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The Fall of Outremer 1x1 [Ozy x Cathy]

James & Alex III

What had moments ago been a dusty hellscape of broken rubble, fire, smoke and ash had now turned into an almost opaque scene. A cloud of fine dust lingered in the air, veiling the streets, parking lot and cityscape around the Salient landing zone like a morning fog. The impact of two dozen drop pods almost simultaneously impacting the concrete had shaken the city like a colossal earthquake. Buildings shook, windows shattered, alarms blared, and no one without a helmet with a filtration system would be able to see or breathe until the dust and soot settled. Then the orchestra of gunfire reached a deafening staccato as the drop troops burst from their pods and formed a perimeter around their landing zone.

“Sierra One secured,” said Alex-317 as the battle reached its culmination. After less than two or three minutes the area immediately surrounding the Salients’ landing zone was secured. By the time the orbital shock drops had landed, the Salients had dispatched dozens of the invading aliens. Whether on the ground in front of them, or in the windows of the burning towerscape surrounding them, the Salient teams had systematically eliminated whatever threat was envisaged on their optical display, and they did so with a superhuman speed which would have astounded even the special forces who were due to follow them; men who were trained to be deployed alongside Salients and who were consciously aware of their abilities.
“Copy, Sierra One secured,” said Alex’s subcommander, Master Sergeant Lyra-192. “Hostiles dispatched, landing zone clear,” she added. She was stood atop a wrecked vehicle which looked like it may have been a utility vehicle in times of peace. Her subdued maroon armour reflected little of the firelight emitted by the battle wreckage.
“Captain Cross,” began 317 reaching for his emitter as his team efficiently combed through the wreckages of vehicles, destroyed buildings and dead bodies. MSgt. Lyra directed the rest of the team to split in to pairs and begin searching the buildings immediately surrounding them for signs of alien life. By now the shock troops had all emerged from their pods and were beginning to surge forward to their pre-designated positions. Few of them had to fire a shot, and those that did only picked off stragglers and wounded combatants. The first skirmish was over. “Landing zone is secured and the perimeter is safe for landing. Blue team is in position to oversee, over.”

“Copy, Commander, expand your perimeter as you see fit. Disembarkment of troops and materiel will begin shortly. Our orbital scans still show an extremely built up presence of enemy forces in your vicinity. The OSN Drop Troops supporting you have been tasked with clearing them out while you make your way to the package. Do what you can to assist on your way, but nothing is to slow your advance. Forward with all haste, Commander. Support will be landing soon. They have their objective, you and your team have yours’. Get to it. Out.” Captain Cross, aboard the OSN Galahad’s Glare, was overseeing the disembarkation of thousands of troops and hundreds of thousands of tons of materiel to the ground. While the main fleet was engaged with the enemy, the supporting fleet was to unload their cargo with as much haste as they could muster before they were beset upon. The battleships and cruisers would hold the enemy for as long as they could, but according to the audio on the command channel it seemed to Cross that it would be a holding action from the very beginning. They could hit hard, but they wouldn’t be able to be hit back much in return before they began to crumble. The ground forces would have to find their quarry soon. More than they realised would depend upon it.

Alex nodded in response to Cross, reloading his rifle while in the cover of a wrecked vehicle. Another Salient knelt near him, keeping track of the icons on his visual map to see where the recently landed troops had advanced to. Only a few minutes had passed since the initial assault, but already a few hundred metres of ground had been cleared. The shock troops were consummate professionals and ruthlessly efficient in clearing buildings and roads. The rest of the Blue Team had been accompanying them. The Salients didn’t have time to check individual buildings, and directed their subordinate troops to check and clear while they head towards their objective with singular purpose.

The Fall of Outremer 1x1 [Ozy x Cathy]

James & Alex

II

Outremer, planetside. City outskirts.

