Oros mission start

[sixth]

WHO: ALPHA TEAM (Carolina, Maine, Wash, K-2SO, April, and Sam) and BETA TEAM (Lee, Somba, Hayatori, Cassian, and Re-L)
WHERE: Oros
WHEN: January 11-???
WHAT: Alpha and Beta teams begin their mission.
WARNINGS: TBD

Catch-all mingle log while Alpha and Beta travel together. Toss up a header for a specific day or event to keep things better organized and then everyone can tag around in that.

(Once we figure out when the sandstorm and fall into the gorge happens to split everyone up, we can add that too to close out the big group log.)

Comments

ota both teams!

[leaderboards]

pre-mission:

[ whatever time they were meant to meet to head out, carolina's nearly two hours early. but this is always how she prepped for missions before: checking gear over and over again, pacing while she goes over the mission briefing in the safety of her helmet. she has it memorized, knows a half dozen different ways to rephrase it for relaying again to her team if she has to. she just doesn't know if the team is up to the task.

that's another reason to be here in advance: greeting everyone and trying to figure out how much use they're actually going to be. if she's going to lead this, if she's going to prove that she deserves to lead this and that she can lead anything that command on the eluvio throws at her, she has to know her team. once teams start breaking down, that's when missions fall apart, after all. that's when everything falls apart.

so when the others start showing up, she sets her helmet down somewhere to savour a bit of time with it off before she's living in it for however long the mission takes and makes sure to greet everyone, alpha and beta both, with some variation of, ] You're on the mission, I take it?

[ except for her family, her old team. maine simply gets asked if he feels up to the task. wash gets a thank god you're coming too. ]

travel:

[ as far as mission beginnings go, this isn't bad, actually. they're not all up to her standards, of course, and she may have had to lean on them to keep up a decent pace, but they're not the reds and blues so that's something, she supposes. she's not afraid any of them are going to accidentally shoot her in the back.

as soon as they land, carolina takes point and keeps it up for the entire day's trek, so the bright cyan of her armour should be an easy-to-follow contrast to the neutral colours around them. she doesn't trust everyone else to be capable of taking care of themselves, though, so she still has someone whose skills she knows as well as her own bringing up the rear (sorry, boys!) and if any sort of local trouble finds them, she's quick to hop in to take care of it. she's not willing to find out that the teams are incapable by one of them dying on day one.

she doesn't do small-talk, but she is pretty vocal about announcing when they'll find a stopping spot soon or if she sees any hazards to warn about on the horizon. ]

travel

[doxing]

Hey, rojo. (the woman from the shop times, excellent,) That armour suits you, the turquoise really jives with your hair and brooding personality.

(a hop, skip, and jump away from her, sombra double-times it to catch up easily, more than content to annoy warm-blooded people as well as the omnic from earlier. no one can escape it, really, she has a job to do and that involves far more than capturing some stupid artifact they're never going to see again — or even find out what its purpose is... if she has anything to say about it, though...

well, she's renowned for having very sticky fingers when it comes to information she shouldn't be playing with.)

You're underestimating everyone on this team, aren'tcha? I mean, Maine and Washington you obviously know, but don't let the rest of us down by playing faves.

[leaderboards]

[ the best thing about helmets is the privacy, carolina finds sometimes. she's free to roll her eyes as she pleases. ]

They're my favourites because they used to be my team. Before that, they had to prove themselves to me, too. [ and to the director, but carolina wasn't ever going to trust them to have her back if they weren't the sort of soldiers that they are. her tone is pretty dry, but she has the sort of dry that can be on the scathing or playful side of sarcastic with no real difference. ] If you think I didn't expect them to fail on their first missions with me, maybe you can ask them. Might make them laugh.

[doxing]

(c'mon carolina, we're practically best buds.)

I think I will. I've been meaning to touch base with them again. Alpha Team. The big guns. (arms out as if to embrace the terrain, dressed in that regular flashy attire in a fierce refusal of that new... thing they were given.) It's funny if you think about it, Carolina. Here we are on a mission to steal something when you were so hard up on me...

(a hand out, finger forming a gun.) You won't tell me "no" when I take it, will you? I mean, you're the one taking care of the haggling this time. (winking when she motions out a bang.)

[leaderboards]

It's different when it's a mission objective. [ is it really, carolina? maybe not, but she chooses to see it as different, despite how well blindly following orders to steal a mystery package worked out for her in the past. but this is better than being stuck on a ship and she's not here for morals, anyway. she's just here to keep people safe. ]

You were just doing it as a challenge.

