Cole walked out of the briefing room, and went to his bunk realizing that considering the situation he probably wouldn't have many good nights left. In the morning he went down to the hangar again intnt on studying the transport again.
Vigilo, Confido - An XCOM RP (Open/PM for Entry) (Started)
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
Daryl lay in bed unable to sleep. He was starting to hurt. He hadn't been dry in a long time. The general numbness the hard liquor gave him had eroded away. He needed a clear head for what he was about to do, but he sure as hell didn't like it. He knew he had a problem. He just didn't care. Whatever it took for the pains of the past, present and future to go away. "I have to get through this. I survived a war. I can survive going without a freaking drink."
Razvan quickly and quietly headed out of the room. He as actually glad that the meeting was over so that now he could sleep. Heading towards his bunk he thought, lucky I'm a pilot, they won't need me there first thing and with that he pulled the blanket over his head and fell asleep.
Colina was too much of a soldier to voice her ill defined concerns as she also filed out of the briefing room, but that didn't stop her from letting out a somewhat exasperated sigh. It seemed to her that the commander had basically admitted that there was only a single wing of the Ravens ready; no spares, no backup. Colina also had a sinking feeling that local military forces might not even be called in, this didn't seem like that kind of operation. So the final deployment would likely be Colina and that Razvan fellow alone in near untested craft.
"Can't believe I gave up a commission to be humanities's welcoming comity." She later muttered to herself in her new quarters as she performed some relaxation meditation.
Normally Colina was a bit of a night owl, but even she was feeling exhausted by the day. She began to mentally prepare herself for all of the things she would need to start on as soon as possible; find out if they had a flight simulator in the facility, rustle up some technical manuals for the Raven and Avalanche, get to know the flight crew, meet up with Razvan. There wasgoing to be a lot to do in the upcoming days.
"Can't believe I gave up a commission to be humanities's welcoming comity." She later muttered to herself in her new quarters as she performed some relaxation meditation.
Normally Colina was a bit of a night owl, but even she was feeling exhausted by the day. She began to mentally prepare herself for all of the things she would need to start on as soon as possible; find out if they had a flight simulator in the facility, rustle up some technical manuals for the Raven and Avalanche, get to know the flight crew, meet up with Razvan. There wasgoing to be a lot to do in the upcoming days.
04:00 (UTC +1)
March 4th, 2015
XCOM Headquarters
The week since the arrival of the large group of recruits to XCOM had gone rather smoothely, all things considered. XCOM Headquarters was now at full readiness, all personell and provisions were on-site (barring any people to be recruited later, of course).
The troops had gotten aquainted with the arms and armor that they would be using, though this transition was admittably rather easy, due in no small part to the fact that just about all of the weapons issued to XCOM's ground teams were merely somewhat modified versions of common weapons found in the armories of several of the world's militaries and law enforcement agencies. Likewise, the armor was simply a bulky Kevlar-and-composite affair with the addition of some extra protective padding on critical joints, and a fully-enclosed helmet that included some rather nice features (high-lum flashlight, built-in radio, auto-polarizing faceplate, and even rudimentary air-filtration). Every soldier had also recieved basic training in the use of XCOM's Field Medkits, too, as this was one area were not everyone would be familiar with their use. All in all, though, it seemed like the troops were taking a shine to their gear.
The pilots had also similarly been given time to get aquainted with their aircraft. The Interceptor pilots in particular had spent quite a lot of time learning the ins and outs of their aircraft, studying the specifications of their weapons, and also learning to cope with the flight characteristics of the Ravens (particularly the vertical launch catapult and the VTOL landings) thanks to the simulators that XCOM kept on-base. The Skyranger crews, likewise were engaged in similar training.
The science and engineering teams had also likewise been preparing, constantly testing, re-testing, and calibrating their equipment. Everyone at XCOM was ready, but sadly, all that anyone could do was wait.
But the wait, however, proved to not be long at all...
...
Brit Hagen was on her early shift when the alarm first sounded. She had been quietly reflecting on the past week, overlooking the large holographic globe in the center of Mission Control, when the air was shaken by the low bwaaaaaah of the base alarm. Within seconds, the relatively placid scene in Mission Control had turned into one of barely-organized chaos.
