[IC] GEARS - Mecha Sci-fi with Anthro characters. RP in a detailed, story-driven world.

[Kyelin]

With an amused huff, and still looking at the rookie, nodded in silent agreement. Guess there's still a chance for you yet, as it's usually the 'hot shots' who run out and get blown to bits in the first deployment. Kradis quickly inspected the others, making sure to keep subtly analyzing the colonel. An entire units success depends on it's leaders. No matter how good your soldiers are, they're as useless as young children without proper guidance, and the old fox was potentially up for a challenge. Kradis had heard a lot about him, and had read his file extensively before his deployment with the Roughriders. And now, here he was, in person.

Being thoroughly invested in his military life, Kradis was perplexed at the colonel's unusual way of conducting himself among subordinates. It was custom in Imperial briefings to demand respect, and instill fear with your unit. That way, they dread failing a mission and angering their superiors, sometimes more so than death. Landren drills were cake walks compared to Northern.ones. and Imperial commanders certainly don't ask their men for advice or if they have questions. The commander seemed to treat his men almost as... Friends. Both the tiger and the wolf girl named Ashers were seemingly unfazed by this, voicing suggestions and concerns as if they were equals to Blade. Suddenly, flushed with embarrassment at this display of weakness by himself, Kradis left the group as soon as they were dismissed.

He sat down in the main area on a chair, flicking through his PADD and reviewing standard regulations, to see if he'd missed something on proper conduct around officers. It wasn't long after, at least to Kradis, that he noticed the discussions between the bat girl, Ashers and the tiger from before. He watched their conversation, and heard the Ashers girl mention 'ghost stories'. He chuckled, and put down his PADD and left his seat. In a loud voice directed at them, he warned them. "These operations are not games, and you shouldn't be so eager to meet this foe, wolf girl. Such an enemy that is able to do this will surely test the lengths of your will, as well as the rest of us. I am not confident I can survive such an encounter, so what makes you think you will?"

[Riddles]

Logan heard most of the conversations going on around him, but he didn't bother to join in. He was thinking about some of the things that Blade said. Squads of GEARs disappearing, then coming back a week later with no recollection of what happened? GEARs without pilots? Siganals coming from nowhere? This was some pretty wierd shit they were getting themselves into. He didn't know what they were going up against, but he agreed with the Jackall. This definitely wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

Blade's voice broke his train of thought. "Okay, everyone. Look alive - get your GEAR harnesses on and yer pilot suits. Suit up for a briefing in ten minutes. Time for your first exercise!"

Had it been an hour already? It certainly didn't seem like it. Nevertheless, he obeyed the colonel's orders. He went into his room, and came out a few minutes later, with his GEAR harness and pilot suit on. He then joined Blade, and started waiting for the others.

[Cartwright]

Kensington was simply looking about the many faces in the room through out their brief moment of being at ease, taking in every detail said and every detail seen. After a few moments of observing the wolf chuckled, shifting the bag he still had on before stopping near where the others spoke to the colonel. There, he heard about the ghost gears and even about the ranch situation and recollected the rumors he hear back in his joint; Ricky discovering someone had messed with his crops, one of the cattle being stolen, a bunch of unanswered stuff. The helicopter never-the-less shrugged it off and kept listening to the others before opening his mouth to speak but not saying a word for that's when the fox made his announcement.

"Okay, everyone," The voice exclaimed, reaching Kensington's ears quite easily due to the small gap between himself and the CO."Look alive - get your GEAR harnesses on and yer pilot suits. Suit up for a briefing in ten minutes. Time for your first exercise!" Before the fox could leave, though, the wolf walked over and tried to stop him in an attempt to speak to him.

"Ehm.. Sir there's still the fact we're waitin' on the helicopter... And air control has had us airmen done our exercises frequently before my deployment. What do I do?" The young airman asked, crossing his arms as his ears folded back slightly from the stress of thinking all of this over. No helicopter, no flight, no CAS. A bad sequence of events according to this wolf's knowledge.

[Hailfire]

As Ashers broke off from the group she had been with to go check her PADD she was surprised to be addressed by a slightly older looking and more experienced sounding fennec fox she hadn't yet heard speak. She stopped and turned to face him, cocking her head slightly and listening intently. For all her recklessness and attitude it was rare for Ashers to ignore advice, particularly from those who spoke rarely. She found the quiet type generally had something more valid to say when they did speak than those who ran their mouths all the time. When Kradis had finished speaking Ashers nodded sincerely and replied seriously.

