As you sweep through the village you discover that what is left of the new enemies looks almost like they deflated like balloons. Again all that is left of their weapons is a tiny chunk of acid scored metal. The two bodies of the enemies you have fought previously are in similar condition to last time.
It would appear that the enemy, all amped up from the fight, shot a large stuffed animal that was in that building.
Powerline radios "I am with the chopper in the clearing that I dropped you off in. Ready to go whenever you guys are."
"Huh. No casualties? So fa - No, wait, I won't jinx it!"
And she goes to the Deflated Thinmen Corpses and, I assume since they would look like deflated...pleasure dolls...? that Anna would be able to easily stack them? She'd also like to perform a quick look on it before asking one of the other Squaddies.
"Understood Powerline, with you in 10."
Mark turns to the rest of the squad. "Let's load up and get out of here."
Copy that.
Jack wraps up his tasks and gets on Powerline's 5-star roller coaster ride.
Copy that.
Jack wraps up his tasks and gets on Powerline's 5-star roller coaster ride.
Roger may be the only one that looks forward to Powerline's mad flying. Roger would be worried about Lema, but he has full faith in Anna, which lets him breathe more easily. He has been in wars before and knows that you let the professionals take care of their jobs. He'd literally kick anyone out of the cockpit criticizing his flying ...although doubtfully even Powerline would be able to get up if Roger was flying.
As you leave the villagers thank you profusely.
You load the enemy bodies up into the helicopter and strap in for another wild ride.
You arrive back at the base at 0 dark stupid and are told the briefing will be at 0800. A medical team rushes the still unconscious Lema away for treatment.
When you arrive at the briefing only the OC and Sgt Maj are there. The OC asks you to relate what happened.
Enduring yet another of Powerline's trademark flying experiences, Mark checks his kit over and grabs a sandwich before hitting the sack. Waking up for the debrief, after what feels like only 10 minutes sleep, he makes, Mark dresses and formulates his thoughts on the walk to the briefing room.
"On our arrival the locals reported sightings of tall, somewhat unusual looking strangers in the jungle. We corralled the locals as best we could and set up a perimeter of grenade traps around the village.
We encountered these strangers, who were unnaturally tall and thin but seemed able to communicate at least in Spanish. They commenced a co-ordinated offensive with multiple points of attack covered by mortar-launched smoke rounds. We took down multiple hostiles, the bodies of which released clouds of poisonous gas.
During the contact, the hostiles attempted to abduct Lema. We tracked them back to a clearing where another one of their VTOL aircraft had landed. We took down the remaining hostiles and recovered Lema, but the aircraft flew off before we could engage it.
We recovered what alien materials we could, along with the corpses of the tall creatures and the lizard creatures we had encountered previously.
I'd like to mention, sir, that everyone performed their roles excellently. I'd particularly like to commend Jack and Pete for their commitment and bravery."
Mark wraps up his verbal report, and looks around at the rest of the squad. "Anything else anyone wants to mention?"
Sir, we were all just doin' our jobs.
I would like to request an industrial grade taser for the next mission; I would like to bring a few in alive as opposed to turning them into pink mist. If you have the capability to develop EMP rockets, I could possibly bring down alien craft in the future as opposed to letting them fly away.
Feedback on my new launcher: awesome.
The aliens have the ability to set traps and ambushes, meaning either they have intelligence similar to ours, or they follow orders from those that do.
Last observation not covered by Mark: children of any age and culture love chocolate. They were almost as dangerous as the aliens.
"I will just mention that, upon Death, these...thinmen...near-instantaneously released a gaseous cloud of some kind. I wasn't directly exposed to it but I believe Jack as was Lema, who I gave a shot of Detox to be on the safe side, were."
"Otherwise, the guys down in the autopsy labs should be able to expand more on my cursory examination of these new extraterrestrials."
"So a second type of enemy? Did you find where and who was firing the mortars? Did you recover any intact mortar rounds?"
"EMP rockets are a possibility. Our scientists have discovered that each of the lizards had some kind of chip embedded in their skull, at the top of the spinal column. They also say that the lizard's genetic structure is strange, it appears to be to "clean" for a natural creature and interestingly they say all the lizards you fought have identical genes. They believe that they will be able to reverse engineer their chameleon ability"
"Lema is still in a coma, the doctors can't figure out why she won't come out of it. Her blood work is confusing to them. They are running more tests and hope that some of the tests that take more time will be enlightening."
