Exodus: Beyond Eden Chapter 1: Into the unknown [IC]

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Katsumi took a good look at the faces of the people, memorizing them as they introduced themselves, trying to get a good gauge of their personalities from their demeanor as they did so. This group would make an interesting mix of individuals, though how well they would function in a team, Kats couldn't quite tell. Some of them seemed like they would try to keep the team together but others struck her as the type that wouldn't quite work to hard for that. Well, hopefully things would work out.

"We'll be fine guys," she said flashing a grin to the group. "Anyway, my name is Katsumi Erdos, a scout, so- nice to meet you guys," she said, a faint sound of metal running against metal at a fast speed was briefly emanating from her left hand before stopping abruptly. She had given a brief flick to her spinner ring before stopping the moving piece and continuing her introduction. "I'm mostly here because, well, people are falling ill and dead left and right and this is a chance to stop it, I'd say that's a noble cause to risk your life for."

So did not forget to have her mention her job >.<

Edited October 17, 2014 by Snap Crackle Pop

[K_H]

Jack Smithson looked at his Fellow Squadmates, and then introduced himself.

"Well, It seems that since we're all in the same Squadron, you may as well meet your Medic. My name is Jack Smithson, and it is an honor to be serving with you guys."

[Flux]

Garen stepped forward as Jack returned to the line.

"Hello," he started, giving a wave to the others. "My name is Garen Forrest, and I'll be scouting for all of you. I fancy myself to be a nature's man, as I feel truly comfortable only when I'm outdoors. So you can trust that I'll be able to find my way around. As for why I'm here, well, I can't honestly say that I have as noble of a reason as the rest of you, and honesty matters to me. No, I'm not driven by personal experience, though I'll be fighting just as hard to find a cure." He paused, hoping they would understand what he meant.

"Ever since I was a boy, I've been filled with dreams of adventure and exploration, finding my way through uncharted land just like the first settlers of this planet, and even farther back, the the pioneers of Earth. I see Eden to be my chance to live out my dream for a noble cause." With that, he stepped back, awaiting their next instructions.

[Sutoratosu]

"You're the only one left, Quiet." Jace said, turning his attention on the shrouded gun slinger. "Don't think anyone's exempt from this."

Quiet, true to his namesake, said nothing in response. He stood there, analyzing Jace, his mouth hidden by his sterling black cloth and his eyes obscured by his shades. It was impossible to tell what he might be thinking.

"Not going to introduce yourself?" Jace asked, his voice getting a bit more force behind it. "Alright then, I was hoping I wouldn't have to treat anyone here like a goddamn three year old, but looks like I have no choice but to for you." He walked up to quiet, rifle strapped to his belt and helm still in his arm. He glared hard at the Mysterioso. "Introduce yourself to your comrades now, that is an order, soldier."

"If I refuse?" Lance asked suddenly. "what will you do, kill me for insubordination?"

"It is a simple order, soldier!" Jace said angrily. "I have already explained why such social isolationism cannot work on a team. But if you're so dead set on being such a cryptic loner..."

Before Bane could even finish, Lance had whirled out a pistol from beneath his shroud quick as lightning and held the end of the barrel at his face, finger on the trigger and safety flicked off. "Fine, I'll introduce myself." he said, still holding the gun at his CO. "My name is Lance Quiet but you may address me simply as quiet." he took the gun away from Jace's face and whirled it in his hands, stowing it back in his shroud just as quickly as he had drawn it. there was a silent click as he flicked the safety back on before withdrawing his hand. He spoke in a clear monotone, for some reason it seemed that having the shrawl over his mouth didn't do anything to muffle his voice. "And I will give all of you one warning, and one warning only. Do not get on the wrong end of my pistols, because I can guarantee you that if you do, I'll be far more dangerous than anything you might encounter beyond Eden." He turned his attention to Bane next. "That good enough for you, Major Jace?"