“Good luck, sir,” was the last thing Alex heard before the drop pods carrying the ship’s Salients were launched from the port side of the Galahad’s Glare. Through a small, reinforced observation window facing outwards from his seat, Alex saw the petty officer who launched his pod salute. He was gone in a split second, replaced with a flash of combusting gas as the pod began its supersonic trajectory through the emptiness of space towards the surface of Outremer.
Alex’s pod was accompanied by six pods containing a Salient in each, and two dozen carrying elite drop troops assigned to accompany and protect the augmented soldiers on their critical assignment. Though in overall command of the unit, Alex would be leading the Salient Blue Team, while his lieutenant, Zara-387, lead the Red Team a few kilometers from the Blue Team’s landing site on a separate mission, whereafter they will rejoin the rest of the unit. The crew of the Galahad’s Glare watched the two dozen or so pods soar through the void like a cluster of embers, rapidly shrinking until they were imperceptible. There was no sound within the pods aside from the gentle hum of the electronics. Alex read the console in front of him and saw that his velocity was several times the speed of sound and rapidly increasing.
Outside the windows of their ships, the crews of the OSN fleet could see a dazzling display of lights. The capital ships had steamed ahead of the smaller ships carrying troops, and began to engage the alien vessels in orbit over Outremer. The naval action was hundreds of thousands of miles away, yet it seemed close enough to touch for each crewman who knew that within minutes their ship could be struck and their hull ruptured, leaving them victim to the vacuum of space. There was no time for those thoughts now.
“Thirty seconds to planetside,” came the monotone voice of the information suite inside Alex’s helmet. His optical display showed the artificial ground of Outremer where he would be landing, as well as the position of his pod and the others around him. His trajectory was almost ninety degrees. The ground below him was almost completely flat, and the program controlling the descent of the pod adjusted its position to avoid an angled landing. Alex didn’t need to speak to his team. Each one of them knew their mission to the letter, and each one of them was capable of carrying it out on their own. They didn’t need the reassurance of normal soldiers or marines. They would be landing almost a minute before the drop troops followed them so they could thin out the bulk of whatever awaited them.

“Impact imminent.” Five seconds later the concrete ground of the city outskirts upon which Alex landed cracked and sundered under the enormous stress of the pod’s landing. Milliseconds after touching down the door of the pod hissed and ejected forwards, as though a superhuman had wrenched it from its hinges and tossed it away like waste paper. Alex propelled himself from his seat and waded through the grey air, thick with dust kicked up from his impact. Before he had even cleared the pod he had fired his first round from his rifle. His optical display showed the thermal outlines of Outremer’s aggressors. Somewhat humanoid, but altogether not human. There were dozens of them. A platoon or more, in OSN terminology. Alien forces occupying the area of the city they had taken, picking through the debris and wreckage of their invasion. Some of them were small, runty creatures that stumbled and hopped rather than walking. They looked like labourers, used for menial work. Others wore some kind of shimmering armour which dazzled the eye when struck by sunlight. These were much taller. They would tower over the drop troops when they landed.
All around him Alex saw wrecked vehicles and buildings. He saw a collapsed bridge a kilometer or so away. The air was hazy and smoky, exacerbated by the dust kicked up by the Salients landing around him. He fired another round, taking another step forward. Then another. Another. Within five seconds of landing, the pod had released his harness, ejected the door, he had readied his rifle, stepped through and executed three of the creatures. They hadn’t even seen him through the dust. Two of his team landed almost close enough to touch their pods, further clouding the air. One of the doors of the pods ejected forward with such force that it crushed one of the labouring aliens against a wall. Their rifles joined Alex’s percussive orchestra. Another pod landed nearby, but through the roof of a building, smashing through each floor in succession until it struck the ground. Its occupant had to manually break through his door and blast away rubble with an explosive device, protected by his powered armour.
Ten seconds had passed since Alex had landed. A dozen were dead, the rest reeling from the shock and making for whatever cover they could find. The salients were all planetside now, working together to clear the area. They didn’t need to speak. Each of them knew what to do, like programmed machines, and they performed their purpose perfectly. Alex and his team had landed in a sprawling parking area on the outskirts of the city. It was chosen for its spacious area. Most of the drop troops would be able to land here. They were surrounded by buildings, some dozens of storeys high, but all empty.
Within a few seconds, Alex would be joined by several dozen soldiers. What had been an area of the city devoid of human life for a few days or weeks would soon be bustling with armoured warriors, with Alex and his team spearheading Outremer’s efforts against their invaders.

