Boarding Action

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Current UNSC Military Strength

Vessel(s):
 3x Paris Class Frigates

Boarding Party:
 1x platoon of Marines

Current Insurrectionist Strength

Vessel(s): 
 1x Tarrik-Class II Freighter 

Personal:
 Skeleton Crew of 10 Men
        
Current Kig-Yar Pirate Strength

Vessel(s):
 1x Kig-Yar Supply Runner

Personal:
 Full Crew

UNSC Objectives:
Enact the Cole Protocol on the Freighter (Primary)
Secure the Cargo that they are delivering (Secondary)
Attempt to Capture an Insurrectionist for Interrogation (Optional Secondary)


Insurrectionist Objectives:
Hold out until the Pirates Arrive (Primary)
Protect the Bridge (Secondary)
Repel the UNSC Boarders (Secondary)


Pirate Objectives:
Obtain the Shipment (Primary)
Engage UNSC Forces (Optional Secondary)
Eliminate Insurrectionist Crew (Optional Secondary)

What to expect:

Close Quarters: Combat is taking place inside a ship, so expect close range engagements and possibly hand to hand combat. (Ranges vary between 3 to 15 meters)

United Nations Space Command: 

Expect Limitations of use of explosives, due to the dangers of hull breaches. Also expect traps, and other surprises from Insurrectionist forces. Non Lethal takedowns if possible, though authorization of lethal force has been given. UNSC Boarding Party will start having already boarded the hanger.

Insurrectionists: 
Expect to be on the defensive for the most part, you will be fighting a better armed enemy that is trained to fight an even deadlier enemy. Expect attempts at Non Lethal takedowns but don't be surprised if they kill a fellow insurrectionist. The only limitation on your explosives is suicide vests. Insurrectionists will start in various locations in the ship, away from the Hanger though.

Kig-Yar Pirates: 
Expect Hostility from UNSC forces, and possibly a ship engagement with UNSC forces. You'll be arriving in an already developing situation and so your actions will determine how the events will unfold even more. Pirates will be starting in Slip space.

The RP is starting after the Disabling of the Freighter's Engines and the landing of the boarding party.


Participating PC Characters:
UNSC:
Frigate CO(s):
Lieutenant-Commander Jonathan Shepard (John)
Marines:
Second Lieutenant Charles Callaghan (John)
Sergeant Greene (Vertickly)
Sergeant Fields  (Me)
Sergeant Garret Gizinki (BasedGoody)
Corporal Fredick Mitchell (SPARTAN-A120)
Lance Corporal Cho Smith (theorigins)

Insurrectionist (Please Post the Profile of your Innies with your first post)
Samuel Murray 
RiddL

Kig-Yar Pirates:
Pirate Captain:
Nek Dal (Faclan)
Pirate Crew Members:
Kex (BetaWülf)

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Sergeant Maximilian Drake Fields

Boarding Team, First Squad

Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter

Securing a Perimeter

The light inside the blood tray was a deathly red, their only indicator on when it was safe to deploy. The briefing was simple, board the Insurrectionist ship ,enforce the Cole protocol, 'attempt' to capture the crew, and deal with the cargo on board. Course the worst part was actually getting aboard the ship, since the hanger was usually the deadliest place in the entire ship. His eyes looked around the blood tray, taking in the other faces that were inside. He wondered how many he would lose in the ship, but quickly shook that thought away. He had lost almost all of his squad on Protector in that dam water plant. It didn't matter though, he was somewhere else now, he needed to get his head straight. 

He looked down at the MA5c Carbine in his lap, safety on and magazine loaded, checking over it again for the third time this flight. He didn't have a good history with drop-ships, especially in the past few deployments. Two thumps sounded from the cockpit door though, causing the crew chief to stand up. "Alright marines, we're entering the hanger in one mike. Good luck out there." 

His body instinctively bolted up, his mind going into an automated sequence. "Weapons Hot marines! Mitchell, Smith, secure a perimeter, I don't want anything catching us by surprise. We do this quick, we do this right, and we get out of here alive men." 

A metallic thud filled the contours of the bloodtray as the light turned green, and the men rushed out into the hanger, only to find it nearly empty, besides the other two drop-ships that were bringing in the other boarders. 

[theorigins]

Lance Corporal Cho Smith
Boarding Team, 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
Securing the Hanger

"I've always hated flying," Cho pondered to himself.

Cho made sure to double check his BR55 rifle and M6 pistol. Both were fully loaded with extra mags on Cho's vest. Cho looked over at his fireteam, Joey was just sitting there staring at the floor, Mute was wiping his weapon down of dust, and Bear had his eyes closed with his head leaning agianst the dropship wall. As Cho continued to look around Sgt.Fields stood up and said,"Weapons Hot marines! Mitchell, Smith, secure a perimeter, I don't want anything catching us by surprise. We do this quick, we do this right, and we get out of here alive men."
Cho responded, "Sir yes Sir".

As the dropship's bay opened up Cho ,along with Cho's Fireteam, stood up and ready to roll. With a loud "THUD" Cho motioned his fireteam forward to secure the immediate perimeter. Cho and his fireteam fanned out of the dropship and scanned the immediate area with their eyes only to be greeted with a nearly empty hanger. Joey, Mute, and Bear within seconds of each other said "clear". Cho made sure that his area was clear and responded "Clear over here sir!" an began to relax a bit.

[Faclan]

(Placing this as after "Moment of your time" so Nek recently had a very fun run in with Huka's Suf >.>.)

Nek Dal - T'vaoan Mercenary Captain
On the bridge of the Speed Streak
Please...just be a easy pick-up.

So many dangerous meetings in the past few months...but at least he was alive. Nek rubbing his eyes a bit as he sat in his Captains chair and thought back on both the Woods and the Suf meeting. Why did both sides seem to have it out for him? It was almost enough for him to just sell all his stock, his ship - which he knew he would get a lot for with all the modifications he made to it, and just retire on some nice planet somewhere to have some peace and quiet...But of course he couldn't do that and be with his children. He would have to keep doing this damn dangerous job until his Mistress decided he was good enough for it. He just had to hope that it came before he was killed by the UNSC for being an alien, or killed by the Covenant for trading with the enemy, or killed by Suf for being a bad example of Kig-Yar might.

