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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 31, 2009 22:28:24 GMT -5
"Then you can sit in orbit until you find the Lord General and talk to him. Once we have confirmation from him, you will be cleared to set down on Landing Pad 3. Out" Van switched channels "Attention all air units, recommend you either put down at the Starport, or divert back to home. This sand won't do you any good. Catapult, put down a curtain barrage on the city limits. If the Orks are going to try to slip away, I want them to have to walk through a wall of fire to do it."
Van Dremmond pulled the control headset off and cursed. Where the hell had all this sand come from? He knew Dunbar would be furious that the Orks were going to be able to slip away without being able to do anything to stop them. That artillery barrage would take out more then a few of the Greenies, but some would escape.
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Dunbar fought down his anger as he climbed out of his tank. This bloody sand meant that the chase was over. He had already told the armoured elements to stop at the city limits, no matter what the infantry decided to do. The Center was pushing forward steadily, now, and the armour reserves had been committed to the left and right flanks. They were making good headway, and had a decent chance of breaking through the already strained Ork lines and pincering the tail of the Ork retreat.
Dunbar's Vanquisher was parked outside the Bombardment bunker that was supposedly full of STCs. Grendel Troop was drawn up around the entrance, too, and the Sentinels of Fox Troop were lurking behind them. A Salamander joined the collection of troops, and McVane dismounted, striding over to Dunbar. "Sir." he saluted and passed a slate to Dunbar "Message from Van."
Dunbar perused the slate, then nodded. "Find O'Toole and Harlowe, and give this to them. Round up some of Air Cav's boys to help you out as well. Take Miras with you."
As McVane hurried back to the Salamander, letting off a sharp whistle and a flurry of hand gestures at Miras' Sentinel, Dunbar joined Lt. Ketterman in front of the bunker. Ketterman had adapted well to Grendel, and now sported the traditional dust goggles and Ventro SMG that most of the other troopers wore. Sgt. Garth stood at his shoulder.
"Should we knock, sir?' said Garth with a slight grin, nodding at the bunker.
The three men considered the bunker for a moment.
Ketterman then stepped forward, and rapped his knuckles sharply on the steel blast doors
"Anyone home?" he shouted.
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Post by Melissia on Jul 31, 2009 22:40:16 GMT -5
A camera exited out of the roof above and in front of the door, and the machine spirit peered at the humans who were addressing it... judging them and scanning them, giving a rather uncomfortable feeling before the doors gradually began opening, a blast of cool air coming from them and warm air rushing in. A metalic, computerized voice intoned the machine spirit's thoughts in high gothic: "Species confirmed. No mutations detected. Allegiance: Imperial Guard. Acceptable ally. Door opening."
Within, a dozen techpriests, a few dozen skiitani, and a few magos' began to busy themselves with readying the STCs for transport. One Magos walked up to the soldiers, body encrusted with what seemed to be more implants than human flesh. "Greetings. You have our sincerest thanks." He seemed completely uneffected by the heat that rushed by his face, or the strangely cold air that rushed by his feet.... but he DID notice the techpriestess who made her way to the compound and now stood behind Ketterman. "Do not gawk, Magos Excelsion, it is unseemly." His pale face flushed ever-so-slightly as he immediently went back inside to save face, and join his peers. "A techpriest sees a well-crafted servo-harness and they can't help but just stare..." She almost seemed to smile out of a sense of humor at that comment. Almost.
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Post by Kaikelx on Jul 31, 2009 22:43:07 GMT -5
"This is Nickar. All units advance until the tankers halt. We don't wanna go outside right now...."
Isan still couldn't believe it.
"Are they...retreating!?"
Jan looked out into the sand storm.
"Either that, or they're advancing in another direction....."
Urvi stood back moving up to stand next to the duo.
"Well, either way, we better go find the sarge....Damn sand will miss with our comms."
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 31, 2009 22:56:52 GMT -5
Ketterman waved at the troopers of Grendel. "Get in there. There's got to be civilians in a bunker that size. Tend to wounded, distribute rations, and look after them."
