[IC] GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

[Silverwind Blade]

Silverwind sat in the open cockpit of his fighter mode Falcon variable GEAR. External umbilical cables were hooked into the fighter-mode combat vehicle via open access panels behind the cockpit, their input powering the machines' electrical system. The silver foxes' pebble was active and tied into the GEARs' systems and numerous holographic windows floated around him in the compact cockpit as he worked through preferences, menus and system readouts.
The machine was still new enough to him, despite the intensive month of refresher flight training, live weapons tests, classroom time, study and essentially living and breathing the Falcon. He was sure that, when it came to combat, he'd pull things together and it was just a case of 'first date nerves', and that the other side of it was procrastination or covering to keep himself busy and not thinking.
The last operation he'd undertaken with Max and the two teams put together to handle Silent Line's influence in the civil war had gone... poorly. They had recovered the mole within the ranks, and had bought him in, sure. And in that regard, the op had been a success... but their intel had been way off. Silent Line had been building up in the region for a lot longer than anyone could have known, and had advanced tech of their own. It was only by the skin of their teeth that they'd made it out.
Some of them hadn't.
And that held onto him, despite his experence and best efforts. What helped was the fact they were being thrown back at the elusive enemy. Primed with a new mission, to hunt down nests of Silent Line operatives and their facilities, and stamp them out - with extreme prejudice - before they had a chance to take root. Most of the others who'd worked with them had been shuffled and shuttled to new teams like this one, formed of he, Max, Anna and Catriona, and the smallest unit of support staff possible to keep the unit realistically running while remaining mobile and at least nominally clandestine or secretive.
Putting aside the make-work of his self-imposed task, the one-eyed fox gave a growling sigh and closed all the floating panes and opened instead the files from his pebble related to the new mission he'd received for their new 'Silver Bullet' unit. It was simple on paper, but high intensity and high risk, as they'd all be expected to be. The target was a remote facility; a solar energy research facility abandoned for a decade previously but now showing signs of activity. Far out in the deserts of Simal, it would be a long trip there and back, and the unit would be a long way away from Solernia and it's comfortable temperate climate. The rough, scrub deserts of Simal and its' theocratic government could be an added danger - especially as they were not overly friendly to unannounced visitors. But the intel checked out, after interrogation of their prisoner and cross-checking through satellite and spaceplane recon. GEARs and conventional defences were in place, and it would be down to Max, Silver and Anna to kick down the doors, break things, and get information from whatever was left.
The fox leant back in his seat and ran his artificial hand over his face, massaging his eyes and staring up at the distant ceiling of the hangar bay, looking past it. If they managed to carry out the op, they'd have more intel on how to move on with their attacks against the enemy and get more intel on what it was they were building towards. Because it seemed like they were building up to something.
The holographic screen chimed and flashed, drawing his attention back to it; a reminder flashed up on the screen. It was time to meet up with the rest of the little unit; they were due to embark that evening for the beginning of their flight to Simal, and Max, Anna and Cat had to be bought up to speed. He swiped the screen closed and shut down the GEARs' avionics and test systems, exchanging thanks with his tech as he headed out of the hangar, and toward the bases' operations building and the room set aside for their briefing.

[FourtyTwo]

Max and Anna headed into the hangar for a brief moment, the look of the two felines a sight to behold. Fierce, driven, yet contrasting somewhat, the black jaguar against the golden lion just the skin-deep differences to start. Max's mew toy had replaced his "Lion Rampant" which had been re-allocated, and the "Fly-on Rampant" was potentially the punniest name he had ever come up with for a GEAR that has actually gotten painted onto the gold and navy coloured, next-generation, flight-capable GEAR. It felt like a fucking space-age technology to Max, an experimental, starnge and odd machine- lighter and slightly smaller than the Hargun, yet far more impressive for its flight capability. It was Max's dream- it suited him almost perfectly, and even Anna had to admit, the tech had leaked into her kit too.

The jaguar looked to Max, signing as she looked up to him, then the Falcon.
"You know, this is a big fucking excuse not to use a wingpack."
"Hey, I'd do it like the best of you. Besides, that's your domain now. Wait, shit...briefing's in five."
"We better go then." Anna replied, nodding to Max as he led the way, the confident lion taking the lead. Max had recovered well from the last op, but he still felt tired, out of it from what had happened. Anna getting hurt, and a lot of good rebel soldiers dying for nothing felt like a blow. While aloof, he wasn't like Anna- he felt what they felt, and knew that shit like that just couldn't keep happening.

Heading to the briefing room after their brief excursion out to the hangar, it felt like a breath of fresh air to be seeing both Silverwind and Catriona once again. Looking across to Silverwind, Max and Anna looked almost like opposites attracting, the dark grey hexagonal winter-like stealth fatigues of Anna contrasting with the almost summery golden-brown hexes of Max's GEAR pilot's fatigues.

"Colonel Silverwind....looks like our last excursion couldn't kill Anna, nor Miss Burner over there neither. So, what insane shit have we got next, boss?" Max asked, chuckling as Anna looked up to him, sighing as he took a seat, putting his feet onto the chair in front, aware that this was a little more chilled out- and well, if you weren't laughing, you were tearing your ears out from what happened last time. Anna wasn't so easy.

