Chapter I: Deus Ex Machina
Roland and his Rapiers were strapped into their shuttle as it shook violently entering the atmosphere above DRZ-6, a region that covered a significant portion of South Africa. CentCom had received an emergency signal on a secure channel that gave them a good bit to worry about, enough so that they'd sanctioned the deployment of a full assault team planetside. A group of locals were requesting aid and offering their allegiance in return for purging the Joburg Megaslum of the Lost Hope, a gang with Syndicate affiliation. Their operations spread far and wide across the DRZ thanks to their extensive use of the ARNet, but
luckily the gang's leadership was centralized in a single, quite publicly advertised location: the Last Chance Club, a mix of dance club and Alternate Reality hub. The shuttle landed just outside the DRZ and two vans carried Roland's Rapiers into the city led by a car driven by the local contact and member of the MSF-aligned "Verenigde Suid-Afrikaanse Koalisie", or United South African Coalition. V-Sak had a significant presence in the region at one point in time, but their standing had been steadily eroded as the Lost Hope, who was actually a splinter faction of V-Sak who turned away after they received some MSF support, repeatedly and consistently undermined their efforts while aiding and supporting criminal activity across DRZ-6 and it's local ARNet.
Night had fallen well before the Rapiers got close to the outer limits of Joburg so the skyline in the approaching distance was lit up with the neon glow of countless lights. Roland took in the view before going over the plan once more with his unit.
"Right, remember, this is a quick op. We're going in, cutting off the head of the snake, and letting the locals mop up. Target is one 'Luan Mandla', pictured here," Roland replaced his camera feed with an image of the leader of the Lost Hope for a moment before switching to another photo, this time of the exterior of the Last Chance Club. It was awash in the same neon glow that shined into the night sky. No windows, one front door, and one back door seen in the next image. The club was squat and nestled between much taller buildings.
"Red Team will be in charge of cordoning off the area with the aid of V-Sak. Blue Team, led by me, will enter through the front door, and Gold will watch the rear. Gold will be on standby should Blue Team require assistance. Interior is unknown, but expect a number of hostiles. Anyone working for the club with a weapon visible is considered an enemy combatant, and the only RoE we have tonight is to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. We don't have the luxury of time, so we'll need to go in hot into a crowded club. I don't like it much, but we need to make sure this job gets done. Confirmation phrase for capture of the HVT [high-value target] is 'Lion is in the den.' Once we hear that all squads are to secure our vehicles, load up, and get the fuck out. We've been assured that V-Sak will be able to take over from there. Copy?"
Affirmations came through from the other two squad leads.
"Club isn't too far from the Joburg outer limits, so get ready," Roland's driver instructed.
Joburg's slums and projects built up rapidly as the small convoy entered the city. The street, once a wide dirt road, was now a narrow stone alley they had to cautiously navigate as people crossed the road without looking, food carts set up in ways that narrowed the road further, and, further ahead, a checkpoint.
"That wasn't there earlier," the van's driver commented. The lead car slowed as it approached, and seemed to try to turn down another road but couldn't. When Roland's van passed by he could see why: a box truck had flipped over and blocked the road. Two more streets bore similar obstructions, and Roland noted that the once dense crowd was now practically empty. The V-Sak radio in roland's van crackled to life.
"I don't like the looks of this. I'll be able to bluff my way past but vans full of gun-toti-"There was a sound not unlike a valve being opened up to release air from a tank accompanied by a ball of light streaking from the checkpoint, and concluded with a blast that decimated the lead car as it tried to swerve out of the way in vain, flipping the burning wreckage onto it's side. Windows above the two vans lit up as gunfire poured from them.
"RUSH THE BLOCKADE GOGOGO!" Roland shouted to the driver then spoke into his Datapad, "Van 2 stick close! Weapons hot!"
The doors at the back of both vans were thrown open and the light emitted from the bursts of energy fire added to the eerie lights and shadows being cast by the city itself. Both Roland and the driver hunkered down as gunfire shattered their windshield. Roland fired his energy rifle blindly forward over the dashboard while the driver unloaded a six-shot revolver. No wonder they needed help. Gunfire then raked the roof of the van.