Dunbar turned to the Tech Priest. "Ma'am, what do you need from us to help you recover this equipment?"
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The looted Russ was parked in an alleyway, covered with Camo netting and partially hidden behind rubble. No doubt, the Ork in charge of it thought he was rather clever.
Van Owen was more clever.
"Surprise!" he yelled, as Javelin 1 burst out of the building behind the Ork tank. As soon as he could make out the looted tank's profile through the dust, he fired a shell into it's rear armour. Fire quickly gutted the ramshackle Ork vehicle, and the crew came boiling out of the top hatch. Van Owen, how had popped the top hatch the second the shell had hit home, was waiting in the copula, Ventro in hand. He fired off a quick burst into each Ork as they emerged, dropping them like sacks of bricks.
"All clear, move!"
Two other Russes, flanked by sprinting Mordian infantry, rumbled by the alley entrance, chasing down the fleeing Ork rear guard.
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Post by Kaikelx on Jul 31, 2009 23:08:58 GMT -5
With the Orks falling back, 4th company regrouped, and then advanced. Moving up slowly, they started picking apart the Ork rear guard, staging counter-ambushes, only to fall back, to slowly lure the more bloodthirsty, and stupid Orks out, finish those off, and set up positions ahead of the retreat.
Meanwhile, a small group of volunteers provided a distraction, launching a showy attack on the rear guard, intended to add to the confusion.
Balan's squad, after Morain had taken out the gun positions, found themselves in the middle of another platoon, and they climbed onto one of the more intact buildings, raining grenades and las blasts into the retreating Orks.
Urvi, Isan, and Jan pretty much sat out most of the battle. Together, they managed to ambush, and eventualy disable a looted tank. Urvi and Isan had distracted it long enough for Jan to get close enough and high enough to launch a grenade into the hatch. Afterwards, they continued to advance, passing the ground where their sergeant had passed.
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Post by Melissia on Jul 31, 2009 23:48:59 GMT -5
"Colonel, be advised... a group of technosorcery enhanced soldiers are going to be deploying very soon. If their commander does not immediately contact you and identify himself, you may open fire-- I requested that they deploy via shuttle, but apparently they decided not to, and so I don't want to take chances."
The Orks reacted violently to anyone who attempted to chase after them, as is their wont-- firing loud and copious exchanges of shoota fire and rokkit barrages as they retreated in a leapfrog manner that almost seemed to be copyied from Guard teachings-- although the Ork rear guard lingered a bit more than it should, due to the Ork desire to get into combat... they made up for it by putting forth far more firepower than a Guard section would have been able to do in the same situation. While some of the Rear Guard sections were destroyed by Guardsmen... most of them were instead destroyed by the artillery, as the Orks made swift retreat out of the city.
Somewhere near the front of this horde, the warboss shook his head, and muttered angrilly under his breath: "Dem gitz got wut wuz comin' fer dem, not followin' me orderz." Turning on his radio to an unsecured channel that all Orks and the closer Guardsmen would be able to hear, he shouted to his troops: "Da warlord's a stupid git, an' we ain't followin' 'em anymore. We're followin' ME! Cause I's got Morksplan an' I'll make sure dat we gots lots of fightin' in da futyah insteada bein' wiped out by da 'umiez like doez other gits. So less getta move on, boyz, we needs ta make a 'idin place, make more gunz, an' find more boyz, so we can come back fer anotha go!"
And tha was the last this particular battleforce heard of the warboss, as he vanished into the sandstorm-- leaving the rear guard stragglers behind to live or die on their own, as Orks tend to do. The city was still infested with Orks, however, those Orks that refused to retreat and are instead now prowling the streets looking for 'umies to kill-- but they're far too disorganized to pose a real threat, unlike this apparently intelligent and lucky warboss...
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Aug 1, 2009 0:03:03 GMT -5
As the Orks disappeared, a single broadcast, looped three times, played through their vox.
