[Closed] ATRONACH operations

[Ru the Boatswain]

It was a waiting game with no timer, and it all relied on someone else. Hiding behind an asteroid was also undesirable, the thought that everything could be over in a instant was always annoying. It wouldn't even have been a gun.

The stripped down pirate vessel Irony clung to a slow asteroid no more than a kilometer from the station. Approaching the station had been slow and verifying it's location more so. Now she listened to garbled chatter of enemy communications as the officer who's job it was to decode went to work. A good number of these men were under her command on Ando Prime and she trusted them.

"I'm sure you all know the plan, but I'm going over it again. We are to infiltrate the station a kilo away. Once on board, we will disable broadcasting power, then subdue all opposing forces. There will be two squads in this mission, Alpha and Bravo. It's not going to be anything fancy. When we receive word from DAEDROTH it's on. At that point I expect no hesitation as we take this pirate ship and shove it up their asses. If we're too slow DAEDROTH will catch up and I would prefer to avoid Jay; he smells like my grandmother."

There was no understood, only if someone needed an answer they need only ask. For now she removed her helmet, it was better to put it on later. She checked her compact blaster rifle. It was a pretty little thing, next she checked her backup power cells and her other armaments. Her pistol was in pristine condition as well as her combat knife.

Conditions were perfect. It was business time.

 

[Snuffalupagus]

"Now, it's common belief," Gaull flaunted his knowledge and skill the tranquilizer gun, spinning it around his finger. "You get this batrachotoxin from a certain frog's sweat, from the Dendrobatidae family, when in reality--" he stopped spinning the gun and fired it at a tree. There was a loud thunk, and when the trooper, who had been listening to Gaull, turned to look, a bird lay flat against the trunk, impaled; it began breathing heavily, rapidly moving its head from side to side and flapping its wings. The trooper stared at the bird, and then shifted his gaze back to Haydn, then back to the bird, then back to Hayden. The trooper's mouth wasn't agape in shock, but more in confusion. “Oh, it’s just going into cardiac arrest.” The insane field medic went back to his explanation of the poison. “As I was saying, in reality, the poison is actually from the frog’s diet. A melyridae beetle. The frog only secretes it through sweat.”

“So it does come from the frog.”

Gaull hung his head in disappointment. "Yes, I suppose. Now, the poison mostly affects the brain, but it also works its way down to the heart, causing arrhythmias, palpatations, basically ending with cardiac arrest. Which is what happened to our bird friend." Haydn pointed at he now still corpse pinned on the tree. "That was enough dosage for a three hundred pound man, so that creature felt the effects rather quickly. In someone of average size, the poison could take its toll after a couple minutes of being exposed to it."

"Guns work too."

“I don’t think you get it.” Gaull brought out another magazine cartridge for the tranquilizer gun, ignoring the trooper’s obvious disinterest. “The gun also fires this little number.” He pulled out a small, yet dense, dart. It contained a goldish-brown liquid that shone in the moon’s light. “It’s phencyclidine; a hallucinogenic. Now, medically, it isn’t best to administrate it through a dart, but these are desperate times, so I’ve had to fashion these bad boys into a sort of syringe.” Haydn brought the dart to his eye, resembling a prospector. “Once it breaks through the skin, tiny little hooks will dig into the meat of recipient – sort of acting like a grappling hook of some kind. After that happens, it’ll secrete this liquid, causing hallucinations, convulsions, dry skin, amnesia, sometimes suicidal impulses, you know. It takes care of itself, basically.”

“I’m going…” The S.O.L.A.G. trooper picked up his helmet, stood up, then looked back at Gaull. “I’m going to go.”

Gaull laughed to himself and started to load the tranq gun. Perhaps he wasn’t taking this seriously enough, or maybe he was a little sadistic. Unfortunately, sometimes that’s what needs to happen. In his mind, the ends justified the means.

After preparing the rest of his equipment (a shotgun slugthrower that, instead of pellets, shot tiny star-shaped shurikens) and armour (standard issue S.O.L.A.G. covert battle armour), Gaull thought he should check in with command.

The person leading the strike, Abele Hallen, a sort of veteran well versed in the ways of war. A storied career; countless wars and battles – including the Alsakan wars, assassinations, time in the Republic Security Force. It was enough experience to make any soldier’s head spin. And now B5 Hallen had come to S.O.L.A.G., the Republic’s commandos. A fitting place that could use her experience to lead. If there was anyone Haydn respected in this squad, it was Hallen.