The Fall of Outremer 1x1 [Ozy x Cathy]

James & Alex

I

Aboard OSN Galahad's Glare

The unnatural calm of space travel was unnerving to some, but to James Cross it was the last moment of silence and serenity before emerging into unknown situations when dropping out of hyperspeed. There wasn't much to see as he gazed out of the bridge's main observation deck at the black void, but there was something about the absence of anything there that allowed Cross to think, like an artist looking at a blank canvas and wondering what could be created with it. Keeping his hands clasped firmly behind his back, the captain suppressed the gnawing anxiety in him as he looked at his console and saw the digital timer ticking down, knowing there was only a short time before the Galahad's Glare emerged out of hyperspace, along with the rest of the fleet, into the enemy occupied orbit of Outremer. Reports had been coming in for days that the Outremer army and fleet had been taking losses and losing territory, and communication had been increasingly desperate. Cross knew that Galahad's Glare and the rest of the fleet were the final chance for thousands of Outremer's people, both military and civilian. He also knew they would not be able to save them all.
“Captain,” came the voice of a young ensign, saluting as she came to attention. “Commander 317 reports he and the Salient Blue Team are ready for immediate deployment when we exit hyperspace, sir.” The captain nodded and thanked the ensign for her report, then turned back to the observation window.
“Have him come up to the observation deck, ensign.” he said, briefly turning back to face her. She saluted again and left the deck expediently to fetch the Salient commander. Orders and instructions had already been issued to every soldier, marine, sailor, crewman and civilian onboard every ship in the fleet, but the captain intended to confer with some of the senior officers aboard nevertheless, including 317.
It took no more than five minutes before the main door to the observation deck opened with an audible shhh and the metal floor echoed a clank, distinct from the dull thud of service boots. The captain felt an imposing shadow behind him and turned to see a colossal figure in blue, white-trimmed powered armour.
“Sir,” began the commander. He did not salute, but inclined his head and stood rigidly to attention. He towered over the captain by almost two feet and had to tilt his head downwards to meet his gaze. Captain Cross looked at his reflection in the commander's visor. “My team is ready,” added the commander. “We'll deploy in the strike pods before the marines and ground forces arrive planetside like we discussed. Everything is in order.”
“Good. We may only have moments to make our opening strike. Once we emerge from hyperspace we'll have minutes at most to manoeuvre the fleet and disembark our complement. We need the ground as secure as possible for the drop ships to land,” said the captain, observing the digital representations of the fleet, Outremer and the enemy fleet displayed on a large console. What he said was not hyperbole, they would likely be outnumbered and overpowered, but they had surprise on their side for a few moments, during which they would need to unload thousands of soldiers and marines on to the ground whilst the battlecruisers and other capital ships held position in orbit above the landing zones. Galahad's Glare's complement of salients and marines, as well as the soldiers and vehicles they were transporting would be deployed to one major landing zone near a major city where an extremely high profile asset had been located and tagged for extraction. Galahad's Glare was a large and powerful ship, but substantially swifter and lighter than a capital ship. She had been chosen as the primary carrier of the asset, and Captain Cross held responsibility for its extraction.

The Fall of Outremer 1x1 [Ozy x Cathy]

Name: Alexander [Redacted]

Rank: Lieutenant Commander.

Callsign: Alex-317 / 317.

Age: 25.

Gender: Male.

Profession: Special Forces / Naval Branch.

Appearance:



Height: 6'8” out of armour / 7ft in armour.

Weight: 240lbs out of armour / c. 1000lbs in armour.