"I'll be careful... I guess I got a bit cocky. Some of those stories sound pretty unlikely..." Ashers blinked in surprise as though she had just remembered something.

"Oh. I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ashers Price. New to the business." She said extending a finely furred hand for a handshake. Kratis didn't seem the type to accept a fist bump by way of greeting. "Thanks for the advice."

If Kratis was willing Ashers continued her chat with him for a bit, enquiring about topics such as his experiences in the field and asking for tips where possible before being called up for a briefing. The moment this happened all else was forgotten and Ashers dashed through the processes of preperation, excitement pulsing through her body and causing her to pant in anticipation. After having rushed into her "room" to fetch her rucksack and PADD Ashers jogged towards the ops shop until she was running hot on Silver's heels. Moving with them was wolf with some kind of complaint regarding a helicopter. The issue irritated Ashers who was eager to get underway with things and impatient with the idea of delays but Ashees held her tongue. There was nothing she could do about it.

[Rhona W]

Blade addressed Payne as the younger canid anxiously enquired about the helo.
"The chopper is inbound, it'll be on the deck shortly. Captain Garrett's arranged an exercise for the flight ops crew to do a quick turnaround after its' landed to prep it to go right back out on another sortie. Good practice in case we need to do it actively. The medium lift choppers' already in the hangar, so if the worst comes to the worst - an' it ain't lookin' likely to - then there's gonna be somethin' fer air support. So, get to it and sign yer gear out and get prepped."
His PADD bleeped insistently at him, and the fox checked it over, nodding as he scanned the message. "An' there ya go - yer whirly-bird is on the pad now, bein' unloaded and prepped fer a new sortie".

[Cartwright]

((Remember this is Maxwell, not Payne XD))

Kensington simply listened to the colonel's response after giving the gear pilot who approached them a nod and a tail sway before continuing to give his focus to the fox. A smile grew on the pilot's face like a alcoholic with a new six pack when he heard about the helicopter's arrival. After the brief intelligence gathering with Blade the pilot did a nod followed by a salute before quickly dropping his bags off and retrieving his gear from the quarter master.

With his vest strapped on and his weapons where they should be it took a moment for the airman to square himself away before returning to the group. "Guess it be lookin' like I am keeping ya waitin' miss. Sorry 'bout that." His words were directed towards Ashers out of common curtousy, not knowing about her irritation about hiscomplications involving his helicopter arrangements.

[Slamurai]

"Okay, everyone, look alive - get your GEAR harnesses on and yer pilot suits. Suit up for a briefing in ten minutes. Time for your first exercise!" Colonel Blade's voice rang through the quarters. Myrina hurriedly threw the rest of her things onto her bed and made her way to the quartermaster, still cramming her arms through her pilot jumpsuit. She lost herself in thought as she trekked down the narrow corridors. Most of the others assigned to the Roughriders had had a bit of military background. Actual military background, in comparison to the civilian militia service she had been part of. That wasn't to say she was any less experienced; the militia had taken on their fair share of fighting. However, the distinction between herself and her peers put her on edge a little. She would make it a point that she was just as effective as them, though - she had promised herself that after her formal assignment.

Myrina had a good feeling she knew why the Colonel had picked her up. Counter-insurgency was the touted "specialty" of her unit back home, thanks to long hours spent with LDF personnel on specific tactics and procedures to maintain security around the border. It was an important skill, in hindsight, what with all the spies from North and South making Landren their business. Not to mention the false flag operations, where Landren had to look beyond the uniforms and get a clear identification on the aggressors. Myrina surmised that it was this knowledge which brought her to the Claw and made her valuable.

After fastening her harness and retrieving her helmet, Myrina found the briefing room and took a seat, awaiting the rest of the gang.

[Rafale]

Raisa felt like crap.

Honestly, frankly and all other adverbs that could apply, she really did feel like utter crap. Something about how she kept doing things made her feel somewhat depressed. The fact that she had been too shy to interact with the other pilots and the fact that she had not gotten around to doing anything close to being useful in the last hour aside from moving her stuff to her quarters and mooching off the mess hall staff made her somewhat uneasy. Was this whole exchange program going to work out well for her? While she didn't do much while in Iyuli, it was still somewhat calm. Uneasily putting on her Iyuli GEAR Pilot uniform and making sure all the correct equipment was fastened on; including an extra-GEAR communicator, tracker, emergency beacon, four 100 milliliter packets of water, a mean looking combat knife and her sidearm, she sighed with a slightly angered expression, though only at herself.