"Blue-3 is down!" shouted one of the Rapiers in the back as the van approached the blockade, smoke pouring from the bullet-riddled hood.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
The blockade was made up mostly of wooden crates and a few barricades. It was clearly done in haste, and the van had an easy enough time smashing through. A shotgun slug did punch through the side of the van as it passed.
"Gold-4 is hit! They got his fucking arm!"
With the blockade behind the first van, and the second a moment later, the laser fire from the rear of the vehicle had easy access to the now undefended Lost Hopers. Roland could hear one of his men consoling the wounded trooper as he fired, "Look man, we'll get you out of here and you're going to get a sick-ass robot arm."
As the gunfire faded behind them Van 2 reported in, "This is Van 2, we've got three wounded, one KIA, all Red Team. Both Golds in here are uninjured."
The vans narrowly avoided fire from the blockade until they were able to finally turn off the road.
"New plan," Roland said through the datapad, "One squad, we rush through the back, give anyone still partying a chance to get the fuck out. They know we're coming, so if they haven't cleared the place out then it's on them. Copy?"
Everyone left alive sounded off.
"Good, let's get there yesterday."
Roland and his driver both leaned out of their windows to avoid the fumes billowing backward from the engine as best they could. The roads had begun to fill with people again, but they were keen on giving the busted-up vans a wide berth. Both vans unloaded their men a mere couple blocks from the Last Chance and, with Roland at the front, moved through a variety of alleyways on their approach. Two Lost Hopers were in the middle of a drug deal when the Rapiers came across them. They didn't have much of an opportunity to cry out or warn the club exactly how close the Rapiers had come, instead dropping to the floor as a number of laser burst burned through their bodies. The exterior of the club was, surprisingly, otherwise unguarded. There
were cameras, but the Rapiers were quick to slag all of them with a few well placed lasers.
The six Rapiers left stacked up behind Roland as he planted the thermal charge on the back door. He triggered it and there was a hiss and some sparks as the door began to glow red, yellow, then white around the charge before a small burst shook the door and kicked it back outward. Roland was first to enter the Club.
An Excuse For Music, Perhaps?He found himself at the t-intersection of a pair of hallways with a set of steps that wrapped around upward to his left and downward to his right. His squad was quick to file in behind him and they were all met by someone firing a shotgun haphazardly from the direction of the dance floor. The team took cover and returned fire.
"THIS IS ROLAND EIKENBOOM OF THE MSF! SURRENDER YOURSELF AND DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
The gunfire, of course, continued.
"Ajax, Cowboy! Hold here and watch the stairs! Everyone else, suppressing fire on my mark. Three...two...one...MARK!"
Four energy rifles crackled to life as Roland crouched down and ran down the hall toward the dance floor and into a bathroom at the halfway mark. There was still someone passed out resting against a bile-filled toilet. Roland then began to fire toward the direction of the Lost Hoper, "Let's go! Move it on up!"
The rest of his squad, minus those watching the stairs, continued to fire as they moved down the hall in two staggered columns along each wall. More gunfire flew down the hallway, no doubt from reinforcements, and the squad piled into Roland's bathroom and the one opposite of him. Someone, he noticed, had kicked on the dance floor's fog machine, which made the wildly flashing beams of sweeping neon lights glow even eerier, and that was joined by the Holodancers projected onto the club's floor. The two Rapiers watching the stairs provided some supporting fire as the fighting seemed to be concentrated on the dance floor, keeping the two bathrooms from being wholly suppressed and pinned down.
"Right!" Roland yelled out to his squad, "We clear this club to the front door! Let's do this! Hi hoooooo silver!"
Roland ran out of the bathroom firing and his squad followed suit the incoming fire struck one of his men but the Rapiers pressed forward. Their lasers only added to the glow in the artificial fog, and caused an odd distortion when they passed through a Holodancer. They also left smouldering holes in the Hopers they struck, and by the time Roland was out on the dance floor they weren't receiving any fire.
"Find the bodies and secure their weapons!" Roland ordered, and his squad acted in haste.
