Finding Archon [Inv Only]

[The Upright Man]

[Theme]

Somewhere along the Ison Corridor . . .

Dean was alone for what felt like the first time in months, but he was never truly alone. CONI was currently watching him, an omnipresent force that was ready to end his career - or life - if he stepped out of line. He was their puppet, but he was not inherently upset about it. There was a sense of purpose that CONI brought to his life. Up until the Navy picked Dean up he'd been a dead beat.

For the next fifteen years he served as a Commando and now he was CONI's new toy. He ran his hands over his buzz-cut scalp and then smoothly placed the prototype Jaguar Mk-I helmet over his head. It was heavy but the suit made it feel much lighter, all of it worked in unison together. It was a feat of technological genius between Morris Munitions and the Commonwealth, a shame the price tag was so hefty.

Hadiyya and Marguerite funneled into the hanger. Fireteam Black, Section Zero. Wherever they went whispers and quiet murmurs followed, they were the stuff of legend. Those who knew about Section Zero was Section Zero themselves and the Commonwealth Security Council, for everyone else it was just rumors, and so when they saw Fireteam Black in person, they couldn't help but quietly talk among themselves.

At first it had felt like fame, but Dean quickly noticed his old Commando buddies didn't want to share meals anymore, and then even the greenies refused to sit at his table, not that they hated him, they were scared of him. When Fireteam Black showed up on a mission it mean't bad news, and if they came knocking at someones house that person would never be heard from again. Came with the job, he supposed. "Chin up, Commander," Hadiyya said with her thick Uluruan accent, "The candidates will be on deck soon."

__________________________________

| [member="Cadmon Lussk"] | [member="Zee"] | [member="Isaac Knight"] |
| [member="Eli Brooks"] | [member="Mia Conner"] |
_______________________

 

[Darth Caecus]

One of the candidates who seemed perfectly neutral toward Fireteam Black was the first aboard.

The petite woman had a rucksack over one shoulder and a rifle over the other. She was already geared out, though the vizor on her helmet was up as she headed up in to the ship.

Zee hadn't been surprised when she'd been tagged from the volunteers as one of the candidates for this mission. She also wouldn't have been disappointed if she hadn't been chosen. At least, not on the outside. While on the surface, the former mercenary contractor was almost always calm, it was a conscious mask she wore. An old habit, for certain, but still a decision. She wasn't an emotionless automoton, no matter what some of her fellow soldiers thought.

And with what she knew of their mission today, she had an awful lot of feelings to keep under wraps.

She stop on deck, offering a crisp salute to the members of Fireteam Black already assembled. She knew that her official enlistment in the Commonwealth Army had been part of the decision to pick her as part of this mission, but it was still strange saying-

"Sergeant Zee, reporting for duty."

Zee. First name. Last name. If it bothered her that a single letter was all she called her own, well, like so much else- she didn't show it.

 

[Alleycat]

"Raven" had signed a contract with the Commonwealth. The new faction needed pilots badly, and well the merc pilot had the experience and skills to fill the bill.

Being a former Flight Captain of the First Order and CO of the 181st Saber Squadron, she had graduated from the Imperial academy and was well versed in military tactics especially those of the FO. Course, no one here knew she was an ex-Imperial, well at least only those on a need to know basis. Daska Tess had defected a year ago, then changed her identity to Mia Conner. She had kept a low profile doing private merc work until now.

Mia entered the hangar dressed in a navy-issued flight suit, then made her way over to where the candidates for Fireteam Black were assembling. The long-legged blonde slipped into line next to a female army sergeant giving the young woman a curt nod before her sapphire gaze snapped forward as she threw up a crisp salute as well.

"Flight Officer Conner, callsign Raven, reporting as ordered."

[member="Zee"] [member="Dean Letham"]

 

[Progflaw99]

Heavy boots trod across the deck, the man wearing them by all human standards a prime specimen of soldier. Eli Brooks was the spitting image of a Commonwealth Marine. His dark eyes gazed towards the other end of the hangar, a few figures milling about. It looked like that was where they were meeting. Already clad in the standard armor of the Commonwealth Marine Forces, he had little more to prepare for the mission. He'd skimmed the briefing, recognizing practically none of the names on the roster. Glancing down at the rank symbol freshly painted on his armor he cracked a smile.