Letting out a sigh he leaned back a bit and reached down to the side of his chair and brought up his thermos of nice warm tea and took a good draft from it before spinning the top back on and setting it back. Nice synthetic leaves there, much better than just trying to pick a good Sweetner flavor out of the box. Doing his best to push 'Grandpapa Sufs' face from his mind and the smirking face of the Human Woods as well he looked forward at the dull blue of slip space through the window blinds as his bridge crew worked away in silence.

The goal for today was to make a simple transfer of goods for some Human credits and a few Kig-Yar items. They were going to meet up with a small Innie vessel, join up, and then transfer the crates from their ship to Neks ship. He had his pelicans ready to fly over and get the crates if that's what was needed but he hoped for a nice easy mission today to make up for the two horror shows that had happened last time...Aecor Suf could be scary when he wanted to be...But they still had some time before they dropped out at the designated meeting spot as Nek shrugged a bit and tapped a few buttons on his chair and soon had a line open to his good friend and security Chief Kex.

"Nek to Kex, hopefully I'm not interrupting or distracting you from something important - just making sure you and your security birds are ready. Nearly at the meet-up location." Of course Nek had told Kex all about his meet up with Suf at the BB, after he had staggered his way back to his ship in a good amount of panic, so the security chief was aware that the Covenant, or at least some of them, we're aware of them all.

(Feel free to have Kex doing whateva BetaWülf; either doing some training with the crew, dishing out punishments, or smoochin up Tel :3)

[John]

Second Lieutenant Charles Callaghan

"Okay, gentlemen. Here's the situation. Innies have gotten posession of that freighter, and are shipping high valued cargo with it. Our job is to board that freighter, capture or kill all the Innies and get that cargo on the UNSCS Dauntless. For those of you that have been in a hole for the past few weeks, the Dauntless is the ship we are on now. Now mount up. We're going in!"

The Lieutenant wasn't so fresh anymore, after seeing some action recently. He was beginning to understand what was expected of him as an officer in the Marine Corps. The Lieutenant grabbed his MA5, rammed a magazine in and boarded the first pelican, along with Boarding Team One.

The flying took a few minutes. He could feel that some guys, especially the Privates that hadn't seen action yet, were anxious. He was like that once too. Before he had his second baptism. Callaghan pulled back the pin and loaded a round in the chamber. Then he took the safety from his weapon as the Pelicans entered the hangar. Charles was the first out, only to find the hangar near empty.

"Okay! First squad, secure the bridge! Second squad, check out the cargo bay. Third squad stays here to secure and defend the hangar. And remember: Try to take them alive. If they fire upon you, however, you are to return fire. Get to it, Marines." Callaghan shouted.

Lieutenant-Commander Jonathan Shepard
CO UNSCS Dauntless

Shepard was seated in his command chair. The Insurrectionist ship had been disabled by a few well aimed shots from the point defense systems. The Marines were deploying and all was quiet. That could all change very quickly, though, the Commander had learned. His people were keeping their eyes peeled for any activity.

[SPARTAN-A120]

Corporal Fredrick Mitchell
Boarding Team, 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
Conducting Sweep of the Hangar

Fred was quietly checking his gear for the second time. He didn’t want any failures to occur when he least expected it so he had to verify that his MA5B and M6D were in operational condition by the time they inserted into the Insurrectionists’ hangar. He had unloaded the magazine from his MA5B and racked its charging handle five times. After he was satisfied, he re-inserted the magazine, but didn’t chamber a round yet. He set the rifle to his right side and took out his M6D from its holster, conducting the same procedure he had done with his rifle. When he was satisfied with both weapons, he holstered the pistol, returned the rifle to a low-ready, and checked on his team.

LCpl. Carter, PFC. Gordon, and Pvt. Luis looked up towards Fred without him saying a word. Fred gave an Okay hand signal to his team and each of them nodded in response. His team was definitely combat ready.

"Alright marines, we're entering the hangar in one mike. Good luck out there," the Crew Chief said.

Fred had racked his rifle’s charging handle to chamber a round into the chamber but kept the weapon on safe. He took a brief moment to look around at the Marines around him and exhaled deeply.

The bay of the transport changed from red to green. It was go time. His platoon leader spoke first, "Okay! First squad, secure the bridge! Second squad, check out the cargo bay. Third squad stays here to secure and defend the hangar. And remember: Try to take them alive. If they fire upon you, however, you are to return fire. Get to it, Marines." Sergeant Fields issued commands after the 2nd LT as the Marines filed out the transport into the hangars, "Weapons Hot marines! Mitchell, Smith, secure a perimeter, I don't want anything catching us by surprise. We do this quick, we do this right, and we get out of here alive men."

Fred replied with an enthusiastic, “Copy, Sarge!” as his fireteam swept the hangar. In a semi-circle formation, they made their way towards the left side of the hangar. There were no targets in sight. “Clear,” Carter reported. “Clear,” Luis followed. Fred concluded the sweep and advised the other Marines, “Left side, all clear.”

There was something eerie about this ship that made Fred uneasy. He was expecting some resistance, but the Insurrectionist ship showed no signs of life. “Maintain this formation and stand by. Watch your sectors,” Fred said to his team. He took a knee, but kept his rifle raised, scanning each of the doorways in his section just to be cautious.

[RiddL]

Yuri Chudnovsky
Insurrectionist Hacker and Saboteur

Yuri looked through the cameras as the UNSC started to storm the ship. His one good eye looking at the screens while his robotic one looked down at the keyboard as he typed.

Yuri was dressed in his old ODST fatigues including his helmet, which was now spray painted with red streaking the top and sides of it. His shotgun lay to his left and a hatchet was to his right, ready to be used if he needed them.

He started typing in command codes, activating the various mines that had layed dormant in case of a situation such as this. He typed in more to activate the motion sensors near airlocks for anyone unfortunate enough to step to close to them.

