FourtyTwo

Steam Powered Europe (working title)

Yep- there isn't too much on that one, I'll set up the next bit where the main teams go in on Scimitar after we've cleared the posts, so don't go thinking Bjorn jumps out. Thinking about my character then, maybe a Russian now? Don't want too many Germans after all, but you know, could still work as a guard to your character.

Steam Powered Europe (working title)

Eh, fair enough. Something like that can work.

Steam Powered Europe (working title)

Hmmm...two Prussians don't work, I know, I'll make a motherfucking Bavarian, how's that for diversity? :D

Steam Powered Europe (working title)

In and in. I'd be happy to have a Prussian sort of mercenary for hire. Cue the moustache. You could set it in the 1870s, though I dunno- that is when the Industrial Revolution really has span up a lot of momentum.

Team Scimitar (an Over-the-Top Military RP)

It's fine- I really like that we've got stuff rolling into action. I'll post once Nobody and Rusalka have got theirs up.

Juggernauts (BigPapaBelial and kingkonrad) IC

Natalie was thrown off her feet, flung backwards as the Hydrogen Cell went up- the secondary explosion of the tanks huge as it completely went up, the blue flame turning to a white-hot fusion that burned bright and sent whatever Hydrogen was concentrated up in flames. The entire cavern was filled with fire, as the cell literally tore through the place, Natalie closing her eyes as she hoped for the best, feeling a hurt in her body that felt too recognizable as she was thrown to a corner of the cave and felt her spine hit hard against her tanks.

Almost thirty seconds later, she came around again, pushing her visor up as she looked over at Victor. She leant back up, as she looked at her Flamethrower, and her legs. She wriggled a little, feeling no bones broken- maybe a rib, but she couldn't tell. She coughed hard, dusting herself off with her gauntlets, as she looked at the burning areas of the cavern.
"Shit...what the fuck?" Natalie said, as she knew that while her visor was just about intact, their armors had taken a beating. Bulletproof it may have been, explosive fifty cal round from a fucking minigun it wasn't. And then there was the 8"1 exoskeleton in the middle of the room, still burning. Natalie looked over to Victor, as she slowly clambered up, a nosebleed pouring down her face as she around,
"Shit...Victor, you okay?" Natalie asked, barely slumbering over as she looked down at the suit, stopping to breath and pant hard.
"What the fuck is this...it's nothing I've ever seen before, but we need to return it to base, before someone else disposes of it. Drag the remmenants out and call for that C17 to take it back to Perth, I'll scan for intel in that little corner she came out of. Fuck...I don't know how combat ready we now are..." Natalie said, looking around, as she then looked back at the suit. It was fried- whatever was inside was dead and charred beyond limit, but parts of the armor were still intact. The frame somehow was in places, intact, but in others, completely shreded. The back was completely demolished, but the front could be salvaged. The exoskeleton mechanism was gone, but the armored composite could be made out in some places.
"This cannot go back to the Coalition forces. They find this, the Chinese are going to be so angry, they won't know what hit them. And besides, we've got engineers who can tell us what we're up against next time we run into this fucking sort of thing. The CIA would just hide it from us and next time, when they walk around with 25mm guns, we'll be dead meat. Half a fucking regiment will be. Use that Fulton Balloon that we keep on our shit- it might work to lift that fucking brute, but since most of it is demolished, it should be a lot lighter." Natalie said, spitting blood, as she then looked over to Victor, aware of the scale that this got to.
"I would fucking kiss you right now...but look at us. Let's just get the job done. Get this bastard out, we'll call our C17 to pull this beast out and so on." Natalie said, as the two super-heavies, covered in dust, dirt and severe hits, seemed no longer like the impentrable giants they were. Natalie guessed that they were at half capabilities, and sustained regular 12.7mm fire wouldn't be tolerable. Small arms still would be, but Natalie made a mental note that a lot of the kevlar had been shredded, and that blast protection from the specialized kevlar weave combined with the prototype foam that protected from blasts wouldn't take much more. She looked over her shoulder, as she then put her visor back down, coughing hard as she stood up again, wanting to stand tall as she moved in towards the metal armory the exoskeletoned soldier had emerged from. Natalie's jaw dropped.