"SITREP! What's going on? Bradford!" Hagen shouted to her American second-in-command, who was looking at a monitor at his workstation. He looked up, his face wearing a shocked expression.
"We, uh...we may have an incursion, ma'am." he spoke, his voice shaking.
"Well, is that all?" Hagen asked sarcastically. She knew that Bradford was talented, but evidently he still needed to learn how to handle himself in a stressful situation. Forgetting to do things at a time like this was never a good thing.
"Oh! Uh, putting it up n display now, ma'am!"
Hagen nodded in silent approval, before turning her attention to the Globe. A single red indicator flashed in Northern Africa. Watch Officer Bradford began to give a run-down of the situation.
"OK, situation report: Algiers, Algeria. Mass hysteria, freak weather, and a missing Algerian military recon team. Area in the outskirts of the city"
"All of that in so little time?" the Central Officer asked, surprised.
"Uh, not quite. It would appear as though things began an hour and a half ago, the Algerians have only made the decision to contact us in the last 20 minutes, it looks like."
"Commander's going to take a bite out of the Council for that. OK, let's do this. Call up the ground team, tell 'em to get suited up and geared-up ASAP. Get all of OD-Delta on this; Black, Yates, Makhuba, Hill, Summers, Vanson, and Labelle. Who's Skyranger's on call, Bracken's? Tell him to get ready for immidiate take-off, I want them in the air within 5; we'll brief them en route. What's the airspace status over Algiers?"
"The Algerian Air Force reports no contacts over the city, or the surrounding area."
"Alright, that means we won't be needing our Interceptors for this. Tell Tanase and campbell that I want them on high-alert, either they're going with Bracken as extra crew for the Skyranger, or they're here, keeping watch with us. Send a message to the Algerian military, tell them to isolate the affected area and to put up a wide perimeter around it. Nothing get's through."
Hagen stopped as Bradford and the rest of the Mission Control staff got to work. She could already hear the thundering of the ground team approaching , heading for the Hanger. the distinctive sound of a Skyranger's engines warming up was also faintly audible. Brit stared for a moment at the distance between XCOM HQ and Algiers on the map.
Should take a little less than an hour of flight time if Bracken opens up the throttle. Plenty of time to brief them on the situation in-flight.
"Bradford, one more thing. Get someone to wake up the Commander, I'm pretty sure he'll want to have a look at all this personally."
March 4th, 2015
XCOM Headquarters
The week since the arrival of the large group of recruits to XCOM had gone rather smoothely, all things considered. XCOM Headquarters was now at full readiness, all personell and provisions were on-site (barring any people to be recruited later, of course).
The troops had gotten aquainted with the arms and armor that they would be using, though this transition was admittably rather easy, due in no small part to the fact that just about all of the weapons issued to XCOM's ground teams were merely somewhat modified versions of common weapons found in the armories of several of the world's militaries and law enforcement agencies. Likewise, the armor was simply a bulky Kevlar-and-composite affair with the addition of some extra protective padding on critical joints, and a fully-enclosed helmet that included some rather nice features (high-lum flashlight, built-in radio, auto-polarizing faceplate, and even rudimentary air-filtration). Every soldier had also recieved basic training in the use of XCOM's Field Medkits, too, as this was one area were not everyone would be familiar with their use. All in all, though, it seemed like the troops were taking a shine to their gear.
The pilots had also similarly been given time to get aquainted with their aircraft. The Interceptor pilots in particular had spent quite a lot of time learning the ins and outs of their aircraft, studying the specifications of their weapons, and also learning to cope with the flight characteristics of the Ravens (particularly the vertical launch catapult and the VTOL landings) thanks to the simulators that XCOM kept on-base. The Skyranger crews, likewise were engaged in similar training.
The science and engineering teams had also likewise been preparing, constantly testing, re-testing, and calibrating their equipment. Everyone at XCOM was ready, but sadly, all that anyone could do was wait.
But the wait, however, proved to not be long at all...
...
Brit Hagen was on her early shift when the alarm first sounded. She had been quietly reflecting on the past week, overlooking the large holographic globe in the center of Mission Control, when the air was shaken by the low bwaaaaaah of the base alarm. Within seconds, the relatively placid scene in Mission Control had turned into one of barely-organized chaos.