Personality: Alex is devoted to his objective, whether it is assaulting an objective, or defending a family as they flee a warzone. He is engineered to be entirely devoted to his cause and to his orders. However, despite his augmentation and programming to be a disposable soldiers, Alex retains much of his humanity and attempts to connect with, and help, those he comes across, particularly those in desperate need.
When he can be, Alex is friendly and affable. His warm nature is considerably offset by the fact that he is an augmented warrior, and often stands almost double the height of most of those he speaks to, but he attempts to helps those he can.
When presented with violence, Alex swiftly changes into a protective mentality and generally employs an aggressive doctrine to protect the people (or object) he was charged with. A normal soldier or marine may see his actions as almost suicidal, not understanding that the training and augmentations – not to mention the armour – provide Alex a degree of immunity in war, and allow him to undertake extremely dangerous actions; a fact his commanders are aware of, and frequently take advantage of.

Backstory: Little is known about Alex's childhood. He had a healthy family, but he has not seen them in decades by this point. As as successful member of a junior military cadet corps, Alex was invited by an unnamed military officer to attend a series of selections, tests, trials and competitions. More than a hundred young men and women attended, of which between 5-10 passed selection. Alex was one of these young men.
He was invited to take part in an extraordinary procedure which would make him almost immortal. Unofficially Alex has no choice, but thankfully he accepted nonetheless. Having passed the extremely rigorous training process, which included undertaking and passing all of the military branch special forces' selection and training programs, Alex became one of the elite, biologically and mechanically augmented supersoldiers of the military, under a project known as Project Salient. Along with the other Salients as they were nicknamed for lack of an official title, Alex was assigned to the general command of the navy, to be deployed where they deemed necessary. These deployments were almost always extremely volatile and dangerous.
By the time Outremer was invaded by the voracious and deadly invaders we are now faced with, Alex had already taken part in several successful campaigns on a number of worlds in our sphere of control. Whether direct action, guerilla warfare, electronic or technical combat, recon, sabotage, assassination, or local training, Alex played a significant part in the actions of the human expansion and safekeeping of the worlds under our control. Under the command of Captain Cross of the OSN Galahad's Glare, Alex, a small number of fellow Salients, and countless soldiers, marines, sailors and civilians were tasked with the objective of saving and securing Outremer.

The Fall of Outremer

Hey all, looking forward to getting this started!

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

-163

The Dawn of the Civilization (Stone age tribal NRP)

Saamala

Name:

Saamalasailet (collective), Saamala (colloquial collective), Saami (singular).

Brief description:

The Saamala are nomadic people, preferring to stay near coasts, rivers and dense forests for their needs. They revere the natural world.

Main deity:

The Saamala revere all things natural. Whether animal or plant, all aspects of nature are revered as the deity of these people. Hunting is accepted, and encouraged, but disrespect shown during this process is extremely offensive to these people. For example, hunting an animal without using every part of it is considered wasteful and disrespectful, and it is thought among them that this will bring down the wrath of that animal in the future, or that it will not allow itself to be hunted. The forest and the sea are of particular reverence to these people.

Government:

There is no 'government' among the Saamala, but ancestor worship is prevalent, and the wisdom and experience of the elders is respected and often heeded. As such, the elders operate as a de facto leadership in the sense that they are considered to know best, but do not hold 'official' authority.

Inhabited area and settlements:

The Saamala live primarily in boreal forest. Large rivers, some running for thousands of kilometres, are used as the highways of these people. Boreal trees are used to make canoes to traverse these rivers, and flint from coastal areas is used for tools. The trees, rivers and all other aspects of the geography are revered by these people, and very little scarring by humanity can be seen (I.e no mass deforestation, etc.). The Saamala are somewhat nomadic.

They move during certain seasons so that their animals can feed on fresh growth, and so that they can take advantage of seasonal food (I.e rivers are more useful in the spring and summer because they are not frozen). Therefore, these people can be seen on rivers and coastal areas far more frequently during warmer months, and in land during the winter where herds of animals are more likely to be found.

