[quote=@redbaron1234] "Hey, you sound like you're pretty experienced yourself. You been in on a few missions before? This is actually my first deployment and I'm still a little surprised I've been selected for this. I hope I live up to your standards," she said with a little smile. [/quote] Max's ears pricked up, seeing the spotted deer look to Max as he turned his maned head, looking back. First time? Well....Max was gonna push it down inside of him. He could say something bad....no doubt Leslie knew how to make shit go boom or repair things, but this was the job of doing primarily the former to people who didn't think they were gonna get turned into mush that morning. Nonetheless, Max pushed that inner bastard of his down, knowing for now, he had to at least keep himself open before he found everyone saw him as too cynical. "A few. Not as many as our chief. But I've seen my fair share...you never know what you're going into. I imagine you'll be fine but just remember....you're in the business of making things go boom. A lot. Live up to what you've been trained in and we'll be fine, Leslie." He replied with a warn undertone, looking at her surname on her fatigues, raising his eyebrows. "Lemme think...Sobero, right? I think I know your parents. I can't remember meeting you, we must have been really young. Engineering firm, right? Mine were more old money, well, if you ask my siblings, sort of everything....I didn't really fit that. I suppose we have that in commmon." He said, before Silverwind came back over, leading the way towards the helicopter that was thudding on the open apron. Stepping in, the lion looked around at the others, the matt-black darkness filling the sky beyond the glow of LED and various other lights on each of the vessels, the helicopter noisy and shuddering it's way to the amphibious assault ship. The GEARS followed, picking up the GEARS with a chugging groan, yet getting the job done as they were pulled upward into the obsidian abyss and disappearing almost if it wasn't for the flickering of lights from the helicopters, the clouds covering any moonlight from breaching the sky and spilling in something to see. A sight to behold, but not one to think on long, as the helicopter ride was almost over as soon as it began, back to shaky tar on the allied amphibious assault ship. Another briefing later, and Max had already begun whirring through the opitions. Mostly forest made it hard to breach with a GEAR, but same time, offered protection and break-off points from bigger kettles of fish if they ran into IFVs and the likes. A break for UAV, maybe even missile locks if done correctly, given line of sight could be broken but that worked both ways. It was going to be a fun time to use his thermal imagery, he mused to himself, listening to the rest that there was. A simple forward advance operation, to take down weapons stations, and secure main structures on the site. This was more need-to-know than the last one it seemed- and while Max did wonder why an awful lot more people now knew about what they were assaulting, they probably didn't know the more nitty-gritty details of Silent Line. He made a mental note not to talk to any of these other soldiers in the briefing, beyond the Ghost Hunter team that is, of anything to do with the body-snatchers taking Solernian society's best. The counter-measures would be good, as would the UAV on standby- but something about it seemed too straightforward. Considering they were assaulting a relatively unknown force, even bombing the shit out of the target with a few Cruise Missiles felt like it would be risky, it was a giant "fuck you" telegraphing that an assault was coming to sweep-up the remmenants. Even if the tech they were up against was less advanced, they could be going into anything- and that was worrying. And a bombing site never a nice aftermath to go through, Max reminiced. Still, so long as the team remained vigilant and he did his job, they would be one step ahead of the things that might be watching them through the trees, as he took in the rest of it. A few hours to mull things over, ponder life's deeper questions probably, then gear up and get ready to really mess some people's lives up so others didn't have to even contemplate such miseries. ------- Max walked wtih a certain strut in his pace on the deck, wearing his reconaissance armour and fatigues with his M23 ISS pushed against his left shoulder, his helm in his right gloved hand. There was a certain change to the oddball lion's demeanour. Everything was much more fierce, his game face, his hunter's mind on and bullshit gone. His mane blew in the harsh sea spray, his plate carrier loaded up wtih his usual setup and his specialist M8 silenced pistol and K8 SOF knife on his person. He didn't look like someone you would fuck with, then again, walking alongside Fionn put that into perspective rather quickly. The feline watched as Silverwind turned, before the noise of several Cruise Missiles roared into the sky, the orange streaks of the missiles erupting into the sky and propelling at several times the speed of sound towards the island that was visible in the very far distance. There was no telling how they would react to it...best case scenario, this mission was battle damage assessment or being effectively a paid cleaner with a GEAR on the site, worst case, the bunkers and hangars they had were now hardened and had maybe not been blown to bits. He only nodded to Silverwind, following on his mark. Max settled his thoughts, following Silverwind as he moved across the deck, now clear to do so as there were no other aircraft or vehicles on it. He slid his helmet onto his head, pulling the strap tight as he ficked the visor down, faceplate removed for the moment being. Max didn't follow Silverwind, instead picking the other helo where his GEAR was stowed away. The three GEARS were tighter inside the heavy lifter's cabin than sardines in a tin can, but he knew they weren't spending long, and getting out fast. Stowing his rifle in the leg of the Lion Rampant, barely accessible from this angle, he managed to just about scoop himself inside, the GEAR closest to the door. Bringing the door shut on his GEAR, he exhaled, the lion in the darkness as he secured himself tight within. The noise of the helicopter was even more noisy for some reason, even inside the GEAR. Perhaps the heavy lift helos had less sound protection to carry more equipment? He didn't think about it, it wasn't on his mind. Just what was to come was, the lion oddly quiet and aloof of it all. His HMD flicked on, as he checked his controls, static in the GEAR's crouched position but a simple electronic check. Before he could even think, the helo was up, thudding against the weight of gravity and carrying them to Isenor. Silverwind was back on comms as Max heard him pitch in, the channel clear even in spite of the deafening noise from the helicopter. Despite wearing a helmet wtih intergrated sound protection, even Max's ears were gonna ring a little for a few minutes after he got out of his things, perhaps down to his oversensitive ears or something else. Nonetheless, the Captain had a bit more to add, more tactical-level intel for them to take on. [quote=@Silverwind Blade] "We'll be dropping into the shallows and wading ashore. Sprinsteam, Bastion; you two stick together. Bastion, I want you focusing on anything pumping out counter-jamming, or trying to break through the comm blackout. Sprinsteam, you keep any word from getting out, and fuzz their comms. Target the antenna farms and communications systems in the north-west corner of the island". "We'll split up as we head up the beach. There's a Big Eye drone holding above the island at seventy-thousand feet, it'll be acting as a relay for our comms." [/quote] Max internally nodded, externally still a little blank to it all and taking on board what was to come. They had recon cover, and from the sounds of it, the teams were dividing and conquering. Well, WO Bastion had a target to go for, and so long as Rishun could negate whatever signals those comms systems they had, they'd be free to move up with the enemy's ears and tongue taken out. The hard option was limpet mining the lot and making more boom. "Solid copy, Blade. See you on the floor." Max replied, the fact that Max was first out emerging quickly. Activating the motors, the GEAR whirred a bit more lively than it did in it's dormancy, the ramp's dropped away slant revealing a black abyss below that shimmered, oddly enough. And while it wasn't a crazy height, it wasn't the sort of thing anyone would want to do without a reinforced skeleton of metal and composites. Knowing that full well, Max was already prepared as the rollers pushed his GEAR forward, and out the ramp... Dropping down, the Lion Rampant thumped into the sand and came in with a splash, sinking a little into the ground as Max quickly recovered and his GEAR stood tall. Pulling the 30mm rifle off the rear hardpoint and using the GEAR's right hand to flick the bolt forward again, Max took readiness of his GEAR, his HND and controls exactly as he wanted, the machine in harmony and running a charm. Raised high, the 30mm rifle was pointed forward and up the beach, as Max kept a 360 scan and took heavy steps on the sand, night vision on and looking into the bleak darkness that was the forested part beyond the beach. "Clear left." Max called out, pushing forward to give the GEARs behind him a clear drop zone, heading slowly but steadily out of the water. While his rifle wouldn't provide rapid fire, a 30mm round in the right place would scare an infantry soldier, or blast them apart. It was better than nothing, he thought to himself, his GEAR primed and ready as he sat in control of the machine, the pilot of his own armoured fist among six. "Blade, I'm ready to move. Got eyes on a bit of elevation towards our right, there's a ridge I can follow to the north-west and give you guys overwatch from while we move on the comms positions. Rishun, if you're ready, we can push up to there on my lead."