*Staff Sergeant Brooks* he thought to himself. *Has a nice ring to it.*

The long time Marine had finally been promoted. It wasn't that he was bad at what he did, in fact most of the men he'd led would tell you the exact opposite, that he was in fact one of the best fething NCO's a Commonwealth Marine could ask for; the truth of the matter is, every unit likely thought that of their NCO's. The NCO corps of the Commonwealth was figuratively speaking, the backbone if its forces. Holding the rest of the military together. At least that's what they'd want you to believe. As the Staff Sergeant made his way towards the others their faces became clearer, as much a mystery now as they had been looking over the roster. Aside from Letham, he saw two women also standing there. They must be a few of the others on the list. A Sergeant Zee, and a flight officer, "Conner". He greeted the small group with a downward nod. It looked like their other two candidates still had yet to arrive.

"Staff Sergeant Brooks, nice to meet you ladies." Another nod at Dean. "Sir."

He looked back over his shoulder to see if the others were close behind or not.

"I'm not late am I?" He checked his chrono just to be sure. Nope. He was right on time.

[member="Mia Conner"] | [member="Zee"] | [member="Dean Letham"] | [member="Isaac Knight"] | [member="Cadmon Lussk"]​

 

[The Upright Man]

Dean turned his head when footsteps signaled the arrival of the other men. As he rose to his feet he towered over all of them. In the prototype armor he stood an inch over seven foot. A cold unforgiving golden visor silently judged them. The commander stepped up to Conner, he spoke to the flight officer, "No Land Beyond will be doing a fly by along the Ison Corridor, we'll be jumping out of lightspeed long enough for you to exit the hanger, after that we'll be alone. I want us flying dark, no radio chatter, minimal activity. I don't want 'FO' scanners picking us up."

He hiked a thumb over his shoulder towards the MPD, "Warm up the engines, we're leaving in two." His head turned to address Eli Brooks, he'd seen the report cards. Good kid, career marine. Dean was standing in his shoes not too long ago. "Not late, but others are," Dean remarked, "If they don't make it, they won't make the cut. Tough luck for them." He took a step back and waved a finger at Zee and Brooks, "Gear up, I'll brief you on the way in." Dean walked past the two and made a beeline for the troop bay of the MPD. Ceiling racks contained an assortment of weaponry, almost an armory in of itself.


[member="Zee"] | [member="Mia Conner"] | [member="Eli Brooks"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mia listened attentively to what the commander said, then gave a simple nod of understanding. This was going to be a stealth mission all the way, and the ex-Imperial definitely didn't want the FO scanners to pick them up. She knew a few tricks that would aid them stay hidden. Hopefully they would be enough.

Sapphire gems followed Fireteam Black Leader's thumb over his broad shoulder towards the craft behind him. Raven had been checked off on the Commonwealth's MPD-11a so flying her would be no problem.

"Yes, sir!" Conner responded snapping a quick salute off before the long-legged blonde pilot double-timed it over to the dropship to prepare for launch.

[member="Dean Letham"] [member="Eli Brooks"] [member="Zee"]

 

[Progflaw99]

Well, that was certainly worth following. The grunt's eyes followed just a little less than subtly as the shapely blonde pilot made her way towards the cockpit of their ride. A smirk formed at the corner of his lips as he adjusted his armor slightly. Best get a move on. He was a professional by trade, but he was also a Commonwealth Marine, just cause you weren't supposed to didn't mean you didn't think it. Shrugging his shoulders he stepped off, heading towards the rear of the MPD.

He was anxious to get the show on the road. It was one of his flaws he supposed, whenever anything wasn't going on, he felt somehow disconnected, bored almost. The years of combat and training had honed his skills to a fine edge and whenever he wasn't actively engaged he felt somehow... empty. Cracking his neck as his heavy boot contacted the metal deck plating he reached up, pulling himself into the troop bay, eyes gleaming as he saw what they'd been stocked with.