Walking around, she took her helmet off in it's entirity, looking in. This place was solely the armored soldier's, it seemed, and was mostly empty, apart from a rack, a large metal crate and a large desk with oversized drawers. She found a dogtag on a table. Nadia Hamid, and a picture. Natalie recognized the picture- a woman that she had herself met and spoken to, though they didn't get on that well. She was Qaddafi's loyal servant a few years ago, now she was a mercenary for hire. And what qualified her for this was the question, was probably to do with the fact that she had no real allegiances and served money. That was what Natalie knew well, as she looked over at the desk. She looked for other things. Documents. And in particular, one in Chinese. It was the armor, a drawing of some sorts, and a few other details. She couldn't read Mandarin, but she guessed it couldn't be the suit specifications or blueprints. But it had something to do with how this was obtained. She moved up the desk, already looking for anything else. On the floor, Nadia's clothing could be seen. Natalie tsked. She had a far smaller breast size, as she knew her mind was trying to make fun out of a shitty situation. It was the only way she kept her sanity, as she then looked over back around the room. Other munitions, as well as a few armored plates could be seen. Perhaps replacements? She carried on looking, knowing she wasn't no Batman or Sherlock Holmes, but scanning for intel was important. She came across another important document, in one of the drawers, her oversized hand just knocking the thing completely open. Amung some piles of shit, she found a text in Russian on a phone that was on the table, an Android of some sorts. From a reference called Konstantin, to Nadia.

"To Nadia- Ahmed has confirmed the go ahead. The American and Faruq are making their way out of the region, I will meet Ahmed tomorrow and probably confirm his part. It is a shame we lost Ricardo in China- but we must move on. Ahmed is pissed off, but remember- you and what you have are worth billions of dollars to the highest bidder, then you can walk away with your cut when we keep providing this security to the Group leader. Ahmed's undisclosed friend told us that the attack in Brussels was merely a start- and that for Alexandrovich's services, the man in charge of the Group will pay very large sums of money to keep himself and his friends provided with more than enough firepower and offensive support- something that I hope you will play a part in. You must enjoy that thing? I will stay in touch- Konstantin.

PS: This city is really rundown."

Natalie looked over at the name again, confirming that as the man that was captured by operators in Dushanbe a day ago, she recalled. That man had to play a big role, but he was out of the picture. And would spill all the beans soon, she thought to herself. Alexandrovich, or Alexis for short, was the dealer- a man that didn't do much of this. Probably being hunted by the Spetsnaz right now, Natalie thought to herself, so that left loose ends. The American and Faruq. She had no idea who either could be- with things like the exoskeleton Nadia had, it could be anything, just random names. She looked through, finding another text, barely able to press it with her finger. It was the message sent before that one- before Konstantin's last.

"To Nadia- Alexis says to sell, sell, sell. This man in charge of the group is very shady- he sounds Arabic, but you need not know these matters. If you are seeing this, you are being driven into Wakhan. You are familiar with what is inside that metal container, but you now are their defender, their Ace against what could happen. This Group leader says that Brussels was executed correctly, and he expects retaliation- though he is too short-sighted on how much it could cost him. Nevertheless, you must protect these leaders- they are important to the cause locally, and will give us time to support this leader's Group to pullout from Afghanistan altogether. I will let you know on Faruq and the other man- we are completely redeploying our operations, and offloading before leaving, they have protected our supply depots in the Tajikistani side of the border well. Apparently, this man says that Fort Sarawak, or the Colonial Fort "Tempest" is where we have the last major supplies for the forces in this region before we completely pull the plug, and houses a lot of Group forces and AAA that would slow down any offensive with more information there apparently- though I do not poke my beak so vehemently into such things. Good luck, Nadia. You shouldn't have a scratch by the time we send you a way out, but make no doubt, you will be outmatched. Konstantin." Natalie read, as she swore.

