X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: BlackStone on 03-06-2015, 08:19:13</h2>
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				Title: <strong>X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>03-06-2015, 08:19:13</strong>
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				5 August 2016, 2203 Zulu<br>Covert Airfield outside of Johannesburg, South Africa<br><br>It had been a long forty-eight hours for everyone.&nbsp; &nbsp;Multiple extractions and travel of several highly trained professionals all carried out smooth as silk, pointing to an organization that was efficient as well as skilled.&nbsp; &nbsp;Near all of the operatives had a long trips to practically the southern most part of the world outside of Antarctica.&nbsp; Once the operatives reached Johannesburg, each was kept in seclusion till the evening, and everyone was picked up by and ushered out of the city.<br><br>The ride itself took more than a couple of hours before the team ended up at the target location.&nbsp; &nbsp;Like several of their more memorable operations in the past, this has a very Black OPS feel too it, and great care was taken to be certain that no civilians witnessed anything.&nbsp; &nbsp; As the team left the vehicle they saw on the runway a military transport plane of the likes no one had every seen before, not even a hint of it in any media source.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was clear that whatever was about to happen it was big, a mission of the scope no one had been on before.<br><br>Descending from the rear ramp were two individuals, both in a utility type uniform one would wear for causal operations, like day to day admin, but the style of the uniform was unlike any known organization in the world with, black with gray trim, and some form of rank insignia upon the collar and a patch in the same black and gray color of the uniform on the left shoulder.&nbsp; &nbsp; One of the newcomers was a male, the other a female.&nbsp; &nbsp;As they reached the gathering of the group, the man spoke to everyone, and he did so in a crisp British accent.<br><br><strong>"I know everyone has questions, and we will get to them.&nbsp; &nbsp;I also know it has been a long day.&nbsp; &nbsp;Refreshments have been set out in the hanger over there.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is far from five star restaurant quality, but it is a far cry from military rations and it is hot food.&nbsp; &nbsp;Let us grab some and we shall discuss the reason why you have undergone such lengths to bring you here and the reason for it."</strong><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Peice of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>03-06-2015, 15:58:40</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> open<br><hr><br>After a while, Ren had done what any agent, police or military, would do with so many boring hours: she'd slept. Not that it was easy; the blacked-out plane windows had made her nervous. She hated flying, these days, since the accident- helicopters especially- but that simply wasn't something you talked about, or even let show. So, after she exhausted the amusements of a few Sudoku puzzles (which she loathed), working out gas-pressure/load variables for&nbsp; her standard M40 in her head, and wondering just where the hell she was going and why (and why she'd been told to take no equipment other than her sidearm)- she slept.<br><br>It had gotten interesting once others started coming in. Clearly it was a multinational, what with all the accents. No one had uniforms or shoulder patches, though, nothing to identify exactly who they were or where from, and she didn't see anyone else from HRT. Didn't mean they weren't around- the minders tried very hard to keep each operative isolated. And like every elite type around the world before a briefing, they didn't talk a hell of a lot, even when they were all together in the heavy transport. Talk, brag, guesswork, team bonding, that would all come after they knew what they had gotten themselves into.<br><br>Boring as hell in the moment, though. she'd really rather have been doing her morning PT. It <em>was</em> morning, wasn't it? Somewhere?<br><br>The real interest came on the runway. Ren had no clue who the woman was, but she looked hard enough.&nbsp; The world community of SpecOps snipers is pretty small, though, and while it wouldn't be reasonable to expect every one of them to know every other, most of them knew most of the rest.&nbsp; When he was done with his intro, the wiry FBI agent shifted her duffel to her other shoulder and took half a step forward.<br><br>"Lt. Barnes.&nbsp; This your dance, then?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Peice of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>03-06-2015, 23:51:16</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any<br><br><br><hr><br>John stiffled a yawn, as he gazed at the plane on the tarmac, and his brow furrowed slightly. He wasn't Air Force, but he'd travelled enough to know most of the planes the service used. That one looked nothing like any of them, or any others he'd seen in joint ops over the years. <em>'Curiouser and Curiouser' said Alice</em> he thought, turning his attention to the pair coming off it. Their uniforms were a marked contrast to the woodland patterned camo he was used to wearing. He glanced around at the rest of the group, noting the disparity of clothing there too. <em>Yep, definitely black ops.</em> he thought. <br><br>He refocused on the newcomers as the man spoke, in what sounded like an English accent, clenching his jaw against another yawn. "Food, and perhaps more importantly, caffeine would be very much appreciated right now, thank you." he said. "A briefing would also be good. I suspect there'll be quite a lot of questions afterwards." He blinked as a yawn finally forced it's way out. "Sorry about that." he said afterwards. "I'm afraid with all the travelling my body doesn't quite know what time it's supposed to think it is any more." He gave a small smile and added. "I think it thinks it's you-ought-to-be-asleep-already o'clock."
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MissFire</strong> on <strong>04-06-2015, 00:42:28</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/MissF1R3/Whiskey6_zps6fjoe3tf.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Sarah Sauer, Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Ren, Any<br><br><hr><br>Sarah wasn't surprised at the secrecy. She'd been surprised at the level of secrecy. It was like they didn't even want people to see them traveling in the unmarked van at all. Thinking that, she'd then started to wonder if the government had just 'disappeared' her. Maybe she didn't even exist anymore. Interesting. <br><br>The blonde-haired German had slept through the ride to the airfield, her arms folded neatly across her chest and her head down. She'd been picked up dressed in urban camo BDU's, a grey t-shirt, green suspenders, black combat boots, and her favorite ashen grey jacket. This was Sarah's 'casual' outfit, believe it or not. She let the rhythm of the ride lull her to sleep, sure that she'd need the extra shut-eye. Sauer had learned long ago to grab sleep where she could, as one often went long hours training or on missions. It paid to rest when you could. So through the ride to the airfield she was out like a light. Then, as soon as the van came to a halt, she was up again. Like flicking on a light. She was first to pile out, eager to enact another habit; have a smoke. She hopped out of the van and stood just outside of it, ostensibly in the way of everyone else trying to get out. She fished a silver lighter and a pack of smokes from her coat, then tucked her chin, rested the smoke between her lips and began attempting to light it. Damn wind.<br><br>It should come as no surprise that someone bumped Sarah just as she was getting the cancer stick lit up. That person was Ren and Sarah instantly glared daggers at her.<br><br><strong>"Achtung! Du narr ungeschickt."</strong> spat the KSK woman, <strong>"Kuh."</strong><br><br>Sarah stepped away from the van and fell into line beside the rest, having finally succeeded in lighting up and inhaling nicotine. She stuffed her hands in her pockets. All together she presented the image of someone that had just woken up and was not pleased about it. 
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>04-06-2015, 08:33:51</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield, arriving.<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team, Teamleader. John?<br><br><hr><br><br>Rick had been a little taken aback about the secrecy. He had been drummed out of his rack before, on a few rare occasions. But never like this, On previous occasions he had others with him, wearing the same uniform, speaking the same language and more to the point they had their personal gear with them. <br><br>This time he’d been told to leave his gear, except for his sidearm. And more strangely still, he had been informed to remove anything that could identify him or his unit. Even his nations flag had to go and then it was onto the transport plane. Which wasn’t filled with troops, just a few crates and flight crew almost too afraid to address their single passenger. He shuddered at the cost of flying him and just him to wherever. It must be important to the brass. <br><br>The hotel, because there was no hiding that, had been another surprise. It beat temporary quarters at any military base. And he could see the sense in the extra secrecy. Soldiers gossiped and there was no way to gag every single one of them. During the drive over he’d seen the others. Men and women, who if they spoke, all had accents. But that wasn’t the strangest thing.<br><br>No, that had been the strange aircraft coming in for landing. He’d been eyeing their surroundings, trying to place where they were. It didn’t look, sound or smell like the middle east. He was still trying when the new airship came in. It wasn’t all that large, kind off boxy. But it looked cool. The two people coming out of it were of interest as well, wearing an unfamiliar uniform. <br><br>The man spoke, in proper English as they always claimed, whenever they shared one of the navy transport ship with his fellow marines. <br><br>"I know everyone has questions, and we will get to them.&nbsp; &nbsp;I also know it has been a long day.&nbsp; &nbsp;Refreshments have been set out in the hanger over there.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is far from five star restaurant quality, but it is a far cry from military rations and it is hot food.&nbsp; &nbsp;Let us grab some and we shall discuss the reason why you have undergone such lengths to bring you here and the reason for it."<br><br>At the mention of food he perked up and made a beeline for the hangar in question. Experience had taught him to sneak along some food bars but they hadn’t lasted long enough. In doing so he passed, what only could be an American. <br><br>‘Come on,’ he told the yank. ‘Coffee and food usually help with the yawns. Your country woman, has the brass occupied anyway.’ He said with a half smile, surprising himself. He must be tired if he was engaging people on his own initiative. <br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Pumpkin Seeds</strong> on <strong>04-06-2015, 12:23:08</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_400_400/AAEAAQAAAAAAAALwAAAAJGZhMWY2ODI5LTI0NTItNDhjZC05YmIzLWJjMzczZTRhNmU5Zg.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Danuka Skala<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open<br><br><strong>Warning:</strong> None<br><br><hr><br><br>People always repeat the mantra of not judging a book by its cover.&nbsp; A continual desire to surpass the expectation others place on them.&nbsp; The truth was a much harsher reality that most people wore their lives on their bodies and in some fashion those aspects could be discerned.&nbsp; Bearing, walk, clothing choices and mannerisms were all a reflection of a life lived.&nbsp; Danuka was no different even if she would like to believe she was a step apart from those around her.&nbsp; Yet when she walked out of the vehicle that brought her to this place in secret there was no mistaking the military bearing she carried.&nbsp; Proud and tall, she walked with a singular purpose even if that purpose was simply to get in line.&nbsp; Military grade boots meet the tarmac, but their exterior did not match the other clothing she wore.&nbsp; Where the denim jeans were custom and expensive, cut perfectly to suit her powerful legs and narrow waist, the boots were worn and mired in dirt.&nbsp; Polished to be certain, but nobody would wash away the years of use and comfort those boots provided.&nbsp; They were as much a soldier as she.<br><br>The other clothing on the woman was functional but also expensive.&nbsp; Designed to provide tight movement and protection, the jeans were indeed name-brand.&nbsp; Across her powerfully built torso a red leather jacket was zipped up tight.&nbsp; While the muscles of her arms and abdomen could not readily be seen there was no mistaking her broad chest and shoulders.&nbsp; Such clothing options spoke of money from somewhere in her immediate history.&nbsp; Enough money to spend on expensive clothing that was worn casually enough to be picked off the street wearing.&nbsp; Bits of jewelry decorated her hands and neck, colored stones and precious metals that glistened beneath ambient light.&nbsp; A deep breath was taken once she stepped out onto the tarmac and took in the military compound for the first time.&nbsp; There a smile worked across her lips.<br><br>A harsh zip was taken down the front of her jacket as she approached the others.&nbsp; The woman’s face seemed chiseled from stone.&nbsp; Distinct features seemed to have been molded by some ancient God of the European country-side.&nbsp; A pair of sapphire stones had been set in place of her eyes.&nbsp; Their color brilliantly flashing toward the assembling people while she stalked toward the food.&nbsp; Now that the jacket opened to reveal a simple muscle shirt of white beneath, the true depth of her strength could be better appreciated.&nbsp; Even the simple act of reaching for the food and coffee set the muscles buried under her flesh into motion.&nbsp; <br><br>“Haven’t seen anything like this in a long time.”<br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sorrow Singer</strong> on <strong>04-06-2015, 16:05:25</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/9fbf91eb-743b-4437-9914-79f45c53d03c.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Andrea 'Panzer' Dahl : Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open, Sarah Sauer<br><br><hr> <br><br>The life of a solider could best be described as long periods of waiting interspersed with brief periods of intense and sudden action. Different soldiers coped differently with waiting. Some used the time to contemplate the coming conflict, or ones long past. Others took the chance to catch up on sleep while they could, or to try and get to know the others they would be fighting besides. Andrea Dahl however, did a little of all these things. Mostly though Andrea just habitually fucked with things in her free time. <br>Over the course of the trip she had tested and honed no less than three different combat knives. Field stripped and reassembled her Hk P8 twice before repeating the process with an identical second pistol. She poured over the short missives and limited documents she had been given about the meeting at least half a dozen times. She had one point even decided she might as well shine her boots. While all of these things gave the impression of a sort of nervous compulsiveness, Andrea seemed perfectly calm and rational to anyone she met along the way, polite and friendly even.<br><br>Time did as time does and at last they arrived in Johannesburg, from there the last leg of the trip took the multinational team at last to a secluded covert airfield far outside the city.