Futuristic The Exile Battalion (Open for 2 more)

The forest burned, not with fire but a foul and unearthly miasma. The red was not that of blood but something more nebulous and uneasy; almost painted onto the foliage with the texture and tone of scratched sores on a diseased body. As the Damnation's Hunger team moved across these wilting grasses and through contorted, lightly squirming branches it was clear the horrific textent of the ether-artillery on the area. Over sloping hills and flatter expanses of trees and bush, much of the plant life had thinned, making the mountainside woods feel at once dense and foreboding but exposed and withered.

The area of reddish foliage they were moving through hadn't been close to the sites of heavy bombardment but it wasn't hard to both see and feel why it had begun to morph into a crimson, wound-coloured mockery of its former self. Looking across the soil and paths could be seen; deep rends in the earth as if torn by great claws and long trails over the soil as if clumps of serpentine bodies had slid across. A reek in places; foul, fetid, rotting - the waste byproducts of the ethereal creatures who had slithered and crept into realspace from wounds rendrered by material hands. Prey had been abundant, grown fat on the corpses of those shredded by long range gunfire and partially decomposed by accelerated supernatural decomposition. The voidbeasts had grown excited and confident; a few of the bodies seen as the group moved up a slight incline had strips of almost bark-like bioform armour torn to tatters on what remained of torsos, legs, and arms.

On this area of middle elevation between the taller craggy peaks and the lower valley areas where the rivers ran, they were positioned roughly between all three of the listening posts. Closest to them overall was one near a hillier region up ahead, a bit further the risky descent down the hillside to a graveyard of a few shattered APC's whose EM and ether-reactive inteference cloaked another listening post. The furthest was highest on a blast-scourged hill, practically swamped in the fleshy-pink and cold blue cloudiness of etheric compounds having reacted with natural gasses.

Further up ahead however, a problem presented itself. A trio of silhouettes moving in the fading afternoon sun, dark where there was light. Identification was unknown; it was difficult to tell who they served but their weapons were compact and a faint hint of direct energy readings could be detected from afar. One stood away from the other two, a lengthier rifle in its arms as they swept targeting lasers over the soil. If they listened closely from behind the veil of foliage between them and the unidentified soldiers, there was a lot of chatter going on - half-gargled, some audibly spoken, and at least one speaking English. It appeared they had moved out from behind an area of denser tree cover, likely another path that seemed as if it might connect to the hillier region leading to the nearest objective.

They did not seem to be on particularly high alert; the sniper visible wasn't providing overwatch and their two companions appeared to be scanning along certain patches of lower, shrubbier foliage growing across the area for reasons not immediatley obvious. There was little sound here; a few clicks and croaks, the distant undulating shrieks of some voidcreature, but otherwise, the rhythm of their steps was a steady constant in this dry, diseased wilderness. Distant weapons cracked and flames of unknown origin burned off in the distance; the vision of misery surrounding the team was alive and would come for them if any mistakes were made. The trio before them was a small slice of worse things to come.

The mission data had finally arrived, much to the silent sapper's chagrin. It was not the punctuation of the mission objectives that erred him rather their substance. He asked himself in the midst of his gear check. It was self-imposed, most likely due to his paranoidal fear of equipment failure. As he pulled out the energy cell from the pistol's mag-well, the question of who would want this archaic data? The yellow light that emanated from the mono-light source focused down to illuminate the insides of the firearm. With the diligence of an ant, Grom checked the energy pistol's power siphoner. Despite his fondness for the 2051 brand energy pistol, he won't dismiss its notoriety for potential faults during the energy transference between cell and barrel. When it processes too much power, it's liable to misfire or cause an accidental discharge; the worst thing that could happen is a 'boom, goes the dynamite' scenario, thankfully the walls of the mag-well and energy cells are designed in case of such an occurrence so the damage is minimal.

The data is mostly likely half-corrupted by now, there could be something salvageable but I'm not holding my breath.

The focused light relaxes and dims per Grom's wishes as he reinserts the energy cell and holsters the pistol. Safe to say, multi-tasking does not alleviate the man's hushed curiosity, he is sure that one of the others are also experiencing their internal doubts and questions... The ones that are capable of it anyway. He glances up at his fellow battle buddies then back to his own armoured body, the markings and IFF tags provided appear authentic enough—although they intend to be a last resort, a defensive mechanism for the battalion should they be forced to engage.

For this mission, Grom had decided to take the Cyclops 11 Sniper by Ramstein despite his preference for carbines. The ballistic sniper is sure to come in handy, Grom thought. An elegant rifle from a more civilized age. It boasted auto-camouflaging capabilities, making it an excellent choice for hunting—man or beast—in dense foliage.

Then at last to the BU11Y drone, modelled after an ancient canine breed. This little puppy is sophisticated in every sense of the word! Stealth capable, independent A.I, functionality, environ-sensors that can sniff out even the faintest hint of toxicity, self-defence gun hidden in his ocular sensors, physical & mental trauma relief, taser darts for quick capture, and the cutest nano-plastic nose that money can buy. Grom lifted the compacted drone and stared at its' face area. I'll never get tired of this.

Attaching the drone to his chest through a notch, the chutes opened and the ropes descended. His training allowed Grom to slide down silently, immediately drawing his pistol when his foot touched the ground. His hand freed the drone then knelt to place him on the ground, activating him with a tap on his wrist. Its limbs extended and it rose from its' position. The yellow lights were dimmed as it entered into stealth mode.

The mission commences.

The group had encountered a problem already. Three tangos, unidentified, speaking garbled English with possible energy weapons (?). The engineer looked down the scope of the sniper, they could take them out but what if they're scouts and their deaths would have consequences? He motions to the others that he thinks they shouldn't engage.