"I swear, the only thing that keeps us as friends, Max, is that maybe you're just about as crazy as me, but honestly, I'm not sure what else..." She quietly mused, Max getting a chuckle out of Anna's sark.

[Silverwind Blade]

As Silverwind walked into the briefing room, he was met by Catriona. She offered a warm smile as he looked at her, his tail wagging gently.
"Hey there, chief," she said as she walked over to him, resting her hands on her hips. "It's no been that long, but feels longer."
He smiled back as he looked up at the towering bovine, single eye taking in the changes in her appearance and the shift in her posture and body language as he did. She still looked good - great, even - to him, despite the damage she'd suffered.
"I'm just glad to see you again, Cat. After the last op and everything that happened, well-"
"Aye, well", she said with a ahrug and the rasp coming into her voice. "I'm no too pleased about what happened myself, but we made it through. You're no rid of me that easily, unfortunately for you".
"Ah, it wouldn't be the same without you here. I'd miss having you around, there's no-one like you, after all"
"Just as well," she said with a slight smile. "Dinna think th' world could handle more'n one of me... But it's good to see you too, you mangy old sod".
"Mangy?" the fox said with a grin and mock-offence. "I brushed my fur and everything. How rude, making an effort just to get shot down. I'm hurt".
"Aye, I can tell. Mortally wounded, direct to yer pride."
The banter likely would've continued along with the smiles on both their muzzles, before Max and Anna stepped in. Catriona grinned at Max's words and she gave a shrug of her vast shoulders and tossed her head. "Aye well, looks like I'm too stubborn to die. I wouldna give the bastards who tried the satisfaction". She chuckled and listened along with Silver as the pair of felines exchanged their own good-natured barbs, before the silver fox took control.
"I think we all have to be a bit crazy to be here in the first place, Anna. Not to mention to keep coming back." He tacked his pebble onto the mirror surface at the rear of the room, transforming it into a screen. A central three-dimensional model of the solar power facility appeared along with the surrounding landscape. Other windows showed the real-world surveillance footage and annotations, along with images of identified defences.
"Right then, since y'all asked Max, this is our portion of insanity fer this time around. Our good friends in the Silent Line appear to have fortified and garrisoned this abandoned solar research facility in the Simal desert. It's approximately one hundred miles away from the nearest large town, though there are small villages or hamlets closer by, as well as individual farms or other places. No significant Simal military outposts closer than the previously mentioned town, however. From information gathered from interrogation of our prisoners and recovered intel, it seems like there's an agent in the Simal military for Silent Line, which is how and why they've got the place to begin with. Seems like the materiel they've got in place-" he tapped the relevant windows, enlarging the images of armoured vehicles and GEARs "-aren't Simal issue, and instead look like equipment sourced from other nations. Notably these are Laurentian GEARs, and those there-" he highlighted a wheeled, turreted vehicle "-look kinda like fire support vehicles or assault guns. Not to mention miscellaneous light utility vehicles with pintle-mounted heavy MG's or launchers and emplaced support weapons. It's a relatively small force with no support, and we're looking at maybe six GEARs supporting a quartet of wheeled guns, as well as numerous support vehicles such as the utilities and various trucks with specialised loads." He frowned and highlighted the group of trucks, parked up alongside the facilities' long, boxy and semi-buried building. Parked up in lines, cables ran in thick strands from the equipment on the back of each, snaking into the building. "No idea what the hell it is they're doing with this place. Accordin' ta records we got, the place was researchin' applications for solar power and related technologies... which could mean anythin'" he said with a shrug. "As well as uprootin' these guys, finding out what they were up to will be the other half of the mission".
He nodded toward Catriona, the big cow having taken a seat. "Burner will be our mission control, as she's not quite back in th' game yet. Since the location is about as far inland as we can get, and it ain't nowhere near close to here; we'll be flying down to Faraenal in a stealth transport. We'll land, rest up and wait for nightfall, and then the transport will cross the border using stealth, and the Falcons will fly themselves in. The transport will drop Anna in as well-" he looked to the panther with a nod "-and she can glide in to distance, with the transport remaining on station using stealth to act as mission control. We extract back over the border using the Falcons' flight modes. Simal shouldn't know we were there, an' we're far enough from any reinforcements that they shouldn't be able to get to us in time even if we do get discovered or noticed".
He nodded and returned the screen to the 3D representation of the facility and its' surroundings. "Questions, comments, insults?"

[FourtyTwo]

Max whistled, listening intently to Silverwind's brief. They both recognised the serious tech, and the unparalleled

"Questions, comments, insults.....none, that's fucking mad, and see my previous comment." Max only said, chuckling as he took a breath.
"Seems good to me, Silver. Deep behind enemy lines again, but more hit and run, with a little intelligence gathering. Oh, and it's good to have you back, Cat. It'll be good to have an extra pair of eyes watching. I guess anti-armour is the flavour of the day, with a little versatality beyond that too. Advanced kit means stuff that can punch through a bit more." Max commented, just starting for now, already seeing the burning look in the jaguar's eyes next to him.

