A/N: The action will pick up soon, don't worry. For now, more character development (which is probably all fail)
:13/8/2635 – P:A54 Site:
Gunnery Sergeant Chris Corby saluted and stood at attention as three military officers entered the room. The ruins, originally empty, were now packed with offices, armouries, barracks, storerooms and med bays. The reddish gold stone contrasted highly with the stark white furnishings, but Chris payed it no mind.
"So, Gunnery Sergeant Corby. As you are no doubt aware, you are the last active member of the Hurricane Platoon." General Bacon started.
"Yes, sir. One of eight still alive." Chris dropped the salute. General Bacon and Colonel Hawkins were both good friends, and the Lieutenant Colonel didn't look like he would care.
"Indeed. We started out with a hundred and sixty of you. The war was harsh, wasn't it?" Colonel Hawkins nodded sympathetically.
"Aye. Not a single squad without casualties."
"Now. There are eight of you left. Six of you were part of Hurricane 4, correct?" The Lieutenant Colonel, a man Chris did not recognise, said.
"Yes, sir. We only lost two men in the war."
"Gunnery Sergeants Goodman and Lockwood. Sniper and close quarters."
"Aye."
"Well lucky for us, it turns out that there were two survivors from Hurricane 12. They will complete your team of eight."
"Indeed. Why is this relevant?"
"Well you see, Gunny, inside these ruins are many things, weapons, armour, from a race well ahead of ours. In the centre of the ruins we found a battle suit. Integrated recharging shields, lightning cannons, disruptors, a heavy duty laser, and a repeater cannon. Boosters, radar, the works. We are transporting this suit, codenamed 'Anomaly 54' to the Research Core Relay at Camp Antas. Once there, the suit will be shipped to Earth for further study. This laboratory will be devoted to studying everything else, like the materials used in the walls, which appears even stronger then Originum."
"So?"
"We want you to take your squad, plus Gunnery Sergeants Hill and Dakyra, to clear a path."
"Why do we need to clear a path through our own territory?"
"We're not taking it the long way. We are going to cut straight through the middle of the unknown lands. Terrorists and insurgents will stop at nothing to get this suit, and they'll be in their element there. Then you'll have to go with it on the freighter and back to the Main Research Core Relay in Melbourne."
"If the suit's so tough, how come it needs an escort?"
"We cannot unfortunately figure out how to activate the suit, but we can give you the next best thing. Follow."
The four men walked into another room. Eight suits of armour hung from the far wall. Sporting a menacing silhouette, deep blue Originum plating and a mounted repeater laser, it certainly looked impressive.
The unknown Lieutenant Colonel spoke up. "This is the latest in military tech. These are reverse engineered heavy battle suits. Or at least, they're heavy battle suits by our standards. Judging by how common they were, I'd say they were medium battle suits, probably worn by the standard soldier."
Chris offered no reply, awed as he was by the armour.
"Absoul Defence Solutions kindly reverse engineered the gear, making it suitable for humans to use. Now, we've already told you too much. Call up the other Hurricanes. The faster we can do this, the faster we can figure out the rest of the secrets in this place."
:13/8/2635 –Residential District, Engadine:
Gabrielle Mee sighed as a faint buzzing from upstairs reached her ears. Grabbing her coffee, she jogged the stairs and grabbed the phone hanging from the wall. "Hello?"
Nothing. The buzzing continued. Suddenly she realised what the buzzing was. Putting her coffee down, she rushed to the bedroom she shared with her husband and opened the wardrobe. It took just seconds for her to dig out the ComPad and read the screen.
:From: General Bacon, UPADF:
:To: All units of 33rd Specialist Platoon 'Hurricane 1', Active and Retired:
:Message: All available 'Hurricanes' are to immediately make way to the P:A54 Site, Nova Montagne, Centuri System for briefing. Mission Status Gold:
Gabrielle glanced up at her BDU, neatly ironed and hanging in the anti-grav chamber. "Game on."