The tags and marks of Kadamalan Hlanglodt decorated the Hermes Mark 1 even Trapper's full face helmet had some sort of mark which seems to have allowed Trapper to almost blend in to the supposed Kadamalan Hlanglodt forces. However, Trapper notes that if they do come upon the real Kadamalan Hlanglodt forces, their cover would most certainly be blown away because Intel does not seem to verify if there really is a so called secret hand shake, hand sign or call code.... The Black Hand have...no had one of those.

Trapper made sure to attach the Shotgun suppressor to his pump action shotgun as soon as he read through the encoded neurodata transmission, Trapper knows that stealth insertion usually means some infiltration was needed for the mission so stealth was a must. Trapper double checked the pump action shotgun for any probable signs of sabotage or tampering before loading it with eight military grade shells before going to the double barrel sawed off shotgun and loading it with two Pyrolax explosive rounds as Trapper noted that however or whatever is going to try and attack him with this side arm it is going to be in a whole lot of pain.

Next making sure that his demo kit (usually contains, wire strippers, pliers, duct tape, epoxy glue, trip wires and fuses) is fasten securely to ensure not much noise is made before placing it into his knap sack, he knows about the supposed self-destruct system as it was indicated on the transmission but Trapper knows that system like that is not something that can be automatically triggered with a simple push of button; it must require multiple codes, keys and levels that quite frankly if the team does mess up somewhere then a good bomb is all it requires to take the place down without the excessive need to jump through hoops....Quite frankly this is so much easier than actual paperwork just to get housing and ugh bank applications.

Trapper took his time to check his three Therma-max satchel charges were not comprised, two fragmentation grenades, two smoke grenades, two anti-personnel mines, the special gel explosive spray gun and his trusty remote detonator. The detonator was switched off, for obvious reasons. Making sure he still has thirty-six additional military grade slugs or shell along with twenty Pyrolax explosive rounds fastened and secured on the shotgun bandolier which he wears across his chest.

Trapper would check his team mates gear during the stealth insertion and started to wonder if maybe he was the only one that got the Intel that this was supposed to be a stealth mission....or maybe this was a solo mission and they were given the task of distraction? This stuck with Trapper throughout the entire trip as he kept on wondering when the split up going to happen through the somewhat long trek before the first problem present itself to the team.

Three tangos? what seems like a haphazard bunch clearly ignoring their obvious surroundings. The sounds of distant gun blasts can be heard in the distance.... Maybe if Trapper times it right he could take out one of them with the distant gun blasts, while it is true that the Shotgun suppressor attached to his pump action shotgun could lessen the sound to that of a lower caliber weapon that would not negate the other two from hearing it but that would still require getting close enough to use the shotgun and to time it with a gun blast that is not happening often enough.....

Trapper did a look over again at the three tangos this time using the vision enhancer basically onboard scope added into the full face helmet.... One seems to hold a large rifle probably the sniper of the three.... the other two had some sort of compact weapon.... maybe submachine guns? Might need to get closer to get a look.... too risky. Trapper notices that they were still a bit away from them and tried his best to see if they might have some sort of communication device but then Trapper remembers that maybe it’s one of those special augmentations that is insert into an operative or worse maybe one of them has that etherealism that can communicate through long distances or something....

Trappers eyes were getting tired from the strain of using the vision enhancer.... He really did not use the vision enhancer or the other additional features that was added to this modified Hermes Mark 1 Full face helmet by the Frontier Solar Assembly Armourer besides the Hermes Mark 1 armour that he was used to using did not had any additional modifications at all. Grom would then use a motion to indicate we shouldn't engage and based so far on what Trapper could pick up Trapper would have to agree with a slow nod but Trapper was unsure if Grom noticed.

Trapper decided to make sure the others would understand without everyone rushing to see what it is all about as he raised his right hand and simply raised three fingers before putting the three fingers down and stretching his arm to the right side and giving a thumbs down which basically means three enemies sighted.

Vargr silently checked his HUD and went through all of his weapons again. Everything was green, no jams and full bellies for everything. The only exception being the Gugnir, but that was more due to the fact that it only fired once before having to be reloaded to fire again, and he had two more safely stowed away on a back compartment of the Tyr. And while they were to be stealthily inserted, that did not necessarily mean this was a stealth mission. Yes they were done up to look like some Kadamalan Hlanglodt boys walking around, but they were told to destroy the compounds that contained the data, after obtaining said data of course. And while some might think that it would be wise to go in and out quietly and five clicks out before the boom, Vargr was not one of those people. He did have some common sense, however, as after jumping out of the carrier and landing heavily on the ground, he waited for the less obvious operators to lead the way. Daubed in black to reduce the chance of a stray glint of light revealing his position, he still wanted to be able to hunker down and try to look like a shiny boulder before anyone can get a good look at him.

It did not take long for first contact to be made. "I can't see a damn thing you're waving from back here," he whispered into his communicator, nestled around his neck with two speakers behind either ear. "If they're'nt coming this way, let them pass. Unless you got their radio frequency to signal an all clear." Not like they'd be heard, what with the other sporadic bits of gunfire. The enemy would probably just assume that the patrol had been attacked by some ether beastie and were now either fighting it off or becoming it's next meal.

Joshua stretched out his arms a bit similar to how a person would after just waking up and doing a very soft and light yawn. For the Mission Joshua had been painted not only in the colors of the side they were pretending to be on, but also to camouflage with the environment as compared to the rest of the squad he would stick out a lot more like a sore thumb with his large body. Joshua was currently in his turtle form, half his body lowered, his legs and mortars closer together with only the eye poking out every now and again to actually see. Joshua began running diagnostics to check everything was functioning properly, it took a surprisingly short amount of time to check and once it confirmed everything was fully operational, Joshua softly sighed becoming bored once more.