<br>Andrea stepped out of the back of the van and moved to join the others. Andrea wore a comfortable looking aged brown leather bomber jacket over a pair of simple black fatigue pants and a pair of black combat boots. Andrea carried a duffle bag containing the gear she had been permitted to bring over her left shoulder. She could clearly make out only a single vehicle on the airfield as they approached. It was clearly some sort of military tactical transport, though Andrea had no idea what make or model the thing was. Most likely some new American tech. Andrea coud make out two figures approaching the group from the ramp at the back of the plane. <br><br>Andrea's focus was broken by Sarah Sauer's familiar shouting voice. Andrea and Sarah having left from the same point at the same time had spent the entire trip together. On top of that 'Whiskey'and her had both served in the KSK for several years together, Sarah could be a troublemaker on occasion, but she was a damn good soldier. With a lighthearted smile Andrea laughs aloud at the brief incident. Giving the taller girl a friendly jab in the arm as she caught up alongside her. They kept pace, walking and talking as they made to join the others.<br><br><strong>"Guten Morgen Sonnenschein."</strong> She told her before adding in English. <strong>"You sleep well? I am thinking it's time to see what all the fuss is about."</strong><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 00:41:51</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Rick, Any<br><br><hr><br>John half turned at new voice beside him. The accent sounded odd to his ears, European, but he wasn't quite sure from where. "Sounds like a plan." he replied, falling into step with the other man. "John." he said, offering his hand to shake. "I'm afraid I haven't stopped moving in about the last twenty something hours, and my brain is fast approaching a state of mush." <em>It would be nice if I could actually get proper sleep on a plane</em> he added mentally <em>but shikata ga nai.</em><br><br>"I take it you know as little about this as I do?" he asked, pitching his voice lower, and nodding his head towards the odd looking plane. "What do you think we're looking at? Covert ops counter terrorism?" He glanced back at the Englishman before adding "That guy seems more like military than a spook."<br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 01:58:44</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Ren, Sarah, Full Team<br><br><hr><br>Geoff turned to the woman that approached him and gave her a warm and professional smile in return, reached out with his own right hand to give her a hands shake.&nbsp; &nbsp;Despite his somewhat lean build there as a firmness to his grip, but not in a way like he was playing a game of dominance with Ren, and a solid looking manner to the way his uniform fit him that suggested what was underneath the material was solid muscle without an ounce of fat upon it.&nbsp; &nbsp;His accent was the crisp and precise tones of upper class British, the accent many hear in movies but it sounded a bit richer and a bit more exotic when heard in person.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff did spare a brief, narrowed eyed glance at the woman that bumped into Ren and her somewhat aggressive response, but then turned his attention back to Ren.<br><br><strong>"Special Agent Colbet, it is a pleasure to see you once more.&nbsp; I only wish it was under better circumstances than what they were.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is good to know that some of my recommendations were taken into consideration.&nbsp; &nbsp;I had admired your work and had looked up upon the operations you had undertaken with your HRT.&nbsp; &nbsp;Damned fine work indeed.&nbsp; &nbsp;As you have said this is indeed for now my operation.&nbsp; &nbsp;I will explain more and to all of you once we are in the hanger and settled.&nbsp; &nbsp;What I have to say is damned important, or we would not have gone to the lengths we have to bring everyone here."</strong>
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 02:14:47</strong>
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				<br><br><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> open<br><hr><br><br>Renate had pretty much ignored the German's outburst, just shooting her a raised eyebrow. She knew the type- a woman who had to be more than just one of the boys, had to be <strong>the</strong> boy. The biggest mouth, the baddest ass, the swingingest dick. She was the same herself- had had to be. Even now, in these days of 'diversity' and 'equality', being a chick in a military or paramilitary outfit was like being a bunny rabbit at a cobra sleepover.<br><br>Colbert's manners were just better, possibly a result of not having the two-pack-a-day habit most Europeans she'd met had to live with. Whatever. There might be a time and a place later to sort out who had the sharper claws; this wasn't it.<br><br>Geoff looked tired, strained, though his handshake was a no-bullshit as ever. They hadn't been close at all, barely even friendly, but they'd found each other up early on the Quantico range a few times during a joint training thing, had talked shop a fair bit.&nbsp; Hard, quiet, a damn good shot.&nbsp; If whatever was up had him losing sleep, maybe she'd better plan to stock up.<br><br>Nodding at her new cadre chief, she followed his not-quite order, and followed some of the others towards the hangar. Already, the smell of coffee was reaching her; she'd be a bitch, too, if someone joggled her and made her spill her cup.&nbsp; The Kraut could be forgiven.<br><br>Once.
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lustful Bride</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 03:58:49</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/Ae7FiF6.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski.<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> <br><hr><br>Megan had slept through most of the trip on the plane towards their classified destination. She barely even noticed most of it as she was far too exhausted to even care anymore. After her little stint of retraining (no point in wasting someone who managed to down an alien she supposed) and pushing her body beyond the limits that the life of a glorified desk jockey could have ever prepared her for. <br><br>When the plane landed she was already on her feet, swinging her duffle bag onto her shoulders and forcing one foot infront of the other, each step careful and calculated as she fell in line with the others, not speaking up much or interacting with them. She wanted to get to know them since some of them honestly looked like they could knock down a wall with just an angry glare. It would certainly boost her chances of survival if she befriended them, but at the same time she worried that she would bring them all down by being less than them. <br><br><em>'I still cant believe they wanted me to join this group, what the hell can I do?' </em>She thought to herself, unable to believe that this shadowy organization needed manpower so badly as to accept her just because she had managed to get lucky an kill one distracted alien. Still, at the end of the day it was <em>she</em> who had signed the contract, she had no one to blame but herself. As many of the others made it to the dinning table Megan herself stayed away from the others and listened as they talked and didn't seem to understand exactly what they had been chosen for,&nbsp; it was strange, listening to some of them mention theories of it beign a counter terrorism unit. <br><br>'Oh, if only.' She said under her breath, wishing that she were just as ignorant of the truth as they were.
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xunthrae</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 04:38:46</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d0/47/64/d04764074371db3545c1420ad702d912.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Jared Hardy (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=230039.msg11321330#msg11321330)<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A<br><hr>Jared went into his music filled bubble while on the flight. He had his ear-buds in and fell in and out of sleep while they traveled. He found calm in the beats and rhythms that kept the nagging questions at bay. He had never been apart of an operation like this before. The maori descendant was asleep when they started their descent and it took him a bit longer to catch up to the vehicles before their several hour drive. <br><br>He decided to keep to himself while in transit. No one else was talking so he took their lead. Maybe they weren't supposed to. None of them seemed Aussieso he figured it must be some kind of international task force or something. He didn't get many details before he was sent. He was just told he'd be on the front lines of keeping the world a safer place. If it hadn't come from someone he trusted he would have turned it down, but he ended up accepting. <br><br>He was in the back so he was one of the last people out of the transport and he couldn't help but gawk at the look of the plane on the runway.&nbsp; It was like nothing he'd even <em>heard</em> of. He got a big grin on his face. Whatever was going down, he had the feeling he would be making lots of things go boom. Even the two coming down the ramp seemed like they fit with the plane. He wondered what the group of them were actually there for. <br><br>When the man spoke he nodded. He was hungry. He followed the group to the hangar, his ear buds danging out of the front of his shirt. He had almost forgotten to pause his music when he noticed the plane, but he remembered. He was glad he didn't make a bad first impression. He was new to this kind of operation, so he didn't think it was a good idea to start it off on the wrong foot. 
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				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MissFire</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 04:59:07</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/MissF1R3/Whiskey6_zps6fjoe3tf.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Sarah Sauer, Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Panzer<br><br><hr><br>Sarah waved dismissively at Panzer's remark and returned, <strong>"Es war eine harte reise , ich schlief wie scheise."</strong> Plucking the cigarette from her lips, she exhaled a little smoke and tapped it, dropping some ash off the end. They'd all started moving as a group together, heading to food and refreshments. It sounded good about now. <strong>"Kaffee wird mich abzuholen."</strong> Her voice was rough, and made even rougher by having just woken up. <br><br>Hands back in pockets, the still sleepy Sarah strolled next to her fellow countrywoman and eyed the rest of the group. Quite the collection, she noted. Her ears picked up bits and pieces of various conversations, her gaze flicking from person to person, noting the features, skin color, any emblems. She remarked to her walking companion, <strong>"Eine glorifizierte Vereinten Nationen. Dies muss sehr wichtig sein, um eine so grosse suche nach talenten zu rechtfertigen."</strong> Pausing briefly, Sarah flicked her cigarette aside and exhaled one last puff of smoke. She craned her head back and looked up at the sky a moment while musing, mostly to herself. <strong>"Terroristen, vielleicht? Ich habe nicht von irgendwelchen aktiven zellen die eine antwort in dieser grössenordnung erfordern würde gehört."</strong><br><br><br><br><span style="font-size: 6pt;" class="bbc_size"><em>[It was a rough trip, I slept like shit. Some coffee will pick me up.]<br>[A glorified united nations. This must be extremely important to warrant such a wide search for talent.]<br>[Terrorists, maybe? I haven't heard of any active cells that would require a response of this size.]</em></span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 08:27:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> John, Danuka, team.<br><br><hr><br>Rick accepted the American’s hand and shook it. ‘Rick’ he introduced himself back, not using his last name, just in case. While he wasn’t famous or infamous, He had quietly made his presence known on various ops. He didn’t make his presence known or stick around to get his backslapped. But if a unit was in trouble in his area. He might get send in to help and often that meant someone grew a third eye rather rapidly. <br><br>‘I know the feeling’ he replied, regarding the lack of sleep on planes. The damn things simply weren’t designed with a lot of creature comforts. He regarded Johns next question. ‘I dunno, Terrorists have been fairly quiet, mostly killing their own, with IS and shit.’ He said with a frown. His English a curious accented mix of British and American English and slang. ‘not a whole lot going on for the civilized world to get a good mad on over.’ He shrugged. He had served in the sandbox his opinions had pretty much crystalized, not to the better. But he was aware of them and he was working on it. <br><br>As he filled up a plate with food, mostly sandwiches and some slabs of meat he heard someone speak. “Haven’t seen anything like this in a long time.” Looking up he saw another woman, her bearing military, the outfit decidedly not and an accent he most certainly couldn’t place. <br><br>‘What, an airbase hangar, with an open buffet?’ he inquired. ‘Yeah, that’s been a while for me too.’ He admitted. ‘As in never.’ He chuckled. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 14:26:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location:</strong> Hangar<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> Jared, open<br><br><hr><br>Foam cup of military mud in one hand (face it, office coffee always sucks. But it's always better than none at all), plate with a couple of sandwiches and a pile of chips in the other, Ren found a spot along the wall and studied her fellow squadmates. Occupational hazard for the Bureau.<br><br>Other than Geoff, there was no one she recognized. Not odd in itself- the community was pretty big, and FBI generally moved in somewhat different circles.&nbsp; But it did make her wonder how she'd been tapped for whatever this project was. The plane outside looked like a Stealth and a space shuttle had had a love child- serious bleeding-edge gear.&nbsp; Made her also wonder what she'd be doing, and what kind of hardware she'd be using. The anticipation of working with some high-end milspec, honestly, made her a little hot...<br><br>Two Germans, nattering away. A couple of other Americans, likewise engaged.&nbsp; Others, different colorations and accents- a surprising number of women. She knew the former East Bloc had been a lot more egalitarian about innies vs. outies in their armies a lot longer; multilaterals tended to be schizo about it, from the little she'd read. Too many Western minds still thought the 'little women' needed 'protection'. Good to see whoever had set this up didn't have their head squarely up their...<br><br>OK, <em>that</em> was interesting, the big, quiet buff guy with the earbuds. He looked more like a pro wrestler than Special Forces- the SpecOps guys were always pretty cut, but most of the teams wanted people who could move quietly and get in and out of tight spaces. Setting her plate aside, she gulped some coffee (scalding her mouth in the process- at least the crap was hot, for once), and walked over to him.<br><br>"What zoo'd they pull you out of?," she asked, her friendly grin making it more tease and less taunt.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 19:01:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Rick, Any<br><br><hr><br>John loaded up his own plate with sandwitches, and smiled when he found a pile of still warm sausage rolls hiding under a pile of toppled serviettes. He added a trio of those to the plate, but couldn't see any ketchup to go on them, and settled for a sprinkling of salt. <em>Hardly a proper meal</em> he thought, <em>but it ought to help til I can get eight hours sleep and some decent food into me.