starlogs | Oros mission start

[ This isn't the worst thing that could happen. Not the best, but not the worst. At least it's something to do instead of rotting away sitting on another damn ship eating his way through the food court and ruining the punching bags in the training room like they're his own personal property. Field work is what he's best at, even with all the baggage floating around in the back of his mind.

It could almost remind him of a time that seems like ages ago, even if it wasn't. Not for him. Carolina at the helm and he and Wash on damage control. There's other people here, too, but he doesn't know their skillsets. As far as Maine is concerned, they're all green as shit rookies. Which he'd scoffed to Wash during the briefing. No offense meant, really, but after years working with top of the line soldiers, this seems like a mission destined to fail. But, maybe they're going to surprise him.

Not that he wants to, but he brings the implant chip with him, though hasn't put it in yet. Only one person here can understand the non-verbal communication he's relegated to, one other gets the gist. Since he knows the importance if comms on the battlefield, he's attempting to make the effort. Even if he doesn't have much to say.

He's wearing his own armor, stark white and a globe-like helmet that gleams yellow in the light. Because he prefers the heavy work rather than tending to things, he helps lug shit around or moves heavy things in order to make a contained and protected camp. Often he hangs back, not wanting to be crowded or crowd in return. Once night falls, he stalks around the perimeter to keep watch because what the fuck is sleep??

While he's not a completely unfriendly sort, he doesn't have patience for idle conversation if it doesn't serve a purpose, especially on a mission. He's more than happy to help test fighting skills or get at any weaponry that someone might not want or doesn't know how to use, though. ]

[ Wash doesn't mean to be judgmental, and for the most part he isn't because everybody's a rookie at some point, but he's been trained by the best to be the best and it's a little awkward trying to convince himself that they're going to be an effective fighting unit. Visions of the Reds and Blues fucking everything up and being a chaotic mess dance in his head: at least he's got experience trying to wrangle people who aren't born for war.

It's with a nostalgic sense of familiarity that he embarks on this mission with Maine and Carolina. It reminds him a little of when he thought the Project was a boon to humanity, a force for good to counteract the war with the Covenant. He knows better now, and because of that knowledge, he doesn't go into this blind. There may be something else going on here. And frankly, if there is, he doesn't give a shit. Politics don't interest him. He just wants to keep his people alive.

Wash finds Maine that night at camp, joining him in his vigil. Sleep's nice when he can get it, but he's used to running on fumes. The UNSC taught him that skill before PF ever got its hands on him. ]

Hey. [ Knocking an elbow against Maine's arm, Wash settles in beside him. His HUD provides a steady readout of the terrain ahead and he's got his motion trackers on. They won't be snuck up on. ] Weird, isn't it? [ Behind the visor, Wash smiles a little too sharply. Maine can probably hear it in his voice. ] Think the rookies'll make it?

[Kay-tu originally wanted to be assigned to work with Cassian. Of course he did. There was no point otherwise. He never would have taken this job if not for the other man signing up for it. Jyn as well, but not as much as Cassian. Fine. He was here. He was... assigned as a forward group. Alpha.]

[No big deal.]

[At least he can keep an eye on his partner this way. Jyn wasn't here, nor were the others of their small group. He calculated the odds of Jyn being mad that she didn't get picked and felt they were high.]

[Good. He would smile if he were able to.]

[You can find the droid helping with cargo or set up for deployment. He's not wearing a suit of any sort, no helmet or jump suit, because what was the point. He was made to deal with this kind of thing. He was made to carry more than they had given him too, but at least he still had ease of motion.]

[Do you dare give the droid commands, like he was some common laborer? Or do you talk to him like he was part of a team? It’s a difference that will give a different attitude towards you and others, that’s for sure. Early that morning, Kay can be found going over a few things. They had given everyone weapons and packs, even the droid.]

Giving a droid a canteen of water seems a bit pointless. [He said out loud, yet tucked it away anyhow.] Spare, I suppose, for the needy.

[Kay-tu is basically just here to lift heavy things. If he wants to.]

[Look, he’s here to keep an eye on Cassian, and maybe do some work. He’s not on the good side of anyone else. Though Sam is at least all right, as are a few others, he supposes. Still, he doesn’t like taking orders, even if Cassian said he should.]