However soon the team had spotted three enemies, Joshua couldn’t exactly see the enemies as in addition to being put in turtle mode, he was also placed behind a tree with bushes to hide him even further. He trusted the words that came from his team and began speaking through the comms, “we should let them pass I think… also umm if we engage I’ll just sit back for now… if I engage it’ll most likely alert even more unwanted attention… ” Joshua added, poking his eye out from the bush to more clearly see, “if it gets back I guess I’ll step in, but I trust you guys.” after saying that he closed the comms and began questioning if what he said was professional enough.

0001 stood with caution. Its metal frame standing with utter conviction as it surveyed the area ahead of them. The robot adjusted its optics every few seconds, ensuring near-constant surveillance on all spectrums. Its joints and motors ached and winced as it turned its head and body, a side effect of its lack of maintenance and the environment it was now in. Flies and other insects clawed at 0001's chassis, attempting to slither or otherwise import themselves into his circuitry. An effort considered by some to be most futile given the robot's metal nature and composition.

As it observed out, it identified three subjects. A sniper providing a measly overwatch and two vanguard units providing additional vision of the area. 0001 adjusted its body, preparing itself to draw its pistols out should the subjects become hostile or be aware of Damnation's Hunger presence. The foliage underneath the robot rustled slightly with the stomp of its foot. The weight of its body left large molds in the dirt, a mold that could be later identified if found. 0001 had no thought on that matter as its software ran simulations and predictions of the event that could unfold. This tactic was better suited for one not present on the field of battle though it could not even begin to predict how to pitch the concept of a supercomputer hooked up to their minds and optics.

The process of choosing a prediction and running it is a cycle that leaves little in the way of experimentation. Either the prediction would result in a failure or result in success. 0001's programming leaned more towards the latter. Quite frequently, nothing can be gained from cycling predictions and the running process itself can lead to failures if undertaken for too long. Often times it is efficient to simply run algorithmic-based outcomes such as "If -, then -". And determining possible failures or successes from that.

In the end, the robot opted to speak its part in the discussion of these enemies. 'Observation: It appears the subjects are non-hostile at the present moment. Engaging could lead to unwanted notice of our presence.' 0001 turned to face its comrades. 'Request: Our team should split up. We would cover more ground and complete our objectives with better efficiency at the cost of less manpower.'

Closing its comms, 0001 turned back to face the subjects. The ideas and thoughts 0001 suggested were likely already present in the mind of its teammates. A side effect of its being with trained operatives and a computer often recommending more human-like ideas. 'Evaluation: Our loss in manpower should be hardly felt, given our paroled position on this team.'

Saul cracked his neck, opting to leave his exosuit at home for this one. It felt more natural to him, running around in combat fatigues and his M3 Pattern personal Armor. He stared down the bright red holo on his M41A2, through the red scrub and at a pair of hostiles. Further up he noticed a sniper, and decided that was going to be how he started his day. He listened to other members of the squad go on about how avoiding the enemy was the best choice, but Saul hadn't had a fair war in a while. He needed to get some.

Saul's rifle looked ragged, with it's well worn suppressor, and the duct tape over the ammo counter, he let the pulse operated gun rip, barking as the 10x24 Caseless rounds spewed out from the barrel, fed from a 60 round magazine, and firing at a rate of 900 rounds per minute, the M41A2 had a reputation as the few hundred year old work horse of the Marines. He let the gun bark for not even two seconds, immediately releasing what he counted as 20 rounds. Even though the weapon was fitted with a suppressor, the muzzle flash on the gun was immense, and the light illuminated his face.

"Get Some!" Saul yelled with a grin, spraying another 40 rounds, which were much less coordinated and in a sweeping motion, towards the two guards who had the misfortune of encountering him. Saul hit the mag release on his rifle, watched the empty 60 round mag drop from the gun, and quickly slammed another one home and yelled to his squad mates. "Open up! Give 'em hell!"

The droning ambience of distant battle and ethereal malevolence was shattered for a moment; tranquility was an illusion here but even the illusion became even less with the shrieking roar of a concealed automatic weapon, announcing armour-shredding death from behind a veil of foliage. The two riflemen quickly reacted; enhanced reflexes from their armour or augmentations likely as their targeting lasers deactivated. Yet cybernetics and nano-infused muscles couldn't beat bullets and the designated marksman learned this the hard way.

The first few rounds staggered him but before they could even gasp in shock and surprise, the rest shattered his armour, tore through the synthetic muscle underlay, bit into flesh and travelled through his back. What would have been a scream instead emerged as coughing and erratic gargles, shaking with the nanosecond fast shredding of the pulse rifle's report. His body thudded to the tarnished soils, dead before it hit the ground.

Shouts were heard in the treeline and boots tore up the earth as the two riflemen dashed towards cover. Some shouting could be heard distantly!

"FUCK! This was supposed to be a dead zone!" One of them shouted, tossing themselves behind the thick tree cover.

Heavier footsteps followed, something threatening cocked itself.

"Shit, was that Hlangodt? Sounded dated enough! Commencing a ther-"

Their voices cut off abruptly; they'd switched to private channels. A few shots spat out, aimed roughly at and around Ray's position. Medium cartridge armour piercing but most importantly, energy jacketed. A few passed just a few feet from him, ripping through tree trunks and leaving scorches in their wake, flashing as they expired upon stoppin on harder mass. None made their mark yet but it was clear there was far more where that came from.

Strider lulled back his head and exhaled an audible "Fuck's sake..." before sidestepping the unit's formation and levelling his machinegun at the enemy. He was positioned at the rear echelon and during their patrol, along with gentle swipes of his boot, concealed the squad's tracks via natural layers of dirt and foliage. An experienced pathfinder, he knew this made it nigh-impossible for any trackers to stalk the Exile Battalion's priorly-covert passage. Strider dashed all yearnings of engagement at that moment and refrained from combatting the enemy due to the sheer ferocity of his firearm. A gloomy cloud of splinters and sullen tree bark formed a dim haze where Saul had employed hellfire on the enemy troopers. Strider admired his gung-ho spirit but frowned upon the man's impatience. He crouched unseen into the treeline and stalked his way to a left-flanking position where he could afford a chance of drilling molten lead into these pugnacious assholes. He watched with keen vigilance as the smoggy mist began to perforate then wane and disintegrate in equation with the smouldering trunks. A brief moment of calm ensued before a passionate rapture of fire screeched at them in response. Strider grit his teeth as Ray's position became engulfed, charging his own frustration with a clenched jaw and furrowed brows before squeezing the trigger and releasing an armageddon of bombardment which skewered their opponent's cover. All it took there was a transient burst of carnage whereupon a formidable chunk of timber had been eviscerated from its parent, exposing the operative's cover.