"Shit...Victor, I just hit golddust. Get Merlin on the comms, now. He needs to know- remember, we keep to silence on this suit's direction and where we're taking the wreckage. Tell them to drop a resupply crate while they're at picking that thing up- my M134 is in the crate, and it'll be better than this flamethrower, for what's next." Natalie said, as she knew that Victor would have to get a vague Fulton system set up on the destroyed armor, Natalie aware that the C17 crew were PMC-loyal, and a bit more directly involved in the company to serve their needs.
"This is Merlin to Brute and Bear, what is your sit rep? We heard you ran into heavy fire?" Natalie heard, as Natalie chuckled, looking around the little armory.
"Yes, we did. Area is clear- but we have intel in the armored suits. It looks like they are moving out of the region along with operators, they've left altogether. and Konstantin is hiring them out like Mercenaries to the highest bidder from a dealer called Alexandrovich, Seems like the Group is paying most, so they get service."
"That we figured out from Konstanin already, his dealer and the fact that they exist- did you just say that they're working as mercenaries?"
"Yes...and they're contracted through the Group, or whatever they call it."
"Shit...well, Alexis is currently surrounded at his villa in Southern Russia currently by a Spetsnaz Alfa Gruppa team, and Konstantin is currently in our custody. So who is commanding them now?"
"They just lost their handlers...but they don't need a middleman when they get paid directly by the Group and are going to play ball with them. It seems like they were all fucking pawns...except those fucking armored bastards and the Group. They're escalating. I'm sending the phone data from a cell phone I recovered, will get to work on scanning these documents shortly. I need whatever special forces team you have on the ground here in half an hour to clean this up."
"Affirmative, Bear- we are relocating a DEVGRU team to your position, they will be 20 mikes to reach your location and will pull you out to your next LZ. Any other intel?"
"Well...they want something bigger. From what I saw, we're dealing with the Ex-Leader of the Amazon Guards of Qaddafi's bodyguards, Nadia Hamid that was among the dead. And there's a few mixed mercenaries, though mainly Taliban. My guess, there are two ways about it- getting rid of caches will be pointless or keeping us in a limited scope would not cut it, so this is out of the question if you think that undermining the Group's activities in area will do anything. We need to assault Fort Tempest before the day fully breaks, and eliminate the last Group forces that we can, then spreading out to get rid of the Taliban in a fully-fledged operation that knows no bounds. Or, we can sit here and let this counter offensive do nothing after it's done, bypass all the important people and then let Brussels happen again. Merlin, just make sure our transport arrives on time, and we can regroup with this team that we're meant to move out with on Tempest- we need to clear it, ASAP. This fight is far from over- and you better have that fire support on hand." Natalie said over the comms, as she sent the file, Merlin coughing as he then sighed.
"Understood. But you better not put our forces at risk. Nice find on the intel- it confirms that Tempest is more important than we first thought, and that Konstantin's a cog in a machine he no longer needs to be a part in. If they really kicked it up a gear, I suggest you get yourselves combat ready, and prepare for redeployment. Out." Natalie heard, as she adjusted herself in the suit, looking over to the rack.
"Copy that." Natalie simply said, looking over to the rack. It was sizable, and the crate had a lot of Chinese markings on it. Something felt uneasy about this- and she knew that what was next was to simply raid Fort Tempest, and eliminate the biggest stronghold of enemy "Group" forces, to perhaps gain an insight on where next. There was no point chasing the dealers and people like Konstantin now. They served their needs. But now, chasing what was left of this relatively unknown and well armed force in Wakhan while they could would serve to their advantage- to find out whatever intel on where the Group was going next, and to stop it before it turned the world on fire. Natalie already finishing up, put her helmet back on, brushing the dust off, as she headed back out with a jog as best as she could, aware that they were well battle worn for the day. She saw Victor finishing up, as the crate fell from the C17, slamming into the floor close to one of the AA compounds. She looked over to him, patting him on the back, as she smiled under her visor.
"Over there. Come on." Natalie said, as she looked around for enemy contacts, searching for anything that still posed a threat.
"If that's one, I really don't want to know what another set could be like. Fuck...that thing was innacurate and put more holes into the air than us, but still...when that shit hit, I couldn't even imagine an IFV lasting a long time against that." Natalie simply said, as she led the way, trying to at least keep some level of confidence and positivism in the air. Against all odds, she had to keep in this- just keep sane and alive somehow. She moved over to the blue smoke of the crate, already getting to work as she opened it out and found her multi-barreled weapon and the huge rucksack of choice for herself.
"Perfect." She said, as she looked back at Victor, herself sitting on the crate as she knew that while she wasn't as powerful as she had been jumping out of the plane, she still had some serious ass to kick.
"More intel gathering...I mean, this is what it comes to. I remember the good days, where they said to us to raid a Somalian town and clean it of everything that holds an AK, or wingsuit onto a plane? Shit has to be this complicated now...I suppose it could be far worse." Natalie said, looking over at Victor, aware that this part of the mountain had been practically eradicated by the two super-heavies, who now sat partly overlooking the base, that was on fire, the flames from the exoskeleton's fuel cell making NVs a non-essential thing to have on at the moment.

(It gets dragged out at times, but basically, the snipers begin in my next post, almost 30km east of where that all happened.)

Team Scimitar (an Over-the-Top Military RP)

(Since Rusalka might take some time, I'm just going to jump to my post.)
(It's a very, very long one- but it has to be to set up Antoine/Howard's HAHO. Won't be like this ridiculously long in the future, I promise, since I will cut down shtuff. You can post in the second/third bit, the third being a little less applicable to all apart from Howard/Antoine.)