"Well I'll be... Just what the doctor ordered." He murmured.

Staff Sergeant Brooks reached up, his hands closing around the grip of an MM100. Quickly clearing the weapon he stripped her down, checking to make sure she was clean. Op rod, check. Firing Pin. Check. Bolt assembly, a little bit of wear but serviceable. Slapping the weapon back together he ran it through a quick functions check. Satisfied, he started loading up with ammo. Carefully loading the magazines into the pouches on his gear Eli reached for a few of the grenades, clipping them to his load bearing gear with a grin. If there was one thing Eli knew well it was his weapons and the Commonwealth didn't skimp when it came to equipping their troops. Filling the last of his gear with ammo he clipped the pouches shut, tightening down his gear and making sure nothing rattled. Content, he made his way towards the small connecting hatch to the cockpit. Inside he could see their pilot, Conner was it?

"How's she lookin' Ma'am?" he leaned in the hatchway.

His eyes traced across the boards and control panels. Lights, switches, dials... he was glad for a moment. Glad he only had one switch to worry about: The bang switch.

[member="Mia Conner"] | [member="Dean Letham"] | [member="Zee"]​

 

[Darth Caecus]

Zee moved more slowly than the others by a couple heartbeats. Her face was carefully neutral as she looked up, but inside, she was cursing. More than a little. One might actually conservatively call it a blue streak.

Ceiling racks. Karking CEILING RACKS. The fething galaxy was built for karking tall people.

There was no way around this situation without looking potentially silly and at the worse, down right ridiculous. So she decided to own it. Stepping up to one of the other Fireteam Black members, she spoke quietly but not secretly. In his(?) armor, he positively dwarfed her, but her tone was even and matter-of-fact. There were, after all, many things a smaller person could accomplish that a larger person could not. This was just not one of them.

"Sir. Requesting an MM100 from the rack, sir."

She stood very still in parade rest, hands behind her back. She didn't explain further. After all, it was incredibly obvious that she was too short to reach the ceiling racks. The question came down to this-

Would the veteran members of FT Black give her a hard time about it? Or appreciate the no-nonsense manner she was owning the problem. She was still new to the Common Wealth- had not made friends to speak of. And, until very recently, had been kept separate as a mercenary contactor. She had very little first hand experience with the culture they were trying to establish here in their military. She hoped the response would be the later- after all, what she had seen was an unwillingness to leave a soldier behind, a loyalty to each other. But she simply didn't know yet.

[member="Dean Letham"] [member="Mia Conner"] [member="Eli Brooks"]

 

[Zark San Tekka]

Never a boring day in the Corps.

Lieutenant Isaac Knight had just stepped off a bird onto the flight deck of the No Land Beyond when an out of breath looking crewman had stopped him and produced a datapad with new orders. All he had been told on the CRN Surprise was that he had been recruited for a temporary special detachment, and that he was to leave his platoon behind and travel alone on an MPD already waiting in the Surprise's hangar. Used to a proud but ascetic lifestyle, the normally unphasable special forces marine found himself oddly intimidated. It had been the first time he had felt the sensation since basic training, and he wasn't quite certain how to process it. Worst case scenarios had run through his head, ranging from brass taking his platoon away from him for gross incompetence to being accused of being Robert the Strong's right hand man, followed by a double time straight to a summary execution.

And so it was to his immense relief that, as he read the datapad, he was not about to be court martialed at all, but was on assignment with 'miscellaneous special forces' elements, which caught his eye. Rumor had it that was one of the phrases official documentation would use whenever Section Zero operations were involved. Isaac felt a momentary confidence boost, before it all drained out of him at once along with the color in his face. He had gotten to the timetables, and the time window to get to mustering was in the negatives. Boots on the deck of the No Land Beyond for less than fifteen seconds and he was already late. Maybe they would court martial him after all. He broke into as fast a sprint as decorum onboard a Commonwealth naval vessel would allow.