Strider kicked himself. That was fucking dumb. And "Hlangodt" sounded bloody nasty. Nevertheless, he had afforded the squad a fleeting chance to execute the enemy before (hopefully) bugging the fuck out to their objective. Hunkering down wasn't an issue but things had transpired from a cakewalk to shit-show in milliseconds.

The sniper's body was still freshly smoking when the energy jacketed bullets tore out from the obscurity of the treeline, through the clearing where the three troopers had been, and into the woods where Damnation's Hunger was hidden. Rifle fire continued to crack in intermittent staccato call and response patterns, shredding the bark and soon the trunks around Ray's position. More and more of the rounds cut a little deeper, one flying dangerously close to his left shin. They wouldn't be an unfamiliar sight or sound; based on their subtle glow and the muted whistle as they flew, they were from recent model UCL rifles, likely a carbine adapted from a rifle originally inteded for heavily augmented and power armored infantry.

The rifle-cracks were disciplined and the flash a faint almost wispy blue-yellow, difficult to make out likely due to suppressors of some sort. Vaguely, five of them could made out spread out behind the treeline in a half-circular formation. Short three round reports with stuttering pauses and rapid flurries of single shots, attempting to suppress the entirety of the target area and spreading outwards, many of their shots soon coming dangerously close to the rest of the team.

What at first seemed to be a desperate retaliatory attempt however, soon turned into something more lethal. A series of CHA-CHUNK's sounded out as a trio of black conical projectiles shot out from the woods. They soared over the exchange of gunfire below, rustling past leaves as they broke into the foliage, and descended towards their targets. One was falling straight for Josh - a specialized fragmentation round typically intended to wipe out infantry. One of the three slammed into a nearby tree and with a piercing crackle-blast, exploded into a storm of blistering spines, turning branches and leaves into powder as a deadly hail of subshrapnel was sent towards Nova and 0001. The final one flew near Saul's position, its trajectory taking it just 15 or so feet from him and threatening to catch him in the ripping hail.

Unbeknownst to the soldiers, Strider had exited the sight of the thermal scanning that a few of them might had been able to detect; their increasingly accurate fire went far off mark of the sneaking commando as they focused on the clusters of signatures they saw deeper in the woods. They were unprepared for heavy machine gun opening up from the left flank, slicing a few trees open and sending them crashing to the ground, disrupting the squad and forcing many of them to the ground. The illumination of the rounds sparked as it tore off and into armour, revealing in sparking flashes a squad of six; interim security forces by their drab grey, blue, and reds. The two troops on the left flank recoiled and scrambled as the others ducked for cover, momentarily silencing the rifle fire. One of the troops took a hefty series of shots to their sides and legs, crying out and stumbling to the ground but half hobbling, half jogging while pulling out a sidearm to fire behind them wildly at the ambushing Strider. He certainly had cybernetics and augs of some sort; no normal soldier could withstand that.

Another received less rounds but six of them tore into its torso and neck, sending its stumbling backwards and tripping over a log. A squelching, suckling hiss could be heard but it wasn't heat; the soldier got back up and through its torn open armour and fatigues, the rotten flesh texture of fungoid biomatter revealed itself. Horrific internal wounds stared back at Strider as biomass began to multiply and seal over the wounds from hidden nutrient supplies. The tarrhaidim soldier was still dazed and suffered grievous internal injury - it could only close the wounds for now but true regeneration and healing was a trickier matter. Yet they were far less fazed than their human counterpart, already attempting to steady themselves by a tree. A buzzing rumble emerged from its body as it hastily steadied its carbine to try and aim at Strider.

Yet behind the fungoid patrolman, a larger tubular weapon could be seen peaking out from behind the brushes further to the back of the semi-suppressed formation. The wider tubular barrel of a grenade launcher, angling upwards in preparation for another deadly barrage. One of the other soldiers on the right flank switched his targets; the same laser that they had been using to scan the ground now shone onto him roughly as the on board digital systems of Strider's armour were affected by ether-electical interference, glitching up and fizzing with static. The soldier was attempting to hamper his aim and distract him as the soldier tried to line-up a series of body shots on Strider!

Strider immediately clenched the trigger and furiously discharged a sudden stream of unrelenting firepower in their general vicinity. Tracer fire would erupt their position. He then hastily dropped his machinegun with a muted thump and went prone. He unlatched the belt-feed, ripped off his visor, his pupils quickly dilating, and sweat began to accumulate and moisten his brow. While hastily gauging his surroundings they soon returned to normal. It was tricky enough to make sense of the tumultuous carnage - having relied on the visor since his merc days. At the cost of becoming utterly blind to several diagnostics and mission-related data, sacrificing this crucial piece of kit was essential in prolonging Strider's life as he needn't worry about the static hampering his vision. He calmed the consternation that brewed in his mind and gut and briskly drew his submachine bolter. He tucked it between his chest and bicep as he rolled over to his right, closer to the squad, in order to change firing positions. He snatched the bolter back into his right hand. The one thing blaring on his mind: "Keep fucken moving!"
Strider made haste and dove behind a nearby boulder, possibly attracting fire. His right shoulder felt sore. "I'm pinned!" he roared over the unit's comms. Strider pressed his back against the boulder and unclipped his backpack, ditching the burden of his equipment to improve mobility. He risked a glance out of cover to observe the situation, attempting to form a general sense of awareness.
Peering into the sweltering mist he could only descry the dim hues of laser-fire and smoky, burning detritus. He gripped his bolter and prepared to engage.