" I assume the enemy was firing the mortars and likely their weapons were meant to take prey. At least some of them. The only way I could think they take Lema alive. Well that and negligence. "
Pete held his arms behind his back at attention. " I believe while searching the area one of the mortar rounds was inert, we recovered it. now as for possible requests, while I respect everyone's suggestions I have to put forth something that I feel is more important somewhat. As the squad member who has survived multiple shots from what I believe their heavy weaponry armor is where our focus should lie. One that reduces the impact of these energy weapons. Not Fully but at least partially. I suggest something which refracts heat or Light, maybe from the fragments of the ship we salvaged or Teflon? "
" As for the rest, I was doing my job. The Commander wants to commemorate me but I didnt follow the strict letter, someone had to run out into Hell to drag Lema back to us. I wasnt going to let that happen. I did my job, nothing more nothing less. First one in, Last one out. "
Roger sniggers as Pete mentions Teflon
"Despite Pete's unorthodox suggestion of using a heat conducting material to dissipate heat, I do agree with him that we need better protection. Our weapons have so far seemed adequate to kill these aliens, but we have been fielding ourselves against vehicle mounted weaponry and need better protection."
He pauses a bit and looks deep in thought
"The aliens seem remarkably skilled at spotting traps. He set up 20 traps and after they fell into 1 and knew there were traps they didn't fall into 1 more, even when running back to their ship. I think people did well this mission, but there is perhaps still some warzone learning to be done for us."
Mark nods at everyone's contributions. "I agree, we're under-protected out there. These hostiles have weapons seemingly far more advanced than ours, and I don't think our personal armour is going to hold up to much punishment if we get pinned down. Especially by their vehicle mounted weapons."
Pete will give a sideways glance at Roger, " Well it doesnt help when you go out there naked. "
Looking back to his superiors, " There is a reason I wear a helmet, it is a good deal less than 'Because it's cool.' While the enemy's weapons seemed to pierce the rest I noticed my own flak vest withstood a good deal comparatively. And while that is all fine and good sir, it won't do much if I get hit anywhere else. I don't like the idea of leaving my arms and legs exposed. "
Pete sighed as his eyes went to the ground for a moment focusing back upwards. " If our R&D hasnt figured out anything or has something in testing on that front, I'm willing to be the guinea pig to make sure it works. If not, can I suggest applying the same amount of protection to the arms, legs, and head that my vest gives? I don't mind how heavy it is or impractical. I'm going to get shot regardless, but I seem to have the best luck coming back alive afterward. "
"No mortar rounds have been recovered as far as I am aware."
"Disturbingly someone responded to the videos and the person seen in them has disappeared. A group of men in some kind of uniform visited his house last night. No government agency will admit to having officers or agents there and eyewitnesses can't identify exactly what uniform they were wearing."
"The visitors in Canyonlands are still missing but no more have disappeared since you left on your last mission."
"We were also able to track the craft that left your last objective to it's next location. It landed directly above a cave system in northern Mexico. An abandoned mine connects into the cave system"
"Sounds like we should be off to Mexico then. If the aliens have landed there, it must be for a reason. We need to know what they're up to."
Mark looks around at the rest of the squad, looking for their opinions.
"Its going to be one hell of a high risk OP though. If they have made their base in an abandoned mine and/or cave system its likely to be a FOB for these guys."
Anna inhales, then exhales.
"That means they'll have a well fortified position and if their ships are anything to go by, we'd probably be in deep shit."
"Then again, it might not be a base."
I'm good to go to Mexico again, but the folk of non-identifiable military/government uniform sounds to me like a cause of concern. I don't think I'd buy what they're selling.
"Sounds like so Men in Black type deal to me..."
Pete's eyes listlessly went from one Superior officer to the other. He noted the responses to the last threats were peculiar to say the least. It however seemed their action in Mexico had an effect on the area, so that was good. But the other effects alarmed him on another level.