[doxing]

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. In the end, it's whatever you tell yourself that helps you sleep at night.

(rapid steps bring her ahead and she crests a flat boulder childishly, perching at the top to scope out the miles of walking they're to be doing. she wonders when they'll make camp, surely when it gets dark — but a glance up at the sky tells her that might be tough when they have no idea how long this planet's days are.)

You're not doing this as a challenge? C'mon, get real. We're both just a couple of junkies.

[leaderboards]

[ that's painfully accurate and carolina needs a moment to figure out how to deflect, veering a little to go around sombra's perch. why else could she be doing this? she wants to prove to this command she's never been given time to care about or respect that she's the best, that she can do anything they want her to. she wants to be here, on the ground, showing off at what she does best and keeping decent people alive in the process. ]

I'm here because I'm qualified for the mission. And if you're qualified to keep people safe, you have an obligation to do it.

[ that sounds like high-ranking lip service, but it's an attempt. ]

[doxing]

(that causes conflict for sombra; convincing yourself you're doing it all for yourself isn't as easy as it seems. not when you're in the thick of things, aiding and abetting crime for the betterment — or to the detriment — of mankind. she can't speak on the matter. all she can do is carry on with what she knows how to do... and how to do well.)

You believe that yourself, or are you just quoting your handbook? (lifting her face, raising an eyebrow at unfamiliar skies.) We do what we do because we wanna do it — and maybe we're damn good at it, too. I am, por lo menos.

(a pause, letting the oppressive silence of this wasteland fall like a blanket before a peculiarly innocent question crops up.)

So what do you do?

[leaderboards]

I'm a soldier. [ wow carolina, that wasn't obvious at all. even out of armour, it's not a stretch to imagine she'd be in a field of work like this. ]

And I'm good at it. I was trained to be the best and I am. Why wouldn't you want to do what you're good at?

[ no mention of the handbook comment, because that's the sort of moral philosophy she's not interested in discussing right now. she knows she's still got a ways to go in terms of figuring out what she does to protect people versus just wanting to win, wanting to prove how good she is, but this is the sort of conversation that she usually has with epsilon. and he's not here, so it's better to keep it all bottled up for now. ]

pre-mission

[ouzel]

[ Cassian is early but certainly not hours early; he checks the gear before he leaves, talks to Jyn, meets up with Kay and heads over.

The suit - the armor, that is - is completely unfamiliar to him so there's an appraising look before Carolina questions his presence and Cassian nods, curt. ]

I am. Beta team.

[leaderboards]

[ carolina returns the nod, her lips quirking into an almost-smile. her eyes are cool and judgmental, though. it's a little misleading. ]

I'm leading Alpha team. Hope you aren't planning to make things too difficult for us.

[ouzel]

That's not the plan. [ But plans change obviously; things go awry or just straight to shit so. ] Cassian Andor.

[leaderboards]

Carolina. What sort of background do you have?

[ouzel]

[ Cassian makes a mental note that while the assigned team leaders to these little gatherings they saw no apparent need to inform said leaders of just who they were leading and why.

Great. Smacks of confidence, really. ]

Captain, Resistance Army and Intelligence.

[leaderboards]

Sounds like you're actually qualified, then.

[ she folds her arms across her chest, shifting her weight mostly to one leg- a relaxed pose, for her. ]

No offense, Captain. I just wasn't sure if they were lying about that or not. I'm taking their intelligence with room for a large margin of error until we actually see what's waiting for us down there.

[ouzel]

None taken. [ It takes a lot to offend Cassian, or at least specific attacks against specific people, and this sort of thing? Not on the list really. ]

That's probably for the best, considering none of their officers are involved in this any further than providing us with ammo and pointing us in the right direction.

[leaderboards]

I'm sure they have a reason. Not any sort of trustworthy reason, but something. [ a little what can you do tilt of her head. ] The least they could have done was plan to drop us off at the door, in my opinion.

( pre-mission )

[aploun]

[ This almost feels a little like old times. Except that it would be him out there shooting and Kara doing the kamikaze mission into the base to get the relic. ( She already did something like that once, and by herself no less. But that was a lifetime ago it feels like. ) Logically, Lee knows that he shouldn't really give a frak about this kind of thing. This isn't his ship, these aren't his people, this isn't his war to fight, this isn't his game to play.