"Hopefully it's just the whole 'new deployment, new people, new place' thing that has me on the edge." The fox uttered to herself as she polished the front of the helmet with an included cloth, as was mandatory for Iyuli GEAR pilots. Making sure there was not a single scratch, smudge or other sort of blemish visible from at least five meters away was a duty for every single Iyuli GEAR pilot, as a way of building not only a proper appearance during parades or other celebrations but also for developing respect for oneself. In classic Iyuli ideals, showing a deep respect for oneself and those around you is much more important than any good deed you could hope to accomplish by yourself. This didn't stop Raisa from trying hard in things she did, quite the opposite actually, though it did make up a large part of her personality.

Finally, after making sure there was not a single mark on the helmet, she put on her gloves and set it under her arm as she headed to the briefing room to prepare for the exercise. She made sure to finish somewhat early in order to have time to get her bearings on the landcruiser in the case that she got lost, but she still arrived quite early, met by a hoofed woman who looked a good couple of years older than her. Then again, she was quite young for a GEAR pilot, at least in her native country, where most of her fellow pilots had been gentlemen in their thirties, not taking into account that she was a woman, a detail that required quite a good amount of convincing by her and even by her estranged father just to be allowed into training.

That was all in the past now. All Raisa had to focus on was the present. Finishing her reflections, she sat up in her seat, took a deep breath, and gave the sides of her face a good snapping hit to 'wake her up', a small habit she had picked up long ago.

"Much better." She murmured to herself as she felt her usual cheerfulness and general excitement return to its normal course of flowing through her body, despite her serious expression. Allowing herself a fleeting grin, she patiently awaited the other fox on the team, the older red named Silverwind who was her CO, officer, whatever. She hadn't really checked yet. I had been... busy. With important matters. Yes, that's it. She mentally excused herself as she excitedly awaited the briefing.

Amazingly, she had shifted emotions in about five minutes. Welcome to the normal life of Raisa Yurievna Biryukova.

[HopelessIncubus]

Dismissed to load up he walked into his room and pulled on the Gear harness, tightening the straps and buckling on the external armor. the heavy composite panels slid into the recesses and pockets sewed into the combat wear. tossing the parade boots into the corner, he pulled out a much more rugged, and scarred pair, the leather having been exposed to everything the battle field could throw at it, and slogged through it all without complaint. turning them over in his hands, he inspected the soles, seams, and leather to locate any potential faults. aside from a rock in the tread, and a new scuff, they we fit to tour the field again. tucking the legs into the boots and lacing them up, he reached into his gear bag and retrieved his holster, attaching it to his belt and tightening the strap around his thigh. the last thing he put on was his 3L camelback, with everything else in his gear, he did a extra check to make sure he had everything. knife, pistol holster, armor, water.....yep. his firearms would be in his GEAR along with ammo and food.

walking into the briefing room he picked a seat and sat down. ghost stories and hearsay he thought. I could be a joke, or cover up for rookie mistakes, hell one of his buddies in recruit class tried to blame his gear shutting down on a gremlin, the little demons that are said to ruin engines. turned out he hit the emergency shutdown switch. in his opinion its probably some new tactic from the enemy forces, but its not his job to lead, only to follow and adapt.

with not much else to do, mike yawned and leaned back in his seat, waiting for the briefing to start.

[Kyelin]

Kradis nodded respectfully at Asher and shook her hand firmly, and the two proceeded to discuss their own various tactics and experiences. Despite the air of mutual respect, Kradis kept most of his Northern past hidden, only stating that he defected early on in his career. After the brief discussion, they were ordered to suit up and prepare for a training exercise. Kradis calmly walked into his bunk, and began to fit his harness methodically and precisely. After being suit up, he lowered hismelf onto one knee, and bowed his head, muttering a short 'prayer' of sorts:

"Today, may the essences of those before me guide me to safety. If I should pass today, I happily accept my fate, and will gracefully continue through the cycle of life and death ever-present of Arvara." Kradis hung his head lower for a second, before rising to his feet and, slipping a tab of Overdrive, proceeded to join the others, acknowledging their arrival with a nod or hand wave to the Colonel, and to those he had met already as they arrived.