[Which is to say he'd been helping set up camp, but only when needed. Otherwise he’s on the outskirts of it at the moment, his antenna at his back scanning the area around them, searching for movement, life forms and other problems. He had a head count of everyone in camp and where they were, and his readings had fair range.]

[In his metal hands he held the laser gun, pointed down and pointless at the moment. His body had a backpack settled low on it, out of movement range but held weapons and things secure enough that if he or someone else needed them they were at hand.]

[For the most part he was on guard. He would be the entire time if needed. He had no need for sleep, and he didn’t need to ‘recharge’ for a very long time.]

[At least he was in a good mood. They gave him a blaster. Or, well, not a blaster, but same kind of weapon. Sure. they trusted him enough to hold weapons. It was a good step.]

[You can try to sneak up on him, but there is a 99.9 percent chance that he already knows you are approaching him, if you do.]

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. ]

[ Making camp, still, strangely, is a totally alien process. Even in their now-wandering life around Earth, she, Vincent, Pino and Kristeeva still had the Rabbit to take shelter in, which meant making camp was never more than putting the cook stove outside if the weather permitted and wasn't too bitterly cold. Still, she knows she has a strong back, and helps to unload anything she can. Re-L Mayer may look reedy and average, but she's much stronger than she appears, and doesn't have any trouble expressing her annoyance if given something light when there's a large piece to be carried. Once everything is set where it needs to be, she may have a little bit of a snack, but, mostly,

Being on a recon mission, after the 'retrieve Vincent Law' mission - was not all that concerning. At least here, to her knowledge, there was very little chance at getting so sick she might need Daedalus as the one to keep her alive. Still, she's quiet, running over their rough mission plan in her mind, making sure that everything was in order in her quarters in case they needed to get out of there quickly.

In the down time before she decides it'd time for bed she decides to inspect the weapons she's been given - making sure that the scopes were proper and the lot. The distinct clack of metal and the inspection of each gun to make sure that.. well, mostly that they weren't trying to get them all slaughter with faulty machinery or something.

The paranoia is strong with this one.

Feel free to bug her at any point in this recon adventure! ]

Oh, don't take it too hard. Isn't it nice they mistook you for a human?

(this doesn't exactly sound overtly friendly, seeing as there's a great deal of sharpness in her voice. it's not personal— no, no, it is overwhelmingly personal, something that crawls over her skin like an infection she can't get rid of. she does and has put up with them before, in tense environments with a lot of distance between them. it's different, being on squadron with one.

trusting omnics isn't on her list of things to do, despite her current love-hate relationship with technology of all kinds.)

I mean, that's what you all want, right? Equality?

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.

[His head lifted and he righted himself, one arm having bent back to put the useless for him canteen on his pack. He lowered his arms and stood there, staring at her. Well... wasn't she fit to decorate a Cantina at some space port in the outer rim.]

[He wasn't sure what she was getting at though.] I am more surprised they haven't given me a few more water packs to haul around for the rest of you.

[if a droid could look confused, the cant of his head indicated as much.]

Equality? [What a Weirdo.] We are hardly equal, and the last thing I want to be mistaken for is a human. [Kay.... that might not have come out like you meant it to sound...]

[ 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.

[ Cassian is well-aware that Kay is A: here primarily to watch his ass, thanks, and B: unimpressed with just about everything happening here plus C: can sense him coming from a mile away and you know what? All of those things are comforting. Familiar. Especially in a place full of angry plants and limited water supplies and strangers thrown together on a team that he notices is not led or manned by a single crewperson from the ship.

Suspicious? Oh hell yes.

And maybe that suspicion is why Cassian doesn't gravitate towards the others, keeping quiet and to himself. Maybe it's the feeling that he doesn't quite match up with what the people in the exosuits were hoping for, whomever they are, wherever they're from.

Maybe it's guilt that he's out here with a mind and heart divided, because the people he cares for the most are back on the Eluvio. Maybe it's stress that a mind divided is something he has to deal with, now.

Either way, Kay is the one he seeks out. ]

What do you think?

[ A casual sitrep. ]

[Kay is very well suited for this kind of job. He needs no rest or sleep and can keep a look out better than human eyes. And as long as people leave him alone to do his job, he's generally good enough in doing it. he is, however, mostly here because of Cassian.]

