Goonhub
07-19-2023, 01:13 PM
(To be a three part story. Any characters referenced besides my own in game, are not a caricature or reference to anyone or any character on Goon servers. There will be one exception in further parts, but I have full permission to include them in this manner.)
Part One:
**USS Amata United States Navy transport ship. Location: Deep Space**
Master Sergeant David Cain sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. The gym on board the USS Amata was small, but had all the proper equipment. He'd been at it for nearly an hour, until the comms rang out, requesting his presence on the double. He sighed and toweled off the best he could. No time to shower, he thought. He'd been with the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion for some time, and while his rank would normally keep him out of the field, the Corps was in desperate need of those with field experience, and he had plenty. Same thing for the officers...he'd been under three new lieutenants in the past year. Most considered it a footnote on to higher rank, others served out their commission to get better jobs, like in Nanotrasen for instance. As he walked the decks of the ship to the officer's quarters, he hoped this lieutenant had his head on right. He knocked on the door. A young voice rang out, "Enter."
The lieutenant's quarters were small, but larger than Cain's. Being a senior NCO, he actually got his own room, as opposed to the bunks his squad mates had to share. The lieutenant's desk was immaculate...almost as immaculate as the man himself. Shaved blonde hair, perfect uniform and...young. Very young. Various degrees and awards hung on the walls, with the customary flag and USMC flag on the walls. The plaque on the desk read "LT Roger James." Cain approached the desk and snapped to attention with a parade ground worthy salute.
"Master Sergeant Cain reported as ordered, sir."
"At ease, sergeant," James replied. Cain relaxed his posture. He studied the man...and the room. The picture with his commission indicated he was a fresh graduate...right out of Annapolis. Great, he thought to himself. Another butter bar. He just hoped this one had some sense.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Cain," James said. "Figured I should brief you about the mission ahead." James pointed to stack of files on his desk, gesturing to Cain. "Everything you need is in there. I assume you know about the situation on Ichor IV?"
Cain looked over some of the files. It was all there. The rebels had sized all the major cities, and only a few holdouts of loyalists remained, and were quickly on the verge of being overrun. This entire expeditionary force had been put together to end the rebellion.
"I have, sir," Cain replied, still looking over the files. "Talks have failed, time to put 'em down."
James frowned. "Not quite how I'd look at it, but...I guess we're past that stage now. This is a black operation, and you have two objectives. One, the rebels have fortified the cities with anti-missile and artillery emplacements, meaning we can't soften them up before the ground assault. Your team is take out these sites, with minimal casualties."
Now it was Cain's turn to frown. True, he didn't like collateral damage either, but looking at the files...these sites were right next to all kinds of civilian structures. It was almost going to be inevitable...
James didn't give him a chance to say anything. "Your second objective is the woman, Nicole Anderson. Anderson is currently embedded in City Sector Two, with the rebels. High command believes she has vital information that could end this uprising quickly, and thus, we need her extracted."
Cain studied the picture. Brown hair, mid to late twenties perhaps. He committed her face to memory. James began flipping through the other files, once again frowning. "Some squad you got here...especially this Gage character. How is he still in the service?"
It was true, John Gage, or "Hardboot", the squad's heavy weapons specialist, had a thick file. Insubordination, drunk on duty, dereliction of duty, you name it. He probably owed Cain his career...what was left of it. While he was hard to handle sometimes, you wouldn't want anyone else watching your back when things hit the fan. Cain took no small hits to his own reputation standing up for the man...but he didn't want to talk about that now, so changed the subject.
"Sir, my squad is still under strength. Three person team is hardly enough."
"True," James replied, nodding. "It's why I've had a corpsman assigned to your squad."
Cain instantly was not happy about this. He was glad to have an addition of course, but it was customary for an officer to consult with the NCO about their own squad before selecting a replacement. Either the new lieutenant was arrogant enough to think he knew best, or even worse, didn't fully consider the matter. James pushed yet another file towards Cain, gesturing to him to look at it. Thomas Kilgore, HM3: Hospital Corpsman Third Class. Little lacking on his weapon scores, but high marks on the technical side. Also very young...and it looks like this would be his first time seeing real action. He could get his measure of the man later, meeting him face to face.
"Any questions, Sergeant?"
Cain raised an eyebrow...he had a thousand questions. What contents of the armory would be available to him, what was the estimated strength and disposition of the enemy...and what was the plan? All he was given was objectives. While this might have been acceptable from someone further up the chain, for the lieutenant to not even give the most basics stunk of the highest incompetence. Unless...
He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway. "Sir...are you coming with us?"
James shook his head. "No, sergeant. I'll be running C&C here on the ship."
Cain narrowed his eyes and an unbidden sneer came to his face. He knew he shouldn't say anything, but most days, he just couldn't help himself.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted."