Imran carried on typing, as Howard left the room, looking over at him.
"Sure- I've got mine close to hand. I need to fix up the exoskeleton later, just brush it up a little. The engineers say it's as good as it gets, but I just want a little more spring in my step, you know. They say they're going to be working on something for you soon, Howard- they say they're getting to work on that mobility issue. Apparently something a little smaller scale than what I have, but it'll give you a better ability to move, to say the least." Imran said, as Howard then left the room, Imran finishing up a paragraph as he looked back at the team.
"Hmm...and done. For today, at least." Imran said, shutting his laptop with his work saved, as he checked the Chiappa Rhino on his desk, the six-round quickloader sitting right by it. He leaned back, as he wiped the barrel of the weapon clean, it shiny in it's gunsmithed grey. He pushed the magazine in, spinning the magazine, as he smirked. This thing was a good friend, a revolver for the future, in the way it negated recoil and handled in his hands. He stood up, tucking it into a little holder on his hip, as he looked to the rest.
"Svetlana, you all good with your weapons and all?" He asked, looking over at the Russian, the large female laughing.

Meanwhile, Svetlana was leaning back, and occasionally, swiping in a glance at Antoine from time to time as he then sat up.
"Yes, all is well. Technicians just put in a new layer of inner layer stuff, since a woman such as me needs perhaps more comfort than most. Especially in something that heavy, yes- it will not get lighter- but I have my ways to keep moving." Svetlana simply said, as she looked down, quickly adjusting her shirt as she then looked over in general towards Antoine again.
"Perhaps it is strange to fly. But it is flight, I suppose if you know what you are doing. Like an Eagle, soaring above your target and then you come in and steal your prey. Beautiful." Natalie said to her, as she leaned back, aware that Bjorn was close on the sofa. He seemed like a nice man, a good match if perhaps she was still interested in men, but she didn't click with him in some ways. Besides, she wasn't a Von Clausewitz person- she much prefered the study of men like Rommel and Ludendorff, as well as some works of Generals in the Russian Empire, continuing military strategy and tactics. Though she prefered the practical application of warfare- and knew that that whilst she was good when commanding, she was better when armored up.
"We really need to go on an operation soon...I mean, let me linger too long, I actually will hang that jumpmaster with that cord. I mean, I nearly died and he still gets a paycheck? Typical." Natalie said, as she laughed a little, the time beginning to pass now as Imran stood up, looking back at the rest.
"Fuck it, I'm going to shoot off some rounds and deal with my kit." Imran simply said, as he walked out the room, a little bit swiftly as he himself headed to his own area to get to work on his stuff. He had his headset around his ear and a neck mic, the typical way of communicating when needed.

---

Thirty minutes later, and Imran was still just checking his Mk48. Keep it mean, keep it clean, he said to himself, as she then heard a buzz over his ear.
"Raven, you copy? It's Spectre."
"I read you, Spectre. Situation?" Imran said, aware of the voice on the other end. It was the man that doled out what they did- and while again, Imran had no clue if he was UN, NATO or anything like that, he existed for a good purpose. And Imran had seen it too many times, when he knew that the enemy forces were more sometimes than a few AKs and PKMs. They were fully-developed combat forces with equivalent if not better kit than most SF. And could have exoskeletons or small mechanized suits even one time, a few infantry with thruster packs. Seriously, Imran thought to himself- that day being a hard fight as they had to simply destroy them than salvage the kit. None the less, he finished up, as Spectre began.
"Listen...we've got a situation, for your team. It's in rural Brazil, in the Amazon Rainforest- there's a covert biochemical plant that's been breached by Artemis Group. We're talking a Brazilian Area 51 in relation to what sort of shit they harvest there- toxins beyond recognition that trust me, are very bad shit. SF are being deployed, but they'll just stir shit- and I can count on your approach getting the job done. You know the group, right?"
"In a bad way, yes."
"Good. Then you've got ten minutes to mobilize the team, and get moving. I'll bring you up a tac map when you get closer, your call what vehicles you use. Keep in mind, this is the middle of Remoter Amazonian Rainforest- you'll need to be rapid over any terrain. The group is roughly a company-sized group, and the compound is a facility right in the rain-forest, no easy way out or airstrips."
"I got an idea then. How long till they escape?"
"Well, we have no idea- but air space is cut off to them. We assume they'll try and wriggle out, but you have 18 hours to do what you do. Further briefing to follow- get moving, Raven."
"Understood." Imran cut the connection, as he swore to himself, standing up from his previous kneeling position, as he changed frequencies on the throat mic.