[Milkman]

Oliver casually responded to Ashers invitation to a fist bump. Earlier this morning Oliver was still recovering from a hangover from last night and managed to be kind of stuck in his own mind. Luckily his head was more clear after the commanders speech and this time the tiger was sure to notice what was in front of him. For a moment he let his eyes check out what was in front of him. The young tomboyish female wolf wasn't bad looking at all and Oliver was happy that she accepted his apology for ignoring her earlier. Asher Price looked like a fun girl to get to know a little bit better. The young Oliver was already happy about the unit he was assigned to.

As Oliver continued the conversation about ghost gears and weird radio signals the small bat joined the fun. Much to the tiger's surprise she seemed to know a good deal about radio signals too. Bringing up the rather technical term of radio triangulation, a process of using two or more radio receivers to determine the origins of a signal based on the angles from the measuring point. Oliver could not help but to smile. Shona was the first girl who seemed to be into such technical nerd stuff. "Yes, that is right. If we use two or three measuring points it is easy to calculate the coordinates. I'm Oliver Stone. Just call me Oliver"

As Colonel Blade finished up the conversation he overheard Kradis speak out about that these operations were not a game. That guy was way to serious for his own good. As the Tiger looked into the direction of Kradis and Asher he could not help but to wonder if they had outlawed having fun in the north completely. Kradis should learn to unwind a bit more and enjoy life. Oliver passed his two comrades as he walked towards his room to unpack his last stuff. As the young tiger put the last things away the loud voice of Silverwind disturbed the peace with an order to gear up.

Oliver quickly put on his gear pilot suit on and grabbed his pad, helmet and side arm. As the tiger entered the briefing room he looked around and noticed the small female fox in a different uniform. As the seat next to her was still free Oliver took the liberty to sit next to her and inspect her from up-close. As Oliver placed himself on the seat he noticed the fox girl was rather excited. "Well, looks like you're either happy to see me or are looking forward to the exercise" Joked Oliver with a smile.

[Hailfire]

[Rafale]

Raisa teetered on the edge of the seat awaiting the beginning of the briefing for a good few minutes before being addressed by someone who had sat down next to her. Turning to her left to meet the speaker, she was met with a young looking tiger wearing a smile as he spoke in a seemingly joking manner. "Well, looks like you're either happy to see me or are looking forward to the exercise." Raisa made a confused face as she wondered why he said it. Was he making fun of her punctuality? Chastising her for her behavior? Or was it something else? Her head ablaze with the questions, the girl pushed out the best response she could.

"H-have we met?" She uneasily smiled in return, honestly hoping he wasn't some sort of officer who had opened with a joke before chewing her out for her activities upon embarking on Parvan's Claw. In her service in Iyuli, she had many officers like that; acting all friendly with jokes and teases before dealing a verbal blow. Her teetering had stopped, the fox now only sat frozen as she watched the tiger. Meekly, she spoke again. "Private Raisa Yurievna Biryukova reporting for duty, sir... haaaa....."

[Minder]

Shona had smiled and nodded in response to Oliver's introduction, glad to see there was at least one other tech-head in the unit. She had spent most of the hour of spare time pouring over her PADD, familiarising herself with the Claw's network before penning a quick letter to her dad. When the call to gear up came down, she was in the kitchenette grabbing a snack, and had to hurriedly stuff the rest of her muesli bar into her mouth as she scrambled to her quarters.

Here we go, here we go... The bat tried to suppress her mounting nervousness as she trotted down the hall to the briefing room, her helmet tucked under one arm. Finding a free chair near the front of the briefing room, she settled down, setting her helmet between her feet and pulling out her PADD and a stylus, opening a notebook program and making a few preparatory notes.

[Rhona W]

