Orion II Project

[Shade Leshyr]

After the end of the Human-Covenant war, the boarders of human space expanded noticeably. Out along the outer systems was a prime spot for crime and rebel bases. A small stealth frigate floated motionlessly on the dark side of a large moon that orbited a habitable planet.

The ship was modified heavily for stealth, giving up most of its standard armament and the name Silence Keeper was painted on the forward of it. Within, the ship was running on skeleton crew, so everyone on board was doing something, save for a small group of individuals.

Eric was running system checks on his armor, his assault rifle resting next to him. He'd gone through this check at least nine times, but he figured that since this was the first ever mission for the small Orion task squad, he should show the ONI brass that he was worth every dollar.

The small squad of four was all that was left of 150 candidates. All the others had either died in operation or become unfit for duty. This fact made Eric reflect on the Spartan II's and the official reports released after the end of the war, remember just how many Spartans had never made it to full super-soldier...

He shook his head. Right now he had to focus on the mission. It was supposedly a relatively easy mission: find the main base of a local uprising and put it down, but there was really no intel as far as enemy numbers and other such details. In short, they were going in blind to burn the snake to embers. Eric chucked, just another day in the life of a marine.

He looked around for a moment before speaking to the other Orions, "Oi, anybody seen my knife?"

[Crusadra]

Ced pushed a few more rounds into his shotgun, tapping his assault rifle's clips and the knife on his left thigh, checking his equipment. He then looks to Eric with a grin and in a deep voice, "Dunno. Left it on ye other armor perhaps?" His chuckle was deep and clear, seemingly pulsing of Irish heritage.

He'd tap his helmet a bit, watching the LEDs flash on and stumbles a bit, "Fargen... these lights... they'll end up getting me killed, bunch of worthless science bastiges." After taking a moment to recover, he looks around a bit, "Oi! Dimitri? Got a knife for Eric? I only got me own and well... not going to part with it anytime soon." He pats his knife with a sigh.

[Dusty]

Dimitri didn't say anything as he continued to slip 7.62mm rounds into the magazine in his hand with practiced care. He always loaded his first mag himself. When questioned about it he simply responded, "So I have no one but myself to blame." As the last round clicked into place he lifted his rifle and slid the magazine in. The cleaned and lubricated catch gave a muffled click as it latched onto the magazine securing it in place.

With a sigh he sat the rifle on the crate next to him then reached into a tactical compartment on his Mjolnir armor and pulled a M7 Submachine gun magazine out to repeat the ritual. "You shouldn't be careless enough to lose it," he said as he started pressing the tiny 9mm caseless SMG rounds into place. "These may be simple insurgents but they smell blood on the UNSC. We're stretched too thin to be trying to hold on to these few colonies. Command has us out here for another reason."

[Buzzwolf]

This whole mission made the fox edgy. something about the whole sceneario seemed...'off' to her, and her nervous habits played out more than they usually would as She jammed the cleaning rod down the barrel of the long fifty cal sniper for the fifth time that day. she was probably getting close to wearing teh actual protective coating off if it didn't get some use soon. it was more than a little futile, not to mention dangerous, to 'clean' the bricks of C-6(An explosive compound nicked as such for it's similar design while being more powerful than standard C-4) she was carrying. that would've just been weird! and already all her clips and Mags were all loaded, something she preferred to get done before they launched rather than cutting it tight and risking a fast exit with fewer than she wanted. Instead she'd started on her Sniper....again. She looked up at Eric loss of his knife and smirked "Again? Maybe we ought to stick it somewhere so ya don't lose it next time" She snickered at her own comment and clicked her metal fingers against the barrel of the sniper, an unfortuenate side effect of the Orion process that she still had to get fully used to. She turned and pulled a knife, careful not to bump the BR55 stuck to her back, from behind her and tossed it toward Eric "Do try not to lose it again" she mocked and returned to cleaning her sniper.

[Shade Leshyr]

Eric caught the knife out of mid-air in a perfect grip on the hilt. It still unnerved him just how slow things seemed to move after receiving the neural stimulants. He shrugged it off and slid the knife home in its hilt on his left side, "I wouldn't keep losing it if a certain someone didn't have some kind of thing for stealing it from me when I'm not looking." He said this, giving Sandra a knowing glare.