"All Scimitar operators, get your shit together, we mobilize in ten. Brief to follow shortly- prepare for Jungle Warfare. Howard, Antoine, you'll be forward units, so get ready for that- everyone else, regular gear. We're dealing with Artemis here- so be on your fucking toes. Imran out." He simply said, as he then looked to his exoskeleton, aware that it was time. In a matter of minutes, he changed into his UCP/MTP camouflage fatigues, taking the Tactical Exoskeleton to bear along with all the kit. He kept the helmet by the side, as he checked the motors, and all the kit that was already attached. He moved out of the door, feeling the reinforcement in his movement hit already. He moved down the corridor, as he looked to Svetlana, who was moving down towards her armory.
"Thank fuck for that!" She simply said, as they both went in opposite directions, Svetlana making pace to her armory. She ran into the place, quickly taking her clothes off in the flick of a finger. She looked at her armor, and smirked, as she got to work. Lots of grunting, moaning and yelling later, strap pulling and velcro as well as securing meant that within five minutes, she had gone from nothing to a walking tank. She detached the helmet, putting it over her neckbrace, which came up to her lower jaw. Taking her Boonie Hat, she put it on her head, the female Spetsnaz operator about a million times scarier as she then put a pair of wrapround sunglasses over her eyes, before then loading her GMG with a 40mm belt from her rucksack, before jogging out of the room, the heavy looking as if she was coming to tear a new asshole. She looked just about over her neckbrace at the others, as she followed Imran, heading up and out of the complex. Her boobs rubbed against the suit's inside, and she realized she was sweating like mad, so she looked down into her neckbrace, whispering "Cooling On", as she then felt the rush of fans and liquid piping burst to life and almost freeze her body. Beautiful, she thought to herself, as she saw Imran outside, with his Mk48 to hand and looking around, on the icy runway. His MBT LAW and M32 MGL were also on his back, and his Rhino was at his hip, the exoskeleton and the good level of protection it provided not instantly visible- though the fact that his arms had a sort of reinforcement to them indicated that Imran had a little more force than most. He looked over, as the rest began arriving, all kitted up in their required combat equipment for this fight.
"The plan is simple lads- the C17 is firing up already, we take the two DPV vehicles. You go in one with me, Svetlana, and then Bjorn uses his M134 to fire from the back of one with Yumiko taking the wheel of that one. Drive those bastards into the rear bay, then parachute in and close on the compound with a rapid assault- though Howard and Antoine will have been on the ground already. I'll get more specifics, but we've got a two hours to spare when we get there, hours of nighttime that you can use Antoine to infiltrate and disable any defenses, while Howard eliminates patrols and guardposts in support of that. So that when we arrive, we can drive through the doors and carry on blazing hell." Imran said, looking at the group, as he cocked his Mk48, then firing a round in the air.
"We good?" Imran said, looking over before smirking.
"Goody gumdrops. Let's shift- Howard, Antoine, get set for a HAHO jump- High Altitude High Opening, so that perhaps you stay off their sights for a while. Oxygen masks and all that." He added, aware that maybe he was a bit serious- but at least it meant that things weren't too much of a clusterfuck. This was direct action, hard-hitting operations that he knew only a team like them could perform. He started moving to the vehicle hangar, already moving a little quicker than some in the team due to his exoskeleton giving his legs a lot more force, as he quickly found the set that they had, painted black. Imran smirked, as he jumped into the front of one, Svetlana at the back of the pack that were moving across to the vehicle store. Imran fired up the upgraded 4.0 litre V8 engine, these things a step above average. The tyres were meaner, the suspension stiffer and able to take a beating as well as the whole thing being adapted to carry a Heavy, such as Svetlana- with the rear seat where a gunner on a .50 cal being enlarged for that purpose with a specific way. It meant that Svetlana was able to bundle herself in, bringing her HK GMG to rise on a bullbar of the DPV, the barrel right above Imran's Turban, as he revved hard. He skidded out on the concrete store room, skidding around the corner as he saw the C17's back door open up, changing over on the comms.
"All on the plane, they'll rig the chutes onto the vehicles once we're on- Howard, Antoine, you all ready inside?" Imran said, the wheelspinning hard as he span through towards the back of the C17, flooring it as the crewmembers at the back even got out the way. He hit almost 60 before he hit the rear ramp, and despite braking before, hit the ramp with a significant pace, almost doing a mini-jump within the bay as it screeched to a halt, the brakes red-hot. He reversed a little. as the DPV in position, Svetlana adjusting her Boonie hat, as she bulged her front out a little for comfort in the suit, before reclining back into her rucksack against the seat. Imran turned to see her sheer size just sitting behind him, legs wide but armored to the hilt. Imran didn't know if driving this thing out of the plane without a chute would kill her in that thing, but all he knew was, it would take a lot of fire to kill that Russian and the Swede in his own suit. The jumpmasters in the C17 rigged up the DPVs, as the plane began to pull away, already going. They were mobilizing incredibly quickly, as the plane began to pick speed up, rolling over the concrete runway as it began to pull up, and they were up in the air, and in the dark.
"Best get comfortable..." Svetlana said, chuckling a little as she checked the GMG once more, the fact that her hair could be seen from the back of her boonie hat and her sunglasses didn't protect her, but sure as hell emphasized that there was a woman in that thing that was a badass.