He put a hand to his ear and spoke to the other insurrectionists.
"Be warned, all Mines and Spacer sensors are activated, use the maintenance tunnels and hidden entrances to move around, Yuri out."

He then went back to the other monitors and watched the UNSC cautiously advance.

[BetaWülf]

Ibie'Shan Kig-yar Security Officer Kex.
Tense.

Kex stood in the room he managed to get designated for his Security team to train in, wrapping his hands in cloth. He wore shorts and a tanktop, a shark-like tooth necklace hung from his neck as he flexed his knuckles. He stood in front of a punching bag, and lowered slightly in a fighting stance. He jabbed the bag a few times testing it out, before wailing on it relentlessly in storm of flying fists.

The rest of his team were there as well, ignoring their Chief as he let out his anger on the bag. Patch was sharpening some throwing knives he had acquired and learned to use, while the others were grappling. Kex just contented himself to pound away on the bag, wondering if his days were numbered now.

Now that the whole damned Covenant knew about them, that is. He'd never get to go home now, never see his Clan or family, or the beautiful seas. He'd probably die on this miserable ship, never seeing the truly unique place he was hatched and raised. A semi-Arctic Island cluster, the only place on Eayn that got that cold that he knew of.

Kex paused when the voice of Nek rang in his ear, he stood up straight and tapped the comms link in his earhole. "Aye Captain, we'll be ready, just finishing some last minute training" Kex said.

He toweled off to remove the acrid sweat, before pulling on his skin tight black bodysuit. Patch attached his backplates for him, and Kex did the same for him. He grabbed an R-4 off the wall and strapped it to his back, and put on his sword belt. One thing was new however. On his right hip rested a frog, yet no mace or axe rested in it. Kex walked over to a small crate and placed it up on a small table against the wall, before popping the lid off. Inside rested an axe, of an bloody and Iconic origin to any Kig-yar who saw it.

Kex pulled the axe out before testing the weight, giving a few small swings before tossing it in the air and catching it. Behind him, his Security Officers looked at him with curiosity, before Patch spoke up. "Why you using that thing? Only them Kel savages use them, you import it or something?" the one-eyed Kig-yar asked.

"I brought it with me when I came aboard, it has been under my bed since then. It was my Mothers" Kex said, before placing the axe in its frog and walking out of the room with his Security Team in tow.

[BasedGoody]

Sgt. Garret Gizinski

Second Squad

"Bounce time, bitches!" The Sergeant called out to his allies as he stepped into the hangar. It extended out into multiple intricate hallways, yet still remained a bland gray. Garret's Assault Rifle aimed along with his eyes, pointing around the hangar. The Corporals around him scattered about the area while maintaining positions along crates. Privates loosely followed their leaders like ants behind their queen. As Gizinski adjusted to the area he lowered his weapon. No threats.

"Clear." Spoke Corporal Rigby.

"We clear here." Continued the second corporal, Julius.

"Guess what? Clear here too." Finished the final corporal, Daryll. Gizinski slightly nodded to the response of his lower-ranking soldiers. They loosened up after the unanimous decision that the hangar was indeed empty of anyone other than the marines. The words of the Second Lieutenant filled his comms.

"Okay! First squad, secure the bridge! Second squad, check out the cargo bay. Third squad stays here to secure and defend the hangar. And remember: Try to take them alive. If they fire upon you, however, you are to return fire. Get to it, Marines."

The orders were clear. As leader of the Second Squad, Garret was to take his marines through the ship and to the cargo bay. The Sergeant's goal was securing what the Insurrectionists were transporting. 

"We're good over here, taking my squad to the cargo bay now." Gizinski spoke into the mic. His fingers twirled around in the air, signalling the three corporals to round up their fire-teams. With a quick point towards the doorway to their right, the marines under Gizinski's command stood in attention. Quickly Cpl. Rigby's team took point and started through the halls.

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Sergeant Maximilian Drake Fields

Boarding Team, 1st Squad

Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter 

Securing a Perimeter

Fields rifle stayed level as he dropped to one knee, his fire-teams spreading out in a shape like shape. A glance over his shoulders revealed that 2nd and 3rd squad had deployed as well, the sound of Gizinski's squad filling the hanger with annoying banter. Luckily for Fields, his squad had better discipline. The responses from his Corporals coming in, 

"Clear over here sir!" Rang out as Cho's squad fanned out, taking up a third of the formation. From his left, he could hear Mitchell's team reporting in that it was clear, “Left side, all clear.” His third fire-team, being lead by a survivor of the fighting on Protector, reported in from the right that everything was clear.

"Alright, Mendez, get your team on point. Cho, follow up behind Mendez. Mitchell, in the rear with me. Let's move it marines, that bridge isn't gonna take itself now." He called out, waving to the corporal leading his third fire-team. He waited as the marines moved into a hallway, before bringing up the rear of the formation.

Corporal Richard Mendez [NPC]
Boarding Team, 1st Squad, 3rd Fireteam
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
Taking Point

Mendez's mind was still going through the events at the water plant, all the marines lost in that fight. The results made him wonder about whether or not they could actually win this war. The right side of his face covered in scars from a plasma bolt that got to close, a grim reminder of the fight.


His rifle was leveled though, as his mind snapped back to reality, "Mendez, get your team on point." Filled his ears as he motioned to Murphy, the other marine that survived the fight, to take point. "3rd Team, we're Oscar Mike!"  The sounds of feet shuffling and equipment moving filled his ear, his training taking over as he fell in behind the last marine of his fireteam.

[theorigins]

Lance Corporal Cho Smith
Boarding Team 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
Right Behind You

While Cho was waiting for the rest of the squads to secure the area he took a moment to look around. Marines were unloading equipment and others securing their area. Cho looked towards his fireteam to see they are doing the same thing with the exception of Mute. Mute was still keeping an eye toward the door leading out of the Hanger.

"Don't worry Mute nothing will happen. We will just get to the bridge and get this handled quick and we will be back on the ship before the next meal." Cho explained.

