Preparing for Battle

Posted on Sat Jan 12th, 2019 @ 10:24pm by Lieutenant Commander Shaille Levine & Staff Sergeant Andromeda Dreik & Major Hailey Weston & Captain Charlotte Averis

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/5

Sabrina sat on the floor in her office, cross legged, an array of PADD's and data devices surrounding her, as she started intently at the device in her hand, going over the data again and again, trying to determine what, if anything, they had missed, looking for any flaw in the plan as it stood.

It was going to be rather straight forward, or at least so it seemed in text. The cloaking technology had been fitted to their shuttle and modified to synchronise the modulation of the transporters with the shield emitters so they could transport in and out without having to uncloak. She was confident in this technology, but what happened once they got inside the Shalti hive was what bothered her most. They had a limited amount of time to avoid detection and upload the virus.

The sound of the foot falls on the carpeted deck alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone. "You know, they invented desks for a reason?"

Looking up, Sabrina managed a vague smile as she looked up at the younger, male marine who had just entered. "The floor really is much more comfortable, besides, it gives me more space to spread out," she replied, waving her hand vaguely over the devices surrounding her. "Any word yet?"

Brayden shook his head. "Nothing yet. How long do we wait?"

"We don't," Sabrina replied quietly. "We can't afford to. Our window is already tight, we leave as scheduled. Make sure the shuttle is prepped to leave and that everything we need is onboard, then assemble the team for departure. I'll meet you in the shuttle bay in an hour."

With a nod, Brayden took two steps back toward the door. "You know even with help this was going to be a tough gig, with out it..."

"I know," Sabrina replied sternly, not even letting him finish the thought. "But we do what we need to do. Regardless." She didn't look up from the device, she couldn't. At this stage she knew there was no way she could hide the truth that would be written clearly on her face. As the doors closed behind him, she exhaled slowly, looking up and leaning back against the bulkhead behind her. They were about to attempt the impossible, and chances are, with the team as small as it was, they would likely die in the process, but what alternative was there?

=/\= Shuttle Bay =/\=

Hailey had considered things and after an hour had decided on the team she was going to bring with her. Lieutenant O'Shea was going to stay on the Wellington along with just one of her marines, Corporal Callen, because the sniper was one of the lowest qualified for the close-in combat this mission seemed to be about to require. So in the bay with her, fully kitted out and ready to go were herself, Andi, Ami, Nyx, Chavez, Rozhev, Seltegaard, Carmichael and Peterson, so all the members of her downsized unit were accounted for. She noted Ami and Nyx conversing in hushed tones about something several feet away and most of the others just waiting and gave a slight smile to Andi next to her, "This should be interesting, wish I could tell you more, but..." She shrugged, "The Colonel has her reasons."

Andi cast a glance at Hailey, trying to discern the other woman's feelings on this whole mission. While she didn't know what they were doing or where they were going it was obviously enough to set Hailey on edge at least a little.
She finished braiding her hair and secured it in an elastic before pulling her hat onto her head. "It is what it is," she said with an easy grin before her expression sobered for a minute. "Hails, you wouldn't take us in if you didn't think it was necessary, and the Captain would never have approved you taking us in if there was no hope of surviving. It'll be fine. I have no doubt."

Walking side by side with Brayden, Sabrina entered the shuttle bay and looked around, surprised to see Hailey and her assembly of Marines there in front of her. "I wasn't sure you would come," she said simply, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. "We have the shuttle prepped and ready. Brayden, fire her up and let Charlie know we're heading out." Without another word, she stepped into the shuttle, moving through to the back. It was as she sat down she realised that she was far more abrupt than she had intended and sighed softly.

Watching as Sabrina walked into the shuttle, Jackson cast an easy grin at Hailey and Andi. "Well, that went better than expected, she didn't gouge out eyes or cut off heads, I think we're off to a great start!" he quipped with a wink at Andi.

Biting back an urge to laugh, Andi tried to keep a straight face as she motioned for Hailey to follow them into the shuttle.

Hailey shook her head slightly, glancing over her shoulder at the bay doors behind them before following them up, giving a quick whistle and circle in the air for her own troops. Despite what Andi thought, what Sabrina may have thought, she hadn't been quite honest with Captain Bartlett. She herself had seen the merit of the mission, the dire need of the mission for the folks from the other side, but she also knew she'd been right. The Captain wouldn't have agreed to let her do it: This was far too risky. The odds were against mission success and survival was probably going to be problematical, BUT...