“B3 Gaull Haydn, reporting in. It is an honour to serve with you. I'll be your field medic here. Let me know if you lose or NEED to lose any limbs, it's my favourite operation to perform.”

 

[Saint]

Petty Officer Gamble listened intently to the female B5. He was thankful that she wasn't one of those stuffy, military-types... or at least her little brief there didn't let on that she was. Quick and to the point. He had reviewed the mission brief after the op order was given, ensuring that he knew his part, or at least had a good idea of what he was supposed to do.

Billy hadn't been on a mission plan yet that survived the first enemy contact; there was always something. It was crazy to think that the tiniest of things could off-set such detailed plans... but most of the time, that's -exactly- what it was. Something little; something small; not even overlooked really, just not accurately predicted. Combat tended to be unpredictable, at least when it came to the finer points.

Without any questions or comments of his own, B1 Billy Ray began to tend to his own weaponry, namely his pair of krayt dragon pearl-handled blasters. The lady leading this gig had said to subdue any opposing forces. Subdue... really? Billy wasn't exactly thrilled about moving past subdued enemy personnel. The dead had a hard time returning fire from behind you after slipping cuffs.

Sitting atop a dual stack of crates, Gamble raised his right foot atop a single box and withdrew his rifle slugthrower. Probably be a good idea to punch the bore a few times. In the middle of a firefight was the -wrong- time to realize that your weapon was dirty... especially if you weren't too good with being all up close and personal in hand-to-hand combat.

He whistled a light tune as he worked.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

No real responses were issued, no questions or nonsense. All was well.

"Alright gentlemen, I need radio silence from all of you until we're in. I don't want anything to spook them."

Turning around she patted the pilots shoulder and sat in the co-pilots seat. There was a loud clang as the slightly frozen joints disengaged from the asteroid and the ship drifted for a moment before the stillness wore off, the engines had powered on and puffed once, just enough to send them floating in the right direction. The ship was a lifeless hulk of metal now, unremarkable next to the asteroids around them. It was a waiting game until they would be close enough.

"Prep the jammers. and everyone to the airlock on the double. Helmets on!"

She rose from her chair and quickly secured her helmet, they were about to board the station. As she reached the air lock she grabbed Gamble and shoved him in front of the line.

"You're in first, Gamble. Frak 'em up."

Next she looked for her medic.

"B3 Haydn! Back on the line."

She took her place at third in line behind one of her troopers.

"Everyone check the man in front and behind you. Make sure their weapons are secure and that they were prepared for insertion, we're going to make an entrance."

On her last word the ship shuddered as it collided with the station. A moment later mechanical parts began to audibly move in the walls around them. The converted pirate ship was using a boarding tool to cut through the thick walls of the compound in order to force their way in. Seventeen men, eight in each squad along with Hallen, were lined up to rush in.

It seemed like it would take too long, as if on the other side would be every soldier of the station waiting. In fact this was taking less than a minute, but it was enough time for the enemy to be alerted of their presence. The choked wail of alarms came through the airlock as the last inch of metal was cut through and pushed into the station. Hallen raised her weapon slightly and slammed a large red button to her left.

"Go! Go! Go!"

The door slid open and before them to nothing she had expected.

"Trash compactor? Who designed this station? Damn idiots! Explosives, get up to the next door, blow it open! Everyone else, reform at that door."

Quickly she jumped into the knee high slush and waded to the only door. One of the men came forward and started applying a gel to the door which was just a bit too high to be an easy step up.

"Change of plans! That step is too high, Gamble, when you're ready we blow the door and you smoke anyone on the other side, then you boost first squad in. Understood?"

 

[Saint]

The door had hardly even opened when Gamble unloaded a quick barrage of blaster fire into... a trash compactor? What the Frak?! On order, they moved up to the door, wading through the knee-high slush. Making forward progress wasn't easy. It wasn't just liquid in there. Yech!!

Forming up on the door, they prepared to blow it open when the Major gave Gamble a change of plans. "...That step is too high, Gamble, when you're ready we blow the door and you smoke anyone on the other side, then you boost first squad in. Understood?"

Nodding affirmatively as he shoved his krayt dragon pearl-handled blasters away into their smoothly-oiled nerf-hide holsters, Gamble responded, "Roger Ma'am. Movin'." And with that, he retrieved his smoke screamer, prepping it for immediate delivery. As soon as that door was blown, he'd chuck that sucker in and toss his team mates up quickly.