Josh saw the frag and began running. He was lifted up and shoved forward as the explosion ripped apart the foliage he was once behind. He pushed himself up, he hands, hair, and face covered in dirt. He felt around, still slightly shell shocked, and found his helmet, upon which he had written long ago "DEATH FROM ABOVE". He plopped it on his head, and then he patted his chest, his arms, and finally his legs. After deeming himself uninjured, save for a few cuts on the back of his arms and a large number of bruises, he quietly looked up and closed his eyes, owing another one to lady luck. When he opened his eyes he was lost for a second in the beauty of the brightly colored tracers skipping around him and the large log that was acting as a wall, until the masked man yelled out about being pinned. Ray grabbed his, M41A2, which was luckily undamaged, save for the piece of tape that had come off the ammo counter, who's red light now showed that he had 60 rounds. He fully retracted the skeleton stock on the gun, and had a grin on his face.

Ray pulled a smoke grenade off of his rig, and bit the pin with his teeth. He chucked the canister 17 feet in front of Strider, then proceeded to squat behind the log. He let out a rebel yell and opened up with his pulse rifle. He targeted no one in particular, and utilized the assault rifle to fire at and over the heads of the enemy force. "Take that you cocksuckers!" Ray yelled as his ammo counter hit zero. He ducked his head as he hit the mag release and slammed a new one in. Determined to make it over to the pinned man, Ray threw another smoke grenade, this one in front of him. He retracted his stock, and slung his diagonally over his back. Ray vaulted over the log, one hand on his helmet and the other stabilizing him as he went over the fallen tree, and ran like a motherfucker. He hopped over bushes and rocks. He tripped as his foot got caught on a root, but he just pushed himself up and kept running. He eventually found himself at the gunner's position, where which he promptly fell to the ground behind the boulder. He turned his head to the right to look at the merc and said, "So, are you getting some?" Ray asked, with a hint of bad gallows humor. He pushed himself up into a squat, still behind the boulder.

Strider took the opportunity to charge into the muck and mire in order to retrieve his machinegun and visor, promptly sifting his way through the smoke and mentally retracing his steps - something he'd grown accustomed to in the decrepit heart of darkness of the jungles. "Take that you cocksuckers!" came the jarring sneer from his comrade, motivating Strider to push the fuck on. Another smoke grenade was launched and the hazy concealment washed over Strider's former position. In the wink of an eye, he promptly dove and pitched himself into the environment's disgusting grime and felt for his machinegun by slapping the ground. He harshly yanked at the first semblance he caught a grip of - and oh, thank fuck! It dragged with a rugged scrape and Strider immediately holstered his bolter, exchanging that for his primary. He located his visor in relation to the machinegun which he then attached to his belt and instantaneously began combat crawling his way to the boulder. He maneuvered stealthily and was practically kissing dirt along the way. His uniform was swamped in grot and filth and something had bitten through his armour too.

Strider paced the few final yards with avid temperance, stomping through the foliage with the machinegun cradled against his chest like some spiteful infant. Both Ray and Strider approached the boulder in synchronization. They slumped against their rocky cover with a hefty sough and felt relieved. "So, are you getting some?" the raucous soldier asked. "I'm feelin' greedy, motherfucker!" he cheerfully growled, grinning behind his balaclava while reattaching the belt feed.

Strider joined him in the squat though pushed his knee into the ground to stabilize himself. He then primed his machinegun by mounting it on the boulder and glowered ahead, waiting for an opportunity to strike them where it hurts.

His right shoulder was aching and his torso felt stiff. He tried reactivating his visor but the interface was stuttering, rendering it unusable for the time being.

INTERACTIONS: SpazTheButcher

Joshua was caught startled at the sudden attack of one of his teammates shouting profanities in a weirdly excited tone before hearing the loud shots of their weapon, this was later followed up by the shouting of more men approaching and one of his other teammates moving to support the aggressive rush of his teammate. Joshua was hesitant, would he have been in the position of his other teammates as an infantry unit he might've started doing supporting fire, but he was an armored unit and revealing an armored unit would cause more men to potentially come than if an infantry unit was spotted. He sat there thinking, before he saw the display and heard the activation of defense system, launching a tiny rocket at blinding speeds and destroying the projectile coming right at him

Joshua wasn't even fully paying attention until then, he grew even more worried and began talking to himself, "That was headed for me, did they spot me, has my position been compromised?" he started questioning before just crumbling under the pressure and leaving Turtle Mode. The transformation was loud, the tree that covered him shook and when rising up he took part of the bush he was on. Joshua stomped the ground causing it to slightly shake, followed by that a loud unlocking sound was heard as the weapons were being quickly diagnosed and preparing to be fired. Now in combat Mode Joshua saw the large smoke cloud that had been created and quickly turned on Thermal Vision able to somewhat see the enemy. With the enemy spotted and with a higher angle to shoot the enemy at, Joshua enabled His heavy LMG to fire, which it instantly did, targeting the nearest enemy target with rapid and powerful shots meant to tear through armored targets.

Mentions: cybercrypt SpazTheButcher

Almost immediately after 0001's declaration of strategical genius, a firefight erupted after Saul provoked the enemies with several bullets. 0001 had previously done various studies of its teammates, attempting to understand their motives and who they were. It was an effort to attempt empathy. It failed. Most beings capable of thought or emotions were unpredictable when placed in an environment that threatened their life or the lives of others. It made 0001's attempt at relating to them rather difficult. Nonetheless, 0001 knew the human was quick-tempered, a trait that was unfavorable in this mission.