Anna nodded to Silverwind, sighing at the other feline's remark.
"I have a few, Silverwind. Maybe I'm already overthinking, tell me if I am..."
"Always, Anna. But go on?" Max added, with only a hint of a chuckle.

Looking on at the 3D oversight, Anna looekd closely at the perimeter fencing, and the other.
"Right, so the site is in the middle of nowhere. Works good for heavy-hitting work, but means there is absolutely no way you can fuck up an insertion if you go to the wrong LZ as it'll get you hit on arrival. Makes my job in particular spicy, heh. Hmm....okay, looking at it, we might be able to pull something.

"I'll take the laser pointer, and if you bring laser-guided munitions, one of you can bomb the absolute hell out of a couple of those GEARs. Put me in twenty minutes early, and I'll have the base warmed for your arrival. I might be able to identify the sensitive parts, the bist we don't want to bomb too. And, I can probably take some explosives and create some serious boom on that motor pool and cylindrial hydrogen tank there, where those light vehicles are all parked. Right amount of RDX, before you bring the big guns and half the base will be up in smoke for us to start our work. If their advantage is armour, let's fucking level it with shock and awe.." Anna said, very calculated and stern, as Max shrugged, sighing.

"If the boss agrees to it, Anna. I've got nothing against it, but if you can do that without turning the absolute entire place into a powder keg and just little bits, go ahead. That's gonna be one hell of an infiltration though..."

"The SIS sent me some new toys on requesition, Max. You two aren't the only ones who gets prototype tech around here."
"Alright, Anna "I'm basically a Secret Agent" here, I get you want to also show off...we just gotta play it careful."
"Says the guy who's gonna fly a GEAR into a Sinal base."

Max shrugged, looking to Silverwind, almost as if to say "can you believe this shit", just how stern and absolute Anna was in that moment. Most people really couldn't work with her- but you couldn't doubt her wired up mind, absolute and total in how she got shit done in the field, and eventually, she would always relent down to authority when she had to get that in her head.

[Silverwind Blade]

Silverwind listened as Max and Anna spoke, nodding in time with their comments and discussion. He listened closely to Anna's suggestions and gave a firm nod of approval.
"Sounds like an excellent strategy," he remarked. "We can load munitions to cover the exfil as well. Like you said; shock and awe to level the playing field. We swoop in after the explosives go off; take advantage of the chaos to hit hard and use our advantages to the maximum, and our attack gives you the cover you need to get inside".
He listened in to Max's words after, the hint of a wry smile creeping onto his pointed muzzle at the lions' words and he returned the shrug with one of his own and a slight grin.
"It's proper bollocks that I'm no goin' tae be out there with you," Cat said with a rueful expression, "but I'll be in constant contact with all three of you and keeping you updated with what the bad guys are up to at all times. At least that'll be somethin' and I'll be keeping all of you safe. Or safer, I suppose".
"All right then," Silverwind said. "We've got a long flight, and we've got time on the ground in Faraenal for mission prep. We can work out the specifics during the flight. Support equipment will be going with us on a second aircraft; it'll look like a normal exercise or cargo flight. We'll tool up once we're on the ground, before we deploy. Get your stuff together, we're wheels-up in an hour"

[FourtyTwo]

Max nodded, happy that they had a strategy, and the briefing now petering out to an eventual close, one Max and Anna could take away as a bit of forward information. Blowing the place apart, and using Anna as the quick hit and runner to get the tech would work nicely in their favour, if executed correctly.
"Long flights are becoming a regular now, what can we say. We'll get our stuff sorted. Glad to have you in the sky, Cat....I'll take safer!" Max said, Anna nodding silently to confirm too, as they wrapped up their assessment and got going.

Heading for their quarters, Max and Anna went their seperate ways. Sitting on his bed in the living quarters, Max took his Pebble and got to work, already using the digital system to begin assigning equipment, tools and gear. While the specifics weren't hollowed out, it gave a vague idea of the wider things and tools involved.

Loadout:

Warrant Officer Maxwell Fitzroy "Actual" Bastion
"Marksman"
M23 ISS, Magnified Thermal Optic/Holographic, Angled Grip+Bipod, Silencer, IR Laser
M8A PDS
Reconaissance GEAR Pilot Fatigues

Corporal Anna-Marina "Spectre" Caldeira
"Versatile Infiltrator"
M23 Rifle w/ Grenadier Module, Magnified Holographic, IR Laser, Silencer
2x M8A PDS
Infiltration Fatigues

--

Ticking off that, Max went to the next screen on his pad, just confirming his loadout for his GEAR. It had a slightly different manifest tab, given the Falcon's different specs, but it was all something he could toy with.