"Mufflers on!" he barked out as he lifted a hand to depress a button that would tune out the high-pitched scream that was soon to come. Krath help the person who forgot to activate their muffler. Once the screamer initiated, they would be nearly useless for combat due to shock until their ears went deaf. In all honesty, Gamble was -glad- that he was getting the opportunity to use this device. It would save lives.

"Back blast area secure?" the breacher called out in inquiry. "Blast area clear!!" came the loud response as not even a second went by before the door was blown clear, Gamble wasted no time chucking in the smoke screamer as enemy blaster bolts came flying into the room. Once that screamer went off.....

Ahhh... there it was. A few weapons could be heard falling to the floor as the station's security teams were clearly unprepared for such a device. Screams and hollers filled the air as Gamble hefted his fellow squad mates in and they began to make quick work of the hapless targets. So far, so good.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

Hallen was in first in, her boot was well propelled through the door as she slammed her foot a little too hard in the smoke. It was disorienting, but she quickly regained control and fired two shots into her first enemy who was still gripping his blaster. As that happened the next squad members were being let in and Hallen continued to secure their position.

"We're in a hallway. Three meters wide and five meters tall."

It was imperative to inform the team of layout. There were only two directions to go. She had turned right as the first person in and her counterpart had turned left. The third person through the door had nearly slammed himself into the wall but was smart enough to realize what Hallen had the hard way. He had turned right with her to keep up.

The smoke began to clear and more shots were fired, a few more bodies fell and some retreated into doorways to avoid impending doom.

"Alpha squad goes right! Bravo go right. Clear this station, backup is on the way."

She'd been relayed the message only a moment ago, the other operation was going well. They would have backup soon enough. Jammers were being initiated so the signal was going to get bad as they moved farther from the transmitter on the ship. Only a short wave frequency was going to work.

 

[Brand]

A sharp clunk emanated through Gunship 1.

Jay stood strong in the cargo bay surrounded by his men, seven other highly trained Republic Commandoes. His pilot / technician specialist would be staying back with the vessel along with one other combat guard to make sure the ship remained in friendly hands, while Jay would lead his men forward to reinforce SOLAG Team ATRONACH.

"Clear to open," came a ship wide comm, directly from the bridge. "We're live," Jay called, depressing the airlock button.

He motioned forward with his hand, rushing through with his men in case of any interference. Right now, the goal was to take down any lurkers in their direct vicinity, rendezvous with the rest of DAEDROTH, and safely make a way down to ATRONACH's position. Jay stepped forward lightly, anticipation bubbling up inside of him. He threw his carbine barrel first inside a room, sweeping from head to toe before calling, "Clear," over the squad wide comm chat. As he said the remark he noticed that the comm signal from his connection with ATRONACH's team leader and squad had fallen. "Jammers," he thought to himself.

The squad turned a corner, making their way to a small lunge area where the four teams of DAEDROTH commandoes would meet. Once they all arrived he sent out a message to the platoon gathered, short and sweet. "As you all may have noticed I believe there are jammers in place, disrupting our communications on board the station. The jammers are from ATRONACH, so when we proceed to split up we may well lose communication. Remember your training and everything will work out just fine."

"Let's get moving, ATRONACH needs support. From our intel we've distinguished that two seperate hallways lead to B5 Hallen's current position. C7 Gar, I'd like you to lead half of our unit down the right corridor, and I'll take our other half and we'll merge onto ATRONACH's position, clearing any rooms along the way." Jay checked around, seeing the intimidating masked faces of his peers. They were dauntless and ready for action.

"Dismissed, boys. Let's rock and roll."

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

[OOC] Those jammers are OUR jammers, silly butts. I'm jamming their comms which in turn jamms our own. That's what happens when you jam someone's comms and begin moving away from your own base transmitters. [/ooc]

 

[Brand]

[OOC] Edit fest inc. [/OCC]

 

[Ender]

OOC: WHEST MADE ME DO IT. No really.

 

[Brand]

(( Necessary edits on my part are complete; post inc. soon ))

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

The alarms sounded.

With all due haste they continued to push the corridors, taking down an unimpressive defense. At one point an obvious left would take them deeper into the station, probably to it's center where their mission could be completed.

"I want two to watch our backs, wait for backup." She called behind her to two squad mates. They stayed behind and watched the corridors, keeping an eye out for trouble or backup.