"SITREP! What's going on? Bradford!" Hagen shouted to her American second-in-command, who was looking at a monitor at his workstation. He looked up, his face wearing a shocked expression.
"We, uh...we may have an incursion, ma'am." he spoke, his voice shaking.
"Well, is that all?" Hagen asked sarcastically. She knew that Bradford was talented, but evidently he still needed to learn how to handle himself in a stressful situation. Forgetting to do things at a time like this was never a good thing.
"Oh! Uh, putting it up n display now, ma'am!"
Hagen nodded in silent approval, before turning her attention to the Globe. A single red indicator flashed in Northern Africa. Watch Officer Bradford began to give a run-down of the situation.
"OK, situation report: Algiers, Algeria. Mass hysteria, freak weather, and a missing Algerian military recon team. Area in the outskirts of the city"
"All of that in so little time?" the Central Officer asked, surprised.
"Uh, not quite. It would appear as though things began an hour and a half ago, the Algerians have only made the decision to contact us in the last 20 minutes, it looks like."
"Commander's going to take a bite out of the Council for that. OK, let's do this. Call up the ground team, tell 'em to get suited up and geared-up ASAP. Get all of OD-Delta on this; Black, Yates, Makhuba, Hill, Summers, Vanson, and Labelle. Who's Skyranger's on call, Bracken's? Tell him to get ready for immidiate take-off, I want them in the air within 5; we'll brief them en route. What's the airspace status over Algiers?"
"The Algerian Air Force reports no contacts over the city, or the surrounding area."
"Alright, that means we won't be needing our Interceptors for this. Tell Tanase and campbell that I want them on high-alert, either they're going with Bracken as extra crew for the Skyranger, or they're here, keeping watch with us. Send a message to the Algerian military, tell them to isolate the affected area and to put up a wide perimeter around it. Nothing get's through."
Hagen stopped as Bradford and the rest of the Mission Control staff got to work. She could already hear the thundering of the ground team approaching , heading for the Hanger. the distinctive sound of a Skyranger's engines warming up was also faintly audible. Brit stared for a moment at the distance between XCOM HQ and Algiers on the map.
Should take a little less than an hour of flight time if Bracken opens up the throttle. Plenty of time to brief them on the situation in-flight.
"Bradford, one more thing. Get someone to wake up the Commander, I'm pretty sure he'll want to have a look at all this personally."
Thomas was generally one to wake at the crack of dawn but today he had awoken at around 0300 due to his random internal clock. He was just finishing his morning jog when he heard the alarm. He was already moving to the armory when the team he was on got called up. He quickly got his armor on before grabbing a modified HK417, KARD sidearm, 4 clips spare ammo each and a pair of frags. He then double-timed it to the Skyranger.
*Bella was busy in the armory she had been cleaning her Mossberg and unpacking her duffel bag in to her locking having arrived later then the rest of the recruits.Hearing the alarm she dashed to grab her body armor and her sidearm before grabbing a belt for her shotgun shells and some frags.She bumps in to Thomas as she makes her way to the hanger running by CIC*"Hey hope this is the real thing been dieing for some action eh soldier'
Razvan got up slowly. He was feeling strangely relaxed that morning. Dressing in the casual base uniform he headed towards the hangar to see the others off. Two of them were already there having a little chat, both of them looked eager to go.
"Hey there," he said with a smile on his face, "I just came here to wish you luck against whatever you're about to face. Now I'll need to go and find a place to relax and sip some cocktails until you people are done playing soldiers." he said jokingly.
"Hey there," he said with a smile on his face, "I just came here to wish you luck against whatever you're about to face. Now I'll need to go and find a place to relax and sip some cocktails until you people are done playing soldiers." he said jokingly.
Daryl woke up to the sound of the alarm. He climbed out of bed and rolled his neck. He shook his head and laughed. "Man, if someone told me i was going to be fighting aliens a year a go I would have thought they had lost their minds, but here I am," He said to himself as he walked to get his armor and weapons. He pieced togethor the armor and attached his RPG before lifting his gun. "Time to show the rest f them why I was called "fuse" by my ol' platoon." He rushed to the Skyranger.