</em>. Plate in one hand, coffee in the other he moved to the table, gesturing to Rick to join him.<br><br>"Hard to think why else they'd be getting people from all over." he said, taking a bite of food and washing it down with the thankfully still hot coffee. "I mean, from the accents alone, that's, what, five or six different countries. That says someone's brass had a 'great idea' for multinational co-operation on some damn thing or other, and we're maybe the experiment to see if it works out or not." He shrugged and continued. "Terrorism seems to me the most likely reason, though I did read a Tom Clancy book years ago that had a bunch of grunts sent down to South America for some black ops against a big drug cartel." He paused, finishing off the sandwitch before continuing. "That one didn't end so good though, they got sold out by the spook and hunted down by the cartel. Well, most of them did anyway."<br><br>"Whatever it is, they seem to be going to a fair bit of effort to keep it quiet." His eyes moved to stare at the wall of the hanger, towards where the odd look plane had landed. "Guess we'll find out soon enough what it's all about."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xunthrae</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 19:48:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d0/47/64/d04764074371db3545c1420ad702d912.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Jared Hardy (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=230039.msg11321330#msg11321330)<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Ren, Open<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A<br><hr>Jared made his way through the food, getting quite a bit of it. His size gave him quite the appetite. Coffee was not a drink he enjoyed, so he ignored the black liquid and was glad to find a few tea bags and a hot water dispenser thing. He could never remember what they were called. He steeped the tea while downing what food he could.<br><br>He stood off to the side, watching the others. He'd never met any of them before. He didn't expect too, but he hoped there would be someone from home. He didn't dwell on that. Instead he put in a single earbud and turned on his music. The volume was low so he could still hear what was going on around him. <br><br>He was fine with just watching the others while he stood off to the side and ate. Jared was hungrier than he thought he was so feeding himself was his main goal in the hanger. The Maori man did not know when their next meal would be. <br><br>He was pleasantly surprised when the woman, Agent Colbert was her name he was almost sure, came over. He cracked a smile at her tease. "Just the one for all the biggest and scary creatures, Y'know? Bunnies and Koalas." His accent was distinctly Australian, so it would be hard to miss. "What about you? I'm sure your more of a Animal park woman yourself. Needing wide open spaces to roam and hunt." He chuckled and kept eating. There wasn't much food left on his plate, so he'd have to go back for more soon, but he'd wait til it wouldn't be rude to walk away. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 20:40:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Full Team, Megan<br><br><hr><br>Geoff did not grab any food or coffee for himself, merely moved up to the front and removed from his backpack a device.&nbsp; &nbsp;Then he waited a bit more to see if everyone was settled and starting to eat.&nbsp; &nbsp; Now was a good time as any.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff gave one last look at everyone.&nbsp; While every single person knew the risks when they signed onto the profession that they followed, he wondered how many would continue to stay on, if they knew what they were up against, if they knew what the stakes were.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff thought Team Alpha was all but invincible.&nbsp; &nbsp;He knew better than that now.&nbsp; &nbsp;He lost more than people that day, he lost friends, good friends, and it was a blow to the program, so much so that Command determined that never again would they lump their most experience people into the same OPS team.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was almost as if they were starting from scratch.&nbsp; Well no, not scratch, as they had INTEL this time, more than they did at the start, but it was going to be a steep learning curve for all of them.<br><br>Geoff let out a breath and he keyed in on the device and a 3D laser hologram of the X-COM insignia appeared to be floating in the air.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff cleared his throat and began to speak.&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"I want to thank everyone for their patience.&nbsp; What has been done so far has not been easy, for any of you.&nbsp; I wish I could say it was going to get easier.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is not.&nbsp; &nbsp;We have hard patch to hoe, as the saying goes.&nbsp; &nbsp;I do want to say one thing before we begin any further.&nbsp; &nbsp;What I am about to say is completely genuine and is no form a hoax or a gag.&nbsp; It is very real, so real that to date we have lost ovver fourteen highly trained Special Operations personnel such as yourselves, hundreds in military and civilian casualties across the globe.&nbsp; &nbsp;What I am about to brief you on is classified at the highest level of classification of your respective nations.&nbsp; &nbsp;Only your world leaders, and the immediate leaders of your respective military know what is about to be briefed here.&nbsp; &nbsp;Most of you were correct, this is in essence an counter terrorism, counter insurgent task force, but of the likes you have never seen.&nbsp; &nbsp;You see, our enemy is not of this world."</strong> <br><br>Geoff touched a device in his hands, and the following images were displayed for all to see.<br>(http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/aliens/images/3/36/Sectoid_2012.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121015175123)<br>(http://i.imgur.com/ZRdPrAK.jpg)<br>(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/xcom/images/6/6f/XCOM-EU_Chryssalid.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width/640?cb=20121009171246)<br><br>Geoff waited as the information sunk in.&nbsp; &nbsp;He looked over towards Megan and gave ehr the nod to start passing out the PAD devices they had that held all the relevant field data that the teams would need.&nbsp; <strong>"Operative Chulski is passing out devices for you.&nbsp; &nbsp;They are yours to keep that has all known field data on the threats we will be facing.&nbsp; &nbsp;Again, this is real.&nbsp; &nbsp;The first alien that we have named "Sectoid" put me out of commission for two months with its weapon, and they are the lightest armed of what you will be facing out there.&nbsp; &nbsp; This threat has been persistent and invasive for near eight months now."</strong><br><br>Geoff again touched the screen and the INTEL there switched to what many in the team had believed to be terrorist attacks or industrial accidents.&nbsp; &nbsp; What they saw instead was raw footage, including the post-op video of Newfoundland where Geoff's team was killed.&nbsp; <strong>"Beijing, Berlin, Calgary, Fort Bragg, Kyoto, Melbourne, Newfoundland,&nbsp; and Washington DC are jsut a few of the cities to be attacked or have alien operations in their cities.&nbsp; &nbsp;To date we have downed forty-six X-rays, and have downed eight enemy crafts.&nbsp; &nbsp;We do not know how many of them are out there, and what their end goal is.&nbsp; &nbsp;One thing is for sure, anyone that has been captured by them has not returned, and when they see our teams on the ground, they shoot to kill.&nbsp; &nbsp;This is as deadly as it gets.&nbsp; &nbsp; We are the first and honestly the only line of defense against these creatures.&nbsp; &nbsp;We are humanities last hope."</strong><br><br>Geoff at that time stopped speaking and locked eyes with ever person.&nbsp; &nbsp;He waited for all of it to sink in before he gestured to Megan again.&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"Besides myself, Operative Chulski has killed one of the enemy, and over the last two months has made stride in its technology and some of their communications.&nbsp; &nbsp; She can give you a first hand account of the enemy, and what they did to her comrades at Fort Bragg."</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 22:30:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location:</strong> Hangar<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> Jared, open<br><br><br><hr><br>The big guy's accent made her smile. Of course, she had grown up in New Jersey, so anyone who didn't sound like the voices she heard as a kid was an improvement.&nbsp; But there was something about the clipped not-quite-English sound that she liked. Her grin turned a little <em>RAWR</em>, teeth bared, making fun of his Animal Park comment.<br><br>"Hunting's no fun if they can't shoot back. So the rabbits and koalas are safe." Gulping some more of her coffee, she swapped the cup to her other hand, offered her now-free right to the bruiser. "Renate Colbert. FBI."&nbsp; Even as one of his big, calussed mitts came out to meet hers, Geoff's voice spread through the space.<br><br>Like a good grunt, Ren shut up and listened.&nbsp; presumably there'd be time for questions after...<br><br>And oh, holy fucking mother of God, were there gonna be questions.&nbsp; As the images appeared, hanging in midair like something off the tube, she was suddenly glad she hadn't gotten more than a few bites of her sandwich down before getting distracted, She didn't need to be told it was for-real; while she wouldn't put it past some Agency weenie to cook something like this up for some psycho reason, she couldn't imagine Barnes being involved in that sort of bullshit. For one thing, she wasn't sure the guy had a sense of humor.<br><br>For another, the most human-seeming of the...call them Tangos, for now...looked suspiciously like the perp sketch of an SK that was active around the Great Lakes. Officially, the 'Man in Black' killer had been poo-pooed, but there'd still been a lot of low-key office-to-office chatter around the case.&nbsp; Here was confirmation- and the real unpleasant implication that there was more than one of them. A lot more than one.<br><br>"Fuck me," leaked from the sniper's lips, as Barnes went on to describe the carnage the Tangos had already caused.&nbsp; Automatically, her hand drifted to her belt, in the back, where her 10mm Sig was&nbsp; uncomfortably but comfortingly nestled.<br><br>On the other hand- she was finally playing in the big leagues. Now she <em>really</em> couldn't wait to see what kind of toys they had lined up for her. And how she could tweak them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MissFire</strong> on <strong>05-06-2015, 23:10:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/MissF1R3/Whiskey8_zpsz85rs9nq.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Sarah Sauer, Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any<br><br><hr><br>With a little coffee in her system, Sarah had perked up a bit. She didn't feel like walking death, at least. That was good enough. What had come out of Barnes' mouth had the German listening intently. Her expression went from intrigued, to genuine amazement, and then straight to a razor-sharp, wicked smile. It was easy to see the wheels in her head turning. Where most in the room were no doubt contemplating no longer being alone in the universe and humanity's chances against some unknown threat that seemed ripe to wipe us all out, Sarah was undoubtedly thinking about what it might be like to fight one of the things. She looked over at the person nearest her and said, <strong>"Ich frage mich was es sein wird wie einer von denen zu töten. Haben sie bluten? Haben sie schreien? Lass es uns herausfinden."</strong> And then sipped her coffee. She didn't seem to care if the person next to her spoke German or not. <br><br>PDA's were passed out and Sarah frowned at it. This was not her kind of tech. Shell casings, receivers, ejection ports, sights, and muzzles. That was her speed. This. This was.. she wanted to kill it, somehow. Sarah jabbed at it with her thumb a few times, trying to get it to scroll or display something else while maintaining her grip on her coffee with her other hand. It wasn't working, so she crammed the device back in her pocket. <strong>"Bah. Ein spielzeug für ein kind. Ich bin ein SOLDAT, kein technikfreak."</strong> This was not her forte. Survival in harsh climates, urban combat, assault; that was her wheelhouse. She was a wild dog that just needed to be turned loose on something. <br><br><br><br><span style="font-size: 6pt;" class="bbc_size"><em>[I wonder what it will be like to kill one of those. Do they bleed? Do they scream? Let's find out.]</em></span><br><span style="font-size: 6pt;" class="bbc_size"><em>[Bah. A toy for a child. I am a SOLDIER, not a techie.]</em></span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>06-06-2015, 00:02:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Rick, Any<br><br><hr><br>John broke off his conversation, turning towards Lt Barnes as he started speaking, losing the first few words as he gazed at the holoprojection with raised eyebrows. His expression changed to a somewhat puzzled frown as the speech continued, and the high level clearences were trotted out. <em>This is very weird.</em> he thought, the thought slithering to a halt as the images flashed up onto the projection and he leaned in to get a better look.<br><br>His first thought was denial, Barnes words aside this had to be a joke. He believed in aliens, but it was an intellectual belief, that statistically we couldn't be the only intelligent life in the Universe. Having it on a screen in front of him was another matter, and he shook his head as he began to process it all. No one would waste the amount of money it would take to get him here just for a joke. <br><br><em>Wait, Kyoto?</em> His mind siezed on that one. <em>But Kyoto was a attack by that doomsday cult. It was all over the news, some chemical or bioweapon attack. They had to burn all the bodies afterwards to .. oh, fuck me.</em> His head turned towards the young woman who had just vocalised his own thoughts.<br><br><em>We are the first, last and only line of defense against rampaging alien hordes. Wonderful, we're the Men In Black.</em> he pushed down the laugh that was threatening to erupt, shaking his head again before looking at Barnes. <br><br>"This is a hell of thing to have to take in, Sir." he said, nodding his thanks to Megan as he took a PAD from her. "I guess I can understand why it all has to be kept quiet." He blew out a long breath. "I've probably got a ton of questions kicking around, but I guess I can hold off til I've had a chance to read through this." he said, lifting the PAD up. "Gonna be a little time before it all sinks in properly, you know?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xunthrae</strong> on <strong>06-06-2015, 00:50:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d0/47/64/d04764074371db3545c1420ad702d912.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Jared Hardy (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=230039.msg11321330#msg11321330)<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Ren, Open<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A<br><hr>The muscled bound man nodded and grasped her hand firmly. "Jared Hardy, Australian Army." Ren seemed like an alright lady. Her having a sense of humor was a massive plus on his friendship scale. He was about to say something else, but was interrupted when the man who brought them here began to talk. The long preamble set Jared on edge. If he had to explain this much before hand, how bad was the mission going to be?<br><br>Jared was right. It was going to be very dangerous, but aliens? <em>fuck</em>, He almost didn't believe the man, but it was obviously the truth. He skimmed the data on the three creatures on the device he was given. While reading through them all he could do was shake his head in disbelief. They were going to fight these hings? Each of the scared him for one reason or another, but the one that really concerned him were the four legged ones. He felt dirty even thinking about people getting turned into those things. <br><br>He knew he wouldn't turn this down. He had to join. If not him then who would fight? He had the skill set and knowledge to help. It was his duty as a citizen of the world to fight for people everywhere. When he finished reading and looked up, his eyes were hard and ready. He was determined to do what he could, even if he had to give his life. <br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>06-06-2015, 10:09:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Hangar<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> John, Sarah?, Megan? Open.<br><br><hr><br>Before Rick could reply to John’s point about terrorism. And mention he had read that book as well, and the ones before and after. Their host entered and started his spiel, initially Rick believed he was laying it on a little thick. But then as the hologram started floating before them providing them all with images of the threat he began to feel differently. And the food started to taste like cardboard. <br><br>‘Jezus Christus’ he murmured, his tone leaving it unsure, whether it was prayer or swearing. He numbly accepted a pad from the woman. Pocketing It for later. He recalled most of the incidents from watching the news. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, just the usual crap, that came with the human condition. <br><br>Except for Berlin, when that one happened. The Dutch government, sharing a border with Germany, had put their special forces, the Marines, Commandos, and the Airmobile brigade on high alert. Rumour had it, they had also issued warnings to the brass of the regular army units, and that hadn’t happened since the height of the cold war, if then. And it hadn’t felt like a drill, as they tried to pass it off later. <br><br>He followed along quietly, agreeing with the points made by his comrades, except the ones made by that Kraut chick, you could take the acting bloodthirsty too far. <br><br>&nbsp;When Barnes mentioned Megan having killed one,…alien. He looked over to her, she didn’t look like the type that could do that. She seemed more like a pencil pusher than a shooter. One of those that did fine on a range, but then never fired in anger. Still, if it was confirmed there had to be more to her than met the eye. <br><br>He took a deep breath, making a decision. Perhaps the most momentous decision in his life. He raised his hand. ‘In fighting for the world, I’m fighting for my country, I imagine. I took an oath to do that.’ He took another deep breath. ‘Where do I sign?’ <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sorrow Singer</strong> on <strong>06-06-2015, 11:23:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/9fbf91eb-743b-4437-9914-79f45c53d03c.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Andrea 'Panzer' Dahl : Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open, Sarah Sauer<br><br><hr> Andrea just smiled and shook her head as she kept pace with Sarah. Listening quietly as they made their way towards the table of refreshments. <strong>"Könnte Terroristen , ich bin nicht so sicher. Das Ganze kann nur ein besserer Test." </strong>She said with a roll of her eyes, before adding. <strong>"So oder so gut früh genug erfahren , jetzt jemand sagte etwas über Kaffee." </strong><br><br>Caffeinated and with a little paper plate of assorted cheap breakfast foodstuffs, Andrea wandered back to Sarah's side. Good timing too Geoffrey looked like he was about so start speaking. He did and despite the tone of voice, the quality of the projections and the circumstance of so many professionals in one place Andrea couldn't help but feel this was some kind of joke. She found herself glancing around the hanger looking for a hidden camera crew.<br><br>Megan passed her the pad device and Andrea, happy to have a thing 'to fuck with' started poking through it's contents. Preferable to trying to focus too hard on her lingering doubt about the operation they had gone through all this effort to prepare. One passage she found herself absently reading aloud. <strong>"Subject Species designated Chrysalid. Subject reproduces in a matter of minutes by injecting parasitic larva into the recently deceased bodies of other organisms. Briefly re-animating..."</strong> She trailed off and started shaking her head. Giving Sarah a sideways glance to get some idea what the other woman was thinking.<br><strong> "Das wäre besser, ein verdammter Witz."</strong><br><br><br><em><span style="font-size: 6pt;" class="bbc_size">[could be terrorists, I'm not so sure. This whole thing may just be a glorified test.]<br>[Either way well know soon enough, now some one said something about coffee. ]<br><br>[This had better be a fucking joke.]</span></em><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>06-06-2015, 14:32:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name: </strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong>Hangar<br><strong>Tagging: </strong> Jared, open<br><br><hr><br>Ren accepted the PDA from Chulski with a silent nod&nbsp; The woman looked spooky, twitchy. PTSD? Still, she'd dropped a Tango, so- lucky or good? Colbert hoped good, hoped they were <em>all </em>as good as they thought they were, or this was gonna be a mess.<br><br>They hit fucking Bragg. That should have been like a rookie cop walking naked into an Angels bar...why didn't the Bureau know about this?<br><br><em>Probably they do, dumbass. You just graduated what, four months ago? You think they tell you everything?</em> Or maybe- and just as likely- the 'intelligence' community had kept the diameter of the shitstorm hidden so they could scrape the egg off their faces.<br><br>As she skimmed the data about their unwanted guests- she'd always been a quick reader, and was used to picking up details from maps and blueprints fast; she'd sit down when she had a moment and go through it more carefully- one of the first things that stuck out was how the little bug-headed things reproduced, like something out of Alien.&nbsp; And the MIBs appeared to be crack shots, which meant countersniper work.<br><br>Shivering a bit, she looked up at Jared with a weak grin. "Lions and tigers and bears. Oh, my. The bunnies ain't in the running."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lustful Bride</strong> on <strong>06-06-2015, 17:31:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/Ae7FiF6.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski.<br><strong>Location:</strong> Hangar.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> <br><hr><br>Megan passed long the PDA towards Ren with a slight tremble as she stood up. She didn't want to spotlight on her, or to have to relive that entire nightmare again, but she knew she had to be strong as the others were depending upon her to speak up and share what she knew. Megan cleared her throat, the sight of the alien Sectoid made her feel her pulse racing, she could nearly smell the scent of the dead MP officer with his chest cavity blown open and his organs flash fried by the thing's energy weapon. <br><br>With a short breath Megan began speaking. "Well, from what we can tell, these things have been watching us for quite some time, their technology is a century, at the least, ahead of us. They don't fire lead but heated plasma and it cut through our people instantly. Their standard assault procedure seems to be to drop down some type of gas pods which ensnare anyone nearby in some type of strange webbing that renders them unconscious and keeps them immobile if they still are conscious."<br><br>She took a moment to pause and collect herself, she couldn't let her fear affect her, there was no time for such things. "They are tough but not invincible. I caught one off guard, he got cocky and I gunned him down with nothing more than a pistol. They arent anything to be afraid of, their assaults rely on surprise and the initial shock of their being aliens, but if some desk jockey like me could take them down then for you all it should be a walk in the park."&nbsp; She said with as honest a smile that she could make before pointing to the Sectoid on a nearby screen.<br><br>"So far this little bastard is the only one that I have personally been able to encounter. It tends to crawl around on all fours with a plasma weapon strapped into its arm. They don't have mouths but they make some kind of guttural, throat sounds, its possible they may use other means than vocal to communicate. Out of all of them they are the weakest ones but that doesn't mean you should underestimate them. Even ants can kill an Elephant if there are enough of them."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xunthrae</strong> on <strong>08-06-2015, 07:16:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d0/47/64/d04764074371db3545c1420ad702d912.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Jared Hardy (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=230039.msg11321330#msg11321330)<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Ren, Open<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A<br><hr>Jared just shook his head. "No... I think not." The intel was sobering. He wanted to retreat into the safe oasis of his ear buds, but he knew he couldn't. He looked around the room, taking in people's reactions. Most of them were the same as his own. Shock, disbelief and acceptance. He was beginning to reconcile his idea of the world, and the one he was now presented with. He was ready to move on and do the work they were brought there to do. <br><br>The Maori man listened to the woman, Chulski, speak. His heart sunk when she described their tactics and weapons. He didn't know how they were going to fight them, but what he did know is that they had to. He steeled himself with the thought of his family and friends. Humanity needed to fight back. They were not the kind of species to just let their extermination happen. His eyes hardened and he echoed the words one of the other men spoke. "I'm ready to help any way I can, Sir." <br><br>It wasn't that difficult of a decision. The human race needed warriors to defend it. He was a warrior. So naturally he was going to defend his home.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>11-06-2015, 00:15:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Full Team<br><br><hr><br>Geoff let the everything sttle in and comments to happen back and forth.&nbsp; The reactions across the room were fairly predictable to far.&nbsp; &nbsp;Everything from shock, to rage, fear, even those that see the aliens as the next challenge in their professional career.&nbsp; &nbsp;After all even most professionals were getting tired of taking down terrorists as save for very few of them, terrors were rather uneducated people and not much of a challenge.&nbsp; &nbsp;The same could not be said the threat that was before them.&nbsp; &nbsp;They did not even know the aliens objectives or end goals, their entire way of thinking was so different than that of humans.<br><br>Listening to Megan's words and the team absorbing them, Geoff chimed in again.&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"So far we have not encountered anything that conventional weapons did not overcome.&nbsp; &nbsp;Of course we are not talking about your traditional full metal jacketed ammunition either.&nbsp; &nbsp;The tactics that the aliens are using do see to mimic that of predatory animals,but do not mistake them for animals as they are not.&nbsp; &nbsp;The recognize threats and will mass their forces against that threat.&nbsp; &nbsp;That being said.the few times when we have punched them hard in the mouth hey fell back to regroup.&nbsp; &nbsp;So some of the tactics we will use against them many of you might notice as old time game flushing."</strong><br><br>Geoff nodded hsi head in the direction of Sarah.&nbsp; <strong>"We send in point men with flash bangs and shotguns and that to date has proven effective, forcing the enemy from whatever cover they used, putting them out into the open where people like myself, Special Agent Colbert can take them down with the long shot.&nbsp; &nbsp; This does not mean it is going to be a walk in the park.&nbsp; &nbsp;What it means is that to date we have made this undertaking of theirs more difficult for them than before.&nbsp; &nbsp; I have to believe that, or we would have encountered significant more resistance to date."</strong><br><br>Geoff made a gesture with his hand towards the intel being passed about.&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"If anyine wants out, you can come see me.&nbsp; &nbsp;No judgement or recriminations if you do.&nbsp; &nbsp;We fully understand that what is being asked of you is more than you signed up for.&nbsp; &nbsp;We will get your started on outprocessing.&nbsp; &nbsp;Those that are staying on, look over the INTEL, ask any questions you want to ask.&nbsp; &nbsp;We are here for about another thirty to forty-five minutes, then it is wheels up and back to your new home away from home till this is done." </strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>11-06-2015, 15:34:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong>Hangar<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> Jared, open<br><br><hr>Surreptitiously, Renate looked around at the other badasses in the room, trying to gauge reactions. She'd bet if any one of them said they didn't have a moment of wanting to bail, they'd be lying out their asses. Sure as hell she did, briefly. Her concern, though, was more about how they either sucked it up, or were honest and took a walk. An honest person could live with themselves, culd be respected even if they pulled out.<br><br>Someone with second thoughts could get them all killed.<br><br>Looking around, she liked her chances. And hell, for all of Geoff's rah-rah, the fact was a terrorist bullet (or a bank robber's- one reason the FBI had gone to semi-auto 10mm sidearms was a&nbsp; nightmare shootout in which several agents found themselves massively outgunned by the perps) could kill you just as dead as a...whatever the fuck they were. The job was the job, and she'd put up with way too much crap about chicks in the services to back off now.<br><br>Looking up at Jared, she grinned. "Do me a favor? You end up in my section, can you kinda slouch a little? Makes it easier to shoot over you." Then she went back to reclaim her plate of sandwiches. Another flight meant she'd better eat now, while she could.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>11-06-2015, 17:49:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any<br><br><hr><br>John listened to what Geoff said, nodding in places. <em>Shotguns? Flashbangs? Okay, maybe, but that's not going to end well once they start learning what we do and adapting to our tactics. If they can fly who knows how far across space, there's got to be some working brains in there someplace.</em> He paused, narrowing his eyes slightly in thought. <em>I wonder if that's why I got tapped for this. Bring in a recon specialist, get a step ahead of the game. If they adapt to the brute force approach, then I go ninja on their little green asses?</em> His eyes flicked to the pad and the bug like one. <em>I definitely do <strong>not</strong> want to run into one of those fuckers while on point though. Wonder if we can get any white phosphorus grenades? That'll make them shift their asses in a hurry, and do some damage too.