Mute replies with a simple nod.

Fields yelled,
"Alright, Mendez, get your team on point. Cho, follow up behind Mendez. Mitchell, in the rear with me. Let's move it marines, that bridge isn't gonna take itself now."

"Alright marines you heard the Sergeant follow up beind Mendez's team and stay frosty," Cho remarked as he brought his rifle back up to shoulder level.

[SPARTAN-A120]

Corporal Fredrick Mitchell
Boarding Team, 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
First Squad, Oscar Mike

The hangar was dominated by the UNSC within seconds. Multiple Marines reported in with "all clear" and it was satisfying to Mitchell's ears, but he still had a strange feeling. It was one of those feelings that an experienced soldier would get when he/she felt that something was out of place. The voice of his Sergeant filled his comms, "Alright, Mendez, get your team on point. Cho, follow up behind Mendez. Mitchell, in the rear with me. Let's move it marines, that bridge isn't gonna take itself now."

Mitchell replied to Sgt. Drake, "Copy that." He then issued orders to his fireteam as the platoon mobilized with a purpose. "Luis and Gordon, watch our six. Make sure we don't have any Innies shoot us in the asses. Carter, on me." Carter, his gunner, was hauling a Mk-280 LMG. Luis, his rifleman, was carrying a MA5B also with a stockless M45 Shotgun slung on his back for close quarters engagements. Gordon, his marksman, had traded his typical M392 DMR for a BR55 Battle Rifle to compensate for the CQB environment.

As the squad got into formation to move deeper into the ship, Mitchell gave a nod to the fireteam leaders Cpl. Mendez and LCpl. Smith. After their teams passed by, Mitchell got within talking distance to Sgt. Drake and addressed his concern, "Sarge, this doesn't feel right. The zero resistance we received when we boarded is a bad sign. There a number of possibilities: One, the Innies are planning an ambush. Two, this ship is rigged with traps. Three, the combination of one and two."

Mitchell took a glance to his rear as Gordon and Luis got into position. "Stay frosty, team," he said. After that, Mitchell returned his MA5B to a low-ready. "This op is bout to turn ugly," he thought. He quickly replaced the thought with the mission objective to focus himself.

(Tag(s): Guardian Cat of Yappa's, theorigins)

[Samuel Murray]

Captain Nikolavi Bentrav 
Insurrectionist Captain
Tarrik-Class II Freighter, The Dead Man's Hand
Cautious Now...

    A cold darkness shadowed the hull of The Dead Man's Hand, as an unforeseeable future awaited them. Captain Nikolavi Bentav glanced towards the COM station that sat in his own personal quarters. His brown eyes shot up towards the flickering light source within the room, a soft grin forming on the hardened face as he approached the COM. He quickly typed in to the power unit with a sense of determination and fortitude-creating a grumbling whining hum deep within the belly of the hull and then there was darkness. I've done it, the lights have been shut off. 

    He leaned against the bar and place his mouth towards the ship's central COM unit, "I would like to give a warm welcome to the guests of Tarrik-Class II, Hull number 09281734C or better known as The Dead Man's Hand. I wish we could say that your visit was coming on much more suitable terms, but it seems that we have a bit of a disagreement. I hope you won't mind a little darkness, we're going through a bit of renovations; I suppose till we meet again, good luck..." The captain's finger trailed away from the COM's button. He moved towards the table and picked up his night vision goggles and quickly placed them on his head. 

He paused for a moment as his eyes fell upon a picture of his daughter, he closed his eyes for a moment. The sound of gunshots and screams echoed closely behind, the UNSC was responsible for her death and countless others due to their incompetence against the Covenant, or so that's what he believed-this was what had to be done. He felt a mounting pressure build up on his shoulders as he slid on his suicide vest-checking to make sure that his dead man's hand was properly situated. Satisfied he picked up his pistol and made his way into the darkness-watching and ready to strike.

Tag towards everyone on the ship due to the power cutting off and the COM being played throughout the whole ship: theorigins John Guardian Cat of Yappa's RiddL SPARTAN-A120 BasedGoody

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Sergeant Maximilian Drake Fields

Boarding Party, First Squad

Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter The Dead Man's Hand

Awe Shit...
TAGS: SPARTAN-A120

The sound of footsteps filled the corridor, and Fields ears, as the marines of first squad started to hustle towards the bridge. Rather tight quarters, they were forced to move in a staggered single file line. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting two marines covering their six, his mind was shooting off a thousand thoughts at the same time. This kind of silence always played havoc with his mind. Course one of his new marines quickly alleviated this issue, "Sarge, this doesn't feel right. The zero resistance we received when we boarded is a bad sign. There a number of possibilities: One, the Innies are planning an ambush. Two, this ship is rigged with traps. Three, the combination of one and two."

Course Drake had already figured their were traps rigged throughout the ship, and an Ambush seemed likely as well because honestly, ships shouldn't be this empty. "Yea it crossed my mind Mitchell, but our orders are to capture the bridge. So just stay frosty, have your men watch their steps and keep your head low." He stated. He lowered his rifle a little well he was addressing the marine. The sudden plunge into darkness throwing him off, as a voice filled the corridor.

  "I would like to give a warm welcome to the guests of Tarrik-Class II, Hull number 09281734C or better known as The Dead Man's Hand. I wish we could say that your visit was coming on much more suitable terms, but it seems that we have a bit of a disagreement. I hope you won't mind a little darkness, we're going through a bit of renovations; I suppose till we meet again, good luck..."

"Get those lanterns lit marines, I want light in here." Light from his own rifle filled an area of the hallway, as a series of lights came into existence from multiple rifles.

Corporal Richard Mendez [NPC]
Boarding Team, 1st Squad, 3rd Fireteam
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
Shit..
TAGS: theorigins

Mendez followed his squad down the hallway, his rifle over the shoulder of a fresh grunt. His eyes forward as he directed his squad into a staggered formation, providing two lanes of fire for the marines. He wasn't paying attention to the convorsation that the Sergeant was having with one of the new marines, he was just focused on getting out of this alive. Him, Murphy, and the other marines that survived on Protector, was all he cared about.