"You will address me properly, Quiet," Jace snarled. "And if you EVER point a gun at me again while I am serving as the Commanding officer of this Mission, you will be brought up on High Treason Charges and executed the moment we return to Esperanza. The Minister of Defense has complete footage and audio of your actions just now and will have a team of fully armed SFs waiting to either arrest or eliminate you as necessary if there are any more issues that arise. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Yes sir," Quiet said mockingly. He had to admit though, this kid was holding up remarkably well to his subtle testing; He wasn't just some one shot wonder...This man was indeed the level headed little prodigy he had heard about so often. The very fact that he hadn't lost complete control of his temper and made an outburst even after having a gun pointed at his face proved as much. Yes... he'd be able to follow orders from one like him.

Jace's angry gaze lingered on Lance for a moment more, then he turned, walking away from the shrouded man and addressing the team. His rising wrath was clear in the tone of his voice, however, though he restrained himself from raising it or shouting. "Now that you all know each other's names," he began, taking the rifle from his belt and forcing the safety off. "We can now proceed to Eden. The area we are standing in right now is approximately one and a half miles south from the target. We will hike 400 meters west along the forest ridge, than turn north and hike the remaining distance north. At the site we will be met by the designated Field Expert for this mission and her assigned Body Guard. If you have any questions, as I said before, that's too damn bad. you should've asked when it was possible to refuse the task." With that he flicked a single switch on his rifle, cycling between the various modes and walking to a nearby break in the tree line. a small trail could be seen leading just beneath a large cliff face, some 20 meters high at least.

"This is the path we will take," he said to the group. "Follow behind closely, safeties off. And whatever you do, don't walk single file, too easy to be picked off by predators that way." with that said he began to make his way down the trail, not bothering to check if any of the group was following him or his orders.

[Aurorix]

Zero went first resting his arms on the hilts of the blades as he followed him into the forest. He seemed to regain his composer from before, quite and careless to the world around him. He just hopped this hike wouldn't be too long, 'Why were we dropped off a mile away from our destination, that seems a little bit counter productive.' Zero thought to himself. 'I just hope no one complains on the way there about them being tired or their legs hurt.' after that thought he let out a big sigh.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen already had her Long Rifle out and readied as the Major mentioned safeties off. The Old battered gun had probably seen better days, and most people would probably throw her a sideways glance or 2. It was old, and antique. And yet it had character and class. She placed a cloak over top of her exo-suit, a sort of poncho style cloak. It was coloured with Greens and browns to make it blend into the surroundings. "Well, you guys heard the Major. You don't send the Sniper in first so get moving."

[Flux]

Garen walked into the forest, instantly feeling at home. He wandered a short distance into the brush, so as to avoid walking single file. He remained within eyesight of the group, so the commander could know where he was at all times. As they walked, he made note of his surroundings, picking landmarks in case the need ever arose to come back this way in a hurry. In vast forests such as these, it was easy to lose your sense of direction if you weren't careful. He put a hand on the hilt of his hunting knife as he walked, an old habit of his. The safeties on his were off, as they had been before ever boarding the ship. He did not use them except for when he had to, a rule that he had made for himself. He tried to avoid technology when he could. He glanced at the others to make sure they were following. Vixen was wearing a cloak for camouflage, and he respected that foresight on her part. His own clothes already matched the colors of the forest, though he had a similar cloak in his own bag just in case.

[K_H]

Jack headed along the path, making sure to be stealthy as he headed towards the Destination, the Safeties of his Guns switched off.

Edited October 20, 2014 by K_H

[Ragnar]

"Bolt, set phasers to stun, radars on..scout the place within radius. alert us when something's up." Kenshin commanded his drone as it hovers steathy though the woods as it orbits around the group.

the boy walks cautiously with the others,holding his arc caster by his side. keenly observing his surroundings. while walking, Kenshin couldn't help but to notice that last guy's introduction, quite the show that 'Quiet' guy just pulled off, a loose cannon perhaps? as an engineer, i know one thing is certain, one damage gear is enough to derail the entire machinery, better keep a close look out for that guy. if he can pull a gun at the CO, he won't think twice pulling a gun on us.