The robot examined the battlefield, the foliage blocked sightlines and made cover abundant but useless as seen with the various projectiles shredding through wood and flesh alike. 0001 had little time to react as explosives propelled by a launcher fell like hail onto the team. It attempted to analyze the curvature of the explosive to find its launcher, not only that but the rough area of where the signature sound came from. It had a bit of success, measuring and identifying an area in which the launcher could be.

Activating the shield projector, 0001 protected itself from the shrapnel fire that rained down. It understood this act as selfish as part of that shrapnel was set to hit the android Nova. It certainly could've protected the android but it was certain it could protect itself from such an easy attack. The shield suffered little damage, hardly enough to warrant a repair. Using its algorithm, the robot determined the most successful action it could take. Though the hidden variables amongst the forest environment made it difficult to gauge a proper analysis and cost/benefit ratio. Regardless, 0001 looked towards the android in spite of whatever condition she could be in.

Addressing Nova, it said 'Application: We may be capable of using a pincer maneuver on the enemy to expose their flanks and weaken their overall composition. Our superior speed will be our winning move.' Turning back to its normal orientation, 0001 sprinted diagonally left towards the enemy, attempting to coax out their cover and identify them. It was aware of rough positioning but no efficient shots could be made without proper estimations. Stopping its sprint about 60 meters to the left from what it could identify as the recently wounded Tarrhaidim soldier: 0001 aimed its plasma pistol partly at the soldier and its cover, firing it once the shot was aligned.

The plasma pistol emitted a bright blue light accompanied by a sharp ringing noise as it pulsed out a bolt. Smoke rushed out from the barrel as 0001 holstered it. It took no matter in seeing if the shot wounded or damaged the soldier. It took the shot as a means of removing the cover the Tarrhaidim was behind and allowing one of Damnation's Hunger to take care of him. If it did wound or kill the soldier, it would par to the course and one less enemy capable of retaliation. Regardless, 0001 continued his sprint outwards towards the flank and the launcher.
Clan Ize

Ray still couldn't see through the smoke. He pulled out infrared binoculars from a small pouch on his rig. His rifle still slung, he brought the Binos up to his eyes and looked into the smoke. Out in the brush he spied 6 hostiles left, two of whom were obviously injured, arranged in a half circle formation near the treeline facing the main force of Damnation's Hunger. As he was on the left flank, he noted the two who were closest to him and Strider. "Alright, 2 targets. See 'em?" Ray held the binos up the the Merc's eyes, showing him the two targets, one of which was spotted because of foliage, the other who was squatted behind a tree. "You aim now, I will help you adjust fire, alright? Now light those suckers up!" Ray said with a grin to his newfound amigo. Ray began to ponder if he could become this guy's Assistant Gunner, after all he loved his attitude and go-get-em spirit.

The spontaneity of this unfortunate turn of events did not surprise Grom. If anything, a sense of Nostalgia struck him as he barreled towards cover flanked by his cybernetic canine. His back slammed onto the forest dirt, staining it with the wet sediment and patches of leaves. With his sniper rifle activating its' self-cloaking mechanism, the star white colouration instantly became a mosaic of greens and browns. According to his hastily made calculations, this boulder should provide adequate protection for the time being. The engineer took a peak to understand the situation. The androids got bombarded by shrapnel artillery, splendid! He sarcastically thought as he narrowly avoided a rogue chunk that aimed for his cranium. "Screw this." Bitterly spoken as he attached his rifle to the magnetic sockets on his back. He turns to his loyal drone. "Alright, boy, you ready to pop some tangos?" Whether it was programming or genuine feeling, Bu11y responded with a hearty bark.

He tucked the drone under his armpit as he dashed out of his cover, moving vertically away from the action. His destination had been a tree. An ancient one, easily distinguished by the width and size. Simultaneously, he swaps the position of his sniper rifle and drone. It held onto his back by his clavicle, resembling a backpack. Meanwhile, his sniper rifle was fastened to his chest via latches. The barrel dangled back and forth as Grom climbed the tree. The tree branches and his armour made climbing easier. Once he reached a certain height, approximately 30 meters off the ground, he perched on a branch. Without uttering a single word, he sent a command to his drone. Be my spotter. It complied by leaping off his back and planting itself firmly on the trunk. It began to feed him the coordinates. Grom's display marked his teammates with miniature blue kites. Yet the enemies red kite is missing. It seems they're using sensory camouflage. Great.

Grom moved his sight around from his teammate to teammate, eventually resting on 0001, it seems he has blown away an enemy's cover.

Target obtained.

Centre mass fixed.

Release the breath.

Heartbeat calm.

Squeeze.

And like that, an energy bolt shot from the rifle drilled through the enemy chest. Ending whatever life that he had. His eyes and scope moved towards his compatriots, Strider and Ray. He wanted to talk with Strider but noticed that his communication systems haven't recovered. "Ray, I've got your arses covered, they'll get ripped in half."

Remembrance SpazTheButcher

As 0001 activated his shield generator to stop the shrapnel Nova’s scanners had previously sent her a warning and she had preemptively moved out of the way in order to avoid most of the shrapnel. As the metal tore through the dense foliage Nova stood off to the side with her rifle at the ready only small amounts hitting and instantly being stopped by her shield. Listening 0001’s plan Nova nodded and ran off to the opposite side of 0001 in the way he had suggested. In her mind 0001’s “order” was currently top priority before anything else. While running Nova scanned for hostiles and quickly identified far more than she had originally expected. Quickly determining that there were too many hostiles for her to take out at once she focused on the one closest to her for now, the barrel of his grenade launcher poking out from some foliage aimed in such a way as one might use a mortar shell firing it into the air to rain down.

Now taking up a position behind a tree Nova quietly crept up behind him, holding her gun to the back of his head and fired a single shot at his head. The sound of a plasma shot rang off as she fired into the soldier and soon after firing running off to locate more hostiles.