Yet, because he's Lee Adama, he feels that moral pull that even though they aren't his people, he still needs to protect them. After going so long with a constantly dwindling number of human beings left, it's a difficult thing to let go. So, when the alert comes in, and after a few hours of deliberation, he goes to volunteer.

Later, he guesses because of his experience that throws him into a leadership spot he wasn't really expecting. It's fine, though. He's lead missions before. After meeting with his team, he seeks out the other leader, already knowing it's imperative to get to know her before embarking on the mission. He's dressed in his own fatigues and feels incredibly short when he finds her. ]

Carolina? [ He holds his hand out; a small lopsided smile on his lips. ] I'm Lee. Taking point on Beta.

[leaderboards]

[ at least she's an easy one to spot. and going over what details she has for what must be the twentieth time, as if that'll help. still, she's quick to drag her mind off of whatever it was on in favour of shaking the offered hand and offering a not-quite-smile in greeting. ]

Nice to meet you. [ or that's a nice, pleasant line to use, at least, as carolina takes her hand back. ] You ever lead a mission like this before?

[aploun]

[ There's something about her that reminds Lee of someone. It's comforting in a strange way and he feels a little more at ease about this whole mission. Not completely but. A little. Maybe this won't be the worst thing that ever happened.

Lee laughs a little, his hand lifting to rub the back of his neck. ]

Kind of. I'm typically running missions like this in space, not on land. [ He pauses for a beat, then; ] Usually blowing stuff up, too, not collecting important things. What about you?

[leaderboards]

Space, land, distraction, destruction. [ carolina makes an et cetera motion with her hand while she shrugs. ] I like to think I'm versatile, but I'm happy to leave the snatching to someone else for a change.

[ and she'll be on backup if he and his team die, she nearly adds, catching herself at the last moment. particularly fatalistic dry humour isn't the best way to make a good impression, usually. she needs to get along with this guy, at least for now. ]

[aploun]

[ It actually wouldn't have bothered him if she did. Being in his position, it's just something one either learns how to have some sort of humor over, or the rest of the time spent is worrying over if everything will turn out okay. And worrying, Lee learned early on, doesn't get him anywhere. ]

At least there's some competent people here.

[ He says it off the cuff, not meaning anything by it. But also kind of really meaning something by it. ]

Seems kind of weird they don't have their own people to do this kind of thing, doesn't it? [ He glances around at the other people filling out both teams. ] I'm sure they're— [ he stops, sighs then rakes his fingers through his hair. ] Well, they're something, I imagine. Maybe we won't be totally frakked.

[leaderboards]

Maybe. Unless this is some sort of test to see if we'll die for a vaguely-worded cause or not, all at once.

[ throwing people on a mission like this just to see what they can and will do is something carolina can all too easily imagine. sure, she doesn't have any proof that command here is malicious, but she doesn't have much in the way of reasons to trust them, either.

she gives a little shake of her head, then gestures past him to the pair of soldiers in armour similar to hers. not as colourful, but close enough that the three of them might match. ] And speaking of dying for causes, Washington and Maine over there are mine. If frakked means what I think it means and anything happens to me, they'll finish things for us.

[aploun]

[ He snorts a half-laugh and rubs his fingers against his temple. ]

I'll die for a lot of things, but... not this.

[ If he felt more compassion for this crew and the people here, maybe. But, as it stands right now? No. And he doesn't think anyone feels the same way about him, either.

Lee turns his attention to the men indicated and nods, figuring if they hadn't been pointed out, he would've come to the conclusion on his own that they all came from the same place. He scans the room and sees Sam talking to someone on the other team and Lee gestures over toward him. ]

Th— [ he stops, rearranges what he was going to say; can't think of Cylons the way he used to anymore. ] That's Sam; he's mine. [ Er....... ] Ah, not mine but, we're from the same place. He's on your team. He's capable; he'll be a good help for you.

[ There. Lee was diplomatic and nice about it. Complimenting someone he thought he hated for so long is a difficult process, but he's trying.

Again Lee looks out over the room and can't help but sigh again, his shoulders slumping slightly. ]

We'll be fine. If we have a good plan, it'll all be fine.

[ lol ]

[leaderboards]

Sure. It'll be fine. [ she doesn't sound like she believes that for a second, but there's a little humour in the way she tilts her head, one eyebrow cocked. ]

I give it three days before we're changing the plan. But I'll keep an eye on Sam for you.

[ as if she's not going to be keeping an eye on all of them. ]