[Chevaleresse]

Kyahnna flipped a switch on her rifle, and the weapon hummed to life before quieting back down. She resisted the urge to charge forward into the brush and instead took up a position just behind those leading the group, preferably behind a melee specialist.

[Notus]

Big had his safety already off from the moment Quiet pulled that gun stunt. He didn´t know what the guy was thinking, but hell that was a scare. Welp, maybe this was his idea of a joke, and anyway now he seemed to be all right.

"Hehey, nothing like a good walk to start a mission." he said happily, taking a position more or less in the middle of the group, were he could easily see and support everyone.

[Rosesong]

Sarah, slightly calmer, followed everyone silently. What's that guy think he's playing at, pulling guns for fun? Oh, but I do hope this'll be fun-- Right, concentrate, concentrate! The girl reprimanded herself, taking to walking toward the back of the group and swinging her head side to side, taking in all the sights. As she walked, she pulled her taser and hummed to herself idly.

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Katsumi did as she was told, reaching for her primary pistol and clicking the safety off. She had located herself slightly ahead and to the left of the group, if one was looking down at bird's eye view. 'Twas an interesting stunt that Quiet had pulled, but she decided not to dwell on it too much.

[Ragnar]

as Kenshin looks around, he somehow notice the bothered girl with the taser gun at the back, as his observation of the team continues it seems that almost half of their team seems to be old fashioned and knows how to hold a gun...probably some of them are trained survivalist or soldiers from the past.surely this is no place for an engineer without any combat skill. but Kenshin isn't your typical engineer.

"Miss sarah" he called out. "i suggest you keep your focus.. you wouldn't want to electrocute the entire team before we get to the camp, now would we?" Kenshin warned Sarah without malice.the boy steps to the right as he takes his position guarding the squad and continues to walk through the woods.

((yey! interaction))

[Rosesong]

Glancing at Kenshin, Sarah giggled. "Oh Kenshin, no need to fret! I've using these before you know!" She allowed her eyes to continue roaming the landscape, unfazed by her colleagues caution.

[Ragnar]

Kenshin keeps on walking as he was satisfied in Sarah's answer, the boy's eyes were set on the road ahead and didn't bother to look or respond at the girl.

Certainly this girl knows what she is doing, not many of them are carrying arc casters, only him and the girl. another engineer perhaps? well whatever her profession is, she seems to be trustworthy. as for the other members, they seem to be a bit shady for the engineer's eyes. Kenshin has trust issues in his team for the time being.

[Sutoratosu]

Those on the Trail...

A sharp Crack! sounded all around the group, like an echo bouncing off the face of the cliff. Bane held up his hand in a halting gesture, scanning the surrounding forest down below the ridge they were traveling on. His HUD revealed no heat sigs. Another crack sounded, as if something were snapping fallen tree limbs along the forest floor. Then more...and more...and more... and MORE. then the screeching and roaring began. but whatever the hell was making all these noises was nowhere to be seen, though it sounded as if it was right next to them... and it sounded like there was a lot of them.

Damn it... we've run across a few Monochromes... Jace thought to himself as realized precisely why nothing was coming up but the sounds kept on. "Get down, now!" Bane ordered, dropping to his stomach and lying with his Rifle aimed down the slope. He looked up at them. "Damn it, Soldiers, I said Down! Now!"

Those still in the Clearing...

A series of sharp, echoing cracks echoed through the air, audible to all those still present within the clearing. Then a couple screeches began to take their places... and then it went from a couple, to a whole chorus.

Lance didn't say anything at all, didn't even look at his team members. He just whirled out his pistols from his shroud and clicked the safeties off simultaneously. The next moment the phantom of a man had disappeared down the forest trail...

[K_H]

Jack dropped to the ground Quickly and Stealthily.

Edited October 24, 2014 by K_H

[Rosesong]

Sarah jumped at the harsh sounding down that came, but quickly dropped to the ground and pulled her arc caster. "So, sorry to be a nuisance," she spoke, her voice surprising sharp and succinct for the second time since the team had met up, "But why exactly are we on the ground?"

