Songster Gecko

R.E.S.C.U.E Global Ops

Good luck for your papers! I'm typically busy on weekdays, but I'll pick up the slack once the weekend comes.

The Asian Ghost Story Collection

Rhys shrugged and turned back to face his laptop as Rainbow left the office. That had certainly been a strange conversation. Not unwelcome, but simply weird. He had never really thought of haunted computers before then, but now he couldn't help but regard his own laptop with a degree of suspicion. It wasn't a secondhand machine - in fact it was a custom-built monster for all his varied needs - but he was almost certainly sure that ghosts weren't confined to haunting or possessing used items. Then again, if his machine had never been touched by anyone else, why would a ghost even bother inhabiting it?

He shook his head and went back to reading his threads and forums. If his computer was indeed haunted, he was pretty sure that the ghost inside probably hated him.

---

"Yes, colleagues." Fletcher confirmed, even though he was using the word in the loosest of terms. It wasn't that he was intending to quit his job or anything of the sort, Fletcher just found it hard to truly call anyone his colleague within the first few weeks of a new job. He barely even called his own section mates that after months of training together, and only near the end of his service could he call the people he had trained with his colleagues and acquaintances without feeling overly-familiar.

Marvin's gaze made Fletcher feel slightly uncomfortable, but he did not reflect it on his face. Discomfort was nothing new to Fletcher, even discomfort from social situations - his military vocation had essentially been camp police, and no one ever wanted to see, or even be around him. His presence usually heralded an impending bunk raid, phone check or general search for hidden contraband. "No, I'm not Malaysian." He corrected the man, choosing his tone and words carefully. He was all too aware that some people may hear it as Singaporean arrogance or whatnot, and so Fletcher kept his voice calm and level. "I'm from Singapore."

The Asian Ghost Story Collection

That was indeed a possibility, Rhys thought, and an interesting one at that. He had never really heard of haunted computers before, but he supposed that even paranormal beings had to get along with the times. Still, he found the idea rather funny, despite Rainbow's serious demeanour; what was a haunted computer going to do? Spam your inbox and download all sorts of illegal pornography? It almost brought a grin to Rhys' face, but looking at Rainbow, he decided to suppress it. It would most likely irritate her to no end, and not even Rhys wanted to piss her off. Not without due reason, at least.

"Well, haunted PC or not, this does sound like trouble. For the fella who's being haunted, at least." Rhys said. It was going to be interesting to see just how they were going to exorcise a ghost from a computer, though ripping out the hard drive and smashing the thing to pieces did sound like a straightforward - and indeed, a rather obvious - solution. "I'm guessing that you've found us some work?"

---

Intel?

That term caught Fletcher by surprise; he had not been expecting to hear it used in a serious manner outside of the army, and even in the army, it was rarely used to refer to the actual army intelligence branch. Thus, when he heard that they were going to meet one of Murphy's 'intel bros', the image that popped into his head was akin to a scene from a stereotypical Hollywood crime drama flick; dark alleys, a secluded room with a nondescript door, within which was an isolated man - most likely scrawny, wearing glasses and in stained clothes - who was inexplicably well-connected to the rest of the world and loaded with useful information.

Of course, that notion quickly died when they entered an Apple outlet, and it was quickly buried six feet under when he was introduced to the mountain of a man who was Muffin. A few years ago, Fletcher would have felt intimidated. Frightened, even, but two years of the army and an unspecified incident involving a knife and a dog had more or less insulated him from being cowed by appearances alone. Besides, this Muffin person was probably on good terms with Murphy, and that meant that there was nothing to worry about. Not unless Fletcher accidentally offended him, but Fletcher was quite sure that he wasn't that hopeless.

"Hello," Fletcher said with a nod. "Pleased to meet you."

What are you afraid of?

Heights, the dark, crowds, being alone. Yes, I know the last two are contradictory.

"Just following orders"

I wouldn't know how it is in other armies, but I do know that I am legally obliged to refuse, or failing that, outright disobey any orders that are unlawful or would result in an unlawful act. Following orders is good and all, but that doesn't mean that you can start switching off your brain. If my sergeant, lieutenant, or even lieutenant colonel came up to me and asked my straight to shoot someone, I'd ask them for a reason first.

