Ill switch to a trooper then.

Caek, it was me. Because having a pilot leader would be hilarious.

Indeed it would be.

"Squad, advance twenty metres!"
"I see a machine gunner sir, doing that is suicide!"
"I don't see no machine gun."
"That's because your in a ♥♥♥♥ helicopter!"

Or

"Hey guys. See that guy with the missile launcher? Yes, him. Take him out."
"But we'll probably take catast-"
"I SAID TAKE HIM OUT!"

NB: A squadship is a small dropship - 2 pilot seats, 8 passenger seats. Usually used for dropping a squad, hence their name.



"All hands to your stations, beginning final descent. All Marine Squads, report to your Squadships and prepare for immediate deployment."

You've all done this drill a hundred times. Feels like you could do it in your sleep.

Saber squad assembles in their Squadship, doing last minute checks on their gear. Corporal Grif Mason, their squad leader. Private Dirk Mason, support specialist and Grif's brother. Private Georgii Alekseyvich Vorotyntsev, support specialist. Privates Havelock Dagenham and Nikolai Petrouski, the team medics. "Private" CD-V5, the android, one of those new-fangled modular military models.

Up front in the two-man cockpit is Private Bob Jones, running the final pre-flight checks. His co-pilot seat is empty.



"Captain, Taris and the outlying colonies are not responding to any of our hails. All I'm getting is static."

"Keep trying, dammit. Set in a course for the Taris docks."

"Aye ay-- sir, I'm picking up something on long-range radar. Wait... we have incoming! Incoming missiles!"

"Right at the bottom of our descent? Shields to full, evasive maneuvers now! Where's the secondary LZ?"

"North continent, sir!"

"Set course, get us clear of this hellhole!"



Two blasts rock the Ulysses.

Murmurs of apprehension fill the air. Grif hears them over the squadleader network too, at least until Intel steps in and explains. Then it takes one of the senior squad leaders to get everyone to shut up again.

"All nonessential crew to evacuation points, all craft prepare for hotlaunch in five. This is not a drill. Repeat, all nonessential crew to evac points. Ulysses is under ground fire."

That's not good.

A number flashes up in the cockpit displays.



Acceleration kicks hard as the squadship is catapulted out of its cosy little launch bay. From the window in the deployment ramp, you can see the Ulysses, with several more missiles incoming. She's accelerating, hard. The shields and armour are holding, but there's engine damage.

And now there's... flak? Sooty black explosions and shrapnel fill the air around the squadships. One of them goes down with an engine in flames, spiralling out. Wing insigna; Delta. Hardcore commandos, one of the few veteran squads on the Ulysses. You all see four figures in freefall; the canopy flies off of the crippled squadship and a fifth joins them. They wait until most of the flak near them has died down, then hit their chutes. They'll be fine.

The other squadships scatter under the fire, you lose sight of them, but are sure at least one or two more went down. The fighters, evac pods, and other ships are long gone. Something in the port wing goes crunch, then explodes. The Saber squadship starts listing and nosing down, straight towards the forest.

Hard to find inspirational words at a time like this, but Corporal Mason tries all the same. At least until there's a sickening crunch as the squadship hits the ground. The engines are off but she keeps going, and the sound of wood cracking and smashing against her armoured hull seems to go on for an eternity. A loud crash from up front, a shout, and a thud. A treetrunk now occupies the copilot's seat.

Close call, Jones.

Finally, all the noise stops, and the little ship along with it. Overheated metal hisses and pings as it cools. The squadnet is quiet... no other squads in range, and the Ulysses is definitely out of range.

After a moment, the deployment ramp drops open with a heavy *thud*, revealing the trail of splintered wood and shattered foliage left in the shuttle's wake.



Well, at least you're all still alive, if a little sore. Now what?

Fail Flail/Grif Mason - N/A
As you suspected, there's no response on the other comm layers beyond static or silence. This planet obviously didn't get any telecomm sats set up, or if it did then they're FUBAR. After the others are done picking over the wreck you group them all up and head out.

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Traumahawk/Georgii Alekseyvich Vorotyntsev - N/A
He's your CO and he'll call you whatever the hell he likes. There's nothing out there that you can see.

---

caekdaemon/Bob Jones - N/A
There's not a whole lot in the way of supplies loaded on-board, but you find a spare magazine for your handgun and three ration bars. There are also a pair of small first-aid kits, which are assigned to the medics to bolster their supplies.

New Item: Ration Bar - It's not exactly what you'd call fine eating, but it sure as hell beats starving to death.
New Item: First Aid Kit - Small and very limited in the amount of supplies it holds, but it can stabilize a Mortally wounded ally long enough for them to recieve proper treatment. Nobody likes bleeding to death.

Added to Inventory: 3 Ration Bars, 1 Marine Pistol magazine (10/10)

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TheKebbit/Havelock Dagenham - N/A
In the grim remains of the shuttle's passing, there is only proto-woodpulp. Not a drop of decent cover in sight, unless the non-shredded trees count.

Added to Inventory: 1 First Aid Kit (2/2)

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Harzipan/Nikolai Petrouski - N/A
Nobody reports any serious injuries, not even a scratch in fact. All your kit is in good order, especially adding in supplies from one of the first aid kits Bob found.

Added to Inventory: 1 First Aid Kit (2/2)

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Izen/CD-V5 - N/A
These things weren't made with easy salvaging in mind - they're mostly armour, engine, and crew space. Not a whole lot you can really take with you or easily remove, not without delaying the squad significantly. You do manage to retrieve the squadship's emergency beacon; a sort of compact, smooth canister about a foot long and three inches in diameter. Better not activate it just yet.

New Item: Emergency Beacon - A metal canister, 12" long and 3" diameter. When activated, deploys feet from one end and a transmitter dish from the other, then broadcasts an emergency rescue signal.

Added to Inventory: Saber Squad Emergency Beacon

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Miggles/Dirk Mason - N/A
Fortunately nothing is actually on goddamn fire, but there’s really not much to be had. The view isn’t too bad, if you like looking at mangled forests.

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Saber Squad - N/A
The fastest way to any kind of LZ is back the way the shuttle came, so the team trudges down the splintered path, carefully picking their steps. After a few minutes, you hit an old dirt road, which the shuttle must've skipped over on the way down. Off in the distance is some kind of... tower? It must be one of the local observation posts.

Might be worth checking out?

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