Blade nodded to each and every one of them as they arrived, smiling if smiled at and exchanging pleasantries in a low voice when directed at him, until everyone was seated. Taking a visual note of their gear and equipment, he was impressed that everyone was suitably tooled up and appeared to be in good order.
"All right, settle down," he said in a firm and loud tone as the last of the group arrived. Tapping a control on his PADD's display, he dimmed the lights and began the briefing.
"Despite what I've mentioned, we're not just out here to hunt rumours and strange stories. There are bandits, raiders, mercenaries and other unconventional forces causing a lot of problem for people living on the outskirts of Landren, and raiding many of the commerce and supply convoys through the area, as well as small settlements and homesteads around the area. Formerly, they hadn't been an issue that couldn't be solved by a well-organized militia, but the last few attacks have been pretty brutal. There's been a lot of advanced tech deployed, and the local commanders and councillors have asked for help from the LDF to put the situation under control, an' find out where this gears' comin' from."
A set of holographic data shimmered into view at the head of the room, showing the far reaches of Landren, and the few settlements clustered in the area. Frontier settlements, slowly growing into larger places and home to many families of farmers, prospectors and other enterprising types.
"This is the area we'll be operatin' in, and the challenges we'll be up against will include strong magnetic interference, challenging terrain, seismic activity, and changin' weather conditions, as well as persistent dust and grime. All of that oughta make out job pretty demandin'. An' that ain't includin' bein' shot at by whoever we're after, an' anyone else who's there too".
The image shifted again, showing metereological data, geophysical data and various other aspects of information, before shifting to the local area with the Claw at the middle.
"We're needin' to do some trainin' first, afore we get there and get inta the serious stuff since we didn't work together 'fore now. So, it's time fer an exercise to see what we can an' can't do. The goal will be simple: Moving at high speed yet remaining covert as we approach and reconnoitre a target. Then strike the target and successfully disable the defenders, while recoverin' hostages an' sensitive information, an' makin' a clean return to the Claw."
He watched for their reactions, letting the info sink in, and allowing the group a chance to review the info on their PADD's before he launched into the next part of the briefing.
"Th' op will involve us all working t'gether. Initial data will be provided by the Claw, with Maxwell providin' an overview from above; there'll be surface-to-air threats in the area too, though, so y'all will be relyin' on us as much as we are on y'all too.
"Threats in th' area will include hostile GEARs an' armoured vehicles, soft-skinned vehicles, an' infantry. All of this will be provided by other LDF units playin' the part of the bad guys, so they'll be gettin' as much outta it as we will. I don't have full info on their numbers an' strength - which means the recon portion of th' op will be genuine. It'll also be where we locate the hostages an' the intel. Then we'll have to combat the enemies' defences, and secure the hostages and extract 'em. Again, where th' chopper will come in. That's a basic outline of the job. It's a challengin' one, an' I know there ain't a great deal of info. But I'm lookin' to see how y'all react to change on the fly, and operate without a full array of info, and how well y'all can get that data when ya need it too. It ain't a test, as such... but I will be takin' it apart afterward ta see what went wrong, and askin' questions about what happened, an' why any of y'all do what you might do".
He regarded the group, considering their reactions, before he shut off the hologram display.
"I know y'all are gonna have a whole mess of questions about this. But here's what I'm tellin' y'all. Yer GEARs are goin' out equipped for normal multi-role combat, whatever yer standard loadouts have been in the past'll be what's on 'em; mixed range weapons fer the most part. Y'all will be takin' direct orders from me. Though I wanna see some initiative in respondin' to situations, an' everyone watchin' their systems. Michelete will be the 2IC, as she's the only person other than me here who's got any operational experience ta call on. But we'll see how things go on the field before I assign anyone any other responsibilities. Now - any further questions? Make 'em brief - we're leavin' in ten".

[Rafale]

Thankfully, Raisa had been saved from the potentially awkward situation by the arrival of the CO. With an all too typical 'settle down', a line she had heard from many an officer giving a briefing, the lights dimmed and the briefing began. Swiftly though she was met with a slight difficulty. While at the beginning she easily understood what the other fox was saying and the initial objectives given, she eventually began to become lost, obsessing somewhat with a splotch on her glasses. When she finally shook herself out of the trance, she realized that perhaps she could better look over the objectives on her PADD. Pressing on two buttons on bottom of the rear part of her helmet, the thin slab slowly slid out. Iyuli PADD's were much thinner and smaller than their LDF counterparts to allow them to be stored in the rear section of the helmet, becoming an integral part of the advanced HUD when stored. Realizing hers wasn't on, she pressed down on the single button for a second so it could turn on.