"Murphy, switch positions with Private Alcorn. Alcorn your on point." 

"Copy that."

Murphy stepped back well Alcorn took the lead, just as the ship plunged into darkness. "I would like to give a warm welcome to the guests of Tarrik-Class II, Hull number 09281734C or better known as The Dead Man's Hand. I wish we could say that your visit was coming on much more suitable terms, but it seems that we have a bit of a disagreement. I hope you won't mind a little darkness, we're going through a bit of renovations; I suppose till we meet again, good luck..."

"Get those lanterns lit marines, I want light in here."

Mendez's hand dropped to the front of his rifle, as his light came on. The rest of the squad activated theirs as well, just in time to see Alcorn step on a anti personnel mine. The flash of the explosion filled their vision as the young marine's leg was consumed and his screams filled the air. "No one move!" Mendez called out, the other marines holding position. "Murphy, try to help Alcorn."

[SPARTAN-A120]

Corporal Fredrick Mitchell
Boarding Team, 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
This ain't Vietnam

The Sergeant had lowered his weapon slightly to speak to Mitchell, "Yea it crossed my mind Mitchell, but our orders are to capture the bridge. So just stay frosty, have your men watch their steps and keep your head low."

"Copy," Mitchell responded to the Sergeant. The tight corridor seemed like it was narrowing as the Marines moved closer to the bridge. "Check every wall, ceiling, floor and crevice, men. I don't want anyone coming home on a stretcher or worse," Mitchell said to his team. He heard the team leader who was taking point issuing commands as they advanced. Moments later, the entire corridor darkened. Someone must have powered down the lights, Mitchell thought. He automatically activated the flashlight mounted on his MA5B and scanned his surroundings with a tight grip on the rifle.

A voice filled the ship's PA system, "I would like to give a warm welcome to the guests of Tarrik-Class II, Hull number 09281734C or better known as The Dead Man's Hand. I wish we could say that your visit was coming on much more suitable terms, but it seems that we have a bit of a disagreement. I hope you won't mind a little darkness, we're going through a bit of renovations; I suppose till we meet again, good luck..."

"Get those lanterns lit marines, I want light in here," Mitchell heard Fields shout. A loud explosion occurred from the front of the squad followed by screams and yelling. "Down!" Mitchell yelled as he got into a kneeling position and covered his head with his left arm. He felt a wave of energy and particles hit the top of his helmet, should plates, and forearm armor. They ricocheted harmlessly off the armor as he looked behind him and in front of him to check if anyone was hurt.

"Holy fuck!" Pvt. Luis shouted. Luis was in a prone position with his rifle facing to the rear. Carter was kneeling, but was okay. Gordon wiped something red from his visor; something that Mitchell didn't want to know.

"No one move! Murphy, try to help Alcorn," Mitchell heard Cpl. Mendez ahead of the squad.

The white glow of flashlights and head torches where moving around wildly like a light show. Mitchell checked his surrounding areas to check for booby traps with the light of his MA5B's flashlight. He found a round object on the left side of a wall with a dim red light blinking. The object was conveniently painted to match the ship's grey metal. "Carter. I need you to unarm this mine," he said to the former engineer while shining his light upon the discrete mine. "And team, stay vigilant. Don't make another move until you know your path is clear." Mitchell took a look towards the his Sergeant. "Sarge, you okay?" Mitchell said to Fields.

(Tag(s): Guardian Cat of Yappa's)

[John]

Second Lieutenant Charles Callaghan

Charles was walking around with his TACPADD in his hand, looking at the schematics, crew complement and any information that might be relevant. Third Squad was setting up defenses with the contents of the hangar, in case the other squads needed to fall back quick. There was one pelican parked on the left side. The other had returned to the Dauntless for supplies.

Everyone stopped moving when the Captain of the ship was heard, and the lights suddenly went out. Immediately, he ordered that glowsticks were lit up, so everyone could see what they were doing.

Then he heard a loud explosion, coming from Frist Squad's direction. "Delta Two-One, Delta Two-Actual. SitRep. What's going on over there." he said, before switching to the Command channel. "Dauntless, this is Delta Two-Actual. We're on the ground, and were advancing. They turned off the lights, and an explosion just went off. I'll provide more info when I get it. Until then, I'd like to have an extra Pelican on standby for Medevac. Delta Two-Actual out."

[theorigins]

LCpl. Cho Smith
Boarding Team 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter
Aw Hell Here We Go

As Cho rounded the corner of the corrider to be met with lights shutting off and a voice over the PA system, "I would like to give a warm welcome to the guests of Tarrik-Class II, Hull number 09281734C or better known as The Dead Man's Hand. I wish we could say that your visit was coming on much more suitable terms, but it seems that we have a bit of a disagreement. I hope you won't mind a little darkness, we're going through a bit of renovations; I suppose till we meet again, good luck..."

Even before the order was given Cho and his fireteam had already had their flashlights on, shortly before a loud a explosion happened in front of the first marines to go in. There were screams and something wet landed on Cho's shoulder.

"No one move! Murphy, try to help Alcorn," Cpl. Mendaz shouted

"Ugh!" Cho exclaimed as he threw what looked like remains of a leg. Cho scanned the corridor too see what could've caused the explosion. Cho noticed that there were small round objects with little dim lights placed around the corridor.

"Sarge! This whole corridor seems to be boobytrapped" Cho said to Fields

[BasedGoody]

Sergeant Garret Gizinski
Shit's goin' down? Shit's goin' down.

"I would like to give a warm welcome to the guests of Tarrik-Class II, Hull number 09281734C or better known as The Dead Man's Hand. I wish we could say that your visit was coming on much more suitable terms, but it seems that we have a bit of a disagreement. I hope you won't mind a little darkness, we're going through a bit of renovations; I suppose till we meet again, good luck..."

The lights immediately cut, leaving Gizinski's squad in darkness. The cones of flashlight glare popped up around in the hallway as the marines attempted to regain focus. Throughout the air behind them Garret and his men heard explosions along with screams of pain. The Sergeant flinched for a mere moment before yelling orders to his soldiers.