When he arrived at his destination, a section of the hangar that had been cordoned off from non-essential personnel, he quickly presented his identification to the MPs stationed there and proceeded through. The sight of Fireteam Black did not overwhelm him, he had worked with them once at a distance before, but he did feel the guilt of having let his men down. It did not matter so much that his flight plan had made a timely arrival impossible, Section Zero expected inhuman capabilities all the time. And so, as he approached Commander Letham and stood to attention, he said the only thing he felt expected of him.

"No excuse, sir."

[member="Dean Letham"] [member="Zee"] [member="Mia Conner"] [member="Eli Brooks"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mia Conner was a consumate pilot so everything was checked out twice, then checked again. The boards were green to go, engines humming perfectly on standby. Now if the rest of Fireteam Black would get their grove on they would be ready to depart when the launch sequence commenced. This was going to be a quick exit, but nothing the seasoned flyer couldn't handle.

A deep voice broke the blonde from her methodical musings about the upcoming mission. Raven turned her helmeted head to gaze back over her shoulder and pilot couch to see the big staff sergeant standing there in the hatchway of the cockpit, which she had left open to the troop bay. [member="Eli Brooks"] was a NCO, and seemed to be well seasoned. It would be good to have his experience on the spec ops team, and potentially watching her back. Mia didn't know many people with the Commonweath yet whom she could trust. That was something which would have to develop over time. Unfortunately time was now as they would be going in dark into FO territory, her old stomping grounds.

"We are good to go, Sergeant," Mia answered giving a thumbs up sign with her gloved right hand. "Will you please close and secure the hatch for me. Thank you." Mia nodded, then turned back towards the flight console.

[member="Isaac Knight"] [member="Zee"] [member="Dean Letham"]

 

[Progflaw99]

The Staff Sergeant grinned. Thumbs up was always a good sign. He'd been on plenty of flights but nothing like this. Stealth? He was more of a 'kick the door down and go in guns blazing' kind of guy but hey, he hadn't gotten where he was now without being able to adapt. Giving the woman a curt nod he pushed himself from the small hatchway, reaching up and gripping the handle of the hatch.

"Roger that!"

With a quick downward motion he moved the hatch, sealing the crew compartment from the cockpit. He'd known his fair share of pilots who'd preferred the hatch open, and an equal number who didn't exactly care to hear the not always appropriate banter between grunts as they waited to be deployed. She must have been a new join, he knew most of the pilots around, or at least the notable ones. Could just have been his lack of circulation through the fleet. The Commonwealth had been recruiting talented pilots from all over, if he knew one thing though it was that she had been chosen for this mission for a reason, and that was reason enough for him to trust her as a pilot.

It was one of those subtle nuances, the ribbing the Commonwealth Marines gave their navy counterparts. They'd both hit pretty hard at each other but they both relied heavily on each other and each soldier or sailor knew it. When it came down to the wire, they were all brothers and sisters in arms, sworn to protect each other with their lives if that's what it took and some times it did. Same thing went for Marines and their pilots. Turning back to the troop bay he heard the voice of one of the others. Sergeant Zee was it?

"Relax there jarhead." He said, reaching up to the rack and retrieving a weapon. He gave the woman a smile as he addressed her. "Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, we're both NCO's here. No need for all the formality."

He lowered the weapon to her, still gripping one of the hand holds with his other hand.

"How many mags you want? Frags?"

After retrieving ammo and any frags his fellow Marine may have wanted he lowered himself into a seat, leaning his weapon up against the bulkhead briefly as he strapped himself in. As he secured the buckles he reached in, tightening the straps till there was just enough room to breath. He'd been on enough of these trips he knew the consequences of not properly utilizing the safety gear. Sure, if you were like one of those super-soldiers from the holo-vids you might be able to catch a ride in an MPD without strapping in but as a grunt? Not even the toughest of them was stupid enough to not strap in. Reaching to the side he grabbed his MM100 from where it leaned and held it pressed to his chest as he waited for the others to get strapped in and ready to go. He turned his head towards the other Marine.

"So, Sergeant Zee right? Staff Sergeant Brooks. How long you been with the Commonwealth?"

Outside, beyond the entrance to the troop bay he saw another arrive. Glancing at his chrono he noted the time. Late.

