@EsailiaMax swiped one of the displays on, the obsidian black turning to a faint dark green with the UAV's overall picture of the island below. From 70,000 feet, it was a very hard image to make out, but the UAV's orbiting pattern gave a total overview of the island and was unknown to anyone down below that it was even there. Well, unless someone had an excellent radar detection set, but that wasn't on Max's mind. The cruise missiles had already made a dent here enough, so it wasn't like they knew they weren't under attack. He looked over at the path on the Northern side of the island, the ridge protruding up but mostly forested with the UAV's heavy zoom, still coming out well given the configuration of this UAV's lens. The comms towers were visible- a set of civilian mobile phone masts and various technical masts in view, as he multi-tasked a little and zoomed them in for a moment to see the overall setup that they had. There was some sort of large vehicle next to it, and a couple of small buildings with a small dirt track leading down the small hill to the flat environs of the airstrip- but from this high up, Max couldn't make out how many enemies there were. Most importantly however, the towers were on a relative peak on the ridge' spine- and had a large area of exposure all around it, recent log cuttings it seemed. It was no matter to Max- if they could establish themselves on the outskirts of that cutting with some view on the site and deploy his personal UAV, he could take a better view on what to do when they were closer. The resourceful Lion knew that sometimes that was just the way it was- technology could do so much, but not more than that.
Bringing it back, he restored it to default, aware that himself, Silver and other team members would be able to peek through the UAV's camera for observation. He engaged a few other sensor packages, notably that of his GEAR's multispectrum sensor to start pitching into whatever Rishun's EW programmes would pick up. While Max wasn't an EW specialist, he was the killer-element of their hunter-killer partnership, and that meant keeping an ear out for whatever Rishun's more strategic-level recon could do. While on his end, he had the 30mm rifle and observation skills to then eliminate said target, permanently. Bringing his rifle high, Max looked up to the ridge, then turned his GEAR's head back toward where Rishun was behind him as he raised an arm.
"Try and keep close, Sprinstream. The route looks pretty thickly forested all the way..don't go right on top the spine, and watch your footing. We have the advantage of darkness and being off the beaten track, so we may stand a chance of avoiding detection while the rest get the heat. Let's try and keep it that way." Max said, putting his hands back on the 30mm rifle and moving up the beach fully, the water now fully removed from the GEAR's legs and lower body. He felt powerful in this thing, but was full well aware this wasn't going to last long in a fight against higher-powered weaponry. It might keep the bullets at bay, but not the 20 mil rounds, he reminded himself. They needed to get moving, and Max knew it was go time for his team.
With a slight clamber, the Lion Rampant was striding between the thick trees of the hill-slope, the reconnaissance operative keeping an eye out over the forests slightly below, where Fionn and Leslie were looking to move up. Engaging the FLIR element of his imagery system, he kept it on another display and peered over using his GEAR's specialist optical zoom, his HMD allowing him to switch between either as appropriate. He took it in, seeing nothing of interest, as it was all blue-cold. The trees made it much more difficult, but nonetheless, he couldn't see any hidden IFVs or positions.
@Lurking Shadow@redbaron1234"Somachain, Sobero, me and Sprinstream have overwatch, we are on your right hand side. I can't see any significant thermal signatures from here in the forest in front of you, but that doesn't mean there isn't anyone, or anything waiting for you down there that's hiding. We'll be out of view when we're closer to the comms facility, but we can get back in range when you need fire support and designation from us." Max added in comms, as he looked back towards Rishun's GEAR, taking a moment to survail the area ahead. The ridge didn't give enough elevation to fully see all the way to the airstrip, but he could see the large smokestack rising in the distance even without his IR, the heat signature clear beyond those trees of the fire it had started there.
Taking a look back on the ridgeline, he gently started moving along again, the feline's GEAR pushing through thick shrubs around the bigger conifers. It was never graceful going anywhere in a GEAR, but nonetheless, Max did make it look as low-key as a twelve-foot mechanised beast could be in quietly moving into position. On the plus side, the hydrogen system of a GEAR to the motor systems made it less noisy than an IFV or a combustion-powered vehicle, yet the hydraulics when really exerted could be screeching, let alone the noise that came from the footstepss. Still, with the distant fires and the fact that Max and Rishun were coming from an angle hard to expect, it pushed the ball in their court a little further.