"This warm welcome isn't too warm nor welcoming. Keep your heads forw-" He didn't get to finish before gunfire ripped through the halls. His shouts to 'get down' were unheard but each marine understood. The cover around them was quickly taken up by humans while others dropped to the ground, praying for the bullets to whiz above them. All together, UNSC gun barrels lifted out of hiding and returned fire. The ringing grew in Garret's ears as he blindly pulled down on the trigger of his weapon.

*Click Click Click* The clicking of an empty weapon was met by the ceasing of enemy gunshots. Shortly it was followed by the questioning glances of the marines. Ever so slowly, flashlights turned down to the end of the hall. There stood a plastic mannequin with two assault rifles, propped up with triggers taped down. It collapsed, riddled with bullet holes.

"Fuckin' trap! Injured?" Gizinski yelled out. It was met by the groan of an unnamed private.

"PFC Tanner took one in the stomach!" Responded Corporal Martin. 

"Fire-team Scorpio, convoy Tanner back to the hangar. Can't risk takin' an injured man with us." He ordered before motioning for his men to continue onward.

[Samuel Murray]

Captain Nikolavi Bentrav
Insurrectionist Captain
Tarrik-Class II Freighter, The Dead Man's Hand
We've Got them Now

    The small cramped quarters shook and groaned as the sound of an explosion echoed farther down in the ship. A small smile formed on the old captain's lips as he made his way through the darkness in the ship. He made his way into the bridge-the only light coming from the flickering of the Nav screens that circled around the room. He glanced as he spotted two of his men hidden in the corners-covered by darkness. As he began to close the doors of the bridge the sound of gunshots could be heard, "Good my brothers," he whispered, "keep them distracted, we're going to take as many of them as we can."

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Sergeant Maximilian Drake Fields 

Boarding Party, First Squad 

Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter The Dead Man's Hand 

Out of the Frying Pan, and into the Pressure Cooker 

theorigins,SPARTAN-A120,John,BasedGoody

One moment Drake was standing in a hallway, the next, he was in the middle of a hellstorm. Moments after the laterns filled the hallway, Mendez's pointman was consumed by an explosion, and the sound of metal clashing against metal dominated his ears. Smoke quickly hovered through the hallway, and the screams of a young marine filled everyone's ears. 

"Sarge! This whole corridor seems to be boobytrapped" Drake wasn't sure who called it out as he tried to registar everything that happened in the 8 second span, as more voices called out to him.

"Sarge, you okay?" Came from his side as Corporal Mitchell addressed him, the marines obviously shaken from the explosion. He looked around and noticed the little lights that indicated the locations of the mines. "Don't touch any of these mines, Mendez take Alcorn back to the dropship for medivac. Mitchell! Your squad's on point, watch your step through these halls, you don't know what might be waiting for us now."

Just as he finished issuing orders, his comms came alive with the voice of the Lt. "Delta Two-One, Delta Two-Actual. SitRep. What's going on over there."

"Delta Two-Actual, Delta Two-One, Hostiles laid out anti personnel mines in the hallways. Wounded inbound have Medevac ready, copy." 

Corporal Richard Mendez [NPC] 

Boarding Team, 1st Squad, 3rd Fireteam 

Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter 

A Godsend

Mendez hadn't noticed the shrapnel or the sound of metal hitting metal, all he focused on were the screams of his other men as they were hit. He heard Murphy scream as a piece sliced the side of his ribs. His other marines screamed as their arms and legs were cut up by shards as well. Smoke started to fill the air around them as he heard the other Corporals and the Sergeant call out. The Sergeant's orders were a godsend.

"Don't touch any of these mines, Mendez take Alcorn back to the dropship for medivac."

"Copy that Sergeant, Murphy help me with Alcorn," He looked at the other marines, "You two are under the command of Corporal Mitchell now, fellow his lead."

Carefully avoiding the mines, Mendez got under one arm well Murphy got under the other. "Sergeant, we're Oscar Mike!"

[Faclan]

(Sorry for the wait)

Tags: BetaWülf, Guardian Cat of Yappa's, theorigins, @callagan, SPARTAN-A120, RiddL, BasedGoody, Samuel Murray

Nek Dal - T'vaoan Mercenary Captain
On the bridge of the Speed Streak
Oh Aecor what do I do?!

Nek frowned at the response he got from Kex; filled with rage, and worry, and perhaps a bit of fear. He would have to try and talk with Kex when he got onto the bridge to try and explain that Suf had seemed decently reasonable since he hadn't killed Nek when he had all the time and the reason too. And then maybe try to explain that Suf wasn't sending the Covenant police after them at this very moment, just watching him to be sure he stopped doing some things that were nicely outlined for him with a few smacks during the 'business meeting'. There had to be someone in his crew that was feeding Suf information...best keep that from Kex so he didn't break a lot of the crews fingers looking for the 'Covenant spy'. Taking another long draft of his hot tea he let out his, to a Human, apple smelling breath and then slipped the thermos back into its holder as he hummed and leaned forward a bit to rest his beak on his entwined hands as he thought of how best to talk to Kex when he arrived.

When his Security Chief did arrive they were just a minute or so from exiting slip space at the agreed upon meeting place, Nek having asked for the weapons to be brought on line just in case. That would probably make Suf pleased as he swiveled the chair around and stood up to greet Kex.

"Good of you to arrive Kex for this," unneeded since it was normal for the Security Chief to be here for things like this, Nek was clearly just using that as an entrance to some bigger talk. Well that was the plan at least before his bird eyes were drawn to the shiny Kex had, the large and sharp axe at his side. "Damn Kex, could fell trees as well as Sangheili with a cleaver like that - nice piece of kit. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that one of those Arctic Axes? Your family from there? Would make sense considering your uhh...umm...set of skills?" He coughed a bit before smiling. "No offense meant Mate." Glancing back at the windows as the one minute warning was broadcast across the ship Nek nodded as he turned back to Kex and starting up again, with the actual reason why he got up to greet him.