'Damn it, damn it, damn it.' Varger thought to himself as the fire fight erupted in front of him. Charging to the forefront of the battle so he could more effectively bring his weapons to bear and trusting in his armor, he did not even flinch as bullets and shrapnel ricochet off him. He poured the immense fire power of the combined weapons of his Heimdal augmetics. Though he did not use the Surtr canon or anything with an explosive payload. Save for the Mjolnir, whose salvo of grenades answered that of the enemy's.

The amount of fire unleashed by Vargr was awe inspiring. His right arm was alight with the firing of the Freya medium machine gun, it's roar drowning out the almost lack luster chunk of the Mjolnir firing it's payload. The hostiles that could see him would see the incarnation of death striding across the open ground, alight with the glow of destruction. The most worrying part, however, was the fact that he was capable of so, so much more than what he was displaying to them.

Odd that Saul decided to veto against Grom, Vargr, Nova, Joshua and 0001 suggestions. Odder now that everyone decided that Saul decision was the right thing to do and decided throw caution to the wind....Trapper looked on with a steely gaze as the sniper went down like that was useful. Strider and Saul changed positions to be near towards the enemies...CHA-CHUNK the tell tale sign on a grenade launcher. A few enemies fell this time to Strider but only to hear Strider pleas in the unit communication and the confirmation from the still blaring unit communication that Saul managed to protect and help Strider. Trapper watched as Joshua managed to evade the black cone grenade just in time Trapper added all the while Trapper kept silent as Joshua mentioned about his position being compromised before reposition and using the light machine gun that was added into the chassis of Joshua.

0001 and Nova protected from the shrapnel fire while beginning a plan of their own to flank and finish off the enemy that used the grenade launcher. Grom narrowly avoiding while Trapper was in the vicinity, Trapper already moved away once from the battle Saul decided to begin this reckless attack and Trapper was already beginning the hike around the battle while using the unit communication and the his helmet vision enhancer to observe the next bits of plans and attacks Grom started to vertically move away from the gun fight while Trapper began the move to go past the fight all the while refusing to communicate with the rest of the team.

The objective was important, this battle was unnecessary, the fight could have been coordinated, but no someone had to act like a cannon fodder so Trapper is going to let Saul act like cannon fodder as much as Saul wants to act like one or not. Yes sir Saul will be cannon fodder regardless if the team makes it out of this alive or if some where to be killed Trapper will just blame Saul or set Saul up for a visit to the Therma-max fairy.

Trapper has taken the time to avoid this entire blunderbuss of a battle and had decided to rest and wait until his team mates decided that now would be a good time to communicate because at the moment, most of them has been broadcasting their moves via the unit communications.....However Trapper already noticed that Grom decided to climb a tree on the opposite end of their split up from the boulder hiding cover that they had previously shared. Trapper proceed to hide behind the tall trees and reddish foliage to begin getting closer to where their objective is supposed to be.

"Seen!" Strider barked, engaging the trigger with utmost fervor and blasting them bastards with a visceral onslaught of molten lead; the heart of his machinegun beat with pounding fanaticism. The muzzle flash erupted with glaring malevolence as its booming drummer instilled further pandemonium into the chaotic fray. Ablaze with voracious excitement, the rushing of blood coursed through his veins. Strider fucking lived for this. He diligently accompanied Ray's fruitful guidance and passionately seized the moment, white-knuckled and sweating as he drilled the enemy.

A hulking clank and unmistakable grinding of machinery was graciously received as Joshua embarked to the fight, Strider yelled a zealous dedication of support to his LMG brother-in-arms. He witnessed 0001 courageously advance on and slaughter a Tarrhaidim soldier with terrifying efficiency as Grom dispatched a belligerent of his own, embowling their chest cavity. Nova covertly approached the enemy with meticulous spite and both 0001 and Nova earned a sentiment of pride from the former Commando. And by God could the angels praise the cracking monstrosity of Vargr's dedication of rapturous fire. Unseen, Trapper made virulent haste into the jungle, his motives ambiguous but sharply trusted.

Strider concentrated on suppressing the enemy. One of his bolts then critically demolished a Tarrhaidim's countenance. A wilting bloom of cruor exploded into some ghastly mist behind him as the bolt ravaged its way through his helmet and demolished the bottom-right quarter of their face. Jawbone, cheek, teeth, that fraction of their skull - converted to ghoulish haze. The Tarrhaidim stumbled and gargled horrifically before its eye, momentarily hanging in sway in the abyss of its ex-cranium, collapsed to the ground with him. He crumpled as if the strings of a marionette doll had been swiftly sliced. Strider's final ten shots were an ultimatum of tracer-fire, indicating a reload was imminent and where a potentially remaining target was pinned. The lever sang a mighty "CHNK!" as the final cartridge was spat out the ejection port. Strider keenly smacked Ray's shoulder as a gesture of camaraderie before he ducked back and began the process of reloading.

His jaw was clenched in anticipation and his eyes wide with thrill.

The security troopers took aim and fired, landing a few glancing hits at best as Strider dived behind the boulder. The tarrhaidim's own regenerative mass was still seeping outwards to fill in the gaps in the armour, something Strider could partially hear over the sound of energy-jacketed rounds chipping off increasingly large chunks of stone. As he moved his head for a careful glance, the same trooper who'd etherjammed him swung his rifle down, firing a few bursts to try and blow his skull open. Not too far off, a fragmentation grenade detonated, nearly shredding Saul, responded to in kind with a wild burst of pulse rifle fire. Three of the six remaining enemy combatants ducked for cover; both of the ones firing on Strider had been suppressed as they ducked behind one of the trees toppled over by Strider's machinegun along with a third closer to the edge of the treeline, going prone on the ground. Two of the three non-suppressed soldier took a few potshots, firing single shot as Saul stumbled to another position but cursing as a thick smoke rose not too long after, blocking their view of the boulder and the two hidden behind it.

