<strong>Sergeant Arillo Amandil, 3rd Squad, USS Mitchum Cyro tube room</strong><br/><hr/><br/>Cyrosleep, it was always the same for him. He always awoke from a dreamless sleep where he felt like he was just floating in black nothingness and with nothing to occupy him. Not even the dreams he used to have years ago before he joined the Marines. Now he was used to it though, although it used to bug him in the beginning. The feeling was foreign to him. Climbing out of his Cyro-tube though, Arillo wore a bit of a wicked smile as the single braid that he kept wrapped around his neck fell down around the right side of his face, almost touching the floor as he looked down. "Ahhhh, glad to be out of that personal torture chamber." he said, his voice filled with a bit of glee as he looked around. Other members of Squad 3 were coming out of their slumber and one of them was even doing some pull-ups to warm herself. Arillo watched her for a few short moments before he went over to his locker and began to don his gear. His armor he put on carefully as he made sure that everything fit perfectly together as he didn't want it chaffing him in places he rather prefer be left alone.<br/><br/>Next came all of his gear. He had a shoulder strap for his Pulse rifle that he quickly slung over his neck and pulled until the weapon was on his back and then picked up his next weapon, his 357 Magnum Revolver. That weapon had saved his life more times than he could count on his two hands and on the grip of the weapon he had 57 tiny marks on it, each marking a kill he had made with the weapon. He replaced the Revolver back into its holster and then attached it to his belt before placing the rest of his gear on his person. Quickly he checked over his gear and made sure that it was all in tip-top and working condition and smiled when he was sure it all was working and then left the Cyro room to meet 3rd Squads new Lieutenant. He stood at attention as he was trained to as he half listened to what Mengsk said to them all as he was more interested in what kind of man Mengsk was by watching him and his body language, but he was a hard man to read. The only thing he could pick up from the man, and he was iffy on this, was that he loathed some of those that he was leading. When Mengsk left them all, Arillo broke his salute and turned to look at the rest of them. "You heard him men! Gather your gear up quickly then make your way to the APC in the dropship." he said and then quickly made his way to the drop ship.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>In the APC</strong><br/><br/><hr/><br/>Arillo sat confidently in his seat near Megsk within the APC, his hands idly polishing a few rounds for his Revolver. He liked to keep them all cleaned for reasons he kept unknown to others. His braid was now threaded around his neck like a necklace and the end was hidden in his armor, to keep the thing from getting in his sight. He listened to the conversations around him as their dropship made the transition from space to planetside. The trip as bumpy, although the word bumpy was a clear understatement, but Arillo had gone through rougher landings and even hot landings when the situation called for one. Soon Arillo could feel their transport deposit them and he heard what it was that the pilot said to them and reached for his communication's gear. "We'll keep that in mind neighbor. We'll call you in should things get too hot down here and we need a fast evac." he answered back before falling silent as the APC started to move.<br/><br/>Arillo remained in his seat for a bit as he took the rounds he had just polished and slowly loaded each one into the Revolver before he spun the chamber and then returned it to its position with a flick of his wrist and holstered it, just like in those silly, old Western movies. Releasing himself from his safety harness, he watched as some of the squad took up positions at the gun doors, leaving him with the duty of helping Mengsk drive the APC to the facility. "Head north for about 2.3 clicks before changing directions to north by north-east for another 2.7 clicks. The facility should be in view by then." Arillo informed Mengsk as he drove. The dreary landscape, at least it was to Arillo, left one's mind numb as he called out various orders to the Lieutenant. "Watch those rocks, rough terrain up ahead," he would occasionally say before he heard his title called.<br/><br/><strong>“Just what the hell are we in for here, anyway?”</strong><br/><br/><strong>“Does it matter?”</strong><br/><br/><strong>“Of course it matters,”</strong><br/><br/>Arillo heard behind him and he turned around in his seat to address the two that were talking, looking over at the Squads Smart Gunner and one of the Privates. "Indeed it does matter. It helps to know what one is getting themselves into, so they can be prepared." he said before he cleared his throat, repeating what he knew. "Three squads have currently been deployed planetside. Squad 1's mission is to find whatever is jamming our scanners and to neutralize it so that we may better understand what kind of situation we're dealing with. Squad 2 has been deployed to secure a location where backup can be dropped and act as a temporary base camp. And we are being deployed to secure a civilian colony. That's about all I can really tell you at this point. Don't want to say something and then have something else completely happen. Just keep your trigger finger loose and be ready for an ambush."<br/><br/>Arillo sat back into his seat and continued to guide Mengsk by avoiding obstacles here and there, but for the most part the ride had been smooth. No guerrilla fighters appear out of nowhere and bombarded them with RPG's, no train of hostile vehicles come driving up and pepper them with rounds. Nothing. You would think that with nothing happening would be a good thing to Arillo, but that was quite the opposite. It set him on edge as he expected something to happen to them sometime, although he would prefer that something to happen sooner rather than later. To him, the entire planet was a battlefield since they were going in blind and something always happened on the battlefield. But that was currently the problem, nothing was happening and Arillo could feel his skin practically crawl as he felt that nagging feeling at the back of his head. "It's too calm for me." he muttered softly as the APC drove on.<br/><br/>Arillo had remained silent for the remainder of the trip except for the the occasional warning about rough terrain or some other impediment until they arrived at their destination. Arillo examined the various monitors like Benjamin did. He heard what it was that he said and grimaced as he tried to process what was before him. The colony looked abandoned but the tractors were in their proper place. No sign of a firefight of any kind, major or small, was evident and there was no sign of any kind of life at all. It was like all the colonists had all just been whisked away by some unforeseen hand, never to be seen again. "This doesn't sit right with me Sir." Arillo said as he stood up from his seat and moved towards one of the side doors and looked back at Mengsk.<br/><br/>"Sir, while this idea certainly doesn't sit well with me, I would like to put out on the table that a small group of 3 or 4 find a way inside the colony and then get the main gates to open so that the APC an pass through, and since I thought of the idea I would like to volunteer myself to lead this small group.....unless you have another idea in mind Sir?" he asked as he brought his strap around until he had his rifle in hand and waited for permission to go ahead with his idea.