The Rock

[Ru the Boatswain]

In hindsight there would be much better ways to have dealt with this problem. Of course, nothing could beat the experience of clandestine operations. Abele had seen far fewer missions of this type than she cared to. Now as her squad was dragged through space, all of them strapped to what was essentially a tank of gas and oxygen. It was both thrilling and sobering to know that an asteroid at any moment could smash their little setup to pieces or obliterate any one of them.

Finding the installation hadn't been hard, it was an asteroid that was hotter than the rest and a clever scout had done his work splendidly. She could even see the hangar area now with a freighter was squeezing into the crater of a base.

"Impact, 5 minutes, we're right on track."

She gripped the SMG that was tightly fastened to her chest and felt the combat knife there as well. Everything she could need was on her person right now, her suit was even fitted with a cloaking device: military issue and brand-spanking-new. This mission wasn't only to deal with a problem, it was a field test for the new cloaking devices. If the tools proved useful then they would become something more than a rarity in SOLAG and other special forces. Maybe they would get workable shield generators one day and stop having to wear armor.

 

[FallenKeeper]

Sh'Asur was silent for the final half of the journey, his grizzled features locked in a stoic expression. The fact that an asteroid could prematurely end their mission didn't faze him. The Colonel had dealt with situations like this before, especially during the Alsakan crisis over two decades ago. Though he knew little of the others, he had the feeling he was the oldest there.

On this op there were two Colonels, but of them Abele was the one in charge. This Sh'Asur didn't mind. He was used to taking orders and had yet to be accustomed to the new rank, but not the paycheck he sent back to his family on Corellia. Casting a blank stare across the assembled team he nodded once in affirmation to them all. Whether they succeeded or not, he wanted them all to come back alive. But he knew the truth was it would be a challenge to ensure most them got back unharmed.

At the five minute mark the veteran checked his gear. A sheathed knife was secured to his chest, the grip pointed downwards for an easy draw. His air tank's gauges all showed as green and good to go. An SMG hung at his abdomen, attached by two straps connected to his tactical vest. Energy cells were crammed into the many pockets of his harness along with a portable, albeit experimental, cloaking device and minor med-packs.

"Ma'am," he said respectfully to his fellow Colonel, "I believe we should have a brief overview of the mission objectives."

 

[Raif]

Damn it felt good to be back. Since the Ando Op, Gar - and the majority of involved SOLAG operatives - had been cooling their heels at various desk jobs, probably to keep them out of trouble until they could figure out what could be done with them.

Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, things had turned around for the Commandos. They had been recognized and awarded for their sacrifice on that Force-forsaken ice ball, and now here they were en route to a mission. Well, that wasn't entirely true; it wasn't a SOLAG mission, per se, but as Gar looked around and saw the likes of Abele, Baker and Colsan he couldn't help feeling like the band was back together.

There were a couple others tossed into the squad for this op, folks whom Gar had never laid eyes on before, but he wasn't too worried. Either they would do fine or they would get themselves killed. If they screwed up Gar and the rest would just have to fix things and think on the fly, a trait which they had all picked up in spades.

As they neared the asteroid that would be their target, he busied himself with checking his weapons and armor. He had a SMG and pistol, both suppressed for stealth, and of course his beloved blades; between his custom knife, Sheila, and the various other throwing knives/blades he favored, he was never without something sharp if the need arose to kill something.

Armor-wise he was a bit uncomfortable with his load-out, but oh well. He was completely encased in an armored combat-suit, rated against hard vacuum just like the suits everyone else was wearing. His head-tentacles, though, did not fit all that comfortably, and he was constantly having to fight the urge to reach up and scratch an itch he would not be able to reach.

His mental reverie was disrupted when one of his squad-mates spoke up. Great, yet another officer Gar would have to deal with. The big Feeorin did not particularly like officers (though Abele had proven herself more than capable on Ando), so he rolled his eyes as the older human spoke. Luckily he was wearing his smiling death's head armored face mask so he wouldn't have to worry about his insolent look being spotted.