"Run and Hide, Greenskin, run and hide. When you next show your face, Dunbar the Butcher will crush you again."
The signal, transmitted from Lifeguard and boosted through Eagle Eye 2, was strong enough to reach the Fort where the Lord General was stationed, as well most of the Hive City, and anyone, or anything, inside it that may have been listening.
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"Roger that, Sir, I'm moving to meet them now." Dunbar replaced the Vox head. Sticking his head out of the turret, he surveyed the scene. Grendel was providing security, as well as some manual labor, for moving the Tech stored in the bunker. Ketterman, who's expression had been carefully neutral upon learning that there had been no civilians, just machines, in the bunker, was watching from the sidelines.
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McVane nodded to Lt. Harlowe, and picked up his vox. "Eagle Eye, Airfield is secure."
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"Roger that.' Van switched channels to contact the mysterious new arrivals. "You are cleared for Landing Pad 3. Be sure to bring your troops in there, as they might otherwise teleport into the middle of other Guard elements."
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McVane sank down into the crew compartment, sitting on the metal decking. he proffered a water bottle to Telena. "How you holding up, kid? Life in the Guard everything you dreamed of?" he said with a half hearted smile.
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Post by Melissia on Aug 1, 2009 0:29:37 GMT -5
Telena looked notably umore upset than Ketterman as she surveyed the "I'd be a lot better if I didn't just get reinforced with how damned selfish those cogboys were... they probably cost hundreds of lives trying to protect the damned supposed "sanctity" of their machines... I knew a lot of people from this city, although I was from the hive city...."
As she was looking out the gunport, Telena obviously wasn't a professional soldier quite yet-- not enough to hold back her emotions like one anyway, but she was at LEAST disciplined enough to do nothing more than glare at the techpriests and skiitani as their convoy moved to the shuttles that were landing, taking the STCs to them so that they can be moved to the flagship for protection.
"Grr... there was plenty of room in the bunker for both the coggies and the people..." She was literally trembling with rage... priests of the Machine Cult were often mistrusted even in normal situations due to their various and completely voluntary augmetics, giving away parts of their humanity to become part machine instead, and this event only exacerbated Telena's mistrust.
"They need nothing more than they have, Colonel Dunbar, nor do they deserve anymore. STCs are holy devices, indeed fit for worship, but even they are worthless without the manpower needed to utilize them. Such senseless waste of good and faithful citizens goes against the tenets of the Machine Cult, and I will be sending a request for disciplinary action against them to our superiors as soon as I am finished organizing the repairs on those damaged tanks which can be salvaged."
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Aug 1, 2009 0:59:58 GMT -5
(OOC: Remember, McVane and Telena are in a Salamander, which is open topped. ) McVane scooted across the crew deck so he was sitting next to Telena. "Look, kid, I know this..." he waved a hand at the city, the planet, the war '...isn't easy. The whole damn world is ripped apart and burned. You lose friends, family, everything you know. It..." he seemed to flounder, lost for words "...well, it sucks, to put it mildly." Absentmindedly, he pulled out a chain from under his tunic, and began to fiddle with the locket on the end. "And for me, it never ends. I joined the Guard. The killing, the dying, it just keeps doing until everyone is gone." he tucked the locket back inside his shirt "It doesn't have to be that way for you. This war will end, the killing will stop, and you can rebuild your life. I know it doesn't change what happened, but at least it'll get better. I promise. Van promises. Dunbar promises. Okay?" He put an arm around her, to stop her from shaking. "All this will be behind you soon enough, I promise." Reds
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Post by Melissia on Aug 1, 2009 1:21:55 GMT -5
"I doubt that... from what the psyker said, I'll soon be offthis world, accompanying this crusade... though I hope you're right, the world will be rebuilt, I doubt I'll ever see it again." She stared at the devastated city in solemn silence, as the sun began to set on the battlefield. Only a couple dozen squads (around 240 bodies total) of Orks remained in the city, scattered and leaderless, essentially roaming the city at random and being one by one cleared out by the Guard. As conscripts and fresh troops landed on the space pad, hundreds of them-- many of them seemingly at awe at how devastated the city was, having never before seen a battlefield-- they were forced to stop gawking and get to work fortifying the city by the commissars attatched to them and the officers who led them.
