[I]Four days later, in low planetary orbit, Hoc System, Virmire…[/I]

[color=cyan]”Damn shame they can’t sort out colonization rights for this place. It’d make for a hell of a vacation spot.”[/color] Tanya mused. She was standing in the cockpit behind Dex’s seat, studying the lush orb through the thick cockpit windows. Most of the fancy newer ships had simulated projections on screens, due to windows being a structural weakness, but the Borealis was more or less the definition of cutting corners from an engineering standpoint. Still, the parts and machinery they bought to upgrade the ship were working wonders; the cargo bay ramp opened and closed swiftly and smoothly with an excellent seal, and the new air filtration system ran both smoothly and quietly, and Tanya was sure she wasn’t imagining the air tasting and smelling cleaner. It made her question how shitty the air quality was before.

The team members who were injured on Omega received adequate medical attention, and the entire crew seemed pretty content with their haul of equipment, the show piece being the MV74 Kite drop shuttle, which Drono wasted no time in pressing Tanya and Tonka to install the kinetic gun on the portside; the undercarriage was a no-go as the vehicle would have to touch down and would crush the gun the moment they tried to land. Serena seemed to be happy tinkering with a box of drone parts she’d acquired, which were mostly cheap and antiquated junk that no-name companies could afford and not the high-tech gear outfits like Eclipse liked to field, Tonka picked himself up a M-76 Revenant light machine-gun that he wasted no time slapping an omni-blade and an aftermarket heatsink on. 

Now the bay was cleared out of the junk vehicles, Tanya also made sure to pick up a small six wheeled troop transport truck that was of batarian make called a Yolac, although it was rugged and had its own self-supplied atmosphere containment and the tires were good up to 900 degrees Celsius. In short, they could take it on some pretty hostile planets safely, and unlike a hover vehicle, they didn’t have to worry about the entire vehicle going down if one of the lifts failed. Also aboard were 10 crates of weapons and armour with the tracking chips embedded somewhere in the metal frames, the goods they’d be selling to the smugglers, pirates, and other low-lives at the encampment.

The plan was to have two teams, plus the air support when needed, that would carry out the operation. The first team would move into a concealed position in the cliffs overlooking the encampment, where they’d use their newly acquired camouflage gear to set up a small observation post to report on what exactly the team was up against. The second team would infiltrate the camp, posing as smugglers and arms dealers who were looking to offload their goods cheaply as they had to head back into Traverse space where they’d be going through inspections. This team would both collect intelligence on the groups and individuals at the meet up to pass on to Elysium and Alliance authorities and look for ways to sabotage the camp, namely air transport and defensive batteries. With anti-aircraft defenses offline, the team would be able to bombard the encampment with cluster munitions, hopefully destroying a large percentage of the camp and forcing the operation to scatter; ideally with the tagged weapons in tow. The operation would effectively be kicking over a hornet’s nest with the intent of letting the bad guys know their safe haven is now compromised and giving the authorities an idea of where their evil lairs are. 

A pair of automated grenade launching turrets were also on hand for the observation post team to set up as a distraction for when they evacuated, as well as several packs of plastic explosives for if they had an opening for sabotaging the enemy’s equipment. All in all, there was enough gear for a commando-style raid, but the team’s qualifications for such an operation were questionable. It was more or less whatever gear they could get away with claiming for situations that might be useful.

The infiltration team would use the Yolac to pose as the sellers, stating they were keeping their ship’s location concealed for security reasons. No one should bat an eye at that; it was a fairly standard procedure, according to Tonka, who had quite a list of experiences with pirate run ins. The observation team would be dropped off via shuttle 10 kilometers away from their area of operation, as to avoid detection. Even if radar picked up the shuttle, patrols would have a hell of a time trying to locate exactly what was dropped off moving through the jungle. The team would have to walk in their equipment by hand, making armour a very questionable choice. The shuttle would then return to the Borealis, where the infiltration team would move out 12 hours after the observation team was dropped off. 

It was a rough plan and one that would likely change according to the whims of the team, but it was certainly better than winging it. Tonka had a topographical map hung up against one of the hanger walls with surveillance photos off to the side on a trio of small screens and several marker marks with waypoints and times across the map for the different teams. He was going to be going with the infiltration team, while Tanya was going with the observation team; she did not trust herself to be able to act like someone who willingly deals with slavers, or how she’d react running into slavers. She made sure to pack a case of long-range photography and observation equipment, along with her shotgun and pistol with a pack of field craft essentials. Soon, her and the others on the observation team loaded onto the shuttle and were on-route to the landing zone. After a short 20 minute flight, the team touched down and after unloading their gear, began the long trek through the jungle, keeping an eye out for hostiles, both sentient and wildlife alike.

This left Tonka and the others on the infiltration team to wait until the Borealis entered atmosphere. Tonka helped load the gun crates into the truck and volunteered to drive. Some time later, the ship touched down in the established clearing. The team set off in the Yolac as they navigated a course through the thick brush to make it towards one of the open beaches where going would be easy while tide was low. “Alright, hope you guys have your cover stories straight,” Tonka said, keeping his eye on the path ahead as the transport bounced around on the uneven terrain. [color=39b54a]“We’re smugglers with no love of the Alliance who are pawning off these guns for cheap because we need to pass through Alliance space for another contract. I’m Forsan Kiv, wanted by C-Sec for firebombing a bar after a business deal went wrong. What’s your story?” [/color]he asked the next person in line.

After an hour and twenty minutes of driving, the smuggling encampment came into view, and it certainly wasn’t lacking for defenses. There were even walls walling off access with guard towers, complete with heavy turrets, and a heavy roll up gate. A sentry waved them down and had the vehicle roll to a stop. “Halt. State your business.” The sentry said, as if he was the doorman of an establishment and not a semi-permanent smuggling base. 

[color=39b54a]
“Looking to trade and sell off some goods before passing into Council space. One of my blood brothers who took part in the blitz told me this was the place to do it.”[/color] Tonka replied with a boorish infliction.

The guard, a salarian of all things, checked his datapad. “I see. I don’t recognize you or the vehicle, but we usually get new faces every now and then. Pull off to space D4 off to the Southwest and prepare for inspection. Do not deviate until you are approved. Be advised that all outgoing signals are monitored. Proceed.” The guard said, stepping back. The barricade was lifted and Tonka pulled into the camp, which had far more prefabricated buildings than he expected as well as looking like an RV park of vehicles, with ships all landed in the East and ground transports organized into lots. People from all species could be found here, including a handful of humans. Tonka found the parking spot easily enough and set the Yolac into the spot. [color=39b54a]“Well, you heard the man, let’s get the gear unloaded and hope he doesn’t find anyone’s porn stash.”[/color]