The Sheepdog (SJO)

[Valkren Calderon]

"I am the Sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."​

-LTC Dave Grossman (RET)​

Planet: Rhen Var

Location: Just above planets surface, currently aboard A-10 LAAT Gunship

Time: 2200 hrs.

"A sheepdog can only do so much in the face of wolves, for there is only one sheepdog. So what can the sheepdog do in face of many wolves?"

He can lead the wolves

Colonel Valkren Calderon opened his eyes beneath his goggles as the A-10 LAAT Gunship rocked violently in the intense winds on Rhen Var. Snow flurries would pierce the cracks in their transport as the ship rocketed across the planets' surface.

His communication piece buzzed in his ear, a voice piercing the rather constant noise of turbulence shifting the Gunship off of its intended path. "ETA five minutes sir. Storm hasn't shown any signs of calming down."

The voice had come from the pilot in the front section of the gunship, Valkren wasn't sure if it was the main pilot or the co-pilot but it didn't exactly matter anyways. The young colonel held up a gloved left hand, giving the 'A-okay' sign, then returning to his other hand in his lap. As of lately, Valkren had returned to a state-of-mind in which he had once been before, during his time with the Republic and the Directorate. His recent lack of social experiences due to a long streak of training and an absence of a certain group of friends had brought him down to his most simplest, but hardest mindset.

Get the job done, and get it done right.

That's why he was taking his people through so much training. Valkren stared blankly across to the other side of the gunship, before looking further down the line. With him were the same rangers that had been on this training binge with him from the start. Sigrid, Marl, and 212; it was a rag tag mix of a Valkyri and two clones that would have to do their best to work together to get through the next exercise. Calderon looked down to a picture that had been concealed in his gloved hands, before folding it up and stuffing it deep into one of the pouches on his jacket. He then reached up and pulled himself from his position, standing in front of the group as the ship continued to rock back and forth.

"Alright ladies and gents, here's the deal. We're going on something I like to call the 'warriors route.' It's a twenty-five mile hike from our LZ to the end goal, the weather here just makes things a little more fun." The colonel had given them strict instructions that no one was to wear their armor, only whatever warm clothes they felt like they could bring. They were also allowed any survival tools they could bring, and simulate in those terms what exactly they'd have in a unexpected crash. So a sidearm, he'd allow.

He expected the hike to take anywhere from twelve to fifteen hours, unopposed atleast..and without any stops. Valkren did not expect them to go unopposed though, he looked over his shoulder at Lieutenant Harris and six other rangers, all in clad black plating. Harris waved at the group as Valkren spoke up again.

"Harris here is going to be hunting us. We'll have to find our way past him and his men and get to the extraction."

Colonel Calderon turned back to the other three rangers, reaching down with one hand to check his kit and be sure that his giant parka-like coat was closed so none of the deadly winds could reach him. His gaze from behind his goggles went to Sigrid, who was the only one that had a real advantage here. The weather from where she hailed made her more resistant, so to say, with the weather here on Rhen Var. Her resistance was one of the reasons he included Harris and his men, it'd add a sense of urgency to the task at hand. The Colonel also planned on having the pilot drop a supply cache for them to find at some point in their hike, as to possibly fight back against the opposition if they wished to do so.

This would be a team exercise, he wanted to work with his people and them work along with him, and this was one of the best ways of doing it.

"Any questions?"

[member="RC 212"] | [member="Marl"] | [member="Sigrid Forsberg"]

 

[RC 212]

"I am the Jack in the Box. I live to pop up out of nowhere and Feth poodoo up."​

RC 212- Everyday in the Mirror​

Planet: Rhen Var

Location: Just above planets surface, currently aboard A-10 LAAT Gunship

Time: 2200 hrs.

Ah the old LAAT. It felt like home for RC. He loved this sort of thing, just them against the wilds. But hwasn't dudmb, he knew there was always a catch. For a moment he was back at the academy many, many moons ago. Well a couple centuries to be exact. He had Mandalorian Drill instructors roaring in his face as he crawled through the recycled guts of his comrades that hadn’t made the cut..

Ah the joys of ARC training.