[As the other came up beside him, Kay didn't bother to look over to him. Instead his photoreceptors kept a look out, scanning the planet before them, the camp to his back at the moment.]

[The question was expected, but he did take a moment to compile his data. There was a lot to say, but he spoke it in a low tone for just the two of them.]

I find the mission parameters to be vague and unconvincing. They have deployed a team of eleven people, new from different universes, planets, systems that have never worked with each other before, and told them to find an object.

Here, have some rocket launchers and grenades because there are hostiles. Wear your helmet always, because the Carbon dioxide levels are lethal. The days are hot, the plants are out to kill organics, the wild life are just as poisonous.

[he glanced back to the camp, then down to Cassian.]

I do not like it. Of the eleven of us, you and I have worked together. The three with matching suits have worked together. The others are unknown factors. There are no representative of the facility we are gathered at. It's as if we are the expendable ones.

Not to mention the distance they have left us on our own to cover. Would it not have been easier to deliver us closer to the location and better equipped with modes of transportation and a strike crew?

It's as if we don't have all the information.

[He shut up for a moment.]

[The hangar's bustling with all the teams prepping to go planetside. April's no different. She's already wearing her helmet without any of the fuss others might have, in fact she's fairly comfortable with it and hasn't taken it off. Mostly she's weighing her weapons and becoming familiar with their functions. Taking to them quite well, though she is fond the ~~ill-fated~~ laser gun.]

You think we'll run out of ammunition?

[Asking the nearest person from either her team or another as she inspects the hard light knife, twisting and twirling it by the grip. They've still got a little time before being deployed.]

[ 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.

[ 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.

Probably.

[ and here's the team lead, checking in. carolina still has her helmet off, pretending to be a people person. of course, with a response like that, it's clear she's not the most reassuring of leaders. ]

[ this one in the turquoise armour has been bossing all day and it's obviously not stopping just because people are starting to turn in for the night. it's a little more gentle now, at least until people start trying to avoid sleeping, so carolina even clears her throat as she comes over to join re-l during her weapons inspections. ]

You comfortable with that?

[ she's been here a while too, but it's taken carolina a bit to realize that kay-tu is part of the mission team, not just hangar support. which is a little silly, in retrospect, because a synthetic body's going to come in hella handy if things go sideways planetside. taking a break from her own nearly obsessive re-checks of everything, she ventures over in time for one of his complaints. ]

You'd be surprised how often command doesn't know or forgets to acknowledge that they've got a robot on the team.

[Most might get worried over the prospect. April? She doesn't even fully roll her eyes at the unsurprising answer.

That's par for the course given her past team "excursions".]

Guess we can deal when the time comes then.

[April slides the new knifes into the sheath on her suit, right next to her tanto.]

April O'Neil. [She holds out her hand.] Nice to meet you.

[He is all too used to people not taking him seriously or considering what he could actually do. Even Cassian seemed to make him babysit a ship more times then he would like instead of being helpful on the job (then again he wonders, sometimes, if the man does it to keep him safe, which is silly).]

[Kay-tu lifted his head as someone came up to him.]

Droid, actually. Robots have less higher thinking functions and are made to do simple tasks. Droids are programmed and built for more optimal needs. And I really wouldn't be surprised. Even my own Captain forgets I can be more helpful to him than most.

[He stood his full height, head tilted to look down at the organic.] Hello.

[And the droid, decked out in his own gear (that being a pack around his back and middle holding weapons and things) stood near by, head turning to look at the young woman holding the laser weapon, which is also his preference as well.]

Oh, we most certainly will run out of ammunition, as well as energy and water. I calculate the power in this laser weapon, as absurd as it is, will be limited, and the amount of other weapons given to us will run out, seeing as they are projectile.

[He paused, then said flatly.] You should be more concerned about running out of water.

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

[ she gives a firm, but brief handshake. ]

Carolina. I think you're with me on Alpha team, which means we'll be fine without ammo.

Oros mission start

First Day

First Night Making Camp

no subject

no subject

OTA - Alpha/Beta/Others

OTA - Alpha or Beta

ota both teams!

no subject

HARSHING YOUR BUZZ K2

travel

BUZZKILL

pre-mission

no subject

no subject

OTA!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject