The shuttle tracks across the starfield before Imperial Centre (Corusant) rolls into view. The shuttle flies over the endless city scape before docking in a military base as Stormtroopers drill in the parade square. A middle aged officer with grey hair and a well trimmed goatee exits the shuttle and marches through the corridor, barking orders at loiterers. Soldiers passing snap to attention with crisp salutes. The officer opens a door off a corridor and swips a code cylinder across a panel, lights flick on and reveal a younger officer sitting at the front of a tiered seating style briefing room. The elder man is somewhat surprised at the younger mans presence but quickly recovers.
"Ah Jenkins, it you." Says the Colonel, moving to the front of the room. " What were you doing sitting in the dark? Nevermind your team has been assembled, they've all received their reassignment orders and should be here any minute. It's a crack squad, as it should be. I am a little worried about one of the selections though, a Harry Calahan? Best damn gunner we could find though and apparently you've served with him before... I'm hoping you'll be able to keep him in line."
Coming in through a side door, Calahan pauses a moment and takes in both officers. in a not to subtle voice he rasps out oh great. another one. Stepping in the door, Calahan adjusts his on deck uniform, his massive array of awards, decorations, medals, and commendation pins glittering in the briefing room's lights. everything is spic and span, ready for parade ground detail, including the heavy pistol strapped to his thigh.
Walking forward in long, confident strides, Calahan stops a pace away from the Colonal. Calahans huge height forces the officer to see his chest full of decorations before moving up to meet Calahan's eyes.
Calahan looks down onto the officer and snaps a perfect salute Formerly Sergeant, now Private Harry Calahan reporting for duty he pauses a moment, recognizing the name on the chest plate as the officer who signed off on his demotion. a slight scowl crosses his face as he finishes with Sir.
"I've read through their files - on paper they are the best of the best. I'm sure I can lead them well. Yes, even Calahan. We were in Basic together - he is a loose cannon indeed, but a good and loyal sol..." Jenkins trails off as Calahan enters.
"Ha! Speak of the devil and the devil may appear.
"How are you Calahan? It's been a while." He shakes his friend's hand firmly. Hoping to defuse the situation a little, he says to Calahan in a familiar manner, "Formerly Sergeant? Only you could boast of that. You know, if you knitted your moustache to your beard you'd be Lieutenant by now."
"Colonal, this here soldier is one - is the finest heavy gunner this side of Hoth. He'll do all right."
"Furthermore, Colonel, the reports place Dr Rolin as one of the best medics available. His training suggests he is as handy with a blaster as he is with the laser-scapel.
.
"Manus apparently rebuilt some sort of landspeeder into an armoured vehicle that was stronger, faster, more powerful and cheaper to produce than anything we can get our hands on. I am concerned that some officer has taken his ideas as his own, and I would like to talk to you about that in private later.
.
"Nalis has a reputation for being the only member of the military to be granted all his official requests. Verbal requests, however, aren’t as successful – he’s, how can I put it, good with computers you see.
.
"Iggins is also a master of firearms, though he prefers the more subtle means.
.
"I'm rather looking forward to working with them."
Nalis steps into the room, takes in the Officers and Calahan. "Reporting for duty sir, sir." saluting each in turn.
[b]"I understand we've been recruited for a special assignment?"
Nalis stands straight and focussed, a stark contrast to Calahan's more casual manner.
The Colonel looks up at Calahan "I'm sorry Private but regs are regs and from the reports I've seen you seem to have a bad habit of only completing the bare minimum.The Empire will get the most out of your skills in this position, if you follow orders and keep you head down your bound to make Lieutenant in no time." a sly smile crosses his lips, you get the feeling that he doesn't believe it possible.
When Nalis enters the colonel steps back from Calahan and turns to Nalis "Ah Private..." The colonel pauses to glance at the badge of your uniform."... Nalis, at ease. Yes thats correct, I'll begin the briefing when the rest of the squad arrives."
A tall, heavy faced, barrel chested man dressed in a freshly issued army uniform enters the room. His insignia identify him as medical corp, though his other insignia suggest he's fresh out of training. Walking into the room you see he carries himself with a slouch, as though he's used to be leaning over something, and walks with a slight limp, favoring his left leg. Seeing the officers he rights himself and, taking the unlit cigar out of his mouth, snaps of a lazy salute, hiding his cigar not-so-well in the palm of his saluting hand. "Private Avenus Rolin, Field Surgeon, reporting for duty, sers." he says before sticking the cigar back in his mouth and turning down one of the aisles and finding a seat.