With a chime, then a hum and a sweeping sound, a multicolor circle with a red LOADING circle at the interior and a few lines of text reading BOOTING SYSTEM, LAUNCHING MAIN CONSOLE, LOAD IN PROGRESS, and a final line displaying the current step, made a full cycle and the step turned to LAUNCHING then READY before the circle disappeared, a honeycomb-esque group of seven hexagons taking its place. Raisa winced when the sounds played, trying to remain discreet and she remarked how simplistic the Iyuli PADD interface was. Most of the hexagons had military related functions, with only the MEDIA hexagon extending to include things that had any semblance to entertainment, though there was no way to install third party applications in sight. Tapping on the MISSION hexagon, then the BRIEFING hexagon lead her to a screen with a more detailed version of the mission objectives, a map and a graphic of her GEAR, with color codes and text indicating the armament recommended for the mission by a program installed in her GEAR's computer.

By this point, she had decided not to listen to Blade, mostly out of preference to the text form of the briefing that allowed more detail, though out of respect she kept an eye on the holographic display even as she scrolled through the information. Stopping on the armament display, she decided to make a few edits to the recommendation. Hitting the icon that allowed the L/OS to learn from the choices she would make, she changed out the left arm's missiles for a blade, changed the right arm's missile type from HEAT to HVSS/SA (High Velocity Surface-Surface/Surface-Air), deciding it would better suit the multi-role combat of the mission, and fitted extra-ammunition carriers to the shoulders before tapping the confirmation button. A small loading circle appeared, indicating the new armaments were being sent to the L/OS, which, at least for Iyuli GEARs, always ran in autonomy even when the rest of the GEAR was shut down, with a constant connection so it could calculate tendencies of the pilot and make recommendations for armaments and sometimes tactics based on past experience. With a chime, the circle once again disappeared, confirming the information had been saved by the L/OS.

"Now - any further questions? Make 'em brief - we're leavin' in ten." She looked up right as the briefing ended. She had already formulated a question as she was reading over the information on her PADD, so she shot her hand up before speaking.

"Regarding the intel, how will it be 'picked up', so to speak? Is it in a physical form or will we be downloading it? If it is in a paper form, I don't suppose one of use will be willing to descend from their GEAR to recuperate the package? If it is downloaded, however, I suspect that it may leave a trace on the downloader, making them an evident target for the adversaries. In any situation, it is a dangerous objective, it seems more like something infantry would be better at." She smiled as she asked this, hoping to contrast her rather critical words. Despite her usually cheery and even clumsy attitude in other situations, when it came down to missions, she was all business and deadly serious, though she attempted to keep a somewhat approachable demeanor. Idly pushing up her glasses, smiling and crossing her legs, she awaited her response.

[HopelessIncubus]

Mike was leaning the chair back, half dosing when silver stepped up and started the briefing, coming round he leaned forward, the chair touching floor quietly as mike listened. it would be a training mission before they advanced to dealing with whatever the mystery was haunting the LDF. he didn't like the fact they had no idea what they were up against, but at least he got to go out in his Gear. seeing as Raisa booted up her, rather advanced, tablet, he took out his, smirking as hers chirped and chimed, while his larger, but quiet comparison linked into the Claws local net.

he listened to the expected hostiles and winced, Prowler is a pretty specialized unit, with relatively no anti-air capabilities, sacrificing them to be an excellent recon/assassin mech. tapping at the pad he fought the desire to change weapons, the group would probably be thinking the same lines and covering those bases anyway. it would be better if he stuck to what he knew, and did it well, instead of trying to change up now. frowning he cursed quietly and requested and additional 50 rounds for his shotgun, just in case. turning his attention back to blade, he slid the pad back into its pocket and leaned forward as Raisa asked her question. he hadn't thought about it, but it would be a problem if the intel proved to be in a literal briefcase or a computer without wireless access, curious, he waited for blades answer.

[Kyelin]

Kradis listened intently to Colonel Blade, making sure to make mental notes on the key details: Varied ground forces, hostages, data retrieval... Kradis was unsure of how useful his GEAR would be, considering artillery tends to be very inaccurate, and couldn't possibly be fired and ensure no hostage casualties, at least from his point of view. sure, this was not a live fire exercise, obviously, but it's still a good idea to treat it as the real thing. He raised his hand to get the Colonel's attention, and, after the others had finished their questions, and when he was acknowledged, spoke up about his concerns. Kradis had never participated in a mission involving hostages.

"Sir, will our GEAR load outs be modified for this exercise? And what kind of armaments will be outfitted to our GEARS, if that is the case? I'm unsure if I can use my normal armaments without causing severe hostage casualties, as you probably know is the case with artillery..." Kradis crossed his arms, and waited for Blade's response. Hopefully the Colonel could clear up his doubts.