Coming up to the cutting, Max gently put his knee down, seeing the ridge drop in elevation then back up to a small hill where the comms towers were. They were still some distance out, but given that they couldn't see the entire surveillance and communications post, Max wasn't willing to go any further. There were still some trees between them and the clearing, so Max was confident that himself and Rishun would be out of harm's way, and very hard to spot without thermal imaging equipment given how much brush they had. The optical sensors revealed a little more of what he could see, but given the trees, that was still poor.
"Hold on here a moment...get yourself knelt down. I'm gonna dispatch my drone up here- feel free to patch in." Max added, flicking through the setting through his GEAR's interface, the quadrotor detatching from the charging point on his GEAR's lower back and elegantly being taken in his right hand. The quiet motors span up, as Max kept the 30mm rifle held in the GEAR's left, gently pushing his right hand up. He didn't raise it too high so as not to push against a nearby tree, knowing full well it wouldn't be the best idea to treat one like a post to lean on.
With a gentle release of his right claw, Max took over the drone's controls, hooked up to his HMD. His vision shifted, going from the HMD of the GEAR's controls to that of the drone's camera interface, giving him a direct view as it buzzed lightly above the two of them. By using a joystick that was co-wired connected to his GEAR's optical vision in this static mode, he could control it elegantly, the control of the quadrotor fluid to him like a glove. Max was no technical wizz like Rishun was, who would probably race something like this for fun, but he could use it like a trained operator could. It was an indispensible tool, and even with the advanced tech that Rishun would have brought along, a device like this had plenty of capability given how straightforward it could be utilised.
With a gentle push of the throttle, the UAV was up even further, out of his hand and giving Max a first person enhanced view over the hill ahead, a bird's eye view in the most literal sense. With a quietening whirr as it rose upward, the drone was off and higher into the distance, Max seeing the large cutting around the communications towers and signal antennae.
There were a lot of fallen logs and tree trunks across the cutting around the site in a near-circular form- like the area had been felled to allow for the site's installation and improve signal. A GEAR would stick out like a sore thumb, Max mused, but a rather tall lion might get away with it if he had to get closer. That wasn't on his mind, not until he found out what was actually there at least.
Circling around, the quadrotor UAV saw the other side of the hill, where he caught eye on an infantry squad on patrol, flashlights on. That made it at least 8 around this comms post or at least going into, and they seemed to be following the track on the far side of Max's current observation stop, actually going up to the comms post. Shit, that meant...well, they were coming from the airstrip. They seemed hurried, almost like they were in a rush to get out of there and up to the site. Behind them, another two were coming from a different angle, albeit not on the track at all- like they came out of the forest, on a patrol. They were on the other side however, and likely hadn't seen the insertion of the GEARs on the beach nor up here on the ridge. And as for the site itself? The large vehicle was bigger than Max wanted it to be, or at least, more armoured. The IFV sat there, as if it was an overwatch to blast any target apart that might charge up the hill, and no doubt while it wasn't very advanced and lacked any of Max's fancy night-capable imagery, it would make a big dent in any GEAR or soldier going up that hill. It had an ATGM setup too, so it'd be able to one-shot a GEAR if it got the track right. The lights were on in each of the two buildings, and there seemed to be active communications equipment, including a satellite dish mounted atop one of the portacabins. As for how many were inside, he didn't know- but it could be another five, if Max had to make a guess for how many would be able to actually fit in there.
"Shit, Rishun...this isn't great. You seeing this? Got any thoughts?" Max asked, the lion flying the drone a bit higher in overview and fixing it in position.