There were a good half-dozen Holodancers huddled together scared behind the bar. These "real" holodancers were the avatars of a number of people in ARPods, standing chambers practically flush with the wall that people could use to celebrate without the need for physical exertion. Odds were a club like this used illegal modifications that could dose their inhabitants with whatever they wished, too. Humanity at it's finest.
"NOISE FROM THE BASEMENT!" one of the Rapiers in the back called out through his Datapad over the music.
"Rembrandt, Swan, keep an eye out, get those civilians out of here," Roland ordered as he gestured to the ARPods along the walls.
The rest of the squad regrouped at the steps and proceeded down in a tactical column. They turned left at the landing and were met not with more steps, but an open hatch and ladder.
"Right," Roland said, "Watch my back."
There was a faint light blue glow overwhelmed largely by darkness and no sound beyond Roland's boots hitting metal rungs. It wasn't more than a few meters down, and once on the ground Roland could see the light was coming from cracks in yet another door. As Roland and his squad, now down there with him, approached the door they could hear some faint talking.
"Come in," came a voice from inside. Roland cautiously opened the door.
The room was a mess of servers, computer, wires, save for the center of the room, where a single large black cylinder stood independently, connected to everything else via cables that sprouted out of the top and across the ceiling. In front of it stood none other than Luan, and next to him was a man sitting limply in a chair with a number of ports jammed into the back of his skull. Blood was still flowing from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
"I surrender," Luan Mandla spoke clearly and plainly, "I can't fight any of you off, and this
asshole wouldn't listen, so I'm running at reduced capacity anyway."
Roland tilted his head, gun raised and pointed at Luan.
"Explain."
"Well, I'm not here," Luan gestured to himself, "I'm here," and then the tower in the middle of the room.
"A fucking VI?" one of the Rapiers, Cowboy, spoke up.
"Now that's offensive," Luan said, "I'm much more complex than a Virtual Intelligence. And I tried to tell Ekers that before he tried to skulljack. Grafting me onto himself was never going to work. And, well, he tried anyway, to both of our detriment."
Roland stepped forward, gun still raised but now at the black terminal, "And you're going to just surrender to us?"
"Yes. It's my best chance for a continued existence. I imagine any resistance would be dealt with swiftly?"
Roland nodded.
"Well then, there's a memory core in my back that is already prepped for removal. Just need someone with proper hands to finish the job."
"And what?" Cowboy spoke up again, "Put a VI, AI, whatever, on trial?"
"That
is optimal for me, yes. A long shot, but it's better than my chances here in a room full of armed individuals with no means of defending myself."
"Roland, sir, that's-" Cowboy again spoke.
"Enough, Cowboy," Roland interrupted, "Grab the core and let's get the fuck out. Lion's in the den. It'll be interesting to see if CentCom holds a trial for an AI."
----------------
After the decapitation of Lost Hope leadership and an increase in MSF support, V-Sak proved willing and able to bring law and order to DRZ-6. With the ability to project control across the area, a number of mining operations now divert resources to the MSF and Malach Point, giving the MSF access to another
2 Solid, with
1 Gas as a byproduct of mineral extraction.
While the MSF made progress in reducing the criminal element in DRZ-6 to a minimum, it appears the Syndicate has begun to project it's own force elsewhere on the planet. A city of offshore platforms in the North Sea near the East Anglian Coast has fallen to them after the local MSF-affiliated forces, the Roughs Defense Group, were soundly eliminated. The region, DRZ-2, offers them 2 Solid and 1 Gas.
Tensions are rising between the Malachians and Earthbound. They're showing a clear disregard for law and order and so we must redouble our efforts to secure the safety of the citizens of the planet.
We will be designing two pieces of Overt Equipment this turn. Remember, while it will not be restricted to Overt use only, the designation identifies what gets hit with penalties first. For an easy example, a gun designed for overt use could see it be very loud on a less than desired roll, whereas if it was Covert it could keep it's noise down but lose stopping power instead.
You can also choose an official name for DRZ-6!
Also something to note, now that you have a taste of the sectors you'll be taking, while not all territories produce the same stuff (this is to create a level of possible scarcity without outright having one side have a resource snowball) because there's no inherent reason to attack DRZ zones other than saying "fuck you" to the other guys, which
is a good reason, all territories
will have at least 1 Solid since I'm not
completely braindead yet and know that's going to be the resource in highest demand. Unless people try to subvert my expectations, which you're more than able to try. I'd be curious to see it.