[Rhona W]

Blade leaned back on the desk at the front of the room as the first questions came up. One from the Iyuli exchange pilot, Raisa, and one from Kradis. He nodded to both as he answered.
"Good questions, an' I'll answer both in order. Raisa; the intel will be electronic - as so much of our information is these days - and stored on a secured, isolated Hard Drive. Regarding your comment about infantry, a team from the Claw's security forces will be accompanying us aboard Maxwell's helo to recover the hostages, and to storm the structure under our cover. After all, it's good for them to work together with us as well, and vice versa. They have specialists trained regardin' recovery of data an' the like, so it's somethin' we don't directly hafta be concerned with right now. That said, there may well be other occasions when we may be required to dismount and carry out, uh, 'direct action'. But we'll do some proper training around that first before we incorporate it into an exercise. Anyhew, our main role durin' that evolution of the operation will be ta give em' cover fire and secure the area while they carry out the recovery.
"Kradis, yer artillery will primarily be utilized in coverin' the advance of the squad toward the position the hostages are secured in, and then actin' ta keep any hostiles away from the secured area once it's been taken. Not ta mention, y'all should be able to utilise guided shells in this op as well, rather than solely relyin' on cluster munitions and high explosives. Maxwell's helo has a laser designator, as do mosta the rest of our GEARs. The area of operation is pretty spread out, so we aren't gonna be too cramped to worry about friendly fire casualties in this instance. 'sides, y'all got more than just yer big guns to rely on too. Y'all can modify yer loadout if ya think it'll help, but bear in mind none of you are workin' solo, and we all have a variety of weapons ta cover this situation. If y'all are plannin' ta change things up, check out each others' 'standard fits' to see what we already got covered."

[Milkman]

Oliver noticed how Raise was dragged out of her comfort zone. It was clear to the tiger that Raisa wasn't really used to getting flirted with. Her reaction of formally introducing herself and calling Oliver "sir" was rather cute. He could see the relieve on her face when colonel Blade entered the briefing room and started to speak. The fox girl shifted her attention towards the briefing and Oliver decided to not disturb her concentration for now. After all, the young Tiger would participate in this exercise too.

Oliver listened as the colonel started to explain the training mission. The old fox made it sound so easy. Go in, recon the place, take out the defenders, extract information and return safely to the claw with the hostages. For a moment he wondered how well the unit would work together. The 101st is a pretty diverse group and when it comes to combat experience, some of them including the tiger himself are lacking. It would be interesting to see how things would work out and if Oliver himself would not look to bad during the mock combat of the exercise.

The young tiger pulled out his PADD and pressed the on button. The device immediately booted towards the custom OS he was running on his PADD. With one tab on the screen all the details from the OP where downloaded onto the build in SSD. There wasn't much info on the bad guys but the colonel had given one crucial piece of information. They were played by other LDF units. Most likely they would use LDF equipment, radio frequencies and LDF encryption algorithms for securing the wireless communication. This would make searching for their communications frequencies a bit more easy. With a bit of luck they might use a known encryption key and make decrypting their communications a bit more easy.

With another press on the screen the LOADOUT app of Oliver's GEAR was started. The APP provided a multitude of options to customize the load out of his GEAR beyond weaponry. From here he could select different weapon systems, sensor packages and even software modules to be loaded onto the GEARS computers. All the changes would be transmitted towards the maintenance crew who would install the different components prior to the operation. The young Tiger selected to upload some of the encryption key tables he had put together during his training period on the base to the GEAR's and switched his standard jamming antenna to a model that has a greater output on the frequency ranges deployed by the LDF. The only thing that was a shame was that data of the selected load outs wasn't shared automatically with his fellow pilots. That is something that has to change for the next OP.

For a moment Oliver thought about this issue. If he's going to code a new program, he needed someone to test it with. Someone who could provide additional feedback and who might also enjoy working on such things. The tiger needed a volunteer and already knew who to ask. With one tab on the screen he loaded his chat program and started the write a message. "Yo Shona, can you code a bit? I was thinking of writing a new program to select our GEAR load-outs with that automatically shares our choices with our units. Wanna help?"

As Oliver waited for Shona's response he turned towards Raisa again. Things had been quietly down a bit as everyone was looking at their PADD's for info on the exercise. "You don't have to be formal with me. I'm a private like you. No need to call me sir, Oliver is enough. Nice to meet you Raisa Yurievna Biryukova. I'm Oliver Stone"