"Also Kex...I know that the meeting with Suf and the Covenant put you on edge but I don't think its as bleak as you may believe it is. If that makes sense. Suf outlined it pretty clear on his ship in his...special room - that he wasn't there to murder any of us for what we are doing, or send the Unggoy or Sangheili after us. He just thought it was bad form for me to be trading so openly with the enemy and, honestly, for being as meek as I have been in the recent dealings." Nek slumped a bit at this as he clearly didn't like being reminded that - as he got that enough of that from Zahl as he tried to straightened up as the ship shuddered a bit as it slowed down to exit slipspace. "But he seemed to be a reasonable Elder, so long as we don't get walked over anymore we should be ok. Maybe cut down on the trading as well but that is more fluid I think. Since even he did some of the Black trading on the BB."

Patting Kex's shoulder he fell back and spun in his chair to face the front of the ship as the blinds raised up to reveal the Innie ship just where it was said it would be...and the UNSC ships beside it. Squawking in surprise at this Nek's eyes widened as he stared at this scene. Everything just got way more complicated. He first thought was to try and contact the ships to find out what was happening, but he stopped his hand before he hit that button as he glanced at Kex and then the window as he licked his beak a bit.

"Of course it can't just be Sinking simple...Aecor's depths... They probably know we are here now. Ok calm down Nek," he muttered to himself as he looked over the scene, they were thankfully off the port side of all of the ships so their large frontal cannons weren't facing his ship and his mini cannon was facing forward and could pivot if needed. But he had no doubts that their small missiles and machine guns could do serious damaged to his unshielded hull. But the Kig-Yar ship hadn't done anything besides arrive and sit decent distance off the four Human vessels.

"Suggestions Kex? Try to stick them up or what? Damn you Suf..." It was especially hard because he hated pirates so much, years of slavery would do that to a person. But Suf had made it clear what was being demanded of Nek.

[SPARTAN-A120]

Corporal Fredrick Mitchell
Boarding Team, 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter: The Dead Man’s Hand
First In, Last Out

"Don't touch any of these mines, Mendez take Alcorn back to the dropship for medivac. Mitchell! Your squad's on point, watch your step through these halls, you don't know what might be waiting for us now,” said Sgt. Fields.

“Copy that,” Mitchell replied to the Sergeant. “Carter, Luis, and Gordon, on me. Staggered column formation. Carter, on my six. Luis, watch the right flank. Gordon, the left flank. And watch where you’re stepping,” Mitchell said to his team.

“Copy,” his fireteam replied. Carter, who was working on disarming the mine, stopped what he was doing and rose from his kneeling stance and picked up his Mk.280 LMG from the metal floor next to him.

After Mitchell and his team got into position, he heard his Lieutenant’s voice through his headset. Fields replied to the LT’s SITREP so Mitchell disregarded replying to the platoon leader.

Focus. That was what Mitchell needed. He frowned momentarily, but returned to a neutral facial expression when his team bypassed the team of Marines that were leading the squad. His pace was a slow, but fluid. His every footstep was with great caution to attempt to avoid stepping on an AP mine. He came to a stop in front of Cpl. Mendez’s team. The scene that was revealed before them was not meant for the faint of heart. There was blood covering the floor. Additional presence of the all-to-familiar crimson liquid was splattered across the walls and ceiling of the narrow corridor. One of Mendez’s subordinates no longer had a leg. He felt a light tap on his right shoulder that indicated his team was ready to move.

“Jesus....” Pvt. Luis muttered when he saw the legless Marine.

Mitchell ignored the Private and issued a hand signal that indicated “Forward.” He slowly moved forward while stealing a few glances down at the floor every now and then to make sure he avoided stepping on the mines. The light from his flashlight bobbed as he moved forward as well as his Automatic Rifleman’s flashlight as he aimed over Mitchell’s left shoulder. When his team passed Mendez's team, he held up a flat hand to indicate the "Hold Position" hand signal.

“Standing by,” he told his Sergeant without looking behind.

(Tag(s): Guardian Cat of Yappa's)

[RiddL]

Yuri Chudnovsky

Dead Mans Hand

Yuri sat with a modified detonator in his hand, a small keypad had been attached and he thumbed the keypad, inputting codes as he used his other hand to hack into one the Marine Sergeants helmet.

"Hello there Sergeant. My name is Yuri Chudnovsky, ODST and, according to ONI, KIA. As you have experienced the mines in your corridor are proximity detectors. What you don't know is that I hold in my hand a remote detonator that can target individual mines... Look to your man that is a little to close to a mine... One moment" He paused to find the soldiers name.

"Ahh yes... Private Luis, I suggest you say goodbye Sergeant... I will keep in contact with you and your Lieutenant. Until then... Watch your step." He finished as he hit the detonators trigger, a grim smile on his face as he watched the monitors, his weapons at the ready.

[SPARTAN-A120]

Corporal Fredrick Mitchell
Boarding Team, 1st Squad
Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter: The Dead Man’s Hand
You Son of a B*tch!

Mitchell was waiting for a response from his Sergeant, but there was no response. "Sarge?" Mitchell questioned without looking behind him and maintaining his rifle aimed forward. No response from his Sergeart again.

Mitchell spoke again, this time in a louder tone, "Sarge, we're sitting ducks here. If we don't move -"

His sentence was cut short as a rapid beeping tone interrupted the Corporal.

"Shit! Take cover!" PFC. Gordon yelled.

Mitchell dove forward, but nearly landed onto an AP Mine in the process. He quickly shiftted his body to the right and hugged the wall as an explosion erupted from behind him. The concussion rushed over him and his ears rang slightly as his headset almost failed to muffle loud sound. He felt something wet fall all over his back moments after.

"STATUS!" Mitchell yelled from his prone position.

"Green!" PFC. Gordon replied.

"Red!" LCpl. Carter yelled.