And then there was Circe Savan and her prison, which had been cold. But not as cold as her heart when she had bewitched him. He'd been around. Fought a Planet that was literally a self repairing droid, led a Deathwatch Rebellion, Led a Mandalorian Pirate Crew, Led various bands of Mercs and even set up Militia and standing SF for the Lord of the Fringe.

Needless to say the cold was the last thing that bothered RC at night.

"Yep, all clear, roger roger."

He was being sarcastic. He couldn't blame the Colonel. He was a good dude trying to do right by his guys, and RC would've put him through the same or worse if he wanted in on any of his old outfits.

Nothing Compares to being battle tested though.​

His old Jango eyes glanced over at Marl and he took another bite of his peanut butter Sandwich.

"Good dude?" He said, voice like a deep growl.

He was carrying nothing but a hatchet, a heavy waffle top, silk underwear, a Med Kit and a good knife. Not even a ruck...

[member="Marl"] [member="Sigrid Forsberg"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Marl]

Marl enjoyed the cold. 212 made sarcastic comments to a commanding officer. He becomes more like a regular person than a clone every time Marl sees him, Marl wore nothing but his duster and his goggles, though to be fair to the simulation he took out the power cells and put them in his socks. he looked over to the Colonel. He wasn't very familiar with Rhen Var so he had a couple questions however he only mentioned one.

"Colonel, as for local wildlife, what should we expect?" Marl said straight faced. He hadn't had to hunt a meal since the Clone Wars. As for carnivorous creatures, he once had to run from a couple of Gundarks.

212 then asked Marl how he was doing, "I'm doing fine 212," Marl was just about to ask him how he was however a question popped in his head.

"212, why did you decide to not have a name?" Marl asked intrigued.

It was ironic really, the Clone who acted the most like a regular person was practically the only one without a real name. he sat down while he had the chance, it would be the last time he did it for a while.

 

[RC 212]

[member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Marl"]

RC grinned and took another bite. Marl was perceptive, maybe a little too perceptive. His comment was close to the mark as folks could get around here. Why didn't he have a name? That was a good question, but without a real solid answer. He liked Marl so he didn't want to be a dick to him, but it came out any ways in the abrasive manner in which he normally operated.

"Why would I want one? I'm RC 212 Baby! I nuked Keldabe during the First Battle of Mandalore. I was at Dark Harvest fighting Alongside Ashin Varanin and Spencer Jacobs, though they went by different names then. I got a legacy to protect Marl. Though it might not be great. Folks hear the name RC and it provokes two things. Respect, or hatred. Either is an acceptable psychological tool on the field of battle."

RC took another bite of his Peanut butter sandwich and held it up to the both of them.

"But ya'll can call me RC or whatever ya want. Want some of this sandwich? You'll need the protein."

 

[Marl]

Wouldn't be the first time Marl shared food with a brother. He took a bite of it. RC 212 didn't exactly give him an exact answer. He was fine with it. everyone had their own scars and Marl wasn't one to dig at it, he gave the sandwich back.

"That was great, RC. Fantastic sandwich, brother." Marl said, it was a good sandwich. He looked over to the girl who was being very quiet.

"Eh, it's Sigrid, right?" Marl asked as he grabbed a flare gun. Marl thought of a hundred ways to use this tactically.

@RC 212
[member="Valkren Calderon"]
[member="Sigrid Forsberg"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

Planet: Rhen Var
Location: Just above planets surface, currently aboard A-10 LAAT Gunship
Time: 2200 hrs.

He held his head as the pain came back and he sucked in air through his clenched teeth, he had been shepherded to the LAAT like a sheep and was told that he was going to do some training, he liked this better then taking anymore test so he sat there in solitude, he reflected on what he did remember and tried to remember what he couldn't, but he never could. His mind flashed through his old thoughts, some of the things he did remember, or the things he made up to feel like he did remember.

Colonel [member="Valkren Calderon"] rose and started issuing the commands of the mission, he listened to the man without speaking a word, his eyes and mind set on remembering the task at hand, he did not intent to fail. He reflected on the thought, why did he think that? He rolled the thought through his head until he came upon the conclusion, Because he knew he wouldn't fail, it was as if he had been trained like this before, or similarly. As he said this the Colonel had sat down and was focusing on other things in his head.