Manifest Tab

Request: Warrant Officer Bastion, Maxwell Fitzroy

GEAR Designation: 042-005, FLK-4CN Falcon
User Name: "Flying Rampant"

All standard GEAR weaponry and features have been inspected/maintaned as per SOP

Requesitioned Loadout:
Package Designation: Combined Assault

-Head-Mounted 2x LMG

-20mm Rifle

-40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher, Left Shoulder Hardpoint
-Rocket Anchor, Right Shoulder Hardpoint

-Anti-Armour Missiles, Left Leg Hardpoint
-Personal Equipment and Utility Pod, Right Leg Hardpoint

-UAV charging and Quadrotor mount point, Back
-3x Limpet Mines, Shoulder

Wing Hardpoints:
Laser Guided Bombs

Content in the knowledge that his and Anna's kit was set, he took a moment to dust off his pilot's equipment, slowing setting his fatigues up and getting the rest of his equipment set.

[Silverwind Blade]

Much like Max, Silverwind also retired to his quarters. Taking a different approach, he pulled out a backpack and organised the essentials for his deployment from his own equipment; spare clothing, toiletries and personal items. The rest would be issued equipment, drawn from stores as always. Sitting down at the small desk in his room, he toggled his pebble to give him a keyboard and a projected screen and went to work on his admin. Various messages had to be exchanged, signed off, and filed as was the nature of anything military or related to the government, there was an electronic trail of correspondance. He signed off of Max's requests to the armoury, and filled in his own to accompany it.

Colonel Silverwind Joseph "Razor" Blade
"Assault/DMR"
M23 Battle Rifle, 3x Optical/Holographic sight, underbarrel shotgun
M61 + LAM Unit
Standard GEAR Pilot armour vest % Helmet

That seemed adequate. He didn't need to file a request for Cat this time around; as part of the planes' aircrew, she'd be issued with standard gear, and he had faith they could take care of that. If it got to the point she was on the ground, all of them would be in trouble, and it didn't bear thinking about. Tabbing through windows, he reached the loadout request for his GEAR and paused as he considered the mission intel, taking a sip of the tea he'd made for himself while he worked through the admin. He opened Max's request and reviewed it once more; picking complimentary loadouts was common sense. They needed to be flexible, but pack a hefty punch in case of the unexpected, or on the chance that the assault guns didn't go down as easily as hoped. And there was the need to cover Anna's extraction as well. Reviewing the weapon specs along with the mission requirements, the silver fox made his choices and tapped in the details.

Manifest Tab

Request: Colonel Blade, Silverwind Joseph

GEAR Designation: 042-005, FLK-4CN Falcon

All standard GEAR weaponry and features have been inspected/maintaned as per SOP

Requesitioned Loadout:
Package Designation: Anti-Armour & Fire Support

-Head-Mounted 2x LMG

-20mm Rifle

-Recoilless Rifle, Right Shoulder hardpoint
-25mm Chaingun, Left Shoulder hardpoint

-Anti-Armour Missiles, Left Leg Hardpoint
-Anti-Armour Missiles, Right Leg Hardpoint

Wing Hardpoints:
Laser Guided Bombs

He reviewed the request, and content with it - at least as much as he could be - he sent it on it's way through the network, before leaning back to finish his drink. His stomach rumbled, reminding him of the other 'order of business' to address before departure. There was time enough, and it'd all be taken care of.

****

Before too long, Silverwind stood once more in the cargo hold of the stealthy transport. The pair of GEARs were loaded in crouched travel positions toward the rear of the bay, with the forward part taken up with a modular, palletised command and control center, tied into the aircrafts' electrical and avionic systems. Cat would be taking position there during the actual mission, right now, it was serving as more seating for the flight, as there were operators for the equipment. Another pallet held support equipment for the GEARs, and the jump seats along both sides of the bay had bene left in place for the technicians, as well as the unit themselves. It all looked ready for the off, so he slung his bag alongside one seat and strapped himself into place as the Loadmaster directed.

[FourtyTwo]

Max smirked as he saw Silverwind approve the requests, as he put his head back against the wall, sighing. He had to think to himself of what the last op had been like, and how much it had come to haunt him a little how intense it had gotten. They'd gotten into some serious scrapes before, but Anna getting wounded like that was pretty fucking bad. For her too, Max felt guilt, guilt that he hadn't been there for his own team. A good leader shouldn't have cared, especially not one as hardened as him. But for all the lack of empathy that him and Anna sometimes showed each other, they did care, a considerable amount. It was almost as if the two odd pieces fitted together well, as he sighed, shutting his eyes for just a moment.

---

In the same time the lion was sitting in reflection, Anna was running through her equipment list, one that from the first glance of the Pebble's listing seemed very short. The jaguar wasn't thinking about the wound, or even how she'd gotten into that situation. Only to never let it happen again. And to focus on what was next.