Their settlements are an assortment of huts and shelters made of wooden frames and covered in animal hides sewn together to make a protective covering. Long-term settlements are constructed of wooden frames and covered with thatching made of branches and earth for insulation.

Story:

The Saamala have little in the way of a mythological or divine story regarding their origin. They do not believe they are the sole inheritors of the land, or that a deity gave them possession of the wild, but simply believe they are one part of a large orchestra that makes up the living world, which is what plays a significant part in their shamanistic religion.

By nature of the climate, dangerous wildlife and unforgiving lifestyle, the boreal forests have always been relatively scarcely populated, and as such the Saamala are not a people that number very hugely, but they are a people who respect the nature of the cold climate and understand that co-operation is preferable to conflict, and this mentality lead to the formation of a de facto tribe from an assortment of individual families over time.

The result of their formation means that the Saamala are more of an ethnic group inhabiting the northern boreal forests, rather than a political entity that another tribe or individual could hope to deal with as a whole.

Warriors:

War is not a typical pursuit of the Saamala. Those who prefer fishing are familiar with frog-spears and the like, those who hunt are familiar with bows and spears, and so forth, and so the people are not unskilled with weapons, but very rarely will they take the lives of people. This is only done in defence.

Important people: TBA as story progresses.

The Dawn of the Civilization (Stone age tribal NRP)

@Ozymandias I hope you read the "Story" part of the OOC, because even the hippie tribes are gonna have to do some fighting to survive :D

@Raylah

Well yeah, but that'll be more of a survival thing than conquest

The map looks great!

The Dawn of the Civilization (Stone age tribal NRP)

I'm a lot more interested in the hunter-gatherer aspect of the stone age than warfare :D

The Dawn of the Civilization (Stone age tribal NRP)

Name:

Saamalasailet (collective), Saamala (colloquial collective), Saami (singular).

Brief description:

The Saamala are nomadic people, preferring to stay near coasts, rivers and dense forests for their needs. They revere the natural world.

Main deity:

The Saamala revere all things natural. Whether animal or plant, all aspects of nature are revered as the deity of these people. Hunting is accepted, and encouraged, but disrespect shown during this process is extremely offensive to these people. For example, hunting an animal without using every part of it is considered wasteful and disrespectful, and it is thought among them that this will bring down the wrath of that animal in the future, or that it will not allow itself to be hunted. The forest and the sea are of particular reverence to these people.

Government:

There is no 'government' among the Saamala, but ancestor worship is prevalent, and the wisdom and experience of the elders is respected and often heeded. As such, the elders operate as a de facto leadership in the sense that they are considered to know best, but do not hold 'official' authority.

Inhabited area and settlements:

The Saamala live primarily in boreal forest. Large rivers, some running for thousands of kilometres, are used as the highways of these people. Boreal trees are used to make canoes to traverse these rivers, and flint from coastal areas is used for tools. The trees, rivers and all other aspects of the geography are revered by these people, and very little scarring by humanity can be seen (I.e no mass deforestation, etc.). The Saamala are somewhat nomadic.

They move during certain seasons so that their animals can feed on fresh growth, and so that they can take advantage of seasonal food (I.e rivers are more useful in the spring and summer because they are not frozen). Therefore, these people can be seen on rivers and coastal areas far more frequently during warmer months, and in land during the winter where herds of animals are more likely to be found.

Their settlements are an assortment of huts and shelters made of wooden frames and covered in animal hides sewn together to make a protective covering. Long-term settlements are constructed of wooden frames and covered with thatching made of branches and earth for insulation.

Warriors:

War is not a typical pursuit of the Saamala. Those who prefer fishing are familiar with frog-spears and the like, those who hunt are familiar with bows and spears, and so forth, and so the people are not unskilled with weapons, but very rarely will they take the lives of people. This is only done in defence.

Important people: TBA as story progresses.