as written by glmstr and Azrican
"Hmmm, Valore, is it? I bet they have great beaches! I'll make sure to go check it out," Erika was holding two swimsuits in front of her, one with a green digital camo pattern and the other with a motif based on the
Hykan Flag.
She wanted to represent her home, albeit in a silly way, but she knew she would need a spare just in case. Besides, she could always buy another one on her next visit if this one was somehow ruined. The Hykan woman folded up both sets and slipped them into various pockets in her backpack, so they'd be ready immediately when she needed them. Now, all she had to do was convince the others to bring swimsuits too.
Erika stood up to stretch, her head turning sharply when she heard the door open.
"Hello?" 1st Sergeant Horakova's head poked out from her pod to see who the visitor was.
____
The large station in the belly of the New Atraliah contained the ejecting station for the thirty-something SPECTRE-type orbital insertion pods had a skeleton crew in the section at the moment. A service elevator was heard rattling the cold frame of the cruiser as it came to rest on the final level of the ship station. The intercom screeched to life throughout the bulkheads and ratings, a short klaxon heard.
“Captain on deck, Package Darkbow is to be ready for launch in t-minus one hour.”
Agent Riley took a step out of the elevator before turning back to Captain Besnik, who was looking over the shoulder of a Senior Chief with a cart full of equipment and hardware. The Cobalt agent known as Steel Patron adjusted the ballistic vest that was fitted over him, resting one hand on the matte-black rifle slung to his waist.
“Let’s get your team, agent.” Captain Besnik said, a blunt tone all he replied with as he followed the Senior Chief. Agim lorded over the stack of plastic casings and fiber-sheaths of electronic hardware and gear.
The small entourage of men and machine came to a cluster of pods where Erika was. Captain Besnik’s finely polished boots and starchy, gray attire looked a marked difference from the Navy work duties or the agent’s Jumper armor. “This is First Sergeant Erika Horakova, she’ll be your main rifle and assault lead.” Agim gave the Hykan a curt nod before indicating to the stack of SPECTRE pods.
“We’ll have to use the mark four since this is going to be a long shot.”
The sound of a circuit popping just a few meters away revealed Tanner Hawke coming down the catwalk to the pod cluster. The Sergeant gave a brief salute to the Captain, as Agim pulled a cigarette from his pocket and introduced Hawke to the team. “This will be your E-man, there’s a ruggedized entangler rigged to that type-6 armor that might come in handy.”
“Sergeants, this is Steel Patron. He will be the Cobalt handler executing the primary mission objectives planetside; your job will be to make sure he doesn’t get a bullet in the back.”
____
"Normally I'd be groaning about an escort mission right about now, but I get the feeling you
aren't braindead and that this shouldn't be too hard," Erika grabbed her fatigues from the hanger and started getting dressed. "That's one thing I sure don't miss from the rebellion: escorting those radical figurehead speakers around. They were
insufferably angry all the time, but they were too helpless to spend more than a few hours a day without armed guards around them."
The sergeant tied her dull red bandana as a headband, the occasional stray lock of auburn hair laying on top of the fabric instead of below.
____
“Fortunately ISAAC isn’t trusting this rag-tag assortment of misfits with establishing contact with a new civilization.” Agim said as he lit the cigarette with a match, motioning for the Senior Chief to help Hawke with the exoskeleton attached to his armor. “I’m hoping you won’t meet some new merry band of war criminals and cosmic conquerors down there though. If you do you’re on your own.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Riley said, laying the AR-93 into a pack-away locker that would be fit to the SPECTRE pod. After this he pulled a holo-tab from his belt, pulling it open. “Starfleet will only get us so far, and we might not get a chance to go planetside again once the New Atraliah leaves the system.”
Hawke raised his free hand, the other encased is several pounds of automail too underpowered to function properly. “Why’s the Exogarden fleet finally sending a team down to this planet? It’s a mole on the ass of nowhere.”
“That’s a question I think only serves to reinforce itself.”
Captain Besnik exhaled, a cloud of smoke building in front of him. He stood in front of a holo-deck, activating the projector with one swipe of his fingers: a detailed list of equipment, trajectory information and flight data scrolled before them. "We'll be launching a Mk. IV with a retrofitted sub-light booster: we're estimating flight time between eight and ten hours."
"Your pod will be cold, ambient temperature inside will be anywhere from -30 to -80 degrees. Make sure your armor cells are charged and ensure your envi-suit is functioning or you'll be a popsicle by the time you reach the surface."
____
"Sounds like a blanket and some snuggling won't be enough, I guess," Erika shrugged and started putting together the various parts of her envi-suit and readying her weapons, checking and rechecking the batteries multiple times. The Hykan winters would often be as cold as he suggested the pod will be, but the SPECTRE doesn't have piles of blankets, hot cocoa, and holiday movies. Once each piece of her suit checked out, she moved on to the weapons. The AR-98 was more than finicky for a state-of-the-art weapon, but it looked cool and performed well, when it actually worked. She had to clean it several times a day to keep it functional, and the delicacy of the rifle made it as much trouble as it was worth. The AP-50 was pretty bad about it too, but it was slightly more reliable. It had to be cleaned once or twice a day, and it was a nightmare to un-jam it when it misfired.
After a good brushing and reassembly, she moved on to her favorite of her firearms: The Vickers Valiant Model 28. This baby was always operable, even in the mud, kicked like a mule, and would turn any unlucky target's torso into meaty confetti. That, and the action made the most beautifully loud and crunchy sound when pumped. She couldn't resist how indimidating it sounded, that was the only real reason she bothered not getting the automatic.
Finally, after packing the rest of the weapons into the gun case of her pod, she brandished her sword. The heirloom weapon was incredibly light thanks to its slender profile, and terribly sharp. It was a gift from her uncle and he meticulously inspected the weapon and maintained it daily, so it would be more than rude if she did not do the same. After wiping down the blade with a soft cloth a few times, she slid it back into its sheath and placed it in the case with her other weapons, and closed the lid. She tucked her laptop into its own small case as well, along with a charger fitted with some solar panels. She had made sure to download a few hundred hours of movies and her favorite TV shows to keep herself (and possibly the rest of the team) entertained if all else fails.