"Way I see it....we'll need to think about our approach here. That infantry team couldn't have seen us, but they seem to be moving in fast for some reason. Potentially to reinforce the position...or something else. I give it a few minutes before they get to the main buildings. The two man team, I can't make that out, but I would guess that's a patrol around here. There's also an IFV up there that will turn us to paste if we come closer...it had an ATGM on it, so definitely at least one of us. While they've got to face their gun downhill, it'll blast us apart before we make it over. Then there's the matter of the fact that while that comms station needs to get disrupted, it would be incredibly useful to break into there and get as much intel on who's chatting on the phone, if you get my gist. That would sabotage it without even using an explosive device. Your EW capabilities are good, but even I know nothing beats a hacking programme run in a core server network. Not a lot of time to do it in though." Max commented, his tactical nous thinking more out loud than anything else, likely stating the obvious. It was the thing that made him able to put the information that he had obtained into practice, and then use it like a scalpel to really hit hard.
"Right then...we've got a few options still. Add your thoughts to mine, if you like. I'll ping across the option routes to your display using our interfaces.
One, I go in with something to hack their network from your inventory and sneak into the site using the fallen logs and fact that their angles aren't all covered, without my GEAR. I can take advantage of the fact the rest of our team's about to blow stuff to bits down on the airstrip, and the squad here might not be expecting an attack from our angle. Nor will I get seen, if they haven't got NVGs...which they don't seem to have here. Maybe even a diversion from you would work best, in order to draw them out back down that track and give me room to do what I do best. All I need is to get a computer connection, and you can then turn that network inside out. Very risky for me given it'll be just me and my rifle, but it would mean you can keep your distance and the intel gain is likely to be the best. I can handle it, but....let's just say I don't want to be on that hill on my own when it goes FUBAR."
Two, we sit here and wait, paint some targets with the laser designator and ask the others to send politely send some mortar fire onto the IFV to disable it. We then go loud, and while I snipe, you would need to get close-in and run amok on that hill, with me joining on the other side. We'd do that hopefully without blowing apart the main buildings. Probably better than option one for our risk, but it might compromise the others down there if they use that mortar, and that might lose us some intel or access to the network. The mortar might cover our tracks, mind you."
Three...we go all in. We take this on ourselves and I snipe that IFV with an AP shot and the squad with a regular set of rounds, then we take out whatever is left in this area using 40 mils and our heavy weaponry. We hit hard, and thin out anyone we see. Raise hell, basically. We've got the firepower to do it and information to inform our strike too. Question is, if we do that, how many more are gonna come charging up to us if we don't relocate fast enough? We'll be completely compromised, potentially unable to cover the other team too. But it's always an option, given we've got a force multiplier in these GEARs."
"Feel free to suggest anything, Rishun. If you've got anything up your sleeve that might give us the opportunity to do any of those options better, now would be the time to suggest it." Max added, his long ramble once again more like an out-loud mental ponder of the situation they were in. From the various observations he could see, any option seemed viable if executed correctly, but given fuck-ups were the mother of all options, it could all go to hell very quickly.
The lion smirked a little however, guessing that the otter's overexcited nature would probably find Max's over-analytical and observant character to be at a wavelength approaching her attitude. Adjusting his comms set, he was back on Silverwind's squad channel, wanting to report in their position and shift in location.
"Captain, this is Bastion. We've got overwatch on the comms site and are at a few hundred meters out, we've made it undetected. We can handle it, but I'm sending you a few options I've evaluated for what you want our approach to be on striking it. Change it as you will boss- we're good to go and execute that on your order." Max called in, altering his HMD view out from the UAV's view to the optics on the GEAR, looking across to Rishun's Aqua Goddess behind his, waiting and ready.
Deep down, Max felt like this was back to old times, back to what he did best, but he had a feeling that the stakes were a lot higher. Like if they didn't do this correctly, the consequences were a bit worse than a terrorist organisation getting away with a bunch of money or a few people getting killed. It felt like it'd be much more significant- the lead they had here on Isenor was a substantial piece of the puzzle to unravelling the Silent Line, or at least Max hoped it would be. So getting this right would be important- and while Max knew the risk of what an operator like him would do, it was more Rishun's GEAR that would be in the line too. He never wanted to put someone else on the line that might not know just how serious this could get, but then again, they were in this situation together for probably a good reason. He adjusted his mane's hair at his chin with his hand, patching back into the UAV and providing general overwatch of the comms site, taking it in and looking for anything new that came into frame. The lion was aware that while if he was on his own he might do things differently, he had to follow the Captain's command and make sure they did things by the book.
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