Baxter was practicing his aiming in the armory, he had manage to make friends with the armorer after he convinced them to let him keep his job.
"Crap, my job." Baxter frowned. The armorer laughed and sent him along with a standard issue rifle and 4 clips, and a standard pistol with only one. Baxter jogged to the hangar, ignoring the random people dashing about to their stations.
"Sup." was Baxters casual greeting as he came to a stop behind Razven, almost running into him.
"Crap, my job." Baxter frowned. The armorer laughed and sent him along with a standard issue rifle and 4 clips, and a standard pistol with only one. Baxter jogged to the hangar, ignoring the random people dashing about to their stations.
"Sup." was Baxters casual greeting as he came to a stop behind Razven, almost running into him.
Cole heard the alarm going off, finally. He kitted up and grabbed a satchel which held a few personal effects, a medkit, and an old revolver.
He sprinted into the skyranger the second he hit the hangar, already warming her up by the time the others started arriving.
He sprinted into the skyranger the second he hit the hangar, already warming her up by the time the others started arriving.
04:02 (UTC +1)
March 4th, 2015
XCOM HQ
"Bradford, make sure that the late-arrival recruit get's attached to OD-Delta. He's probably already getti..."
She was cut off by the sight of a young man in full body armor sprinting for the Hanger, several extraneous bits of equipment mounted on it.
"Never mind, it appears that Mr. Larson has already invited himself. Where's his assistant?"
"He's right here" a new voice said, entering the conversation. Hagen turned around, finding herself face-to-face with the Commander, who had the technical support man in question trailing him. "Rather fortunate of us to pick the two of these gentlemen up two days ago, yes?" Attano had put considerable effort into brushing up on his English skills in the previous week, and while his accent was still noticable, he at least had improved in his pronounciation. He acknowledged the existance of the letter "H" now, at any rate.
"I guess you could call it fortunate. I could also call you speedy, Luc, you must've ran to make it down here in such a short time. Come over here, Mr. Mastick, you're with me. We'll be providing tactical support for the Operational Detachment. You'll be over here at this terminal...here."
After Mastick got settled, Hagen walked back over to the globe, the Commander in tow.
"Awfully weird, the Americans using old tech like that Land Warrior systems, don't you think?" Hagen said.
"Indeed it is. I thought that the American Army had killed that project in 2007."
"They did; apparenly these two must've gotten a hand on one of the few examples that were actually produced. Odd, though, that they'd be using a piece of tech that was canned when they were 12."
"My uderstanding is that they've modified it somewhat. Not substantially, mind you, but there are minor differences from the laughing stock that the Yankees gave up on 8 years ago. Oh, that reminds me, I've placed an order for a few dozen FELIN systems for our troops. An aquaintance of mine at La Defense has made all the necessary arrangements."
"Oh, good. I'm sure the troops will appreciate that, though it's a shame that we couldn't have gotten those toys to them by today."
At this point, the engines of the Skyranger were quite audible. Bracken would be taking off within a minute, or less.
"Are you planning to brief them in-flight, Brit?"
"Yeah, figured it would be best."
Attano nodded, silently watching the globe with Brit. This was going to be their first encounter, a momentus occasion, to be sure, but the time leading up to it was nerve-wracking. Though neither the Commander or Central Officer would admit it at the time, both of them were scared. The fact that they were dealing with a threat that was truly unknown had finally started to sink in.
March 4th, 2015
XCOM HQ
"Bradford, make sure that the late-arrival recruit get's attached to OD-Delta. He's probably already getti..."
She was cut off by the sight of a young man in full body armor sprinting for the Hanger, several extraneous bits of equipment mounted on it.
"Never mind, it appears that Mr. Larson has already invited himself. Where's his assistant?"
"He's right here" a new voice said, entering the conversation. Hagen turned around, finding herself face-to-face with the Commander, who had the technical support man in question trailing him. "Rather fortunate of us to pick the two of these gentlemen up two days ago, yes?" Attano had put considerable effort into brushing up on his English skills in the previous week, and while his accent was still noticable, he at least had improved in his pronounciation. He acknowledged the existance of the letter "H" now, at any rate.