Eventually he came out of thinking, his head turning toward the rest of the Squad and speaking, " Well if you want what I think, I say it might not be the government at all. It sounds like some Rogue Government Cell if anything, because it would make little sense to leave STAR out of the loop considering the entire reason for it to exist was for a joint effort against these things. "
Pete breathed heavily as his sight went to the ground for a moment, " The thing is, that we can't place too much effort towards worrying about such a bogey man. We've seen, fought and survived a real threat against our kind. And while I don't enjoy the idea of someone else trying to work around and possibly abuse the creatures out there, I rather our resources go toward completing missions for the betterment of ourselves as a whole. So either saving more people or preventing greater events. We couldn't get much from the last Ship but we may just get something from this next one. Especially if Jack has some means of taking them alive. Not to mention, I need to be the guinea pig so that our protective research advances. What better way than at a possible alien outpost? "
Sounds like you have made up your minds then. Roger will not be going with you on this mission. We have and will gain some new recruits over the next couple days. I don't want to send them on their first mission without any of your experience. Powerline will meet you at the helicopter at 1600."
Powerline drops you off in a field about 2 kilometers north of the main entrance to the cave.
Pete gave a salute and " Yes, Sir! " before moving off to R&D to see what they cooked off. Ashley went to the cafeteria to get carrots, she had a craving after the last mission. Likely had something to do with the heat.
What Pete saw impressed him, though his request was relatively new he could only guess it was accelerated due to Roger's inclusion. The polymers were reinforced inner and outer plating, accompanied by heat resistant material. It was built for protection with little thought into weight or maneuverability, as the SWAT officer expected. Once Pete went through the fitting process, he gave the approval and requested the suit be appropriately colored according to his normal outfit.
When it came time to meet for the mission, Pete came touting the prototype armor created by STAR. It looked as heavy as it was. As per standard the suit sported Pete's signature Black and Red Tiger pattern, the material however all encompassing. The Visor was smaller, the helmet had angular make to reduce direct hits to the head. The arms displaying heavy material capped over the elbow, forearm, shoulder and the back of the hand with plates. Under said plates are 3 long strips that increase impact and heat distribution. The legs showed similar make, plating over the crotch, knees and front of the legs. On his right thigh strapped a knife, one of his old standards back in the day. He didnt feel right not having at least something that didnt need reloading. he couldnt carry his previous loadout and was glad that armor training during Ren Faires was being put into good use.
~~~~~
Once they were on the scene, Pete went to his usual mode. Time to get work done. M16 equipped, he scanned the area before looking to Mark, " Ashley watch our Six. So what is the plan Commander? Seems clear. " The woman had her rifle ready.
"Yes, Sir!" Replies Anna and heads off to the Armory to trade in some gear. As much as she likes the newer and more modern weapons, theres something to be said about the tried and true classics.
She also inquires with the Quartermaster about any specialist ammunition that would help penetrate the gear of any armored infantry they'd encounter.
Afterwards, she went with Jessica to the training course to practice and hone their situational awareness with all the time they had to spare only stopping to eat and get any required rest.
Once she sees Pete in his gear: "Well, well, well, looks like someone's read for some EOD Work!" She whistles."Try and keep me in the loop for any signs of heat exhaustion. Its only bound to get worse once we're in the cave system and we can't have you passing out or hallucinating."
"Anyways, Awaiting orders, Mark."
There is an audible sound of bones being relaxed inside the suit as Pete looks in the direction of Anna, " Thanks, I will keep that in mind for the mission. Currently there is enough ventilation, but that might change in combat. The cave is 2 Km South of us. If a cave is anything like a burning building I should avoid suffocation at the very least. "
During this time Pete does his usual, mental sweep, seeing if he could remember any interesting or advantageous information about the region and how to safely traverse the terrain much quicker.
Copy that sir.
Jack goes down to the QM and picks up an electric pistol with Bob , and as many alien-grade manacles as he can carry.
Launcher
Combat shotgun
Electric Pistol
Rebreather
2x Slots for Electric pistol reload, 6 clips(?????)
Bag of manacles
The mission briefing concluded, Mark hauls his kit down to the armoury to ask the weapons techs to modify the trigger for his M4, visits the QM to see if he can source some NVGs, then grabs a quick bite to eat before departure.
~~~~~
Infil via helicopter was the usual bumpy ride, and the squad was quickly in position above the cave system.
"We need to find the alien vessel that was reported landed here. That's probably the easiest way to find the entrance to whatever they might be doing underground. Standard spacing, eyes open."
Pete gave a nod, already on the navigation duties and starts heading South.