"Get the kids sorted out." She said quietly to Ami as the Trill passed her, "Set it up for two squads, I'll take Andi, Valentine and Carmichael, you take Seltegaard, Chavez, Peterson and Rozhev."

The Gunny gave her a raised eyebrow, then nodded slightly. She already knew what was going on, Hailey hadn't told her, but she knew the hunch of the shoulder, the way she was keeping everything as generic as possible. A low-risk expedition? Not. A. Chance. "Right." Was her only response as she gestured to Hailey's rifle and took it from the Major, expert eyes noting a couple addons that Hailey only used in certain situations.

Hailey patted her on the shoulder then followed Sabrina up the ramp and as she wound her way towards the Colonel saw the ramp come up behind the mishmash unit and even before she made her way up felt the gentle lift of the shuttle. She waved a brief salute as she entered Sabrina's presence, "It's good to be here, ma'am. I know it's too late to ask this, but do we have an estimated mission duration? I waffled with the Skipper on how long we'd be gone, reminded her that sometimes we don't know how long this sort of thing will take."

Sabrina sighed again. "I'm sorry Hailey, honestly, I'm not deliberately trying to be obtuse," she offered with a vague attempt at something that might possibly resemble a smile. "I think we're looking at three days, at least, that's my estimate." She kept her voice low as she spoke. "The nearest Shalti hive is almost a solid day from here. By the time we get there we should have a few good hours of recon before we attempt infiltration. Any more than 24 hours on the hive and we're as good as dead anyway." She finished grimly.

"Is what it is." Hailey said quietly, "My people can handle it. They don't know anything beyond that we're going out on a recon anyways, I figured we'd have a full mission brief on route. Captain Bartlett.. Doesn't know the real mission. She thinks this is just that, a recon of the target, not an actual assault mission or else she would never have given the green light."

Sabrina's eyes widened and it was clear she was vulnerable. "We need to make this work," she said quietly. "No matter what, we need to make this work. The entire fate of my reality may depend on it." She closed her eyes and rubbed them quickly. "Sorry, quips of dire straights are not normally my thing, I try not to live in a soap opera, but I just know I need to pull this off. If I don't...." her voice trailed off, the rest of her words remaining unspoken.

"If you don't, the shitstorm for you all gets worse." Hailey nodded, "That's why I'm here with my people. We all know what the risks are, it's what we signed up knowing, well, except for Nyxie out there, but if I tried to leave her behind on this thing and it's as exciting as you think it will be, she'd either murder me or just sulk forever!"

Sabrina lost her serious demeanor and laughed openly at the thought of the marine sulking like a petulant toddler. "So, I guess I should go over this with you first," she said quietly. "If you think anything needs more explanation, tell me and I'll see what I can round out."

"Right." Hailey agreed, stance exuding confidence as she nodded, "I don't suppose we have an idea of the hive layout?"

"Not as such... we have a vague idea but nothing set in stone. It was only recently that we acquired the cloaking technology that would let us survive within the hive for more than fifteen minutes without being detected and killed. Now, pending disaster, we have maybe 8 hours." Sabrina replied as calmly as she could manage.

"That'll frost Nyx's privvies..." Hailey shook her head, "No chance of standard assault tactics working? Maybe a diversionary assault element to clear the path for the primary team?"

Sabrina shook her head. "We don't want them to have their guard up, the best chance we have of this succeeding is if they don't even know that we're there. The shuttle has been fitted with a cloaking device and an anti-matter dispersion device, so in theory we should be able to get to the hive without being detected, which means we just have to get into the hive, through the hive mind, upload the virus and get out again without being detected. Piece of cake." Sabrina paused and looked across at Hailey. "How good are y'all at self propelled short range space travel in an EV suit?"

"Some of us are more experienced than others." Hailey shrugged, "Nyx might have a slight problem with it, but that's just due to a lack of experience. She picks things up quick, especially when there's a tactical or strategic advantage to it. Overall a six out of ten as a unit."

"We have these modified EV suits that Setine has jury rigged up for us. In theory they should work to provide a basic biological dampening field that will shield us from their sensors, just so long as we aren't physically seen we should be fine. I think the best way to get into the hive without drawing attention to ourselves is to propel ourselves through a small amount of space and go in through one of the exterior vents."