</em><br><br>He looked around the room at the others, some of whom had already volunteered. <em>I guess everyone else needs time to push it around in their heads</em> he thought, <em>but when it comes down to it, if we're here, we're here because someone figured we were the best people for the job. Or at least the best available. Either way, I guess we all took some sort of oath to protect those who can't protect themselves. These enemies are just a tad more foreign than I figured I'd see.</em><br><br>He blew out a silent breath as he made his decision, waiting til Geoff's gaze came around to him again. When it had, he gave a simple nod. "I'm in."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>11-06-2015, 23:16:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any, Megan.<br><br><hr><br>Rick had already decided that he was in, he normally was careful about volunteering, feeling that, joining the marines and becoming good at what he did was enough volunteering for one man. Although he was conscientious enough to get noticed for dangerous duty without having to volunteer. And more than once he had quietly rearranged things so he’d be the one to go and not the married comrade, about to become a first time father. He just didn’t make a big deal out of it.<br><br>Reclaiming his food he wolfed it down one handed, before pulling the new pad from one of his many pockets. Checking to see what kind of connections it allowed and to see if it could hold his electronic library, that was important to know he felt.<br><br>Having done that, he thought things over and didn’t like what he had been hearing. If you had to get close enough to use shotguns, you were doing it wrong. He felt very strongly about that. Bayonetting someone had gone out of style for a reason. And flashbangs, what the hell, if you got that close you used proper grenades, more than one if necessary. <br>This smelled like political games only they could frak up a war like that. And Aliens on human soil could only mean that they were really at war already, just one the public wasn’t told about.&nbsp; <br><br>He returned his plate and pocketed some of the packaged energy bars and what not, just in case. In doing so he had wandered near the woman that had been with the lieutenant, Chulski, something.<br><br>He took a good long look, quietly appreciating her look, but he was really trying to figure what kind of soldier she was. ‘So you got one of the little ones’ he inquired. ‘Did you aim for anything in particular, which worked, like an eye? Or did you just empty your clip until he keeled over?’ <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Pumpkin Seeds</strong> on <strong>16-06-2015, 22:37:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_400_400/AAEAAQAAAAAAAALwAAAAJGZhMWY2ODI5LTI0NTItNDhjZC05YmIzLWJjMzczZTRhNmU5Zg.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Danuka Skala<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open<br><br><strong>Warning:</strong> None<br><br><hr><br><br>The imagery did not shock her oddly enough.&nbsp; Instead with one hand gripping the tablet and the other dipping into her plate absently for food she considered the information.&nbsp; Similar images had struck her during her time undercover.&nbsp; Plans that had been so vast she had no comprehension of them at the time except to download them to her reports.&nbsp; Years had been spent uncovering this sort of information and laying the ground work for something she failed to understand.&nbsp; Danuka knew well that her position in life was not to question the why, only to ask for the how.&nbsp; So she set the tablet down in quiet contemplation of the life ahead of her.&nbsp; Already she had volunteered just by showing up to this hangar or she would probably have been treated to a pretty burial ceremony.&nbsp; Between her teeth bits of vegetable crunched while her thoughts milled about.<br><br>To delay the fight would be unwise.&nbsp; All of those assembled were soldiers of some sort, so all would be fighting at some point in the future.&nbsp; Best to be the spear tip then when the fighting began than to be receiving a spear tip.&nbsp; Heat flushed through her body at the thought of battle so that she absently rolled her shoulders back, opening the jacket more.&nbsp; Much of the weaponry she had seen during her time spent investigating terrorist cells had been advanced as well.&nbsp; She had some idea of their capabilities and they were certainly more impressive than anything she had laid her hands on to date.&nbsp; If those were essentially cheap knock offs of what the true enemy held than there would have to be some superior tactics and training to overcome this foe.&nbsp; A second look was given to those around her and perhaps a new appreciation for what she hoped was that superior training.<br><br>The tablet was taken up again with a smirk on her lips.&nbsp; She was already in the group and so she stayed silent so that the others could make the choice without her complications.&nbsp; Each of them deserved a fair shake at the choice even if she had stumbled into the answer accidentally.&nbsp; Of course she had accepted the op that lead her here, so she wasn’t innocent either.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>18-06-2015, 04:31:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Full Team<br><br><hr><br>Geoff looked about the group and he could not help be feel a surge of pride at those gathered.&nbsp; &nbsp;He gave them perhaps earth shattering and dire news, that they were being asked to join a cause, a conflict, a conflict that the outcome was far from certain.&nbsp; &nbsp;To take part in operations against an unknown and canny enemy, and enemy with a huge technological advantage, with weapons that rivaled what they had.&nbsp; &nbsp;Despite all of that, they had stepped up.&nbsp; &nbsp;None of them expected any reward, none of it did it for glory.&nbsp; &nbsp;No, they did it for the simple fact that the world was in jeopardy and they were the ones that could save it.<br><br>Geoff gave the assembled group a stoic nod, a very British like gesture.&nbsp; &nbsp; He reached down to the device and turned it off.&nbsp; &nbsp;As he did,&nbsp; the hologram tht had been floating in the air winked off.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff gathered it up and spoke to the assembled team.&nbsp; <strong>"Very well, welcome each and one of you to X:COM.&nbsp; Finish up you meal but do not take too long, wheels up here in twenty minutes.&nbsp; &nbsp;No rest for the wicked.&nbsp; &nbsp;We will head off to the main HQ and command post, get each of you acclimated to your new home away from home, and get down to the real work." </strong> 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>20-06-2015, 22:15:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any<br><br><hr><br>John nodded, draining the mug he held and setting it on the table. "My compliments to the chef, but I don't think we need to hang around for seconds. I suspect our time could be put to much more productive use." He picked up the pad, paging through the information to see what else it held. <em>I wonder if we have any other fancy new toys on top of the crate out there?</em> he thought. <em>Body armour? Weapons? Gadgets? All that fancy future soldier tech they keep talking about but is always five years off? Some after action reports would be good too.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>24-06-2015, 09:35:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Sky Ranger<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Full Team<br><br><hr><br>Geoff watched as what were his new team of recruits for X-COM one by one gather what little they were allowed to bring with them, the tablets onto the Sky Ranger.&nbsp; &nbsp;On the side of the sleek looking aircraft was a something that looked like the Rosewell alien and a score of markings by them.&nbsp; So far there were ten slash marks.&nbsp; Ten missions that this Sky Ranger had been on.&nbsp; &nbsp;Next to the alien was also stamps of an angel silhouettes.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff looked hard at them.&nbsp; &nbsp;He had not known that this Sky Ranger was the one that had delivered his old team on the operation that they did not come back from.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff stared a bit at those markings, hoping that he was not condemning any of these new people to the same fate.<br><br>On board the cargo hold, the team would find it not too difficult than jump seats found on other military transport aircraft.&nbsp; &nbsp;The major difference were the crew lockers set aside that had gear loaded up.&nbsp; &nbsp;Body armor, modern weaponry and ammunition, communications gear, the works.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was clear that whoever was behind X-COM, it was clear that they were not nickle and diming the outfit and putting some serious hardware or money behind the effort.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Sky Ranger was a testament to that as it did a VTL take off, something unheard of for any military transport other than the Osprey, and unlike the Osprey, the Sky Ranger made use of jet assisted instead of turbines.&nbsp; &nbsp; There was a shudder and vibration through the aircraft as it took off and made its way to its home base.<br><br>Or that was the original plan.&nbsp; The aircraft had not even been in the air for fifteen minutes before Geoff was called way for a priority call from Command.&nbsp; &nbsp;He was gone for a good ten minutes and during that time the Sky Ranger moved into a holding pattern.&nbsp; &nbsp;After that conversation, it altered course and was moving away at full throttle.&nbsp; &nbsp;The reason for this change became clear when Geoff got on the aircraft's intercom and addressed everyone.<br><br><strong><em>"Everyone, we have a Priority Mission.&nbsp; &nbsp;All other X-COM teams are engaged in other operations.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is clear now that those operations were mere diversions for this event.&nbsp; &nbsp;The aliens are attacking Cairo.&nbsp; &nbsp; We cannot let that happen.&nbsp; &nbsp; Our orders are to engage and eliminate all X-Rays on sight.&nbsp; &nbsp;It looks like all of you will be going through a baptism by fire.&nbsp; &nbsp; We will do this in two teams.&nbsp; &nbsp;Team one is myself, Sauer,&nbsp; Nicholes, Yoshia, and Skala.&nbsp; &nbsp;Team two will be Dahl, Colbert, Hardy, O'Byrne, and Steen with O'Byrne as team lead.&nbsp; &nbsp;Chulski will be coordinating COMMS for the team as well as Command and Control relaying targets to us on the ground.&nbsp; &nbsp;Chulski, there is a full cyber suite here, your mission when we get on on the ground is to get me eyes.&nbsp; &nbsp;I want you to use the cyber suite to co-op every camera in the target locations.&nbsp; &nbsp;We good idea the initial insertion point is of the X-Ray's.&nbsp; We will go grid by grid till we get everyone of them.&nbsp; &nbsp;Equipment lockers there have the gear you need.&nbsp; &nbsp;I will unlock the ammo locker and everyone can suit up and lock and load.&nbsp; &nbsp;We are forty minutes from green light.&nbsp; &nbsp;Lets move with a purpose X-COM, time to save lives." </em></strong> 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>24-06-2015, 10:18:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger<br><strong>Tag:</strong> any.<br><br><hr><br>Once they were lead to the Skyranger, Rick took a good look at the strange boxy craft. It looked awesome, mixing future tech, if that was the term with old school physics. It probably was a dream to fly, until the engines crapped out. He wondered if it were stealth. <br><br>Climbing in he immediately noticed the equipment lockers and naturally the jumpseats. He groaned at the sight, spending trillions on a new transport plane then buy standard jumpseats, cause soldiers didn’t deserve comfort. Still as he settled into one, he blessed the fact he wasn’t carrying sixty pounds of gear and neither were the others, that made it easier at least. <br><br>He noticed the Lieutenant go up front, probably to discuss something with their pilot. Which was a wrong assumption he realized as he came up on the intercom, telling them to gear up. That was a first, he’d never gone into action on the first day of any deployment. That was bad planning and upset the politicians. Still, this was why they paid him.<br><br>With that he rose and picked an equipment locker at random. He grabbed body armour, thankfully relatively standard male issue. He threw it on, tightening where necessary. He attached the radio he found, and pushed in the earbug, running the microphone in front of his lips. That settled he grabbed an assault rifle and did a quick check to familiarize himself with it. Not to mention checking it was truly empty.<br><br>Politely passing other members of the team, he then dove into the ammo locker, and began pocketing clips of ammo, putting them in the familiar pouches on his armour webbing. After some rummaging he found a grenade, pocketing that one as well, along with a flashbang. <br><br>Thus outfitted, he moved back to his seat and sat back down. Already he could feel his pre combat jitters begin to manifest. Adrenaline beginning to fill his veins. He never spoke of it, but he wasn’t sure, if he hated combat or secretly loved it. There was nothing like the sensation.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>24-06-2015, 17:03:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong>In Flight<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> open<br><br><hr><br><em>So much for that.</em>&nbsp; Ren had parked herself next to Jared, since he was the one person besides Geoff she'd gotten to know at all in the whirlwind of arrival and briefing; had planned to catch up on her sleep some more while they were on their way. Geoff's announcement threw that plan right into the crapper.<br><br>By the numbers. The first thing she did was unholster her sidearm, check the safety, check the load. Then she set it aside, and followed the example of one of the guys and started getting armored.&nbsp; Not so different from the tactical gear she had trained on at HRT, the suit was clearly somewhat up-armored, and the underlay cloth was a bit different. Some kind of advanced woven stuff, she figured. And, as usual, it was a little big in the chest, having clearly been designed for Valkyries- or office wonks' fantasy girls.&nbsp; <em>What you get for not sleeping with the boss, </em>she cackled silently to herself. <em>Nobody knows your measurements.</em><br><br>As far as her weapon, though, someone knew how to get a girl hot.&nbsp; At Quantico, she'd trained on the old-school Marine M40A1 rifle, and had put in some range time with PSG-1s. Both perfectly acceptable and deadly weapons; the Bureau hadn't finished swapping over to the custom-designed GA Precisions yet.&nbsp; All of them were chambered in 7.62 NATO, and could ruin someone's day from half a mile away, if you were good with them.&nbsp; Ren was good.<br><br><br>But this baby- she almost cooed as she took it down off the rack.<br><br>(http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/nazizombiesplus/images/1/1a/AS50.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130414214856)<br><br>At first, she thought it was a standard Accuracy International AS50- and at heart it was. That was enough of a wet dream.&nbsp; Then she noticed the flash and noise suppression system and the after-market optics.&nbsp; The sighting system included several varieties of low-light capability and a variable-frequency laser rangefinder, which she'd bet fed a drop-compensation pinger in the scope. There was a fiber port, as well, to jack the optics directly into a helmet HUD. She'd never actually<em> use</em> it; eyes-on-target was always the way to go. But if her attitude ever got adjusted, there it was.<br><br>This monster could fuck up a Tango<strong> and</strong> the vehicle it was riding in from nearly a mile out.&nbsp; It really was almost like cheating.