Grinding his teeth, Calahan grunts wouldnt want you to hurt your neck looking up to me, sir. spinning around, he walks around the table and up to Jenkins, shaking his hand.
"all right?" thats not what your mother says to me. HAHAHAHA! Harry's laugh is loud, echoing in the small room.
watching the others file into the room, Calahan grunts in amusement as Rolin salutes with a cloud of cigar smoke flows up from behind him. When Rolin passes, Calahan says you know, i heard somewhere that those things can kill a guy.
"Sir, Pvt Iggins, reporting for duty, sir." The slight bookish man was actually in the room in the wake of the more boisterous Calahan, but unobserved and unnoticed, he simply waited until an opportune moment. He's imminently forgettable, the sort of person you'd never remember seeing in a crowd. Nothing about him stands out, from his grey clothes to his thinning hair. Average height, average weight, average man. Certainly not the picture of the stormtrooper ideal.
Shooting Calahan a stern frown he looks him up and down before scrutinizing his face, giving Calahan the feeling he's being given a a medical on the spot. "That's why I don't smoke, son." Rolin replies, waving the unlit cigar under his nose. "I quit years ago."
Looking at his wrist chrono, PFC Guillermo Manus swears before bolting from the docking bay where he was helping a new mechanic fix a damaged shuttle engine, "Sorry, I've got a meeting to catch, you can take it from hear, right?" he says as he dashes to get to his new assignment on time, wiping his hands on the grease towel he carries with him. "Damn it, I even got here early to avoid this..." he thinks to himself as he nears the conference room where he is to meet his new squad.
Arriving just in time, he takes a moment to straighten his uniform and toss his grease towel in a nearby garbage bin, making sure that nothing is out of place or covered in grease before calmly walking into the room as if he wasn't in a rush at all. "Private Guillermo Manus, reporting for duty, sir!" he says to the two officers in the room, as he stands rigidly at attention, the picture of an attentive soldier of the Empire, marred only by a sole spot of grease on his right ear.
like what you see, rolin? i like long walks on the beach and taking cold showers in the wee morning hours. If you want, i can autograph a pic for you as a keepsake for your alone time in the sack. Pausing at Manus' entrance, he continues besides, whats the point of having an unlit cigar if your not going to smoke it? It like carrying a blaster with no ammo, a tease. chuckling to himself, calahan starts rummaging in his pockets for some unknown thing.
Rolin blinks a few times at Callahan's remarks, unsure whether he's joking or just beeing an ass. "Dirty Harry Calahan." Doc Rolin says, a statement not a question. "I've read your med file, son, and it didn't say anything about naked walks in the rain in your psyche evaluation. I'll have to add that in with all the rest of your wonderful little quirks." he says, popping the cigar back in his mouth. "An' the cigar is a distraction, son, a handicap if you will. You can call it an adult pacifier for all I care. It's better to chew on it than grind my teeth."
Colonel Delmont looks around the room at the soldiers who've just entered. "Good everyone's arrived, At ease Gentlemen, take a seat." he takes out a code cylinder and activates the Holovid. "Let's get down to business. We've been monitoring some Rebel activity in an outer rim system named Yolan. Yolan 2 is a quiet planet that has supplied the Empire with agricultural goods and easily mined Duralloy Ore for years. It seems the Rebels have been giving the inhabitants military training. Your Mission is as follows," He clicks a button on his code cylinder and the Holovid projects a tactical map "as you can see on this map they have added some anti aircraft turrets onto the old city walls, there are three in total. Each of these is protected by a dug-in bunker. You and two other squads will take one turret each and neutralize it, if you set enough explosives you should be able to blow a decent hole through the wall. This is your planned entry into the city. From there you'll need to locate their shield generator and take it out of commission. I'll leave the method up to you. This will allow us to begin landing the main force into the city. While they stage a large battle you will be slipping past the enemy lines, locating the rebel headquarters and capturing their leaders. Any questions?
Nalis sneers slightly at the mention of explosives, he doesn't like bombs of any description.
"Not a great deal of data, from the map I'd say get Iggins into a sniper spot on the Hill while Calahan provides covering fire to gain access to the AA turret.
Once we're in we'll have to see how the land lies. Is there any interest in re-purposing the equipment once we're in occupation or are we better served denying it to the enemy?"
In other words, disable or blow up the shield generators, as a preferred option?
wow...i have a fan, it seems. and it looks like you already have some material about me for- Harry cuts off as the Colonel starts up.