The M23 rifle was already in her posession on a table across from her, the hexagonally camoflaged grenadier version odd for an infiltrator- but exceptionally useful to destroy things if shit went to pot. Adjusting her cuffs, the jaguar's night-black hex-camo infiltration gear was more like a wetsuit, fitting tightly from the top of her head to her toes, reducing her profile in the dark even more immensely- and even more specficially, the special weave allowed her thermal signature to be concealed. In a nutshell, she was nigh invisible to a thermal imaging camera, given that almost every surface of her skin was covered from her paws to even her eyes, covered with the NVGs, which were equipped with a thermal imaging mode. Whilst she had forgone armour to have that advantage, the main reason she didn't always use a piece of equipment like this, the infiltration suit allowed her breathing room to run, climb and vault with total ease, as well as hide in shadows far easier than in an alternative uniform. It did also show her...athletic form off too. A pair of quad-optic NVGs made her already astounding night vision even more laser-like, and the modified Corvid wingpack sat across from her, this time, with two hydrogen-powered jets attached to the semi-rigid wing structure. If there was one thing that the new intiative had given her, it was priority on the coolest equipment list that the SIS had access to. She took the rifle as she finished up with her tactical equipment, taking a range of smart 40mm grenades, her grappling hook, and a pocket-sized laser designator, as well as shouldering the Covid pack as the last piece of the puzzle. With only a wry smile, Anna silently took confidence in herself that while she wasn't in a GEAR, Spectre was going to make the Silent Line afraid of the dark.

---

Sitting inside the command centre, Anna and Max had settled in early, bags and equipment all settled down. Anna only had a small hex-coloured pack, containing her explosives and other supplies, while Max had taken a slightly larger bag, knowing he was probably going to carry his and Anna's various kit across. The gear getting loaded in the background was a sight to see, as the gray-haired fox turned up, slinging himself into place and strapping himself in. Anna had pulled back her balaclava and hood, clicking her hands as she seemed almost disengaged for the moment.

"Good to see you again, Silverwind. Hopefully we're going in a bit." Max commented, sighing as he looked around at the command centre, nodding approvingly.
"This is fancy. I like this an awful lot. Proper support, nice." He added, feeling like he was breaking the silence, already strapped in and wearing a GEAR pilot's standard fatigues, in his usual reconaissance pattern. The jaguar didn't seem too interested, as Max looked across to her, then back to Silverwind.

"As I said, Anna can get her hands on some proper secret agent shit. It's impressive kit she's got herself. I seriously don't know how she made friends with the SIS though to get it. Killing people in cold blood is really anti-social."
"It's best I don't tell you how I get things done, Maxwell. Just you leave me to it." Anna cuttingly replied, Max chuckling in response to her frank reply.
"Alright, alright. Feeling good to go?" He asked her, the jaguar nodding in reply.
"Just about as good as I can be. Colonel, I've got a camera hooked up to the NVGs here, and a whole bunch of RDX with me too. I know infiltrators are a weird unit to manage- basically, just tell me what you need done and I'll figure it out."

[Silverwind Blade]

Almost as if in answer to Max's question as to them getting going, the transports engines howled to life, the sound building up rapidly. Lights inside the bay flashed as the ramp came up, and the loadmaster directed them all to take their seats and strap.
It didn't take long before the plane started to roll. From inside there wasn't much to see, but the sense of movement was real as the aircraft rolled onto the runway and accelerated.

The flight passed with little event for the most part. Silverwind used the time to get some sleep, and to eat. After all, there was little else to do. The only other thing was to review the mission data again, and run through options for the assault, and keep up to date - as much as they could - with any intel from the scene.

[FourtyTwo]

Max had taken an awful lot of sleep, as had Anna, the team sleeping for the majority of the flight. The day was passing quick, given that they had quite a bit of distance to cover- and after their stopover in Faerenal, they were on their way into the hot zone. Max had a rough idea of how they could work with Anna's laser designated point- while they could do it remotely from above, like a strike fighter could, it would potentially get hairy if there were local countermeasures in place. Anyway, Anna would get a much more accurate lase, and more importantly, identify the target much clearer than they could from afar if there was any interference. The infiltrator on the other hand had looked into how she would insert- going in prior to the rest of the GEARs dropping, using the jet-powered wingpack to land outside the base, then start setting up a whole array of "treats". Risky, but the night was her friend for that one.

Sitting back, Anna exhaled, as the black jaguar took her headphones off, some rap from back in the days. While Anna was a woman that had risen above her background, sometimes though, she had kept bits of it in the little things she did. Max sometimes joked that while he was like a surfer, she was like the terrifying shadow you saw behind you in the rough part of town. A street soldier, but a spec-ops one. Taking her headphones off, she walked across to Catriona, the Highland Cow someone she wanted to chat to, knowing now was probably the right time with the other two asleep.

Looking across to her, the jaguar walked across, the sultry and tactical infiltrator sitting down, sighing before she started.
"Hey up. You know me and how I am....I don't really talk to people much and all. I don't want to mince my words, but just wanted to say after last time, I owe you a little bit of a debt. You nearly died for me, Cat...I thought that was me done and dusted, a stupid way to go after some of the other crap I've been in. But here we are....not sure what it's worth, but you need anything after this, you've got my Pebble's contact." Anna said, her voice coming through as honest, breaking her usual cold and harsh demeanour, genuine and true in her words, offering a paw out to Catriona.

