying, “Its good to see you are still with us.” Samantha let out a relieved sigh as the lights dimmed. Samantha just groaned before replying “Ok Doc, what’s the damage?” Sophie’s green eyes were warm but serious “You have a concussion, some cracked and bruised ribs, and some soft tissue damage in your shoulder.” Sophie patted her on the good shoulder. “I will need to wake you up every hour to assess your condition. Once you are past the concussion protocols, you may go back to your room. I have wrapped your ribs to support them. Now that you are awake. I will give you something for the headache I know you have. Once you start to heal, you will come back to see me for some physical therapy exercises to help your shoulder heal. You will be back in fighting shape in about four weeks.” Sophie turned and began injecting medication into her IV. Samantha only managed to get out a “Thanks Doc” before the pain medication swept her back to sleep.

Samantha spent her first night back at headquarters in the infirmary being woken up every hour. She was grateful when Sophie finally let her go back to her room. She climbed into her own bed and slept most of the day. Samantha’s growling stomach finally woke her up. She was starving. She took a long hot shower. The heat felt wonderful on her sore body. She was grateful she had short hair. It hurt to lift her arm on the right side. She was grateful she was left-handed. She didn’t bother to try, and blow dry it. She just towel-dried it and ran a quick comb through it. Her chest and shoulder were a colorful patchwork of deep bruises. She still had some swelling in her shoulder too. She slipped into comfortable cotton black yoga pants and a hot pink loose t-shirt with the saying “I never argue, I just explain why I am right” in big black block letters on the front. She slipped her feet into hot pink sports sandals since she couldn’t bend all that easily. She grudgingly used the arm sling that Sophie had given her. She had explained the least movement the better and the sling would lessen the strain from supporting her arm. She couldn’t deny that it felt better to use the sling.

She hated feeling like an invalid. She felt better today but her body still protested. Samantha felt like she had been run over by a tank. She left her room and began to make her way towards the kitchen. Samantha moved stiffly and she gritted her teeth. Every step jarred her aching body. It felt good to move even as it hurt. Her stomach let out an audible growl. She needed food.

---

With the final IFV down, Xan tossed the empty Javelin tube to the side and grabbed his LMG. He was prepared to hold that position until his dying breath, but the chatter on comms indicated that their evac had finally arrived. Queen immediately ordered everyone to regroup on her. Chaos had confirmed she heard and was enroute, so Xander simply followed behind without a word. The two moved parallel to each other, one taking right the other left, while Mateo and Stafford sniped any stragglers. Empty casings poured out of his gun as he held the trigger down, not letting up for a second to give the enemy any breathing room. Once they reached the V22, his gun ran dry. No time to reload, he threw the LMG to be swallowed by the sands as he he hurried inside the aircraft and dropped into the first open seat. The doors closed behind Queen and the craft took off almost simultaneously. He quickly buckled up, then unlatched and removed his helmet. It practically slipped from his hands and onto the ground as he slumped in his seat. The cool air of the V22 combined with the sweat dripping from his head was a godsend from the overwhelming heat.

“Holy Dooley… We fucking did it…" Xander tiredly exclaimed before he too was overcome with exhaustion and proceeded to fall unconscious.



The first thing he remembered was the repeated beep of the heart monitor waking him like an alarm clock. His eyes slowly peeled open as his senses returned to him; including pain. He winced loudly as all the bruises, cuts, and various injuries all came back in full force. And his arm. Oh God his arm hurt. Maybe Skye was on to something with that cybernetic arm, at least then he wouldn't have to deal with this pain.

Pushing through it, he tilted his neck around to get a better look at his surroundings. He was definitely in the infirmary, hooked up to who knows how many machines. He was covered in bandages, while his arm was sealed in a cast.

“Finally awake, I see." Dr Sophie Keller said as she approached his bed. She pulled up the clipboard at the foot of his bed and began to review it. "You are a very lucky man, Mr. Clarke. You lost a fair amount of blood and you have a few fractures in your legs, but all in all most of your injuries were minor. The biggest issue was of course your arm. That debris we pulled out of you did some serious tissue and bone damage, but your nerves were mostly unaffected. All in all you’ll have to wear that cast for about 6-8 weeks, but as long as you don’t do anything insane, you should be fully healed and fit for duty by then.”

“Define insane?” Xan asked with a painful chuckle.