Picking up his assault rifle, he slung it across his back, allowing his suits magnetic pull to secure it to him as he selected a standard issue M6D magnum for a sidearm. With a quick yank, he put on his helmet and it sealed with a slight hisssss. The HUD came up and he walked through the various tests before looking at the others while motioning to the nearby Pelican, "Anybody else know how to fly this thing, cause I'm sick of waiting for the pilot."

As if on cue, a young woman, mid-twenties by the look of her entered the hanger. Redish-brown hair set over green eyes and a light tan all decked out in a pilot suit, she seemed like she was out for a photo shoot than a heavy fire drop. However, her insignia showed that she outranked them, and Eric was quick to snap a salute.

She didn't return it and instead barked in a rough voice that contrasted her build, "Alroight maggits, I wont names, seiral numbahs, und specialties, double toime!" Eric answered first, "Ma'am, Eric Remmington, Orion-1, point gunner." She nodded, "alroight, 'ere's what I got from that bit: you're named aftah a gun und you're cannon foddah. NEXT!"

[Crusadra]

Ced gives Dimitri a pat, "Your point is made."

Ced then chuckles at Sandra and Eric, "Soond like a marred coople." Ced taps his helmet a bit, "There... visuals clear."

Cedric quickly snaps his gaze to her before giving a crisp salute, "Cedric O'Sullivan, Orion-2, Close-range specialist, ma'am!"

{Orion-2 or Orion-3?}

[Dusty]

Dimitri finished sliding the last 9mm round into place before sitting the magazine down and rising to attention. He snapped to a crisp salute before sounding off, "Ma'am. Dimitri Boklov. Recon Specialist." As he stood at attention he appraised the officer. Loud. Sounds more like a Drill Sergeant then an officer. The UNSC really must be scooping the barrel to fill all these vacant positions, he thought to himself. "Are you our new Orion-Actual?" he asked.

[Buzzwolf]

Sandra growls a little at Ceds jibe as she stands and locks her sniper to her back, clicking her fingers against each other in what was slowly becoming a tell "It's good to see another female among the ranks ma'am" she snapped a salute as well "Sandra Fierfek. Orion oh-four-two. Explosives and Engineering Expert." She patted the butt of the sniper behind her "Company High shooter too I might add. I've been assigned to run sniper for the squad Ma'am"

[Shade Leshyr]

The woman nodded her head to Ced, "Right, so you're mos' likely to do somethin' stupid," she inclined her head at Dimitri, "mos' likely to confuse the hell outta me," finally to Sandra, "most likely to scare the hell outta me. My name is Wanda, and yes, I'm Orion-actual."

Wanda moved to a locker to the side of the hanger and pulled out a flight helmet. Securing it to her head, she moved back to the Orions. She looked between them, "Well, I'm supposed to make sure you guys survive, so you listen to me and you'll survive."

She hooked a finger toward the Pelican, "So 'ere's the deal. Them rebels 'ave been doin' shit they shouldn't be, so we're goin' to go send 'em packin'. HighCom wants it done quick and quiet," she looked at Sandra seriously, "can you handle that? Either way, load up Orions!"

Eric followed Wanda into the pelican and took one of the empty seats. Wanda continued speaking, "The recon teams say that they rebels are holed up in a minin' facility," she turned and looked back at them, "thing is, ONI contacted us specifically for this mission. They've put rebel suppression under secondary objective."

Eric's ears perked under his helmet, "Then what's our primary objective Wanda?" She shrugged, "They said to get into the facility and we'd know what we were after when we found it."

[Crusadra]

Cedric would sneer in his helm, before putting on more shell into his shotgun, putting it to his back next to his assault rifle.

Cedric then follows Wanda, taking a seat near the front, and mumbles "Here we go..." Cedric does the motion of a cross upon his chest as he began to give a prayer.

"Ahem." He looks around as he awaited take off.