[Silverwind Blade]

Cat had been tapping through tabs on her pebble, absorbed in catching up on correspondence with family and friends and news from the greater world outside of the bubble of special operations life when Anna approached. As the dark-furred feline spoke, she shut the device down and listened up as the normally taciturn jaguar awkwardly got her words out. She listened attentively, long bovine ears twitching toward Anna as she spoke, and when the smaller woman offered out a paw, she gently took it in both of her own huge hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Oh lass," she said warmly and with a soft smile on her angular muzzle. "We all end up in shite stupid situations because of what we do". She shook her head and looked away, past the walls of the transports cavernous bay for a moment. "If I had of died, then I'd have rather it been fer someone else an' because it was doin' something I gave a shite about, than at home in bed too old to remember what I had fer breakfast". She looked back to the Jaguar, lookin into her eyes and the smile still on her muzzle. "This life we chose, runnin' around the world and sneakin' about to make sure other people are safe in bed at night. It's no a friendly one, nor one where we get tae make many friends. But the ones we do have are each other". She looked over at the pair of men, both sound asleep. Silverwind's usually dignified demeanour was betrayed by his sleep; head lolled back and muzzle wide open with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. She smirked at the sight and grinned at the pair of them. "Those two are probbly too proud tae say much about it, but I'd consider them me friends too, and I know Silver would drag his balls across hot coals fer any of us." She shook her head. "I don't mean to make it sound less than it was, but doing what I did for you, I just see that as what's the right thing to do" she gave a simple shrug of her huge shoulders. "And fer the record, it's worth a lot," she answered, in response to her comment about the pebble, before giving a slight smirk. "Though, you might want tae reconsider once I start callin' ye at three in the mornin' drunk and cryin' down the line at yeh because I cannae find mah own hooves".

[FourtyTwo]

Anna chuckled, sighing as she nodded towards Max, knowing full well what she just said wasn't a million miles away, the sight of Silverwind's sleepy deneamour humourous to the sight as she sighed, looking back across to Cat, the jaguar nodding in agreement.
"Oh yeah, we've got trust. We understand each other, in some chaotic way. Even those two!" Anna philosophised, chuckling as she looked back to Max, who was now beginning to snore, at an increasing noise. It wasn't enough to echo in the cargo bay over the droning engines, but in an isolated environment it certainly would.

"Even him. We might not always see eye to eye, but I think we somehow work for each other. Even each other out as two weirdos. We come from different worlds...he never knew real trouble when he was young but he's fearless and knows how to get things done. Only person he found in challenging that was me. In return, he makes me a bit more tolerable." She added, shrugging, as she looked back towards the Highland Cow's listening and warm embrace, someone that made her feel more real than android. Perhaps Anna hated it, really wanted to reject it at all times, but she had to admit, someone like Cat was impossible to just put into numbers and quantify. She had a Arvaran-ness about her, a person worth caring for, and Anna had very few that she felt like that. Beyond a professional courtesy to stop her team-mates getting killed, she had something more proper here- tangible, perhaps. Like she could be more open here.

"Anyway, I can do three in the morning. These eyes don't sleep...and I've done worse." Anna added, chuckling as she flicked her Pebble back into life, bringing the holographic display back into life, checking over a few bits of her data link to Cat and the display inside the vehicle. The professional was still there, for now at least.

[Silverwind Blade]

Cat listened patiently and with interest, taking in what Anna had to say with personal interest. She could tell this was a rare moment for the jaguar to open up, and treated it as such without interrupting. She gave a smile as the smaller, slimmer woman touched on her friendship with Max, much as she had done with her own with Silver, and nodded in understanding. As she answered her remark, she chuckled and turned back to her own pebble as Anna did the same.

****

It was hours later when the transport prepared for landing, the announcement coming from the loadmaster. Once again, they strapped in as the pitch of the engines changed and the aircraft rumbled as its' landing gear extended. Noises issued from all around as the aircraft dropped through the air in a graceful, controlled descent into thicker air and toward the ground, and as the big, sleek stealth transport kissed the runway, the noise was too intense for conversation. It died down soon after as the plane turned off the runway and moved to a parking position, the noise dying down to a shrill scream of idling powerplants, and the loadmaster checked them off to disembark, the ramp cracking open and lowering with a grinding whine of hydralics and opening to a fresh breeze tinged with the scents of hot metal and burnt fuel from the airbase outside.
"Welcome to Faeranel, boys and girls," Silverwind said as he stood and shrugged his pack onto his shoulders. "The tech support team will take care of off-loading out GEARs and fitting them out for the mission. We have about-" he checked his pebble, which had automatically synced up to local time "-Four hours before nightfall, and another two before we launch. Enough time for us all to get adjusted. Yer all free to go take in the local sights, whatever they may be, as long as we're back here in time fer final briefin' and last checks one hour before take off. No drinkin' this time, I'm afraid; save that fer afterwards. But get some chow somewhere that ain't a mess hall, but yerselves some souveneirs, and stretch yer legs after bein' cooped up in this tin can for the last while".
He nodded to them all and headed down the ramp into the brightness of the early afternoon sunshine.