---

0100 Hours
Somewhere above the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil

The rear door opened, the howling wind picking up, as Imran looked over, speaking on the radio now with his helmet on and his Turban compacted down, to accommodate for that- his turban flattened, to say the least in a better method.
"Okay, situation is as follows! We have a company-sized force that occupies the Rio Galvas research facility, Artemis forces armed with AK12, AN94 and various other weapons, we've also confirmed that they have some sort of exoskeleton on site, so watch your asses! It's a significant compound, plenty of stealth routes when you two hit the ground, Antoine and Howard- use the jungle and then the compound to sneak in close and do what you have to do. We need to take out their main generator in their base, so Antoine, prioritize that as well as sneaking like you do. Howard, eliminate any patrols that could affect us en route to the LZ, and guard-towers- kill them off and it should make it a lot easier. The plant is partly underground too, where the worst toxins are- they're trying to break past the secure doors that keep them from us and then get out of here with it. Let's make sure it doesn't happen." Imran said over the comms, being his typical authoritative self. He had to be- otherwise like he thought to himself earlier, there was no realistic chance they'd stand up to this force.
"Antoine, Howard, wait for greenlight then pull your chutes, stick close and drift towards the GPS on your HUD! We will wait for when you want us to come- but remember, don't get greedy down there! Good luck!" Imran said, as he sat up, looking at Svetlana's face.
"Pfft. Come on already, I want to just drop in and kill them all myself while we chute in with the vehicle. I like that idea more." She said, as she sat back, a sort of look on her face.
"You can go ahead if you like, but I quite like being able to live- you know, doing this shit for another day. Relax, we'll get our cut of action." Imran said, the Mk48 in the lugwell to his side, as he knew that it would still be a while. However, the light turned green, and Howard and Antoine were out of there, headed for some stealthy recon and infiltration.

Team Scimitar (an Over-the-Top Military RP)

That's fine man- thanks for the heads up.

Task Force Hephaestus

(Queen just let me know that she won't be able to post for a while. So I'm going to keep things moving, to Faronaki. Quite a big post on my end- it should bring about some sort of wrap up. Also, Advanced, you still control Linn by the way- you can RP him how you like.)

Huscarl saw the boat come closer, already swimming as hard as his body could. He panted, as he saw the boat pull in, and Hotwheels, on the side, reach an arm out for him. He grabbed on, quickly clambering up, as he turned and gave Mischief a hand into the RIB, three-quarters of the way through before Huscarl had turned to Athena
"Let's get fucking moving, eh." Huscarl said, as he dragged Mischief in, Huscarl taking his helmet off and putting it by the front of the boat as they turned around, the submarine now fully in Huscarl's view as he took the Glasses off.
"Shit in hell, we really did some damage. Look at that thing. They're going to be pissed." Huscarl said, chuckling a little, as his shaved head could be seen, underneath his helmet, as they headed south, but would soon turn West, towards Faronaki- the peninsula where the FIA Guerillas were.