[Buzzwolf]

"no...big...explosives...?" she seemed disappointed, her shoulders slumped some and she looked at the ceiling "Fiiiiiiiiine" she said, drawing it out far more than necessary "I'll just make due with really...big...bullets" she grinned and hooked her helmet on her shoulder before following them into the shuttle with her BR55 in hand. she seats the Sniper in it's crash protective niche between her seat and the next and fastens herself in to the magnetic clamps and jams her helmet on, tests the comms and opens the general channel "So, all we know is that we're on fire supression, ONI won't tell us what our actual target is, and Ced apparently can't wait to get himself shot" cidded him, joking at his appearant impatience for them to get going "This can't be anything but interesting!"

[Dusty]

Dimitri was silent as he followed the team to the Pelican. Cocky officer, new team, ONI top secret bullshit. Just another day in the office, he thought to himself as he climbed aboard the waiting craft. The presence of five Orions caused the normally ample space of the cargo hold to seem tiny. With a grunt he sat down between Cedric and Eric and laid his rifle across his lab. The magnetic clamps on his thigh held his sub-machine gun in place.

"Doesn't it compromise our ability to fight if we have no intel? The War is over. These brush fire insurgents barely have weapons much less Naval Capability. The last Covenant sighting we by the Elites three weeks ago all the way across the sector. So why is ONI so adamant on keeping this hush hush?" he asked as the rest of the team clambered in. While waiting for a reply he pulled his helmet, a EVA variety with Matte-black anti-thermal coatings on the visor, over his head. The helmet chimed as it synced with the rest of his suit and his HUD appeared.

[Shade Leshyr]

(quickly, I want to clear up the callsigns: Eric: Orion 1, Ced: Orion 2, Demitri: Orion 3, Sandra: Orion 4)

Wanda fired up the pelican as she answered Dimitri, "Trust me, tha' was my first concern, but ONI says they wan' it on the low," she brought the pelican off the hanger floor slowly, folding up the landing pads, "bu' I did some background on the facility. The're was sum stuff 'bout a discovery in the lower levels. I figure that's our target."

She tapped some controls and spoke to hanger control for a moment as they moved into launch position. The pelican's hatch closed and Wanda maneuvered it out of the hanger and proceeded to full burn toward the planet as she continued talking.

"It really is odd though. Fire suppression is for marine strike-teams, not high clearance strike-teams. In any case, I'm dropping you guys off a safe distance from the facility, just ahead of the dawn. It's a good sprint to the the facility and once inside, I may not be able to reach you. The rebel forces have set up radar and radio jammers."

As the Pelican descended into the atmosphere, Eric was quick to notice the rocky terrain that they were heading for. The area was heavily forested and elevated well above sea level. Off in the distance, the lighted entrance to the mining facility could barely be seen. Wanda set the pelican down in a small clearing, opening the hatch.

She looked back at them, "I'll be in the air providing intel on anything I see. Head 12 degrees east of northeast. If anything comes up, I'll give you path revisions. Orion 1 and Orion 2, take the low ground. Orion 3, go with Orion 4, act as her spotter, scout the enemy fortifications at the entrance from the high ground. If you find the chance, try to thin their numbers."

Eric jumped out of the pelican and unslung his assault rifle, "Well then, shall we Ced?"

[Crusadra]

Ced whistles a tune to himself as they entered the atmosphere... it would sound like "Row, row, row your boat", except a bit more rapid.

Ced jumps out, and nods to Eric, "You got it laddy... you got point 'er me?" He takes his shotgun off his back, cocking it once and unclapses his knife.

Ced checks the area as he looks around, "I don't care which of us goes, but... I think we go that way, hmm?" He'd point towards the needed direction.

[Buzzwolf]

"Well, this is gonna be a snipers playground out here!" Sandra grinned as she watcher the terrain fly by below them. all the crags and forests would provide excellent vantage and cover points. she looked up as though she'd been distracted when Wanda started throwing them their orders "Aye ma'am" she turns and scans the immediate landscape, and gestures to a ridge line about ten feet off the ground with less than a foot deep ledge running along the edge of the forest line toward the mining facility "There's our route...Hope you're light on your feet" She was grinning under her helmet. she dashed off for the cliff face and found the easiest route up, some loose rubble that had fallen from a cliff higher, barely waiting for Demetri before she started along the edge with her back to the wall

[Dusty]

As the over enthusiastic Orion took off through the woods Dimitri swore and left the Pelican after her. I'm to old for this, he muttered to himself as he followed Sandra's trail. As soon as he caught him with her he placed is hand on her shoulder and spun her around. "Calm down Orion, I know this isn't your first Op. We do it by the book which is quiet and not easily excited. I'm your spotter, which means I take the lead. Now keep quiet and follow me," he ordered in a low growl-like whisper.