 

[jpchewy01]

The group glided through space. Jaren looked across the vast expanse. This op was his first as a soldier applying for SOLAG and its success, or failure, would probably play a large part in his selection. The sergeant looked at the men. These all looked like good soldiers who were eager to get back to battle. Jaren had gone from one warzone to the next. First there was that disaster at Bothawui. And then the pirates. It all seemed like a bad dream.

The soldier named Sh'Asur spoke. It seemed like it was time to go over the mission objectives one more time. Jaren had read the briefing and knew what they were up against. This was going to be interesting.

 

[Will]

''Weren't you listening in the briefing, you Flid?'' Ilbert shot at the colonel, one of the only non-SOLAG soldiers in the unit picked for the mission. He didn't like SOLAG mixing with the normal soldiery. It was like mixing toddlers with tigers. And this guy was a returning vet. He'd had enough before, what would stop him flaking out again?

He clamped his helmet in place, the seal hissing as it was made airtight. Teamwork, again. He was the vaguard, with the lumbering Gar, going in and compromising the air. They'd gas the bastids. Then find those slaves, and pull them out.

He held his supressed SMG in his lap, Betty stashed via mag-plate safely. She'd only see action if things were bad. Which normally happened. Checks complete, he sat, staring at the ground, ignoring the others around him. Five minutes, and they would be ready to rock and roll.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

((I think we're missing someone, but we've taken enough time.))

"Prepare yourselves." Abele's clearer vice chimed in above the other chatter. Then there was a loud retort from their craft as it collided with the station. It was no more loud than any other piece of rock, maybe even quieter. This part of the mission was done, not but ten feet from them was an airlock.

They crawled forward, grasping the handles built into the side of the entrance way. Hacking it was her job this time as her team was made up entirely of killers. Thirty years of Spec Ops had prepared her and the panel was overridden without a hitch.

"Engage camo before entering. Keep the chit-chat low." She engaged her camo and swung inside, it was awkward to not be able to see much of ones self. This was the drawback of a stealth system. Lucky for them, a camera wouldn't be able to detect that concealed figures had just entered the air lock. Any guard on the other side would simply be confused, there were few people in the galaxy who had even encountered a stealth system before.

 

[FallenKeeper]

Sh'Asur didn't care much for words of insult, they were the tools of men who thought they knew their place. When Ilbert opened his mouth and questioned the recently promoted Colonel it just sounded like air escaping from a balloon. Pffffffffffffft. It didn't matter to him whether they were SOLAG or Republic grunts, they saw the same shit on different days.

SOLAG represented specialized skillset which were valuable to Ops such as the one they were taking on now. Sh'Asur simply had experience and a lifetime's worth of labor both off and on the field. He was ready, always. So when their craft impacted and the CO hacked open the airlock, he was already right behind. Mask on and face concealed. The vet unholstered the 'pea-shooter' from his thigh and gripped it tightly as he engaged the stealth generator. Even to himself he would become transparent. This would make aiming a bit difficult, but not much.

Carefully he lugged himself inside and took position opposite of Abele with his weapon aimed. He watched for movement, hoping for none. The smoother the mission went the sooner he could get back to his troops.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

((Bump))

 

[Raif]

It was go time. The familiar increase in heart rate and rush of adrenaline right before a mission started was like a warm embrace to Gar - spending the last umpteen hours crammed into this tiny boarding craft had been a hell that reminded him way too much of his time behind bars, and he was glad for any sort of escape, even if it was into enemy territory.

He got into position as Abele hacked their way in; while she was busy with her craft he busied himself with his. He flipped the safety on both of his weapons over to 'LIVE,' having already racked a round into the chamber. He was now 'weapons hot' with both his SMG and pistol, though if he had to fight his way out of their boarding craft the mission had already gone down the shitter.

After Ando, of course, anything's possible...

Gar pushed this unhelpful thought out of his mind and took one last second to release the snap on the sheath holding his combat knife in place. If he had to cut someone, he didn't want to have to waste any time about it.

Moving through the portal, he brought his weapon up and cleared the area before stepping aside and waiting for Baker. He and the self-proclaimed 'Lone Wolf' would be knocking out the station's air supplies, and while Gar had plenty of CQB experience, this sort of stealthy infiltration was much more Baker's cup of tea. So the hulking Feeorin stood aside, ready to take up position behind his 'partner' once the other commando was ready.