The hidden grenade launcher armed trooper however was still concealed and entrenched but his aim had gone elsewhere. One of his grenades detonated but far above the ground in the patch of forest opposite to their position, turning much of the lower canopy of the trees into a mess of shredded bark. Another went off successfully but rather than screams and shrededHis attention turned as through the now partially cleared foliage, a large mecha revealed itself to his targeting scanners. He paused for a moment, hesitating before pausing to pull out armour-piercing rounds. His rain of fragmentation stopped as the three other non-wounded troopers rose from cover, attempting to suppress both Saul and Strider through the smoke as well as the rest of the Damnation's Hunger force with wild bursts of fire, focusing more on volume than accuracy. Most of the rounds pinged off of the automaton's body; its armour was tough enough to withstand rounds enhanced even with energy jacketing properties. The huge machine began to rise and a few curses were exchanged over private coms; what was assumed to be a smaller support unit revealed itself to be 14 feet of combat automata.

One of the soldiers fumbled to pull out a grenade but Joshua's machine spoke first, ripping through the tree he was hidden behind and blowing a trail of holes through their sternum. They fell to the ground, dropping a grenade that promptly exploded and shredded surrounding tree bark into cinders, forcing the soldier alongside him to dive into cover. The fragmentation had torn into his armour, not enough to shatter it with how they'd gotten out of the way quickly enough but it was notably cracked around the torso area. Out of position and with their defences weakened, they attempted to relocate towards the sole remaining soldier not grievously wounded, momentarily exposing themselves as they ran to change their positions.

He nearly made it. Just as he had slid into cover with one of the remaining riflemen, a sniper rifle announced its judgement; a gaping hole in his torso and the body-shaking impact of the bullet's passage. He stumbled dead into the position, causing the remaining rifleman to curse and pull his rifle out of cover, firing a suppressing spray towards the forest but wide of where Grom was concealed though a few rounds by chance would fly towards Nova and 0001. He cursed and reflexively ducked behind cover as a bolt of plasma fired by 0001 soared by, combusting a knocked over tree into a blaze of fiery fragments and exposing the wounded human and tarrhaidim. Partially recovered with combat stims and regenerative properties, they scattered in different directions. One went to the side of the remaining rifleman, another back to protect the grenadier. The remaining rifleman up front cursed as he began falling back, firing erratic bursts at 0001 as he attempted to move around to the flank.

All of this carnage happened barely within a 30 second timeframe. Between ducking into cover and loading in armour-piercing rounds, the grenadier had been unaware of a shadowy presence moving towards the rear of their positions. Just as he raised the launcher, a searing heat then blackness followed. Metal melted, flesh was devoured, bones turned to ash, fluids and innards into vapour. The human trooper's body fell to the ground as the last firing nerves in his body pulled the trigger, sending an armour-piercing grenade into the dirt, blowing a small hole but otherwise resulting in little.

Only three riflemen, two of which were still wounded, remained. All of them paused for a moment as their comrade's skull disappeared in a flash of superheated energy. One of them, the tarrhaidim, saw the residual thermal energy in the air, their on board systems tracing it back to Nova. Already panicked and enraged, it charged directly at Nova, onboard scanners making out her outline as what apepared to be a sickle like blade merged from its left arm, swinging forward as it charged, its rifle braced against its body and firing point blank in a monstrous fury. It roared something in its native tongue; something about preserving her soul so its battle-brothers could torment her in the afterlife - to an untrained ear, little more than an incoherent series of frothing, bubbly gurgles as if from a sinkhole in the earth.

Oddly enough, that would turn out to have saved it as a hail of machine guns and grenades answered back. The wounded trooper moved too late; he'd heard the launch of the grenades but the bullets moved far faster. In a flash, he was staring at his own two legs falling backwards onto the ground, looking down and realizing his entire lower half was opposite of and detached from his upper. Those were the last thigns he realized before the last of his life bled out. His comrade wasn't any luckier, blown off his feet and crashing to the ground, riddled with shattered bones, shrapnel-holes, and blinking out his last few moments in the space between the two treelines.

All that was left was one very angry, berserk tarrhaidim intending to at the very least, go down fighting.

0001 watched as the carnage slowly died down, the enemy combatants falling dead to Damnation's Hunger combined firepower. One remained, a Tarrhaidim soldier running down Nova. 0001 ran the possibilities of eliminating him but in the end, it decided against taking any action against them. It was more than certain that the android could incapacitate or gravely wound the soldier. It could also be considered a mockery of her abilities should 0001 interfere. Reviewing the battlefield, the robot took note of its comrades' positions and whereabouts as well as the locations of the deceased.

Deactivating its personal energy shield, 0001 moved towards the soldier that laid dead between the treelines. It squatted down, pillaging the corpse for its assault rifle and ammo. 0001 inspected the rifle, it was the new variant for the UCL armed forces. From a brief inspection of it, it appears to have been made for those with power armor and major augmentations. The only issue was space, the robot had no containers nor pockets for magazines. The soldier did have a vest on, though 0001 would be incapable of fitting the other set of arms through the vest on its lower body. In the end, 0001 decided to keep an additional magazine in his bottom right hand.

Opening their comms, 0001 decided to put out his opinion on where they should head next. 'Evaluation: Since our enemies lay deceased before us, we should move towards the furthest and highest objective so that we are able to get a view of the other two objectives.'

0001 closed its comms and moved towards its allies. 0001 looked upon the team, paying close attention to Saul Goodman. The irascible man who opened fire to a group that could've been ignored and left be. The robot considered opening concerns about Saul's behavior and attitude towards this mission. The mission could've been jeopardized if these were the wrong enemies and identified the group as hostile. 0001 opted to not voice its concerns as it could lower morale and cause Saul to commit more dangerous actions in defiance of order and authority. 'Recommendation: We should begin moving.'

Turning towards the furthest objective, 0001 began the trek over there, expecting the team to follow it lest they split up and lose their combined might and firepower.