After about ten minutes of being thrown about on the waves, Huscarl had his helmet and glasses back on, the latter cleaned and the former at least wiped out of water in the head, as he looked to the team.
"Athena, take us in here- right at that jetty." Huscarl said, pointing to the tiny wooden structure and the little cabin that sat on the peninsula. The boat hummed quietly, as they came in, Huscarl already up on his feet as they slowly eased onto the sand, Huscarl leaping over to the wooden jetty as the boat stopped. He gave the hand signal to "Follow Me", as he saw Antos and Mihail come into view, sitting down. Huscarl lowered his weapon, as Antos got up.
"Made it safely? I saw those explosions from the fucking peninsula!" Antos said, as Huscarl laughed.
"It's good to see you again, Antos. Who's this?" Arran said, as he walked off the jetty, close to where the two Guerillas had a small fire going.
"This is Mihail, a friend of mine. Anyway, you came to show us what you know- from what I heard, this guy was big." Antos simply said, as Arran nodded.
"Yes. I'll need your laptop and a secure encryption. Athena, pass me the documents." He said, looking at the paper that Athena gave him. Two files, and they both looked sizable.
"In here. We are safe from AAF patrols, they should not come." Antos said, as Huscarl looked over to the rest of the team, following behind.
"Lads, mind if you stay out of this? Less bodies in one room, the better- I'll get a good read on as well." Huscarl said, aware that while they would probably want to know, it was probably better. He'd tell them what they'd need to know- he wasn't that massive a prick, but he knew what to tell them when he knew what was key from this. Not every square inch of detail, but the basics, more than a regular SF team would need to know would be what he wouldn't mind them coming into contact with.

Following Antos and Mihail, he followed him inside the cabin, shutting the door behind, as he opened up the files as he casually stole a seat. He opened the first, and quickly saw papers in Farsi. He then swore, as he got the other. It was different, but a loud swear could be heard, as Antos was the first to make something legible. Antos could read some Farsi- he had received it as a part of his training, and he knew enough to just about get by in reading documents. Like these.
"Fucking hell, this is why they are here! Captain, you cannot go back to Stratis, surely!" Antos said, looking Huscarl straight in the eyes.
"That isn't how it works, Antos! Look...the first is Stratis-related. We knew the AAF were at odds for a long while, this is direct evidence for CSAT telling the AAF to "Evict" the NATO forces on Stratis. And you know what they did to this island. Half the people on it are evacuees or dead, Antos- they'll fucking murder every NATO soldier if they get the chance...Patterson, McKinnon, everyone. Bastards. They're here to set up a set of FOBs against you on Altis, and enforce COIN tactics. I've seen it in practice- they'll uproot whatever they can, your cell will be gone by the end of the fortnight, Antos!" Arran said angrily, as he looked over.
"What about this one? I do not understand it." Antos said, as Arran looked at him again.
"Fuck...fuck, fuck....that's Operation Hades. Fuck, that's impossible, that can't be real." Arran simply said, as Antos's face turned to confusion.
"What?"
"An experimental tectonic weapon, undertaken by CSAT as an alternative to nuclear warheads or EMP attacks. It's as black ops as black ops get....it could literally cause Richter magnitude 8 earthquakes in any fault line on this planet. I know it's name and what they apparently have on it...they're bringing it here. Listen to me Antos, this is beyond your concern. This is a matter of Worldwide security- we're talking weapons that in the wrong circumstances, could destroy entire cities without hardly a suspicion. I studied Geology- and I can tell you that an earthquake of that size, on a city such as San Francisco or even Athens or Rome could turn it to rubble in the right circumstances"
"And what does it say here?"
"They have it on Altis, at a research station...they're performing tests, in the Mediterranean and specifically, from this island. The Aegean is notorious for low-level tectonic activity, compared to higher magnitudes elsewhere. The ground practically shakes every fucking month at a Richter 2. The research station isn't specified, but it says that a CSAT cargo plane brought it in yesterday and it's already gone to Fort "Omega", no idea where."
"So? We can raid it if we find it?"
"So you go and kick the fucking doors in, let's say. You won't last half a day at that rate. Antos, just don't do anything fucking stupid. Tell that dumb leader of yours if he plans anything big on any big installations, not a chance. This is a matter you leave to us, Seagull- you will be briefed, but trust me, this isn't your territory. Get this scanned, and I'll get a comm link through your machine to my superiors. Just get to it, Antos." Arran said, walking around the room, thinking to himself as he knew that shit couldn't be worse.
"That leaves Stratis then." Antos simply said, as he put it through the scanner, quickly establishing the link as he got to working with the documents as he knew that they had to be swift about this.
"Yes. Well, I don't give a fuck for the fact that we lose a handful of platoons and assets on Stratis, an incident and then it all goes back to us focusing on how to restructure the fiscal plan for the next fucking year without being bankrupt. The Brass won't. Chances are, AAF forces are bolstering at Stratis Air Base and Fort Fulton now, and they'll be eliminating people like McKinnon first. We won't have time- they begin in an hour, and by then, half the island will be under AAF control.....which means that if we have any chance, we need to go now- I can't walk away, especially what with Mike-26 as an issue we need to sort out, and I feel sorry for Patterson. I need your group's help, Antos, if this will work."
"What do you need?"
"I need a couple of squads of FIA to divert from Cell South-East to Stratis, specifically, to the village of Girna. It might be hard to organize, but if you want to fight, we're giving you one. Right now, you're going to get the same orders as me from Langley- eliminate Air Station Mike-26. They might be defending it when we arrive, it could be leveled when we arrive. We have two jobs to deal with- the servers and the radar installation there. There's a encryption on the servers that they hold, but it'll only last a few hours before CSAT codebreakers crack it when they bring them in, since the servers are pretty much disconnected most of the time from the rest of the world and hard to break. The Air Station is a numbers and data station as well- and there's enough intel to give away huge pieces of NATO radio traffic right into CSAT or AAF hands, of maneuvers down in the Med- everything from pilots to infantry in Italy and Greece. The radar station is also a big element so control of that means control over air traffic in this part of the Aegean too. Something we had for a while, and are about to lose. AAF are going to want it if they want to run the runway efficiently, so disabling the radar station puts them in the dark." Arran said, looking to Antos, as he nodded.
"I'll see what I can do. But no promises for tonight- Aramis is up his ass again."