"That could definitely work." Hailey agreed, "But you're right, as long as the primary strike team isn't seen physically they should be fine, but what about possible patrols? If they have those going around or even just some sort of work crew, we'll eventually run into them. You know what you're looking for, right? I can use my team as a distraction to draw those internal patrols away from the actual target, cause a bunch of mayhem, which we can do quite readily."

"We'll keep that as a last resort. This is going to be our third journey into the hive. I don't know what their eyesight is like, but so far we've remained basically undetected. So long as we don't behave like a threat or start creating a scene we should be fine. Slow, steady and silent," Sabrina replied quietly.

"At least don't make a scene until they notice us." Hailey amended, "If there's some sort of brain monitoring everything, it will eventually realize something's happening."

"Yup, that is unfortunately inevitable, I'm just hoping we can delay it long enough that it's on the tail end of our adventure. I guess this is as good a time as any to brief the rest of the group. Give everyone some time to rest and prepare before we get there." Sabrina looked back down at the PADD in her hand before glancing back across at the other Marine. "Major, thank you," genuine gratitude resounded in her voice as she spoke.


=/\=

Sabrina glanced around the small gathering of marines, taking in expressions, changes in body language, anything and everything. She had just laid the entire situation out to them, and now she was simply waiting for the questions.

Leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees, Andi rubbed her temples slightly, silently cursing Hailey for not being more forthcoming with information, but simultaneously understanding why nothing could be said. A quick glance at Hailey showed the same stoic expression that she had kept for the entire conversation so far. She glanced across at Ami and Nyx, gauging their expressions. After a long moment of silence, she looked across at Hailey and Sabrina. "Seriously? EV suits? That's the best you could get us? They are SO unflattering to the figure!" She said, breaking the silence before she leaned back in her seat, winking in the direction of Nyx before turning her attention back to her CO again.

"I don't know." Nyx said softly, not normal for her. She would be taking her swords, there was NO question about it in the slightest, strapped to the outside of the EV suit if needed, "My Lady, this could be a good amount of fun, but I'm not a fan of sneaking around as if we're afraid to fight."

"It isn't that, Nyx." Ami glanced over at Hailey and Sabrina, the least surprised about the change of 'official' plan, then looked at Sabrina, "Colonel, What are the actual odds for success? I know Nyx here doesn't care either way about the odds," She shrugged, "But I for one do. It wouldn't have stopped me from going along, most likely, but now that we're already on the way? Rikko and Ben aren't used to the long odds of things yet and they deserve to know just how long the odds are."

Sabrina looked around the small gathering. "Look, the odds are in our favor. If we can keep level heads and not go in guns blazing, which, believe me, I know is hard for Marines," she chuckled slightly. "We can do this, and we can even come out alive. The Shalti have very poor vision and their hives are not exactly well lit. As soon as we're inside we can ditch the EV suits and stay in camo's. So long as we stick to the sidelines, don't engage and don't appear threatening we will not be detected as a threat. Once the virus is uploaded our presence will be known. At that point we're going to need the diversions, the booms, the bangs, and most importantly someone to find the quickest way out. The hives are slightly different to most of their ships, they're all biological but the hives have more weaknesses around the exterior. One of those weaknesses is our best bet for an immediate escape."

"I hope your shuttle pilot is good then." Ami nodded grudgingly.

"They are." Hailey glanced at Sabrina, "Andi, while we're on the way, I want you to set up some special demo we can toss and blow to bring down a corridor if needed, maybe if you have an idea for a scatterable micro-mine? Use Chavez and whoever else you may need to fabricate them."

Sabrina opted to not acknowledge Ami's question regarding the pilot. In truth, she wasn't sure herself. Brayden was new at best, and he hadn't had a great deal of high pressure experience, but given their lack of options there was no one better qualified.

Andi nodded at Hailey and stood up. "Come on Chavez, lets go have some fun my boy," she said suggestively, motioning for him to follow as she headed away from the main area.

Watching as Andi and Chavez left, Sabrina cast a glance around the rest of the gathering. "I suggest you all eat and get some rest. You're going to need it."


=/\=


Sabrina Hunter
Filler Inner of Places
USS Icarus

Major Hailey Weston
Marine CO
USS Wellington

Staff Sergeant Andromeda Dreik
Marine
USS Wellington

Gunnery Sergeant Ami Rori
Marine
USS Wellington

Staff Sergeant Nyx'e'Trixe Valentine
Marine
USS Wellington