<br><br>Restrapping her holster around her hips, she locked a clip into the junior cannon and clipped another one to her utility belt. Plopping back next to Jared, she grounded the butt of the rifle on the floor, and grinned. "Go check out the toybox, bro.&nbsp; Santa's early."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>24-06-2015, 22:56:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> In Flight<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any<br><br><hr><em>You have got to be kidding me.</em><br><br>John's expression didn't change as Geoff made his announcement, bar a widening of his eyes. He exhaled a long slow breath and looked around at the others he was now responsible for. <em>Four different outfits, four different training styles, signals and everything else. Talk about a potential clusterfuck and a half.</em> His lips twisted into something halfway between a smile and a grimace. <em>Well, like the saying goes, if you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have signed up.</em><br><br>He stood and moved to the equipment locker he pulled on a set of body armour, followed by a com set. He adjusted the earpiece and throat mike to a comfortable fit, then moved to the weapons locker. Most of the guns inside he wasn't familiar with, and this situation was going to be poor enough without having to learn an entirely new weapons quirks. Eventually he settled on an FN F2000, mostly because it was one of the few silenced weapons. In an urban enviroment, a carbine type was going to be the best option.<br><br><div align="center">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/ba/FN_F2000.jpg)</div><br>Spare clips went into different pockets of the webbing, and a knife was strapped to his leg. Finding a box with the familiar caduceus symbol, he added that to his kit, along with a couple of grenades for good measure. Equipment sorted he moved over to where Colbert and Hardy were sitting, settling himself down to face them. "Not exactly how I imagine our first op." he said. "Since having the time to train together and learn each others style isn't going to be happening, I think a quick discussion of area's of expertise is in order." He glanced from one to the other before continuing. "I'm .. was .. US Marine Corps, Force Recon. We're the ones who scout shit out, then make bad things happen. I know how to scout, and move quietly. I'm also medical trained." He looked at the sniper rifle in Colberts hands and nodded towards it. "Anything you want to add beyond the obvious?" he said with a smile.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sorrow Singer</strong> on <strong>25-06-2015, 00:27:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/9fbf91eb-743b-4437-9914-79f45c53d03c.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Andrea 'Panzer' Dahl<br><strong>Classification:</strong> Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> The Sky Ranger<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>Andrea Absorbed the rest of the briefing in relative silence, preferring to study the information she had been given in greater detail, than to simply disbelieve the operation altogether. Even if it really was some sort of test, Andrea would be ready for it. Calm rational and professional in her approach to the strange circumstances to come. <br><br>When it was time for wheels up she joined the others in the 'Sky Ranger.' With some fresh caffeine in her system and a full stomach.<br><br><hr><br>Thankfully her convictions would need not be tested long, not halfway through the flight the crew was called upon for an emergency response. Andrea found herself smiling as the announcement came out. Not for the first time she scanned for a camera crew, this all felt like it had come right out of an american movie.<br><br>Andrea armed herself with a comfortable set of front-line body Armour and webbing as well as the teams standard issue communications equipment. She then added one of her own Pistols in a holster on her right hip and two combat knives on her left before moving to the weapons locker. Deciding now was hardly the time to play with all the shiny new toys the international team had assembled. Instead Andrea chose an old friend from the rack.<br><br>(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/MP5-W-Silencer--Scope-psd37568.png)<br><br><br>The sturdy Mp5 was a staple for a lot of good reasons, and for close up urban fighting it would be an excellent choice. checking the weapon was combat ready, and finding it was Andrea quickly went about selecting three extra magazines and a flash-bang grenade before making her way to the other assigned members of team 2.<br><br>"Andrea Dahl, KSK." She said by way of introduction to the two of three team members who had finished gearing up. "specialty is close range 'negotiations.' I look forward to working with you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>25-06-2015, 03:44:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><strong>Name:</strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong>In Flight<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> John, open<br><br><hr><br>Ren chuckled at the jarhead. "You point 'em, I'll pop 'em." After a respectful nod at Dahl- they'd crosstrained some with German counter-terror commando units as well, and she knew they were the real deal- she sobered up. "Since we're passing the hat, Renate Colbert, FBI Hostage Rescue Team. As the groundpounder pointed out, my specialty's pretty obvious." A tiny wag of the barrel of her rifle acted as a small salute to the rest of the squad.&nbsp; Turning back to John, she went on.<br><br>"In HRT, snipers work much more closely integrated with our squads than they often do in line units. Since most of the time we're dealing with contained situations and close quarters, we act as spotters for the assault arm." A quick grin made it clear her next words weren't intended as a slur on the Marine. "Kinda hard to get a scout into a bank lobby full of civilians and adrenaline-buzzed tangos without shit going bad, you know? So I'm trained to provide overwatch and remote scouting for the technical guys, so they can get their gadgets in place. You and I oughta see if we can get a separate comm channel set up, backstop each other."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>26-06-2015, 22:51:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> In Flight<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any<br><br><hr><br>"Yeah, little different to the way we'd be doing things." replied John, nodding in agreement. "The people we drop in on don't tend to know we're going to be there. Hell, sometimes they don't even know we were there at all. Plenty of opportunity to hide in the jungle and such. Urban jungle is a little different, but still, you can't shoot what you can't see, and I much prefer no one shooting at us."<br><br>He turned to look at Andrea before continuing. "I guess it's probably you and me out front. Do you have much experience playing point? If not, then I'm probably best candidate for the speartip." He cocked his head slightly to one side as another thought struck him. "I'm guessing we all have our own non verbal signal sets, yeah? Probably best to work out a few essentials we all recognise while we have some time."<br><br>He tapped his throat mic and spoke again. "Even with subvocalisation, there's no guarantee the little green men won't be able to pick up transmissions, whether they can understand them or not. Hand signals probably will be a better choice for non emergency coms."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>02-07-2015, 20:40:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team2<br><strong>Warning:</strong> If there is anything in your post that might upset a more squeamish player, say so here.<br><br><hr><br>‘Actually, hand signals are fairly universal, at least amongst NATO militaries, someone thought it was a good idea for everyone to work together…’ Rick started before looking up to see the Police sniper was the one being addressed. ‘Oh, right, sorry’ he said a little sheepishly, offering a faint smile. <br><br>‘Oh and, Korps Mariniers, the dutch Royal Marines’ he clarified. ‘and a member of NLMARSOF’ he rattled of the name, his accent thickening as he spoke it. ‘Not sure what to compare that to, so let’s go with SEALs-light.’ He grinned. ‘Anyway, as such, I can be on point,’ he gestured at the American and the German. ‘Or I can do her job’ he said now gesturing at their resident sniper. ‘But seeing how you two volunteered, I’ll be the rank and file, covering your entry?’ he half asked, half suggested. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>02-07-2015, 20:54:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><strong>Name:</strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong>In Flight<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> John, open<br><br><br><hr><br><br><em>The Dutch have SEALs?&nbsp; Who knew?</em> Well, it stood to reason, Ren just...hadn't known. She was playing with the big boys for sure...and then she stopped her internal gloating as it really sank in.<br><br>This was not 'playing'.&nbsp; This wasn't training. This was for-real, and while she'd been there done that a couple times, it wasn't quite on this level of tense and weird.&nbsp; Some of the people she was talking to might very well be dead before rise-and-shine tomorrow.&nbsp; And if the close-quarters guys went, it got awfully lonely for a sniper, real quick.<br><br>Making eye contact with the Dutch Marine, she shook her head slightly. "I'm a good shot with a handgun- our qualifiers are about the same as DoD Special Forces requirements- but I'm not fully checked out on CCQ weapons. And this thing-" another tiny dip of the barrel of the massive sniper rifle indicated what she meant- "doesn't play nice in tight spaces. Well, you could brain someone with it, I guess..."<br><br>Looking to John for confirmation, she went on. "It's best I hang back, do what I'm good at, let those of you with more line training take point."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>02-07-2015, 22:16:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> In Flight<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Any<br><br><hr><br>John smiled at Rick, and made a dismissive '<em>no big deal</em>' hand gesture. "Urban isn't my speciality." he said, addressing Rick. "If you're more comfortable with it, you can take point with Andrea as back up, and I can move into the second rank with Hardy." He paused for a moment thoughtfully. "Alternately we go in two buddy team, you and me taking point, the other two following up, tandem advance routes. We can probably cover a bit more ground that way, and if one team hits a target the other is probably in a good position to flank."<br><br>He turned his gaze to Ren before continuing. "And yeah, we can rely on you for overwatch." He paused before adding. "I'd imagine most of your work has been against a static target, you set up and sit til the op is completed, yeah? We're all going to have to move on this one, and we don't want to leave you behind if we're going down one street while the bad guys are coming up the next one over. If you need us to sit tight while you relocate, you need to let us know."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>02-07-2015, 22:32:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><br><strong>Name:</strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong>In Flight<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> John, open<br><br><hr><br>"I'm fast-rope qualified."&nbsp; It came out softly, and Ren shifted a bit, her leg paining her at the thought.&nbsp; The injury hadn't been that bad, really, but the fall had scared the crap out of her. She'd had no choice but to get back on the horse, though, if she wanted to graduate, so she'd gone up again once she'd healed.&nbsp; She still hated it, and, fortunately, her two for-real deployments hadn't required it.<br><br>"If this thing has VTOL capability, best bet would be to let me set down someplace high with as much of a three-sixty as I can get, about two hundred meters back. That's, ah...assuming they got ropes and gear aboard." Quietly, she prayed they didn't, even while she was hoping they did- the idea of having to climb to a vantage point lugging her cannon was not attractive.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sorrow Singer</strong> on <strong>03-07-2015, 02:03:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/9fbf91eb-743b-4437-9914-79f45c53d03c.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Andrea 'Panzer' Dahl<br><strong>Classification:</strong> Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> The Sky Ranger<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>Andrea politely took a seat with her assigned squad mates and listened intently as each shared their specializations in turn. When the other three had finished she went into greater detail than she had as introduction. She spoke fluent English, though with a strong German accent. "Trained and operated with the KSK. Fire arms I trained with primarily are rifles, shotguns and pistols."<br>&nbsp;Very straight forward and to the point Andrea didn't make much of an effort to sell and individual traits. <br><br>"Old team call sign is 'Panzer.' Specialty is advanced recon and assaulting fortified positions."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>03-07-2015, 14:50:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>Rick smiled at John. ‘Urban is no one’s speciality, city fighting is the worst kind of fighting.’ He kidded gently. ‘But I’m game for it, if necessary.’ He added with a shrug, it was far from his favorite type of combat, in so far he had favorites. ‘If we’re lucky, the green men suck at it.’<br><br>Just then Andrea spoke up. ‘And we have yet another potential point person step up’ he said with a chuckle. ‘Which is always, good and allows me to point out, I’m also sniper qualified.’ He looked a bit sheepish. ‘We get encouraged to train in multiple specialisations.’ He explained ‘and it got me bumped up in rank and pay.’ He shrugged apologetically. <br><br>‘So, I could also tag along with our sniper, as protection and spotter.’ He suggested. He didn’t mind any position they’d give him. ‘Which reminds me, I did see fast roping gear in the equipment lockers.’ He said happily, he loved doing that. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>03-07-2015, 14:59:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger, In Flight<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>"No idea about VTOL" John replied, shaking his head and then gesturing towards Geoff. "You know about as much as I do about our new toys, so best talk to the boss. He'll know more than we do. If we're working in an urban enviroment though, and we have to sweep it, I don't know that a static spot for you is going to work that well. I can see too much dead space you wouldn't be able to cover well." He shrugged and then continued. "Guess we'll have to eyeball it when we get there and see what looks best then."<br><br>He turned to Andrea as she spoke, and nodded when she was done, opening his mouth to speak and closing it again as Rick got there first. He considered Rick's suggestions and then shook his head. "If we had more people, or a more open enviroment, a proper sniper team would probably work. As it is, I think we're going to need you at the sharp end more I'm afraid."<br><br>He turned back to address Andrea again. "Callsign with my old team was Ghost. If you want to pair up with Rick, I'll take Hardy. Two man buddy teams, number two covers point. No transmissions if we can help it." He glanced over at Ren. "You being the obvious exception. If you spot something, we're not likely to be in range to hear or see anything from you. We don't know what sort of detection abilities our bad guys have, so the less we give them to work with, the better."