DRZ-1: Uncontested
DRZ-2: Syndicate Occupation
DRZ-3: Uncontested
DRZ-4: Uncontested
DRZ-5: Uncontested
DRZ-6: MSF Liberation
DRZ-7: Uncontested
DRZ-8: Uncontested
Research and Development: 0/5
Engineering/Maintenance: 0/5
Medical: 0/5
Cargo: 0/5
Manufacturing: 0/5
Residential: 0/5
Recreation: 0/5
Security: 0/5
Command: 5/5
Roland's Rapiers
Race Makeup: Malachian
Commander: Roland Eikenboom
Preferred Tactics: Overt, Offensive, Assault
Traits:
-Dramatis Personae: Roland is the main character of this story, because Roland says so. He and his unit are more effective in dealings with people of lesser station on account of their intimidating demeanor, but they loathe superiors and will be less effective in dealing with them.
-Improvised Coordination: Having to work around Roland's spontaneity on the battlefield, the unit is extremely adept at adapting to unforeseen complications during operations.
The Celtic Crew
Race Makeup: Malachian
Commander: Erin Byrne
Preferred Tactics: Covert, Defensive
Traits:
-Semi-Thorough "Investigations": Erin and her squad are experts at gaining information. When deployed to a department on Malach Point they will be able to trace and provide intel on a single enemy action anywhere on the station. Investigations take place over the course of the turn and will not affect the outcome of that turn's actions.
-Indecisive Action: Erin will almost always come up with the best solution for a problem. Unless she's pressed for time, in which case she's just as likely to come up with no plan at all.
--Sgt. Liam O'Sullivan: Erin's second-in-command and trusted advisor. While Erin is still indecisive, having a confidante to talk to and strategize with has helped immensely. Her usually brilliant plans actually come to fruition with Liam's guidance.
-The Warrant's Right Here: When performing Covert Operations on departments with Syndicate activity the suspects will have the opportunity to pack up and run. Going through the justice system does increase support though, and this results in the larger, more intricate, or serial Syndicate operations being shut down more successfully.
CR-00 Compact Energy Rifle: A low-power pulse laser rifle designed to minimize damage to surroundings with low penetrative abilities in order to prevent unintended casualties. The ergonomic grips and stock provide additional stability when aiming down the iron sights. Has a side and underbarrel rail for two extra attachments.1 Solid, 1 Gas
Small Thermal Charge: A small chemical incendiary device that can be used to (relatively) safely burn through doors that need to be opened, you know, should the people inside not comply. Only really effective on thin doors, small locks, and exposed hinges, and should probably not be used near flammable material. 1 Liquid 1 Gas
MSF Patches: Uniform patches designed to identify someone as a member of the Malachian Security Force. 1 Solid
Low-Level Access Card: A Command-approved access card that allows access to all low-security areas regardless of department or personal ownership. 1 Solid
Forearm Datapad: A small touchpad with camera on a forearm sleeve that allows easy communication and real-time mission updates. 1 Solid 1 Liquid
Datapad Biometrics: A program contained on a small data stick to be used with body-mounted datapads. It utilizes the equipment to track the wearer's biometrics and transmits it to Datapads using the same Net. It also shows the distance and direction of received biometric signals. Requires a Datapad to be useful, obviously. 1 Solid
Off-Map Resources: 2 Solid/2 Liquid/2 Gas
DRZ-6: 2 Solid/1 Gas
Total Cost Limit/Squad: 4 Solid/2 Liquid/3 Gas
Roland's Rapiers
-CR-00 Compact Energy Rifle (1S/1G)
-Small Thermal Charge (1L/1G)
-Forearm Datapad (1S/1L)
Total Cost: 2/4S-2/2L-2/3G
The Celtic Crew
-Empty
Total Cost: 0/4S-0/2L-0/3G
Author
Topic: Orbital Disobedience: MSF Thread / Prelim Turn 2 Strategy (Read 5477 times)