[FourtyTwo]

Faraenal was a place Max and Anna had been a while away from, a stopover while supporting peacekeeping and recovering work in the region, a scrubland and warm, mediteranian-like clime that had suffered its unfair share of natural disasters. It was phenominal how well it had recovered after the hurricane a few years ago, coming barely a couple of years after a nasty earthquake had hit prior to that- wrecking much of the coast. Efforts from many nations had helped recover Faraenal, the people resilient and willing to recover the country through its industrious and resistant core. Perhaps it was what made the small deployment here easier, Max thought- hey, at least the people weren't complete dicks. While it was a nation locked into war, it had perservered through it, and was a very under-the-radar place to visit for its attractive little towns, its beauty often conflicted with the fact the media had depicted it as in ruin.

The plane halting was the moment Max could unclip, the lion looking across to Silverwind and giving him a nod.
"I'm game for that. Anna, you coming?" The lion asked, Anna shrugging as she looked up to the other feline, not really up for going out, on account of her combat gear.
"In this? You think I'd fit in?" Anna said, Max chuckling as he knew he just had to pull an absolute bastard of a line out for that one.
"Yeah, okay, maybe not. I mean, it does make you look kinda kinky." To which Max got a slap, Anna swearing as the lion barely even gave a shit and laughed, the jaguar sighing in response as the lion yawned, stretching a little as he walked down the ramp, looking across to Silverwind.

"I'm gonna head out to get some rays. Grab some sights at the cliffs over on the shore. Silver, Cat, you in? "

[Silverwind Blade]

Silver paused at the base of the ramp, his tail curling back and forth in thought, and he gave an amicable shrug with a smile and nodded. "Well, sure - sounds like a good time to me."
At that, Cat nodded as well, spreading her hands, palms up. "Aye, count me in too. I've no been here before, and sticking with company seems like the best idea to me. Let's go see the sights then!"

Silver allowed someone else to lead the way for once, letting Max take the lead after ensuring their gear was secured with the rest of the units' equipment. It didn't take long to rustle up some transportation, and the fox leant back in the rear seat of their procured vehicle with Cat next to him in the reat seat as they made their way off the base.

[FourtyTwo]

"Coolio. That thing there might be our procured one. Has a....yeah, that's a QR on it for us." Max said, checking his Pebble's reciever, looking across to the open-topped tactical buggy, more a jeep but a nice little vehicle to have as a get-around.
Stepping into the open-top military jeep, Max sighed as he looked into the back, seeing Silver and Cat clamber in, the lion aware he was the chauffeur for this little run. Seeing his equipment get carried away on a trolly, including his GEAR, he gave a smirk as he turned the key and started the jeep's engine, giving it a tap of revs, grinning.
"Sights it is then. Hang onto your hats. We're not too far from the ocean at all, actually...man, now I fucking wish I had a surfboard!" Max called out, chuckling as he put it into gear, squealing the tyres as he pulled away. Whilst considerate at the gate, on the open road he was anything but, going a positive number over the speed limit, only a little however.

The coastline here seemed fairly beautiful, the red sandstone rock contrasting against the golden-yellow sand, the cliffs in front of where Max had parked fairly stunning. Clambering out, Max cut the engine and looked out, whistling. The ocean, the cliffs, everything here. Shit, he only wished he wasn't here for business.
"Shit, I forgot how pretty this country was. The Red Bluffs....not exactly tourist season though? This place is too busy fighting people here, I guess. What do you think?" Max said, the mediterrenian-warmth of summer and the impressive sight of the ocean something Max was glad to see again, and perhaps it was a new sight to Cat and Silver. The sunlight on the horizon was pretty impressive, as Max headed down the rocky top of the hill, realising very quickly there was no real way down to the water, as he stood back from the very edge. The drop must have been a good 10m vertically, onto an overhang that went straight into very deep, ocean water. There was another way around, it seemed more of a scramble down, but Max, given that this was R&R, couldn't help himself. Even in his fatigues, the lion felt something very, very stupid brewing. It was the fact he was comfortabel wtih Silver at this point that even allowed the thought into his mind, as he looked back to the fox, shrugging.
"Two ways down. Uhh....yeah, don't mind if I go express!" And with that, the lion burst from a standing stop forwards into half a sprint, before leaping off the cliff, legs first plumetting straight into the azure-like water, wooping the way down.

If there were prizes for doing stupid shit, Max won them every time, as he surfaced, yelling up as he brushed the salt water oout of his eyes, chuckling as he looked up.
"Holy shit, it's way colder than I remember!" He yelled back up to them, as he began to swim back to the beach, getting absolutely sloshed by the waves as he made it back into shore, having a laugh while he still could here in this seaside.

[Silverwind Blade]

Silverwind grinned and relaxed in the back seat as Max tore the open-topped light utility vehicle down the road. The breeze whipped through his fur and hair, and he looked over to Cat to catch the cow grinning back the same, her eyes visible for once as her fringe was pushed away by the breeze. The green of them gleamed with the sunshine. Once they'd parked up, he climbed out of the rear seat and walked up to the edge of the rocky cliff, taking a deep breath of the salty sea air. The cool breeze chased away the fug in his head from the long flight, and he had to agree with Max; it was an inspiring view.
"Y'all sure picked the right place," Silverwind agreed with the lion as he took in the vista, just letting his senses take it in. Cat ambled up behind him and stood close by, putting one hand up to hold her hair back as she looked out at the view with a broad grin of glee. "Aye!" she added enthusiastically. "It's definitely a-" she cut off with a silent yelp of surprise as Max barrelled past her and leapt over the edge. Silverwind gawped similarly and ran to the edge and looked over at the lions' apparent suicidal dive, only to look down with a single-wide eye and then shake his head in wry amazement at the dive, and the lion now floating in the sea below. He cupped his hands to his muzzle and hollered down.
"Nice dive, but I think I'll take the slow route!" he called down and looked back to the women, shaking his head with a 'can you believe it' smile at the pair before picking his way down the rocky path toward the sandy beach. His ears pricked and twitched at the sound of gulls wheeling overhead and making their cries, and the gentle hiss of the waves coming and going upon the shore.