<br><br>He turned back to look at the rest of the group. "Two teams, parallel routes of advance as best we can manage. One team runs into trouble, sitrep it, numbers and location of the contact, give the second team a point of reference they can flank."<br><br>He looked around and spoke again. "Any other questions, comments or suggestions, now's the time to bring them up."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>03-07-2015, 15:12:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong>In Flight<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> her squad<br><br><br><hr><br><br>"Two things," Ren said quietly. "One, civilians. Are we providing extraction cover, or leaving them on their own?"&nbsp; The second option galled her, but she could see, under the circumstances, how it could be necessary. "Two: confirming ROE. This is straight sweep-and-clear, right? We don;'t want souvenirs?" The sleepy grin that crept across her face was familiar to all of them- they all had their version of it that appeared shortly before or shortly after they went into combat. "Because, promise. I hit something with this thing, it's not gonna be ina chatty mood afterwards."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lustful Bride</strong> on <strong>04-07-2015, 03:20:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/Ae7FiF6.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski.<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open.<br><hr><br>When Megan had first laid eyes upon The Skyranger. Such an exotic and yet down to earth design it was. Almost like something straight out of a comic book! Though as soon as she stepped into it a new feeling overwhelmed herm, one of anxiety and fear as she realized the thing would soon be taking off. <br><br>With how quickly Megan moved to strap herself into her seat, one would think that the woman had suddenly gotten herself the powers of The Flash. She had a forced smile upon her face the entire time and was squeezing down upon the seat arms. It wouldn't be a surprise if she was the first one out of the Skyranger when it landed. Hell going out and fighting an alien would be better than the feeling in her stomach that she got while flying, so at the vry least it would give her some proper combat motivation.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>06-07-2015, 02:03:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger, In Flight<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>John simply shook his head in response to Ren's questions. "Right now, you know as much as I do." He looked over towards Geoff then back again. "I'm hoping we get something more before we land. I imagine sooner or later some egghead will figure capturing a live alien will be useful, find out how they think, what they want, all that crap. Unless we get told otherwise I imagine it's an us or them situation."<br><br>He looked around at the group. "If no one else has anything, I'd suggest we make constructive use of our time. Familiarise ourselves with the equipment, get some sleep if you can, and if you need it."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>07-07-2015, 19:18:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><br><hr><br>As they spoke about taking prisoners, Rick quietly rolled his eyes. While he wasn’t against it exactly, when dealing with humans, taking them was a complication at the best of times. If you were on the offensive you had to slow, and guard them. And even proper soldier POWs were expected by international treaties to be difficult about it. Taking Alien POWs seemed like even more of a hassle, one he was sure the brass and the eggheads would no doubt make even more difficult. <br><br>And then there were the ethics, once you took a prisoner, civilized behaviour dictated you took care of him, you fed him, healed him if necessary. Sticking a human probe, up its little green alien rear, wasn’t very ethical. He refrained from pointing that out though. He’d just shoot them and if told to capture one, do as the Germans did and follow orders. Which as he remembered the german member of his team, made him flush slightly.<br><br>‘Yeah, I’m with John’ he said softly. ‘Right now we’re whistling into the sun’ he clarified, mixing up his idioms. ‘It’s best we relax now, and find out, what end the bullets come out off.’ He added with a grin, sitting back into his jump seat and fiddling with his gear. Getting his ammo clips, in the pouches closest to what he was used to. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>17-07-2015, 04:24:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Full Team<br><br><hr><br>Geoff spent more time on the Comms and looking over what was t be their insertion point, and then what he wanted his team to do.&nbsp; &nbsp;He had split his unit into two operating teams.&nbsp; He and Yoshia would provide fire support for Chulski for her to use the cyber package and give them a more solid command and control and battle space awareness.&nbsp; &nbsp;Nicoles, Sauer and Skala would be the kill team for their area about the Sky Ranger and secure their position.&nbsp; &nbsp;Once that was settled, Geoff got on the intercom to brief the rest of the team.<br><br><strong><em>"Alright we are five minutes out from green light.&nbsp; &nbsp;We got a bit of a break and because of anti-air defenses close to the city, the X-rays could not get into the smack middle of Cairo.&nbsp; &nbsp;They have been bottled up in this western outskirt of the city.&nbsp; &nbsp;That means we are not having to search sky scrapers and the tallest building in the AOE is only four stories tall.&nbsp; &nbsp;The majority of the buildings are only a single floor.&nbsp; &nbsp; My team will secure the insertion point and provide cover support to establish command and control.&nbsp; &nbsp;O'Byrne's team will be our kill team.&nbsp; &nbsp;We have lucked out and for the most part, the X-Rays are running hot so they show up on night vision and infra-red.&nbsp; &nbsp;Because of that, we have confirmed that there are ten X-rays in the area.&nbsp; &nbsp; Rules of engagement, kill the enemy, herd civilians towards the insertion point and the Sky Ranger here.&nbsp; &nbsp;Try to get the civies out of the way, but if it is your safety or theirs, you take care of yourself and kill the target.&nbsp; &nbsp;Time to earn our pay team.&nbsp; &nbsp;Two minutes to deployment."</em></strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>17-07-2015, 04:34:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Sky Ranger comes in hard and then pulls up at the last might to hover in place, and everyone could feel the G-force change go through them as the pilot pulled up hard.&nbsp; &nbsp;As the Sky Ranger settled, the boarding ramp came down, and stopped about five feet from the ground.&nbsp; &nbsp;A wave of dry intense heat washed up into cargo bay to slap the team in the face.&nbsp; &nbsp; People about the area cried out and fled the appearance of the intimidating air craft, and the equally intimidating men and women with big guns.<br><br>Geoff and Yoshis were the first two off the boarding ramp, their weapons at the ready.&nbsp; After a quick scan he motioned for Clulski and the rest of the two teams to take their positions.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was time indeed for X-COM to do what it was assembled to do, to meet the alien threat and eliminate them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>19-07-2015, 02:02:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger, In Flight<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br><em>Could this op get any more screwed up?</em> John thought as he listened to the briefing. <em>No time to train as a team, no time to familiarise ourselves with any of the gear, and now we have civilians running through the place that we need to nursemaid out. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck me.</em> He kept his thoughts to himself and his face impassive, nodding as Geoff finished. <em>Welcome to the deep end, population you.</em><br><br>With the extra intel he went to the equipment locker, getting a set of night vision goggles and attaching them to his helmet. After a moments consideration he added a few more spare clips of ammo, and sat back down.<br><br>At Geoff's signal he moved off the ramp, darting into cover and looking around for any signs of life, human or otherwise. The buildings nearby seemed quiet and empty, but he knew how easily appearances could deceive.<br><br>Drawing a deep breath he darted forwards into cover of some ornamental plant that sat outside the nearest building. Reaching into his pocket he produced a small telescoping inspection mirror and used it to peer into the building through the window above his head.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lustful Bride</strong> on <strong>19-07-2015, 20:23:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/Ae7FiF6.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski.<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open.<br><hr><br>The ride coudlnt be over fast enough in her oppinion. Teh entire trip MEgan coudl nearly feel her body being pushed and her bones feeling the subtle tug of the Skyranger moving faster than normaly possible. She didnt even have much oppinion of he misison to come, jsut that she needed to get the hell out of the plane. <br><br>As soon as the ship landed Megan grabbed the nearest &nbsp;weapon within arms reach (http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/868/868265/tom-clancys-endwar-20080421011350564.jpg) and moved out behind John. The look on her face was her best attempt at a warface, lots of teeth and a scowl that would make batman proud. She turned for a moment to wave the others behind her to follow and move up. She didn't want to let them see her fear, there would be a proper time for that, but nt right now. <br><br>She placed herself behind an expensive Mercedes for cover and hoped that the car had enough overpriced accesories to protect her from harm.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>20-07-2015, 14:50:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong> in the bay, near the ramp<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> open<br><br><br>Hugging one side of the bay, Ren let the others flow out past her- a .50 rifle does not make for a good CQC weapon, so she would let the rest of the team secure the LZ, then look for a good vantage point.<br><br>That didn't mean she couldn't be useful though; removing the protectors from her optics, she fiddled with the settings until she found Lowlight first, then the IR filter, and swept slowly in both bands across the angle visible out through the ramp, looking for potential targets.<br><br>She suddenly wished they had some of the Bureau's more specialized geek toys- laser mikes, heartbeat detectors, like that.&nbsp; John's mirror was totally functional, but it'd be a lot nicer to be able to bounce tome IR off the window and <em>hear</em> if anything was inside. She'd have to see if Geoff could requisition some stuff.<br><br>Assuming, she suddenly thought with a chill, any of them got out of this mess in one piece...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Pumpkin Seeds</strong> on <strong>21-07-2015, 00:39:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/3a/5d/8a/3a5d8a16fc7c04482000dea913a6d8a0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Danuka Skala<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Cairo<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Open<br><br><strong>Warning:</strong> None<br><br><hr><br><br>A look of impassive consent remained fixed on the features of Danuka Skala soon after the Sky Ranger took to the air.&nbsp; Eyes remained fixed on a point past the others, though she responded when prompted with a question.&nbsp; Many might call the look a thousand yard stare, but for her the moments were much grander than that simple assumption.&nbsp; Memories flashed through her mind, reasons for going into the fire once more.&nbsp; The enemy was new and the need was greater than her missions before.&nbsp; A fist tightened so that the leather glove covering her left hand creaked in resistance.&nbsp; Tactile mesh and synthetic materials covered the rest of her body in a tight weave of flexible armor.&nbsp; Yet the leather glove was her own memento and charm.&nbsp; The scent calmed her and reminded her of a simpler time.&nbsp; <br><br>Touch down was made and people disembarked smartly.&nbsp; Skala would be no exception as she hoisted her weapon upward.&nbsp; Slung and ready, the massive rifle was carried as easily as others carried their lighter versions.&nbsp; Cradled like a child, the M60 heavy machine was not meant for the rapid deployment of the other weaponry carried but instead to be the last voice heard.&nbsp; She had moved for the tightness of the ammo drum verse the Hollywood signature of a belt feed.&nbsp; Heavy boots struck the ramp and then the ground as she plunged into the unknown with fearless determination.&nbsp; The die were cast long ago and she was simply here to arrive at the conclusion she had signed on to complete.&nbsp; Knees buckled as she slide down to nestle behind a bus stop outcropping, a bit of concrete and plastic cover for her to unload the rifle.&nbsp; <br><br>A bandolier of grenades rattled with her movement and slipped between her breasts.&nbsp; Typically she would have carried more for demolition, but this would be more of a take and hold missions she had been told.&nbsp; Somehow she doubted part of holding the extraction point would entail blowing the area to Heaven.&nbsp; So instead she opted for the smaller grenades and additional ammunition to see her through the day.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>21-07-2015, 18:44:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Landing zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team<br><strong>Warning:</strong> If there is anything in your post that might upset a more squeamish player, say so here.<br><br><hr><br>Rick was out of the plane as soon as the people in front of him had cleared the ramp, his combat boots pounding the ground as he rushed to cover and scanned a sector, previously uncovered over the barrel of his assault rifle. From the corner of his eyes he could see the others deplaning taking up similar positions, or they should. <br><br>With a yerk he levelled his rifle at movement, the motion done before it was even conscious thought. ‘Movement’ he spoke into his mike. ‘Make it, two tender aged children, one adult female. Inside the,..butchershop?’ He continued. Looking at the storefront, they were peering out of. the noise from their plane had attracted their attention. ‘Suggest, me and Chulski to collect them’ he added. <br><br>His suggestion made, because of middle eastern sensitivities, regarding strange males and the fact that Chulski could provide a friendlier face to his fully armed and armoured combat soldier appearance. <br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>21-07-2015, 23:27:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Airfield<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Full Team<br><br><hr><br>Geoff was using his own optics to scan about to see if he had any targets in the area.&nbsp; &nbsp; He did not notice any out there but that did not mean they were not coming.&nbsp; &nbsp;By now the enemy knew the sound profile of the Sky Ranger and knew that when it came in like it did that it was dropping off death to the enemy.&nbsp; &nbsp;Sure they had taken out some of the X-COM team, but right now the skill ratio was far far more in favor of X-COM then it was the aliens.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff had to temper that fact that was with trained tams that had had operated with one another before.&nbsp; &nbsp; What he had on the ground was not a true X-COM strike team, and to date the aliens had had a field day with conventional forces.&nbsp; &nbsp; He needed to secure the LZ and get the team set up for what he was sure to come.