Sophie momentarily glanced up from the clipboard completely unamused at Xander's reply before going back to his chart and answering nonchalantly.

“For the duration of your recovery, I’m medically requiring you to run any idea you have passed Ms. Lyons for approval before you do anything. If she doesn’t give the okay; then it’s insane. And in case you think you can disobey these orders, may I remind you that I am the one who has to clear you before you can return to active duty?”

Xander scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Ugh. Fine fine. You have me word. I’ll be a good boy. Thanks, doc.”

He was discharged the next day after a final examination. Despite getting a full night's rest and being in bed for most of the day, he still felt exhausted and achy as he staggered through the base up to his room. However, he did his best to hide his discomfort. Smiling and nodding at everyone he passed, acting like he was just fine aside from the cast. Once he got to his quarters, he stared at his bed contemplating if he would get more rest, or try to salvage what remained of the day. He decided that he had already spent too much time laying down. He wanted to see how the others were holding up. He could sleep when he was dead. After a quick shower and many many attempts to get dressed with one arm, Xan emerged from his room a few hours later sporting an old khaki army shirt and black jeans. He hobbled through the halls making his way to the rec room, but along the way he ran into his equally injured American teammate Sam.

"Oi, Sammy!" He said, raising his good hand for a quick wave. "How you holding up? Personally, I could go for a cold one. Maybe something stronger. And as I recall I owe you a drink as well. Care to join me?"

Skye looked back across to the team inside the V22, composing herself as she sat back up, the tiltrotor flying out of the combat zone, door now shut, and the darkness illuminated with a steady blue light and enough for her to take in the scene. The team had taken a pretty serious hit- a lot of injuries and well, everyone was going to be hurting.

They were stable at the least, as she looked on at Freya and Asim, the two stalwarts kicking it, but in not much better a state- neither was Michelle, who was hurt but able to at least look after herself. Skye mustered up the energy she had left as she headed over towards Stafford, quickly bring him up against the seat Stafford was in, quickly pulling up the surgical kit aboard the aircraft, placed neatly for such an occasion, and pulling the tools to hand. It wasn't good, the big chunk of metal sticking out of his leg the immediate thing to note. @PerfectThought
"Jesus. You fucking took a chunk alright...alright, this'll keep you intact for a moment. Don't go dying on me, you daft bastard." Skye tutted, the sarcasm still building in as she knew it would with Stafford, her historic link making it clear this was from affection. With a gentle turn, she began disinfecting the rusty piece of metal, treating it as best as she could and removing the deep-lying chunks at the least of shrapnel, knowing a trauma team could do a better job of hers, using a forcep and a series of tools, the best she could do to at least stop the worst of it. That said, emergency first aid and surgery wasn't her thing, and while she was still able, in a bumpy V22, she could do the best she could, at the least bringing the majority of the chunk out and a sterilised tourniquet on it, with hemostatic powder to boot. It was a grizzly wound, but on Stafford, he'd appreciate it later on, and Sophie had something to work with. That woman could work some fucking miracles, because for most soldiers, that would be game over.

Then there was Xan and Sam, who were barely clinging onto their consciousness, the two passing out before she could get over there. Skye quickly looked to them and could tell they weren't in an amazing state either.
"Not yous as well. Fuck..." She only could retort, her exasperation clear, knowing that Freya was no doubt keeping an eye on things too, as was Asim- the two doctors of the team perhaps not literal doctors, but in a combat situation where first aid was needed, any help would do, and if they weren't completely screwed, they might be on hand. Getting on her knees, the redhead quickly applied some more antiseptic to Xan's wound first, given the other chunk of metal and checked Sam's bloodshot eye over, the American in a good state but suffering from straight up exhaustion. No amount of exoskeleton or carrying was going to help with injuries or fatigue like the kind they had gone through- most soldiers would probably pass out before that point, which Skye was at the least, glad they could survive. Tough fuckers, but like always.

With those groups done, Skye sat on the floor, clearing her own face up, the blood and mess making her look almost like a ghost of her former self, and she knew she wasn't even the worst. Everyone had gone through seven shades of shit, and this was meant to be a routine operation....so for it to end like this was no fun. The heavies were even pretty battered, but they had gotten the plutonium out safe at least- so that was on the way.