 

[Will]

Ilbert was up before Gar, slapping him on the helm.

''Let's roll, you Flid.''

His SMG was cocked, and safety was off. He was ready as soon as he hit his stealth field. Unlike the others, he had had stealth field training, relying on his sense of position in space rather than sight.

Ilbert prowled forward, following pre-planned routes, heading for the ventilation control. He'd have to mollycoddle this lumbering brute past guard points and bottlenecks. It would be tricky, but Ilbert had faith they would do it. They were SOLAG, for Frak's sake.

 

[Raif]

What the frakk is a flid?

Gar shook his head in bemusement as he followed Baker. Gar liked his fellow soldier, despite the human being a 'loner,' and hoped he would let down his guard a bit around his fellow commandos. After all, if you can't trust the guy next to you on the rifle line, you're well and truly screwed.

As they moved along their path to the target, Gar stayed tucked in close behind as Baker led the way. They stacked up at corners, always made sure to have all their lines covered, and generally ran a by-the-book infiltration. They were aided by the fact that, despite being tall for human, Baker was still shorter than Gar so the big Feeorin didn't have to worry too much about putting his teammate in the line of fire should he need to bring his weapon forward.

So far, so good. At least for now...

 

[jpchewy01]

Jaren watched as the other soldiers engaged camo. This was the first time he had used this kind of equipment. The regular army never got fancy gear like this. He smiled and engaged his stealth system. This was the big leagues and he wasn't going to let his team mates down on his first mission with them. First impressions were the most important. Jaren uncomfortably moved towards the hole and jumped in after the soldier before him. No turning back now...

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

The door closed behind them, latching audibly multiple times. They were stuck now in a small airless box. The walls hissed around them and their camo shuddered at the extreme change of atmosphere. These systems were clearly not perfected yet and still had their flaws, of course they adapted within seconds as the stealth system adapted to the environment.

Abele had been privileged to be allowed to test some older systems that were even less capable, really only effective when sitting still or moving very slowly. To those old pieces of tech these were state-of-the-art.

The doors in front of them hissed open and Abele issued an order that showed up as a big flashing and red 'HALT' off to the side of their HUD's. Abele stalked slowly out of the chamber just in time to see the airlock operator bolt from his seat to check the door. He'd received no indication that the door was to open and that anyone was entering. The biggest risk Abele knew was her own men. If any of them attempted to kill the man their cover might as well be blown.

Three feet from her own face he swiveled his pistol from side to side. He only suspected foul play but not seeing anything he would probably write it off as a malfunction and complain to someone.

 

[FallenKeeper]

Everything settled in perfectly once the airlock began its sealing sequence. The soldiers were in place, hidden by their stealth fields, and ready. Sh'Asur noted everyone's position once the atmospheric shift caused a ripple in each person's field. That moment was a brief blessing for the veteran. The exposure of his silhouette was enough for him to gain a sense of his bearings and train his weapon slowly towards the sound of approaching footsteps.

Bracing his back against the wall, Sh'Asur's mind let go of everything. The mission became his life, his sole purpose for living. The specialists surrounding him were his closest family now and he was the oldest member. His covered finger slowly pushed against the trigger guard of his small caliber handgun as his eyes narrowed down the imaginary ironsights, positioning the tech's head between three points where he envisioned green dots. Patience stayed his hand, so far the man was not an immediate threat. Yet.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

The man, seeing nothing of note lowered his weapon and walked back to a padded seat where he kicked himself back and picked up a communicator.

"This is airlock control. Command, I just had an airlock malfunction, could you send someone down to check in out?"

"Sure thing, I'll get someone down there in a bit. You'll be alright?" The commander responded as the HALT command removed itself from their HUD's.

"I'll be fine. I'd just like it fixed."

----------------

The open door was only feet away and Abele slipped through, her squad had their orders and she had her own mission to do. Unfortunately, they had inserted in one of the farthest points from her objective. For now she only stalked the halls, gingerly stepping to avoid the sight of the few patrols and light on foot traffic.