" Got it Commander. Alright, Ashley, Jack and Bob we know the drill by now. Cover each others' blind-spots, tight sweeps. If this is a base I expect those landmines or worse. "
The armored man stomped along, his M16 at the ready. Ashley switching to her c8 once they were on the move.
"Roger that. Jess, you're behind me, watch my six. If shit hits the fan I'll need you to pull me out if it comes to it."
M16 at the ready and Photovisor down she heads out with the rest of the crew.
As the team moves into the hills that contain the caves they a struck by how deserted this area is.
Do you use a known entrance to caves before reaching the location the alien craft landed at or move to that location?
Jack looks at his superior.
Where are we going sir? Door-kicker awaiting orders.
"Let's try and get into the caves. We're less likely to be spotted that way, and we won't have to wander around until the ship decloaks and starts shooting at us."
Mark checks his new NVGs are in place, flips the safety off his newly upgraded M4 and moves out with the squad.
The team descends one of the known paths into the caves, but the path is narrow and winding. It is slow going, but tiring.
Everyone make a toughness test at +20 (except pete his is normal because the heavy armour makes it harder). If you fail you gain one level of fatigue.
After traveling underground for about 45 minutes you start to hear an unnatural sound and feel a sensation that causes all the hair on your body to start to stick up.
The going is tough for Anna who hasn't ever done something much like this, and is hard pressed by the humidity, heat and cramped confines of the Caverns.
"Well, if anything I'd say that that sound means we're on the right track."
Toughness Test: 52+20=72
Jack gets his taser pistol out and gets ready to try and bag one of these rat bastards.
Awareness (Because I finally bought it)=32
Jack is aware that his name is Jack, and that he notices Jack-all.
The long trek through the cave doesn't phase Mark, his special forces training having left him with pretty good endurance. He turns to check on the rest of the squad, and sees that they're keeping up well.
In the cramped confines, Mark slings his M4 and carries his Mk23 ready. A strange sound rises in the caves, and with it Mark gets a sense of unease.
Pete was confused, he was used to weight like this before but somehow felt the suit made it more than routine to keep pace. This including the high stress situations of SWAT Duty. It was definitely something he had to inform the people in R&D about on top of the restricting movement. He hit his second wind at the end however.
Looking back to the rest he choked up on his M16 and readied for any information the rest might give him before rushing in.
Mark notices figures moving in the shadows of a larger chamber that opens up about 20 meters down the passage. They seem to blend into the surroundings when they stop moving. As you move slightly closer you see that there is some kind of machinery with tubes going into a pool on one side of the chamber. The chamber overall seems to be about 50 meters by 80 meters.
Mark signals for the squad to halt, and passes along his findings. "I think we should try to observe things for a few minutes. These aliens seem to be camouflaged in some way, so it'd be nice to know how many we're facing. Once we know what's going on, we hit them hard and fast."
Pete stops, sweeping the area having not noticed anything out of the ordinary besides the strange machine. He whispered back through the comms, " That sounds like the Lizards or Spectres from before. We know they at least come in pairs. Tell me when you want to go in. I'll watch for any hostiles. "
Training his sight forward, the armored soldier readied himself. Ashley hugged up against the side wall covering the other angle. He spread a 45 degree Killzone encompassing as much of the room as he could.
Jack follows Mark's lead and stops with Bob. Jack takes out his electric pistol and prepares to try and stun one of the aliens:
Pistol aimed, Jack prepares to rush in and handcuff one if it drops.
Following the others lead, Anna and Jess stop,duck behind some cover if available and take aim but warns:
"If these guys are anything like our Snakes or Lizards, they might be able to sense our body heat if we're exposed. I'd say get ready for them to get the jump on us, if anything." She whispers.
"Otherwise, I'm mostly afraid of our shots echoing far enough down the tunnels that they'll know we're here. Jack, you know how much noise your Shock Gun produces? If we can take them down soundlessly, that'd be best."
Pen 3 (Manstopper Rounds)
Pen 3
The closest ones were by the nearest machine which is about 20 meters into the chamber.
"Well, Jack, looks like you get first shot, maybe?"
Mark looks round at the squad, and sees that they're ready. "Jack, taze the nearest one. If he goes down quietly I'll move in and see what else is going on. If not, we go loud and take them all out ASAP. Everyone OK with that?"
Pete shrugged, he didn't see that going well considering there would likely be two and one would notice but he didn't voice that. His job was to kill. " Fine. "