"Well, you can't just come alone. But it's going to be a long fight, and I can't see the situation being good. Anyone at Stratis AFB is as good as dead, which means 1 Platoon is off the list, along with every aerial asset on the island that is NATO-friendly. 2 Platoon...fuck, Patterson even, might make it out of Rogain and regroup at Tempest. That's their order- defend Tempest all costs, and to scorch earth at Rogain. 3 Platoon at Camp Maxwell and Air Station Mike-26 is going to get decimated, and 4 Platoon, a weakened group down at LZ Connor has an IFV and a couple of engineers. Against roughly a company or two of correctly placed AAF, supported by their MRAPs, CAS support and total and unopposed control of Stratis AFB means that we are as good as dead. I'll have to take command- apart from Colonel McKinnon, Major Strickland at Fulton and a few Lieutenants throughout the Platoons, it leaves me as head. We have to assume that, of course."
"Yes. So you are going to destroy Mike-26, then what? Fight back against a Company's worth of men without any long-range support? You know NATO will have no idea what will happen, the AAF will cut communication after NATO say that it's Green on Blue."
"Of course not. I'll figure that out, Antos. But right now...I think this is our priority. We need to deal with Stratis first, and then we'll be coming back to deal with Operation Hades. It's gone through- we need to haul ass. Keep your heads low- if Aramis doesn't listen, just get as far from that side of Altis as you can. We'll get this sorted, and though I know shit's fucked for NATO on Stratis, I'll have to give them leadership. Some sort of initiative to survive, or else they'll surrender- no matter what the cost of how fucked it all gets." Arran said, to Huscarl, as he tucked up the documents, looking to Antos again.

"Burn these, shred these. Get rid of them- they're on Langley's system now. They know what we know, and you will soon get a communication telling you what to do beyond what we just discussed. Good luck, matey boy." Huscarl said, tapping him on the shoulder before shaking his hand, Antos a little weirded out at the CTRG soldier left the building, and went back to the other forces of his team. He had things to say, and when he looked at them, he told them what they needed to know. They were back to Stratis, back to Tempest to reinforce any NATO forces left, and eliminate Air Station Mike-26- as well as the information vaguely on Operation Hades, something which he knew that his team would be assigned to deal with when he dealt with this situation on Stratis- but didn't specify beyond what he had to tell them. And lastly, as he finished, he simply told them this:
"Between all of us, Mike-26 is to whatever NATO survivors the only real long-range comms and salvation, so that's the only reason they'll follow us to assault it. They have no idea that we need to get rid of it and that what they think they'll get out of it doesn't really exist- keep that illusion up to them, or you'll find yourself very quickly running from a typhoon of shit. Also, we might need to dive to the Apex Marshall off the coastline of Tempest to rearm at the cache we have there- so I'm going to need a pair of divers to get nominated for that. Let's get in the boat lads, and off we fuck to a rathole." Arran said, looking to the others, as he pointed to the boat, getting in at the driver's seat as he fired the engines up, the noise of a A-143 Buzzard flying over as they swept the area, but couldn't see the RIB, as Arran backed up the engine, aware he was going to get asked a lot of questions as they left the peninsula, and headed out.

(DunDunDun! We've almost drawn to the end of the Prologue- Husky's Fishhook is about to begin, so you can wrap up in this part. Though Advanced, we are carrying on Antos/Mihail alongside Linn.)

King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot

Not really a Skyrim fan to be honest. Though are you up for a 1x1 of sorts with me? I'll PM about it, if you are.