[FourtyTwo]

Max chuckled as he swam back ashore, completely soaking wet and completely lacking regret at all. While perhaps it was a little juvenile, stupid even, Max just relished the opportunity from time to time- given how serious some of the shit they went into was, he always remembered to live a little between operations. He'd realised in his time, even however short it was with Silver and the team that being miserable and constantly on edge was just gonna rail him out, almost something Anna reminded him of his past self. S ometimes, he just had to embrace that part of his quirky nature, and hell, take the opportunities he got.

Looking across to Silver and Cat, he shrugged, looking about at the gulls and back over at the waves he'd just swam out of.
"Sorry for that...just what can I say, the abyss was calling! Been way, way too long since I did something as stupid as that....well, apart from stay in the RSDF, I guess!" Max said, chuckling as he sighed, putting hand above his eyes to look off into the horizon, using his other paw to brush his long, sopping wet golden hair back over his shoulders. Some of his longer hairs were braided at the ends, a style he'd gone for now he was in Silver's good books. Max certainly wasn't the most elegant of lions, but he certainly had a charm to him, a warmth and a pride that came with one, that and his commitment to doing risky, stupid things.

Still though, he had to admit, hanging about with Cat and Silver was always a pleasure- the former someone he'd gotten to know more throughout much of the last op, a girl he had a lot of respect for. Her resilience, and yet her warmth was something respected, almost reminding him of Hopper but a lot more potent, in a way.
"Yeah, as you were saying earlier I guess. Pretty pheonominal. Nothing like the sea to take away the fate of our world, right?"

[Silverwind Blade]

Silver padded out onto the sand, wiggling his booted paws in the soft white sand and drawing lines in it. He shaded his eye with one hand, grinning as Max came back up the beach. "Can't say I blame ya," he said with a chuckle as he looked back down at the leonine pilot.
He looked toward the water and sighed with a shrug. "Ah, th' hell with it". He unbuttoned his BDU shirt and shrugged it off, before untying and tugging off his boots, pulling his T-shirt off over his head and awkwardly kicking out of his BDU pants, before sprinting down the beach and diving into the water in his boxer shorts, plunging head-and-shoulders beneath the water and swimming out with powerful strokes.
From the beach, Cat laughed at the display, shaking her head as she watched the older fox throw himself into the water. For her part, the big cow toed the sand with the tip of her cloven hoof, dragging a little trench through it, before taking off her own BDU shirt and tying it around her waist, stretching out in the sun with a pleasant sigh, before sitting down on the sand to watch as Silver swam to and fro.

[FourtyTwo]

Max looked to Cat as he watched Silver run for the sea, shrugging.
"What I say? It's just got an appeal to it..." Max added, taking his own BDU shirt off and wringing out the moisture, sitting down by Cat, for a moment panicking as he checked his pocket. His Pebble was in there! Shit....well, it wasn't ruined, but that he should have thought of first, the lion thought to himself. Not a great move had he have ruined that....thankfully, the casing on it was pretty solid, as he checked it over, deciding not to go into the sea, aware he'd already gotten himself soaked already. Lying back on the sand, he looked across to Cat, chuckling.

"This is the life. Gotta enjoy the downtime whenever we get it! Gotta say Cat...good to have you with us. Honestly, back last time, I really did think....well, you're still here, and still showing them how we do things." Max mused, sighing as he looked back up, soaking up the sun's rays, and taking in a moment to enjoy it all. The feline seemed a natural fit here, almost more at ease than he had been before in any other unit, aware he had the creativity and flair to work under a man like Silverwind. There were some horrible bits to it too, of course. Stuff he was pushing back in his mind.

Max hadn't served anywhere near as long as Silver, but he had seen his fair share of pretty horrible, awful things in war. He was pretty sure it had affected him in some ways, the playful and spontanious side of him keeping him going somewhat, given back on the job, he had a rebellious, cold and strange detachment. Not like Anna of course- she was just a cold-blooded cat, his felt more like it was more the servitude he had, the decisions he made, and what came out of that. Being positive at least kept his spirits aloft at least, hey. And as for family, well, not much there had changed either. They were doing the same old, unchanged. Helen was thinking about a career in local government, actually- but other than that, they were the poster children that his Mum and Dad had dreamed of. And yet here Max was, enjoying this downtime. Somehow, it all felt a little more real to him. And despite that slight nagging in his head saying he should, he wouldn't want to have it any other way.