"...how many combat drops have you done, sir?"
The lieutenant paused for just a moment, but replied with a smirk, "Twenty seven, all successful."
Cain tilted his head. "I'm not counting the sims, sir."
Instantly the lieutenant's smirk faded and his face went a darker shade of red. "I'm doing my duty within the bonds of the service, Cain," he snapped roughly. "I'm getting the impression you don't like me very much, sergeant."
Cain knew he shouldn't press, after all, this man might very well be his only link while him and his team were on the ground, but he just couldn't help himself. He'd seen this far too many times before. A young officer who didn't take any of this seriously. This was just a stepping stone onto higher rank, or another career. He probably didn't care what happened to him or his squad, so long as the mission got done and he could take a favorable report to command.
"Is it required...sir?" Cain said in an even tone, but leaned forward so he was now towering over the man. "You plan to drop us in there, with no plan whatsoever. You have not advised me of near anything of the enemy, and you stick a new team member on the squad, with zero of my input. You know what these drops are like, sir? Anything can go wrong, and we could use all the help we could get down there. You won't be down there, where the metal meets the meat...sitting all comfortable up here." His voice was rising now, and his eyes were locked on the man, who while was red faced and bulging at the collar, Cain could see it behind his eyes...fear. The man was afraid of him.
"So no, sir," he all but snarled. "I don't like you, but you'll be the only one up here I'll be able to talk to, and that could mean life or death for my team down there." He leaned even closer to the lieutenant, fixing him with a gaze of pure contempt. "I pray to God you'll be looking out for us, because if something happens to my team because you drop the ball...you better hope something happens to me too."
This was a rank violation of so many articles Cain could not keep count in his head. Threatening a superior officer, for any reason, would likely carry dire consequences. Cain had mostly stopped caring about them...he was the one responsible for his team, and he would make sure they were looked after.
James' eyes were wide, and instead of the reddish color, it had now all but drained from his face. His mouth gaped open for a moment or two, before his composure somewhat returned.
"Y-you..." he managed to stammer. "You and your squad are at liberty until 18:00 hours tomorrow. Report for your final briefing then." Cain's gaze never left the lieutenant's, until the call of "dismissed" managed to pass from the lieutenant's lips.
Cain snapped off a salute, and exited the room. While what he did was rash, he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction in the matter. He reached into his pocket, and finding his cigarettes and lighter, fired one up as he went down the halls. Come of that what it will, that was a problem for another time. He had to brief the team about what they were up against.
To be continued in part 2!
Part One:
**USS Amata United States Navy transport ship. Location: Deep Space**
Master Sergeant David Cain sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. The gym on board the USS Amata was small, but had all the proper equipment. He'd been at it for nearly an hour, until the comms rang out, requesting his presence on the double. He sighed and toweled off the best he could. No time to shower, he thought. He'd been with the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion for some time, and while his rank would normally keep him out of the field, the Corps was in desperate need of those with field experience, and he had plenty. Same thing for the officers...he'd been under three new lieutenants in the past year. Most considered it a footnote on to higher rank, others served out their commission to get better jobs, like in Nanotrasen for instance. As he walked the decks of the ship to the officer's quarters, he hoped this lieutenant had his head on right. He knocked on the door. A young voice rang out, "Enter."
The lieutenant's quarters were small, but larger than Cain's. Being a senior NCO, he actually got his own room, as opposed to the bunks his squad mates had to share. The lieutenant's desk was immaculate...almost as immaculate as the man himself. Shaved blonde hair, perfect uniform and...young. Very young. Various degrees and awards hung on the walls, with the customary flag and USMC flag on the walls. The plaque on the desk read "LT Roger James." Cain approached the desk and snapped to attention with a parade ground worthy salute.
"Master Sergeant Cain reported as ordered, sir."
"At ease, sergeant," James replied. Cain relaxed his posture. He studied the man...and the room. The picture with his commission indicated he was a fresh graduate...right out of Annapolis. Great, he thought to himself. Another butter bar. He just hoped this one had some sense.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Cain," James said. "Figured I should brief you about the mission ahead." James pointed to stack of files on his desk, gesturing to Cain. "Everything you need is in there. I assume you know about the situation on Ichor IV?"
Cain looked over some of the files. It was all there. The rebels had sized all the major cities, and only a few holdouts of loyalists remained, and were quickly on the verge of being overrun. This entire expeditionary force had been put together to end the rebellion.
"I have, sir," Cain replied, still looking over the files. "Talks have failed, time to put 'em down."
James frowned. "Not quite how I'd look at it, but...I guess we're past that stage now. This is a black operation, and you have two objectives. One, the rebels have fortified the cities with anti-missile and artillery emplacements, meaning we can't soften them up before the ground assault. Your team is take out these sites, with minimal casualties."