"I've recieved reports that the final shuttle is entering orbit. If you can, Colonel, give them some pointers on good places to defend the city-- there's plenty of bodies, but not enough skill. This crusade has cost far too many lives-- if your experience can save a few soldiers from an early death, then the Emperor's will be done.
I and my command retinue will be shipped off-planet soon. The battle on Shibara III is not going well, and I need to get closer if at all possible so that I can better direct the troops there and direct reinforcements. I trust this sphere of combat is in good hands, Colonel Dunbar. Good hunting." The sound of an orbital lander arriving could be heard in the conversation, so he really was about to leave. Dunbar would have to deal with not having the Lord General around to speed up the response from naval support from now on...
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Aug 1, 2009 1:35:55 GMT -5
McVane surveyed the city too, having forgotten his arm around her shoulder. After a moment, he stiffened. "What if you could stay here after the war? Would you?" he asked suddenly, with a wry smile on his face.
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Dunbar was in his element.
"Alright, I want Hunter Teams moving through the city, sweeping it block by block. One squad of green troops, a five man fire team of Veterans, and a Russ in each group. We'll set up pickets on the outskirts and have Recon elements run patrols around the city. Once we sweep this place, we can start to dig in. Combat Engineers and Munitorium Pioneer teams will have seniority, and we can detail the new bodies to help out." he switched channels "Van, ring up the Navy. I want someone down here with you so we can coordinate with them better."
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Post by Srgt. Master on Aug 1, 2009 9:28:27 GMT -5
As the Outcast's firgate pulled into low orbit above the airport, the small ship finally uncloaked, showing the nearby navy ships who was thier mysterious renforcments.With an oversized cargo bay, the ship had been deformed slightly, buldging out in the sides, with the turret bays slightly hidden by the cargo riggs.
Below, in the airfield, Landing pad three suddenly burst into activity, as the Outcast forces teleported directly onto the surface, Squad sergents moving thier men back into position, engineers ensuring that thier charges did not suffer any damage from the teleportation and moving any gear that had moved while being placed into position. From the mess came a single officer, walking as fast as his bionics-ridden body would allow. After consulting a few shocked soldiers, he begun moving towards Van's location.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Aug 1, 2009 9:38:01 GMT -5
Van was standing in front of Landing pad three, a lho in his mouth and his Ventro tucked under his arm. Three sentinels stood behind him. He adressed the approaching officer. "That's far enough, thank you. Name, Rank, Serial Number, if you please, and tell me why the hellI should trust you. It would also be a very bad idea if your men stepped off the landing pad."
His Ventro was angled up slightly, pointing at the man's chest in a casual manner.
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Post by Srgt. Master on Aug 1, 2009 10:53:52 GMT -5
Stopping at his order, Clone Two knew that this was the most important moment for them. Keeping his hands visible to the officer,and thinking fast, he started in a calm voice. ¨Yes, Sir! Name: Jack Majune. Rank: Colonel. Serial Number:01-729-2938. I was sent by my supperiors to assist in the liberation of this system from those Xenos in any way possible. Frankly, I cannot truly tell you anything that would help me convince you, as the regiment that has had previous contact with us does not seem to be here anymore. I am also carrying supplies for the war effort, as well as medical assistance. If you want, you can have us all checked for Taint...¨
Knowing it was all down to whether or nor the officer in front of him decided to accept them or not. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that his men had stopped their work, and all were looking on at the first contact. Farther back, the engineers continued to assemble the mass teleporter, a more stable teleportation gate for the ship, allowing men to be easily passed from orbit, and also allowing the outcasts to make a quick escape if things went out of hand.