[Chevaleresse]

Kyahnna made a practiced drop to the ground, her rifle trained in the direction the noise seemed to be coming from. Her usually cheerful expression was still there, but it was layered with one of intense focus. "What are we looking at here?" she called out.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen, being at the back, dropped immediately. Now was the time to not be heard or seen. She took a deep breathe as she scanned the environment for threats. She didn't make any discernible noise, since as her job as sniper was to be a ghost. She looked through the scope of her Long Rifle, hoping to catch a glimpse of their foe.

[Aurorix]

Zero went down, not as fast ad the others because he reaction was delayed due to him spacing out.

[Sutoratosu]

"The question is 'What aren't we looking at', soldier," Jace called in response to Sarah's inquiry. "The thing making those screeches are a highly territorial and predatory species of large reptilian known as 'Monochromes'. Their capable of perfectly blending in to their surroundings and becoming invisible... as well as perfectly match their bodies temperature to their environment. They're very existence is like mother nature at her most brutal." As he was speaking, a large log flew up the slope, crashing into the cliff wall above them with so much force that it shattered into splinters and knocked a few rocks loose.

"You just see that logged that was hurled? That's precisely why I said 'GET DOWN'," he continued, switching from a Heat sig scan to Infrared. "I have lost only four men in my entire career as an ESF commander... and all four of them died just like all of you would've just now if I hadn't ordered you to the ground." Fuck... he thought to himself silently as the HUD came back with the new results. they were completely surrounded in a semi circle, backs pinned to the cliff. He locked the results in with a verbal command, sending it to the HUDs of the others.

Every single person in the group had an scan just like the one Bane was looking at pop up in their helmet's screens, laying over top of their views of the forest below and revealing a good twelve large, quadruped shapes, each one at least as big as an SUV from the history books. "Don't let em touch you, if it comes to them making it up this ridge. Those bastards are capable of tearing right through shields!" With that said he fired a single Laser Burst from his rifle, sending it streaking down range and hitting one of the larger shapes. The thing roared with anger as it's hide was burned clean through, destroying it's ribcage and internal organs, sending it toppling over to the ground. The ground itself began to shake as it's brethren joined in, enraged by the murder of their pack member.

"FIRE AT WILL!" Jace shouted, switching over to the Assualt rifle setting and sending a slew of bullets whizzing towards the invisible beast. on everyone's HUDs, they could see the eleven survivors beginning to charge towards their postion... make that ten, actually, Major Bane had just eliminated another one.

((Soldiers, the scan presented on your HUDs are in Infrared, rendering the Tangoes visible to you.))

=====================

SHIELD LEVELS:

EVERYONE 100%

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen released a shot from her Long Rifle, and sent it whizzing towards one of the Beasts head. Right Between the eyes was the spot Vixen liked to hit most. She quickly chambered another round, clearing the bolt action of her rifle.

[Sutoratosu]

The beast Vixon had in her sights did something that defied all reason. On the HUD, she had a clear view of it as it burrowed itself into the forest floor easily just before the Bullet could hit it's mark, evading death entirely. It was also the largest of the things attacking them... and apparently the brightest, since the two that had already been killed by Jace had taken no evasive maneuvers. The ground shook even harder as more stones fell. They were all getting closer to the squad.

Meanwhile, Lance sat perched up on the Cliff face, in a small alcove created from the log's impact not long ago. Both his guns sat lazily in his hands. He was able to see the things coming at the group perfectly. in fact, he didn't even have his helmet on.

"How interesting..." he mused to himself, watching as the others down below began to engage the Monochromes. "There's more than enough of them to handle the underlings..." He reached up and flicked his shades into their X-ray setting. And that's when he saw just what he he was looking for; the Alpha male. The thing was burrowing around underground like a mole, getting ready to flank them all.

"Time to start the clock then," he said, shifting his pistols into full auto before leaping down from the alcove, landing behind the group, rolling to distribute the impact before getting up and dashing off to the far left...

============================

SITUATION REPORT:

Party Status: Engaged

Tangoes remaining: 9?

Health:

Everyone 100%