The next leg of hall was a near sprint, there was no cover and too much space to cover. Lucky for them resistance had been mostly taken care of and the rest would be organizing themselves in more vital parts of the station. Then the realization hit her, perfect time for a trap.

"Halt!"

In time everyone stopped, just meters from where the hallway split again to either side at a sharp angle. A light shadow cast from a man around the corner betrayed the presence of the defenders.

"They've at least heard us. Flash out!"

She grabbed a grenade from the man behind her and pulled the pin. Tossing it around the corner she followed it before stopping. It bounced against the wall then disappeared around the corner before exploding with a chemical brightness that was distressing even around an object.

Shots peppered the corner, had anyone peeked in hope of surprising the enemy they would have been destroyed in a moment.

"More flashes, they're dug in."

 

[Saint]

[Sorry Ru; I thought we were waiting for Snuff]

Billy split off with Bad-azz Bravo Squad. Since he only had his pair of blasters, he was made third man back in the stack. Two riflemen were in front of him as they cleared one hallway after another, moving quickly. There wasn't much resistance it seemed.

Fortunately, the point man had been keeping alert, regardless of the seemingly lack of defenders. "Just up ahead and hang a left," called out the squad leader. "Roger. Movin'..." came the automatic reply from the pointman as they moved up to the intersection.

C2 Proctor (the pointman thus far) began to arc out away from the wall, panning the corner rather efficiently. "Krath," he exclaimed as blaster bolts FLEW past him!! "They've got serious cover, Boss!"

The squad leader came up and used an extending arm mirror to take a peek. ** PAFT ** The mirror was blown, quite literally, right of his hand; shattering into tiny pieces as no less than half a dozen blaster bolts sizzled through the air.

"They're densely packed," said the squad leader. "It'd be suicide to charge 'em." Gamble had been studying a map of the floor they were on which showed where the escape routes and pods were in case of an emergency.

Tracing his finger along a route, he called out to squad leader, "Hey Boss! If we move past 'em, looks like we can take the scenic route and bypass this choke point for an open bay-like area." He didn't have to explain how fighting in an open area gave them a better chance than trying to rush a defended position in a hallway.

"Good call,' replied the squad leader. "Proctor, smoke 'em thick and le's get across. Gamble, rip that thing down. Bring it with us. C'mon now. MOVE!!" With that, Billy tore down the map-board, breaking it at the corners while the pointman chucked a smoke screamer down the hallway.

It wasn't but a few moments before smoke filled the hallway and Bravo squad shot across the intersection, only taking a few hits from the blind blaster fire of the defenders. Nothing life-threatening, but two of them were stuck with a sore limp while another had to switch out his rifle for a blaster, his off-hand hanging loose at his side.

They continued to move and make progress though, winding their way through the labyrinth of hallways. Good thing they had that map!

 

[Ender]

OOC: Er....*Waits for instructions*

 

[Raif]

((OOC: Aaaaand...I'm back! Burc, since you seem to have nothing to do, you're gonna roll with me as long as no one else minds))

The transfer from the dropships went off without a hitch, and quickly Gar found himself bunched up with the rest of DAEDROTH in the lounge-turned-rally point. He nodded his head as the orders were given, then turned to C5 Jaller Vetor. He liked the kid, and could still clearly remember first meeting and then drinking with him at the All-Ranks lounge when they first signed up with SOLAG. He had seemed a bit wet behind the ears at the time, but he had earned his stripes and then some, that was for damned sure. The kid was a good soldier, plain and simple.

"Vetor! You an' yer boys come roll wit' me an' the Funky Bunch."

Behind him, Gar's squad laughed at being referred to as such. Even the most serious, 'lone-wolf' minded among them seemed to have softened considerably in the light of their squad-leader's irreverent sense of humor.

Once the laughter was out of their system, they were back at their methodical best. They blended seamlessly into position with Vetor's squad, waiting for Gar to make the first move. The big Feeorin decided he would take point for this part of the mission, with Vetor covering his back.

"Don't let any o' these lugs mess up m'pretty face, Jaller."