[member="Mia Conner"] | [member="Isaac Knight"] | [member="Zee"] | [member="Dean Letham"]​

 

[The Upright Man]

Dean could see it coming from a mile away. The woman was too short, but it was a big galaxy and building ships for everyone would be costly. Every vessel would be massive for the big species while tiny staircases would loop around decks for the miniscule ones. He heard that someone stationed out at Uluru saw an As-Aki Navy Officer, a goddamn fairy, 20cm tall. Dean has used rifles that fired slugs bigger than an As-Aki. He'd be damned if the Commonwealth became a military of fairies and space wizards. Sometimes he felt like he was living in an old fantasy adventure book, and he just wanted to wake up.

"On it," he said to Zee as she requested a rifle. Before his hands could reach the roof racks a voice briefly distracted him, one of the candidates, late. He turned, then snapped a head back to Zee and saw Brooks was helping her. Good bloke, he thought. Hadiyya and Marguerite had found their seats and were buckled in, all of them were almost ready to leave. He turned his attention to Isaac, "Double time, marine." With a gentle motion Dean placed the palm of his hand on Isaacs back and urged him inside. A second later the Jaguar Commando reached overhead and sealed the MPD troop bay for deployment.

[member="Eli Brooks"] | [member="Mia Conner"] | [member="Isaac Knight"] | [member="Zee"]

 

[Darth Caecus]

That could have gone worse.

Zee settled in next to [member="Eli Brooks"] , repeating his own motions from earlier as she disassembled it, inspecting as she went. It wasn't that they didn't think someone else hadn't check them of course. It was that she hadn't checked it. Zee had been putting in time with these and felt familiar enough that she wasn't concerned about the upcoming mission. It wouldn't have the same, worn in and comfortable feel of her own rifle. But the technology had come a long way- it was long past time for her to get in to the modern swing of things. And there was something about a slug thrower that was like going home.

****

"Hold the gun steady, Xyra, like that. Now, follow the sight, no, don't aim with the tip of the gun. There. No, don't lock your arms, keep them solid, but loose. Same with your knees. Your body needs to be able to absorb the recoil from the gun."

The girl looked up at her father, wide eyes questioning.

"Why? Don't most people use blasters?" She asked in the high, lilting voice of a child who had not yet reached her seventh birthday.

"Yes, most people do. But a slug thrower is trickier. It also has more stopping power. If you know how to handle one of these, an energy weapon will be easy. But if you learn to shoot one of those first, it'll teach you bad habits that will be harder to break. If you can handle a slug thrower, you can handle anything. And I don't just mean guns. Learning how to handle a gun properly teaches you more than just how to be a good shot. It teaches patience, attention to detail. It teaches you to see with clarity, and an understanding of human mortality. A gun is death, Xyra. Never forget that. If you pull a gun on someone, you must be prepared to kill them. Or for them to kill you. There is no middle ground. Oh, sure, some people survive a gun fight, but it's not about that. It's about intention. Never pull a gun unless you mean to use it. Now... steady.... sight......"

"Fire."

*****

Once her weapon was reassembled and settled to her satisfaction she saw to strapping herself in. Glancing over at Eli as she did, she assessed him silently for a long heartbeat before answering his question. She wasn't a big talker obviously.

"A month. Yourself?"

She'd spent the first week of that in medical, after what went down on Iskeria.

[member="Dean Letham"] [member="Mia Conner"] [member="Isaac Knight"]

 

[Alleycat]

Spoiler

Going to move on here and get the dropship launched.

[ Delta Two-Seven-Zero… This is Flight Control. Reversion in sixty. Gods speed and good hunting. ] the male comm officer keyed from the command deck of the CRN Surprise.

[ Roger that. See you on the other side. ] Conner answered, then readied for the blind launch. The pilot's passengers would feel the change in the engine status as she engaged them bringing them from idle up to prime.

[Black Leader… Launch sequence has commenced. We are green to go in thirty. ] the golden blonde announced, then watched the chrono on the flight console countdown.