"I guess you could call it fortunate. I could also call you speedy, Luc, you must've ran to make it down here in such a short time. Come over here, Mr. Mastick, you're with me. We'll be providing tactical support for the Operational Detachment. You'll be over here at this terminal...here."
After Mastick got settled, Hagen walked back over to the globe, the Commander in tow.
"Awfully weird, the Americans using old tech like that Land Warrior systems, don't you think?" Hagen said.
"Indeed it is. I thought that the American Army had killed that project in 2007."
"They did; apparenly these two must've gotten a hand on one of the few examples that were actually produced. Odd, though, that they'd be using a piece of tech that was canned when they were 12."
"My uderstanding is that they've modified it somewhat. Not substantially, mind you, but there are minor differences from the laughing stock that the Yankees gave up on 8 years ago. Oh, that reminds me, I've placed an order for a few dozen FELIN systems for our troops. An aquaintance of mine at La Defense has made all the necessary arrangements."
"Oh, good. I'm sure the troops will appreciate that, though it's a shame that we couldn't have gotten those toys to them by today."
At this point, the engines of the Skyranger were quite audible. Bracken would be taking off within a minute, or less.
"Are you planning to brief them in-flight, Brit?"
"Yeah, figured it would be best."
Attano nodded, silently watching the globe with Brit. This was going to be their first encounter, a momentus occasion, to be sure, but the time leading up to it was nerve-wracking. Though neither the Commander or Central Officer would admit it at the time, both of them were scared. The fact that they were dealing with a threat that was truly unknown had finally started to sink in.
Sleep was a fleeting privilege in Alex's new position at XCOM. They certainly had enough time to sleep with no alien offensive since they arrived, however, he had spent the majority of it familiarizing himself with the technology XCOM had to offer. Being surrounded by decorated soldiers had pushed him to gain some sort of edge to stay relevant. If his two commanding officers weren't going to rely on his reconnaissance skills he would quickly need to gain another expertise to be useful. The last thing he wanted was to sit around in the bunker and wait for the salvation or demise of the human race.
As the alarm sounded, Alex wasn't sure what to think as his mind raced. His training already had him heading towards the armoury to suit up as his brain tried to collect itself from studying the schematics of the Ravens to tactical analysis and strategy. It would be first contact with humanity's newest adversary and with his initial analysis fresh in his mind Alex couldn't help but be worried. It was uncertain that Earth's finest could even hope to stand a chance against a technologically superior foe. It was easy to see that even with the new leaps in tactical science the gear he was donning wasn't going to be sufficient against anything past regular slug weaponry.
Despite his apprehension, Alex jogged his way into the hangar and saw that some of the ground team had already assembled, along with two of the pilots. They were all talking amongst eachother, having the normal pre-encounter banter. Not wanting to be one to rock the boat, the young soldier joined the group but kept quiet, just absorbing the personalities around him.
As the alarm sounded, Alex wasn't sure what to think as his mind raced. His training already had him heading towards the armoury to suit up as his brain tried to collect itself from studying the schematics of the Ravens to tactical analysis and strategy. It would be first contact with humanity's newest adversary and with his initial analysis fresh in his mind Alex couldn't help but be worried. It was uncertain that Earth's finest could even hope to stand a chance against a technologically superior foe. It was easy to see that even with the new leaps in tactical science the gear he was donning wasn't going to be sufficient against anything past regular slug weaponry.
Despite his apprehension, Alex jogged his way into the hangar and saw that some of the ground team had already assembled, along with two of the pilots. They were all talking amongst eachother, having the normal pre-encounter banter. Not wanting to be one to rock the boat, the young soldier joined the group but kept quiet, just absorbing the personalities around him.
After Daniel was acquainted with the machinery and making sure it consolidated Land Warrior's system correctly, he tuned in to Adam's frequency.
"Brother, are you on the ship?" Daniel asked, mildly concerned.
Several huffs of air could be heard over the radio, "Yeah, Yeah I'm in. Feel like an asshole though, I'm practically late."