Taking a seat, he gets serious listening to the mission brief. Where Nalis sneers at the idea of explosives, Harry gets a broad grin.
so how big of a hole you looking for, sir? something to park your car or your shuttle in?
Looking closer at the map, calahan whistles. thats alot of open ground to cover with supressive fire. we would need to set up a 1-2 punch combo, heavy blaster fire and mortars or missles. Use mortars to hammer them while behind the bunker wall, and the blaster to hit them if they come out.
Perhaps not the best expression to use, more - distraction. We can't take them head on in a defensive position, not without the sort of hardware you're talking about anyway.
What's the scale of the map? If they're standard 1.5m squares, that's a round or two away at a run from cover, though I'm assuming they're smaller.
Any estimate as to numbers on the ground and in the AA bunker?
"Thank you, sir. One question, how long do we have before the Landing Force enters the atmosphere? Or do we communicate when we neutralise the AA?" he speaks with ease and familiarity of one used to working with people of higher rank.
He then addresses the team, "I think you'll agree we need to be light and fast. I like your ideas Nalis - I think that will work. Calahan, we can't take mortars or missile launchers on this mission - the weight will slow us down AND Requisition gave me a flat No.
"I'm told our gear should be available soon, and that we are to be trailing a new variant of Stormtrooper armour - a colour better suited to stealth in urban and natural environs."
"Colonel, can you tell us when we hit dirt-side?"
grumbles to himself about the idiocracy of requisition and officers alike, Calahan rumbles louder to be heard What about the grenade launcher? last time i checked that was man-portable, same as the shoulder fired missle launcher and man-portable mortar, and a standard ammo layout was 10 rounds frag and stun. Very useful for rapid room clearing when storming a bunker, or deflecting an OPFOR assault.
looking back at Rolin, he thinks to himself shoulda got myself a stash of those as well.
"That's right there's not a great deal of data. Intelligence sent in a team, but apart from a few images they sent back while they were still in orbit we never heard back from them they're still MIA. Analysis have calculated that they've cleared about 100 meters of forest from around the city."
"It's hard to estimate numbers, but the rebels have been training the inhabitants so you'll need to treat everyone as hostile unless proven otherwise. The size of the defenses around the turrets suggest small squads operating on shifts. Once your dirt side you'll have 30 minutes to make your way through the forest at 1900 hours exactly your attack will begin you'll need to take out that turret as quickly as you can as the rest of the force is set to begin landing at 1920 hours."
He clicks his code cylinder again and the map changes. Tactical Map 2
"After you breach the wall, take a route west-southwest, that should lead you to this military installation. This is where their shield generator is located. To answer you question Nalis, if you can disable the shields without destroying the hardware that would be best. As you can see there's a small barracks here as well, we are guessing that this small building attached to the generator houses the computer system that regulates power to the shields. Remember it's after the shield are dropped that we will be able to begin landing the main force so speed is very important. If the shields aren't down by 1930 then we estimate casualties will rise by 25%. Your third objective is less time critical. In the north of the city is a tall tower, you won't be able to miss it. This tower is one of the three buildings we narrowed down as being suitable to house the rebel leaders. Raid the building, and capture the leaders, that's capture not kill! We'll be sending you a gunship to bring them back as well as any information storage devices they may have about them.
So three objectives: 1) Destroy the anti aircraft turret
2) Disable the shields
3) Capture the rebel leaders"
just to make sure i understand you, we are to start the attack at 1900 imperial, but will be dropped before then. once the attack starts, we have 30 minutes to take out a harden bunker with an AA gun, move through a city filled with hostiles, and take out a shield bunker.
Calahan scratches his chin, thinking.
what is the coverage area that the shield provides? does it cover the AA gun bunkers or no?
Rolin just sits quietly, chewing his cigar and listening to the more experienced soldiers talk their business, though he understood tactics and logistics his experience and expertise lay elsewhere. He knew how to organize and run a clinic or a surgery, a field hospital or MedEvac but assaults and battles was something he felt was best leaving to the soldiers. 'Just as long as I get my gear.'
"Very good, sir. Destroy the AA. Breach the wall. West-southwest to the tower. Capture the Rebel leaders," he looks at Calahan and says very slowly, "...not kill."
Jenkins looks at his wrist-chrono to determine how long the team has before being shuttled dirt-side.
"We'll need restraints then. And I'll need extra doses of tranqs to keep 'em mellow as well." Rolin mutters, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Adrenalin shots to get 'em back on their feet too an' plenty of mesh tape to get 'em back together if your worried naked in the rain here won't be able to find his stun setting."
yeah yeah, jenkins, i heard what the vaunted Colonel said about capturing, not killing those rebel scum. Guess im going in with Amber, although she will be sad that she wont have her playmates Susan and Jessica along for the fun.
Fishing out of his pocket a small notepad, Calahan jots some notes down about location, cover, and range fans.
jerking his head up at Rolin's comment, he rumbles out in a loud voice happy to keep you employed, Rolin.
Listening to the tactical briefing, Gil looks like he is simply passively absorbing the given information, but anyone who looks at his eyes can see their rapid movement as he scans the maps taking in all of the relevant information.
"Sir, what sort of explosives will we be given for this mission?" he asks, still staring at the map, trying to commit it to memory as best he can. "Also, regarding the shield generator, what degree of destruction would be acceptable? I ask because if time is such an important factor, the most time efficient route would be to simply blow the shield's power source; take that out, the shield goes down quickly, and the explosives can be detonated remotely so that way we can blow them while on the move, minimizing the likelihood of being caught, and unless it is something exotic, the power supply to the shield generator ought not to be too difficult to replace, sir."
" just to make sure i understand you, we are to start the attack at 1900 imperial, but will be dropped before then. once the attack starts, we have 30 minutes to take out a harden bunker with an AA gun, move through a city filled with hostiles, and take out a shield bunker."
"Yes that correct, I have confidence that this squad is capable of achieving these objectives."
"We'll need restraints then. And I'll need extra doses of tranqs to keep 'em mellow as well." Rolin mutters, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Adrenalin shots to get 'em back on their feet too an' plenty of mesh tape to get 'em back together if your worried naked in the rain here won't be able to find his stun setting."
"I'm sure you'll be able to requisition the appropriate gear. Once the you've dropped the leaders call it in and we'll send the gun ship to collect you, waking them up will be intel's problem."
"Sir, what sort of explosives will we be given for this mission?" he asks, still staring at the map, trying to commit it to memory as best he can. "Also, regarding the shield generator, what degree of destruction would be acceptable? I ask because if time is such an important factor, the most time efficient route would be to simply blow the shield's power source; take that out, the shield goes down quickly, and the explosives can be detonated remotely so that way we can blow them while on the move, minimizing the likelihood of being caught, and unless it is something exotic, the power supply to the shield generator ought not to be too difficult to replace, sir."
"In terms of holding the city after we've taken it, minimal damage to the generator would be best. However if that's what's necessary to take the shields down then it will be acceptable."
Delmont looks at Cpt Jenkins and says "Captain, you have 7 hours to req your equipment and be on board the 'Empire' (prototype Imperial-II class Star Destroyer) your shuttle is waiting in Docking bay B3, Good luck men, I'll see you on your return." He looks at his own crono and marches briskly out of the room.
Manus, Private FC
Demolitions
Qty
Security kit 1
Bandolier 1
Grenade frag 2
Utility Belt 1
Detonite 4
Explosive Charge 2
Explosive - Manual Trigger 5
Timer 1
Blaster Carbine 1
Scope 1
Power Packs 4
Stormtrooper Armour 1
Total Weight 22.8
Nalis, Private FC
Hacker
Qty
Datapad 1
Security kit 1
Blaster Carbine 1
Scope 1
Power Packs 4
Stormtrooper Armour 1
Bandolier 1
Grenade Frag 2
Utility Belt 1
Total Weight 21.3
Iggins, Private FC
Scout
Qty
Heavy blaster rifle 1
Lowlight Scope 1
Camouflage poncho 1
Bandolier 1
Power packs 4
Grenade Frag 2
Utility Belt 1
Grenade Stun 1
Total Weight 11.8
Calahan, Private FC
Gunner
Qty
Mesh tape 3
Grenade Launcher 1
Grenade Frag 4
Grenade Stun 2
Heavy blaster rifle 1
Power packs 6
Bandolier 1
Utility Belt 1
Battle Armour 1
Scope 1
Total Weight 32.3
Rolin, Dr, Private FC
Medic
Qty
Heavy blaster pistol 1
Scope 1
Holster 1
Stormtrooper Armour 1
Med kit 1
Medpacs 6
Power packs 2
Bandolier 1
Grenades frag 2
Utility Belt 1
Grenade Stun 1
Total Weight 45.7
Jenkins, WO
Officer
Qty
Power packs 1
Bandolier 1
Grenades Adhesive 3
Grenades Stun 2
Grenades Ion 2
Grenades Smoke 1
Utility Belt 1
Blaster Carbine 1
Code Cylinder 1
Electrobinoculars 1
Stormtrooper Armour 1
Credit Chip 1
Credits 1
Binder Cuffs 4
Total Weight 16.5
watching his gear get layed out infront of him for inventory, Calahan grunts at the REC guy. you seem to have forgetten about 4 frag grenades, punk.
after grabbing his gear, Calahan walks down the line to an open table, laying everything out. He then proceeds to inspect everything, cleaning out any debris in the weapons and grenades, attaching the scope to the rifle, taping power pack pairs together for fast loading, testing each cell in the rifle to ensure a proper fit and accurate readout, inspecting the armor for any defects before straping in, and then proceeding to belt on the utility belt, the bandolier, sling and hang the heavy blaster rifle and grenade launcher.
ahh..party poppers he says as he holds up the grenades, then stringing them onto the bandolier and utility belt.
When the Colonel has left, Jenkins addresses his troops in a serious tone:
"Well, you've all got your equipment now. The Stormtrooper Armour is a prototype for urban assault. The shades of grey rather than stark white should help us to stealth through the city itself.
.
"Unfortunately we could not requisite the absolute best gear, not without high rank than any of us. I was able to secure us more than just First Class Privates usually receive, most of which has provided you with the armour. Still, the gear is pretty good, and there should be enough of everything to get us through, and then some.
.
"The thing is, to be frank, those in command don't know any of us by name yet - not in a positive manner that is," he tries really hard to not glance at Calahan (almost succeeds too). "They see us as disposable. I should think that the Colonel will only send the drop-ship to collect us IF we have some living Rebel Leaders to set their precious Interrogation Droids onto. This may well be a one-way trip - by Jove I hope their Intel is good: if there are no Rebel Leaders in that tower we are gonna spend a lot of time dirt-side. I pray this planet has a nice atmosphere.
.
"Well, get your gear in order. We have about six-and-a-half hours till orbit, seven till we are shuttled. I suggest you get some shut-eye with your partner, if you can sleep, and a decent meal - at least, that is my intention.
.
"I'll meet you in Docking Bay B3. Manus - don't be late. Perhaps you need to get yourself a ChronoDroid to alert you. Or do I have to send a Mouse Droid?"
get something in your eye, jenky? he laughs as Jenkings continues, but grows somber at the mention of a one way trip. Grunting, Calahan just says ha. one way. thats what they said to me on Kessel. take more than a bunch of energy rounds to the sternum to bring me down.
ha. one way. thats what they said to me on Kessel. take more than a bunch of energy rounds to the sternum to bring me down.
"Energy rounds?" Jenkins' mood softens somewhat as he chuckles with his old, "with any luck they'll be shooting Insta-BactaSeal at your mouth. Now, when we are back up here, with the Rebel Leader's capture to our credit, you'll have to tell me about Kessel. I'm off for a resting snooze with my partner."
"Ready for action, sir." Iggins' voice is soft and low, but clear. He heads off to the requisitions officer to pick up his gear.
i hear a certain alcoholic drink calling me...see you ladies in 5 hours.
Nalis checks over the requisitions list, and with a quick salute makes his departure.
He heads out to his bunk, rests up for 3 hours, then spends an hour or so checking the databases on Yolan, the city and the area in general. Finally he will head over to collect his gear and check it all over.
Nalis likes to be thorough, at least on those missions when you do have time to prepare.
Taking care to properly stow the varied explosives that he has been provided, Manus snaps to attention when the Colonel addresses him. "No sir, that won't be necessary," he says before heading off to his bunk, to get as much shut-eye as possible, as he is going to need it for the mission.
The Req officer snorts at Calahan "Anybody would have thought your CO was commandering chief of the whole armed forces with the amount of gear that he ordered but no one goes over budget in this mans army. You'll have to make do with what you've got soldier!" You take your gear over to an open table surprisingly everything is in pretty good nick but a thorough clean later and everything looks perfect.
Computer Use
Iggins spends his time polishing his new blaster rifle with a black polish to remove any shine that might give away his position. When he's finished, he lays down and immediately falls asleep, awakening exactly two hours later with military precision. He spends the last few hours going over his gear, checking and rechecking it, packing and repacking it, until everything is in its precise spot. By the time of the rendezvous, his gear is in perfect shape and he is bright eyed and ready for action.
your mother was more giving than you are. calahan snaps at the req officer.
Calahan swings by his room on his way to the staging area, and takes a hit of some mild alcohol. mmm tasty.
afterwards he goes down to the staging area, unspools 2 feet of tape, and proceeds to tape the grenade launcher and rifle to his wrists. putting on his helmet, he drops the visor and the muffled sound of activity around him acts like lullaby and lulls him to sleep.
Picking up his gear Rolin grunts when he hefts the pack and heads to his quarters. Braking down his medkit he inspects everything before reassembling it to his satisfaction. Catching shuteye he wakes three hours before departure spending the time before he has to show up showering and donning his gear he uses what time he has left to inspect any relevant reports regarding the planets atmosphere, known diseases, flora and fauna, trying to be as ready as he can.
"Good question, sir. Here's an inventory of the weights. Perhaps another member of the team can carry the Medical Kit, it is rather heavy."
Rolin Medic Qty Weight Total
Heavy blaster pistol 1 1.3 1.3
Scope 1 0.2 0.2
Holster 1 0.5 0.5
Stormtrooper Armour 1 10.0 10.0
Med kit 1 20.0 20.0
Medpacs 6 1.0 6.0
Power packs 2 0.1 0.2
Bandolier 1 2.0 2.0
Grenades frag 2 0.5 1.0
Utility Belt 1 4.0 4.0
Grenade Stun 1 0.5 0.5
Total Weight 45.7
seeing the docs prediciment, Calahan strolled over and helped the doc carry his gear to the table.
if your looking to distribute some weight, pass out the medpacs to each of us. no sense in you carrying all the equipment that can stablize a soldier, especially if your on one side of the battle field and i am on the other with a gaping chest wound.
Could everyone please add 1 Medpack to your kit. These weigh 1 kg - I think you can all spare that without going over your encumberance.
Gil, checks over his explosives and arranges them in their case knowing that care must be taken and also when speed in needed its good to know where everything is.
Nalis cruises the Holonet checking for information on Yolan. He finds some interesting things like what the best selling security systems are, and what operating systems the government uses
Iggins spends some of his free time blacking his rifle with polish, and ensures that he knows where every bit of his kit is packed.
Doc Rolin breaks down his medkit and with practiced ease rearranges everything so a) It's set out better and everything's easier to grab when needed and b) the weight is distributed more evenly.
Every one arrives well before time at docking bay b3. You're welcomed by the sight of Harry, helmeted head lolling to one side as he snores contently, his rifle strapped to his arms with mesh tap. Suddenly he starts as his crono alarm wakes him Beep beep, Beep beep your all ushered aboard the shuttle along with some other troops and taken into orbit to board the Star Destroyer 'Empire'.
One short Hyperspace trip later and you find yourselves in the Yolan system. Over the ships internal comm system you hear a pleasant yet utilitarian voice "All Special forces Commando squads report to Escape pod bay 54... All Special forces Commando squads report to Escape pod bay 54..."
You all find your way through the ship to the escape pod bay and quickly link up with your squad mates. You are quickly briefed on your method of insertion. It seems that these pre programmed pods will hurtle down at the planet in an uncontrolled fashion designed to imitate a meteor. At the last moment it will power up and repulser lifts will slow the fall to ensure a safe landing.
You all pile into the pod designated for Squad A12 (your squad no#) still a little unsure about the whole thing. An operator closes the door and his voice pipes into the pod. "Deploying in three, two, one. Hold onto your lunch boys!" There's the sound of rockets firing and you shoot forward rapidly clearing the ship, then there is staccato bursts of repulser lifts and the whole universe begins to spin! This seems to last for hours before your hear the repulser lifts kick back in your speed decreases rapidly and then BANG! CRUNCH! SMASH! your pod unceremoniously crashes into the ground. It's not a great way to travel. After a moment the door opens automatically and you find yourselves in a forest.
"Ok, Iggins. Have a quick look about the area, real quick. I need a recon report in less than a minute."
Jenkins alights the craft, "Hard to call that a craft," he mumbles, with his rifle at the ready. He scampers 10 m away to some soft cover of a small bush, waving the others to follow. Using his electrobinocs he surveys the area.
Perception
I'm not sure if I prefer that over being shot down mutters Nalis, before regaining his composure.
While waiting for the initial survey Nalis checks none of his gear has become misaligned in the fall.