Though the other commando couldn't see it behind the ballistic face mask, Gar was grinning like a maniac. He then turned, hunkered down into the squat-walk best used for room-clearing of this nature, and moved forward down the right side hallway.

~~~

With Gar and Vetor as the two front men, the light resistance they met was cleaned up quickly and quietly. Gar didn't know who had bagged more Tangos between him and the human, but he was sure it was something which would be fiercely debated later over a gallon or three of strong drink.

The post-op celebrations would have to wait, though; just as they were reaching the end of the hall, a sealed hatchway barred any further progress. Gar called for Grifter to move forward and take care of it, but after a second the little Bothan looked back with obvious disappointment.

"Sorry boss, I could no sooner slice that thing open then slice open a mountain. Whichever one of these local-yokels dropped that in our way knew what they were doing; the controls are fused into slag."

Gar let out a string of curses that called into question the amoral tendencies and unusual sexual anatomy of whichever 'local' had dared to block their progress, then turned to face Vetor.

"Vetor, you got any demo packs? Blow that frakkin' thing t' the Bogan's backdoor, if it be pleasin' ya."

 

[Ender]

As Gar made jokes, Jaller grinned. "Hell Gar, I seen dead rodians pretty than you." he laughed as he fell in line next to the Feorian. As they reached the door, Gar asked for some demo charges. At this Jaller motioned to Swift. "Swift, blow this door on the double. I'd hate to have to comfort a bawling Feorian." he commanded, as the Zabrak moved forward, attatching a charge to the door. The commandos backed away from the door and Jaller made the "clear" motion. The charge detonated, resonating in his chest.

"Hell Gar! I sure hope there wasn't a way around, cause those bastards know we're here now!" Jaller cried, moving through the opening quickly.

 

[Tarus]

Zef braced himself for the impact, his entire body tensing as nerve endings fired and blood rushed through his person. Sweat rolled down his face - he could feel the explosion coming, and all he could do was wait.

He shook and untensed himself as the sneeze passed, leaving the unpleasant feeling of unfinished business tingling in his nostrils. However, it had either been this or sneeze, be happy, and get shot to shit by the eight armed-and-armoured thugs that had barricaded themselves in the hallway beneath Zef's chosen ventilation vent. For now, he went unnoticed, alone with the dust and cobwebs of the unkempt air shaft; the only thing fighting against him was a stream of stale air that circulated throughout the facility, powered by the distant whirring of fans.

When DAEDROTH-3 had joined ATRONACH's operation, their insertion had been as simple as a quick cross-system jump and sublight flight to the target site; the way in was already paved from the previous squads' insertions, giving no resistance to the new arrivals. After all was said and done, the various fireteams of DAEDROTH had reunited and went on their way, working through various channels to get to the command center of the asteroid.

Zef, through a combination of puppy eyes and grim determination, had received permission to take a different route - he wasn't much use in a close-quarters brawl, anyway. Instead, he had hopped through the nearest maintenance hatch and worked his way into a ventilation shaft, utilizing a daisy-chained collection of inter-connected transmitters to relay reports back to the ground teams. At last reading, he was a good thirty feet ahead of Baxter and that alien brute - Gar, right? - Gar's teams. They had just blown open an unreceptive hatch, but the entire section of the base was now alerted to their presence. A few Hutts had dispersed to grab reinforcement, but this team of eight had stayed behind, flipping over tables and deploying cover.

Zef paused, crawling a few more paces until he was past the Hutts. Small slits in the ventilation allowed him to look downward - the view wasn't too impressive, though - but allowed him to notice what looked to be 'Maintenance' written on one of the doors a few meters ahead. He kept inching forward until the vent opened up to the side, revealing a small ladder leading downwards. He planted a transmitter beacon on the side of the vent and stealthily checked out the room.

Save for a mop and some deactivated cleaning droids, the room was clear. Zef hopped down and stole to the door, peeking out of the small plastic viewscreen. The thugs were still focused on their reinforcement efforts. Zef tapped his headset.

"Alright, friends. You've got eight bad guys ahead after that turn in the corridor. They've got heavy blasters deployed, and they're pretty-well dug in; advise caution in proceeding, over."

There was no response, but only because the transmitters were one-way devices - this way, if an enemy got their hands on them, they wouldn't be able to listen in on any conversation. Zef looked around the room, trying to find a way he could make himself useful. There was a fire suppression panel; slice-able, but it would likely have unforeseen repercussions. He didn't want to disable all the turbolifts or something. A mop; not exactly a tool of war. Cleaning droids... Zef looked around, almost hoping there was somebody else with him so that he could ask, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