Now it was Cain's turn to frown. True, he didn't like collateral damage either, but looking at the files...these sites were right next to all kinds of civilian structures. It was almost going to be inevitable...
James didn't give him a chance to say anything. "Your second objective is the woman, Nicole Anderson. Anderson is currently embedded in City Sector Two, with the rebels. High command believes she has vital information that could end this uprising quickly, and thus, we need her extracted."
Cain studied the picture. Brown hair, mid to late twenties perhaps. He committed her face to memory. James began flipping through the other files, once again frowning. "Some squad you got here...especially this Gage character. How is he still in the service?"
It was true, John Gage, or "Hardboot", the squad's heavy weapons specialist, had a thick file. Insubordination, drunk on duty, dereliction of duty, you name it. He probably owed Cain his career...what was left of it. While he was hard to handle sometimes, you wouldn't want anyone else watching your back when things hit the fan. Cain took no small hits to his own reputation standing up for the man...but he didn't want to talk about that now, so changed the subject.
"Sir, my squad is still under strength. Three person team is hardly enough."
"True," James replied, nodding. "It's why I've had a corpsman assigned to your squad."
Cain instantly was not happy about this. He was glad to have an addition of course, but it was customary for an officer to consult with the NCO about their own squad before selecting a replacement. Either the new lieutenant was arrogant enough to think he knew best, or even worse, didn't fully consider the matter. James pushed yet another file towards Cain, gesturing to him to look at it. Thomas Kilgore, HM3: Hospital Corpsman Third Class. Little lacking on his weapon scores, but high marks on the technical side. Also very young...and it looks like this would be his first time seeing real action. He could get his measure of the man later, meeting him face to face.
"Any questions, Sergeant?"
Cain raised an eyebrow...he had a thousand questions. What contents of the armory would be available to him, what was the estimated strength and disposition of the enemy...and what was the plan? All he was given was objectives. While this might have been acceptable from someone further up the chain, for the lieutenant to not even give the most basics stunk of the highest incompetence. Unless...
He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway. "Sir...are you coming with us?"
James shook his head. "No, sergeant. I'll be running C&C here on the ship."
Cain narrowed his eyes and an unbidden sneer came to his face. He knew he shouldn't say anything, but most days, he just couldn't help himself.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted."
"...how many combat drops have you done, sir?"
The lieutenant paused for just a moment, but replied with a smirk, "Twenty seven, all successful."
Cain tilted his head. "I'm not counting the sims, sir."
Instantly the lieutenant's smirk faded and his face went a darker shade of red. "I'm doing my duty within the bonds of the service, Cain," he snapped roughly. "I'm getting the impression you don't like me very much, sergeant."
Cain knew he shouldn't press, after all, this man might very well be his only link while him and his team were on the ground, but he just couldn't help himself. He'd seen this far too many times before. A young officer who didn't take any of this seriously. This was just a stepping stone onto higher rank, or another career. He probably didn't care what happened to him or his squad, so long as the mission got done and he could take a favorable report to command.
"Is it required...sir?" Cain said in an even tone, but leaned forward so he was now towering over the man. "You plan to drop us in there, with no plan whatsoever. You have not advised me of near anything of the enemy, and you stick a new team member on the squad, with zero of my input. You know what these drops are like, sir? Anything can go wrong, and we could use all the help we could get down there. You won't be down there, where the metal meets the meat...sitting all comfortable up here." His voice was rising now, and his eyes were locked on the man, who while was red faced and bulging at the collar, Cain could see it behind his eyes...fear. The man was afraid of him.
"So no, sir," he all but snarled. "I don't like you, but you'll be the only one up here I'll be able to talk to, and that could mean life or death for my team down there." He leaned even closer to the lieutenant, fixing him with a gaze of pure contempt. "I pray to God you'll be looking out for us, because if something happens to my team because you drop the ball...you better hope something happens to me too."
This was a rank violation of so many articles Cain could not keep count in his head. Threatening a superior officer, for any reason, would likely carry dire consequences. Cain had mostly stopped caring about them...he was the one responsible for his team, and he would make sure they were looked after.
James' eyes were wide, and instead of the reddish color, it had now all but drained from his face. His mouth gaped open for a moment or two, before his composure somewhat returned.
"Y-you..." he managed to stammer. "You and your squad are at liberty until 18:00 hours tomorrow. Report for your final briefing then." Cain's gaze never left the lieutenant's, until the call of "dismissed" managed to pass from the lieutenant's lips.
Cain snapped off a salute, and exited the room. While what he did was rash, he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction in the matter. He reached into his pocket, and finding his cigarettes and lighter, fired one up as he went down the halls. Come of that what it will, that was a problem for another time. He had to brief the team about what they were up against.
To be continued in part 2!