[ Ten…… five, four, three, two… launch ]

The MPD shot through the magcon with tremendous speed so that it would clear the capital ship long before it made its immediate jump out. Raven feathered the controls and brought the dropship quickly about to take Fireteam Black to its destination as stealthily as possible. The trip down to ground would be harrowing, but she would do her best to make it as painless as possible for those in the back because throwing up in your helmet is the worst especially at the beginning of the mission.

[member="Zee"] [member="Dean Letham"] [member="Eli Brooks"] [member="Isaac Knight"]

 

[Zark San Tekka]

Isaac's were the last boots on board the MPD save Commander Letham's. The special forces operative felt the reassuring whirr-click of the bird's pressure seal that meant the craft was now airtight. There was something oddly discomforting about stepping onto a dropship without anyone from his platoon behind him. The Lieutenant was a natural leader among men, it was the only reason he had advanced so highly in the Marine Corps despite the black mark on his family name, but he had also gotten used to certain faces, certain voices, certain ways of doing things. Whoever had their eye on him, whether it be the mythical Section Zero or a more innocuous branch of Commonwealth Naval Intelligence, Isaac was also aware that they would be looking to see how he adapted to new and high stress scenarios. Apparently receiving a mysterious transfer request for a special detachment and finding himself on some sort of off books black op with Fireteam Black themselves was one of those scenarios.

Knight moved to the front of the dropship, habitually moving to within shouting distance of the cockpit. He liked to be able to hear what the pilots were saying to each other when he lead his men into combat, to be able to talk to them and even see out of the MPD's viewport. On his way, he passed a Staff Sergeant he had never met before conversing with one of the mercenaries he had worked with before on Iskeria. The last time the Lieutenant had seen [member="Zee"] she was being carted off a dropship just like this one to the medical bay of the No Land Beyond. That had been one of the hairier ops Isaac had ever made it through, and as Isaac had performed some field aid on her as well as helped Cait Falcor drag her part of the way to safety when the air strike had leveled the Black Sun facility there, he felt acquainted enough with her to say something.

"Sergeant Zee, no worse for I take it?" he asked, smiling as he noticed the Commonwealth rank emblazoned on her gear. Screwing up his face in concentration as he tried to remember the phrase, he continued, "Looking fit enough to be pulling nose off of gundarks, yes?"

The cockpit hatch was closed, which was slightly disappointing but not unsurprising. Transport flights and milk runs were one thing, but Knight supposed he wanted his pilot absolutely focused on this...whatever this was. The Lieutenant might be a simple company officer, but he knew that neither command nor CNI were in the habit of orchestrating such secrecy and allocating assets from the Jaguar program if they didn't expect it to become necessary. Buckling himself into a harness across from the two NCOs, he set his SpecOp helmet beside him and began to whet the blade he carried at his hip as soon as the bird had launched from the hangar and regained some of her stability. It was a sort of pre-mission ritual he had picked up on dropship flights, at this point it was more of an absentminded tradition than a conscious act.


[member="Eli Brooks"] [member="Mia Conner"] [member="Dean Letham"]

 

[The Upright Man]

"Mission Brief commence; 0400," Dean announced in a quasi-formal tone. He turned on his heel and walked the length of the troop bay, his fingers snapped in front of Zee, "Time for talk later, Buck." When he reached closest to the MPD's flight door, he turned on his heels again to face the soldiers. "We've received reports from CNI that there is a hidden research laboratory within the Hoth asteroid field. We need to establish this base as a listening outpost against the First Order, and retrieve what information we find."

Dean motioned to a holoprojector that burst to life. It showed a deep-scan of the system, red targets began to blip on the map. "We've got two First Order capital ships within close proximity of this base. Our esteemed pilot, call-sign Raven, will be flying dark for us. I want comm-chatter silent, if you're not within speaking distance then don't even consider turning on your communicator because I'll confiscate it faster than you can blink." The hologram closed in, showing a real-time stream of their movements as they closed in on the base. "The lab has been designated as Archon. Our job is to breach this lab, secure the base, keep our voices down, and wait for CNI backup to arrive. Copy that?"

[member="Zee"] | [member="Isaac Knight"] | [member="Mia Conner"] | [member="Eli Brooks"]