But there wasn't anyone there, because that would be silly. The slicer quickly went to work, burrowing his hands in the back panels of each droid and tweaking liberally. A few subroutines changed here, a few power cycling controllers removed here... perfect. He finished up and quickly reattached all the loose cables, then jumped up the ladder and back into the ventilation shaft. He keyed his mic again.

"Boys and girls, we're in for a treat. I'd recommend turning this corner in, oh, let's see - fifteen seconds."

He suppressed the urge to giggle as the droids calmly sauntered out of their holding room and turned to the assembled thugs. One of them walked up to the rear-most Hutt and tapped him on the shoulder. The Rodian almost flew off the ground, whirling around with his blaster at the ready.

"What the - what the frak are these droids doing out?"

"Pardon me, organic, but this corridor must be cleaned. Please step aside."

The Rodian shoved the protocol droid - an ineffective move, as the robot's gyros simply compensated for the pressure, letting it spring right back up - and was promptly shoved back. He stumbled into another soldier, knocking them both off balance. The other droids started approaching, some beeping, some speaking, all annoyed at this obstruction to their cleaning protocol. Zef watched gleefully as the Hutts were driven towards the approaching S.O.L.A.G. squad.

 

[Raif]

Gar nodded in grim satisfaction as their obstacle was blown to bits, then turned as Vetor addressed him.

"Bring 'em on! We ain't got time to shuck an' jive wit' these fools!"

As Gar spoke, he waved the rest of their combined squad forward. Before they had gotten far, they heard the noise of onrushing beings and everyone reacted instantly. Dropping to crouch, moving behind whatever cover was available, Gar and Vetor's men all their weapons up ready to give their oncoming guests a warm welcome.

Just before the thugs turned the corner, a few of the more keen-eared commandos would have heard the whine of servomotors, and cries of surprise more associated with a fleeing mob than an angrily charging group of soldiers. That was, of course, because the guards about to turn the corner were being pursued by Zef's out of control droid army. Even if Gar and his men had known that, it wouldn't really have changed what happened next.

"Weapons free, boys! Let's give 'em a show!"

Once the Hutt thugs ran - or were pushed - around the corner, that particular stretch of hallway turned into a slaughterhouse. The shooting lasted all of five seconds at most, and because of the number of weapons discharging no one could really say for certain who bagged which baddie. Of course, that wouldn't stop anyone from bragging about their exploits later.

Once the thugs (and crazy droids) had been put down, the squad formed back up and kept pushing forward to meet up with Abelle and her squad.

 

[Saint]

(Across the hall from you Ru)

Gamble couldn't help but notice that the route they were taking was leading them into an arcing circle. He was just about to say as much when they came up around a soft corner and saw the Major and her squad. "Krath damnit... GAMBLE!!" the squad leader called out. Billy just shook his head. The design of this place was convenient... for the defenders.

It appeared as though the Major's squad was going to try to fight their way through the defenders. Bravo squad lined up opposite of the intersection, Gamble at point with his twin krayt dragon pearl-handled blasters in both hands. "Smoke 'n Masks," called out the squad leader. With that, Bravo team pulled out their masks that allowed them to see infrared and filtered the air.

More smoke screamers were chucked down the hall as a rough, coughing agent was also deployed. It'd burn the eyes a bit and agitate the throat greatly. It wasn't strong enough to kill anyone, but being distracted from the defensive positions would be enough to allow the aggressors to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy.

Gamble had barely enough time to don his mask before he was shoved out into the corridor, point man to lead the way. Sighting in as best as he could, some of the defenders were easy pickings as they coughed and spat phlegm from their mouths and nostrils. A few of them standing up to flee as Billy took them down quickly and efficiently.

Shots came from behind as well as others lined the opposite wall, filing down it as well so as to avoid being in the middle where most shots would fly. Also, it allowed both squads to know exactly where their comrades were. The rifleman behind Billy was able to engage cleanly over Billy's shoulder, taking out those who were farther down the corridor.

 

[Ender]

"Aw hell." Jaller muttered as the incoming horde came into view. He flicked the fire selector to auto, and started putting 5 round bursts into the crowd. Something large came within a few inches of Jaller, and he wasted it. The thing crashed down in front of him, something metal came with it, and Jaller was surprised to see a droid laying there. Either way, he kept firing. Finally the gun fire ended. A pile of dead organics and heaps of what was now scrap metal. Jaller turned to Gar. "Hell, that wasn't too bad now was it?" he joked, motioning for his men to move forward. "Just an FYI, Abelle creeps the hell outta me."