""They all ok back there, boss-girl?" Vincent called out, knowing full well the reality would be the opposite, but wanting it to be something else. The optimism was good, but the Scots team lead wasn't there.
"The opposite, very not fucking good." Skye replied sharply, moving towards the front, almost trying not to be a heap on the floor, her exo probably the only reason she wasn't now as Vincent looked over his shoulder, the sight of Skye struggling one he wasn't commonly used to, given her usual demeanour, the colour almost washed out of Skye aside from the claret blood over her forehead she'd neglected to bandage.

"Mon amie, where is that beautiful 'hair, eh? Mec, I don't understand, all this shit. Never was like this, non?" The Scot chuckled at Vincent, knowing as much of an asshole as he was, and how everyone was currently having a knife-fight with the grim reaper, he still had that energy to give. Like he knew Skye deep down was going to keep going, and so were the team. Like he'd seen this shit before, but in a different flavour.
"I really can't find the energy to understand it either. But I'm gonna strangle the bastard who hacked us personally. Give them real hospitality."
"You better, girl. We have a long way home, but have a stopping point in Almaty in an hour, tout va bien. There's a medical team that can stabilise them, keep them alive for Sophie. Mec, that doctor, she is going to be one busy girl." Vincent paused, turning the aircraft onto a new heading, looking back up at the Scots woman, the Senegalese pilot adjusting his helmet, nodding back to Skye as he finished up his correction.
"The amount of morphine she's gonna need to give, it'll make wee Trainspotting look like a Disney film, ey? Christ....thanks, Vincent."
"Anytime, ma reine."Skye did crack a smirk to that, as she sat back down, looking back, sighing a deep exhale, knowing that at the half least, they were still alive, and that meant they could still get back.

---

@PerfectThought
Skye finished her piece as Stafford had entered and sipped down his port, the older gentleman across from the fiddle-carrying Scot a damaged, yet still standing figure, morose yet Skye not taking his apology- for much more a positive reason than would initially be seen. He was a capable shooter, but the injuries he'd sustained had been among the worse- she was amazed he'd managed to limp out of that one, considering how it had all gone down.

"No need to apologise, you did a hell of a job out there, pal. Gave it everything, picked up a mighty fine kill count of a mech pilot, chopper and then some. And besides, I need you alive and kicking to give me shit."
Skye chuckled, standing up and grabbing the same bottle of port, pouring herself out a glass, and topping up Stafford's.
"Gotta say, your list of scars must be pretty impressive now, aye?"
Skye retorted, clinking his glass, sipping the port down a little, the dry and smooth taste going down a treat as she adjusted herself in the sofa, the soft embrace comforting her pain in her ribs, the feeling a numb rustle that just made everything shitty and inconvenient, more than anything else.

@LadyAmber@Awesomoman64

Sam and Xan had been hurt too, and their trip to Dr Keller's had certainly left them with marks, the kind that Skye wished upon no operator- but still, they seemed to be keeping going, and still in chat. They made a dynamic duo, they had a lot of overlaps and Skye had to admit, they'd worked well together. Hell, even Xan had an outlet in the form of Sam, rather than back at the weariful team lead. It had to be said, it was a relief, though of course, a team like Raven always got the best and they never played by all of the rules, right?

Pouring out another two glasses, the bottle was quickly at an end, as Skye interrupted their chat, seeing them in the corridor towards the rec room.
"Four, six, eight weeks. Sophie is rather conservative I find with her recommendations, because she doesn't want either of yous doing anything shall we say, too wild? Like say, nearly getting blown up again. Or say, having a port while in recovery on some fucking awesome painkillers."
Skye simply commented folding her leg over her other one and sliding the glasses across the table, leaning back and sighing, a gentle grin on her face as she knew the two would be perked up by her giving a little bit of shit their way, albeit knowing full well it came from a good place.
"You'll be pleased to know the paperwork your end is done. Your combat effectiveness is high, remarkably so. Particularly you Sam, for a first op, it's 'not bad ey. You even made Xan look professional. First time for that. And that's even when you weren't intact. Job got done, and I already have some leads." Skye added, knowing she could only keep spirits high, when everyone would have certainly felt like they were chewing shit after the firefight they had been in.
"Good to have you in somewhat one piece."