:13/8/2635 – Orbital Defence Facility 'Amber', Earth:
"Alright, boys and girls." The training instructor, her dark skin and darker hair contrasting with the green and tan BDU she wore, walked slowly down the line of trainees. "I am a Hurricane Sniper. I retired, but they called me back. They said they were low on snipers, and they wanted me to teach you to be as good as I am."
"They want me to teach you to shoot. So, let's get started. I haven't seen any of you in action, and if any of you aren't at the shooting range at ten thirty, I will presume you have quit the military."
The twelve trainees ran from the room, grabbing their training rifles as they went. Former Hurricane Eliot Powel nodded as they left. "How come my recruits are never so eager?" He sighed.
Samantha Hill turned around and shrugged. "You know, maybe you should try disciplining them for once."
Eliot shrugged. "Well, I suppose. But if I discipline them for being lazy, how will I punish them for blowing a hole in the side of the station?"
"If your trainees blow a hole in the side of the station, discipline will be the least of your worries."
"Well, I sup…" A buzzing sound cut them off. Eliot and Sam both looked at their ComPads simultaneously. Grinning, they looked each other in the eye.
"Oh-rah!"
:15/8/2635 – Camp Antas, Nova Montagne:
Chris Corby smiled as the large civilian vessel's passengers disembarked. As the first people stepped off, he recognised Eliot, his demo man, and another Hurricane who he kind of recognised from training. "EL!"
The short blonde-haired man glanced over, nodded once, and jogged towards him, his friend in tow.
"Chris Corby, Hurricane 4-1." He said as he shook the stranger's hand.
"Sam Hill, Hurricane 12-8."
Chris nodded. "Well I'm glad we have a Hurricane sniper again. After they got Goodman, every replacement we had was terrible."
"Same for us. We had four heavies after we lost Michel. One of them couldn't even carry the minigun properly." Sam shook her head. "Hurricanes should be replaced by Hurricanes, not SpecWar."
It would be, of course, Hurricane 4's heavy that would approach as these words were said. "Hurricane 4-4 reporting for duty, sir!" Banjo, the heavy, looked the part. He was bulky, broad shouldered and tough.
"Ah, Banjo. Glad you could make it. Where's CSM?" Eliot queried.
"Baggage claim. If anyone touches it, they die."
"Right. Did you see Todd, Ronsisvalle or Gabby?" Chris asked.
"Nah."
"Damn."
"Why did we get called here anyways? It's status gold, so it better be good."
"I'll explain once everyone else gets here. That's Todd, Kyle, Gabby and this Dylan fellow."
"But I'm already here!" A short dark-haired man said, stepping out from behind a support pillar.
"Todd, if you do that one more time I will turn your head into a mirror image of a pancake covered in strawberry sauce." Banjo's right hand clenched into a fist.
The stealth specialist grinned mischievously. "Sorry. Once a stealth guy, always a stealth guy."
"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it before." Chris shrugged. "Oh, hey, here's Ronsisvalle."
Sure enough, the team's tech specialist, Kyle Ronsisvalle was approaching. He was walking with another Hurricane who Chris guessed was Dylan Dakrya.
"Dylan. 12-6."
Chris nodded at the newcomer. "Just waiting on Gabby."
"She's probably making sure her makeup's fine." Todd smirked.
"I'm telling her you said that." Chris countered.
"Aw."
:16/8/2635 – P:A54 Site:
"Hurricanes, I am glad you could all make it."
The eight commandos nodded at General Bacon.
"Now I am sure that your Squad Leader has informed you of the situation here."
"Yes, sir."
"Excellent. Now, here's the plan. The Yialla think we'll be taking the safe route. They will plant saboteurs, snipers, all sorts, to get their hands on Anomaly 54. We are not going to let them. We are going to be going the short route, right through bandit territory. It'll be risky, but at least bandits don't have the tech to use Anomaly 54 against us."
Lieutenant Colonel Winters led them into the main armoury. The suits of armour were now fully equipped with mounted weapons, as per the user's preference.
"Holy…" Banjo's jaw dropped and his hand reached out for the suit farthest from the door. A large laser repeater was mounted on one arm, and his own modified minigun, Cry Some More, was mounted on the other. "It's beautiful.."
"Suit up, people. You have a long journey ahead."