His mind drifted over some facts again until the two clones started chatting with one another, a [member="Marl"] and RC 212. One asked a fairly peculiar question to the other, about why he didn't have a name. This question struck home with him, because to him he didn't have a name, he had one assigned to him, in a past life, but it fitted him he thought, so he didn't mind, and he guessed that's what RC must have felt, or something similar, and that was perfectly okay to him, as long as he was happy.

Finally he decided to check over what he had brought. He took out his blaster pistol and looked over it giving it a standard equipment check to make sure that it was running smoothly and nothing was wrong with it before he had to use it. He wore a simple tee shirt and cargo pants with combat boots. He opened up his ruck and scanned through the contents, a vibroblade, rations, a flare, rope, along with a assortment of other things that would help them if the situation arose. This fit the Colonels perameters because he made sure his ruck was equipped with standard issue equipment that could be found on any personal carrier, starfighter, or any other ship that would be in need of it.


[member="Marl"] | [member="RC 212 "]| [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Sigrid Forsberg"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

"As for local fauna of the planet, Wampas' would be our main concern. However, the layout of the Warrior's path is in an area reportedly absent of the damned things. As for the pantran whitefangs..There's no telling where their hunting packs will take them. So look alive out there boys and girls. We got soldiers and beasts trying to take us down." The colonel stated this, before gripping one of the handles he had a hold of as the Gunship tipped its' nose up suddenly, coming to a hovering stop just several feet from the icy surface of Rhen Var. Valkren was truly concerned about the whitefangs, considering how much of an apex predator and hunter they were. Even alone, he had gone through reports on how several scouting teams had been taken down by a single adult once they were cut off from their groups.

"This is your stop Colonel, see you all on the other side." The pilot yelled through their comms over the sound of the engines roaring. Lieutenant Harris just smiled, slapping Calderon on the shoulder as he approached the gunship doors. Valkren just smiled from behind the balaclava he had pulled up above the bridge of his nose, knowing that the Lieutenant would love to put a simulation round into the colonel's ass.

And he'd be damned if he was going to let him do it without a proper fight.

The door slid open, letting a gust of ice cold, skin splitting wind rush through, slapping Valkren directly in the goggles. The edges of his protective eye wear began to claim icicles. It was much colder than the soldier had previously assumed. He'd rub his gloved hands over the lenses once and twice over before readjusting his ruck and leaping out into the 'winter wonderland.' Instead of hitting a patch of ice like he expected, the gunship had dropped them on a section of loose snow, causing the colonels' boots to sink an entire two feet as he landed.

"Sunova," He only mumbled as he struggled to get free, soon making the landing zone clear for the rest of his team.

[member="Marl"] | [member="Sigrid Forsberg"] | [member="Logan Grey"] | [member="Soulfire Ticon"]

 

[Kardev Byrric]

He knew he was the FNG.

That's why he kept mouth shut and his eyes peeled. Any sort of mistake or misstep on his part would cause a lot more harm than intended, be it verbal berating or the usual snarky comment from the more experienced soldiers. This was his first real training scenario that wasn't exactly in a set in stone training environment. Wasn't basic training, wasn't medical extraction courses, this was the real deal. Training on Rhen Var, where exposed skin could probably result in frostbite within minutes of being exposed - even during the middle of the fething day.

If anything, he was sure he'd packed the most supplies. Between layers of clothes, a parka, balaclava, and his combat harness, that age-old survival pack bound was bound tightly to him. Filled to the brim with any sort of essential amenities the squad and he would need. Kastin didn't even want to go down that long list of other things he'd brought. Emergency medical kits, minor surgical tools, along with an odd assortment of medications and bandages and tourniquets.

They'd even authorized a sidearm, but he didn't need it. Never did.

Pensively, the young medic shivered behind the rest of the squad, listening intently to all of the intel being distributed.

[member="Valkren Calderon"], [member="Logan Grey"], [member="Marl"], [member="Soulfire Ticon"]