Banged up, armor a little dented in a few places. She sighed then let out a roar. She hunkered her shoulders down. hammer held to her side. her armor picking up on her intention, and sealed and shield emitters kicked in. A dull blue glow forming over her chest, neck and waist areas, and abit on her shoulders. It's still a limited technology, her teams still working on them. She bowls past the carcass of the IFV that had caught her unaware. the bulk of the machine shoved out of the way. IFV units and their supporting soldiers treated toa glimpse of glowing, charging, howling death as it hurtled towards them. She'd have done her father proud, a man who had flipped a russian heavy troop truck once by himself. Or her mother who had held open a blast door all on her own once. The fist IFV she hits, is with her shoulder, it rocks, she stops....briefly before she leans in then up, the IFV spinning a full 180 degrees through sheer velocity and strength of the person who hit it. She charges into the midst of the rest of them. Her hammer whistling, as she slams it down on the barrels of guns, sending infantry support flying from the massive blows.

With a running cry she slides towards a poor light armored ISV support vehicle and with a shout out of her external comms unit calls, "FORE!" And swings the hammer like a 9 wood up, it almost looks like she's going to core the engine out of the poor thing, until the hammer catches on something, the engine blasting up out of the hood, catches on a support, and lifts the ISV up and off it's tires, hurling it up and onto it's roof.

It's about then that Freya thinks she's had about enough, the rest of the team working on the rest of the baddies. She turns and charges off the field with a cackling laugh.

Oh it's been a good day.



Medics Office

Any surprise that quite a few people took some dings during that fight?

Maybe Freya is lucky she had all that armor on her, and the shield emitters besides. But even she isn't totally immune to damage. So here she sits in a bed purpose-built for the bigger folks on the team. She sighs and rests there, one of the nurses looking her shoulder over. In Freya's defense, with adrenaline pumping, and explosions and shooting and swinging the Starbreaker, she hadn't really felt it at the time. The Nurse shakes his head, "Honestly Big Girl, how is it you didn't feel it when that round hyper-extended and dislocated your shoulder? It's amazing you could still use it, must hurt like hell." Freya sighs and looks at the big mass of bandages and ice packs on her shoulder almost reaching up to her neck and about half way down her upper arm. The 30mm round form that IFV hadn't broken the armoring but it had shoved her shoulder out of place and way way out of it's socket. They'd managed to pop it back in on the way over, but now she's packed up and tied up like this until the muscles, and ligaments and everything can calm the fuck down. Freya shrugs her good shoulder, "Heat of the moment I guess. How long?" The nurse hums looking at the record, "2 weeks for normal use 3 and change for combat use. 4 and a half at the minimum for safety though savvy?" Freya nods, and reaches over to try and pull her shirt up over the big packet of bandages, "Thank you..."

Later

"What do you mean?"

The anger and rage in the voice can be heard even from the far corner of the rec room that Freya is sitting in.

"Well...see while you were gone...we ran a few more tests on the Rail Cannon."

Freya stares at the laptop camera, urging the physicist on the other side to continue, "Test 97-a and 97-a2, Test 97 as you know we made before you left. Ummm well 97-a went off without a hitch...but the round missed the target and buried itself in the sea floor somewhere...well somewhere near Tonga. I swear Doctor we have two teams searching for the slug!" The sound of the man on the other end of the call is placating. After abit of silent seething Freya then asks, "And the other test?" The man can be heard audibly swallowing, "Uh...Madam..Test...test 97-a2 was an unmitigated disaster..." There's a pop and the sound of softly squealing metal as Freya squeezes and crushes the metal cup she had in her hand, "Explain...carefully."

The man swallows again, "Moments before firing in Test 97-a2...there was a catastrophic failure on the magnets and the cooling coils. When the countdown ended...the railgun exploded...and we have a cleanup team inside the lab gathering and cataloging everything...we were just waiting on your return so we could begin the write up ont he failure. On the good side, DARPA says they are still willing to take the experiment up come the end of the test period because that's only 2 failures out of 99 tests so far." Freya sighs lifting the useless cup up and pulling it free of her hand, "I swear I leave for just a few days and everything goes to hell." She groans, "Send me the reports. I'll get started on a preliminary report then send it around for addendums." She sighed and looked about to throw the lap top across the room, until she thought better of such a childish action.

With a long slow breath she calmed, then looks around, "My apologies..." She said looking about the room.

Getting up the giant red head, headed for the bar, she needed something harder then a protein shake to get over what she just learned. Finding a bottle of vodka, the stuff her mother would drink sometimes, pouring herself a healthy dose and sipping at it at the kiten bar counter.