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Post by Rolling Thunder on Aug 1, 2009 14:06:24 GMT -5
Idly, Lucan obserbed as the new 'officer' addressed Van Dremmond, the man's cold, clinical tone utterly out of place on the landing pad, where the yells and screams of the wounded - his wounded - could still be heard. Teleportation, eh? It was a bloody miracle his men hadn't just opened fire and charged, landing without warning like some fool Astartes in the midst of a full company of the most evil-minded, twitchy and vicious fighters in the Army Group.
"What Captain Dremmond is saying, 'Colonel', is that you appear to be using proscribed technology, and just attempted to commit suicide-by-friendly forces. I mean, Emperor-dammit man, you just landed in amongst my company. Consider yourself lucky you weren't eating auto rounds and HE, pulling a stunt like that" he drawled, idly still chewing on the mangled, flaming remains of his cigar clamped between his jaws.
As if to reinforce his statement, a pair of Vultures arced past overhead , the thunderfire of their engines blotting out all other sounds as they swooped past, blasting away to support the Hunter teams as they cleared the city. The second pair could be seen in the distance, blazing into the remainder of the Orks still holding part of the Spaceport. Distracted, he watched as the glowing flare of missile detached itself from under an aircraft, and slowly, almost idly swooped through the open window of the Ork-held control tower.
The missile did not so much explode, as erupt into a burning, roaring inferno that engulfed the defending Xenos in a blaze of hellish fire. As if on cue, a squad sprinted to the fore, and, a moment later, the ringing crash of a demolition charge could be heard, shattering the air asunder.
"So....." he said, idly drawing the words out beneath his teeth, as another squad of his ambled their way atop the pad, as evil-eyed and murderous a band as any commander could ask for in this situation. "Tell us who you are, exactly?"
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Aug 1, 2009 14:33:16 GMT -5
Van Dremmond rolled his eyes and sighed inwardly as Cpt. Lucan spoke. "Captain, we had them land on Pad 3 to avoid your troops. That's why the crew chief for the pad had your men clear off." turning back to the new officer, Van smiled mirthlessly. "Cpt. Lucan is right, though. You get to tell me, him, and the other unit commanders a little story about who you are and how you got here.
"As for your weaponry, well, since it's NMFP, I don't really care, so the Tech priests can deal with it when they find out. I won't be reporting it, though, so they'll have to discover it for themselves. So, until we have our little pow-wow with the other commanders, your men can sit on that pad and twiddle their thumbs. And they should step away from that teleporter device, now, or I'll have my tanks..." He indicated Conquerer hidden in the rubble behind him that the man had missed. "...blast your men to bits."
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Post by Srgt. Master on Aug 1, 2009 16:07:04 GMT -5
¨I see...¨ seeing that things were starting to get a bit out of hand, he quickly made a story up. ¨Well, quite frankly, we were prisoners of a tau outpost, Not too sure if it's nearby, tough. Anyway, we managed to pull off an escape with some captured weapons and gear. We managed to take the frigate flying up there and make a blind jump, Thank the Emporer we ended here and not in the middle of a daemon world!¨ Turning around, he quickly ordered the Engineers to stop assembling the mass teleporter. Once they had all assembled away from the half-assembled machine, he turned back to the Captain and officer. ¨To tell you the truth, we were being sent here either way, Our ship just had a run-in with the tau, and we lost most the stuff we had with us.¨
On the pad, the troopers had lowered thier visors and formed a rough circle around the gear and equiptment. Each man held his rifle idly, but had placed themselves in defendable positions. The Engineers meanwhile begun unpacking the supply crates that they had teleported with them, placing the munitions and food into piles on the center of the pad.
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Post by Kaikelx on Aug 1, 2009 16:26:22 GMT -5
Nickar hurriedly moved up to the growing group of commanders, half intent on communicating with someone on the other end of a Vox.