When he finished he unslung his rifle and observed the country side through the scope. Two blue arrows were projected my his helmet over the locations of his fellow teammates with a third hovering over the ascending Pelican of Orion-Actual. "Actual can we get a way-point on the target? Its easy to get lost out here."

[Shade Leshyr]

Wanda's voice came across the radio, "Just a sec Three," a slight muttering of curses was heard before a waypoint appeared, "there we go. Be advised Three, your current path is gonna cross the wide part of a nearby river. There's a fallen tree a bit further up, dropping a beacon." Another waypoint blinked to life a little farther uphill.

Eric nodded as the waypoint came to his visor as well, agreeing with Ced's directions, "That be the way all right, I'll go first. Let's double time it, don't want three and four having all the fun after all," he activated his comm, "Actual, three and four moving out, will light up concentrated groups for sniper fire as we meet them."

Eric turned and sprinted into the dense forest, leaping over trees and dodging branches as he went. The greenery flashed by in blurs as Eric rushed by, scaring up bits of wildlife. After the first five minutes of uninterrupted sprinting, Eric came to a dead stop, looking around nervously.

He turned back to Ced as he approached, "Something's not right, where are the patrols. We should be well within patrol range...," he radioed to Wanda, "Orion-Actual, confirm status of our current position relative to military standard patrol patterns." Wanda's response was a moment in coming as she no doubt compared the landscape to military procedures, "Confirming, Orion's 1 and 2 within the perimeter of patrol circle. Maybe they're on the far side of the patrol circle One."

Eric shook his head, "Orion 3, can you or Four confirm enemy units within the area of us or the mine entrance?" When they looked, they would see no signs of life, but they would see the familiar sight of plasma scorching...

[Crusadra]

Ced blink and listens, "Yer right... bit too quiet." He then looks around the surrounding area, before looking back to Eric.

"Hey O-One? I say we head for either cover or slightly higher ground... either way, we need to move 'cause this has trap all over it." He then goes into a slight crouch as he quickly heads for the nearest bit of cover.

"And so you know... if stealth was supposed to be apart of this mission... then its going to go down hill from there, O-one." He chuckle a bit.

[Buzzwolf]

"No fucking shit this isn't my first" she didn't bother keeping her voice down, they were talking over interal comms anyway, why bother? "Just because I move fast and I'm eager to do my job doesn't mean shit about 'not doing shit by the book'. Let's get something strait." she growled out "you're the Spotter. you're watching My ass, not the other way around. I'll find my own perch to shoot from, and if you can't handle watching my ass to make sure I don't get shot while I cover for the rest of the team, I--" She jabbed him with an accusing robotic finger, at the same time the query on the entrance came in "and thanks to you, I'm not in position to cover for the rest of my squad, I suggest you either shut up and keep your head down, or comm the others and let them know you'll be joining them." she turned and started along the ledge again "because I'll be spotting for myself if it comes to it"

"Hold on Eric," she still used first names regardless of how much she got called on it by her superiors, her squad was her immediate family, she'd be dammed if she was going to simply call them by number "I ran into a...snag. I'm almost in position" her voice still held a slight edge, regardless of how much she tried to keep it level. she'd stopped thinking about if Dem was behind her or not by this point, she'd treat it as a solo unless he showed up. all she was thinking about was slipping through the shadows along the cliff face skirting the jungle to a nice ledge she'd seen with a rock formation that would provide ample cover and range of view for what she needed, not to mention most of it would keep herself in shadow.

She eased up on the small alcove, holding her BR at teh ready and did a quick sweep of the shadows, finding them both empty, and slightly shallower than she'd previously thought. it'd still work nicely for what she needed though and she eased herself over the rocks, careful not to knock any small rocks down that would give her away. she tucked the BR away and eased the Rifle into position between the rocks, giving her a clear view of the mines entrance and the area immediately around it "I got no movement either...oh shit...I got Plasma Scorching all around the entrance. Eric, watch yourself in there man"