[h2][color=YellowGreen]Tahlia Harris[/color][/h2] [u][center][h2]Isla Langosta / Lobster Island, Colombia[/h2][/center] [center][h2]Fireteam Piranha[/h2][/center][/u] [center][h3]The Colombian Exchange[/h3][/center] Tahlia kept an eye on the encampment, seeing the trace of Mateo move, in cloaked but from her optic, his outline just about visible from her beady eye and the help of a thermal attachment on the sniper rifle. He voice clicked in, as she heard him get to work, cutting through the interior of the base like a ghost. Nobody ever saw him. And nobody would, because the silent Colombian didn't need to add much. Tahlia knew as much as she knew that on the other hand, Boomer and Duke were cleaning out sentries on the far side. "Taniwha, Boomer, we have a problem. Eyes on Tejedor in compound, alone, Spectre has left for the next compound, looks like a lab and ecolodge. I'm going to need a distraction and can get the intel, and him too. Then leave me to it...you have Spectre and the drugs. I need this." The voice of Mateo carried on the comms, as Tahlia sighed. "Affirmative, Jaguar. Don't lose your head. Looks like you're on, Boomer. I've pinged the location of the lab and the other buildings across the other side of the compound. Once you raise hell, that is it. Every gun, every RPG is on you and Jaguar can do his business. Remember, the more noise you make, the easier it is for Jaguar to do his business. I've always wanted to see what a heavy can do on a rampage, you have sniper cover from me." Tahlia replied, knowing the team had split objectives, but they would be able to get it done. It would be tricky with Jaguar dark, but Tahlia knew that was how he operated- he needed quiet, and right now, he had it. Boomer on the other hand, had to blow lots of shit up. A Heavy was not invincible, but holy shit, they would need a platoon, if not two to just stop him from turning the place into a tornado site. Spectre alive would be handy, but at this point, they needed to act quickly, or else lose them both. ---------- [h2][color=lightblue]Skye Rosalind Lyons[/color][/h2] [u][center][h2]Somewhere near Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile[/h2][/center] [center][h2]Fireteam Condor[/h2][/center][/u] [center][h3]The Observatory at the End of the World[/h3][/center] And it felt like they were, right at the very end, the edge of nothingness, the black sky taking over from pink and orange sunset, and the rocky spires reflecting steadily less, less and less until the stars came out, and it was like an uninterrupted canvas. No moon either, but for lighting, that was good- just the void above and the complete darkness, and the occasional flex of the suit assisted by the pulse jets, and well, it was heavenly. "Aye, It's beautiful, Chaos. No light pollution. Makes sense that they're here." Skye simply replied, grinning and giggling, enjoying this brief reprieve before the calm. The darkness felt weird, given Skye was riding Frigga's rear in it, but well, she'd had weirder evenings out, just maybe not with the others of the squad. "The only thing smoking on this flight is your rotund backside, Frigga. Steady as ever. Your flying, too. Get ready to cut comms once we're past this mountain. Fraid you'll have to pilot this thing alone. Any longwave radio signal after is going to be a risk, encrypted or not. We'll be on our own, until we decide we want to bring Vincent and his noise." Skye replied to their pilot with the same sarky grin she'd shared with Sam, well, the body really of the person they were hanging off of. Going past jagged peaks, and over the glaciers and mountain tops, they drifted quiet, silent and now in almost total darkness, the kind that eyes couldn't get used to. So down came the night vision goggles over Skye's eyes, the blue-tinged quad-optic combined with a clever set of magnifiers and extra tech that allowed her to patch into the network of Sam's helmet cam, Freya's, and no less the suit's even on demand. It was almost half an hour of travel, and the dark had now swallowed the remaining light out, the cold biting in, and making every surface feel icy, frost forming in patches across the suit, and on Skye herself. Nobody said this was without pain. And while Sam's suit likely had some regulation, Skye was too spartan for that. Extra weight and all, so she made do with the insulation in her fatigues, knowing full well once they were moving. Pain was just something for the body to overcome, another reminder of pushing a biomechanical system to a limit she saw it as, and well, shivering meant