"Yeah Major, it's the same guys.....Yes, sir......Yes, sir............Nene? Well, it's not exactly a big secret she's your true second......Yes, sir even Kirlia knows.......Alright sir, I'll be sure to tell them that."
Switching to external comms, Nickar spoke, barely using any motion, and it was impossible to see his face underneath his helmet.
"Sirs, apparently, Major Xiang has heard of these......soldiers....And has fought with them, if for a short a while before resuming travel to our true destination. That entrance was a bit.....flashy, but Major Xiang vouches for them. Of course, I would like to know how they managed to pull off a telly without frying the guys......"
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Post by Rolling Thunder on Aug 1, 2009 16:34:09 GMT -5
"You expect me to move - no, don't answer Dremmond, I've got the list somewhere" Lucan snapped, fumbling inside his overcoat. "Ah, yes. Six men with third-degree burns, five with gunshot wounds to the central mass, eight broken or dislocated limbs, and twenty-two cases of combat psychopathy. Oh, and there's no way in hell the rest are moving until we casevac, and there's no reliable way of doing that, until we fix Pad Four or these get off Pad Three." He growled, the remainder of the landing pads being smouldering, twisted ruins.
"Now, since we're distracting one another once again, might I - oh, it's a Hellbane. Report, Guardsman."
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Aug 1, 2009 16:46:13 GMT -5
Van Dremmond rolled his eyes. "I expected you to move your men to proper medical facilities." he gestured at the Medicae tents being set up near the Tower and Hanger complexes. "Emperor knows why you decided to collect your wounded on one of the few functioning landing pads, instead of in the hangers or by the Tower once the facility was secure. We did discuss during the brief that we would be using the pads to bring in reinforcements, after all. And I'll thank you to refer to me as Major, Lucan."
He turned to the new officer. "Right now, I don't care who you are or what you do. If you want to fight with us, that's great, but we'll insist on a Commissar attached to the unit to keep an eye on you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to start pulling together casualty reports and directing the new blood to where they can do the most good."
Van Dremmond walked back toward the Rad/Comm Chimera parked inside the Shuttle Wall near one of the hangers.
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Post by Srgt. Master on Aug 1, 2009 16:54:19 GMT -5
Trying to not roll his eyes, all Clone Two could do nod and hope the Commissar was not too experianced...¨Yes sir, Now may my men move our stuff and finish the teleporter array?¨ Indicating the men on the platform.
Walking to the newly arrived trooper, he quietly asked the man ¨Where is Major Xiang? I would like to talk to him, it has truly been awhile.¨
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Post by Kaikelx on Aug 1, 2009 17:08:22 GMT -5
Nickar fought the urge to scream out the fact that he was a Captain.
Dammit, he stopped being a Guardsmen years ago!
Taking a deep breath Captain Nickar answered the officer.
"Major Xiang is in orbit, inside our flagship, The Shield Arrow"
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Post by Rolling Thunder on Aug 1, 2009 17:28:35 GMT -5
"Very good Captain" Lucan said, an ironic smile creasing his savagery-worn features for a second. "Is there anything you'd like me to do about it. We've engineers working on Pad 4, and I'm waiting on the Offico Medicae to send me alternate casevac. If you're lucky, this won't take long.
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Post by Kaikelx on Aug 1, 2009 17:35:10 GMT -5
Nickar called up 2nd platoon, and told them what he wanted.
".....Understood?........Good. Have an Enginseer help you out in choosing a site. Be sure to set it up near the space port.....And once you're done, round up the medics to staff it. Then set up another."
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Post by Melissia on Aug 1, 2009 17:40:45 GMT -5
"No, not that building you fool, the one across the street from it. Yes, the one that still has its "Fast-Grox" sign intact. Ignore the sigh, meatbag, just go inside. That restaurant appears to be the most stable of the buildings near the starport, and it will have to make due.
Begin cleaning the area and setting up medical equipment. I will obtain and bless a backup generator for the building, and perhaps we will be able to get the building cooled down for the time being, and the more advanced equipment will work properly."
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