There was no response from Pvt. Luis. Mitchell stole a glance over his left shoulder and was greeted by the gruesome scene before him. Carter was slightly behind him on his back and was grasping his right lower leg with pain. What Mitchell saw next made his blood boil. Pvt. Luis was sitting against the left wall with a lifeless expression with multiple lacerations and he was missing the lower half of his body. Blood was pooling around were Luis' legs used to be. Mitchell immediately pulled up Luis' Bio Readings on his HUD. Everything was flatlined.

Mitchell got up in a hurry into a kneeling position and picked up his MA5B. "Gordon, give first aid to Carter and get him back to the hangars!" Mitchell ordered.

After that, Mitchell stood up and ran towards the end of the corridor to the closed entrance of the bridge. He slowed down when he saw more mines up ahead. He was with meters of the door. Mitchell wanted vengeance for what the Innies just did and was not about to take prisoners. His hatred rose to an all-time high and his anger clouded his mind. His right thumb switched the MA5B into full-auto and he took aim at the door between him and how ever many Innies were behind it.

"Open this door you Innie Sonuvabitch! I'm gonna gut all of you alive and feed your intestines to your makers!" Mitchell yelled at the top of his lungs.

(Tags: Guardian Cat of Yappa's, samuel029, RiddL)

---

NPC: E-1, Pvt. Ricardo Emmanuel Luis - K.I.A.

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Sergeant Maximilian "Drake" Fields

Boarding Party, First Squad  

Aboard Insurrectionist Freighter The Dead Man's Hand

Drake simply watched from his position as the teams adjusted, Mendez's falling back, Mitchell taking the lead as they went by. He just wanted to get the f*** out of there now. The various lanterns created an eerie feeling from one of those horror movies, along with the bloodstains.

He hadn't heard back from the Lt. when someone else crept into his headset. 

"Hello there Sergeant. My name is Yuri Chudnovsky, ODST and, according to ONI, KIA. As you have experienced the mines in your corridor are proximity detectors. What you don't know is that I hold in my hand a remote detonator that can target individual mines... Look to your man that is a little to close to a mine... One moment"



Drake froze in place, the breech in the comm network confirmed his worse fears, they could hear everything they were saying.

“Standing by,” Mitchell called out, his squad resting in the front, well the LCpl's squad took up the rear. 


"Ahh yes..."

"Sarge?"

"Private Luis, I suggest you say goodbye Sergeant... "

"Sarge, if we're sitting ducks here. If we don't move-"

"I will keep in contact with you and your Lieutenant. Until then... Watch your step."



Drake simply watched, as a mine detonated beside the privates leg. The explosion ripped away at his legs, tearing , both muscles and bones alike, apart. Shrapnel tore into the leg of another private. He dropped like a dear, luckily avoiding any other AP mines in the process. He froze for a second, his mind caught in a tailspin trying to comprehend the breach in their comm systems and the systematic killing of another marine. The LCpl shook him out of it though, "Sarge, we got to move, the bridge is right in front of us."

"Copy that, send a runner to the Lt., let him know the comm line is breached." His head turned to the sight of Mitchell dashing for the Bridge. Drake did his best to pursue, but fell behind for a few seconds, the marine already creating a commotion against the bulkhead. 

"Open this door you Innie Sonuvabitch! I'm gonna gut all of you alive and feed your intestines to your makers!"


Drake simply grabbed the marine before he could make any more commotion, "Lock it down marine, Lance Corporal, have someone get a breaching charge on that door." His eyes looked directly into the Corporal's "The innies have engaged with lethal force, we shoot to kill."

[John]

Second Lieutenant Charles Callaghan

Chuck heard the Innie Captain over his radio. It was then that he knew the comms were breached. About a minute or two later, a runner from First Squad arrived, informing him of the fact he had just discovered himself. "Lance Corporal, you're now my runner between myself and First Squad. Tell them to be careful, but to take that bridge on the bounce!" he said before sending the Lance off again.

Then he turned to a Private in Third Squad. "Private. Run along to Second Squad, and get a SitRep." he said, and sent the kid off.

[RiddL]

Yuri Chudnovsky
Insurrectionist
Dead Mans Hand

Yuri watched the Marines with disappointment in his eyes. He watched as one of the Marines charged ahead of one of his compatriots and shook his head, if this os what the UNSC had to fight with, it was no wonder they were losing to the Covenant.

He decided to speak to the Lieutenant that was in charge and was pleasantly surprised to recognise the name, even though he probably didn't remember Yuri.

"Ahh, Lieutenant... It's been a long time since I saw you, though you probably don't remember me. Major Chudnovsky, Ex ODST. I saved your ass a while ago. Anyways I thought you should know just who you are dealing with. This will be the channel that only you can communicate with me. Don't try to trace me it'll say that I am back on Earth."

He paused and made a decision that would be risky, both for him and the Lieutenant.

"I will give you ten minutes to make a decision for what I am about to offer. A face to face meeting. Unarmed and Alone. Me and you. Before you decide I suggest you check with ONI and get my Record just so you know who I am. Refusal will mean the slow and complete and utter annihilation of you men. Accept and who knows... This battle will be over and you can leave with whoever is still alive. My Captain will be most displeased, but the way I see it. You cant risk the lives of your men, whereas the crew of this vessel is expendable." He paused to let all of this sink in.

"Your ten minutes start now Lieutenant" he said with a sign of finality.

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

MISSION END

UNSC enacted the cole protocol after taking the bridge, another casualty was inflicted in the firefight. Marine forces did not capture any insurrectionist or secure the cargo being transported. UNSC forces fell back to the hanger after reports of a covenant vessel entering the system reached them. To prevent the covenant from getting ahold of the cargo, UNSC forces destroyed the freighter.  It is assumed all insurrectionist forces went down with the ship. The UNSC battlegroup fled the system after the destruction of the insurrectionist ship, as did the pirates, who gained nothing from this trip. All boarding party members (Dead and alive) were recovered.

---

Sadly I'm gonna close this mission here due to lack of interest and lost of participating members. I did my best to keep this thread alive but in the end, it died a slow cruel death. Thank you to everyone that participated, I'll see you on the ground in M8.