R.E.S.C.U.E Global Ops

Armoury

Vasily had wasted no time in making his way to the armoury once the plan had been finalized and the assets secured. Taylor could take care of the pilots and their briefing. Vasily just had to get Meng Lie up to speed about the mission and have him prepare the teams' weapons, or, more accurately, to simply release the electronic locks securing them to the racks. The moment Vasily saw Meng Lie standing over a disassembled SVU-A sniper rifle on the armoury's central table, he knew that the Chinese man had just spent the last few hours ensuring that everything was in top condition.

"A mission, sir?" Meng Lie asked, looking up from his work at the Russian. They were no longer in their respective forces, and even then Vasily had never been an officer, but he had long since given up telling the Chinese man to address him by name. It was probably never going to happen.

Vasily nodded. "That's right. Silenced loadout, Yang."

"Understood, sir." Meng Lie replied. "Sir, I need you to gather the teams. I shall see to the final preparations personally."

Mess hall

The three members of Firelight had long since stopped their game of poker, much to Ashton's relief. He knew that it was only a matter of time before someone was eating rancid food or drinking expired milk, with the way things were going. In the aftermath of their last round, Anahera had to drink what was basically a tea-coffee mixture infused with oyster sauce, sliced chili and a copious amount of pepper. To say that it was an unpleasant experience would have been an understatement; the New Zealander had practically sprinted to the nearest sink to throw up.

"Still looking a little green there, Ana." Ashton said teasingly, a smirk tugging at the edges of the lips.

"Piss off, Ash." Anahera replied grumpily. She slumped over in her seat, resting her head on her arms and groaned in discomfort. "I'm never going to be able to wash the taste from my mouth."

Ashton leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. He was enjoying watching this side of Anahera, the side that wasn't always trying to get a rise out of him or teasing him to the point of irritation. Still, he could not help but feel some sympathy for his team mate. It would take a lot of mouthwash and mint-flavoured toothpaste to wipe the horrendously strange taste from her mouth. "Well, maybe next time you wouldn't choose such a stupid forfeit for our games. Not so fun when you're the one who has to do it, huh?"

"Yes, yes," Anahera replied, her voice muffled. "I'm sorry, Mister Ash. I promise I won't do it again, Mister Ash. Please don't call my parents."

Ashton was about to give his response when the ship's intercom crackled to life. "Attention all teams," Vasily's static-laced voice said. "Everyone to report to the armoury for kitting out. Repeat, all teams to report to the armoury for kitting out."

The three members of Firelight fell into silence for a moment, each of them looking at one another. Then, as one, they jumped out of their seats and ran for the armoury. The time for jokes and casual conversations was over. Now it was time to be serious.

R.E.S.C.U.E Global Ops

An insertion via HALO jumping did indeed sound like the safest and stealthiest option, but Vasily could already see several problems with Taylor's suggestion. Vasily knew that his team was not anywhere near the level of being capable to carry out a HALO jump, at least not without multiple safety violations, violations that even the VDV would have not risked. With his vast experience with the Russian Airborne, Vasily could practically carry out such a jump with his eyes closed, but the rest of his team? Meng Lie was police trained, and so would have never even seen the inside of a military transport aircraft. Seung-Min was a marine, Ashton a heliborne raider and Anahera an infantrywoman.

"While I agree that a HALO jump would be safest, not all of us are trained for such an operation." Vasily said carefully, not wanting to sound any more confrontational than was absolutely needed. He glanced fleetingly at Ignacio. There was no question about it; the Disgraced Phoenixes were definitely not trained in HALO operations, of that Vasily was more than sure. "We do have capable helicopter pilots, and if the anti-air weapons being used by the insurgents are leftovers from the Soviet invasion, then avoiding them would be a matter of flying low and fast. The early Strelas and Iglas will be unable to engage us then."

R.E.S.C.U.E Global Ops

You could just have it as AA weapons captured by insurgent forces, or AA weapons sold on the black market by corrupt military personnel.

R.E.S.C.U.E Global Ops

Just thought I'd point out that the USSR never invaded Iraq. They invaded Afghanistan.

R.E.S.C.U.E Global Ops

Don't sweat it, man. School always kicked my ass back when I was still going to school.

@Landaus Five-One and I could always make some filler by having our characters not involved in the briefing interact with one another.