"I somehow doubt the ship was leaving on a sharp schedule, especially with all the other soldiers dallying about. Is your HUD up?"
In the hanger, Adam's eye slit in his helmet was a blue-ish color. "Yep. Friend-Foe recognition doesn't appear to be active, but I doubt we'll be shooting other humans for a while. Are we running FireIce protocols?"
Daniel shook his head, despite his brother not being able to see the gesture, "Negative. We're short on time for me to go poking around customizing scripts. We can do that once we get back, though."
Adam nodded, though Daniel wasn't able to see the gesture. "All right, well, I'm going to meet my teem mates quick. You got any office buddies to talk to?"
Daniel rolled his eyes futilely, "Roger that, signing off. I'll pop in when you're in the air." Daniel said as he disconnected the radio contact, still keeping a window of Adam's POV open as he worked on the finishing touches to optimizing Land Warrior. Once that was finished, he pushed Adam's window off to the side, launched the HUD-Targeting window, and then looked around for someone to talk to.
Meanwhile, Adam had removed his helmet, letting a small black 'fro out into the open air. He walked up to a lively group for people and inserted himself into the conversation.
"Hey guys, what's up? Name's Adam, just arrived with my bro. Anyone excited about our First Contact?"
He left the question hanging in the air, for anyone to answer.
"Brother, are you on the ship?" Daniel asked, mildly concerned.
Several huffs of air could be heard over the radio, "Yeah, Yeah I'm in. Feel like an asshole though, I'm practically late."
"I somehow doubt the ship was leaving on a sharp schedule, especially with all the other soldiers dallying about. Is your HUD up?"
In the hanger, Adam's eye slit in his helmet was a blue-ish color. "Yep. Friend-Foe recognition doesn't appear to be active, but I doubt we'll be shooting other humans for a while. Are we running FireIce protocols?"
Daniel shook his head, despite his brother not being able to see the gesture, "Negative. We're short on time for me to go poking around customizing scripts. We can do that once we get back, though."
Adam nodded, though Daniel wasn't able to see the gesture. "All right, well, I'm going to meet my teem mates quick. You got any office buddies to talk to?"
Daniel rolled his eyes futilely, "Roger that, signing off. I'll pop in when you're in the air." Daniel said as he disconnected the radio contact, still keeping a window of Adam's POV open as he worked on the finishing touches to optimizing Land Warrior. Once that was finished, he pushed Adam's window off to the side, launched the HUD-Targeting window, and then looked around for someone to talk to.
Meanwhile, Adam had removed his helmet, letting a small black 'fro out into the open air. He walked up to a lively group for people and inserted himself into the conversation.
"Hey guys, what's up? Name's Adam, just arrived with my bro. Anyone excited about our First Contact?"
He left the question hanging in the air, for anyone to answer.
"Hey Adam, name's Razvan." he said, "I just came to wish you lot luck on your first mission. I wish just about to turn around and head for the canteen, have some food and relax. I wonder why do all of you seem so tense ?"
*yawns and stretches and wonders who the squad leader is on this little outing to welcome E.T* so who's in charge of this little party anyway ?
"Wrong answer Razvan." Colina lightly chided as she strolled up to the group, she was already wearing her flight suit though she lacked the gloves or helmet. "We're on standby till the chief says." With that she tossed a nutrition bar at him without bothering to see if he was ready. The things tasted like an oil slick, but were good at keeping the body and mind alert, plus didn't have much chance of coming back up under high G-forces.
"Son of a..." Razvan said as he grasped the flying nutrition bar, barely grabbing it by the wrapper. "Phew, that was close, now what is this..." he opened it and took a bite, "hmm, I've had quite a few flavorless pieces of junk as food in my life but this seems to be the second worst one. Wasn't there anything more, manly, like a bacon sandwich ?"
Turning around to Adam he said, "Well at least we won't be charging head on like Adam and his friends here." He turned around to Colina, just as he finished the bar, "Still standby doesn't mean that I can't relax until they sound the alarm now does it ?"
Turning around to Adam he said, "Well at least we won't be charging head on like Adam and his friends here." He turned around to Colina, just as he finished the bar, "Still standby doesn't mean that I can't relax until they sound the alarm now does it ?"