it was doing its job. Most special forces warriors were pretty tough, but Skye just seemed to have almost this unmovable, unshakable ability to not let it tap into her. Like she could almost madidate her way through, an almost absurd thing. But it was coming to a close, and they were nearly, nearly there, as Skye watched through the frontal camera mounted in Frigga's helium suit, seeing the white dome come into view on the night vision, and the large complex below of am observatory, outbuildings and the precipice it sat on. "Target's in sight. There it is. An observatory at the end of the world, and probably containing the keys to it." Skye called on the comms to the team. This was it. [center][img]https://www.melbtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Grand-Tourmalet-Pic-du-Midi-Coucher-du-soleil-N-Strippe.jpg[/img][/center] "Quite the place. Alright, I'll go through the plan again. Frigga gets us to the pinged waypoint, then she pops up onto that thin ridge ahead. Me and Chaos rappel down, and Frigga awaits us to clear the rest of the top two decks on overwatch, before following down from the suit herself and letting it head home. The base will mostly be asleep, but guards will be well equipped, and no doubt, pinned like a rat in a corner if they have to fight. We clear the surface, then we get inside the satellite control room and observatory dome, silently picking off anyone. Then we figure it out from there. Find a way to get the data we need on both all of Artemins, and all of what that system can do. If we're lucky, we go out quiet. If we don't, be ready to fight like hell." Coming in silent onto the base itself, Skye had the chance to look across to Sam, the night-vision wearing, blue paint having, Scottish team leader mean in her prose. Skye made no bones- she chose practicality every time over form, and whilst not having as sleek and clean a set of equipment as Sam, she looked like a cross of a special forces operator with ultra-gucci gear and her exoskeleton and a Pictish warrior, red hair, blue paint contrasting and the look of absolute fear coming off her body language. Skye was a kind, caring, lovely person, but all of that evaporated when out on mission. There was this almost chilling lack of empathy, the blue light reflecting off her night vision onto her eyes up this close and a fierce, hardened look. "Alright. I'll take lead, Chaos. Nicely piloted, Frigga, your arse is bare cold now though. Now it's our turn for a show." Skye added, slapping the cheek of Freya's helium suit, and with a gentle check over her rope, let it roll through her hands, sliding off the cheek and down her leg to almost the "foot", well, a little bit further so she was at least clear of the suit somewhat. The view from below looking up was quite....well, it was blocking out her view of the stars, but that wasn't the main attraction, at least, the two men that could spot them was. Freya's piloting was bringing them in close, as Skye saw a couple of guards on the top terrace of the observatory, on an observation deck of some sorts, the kind that were high in the platform itself. There was a whole mess of tunnels below the actual building, but this bit needed to be quickly cleaned out before they went inside. "Two tangoes, top deck. Nice and easy, Frigga. All mine." Skye retorted with a cold breath, a slight swing backward allowing her to line up her breath, and with it, raising her SIG into position, tapping a couple of times, the rounds clipping both the guards with precision, Skye's handling of the rifle like it was a pellet gun rather than a heavily-pimped battle rifle. "Clear. Alright, let's get to work. With me, Chaos. Should need a little less thrust now, Frigga, weight's about to shift big time." Skye made short work, as she pulled down on her belay, rappelling down further from off the suit, and coming down with a gentle thump, landing on the tiny rocky ridge that led to the observatory itself. It was about maybe six feet wide, if that, and had a sheer, total vertical drop either side. "Steady in, Chaos. You have point. If you think we need to split, call it and take your route. Remember, we're clearing Frigga a landing here. So drop anyone you see, quietly and by any means needed. If we go loud straight away, we'll make the odds worse." Skye added, right behind Sam now and with a trusting look. She believed in the American, trusted fully. Knew while this was the dirty end of the job, it had to be done, and hopefully, at the end of this, they'd have some answers, much as the other fireteam would.