<br><br>Geoff heard Steen's call over the comms.&nbsp; &nbsp;It made sense and the shop was right there, and it was a fairly solidly constructed building.&nbsp; &nbsp;It would suit as any for command and control, especially given that by luck or fate or divine intervention that it severed as the breakout point for the local communications judging by the communication cabling entering into the building then spreading out in that spaghetti spider web fashion over aerial cabling to other buildings in the area.<br><br>Geoff cued up his communications up.&nbsp; <strong><em>"Negative to you Spears.&nbsp; Need you to follow mission set out for your team and start hunting the enemy.&nbsp; &nbsp;Clulski and Yoshia will approach the civilians.&nbsp; &nbsp;Clulski, that butcher's shop is the comm hub for the neighborhood, use it to tap in.&nbsp; &nbsp; Rest of team one, support and provide cover for Clulski and Yoshia.&nbsp; &nbsp;Team two, press out to the perimeter and find some targets to kill.&nbsp; &nbsp; If they act like they have in the past they will be sending a team to start shooting at us in less than two minutes."</em></strong> 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sorrow Singer</strong> on <strong>22-07-2015, 07:44:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/9fbf91eb-743b-4437-9914-79f45c53d03c.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Andrea 'Panzer' Dahl<br><strong>Classification:</strong> Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong> Boots on the Ground.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>Andrea hit the ground running, moving quickly to the fore and screening for the teams long ranged specialists. <br>Andrea's specialty was taking ground, her light kit and small profile made moving in short bursts and staying low a breeze. Careful to see as much as she could without being spotted in turn Andrea prowled the streets with a practiced calm. Maintaining the vanguard as team two advanced carefully under orders. <br><br>The boys up above counted ten little green men. They where out running about in the streets of Cairo, Command wanted them found with all due haste, the old fashioned way. Boots on the ground, eyes peeled, ears open. <br><br>Still skeptical of the entire operation Andrea watched for signs of human movement lacking any obvious sign of extra terrestrial shenanigans. Whatever this was about, the Civi's hadn't been warned. Civilians on sight was never a good thing, nothing good could ever come form civilian involvement in an operation. Irritated by the lack of control and information She advanced steadily. Soon enough, Andrea reasoned, she would see for herself what this whole fuss was about.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>22-07-2015, 10:44:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen.<br><strong>Location:</strong> combat zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Geoff, team 2.<br><br><hr><br>Rick waited for a response, pointing his rifle away from the butcher shop and its occupants, while scanning his sector. When the response came he listened closely, fidgeting a little with the volume to prevent leakage. <br><br><strong>Geoff cued up his communications up.&nbsp; "Negative to you Spears.&nbsp; Need you to follow mission set out for your team and start hunting the enemy.&nbsp; &nbsp;Clulski and Yoshia will approach the civilians.&nbsp; &nbsp;Clulski, that butcher's shop is the comm hub for the neighborhood, use it to tap in.&nbsp; &nbsp; Rest of team one, support and provide cover for Clulski and Yoshia.&nbsp; &nbsp;Team two, press out to the perimeter and find some targets to kill.&nbsp; &nbsp; If they act like they have in the past they will be sending a team to start shooting at us in less than two minutes."</strong><br><br>‘Understood’ he called back. Then left his position to join his team’s advance. He took a flanking position, following the German woman. She moved well, undoubtedly like she knew what she was doing. Which was always a pleasure to see in any professional. Especially if you worked with them. <br><br>Crouching down behind a planter, which is this climate must be a bastard to keep green he peered forward and to his uncovered side trusting the others to protect him from that angle. Seeing the point take more ground he left this position and took up a next one behind a car.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>23-07-2015, 14:22:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Combat zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>John slowly panned the small mirror around, then flashed a quick hand signal <em><strong>no contact</strong></em> to the others behind him. He collapsed the mirror and stowed it in his pocket, keeping low and moving to the corner of the building. tucking himself into the corner formed by some ornamental looking pillar. He glanced behind him, taking note of the positions of the others that he could see. <br><br><strong><em>Moving</em></strong> he sent, relying on them for cover fire if .. when .. anything turned up. A quick dash took him across the street, and into the lee of a car that had slewed into the wall of the next building. The drivers door was half open, but there was no sign of any occupants. He wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. His next dash took him to the ornate doorway of the building itself, which looked like a coffee house, judging by the tables and chairs inside. The state of disarray, it looked like they'd cleared out in a hurry. Panning the street ..<br><br><em>What the fuck is that?</em><br><br>He raise his gun, taking a close look through the sights, then subvocalised a message on his throat mic. "Contact, maybe 100 meters from LZ, Western street. Looks like some sort of big cannister in the middle of the street. Green stuff around it, faint glow. No live targets seen."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lustful Bride</strong> on <strong>23-07-2015, 20:50:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/Ae7FiF6.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski.<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Yoshia.<br><hr>Megan huffed and puffed as she started running as fast as she could through to the street, pas some of the strange webbing that seemed to coat everything all around her, she came to a sliding halt into the butcher shop, her boots scraping hard against the floor and leaving some marks on the floor. Swingign her rifle around she nearly hit it against a potted plant, and for a split second thought she hears a strange insect like chirping. She turned her head every which way to find out where it was coming from but she had no luck. <br><br>"Patching in...." She said over her radio, before nearly being deafened by the sounds of countless voices shouting into her ear piece while trying to patch into the local comms, the near endless chatter was too difficult to understand. <br><br>"Its total chaos sir, local comms are out of control, eveyrone with a radio trying to yell over each other." She &nbsp;said, taking a look around for those civilians that she had heard of. To her surprise she only saw the woman, but she was too old to have children, unless they were her grandkids, so where were they?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>25-07-2015, 05:58:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Right now at the moment none of the civilians were moving towards the safety of the Sky Ranger.&nbsp; &nbsp;Fear had them paralyzed in plae, fear of what was happening, fear of X-COM unit as in their body armor and weapons they were very intimidating.&nbsp; &nbsp; They huddled down as much as they can, their heads down as far as they can and shuddering so hard it was no wonder that the team didn't hear their teeth rattle.&nbsp; &nbsp;Arabic could be clearly heard and while it might not be understood by everyone present, the sound of praying for one's life was understood in all languages.&nbsp; &nbsp; The old attache was true, there were no atheists in a foxhole.<br><br>From her slightly higher viewpoint still on the ramp of the ranger, Ren saw movement on the scope first.&nbsp; &nbsp;Three shapes, vaguely smaller than a normal human and of the rough silhouette of the Sectoids.&nbsp; &nbsp;Two on the ground, one of the roof.&nbsp; &nbsp;The one on the rough popped out of cover to take a look about, presenting an lovely profile as the clouds clean and the waxing moon to dull displayed it.&nbsp; &nbsp;The other two moved up to the the building about 75 meters away from the butcher shop to the left of O'Byrne's ground team.&nbsp; &nbsp;One alien hung back a further then or so meters.&nbsp; &nbsp;There was a weird purplish glow that flowed from the one alien to the other.&nbsp; &nbsp; The caused the closer Alien to cry out a cry and take a shot at Sarah.&nbsp; <br><br>Bright, almost vile, verdant green energy streaked through the night air an when it passed by Sarah.&nbsp; &nbsp;As ti did there was the sharp, metallic stench of ozone in the air about her.&nbsp; &nbsp;Her hair writhed and the fine hairs on her arm and back of her neck stood up on edge.&nbsp; &nbsp; Then came the wash of super heated air that when it brushed against bare skin made it felt like the skin got a light sun burn.&nbsp; &nbsp;A total of three shots were fired, all of them missed, but the last one was so close that it near kissed Dahl.&nbsp; &nbsp;One came close to Steen as well even though it did not seem like he was the target.&nbsp; &nbsp;However the thing seemed to have the range on both them.<br><br>To the right of the butcher shop come a bull rush of two monstrous forms that stand neat six feet in height and loon vaguely like the alien monster from the old Aliens movie of that creature scampered on all fours.&nbsp; &nbsp;It gave a chilling warbling cry and fixed its what could only be eyes upon team one on the ground near Clulski and Yoshia.&nbsp; &nbsp;Yoshia curses and moved fast sprint putting it in the path of the two menacing aliens and skidded onto one knee and laid down cover fire in an effort to turn the aliens away from Clulski.&nbsp; &nbsp; The two aliens however presented a great target for Danuka and Geoff.&nbsp; &nbsp; <br><br>The aliens had engaged X-COM and what was once a far out possibility or a scenario dragged up from some bad SyFy weekly movie of the week has become earnestly and deadly real.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>27-07-2015, 20:55:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Combat zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>John was about to move again when green streaks flashed down the street past him, in the direction of the LZ. "Contact." he subvocalised. "Incoming fire on LZ." He slid his mirror around the edge of the doorway, spotting movement about 35 or 40 meters further down the street. "Two hostiles, advancing. No shot." He moved into building itself, crouching low to prevent a smaller target as he moved into a better firing position.<br><br>The net curtain on the window billowed slowly in what little breeze there was coming through the broken window, and John slowly extended the silencer on the end of his rifle though the frame, lining up on the targets down the street. His focus narrowed to the view through the scope. <em>Move, you little green bastard.</em> he thought, seeing movement on the far side of a car. <em>Your green shit might be great, but it doesn't do shit for hiding where you are.</em> he added. <em>Me, on the other hand. You can't see me. You can't hear me. And that's gonna get you dead.</em><br><br>A small grey head popped out around the rear of the car, scanning the street ahead. John waited til it it's gaze had moved further on, to judge by how it's head had turned anyway, before taking the shot. The gun whickered it's silenced semi automatic burst, three rounds heading towards the target, the recoil kicking against his shoulder.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>27-07-2015, 21:05:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong> Hitting the deck<br><strong>Tagging:</strong>&nbsp; John, everyone<br><br>"Contact!" Ren shouted, pretty needlessly as the invaders' first shots came a tenth of a second later.&nbsp; Dropping flat to the ramps, she started an awkward reverse crab-crawl, back into the body of the transport, to get some elevation. Street level was a crap place for a sniper, especially in a zone gone suddenly target-rich. Flipping out the rifle's integral bipod, she grounded the feet firmly against the deck grid and, trying to get a grip on her shivering, started to scan again.<br><br>"Three Tangos, plus seventy-five, left." Her voice was at least obeying her, staying frosty, as she read the data off to the teams. "One Tango, plus 75, up. Rooftop. Taking the-"&nbsp; With a howl like a blown transmission, two nightmare things crashed around the corner of the butcher shop, all but face-to-face with her deployed teammates. Swearing, she jerked the barrel down, sighted on the center of mass of one of the things, took up the slack on the trigger-<br><br>-yanked the heavy weapon skyward again as someone sprinted across her line, trying to check the things' advance. Even suppressed, the massive charge made enough noise to startle her, reflected in the enclosed space of the bay. Where the slug came down, who knew?&nbsp; Probably Dubai.<br><br>Slamming the rifle back level, she started an even fire, aiming high to avoid clipping her cadre mates, sending a hail of .50 shells towards the huge things, more as a form of suppression than anything else.<em> Not a close-quarters weapon my ass. Suck it!</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>27-07-2015, 21:22:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> On the ground<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>‘’Holy hell,’’ Rick curse as a green glob of something struck a nearby wall and destroyed it. He was already going prone, part of him noticing, that in being around English speakers he was already beginning to cuss in English.<br><br>He crawled behind another wall in a most undignified way. Naturally he had seen where it came from and after taking a very short steadying breath, got to his knees aiming his rifle down range. Thinking he saw movement, he fired a short burst, then quickly displaced. <br><br>He slid into cover behind a dumpster, noticing that he was level with another member of his team now. Somewhere behind him he could hear the discharge of a heavy sniper rifle, firing very rapidly almost panicky. Not a sound he wanted to hear, it made him wonder what was up at the LZ. Still, he had his to deal with his own problems first. <br><br>Making eye contact with the nearest member of his team, he started using hand signals, to see which one of them would move forwards this time while being covered by the other. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sorrow Singer</strong> on <strong>28-07-2015, 23:39:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/9fbf91eb-743b-4437-9914-79f45c53d03c.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Andrea 'Panzer' Dahl<br><strong>Classification:</strong> Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong>Contact<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2. Sectoid Contacts.<br><br><hr><br>Bolts of green plasma tore through the air with lethal intent, missing Andrea by a hairs breadth and forcing her down and into cover behind a heavy steel dumpster, where she was swiftly joined by Rick. Andrea eyed him with an eyebrow raised. Sure enough, Alien life. Big headed, big eyed grey skinned midgets throwing burning hot glowing green shit from some sort of small wrist mounted weapon. These where designated Sectoids, she remembered from the briefing earlier. Bullets killed these little guys just fine. Andrea turned to Rick, noted his sign and signaled back. <em>I'll advance, you cover me.</em><br><br>Checking to ensure he got the signal, Andrea waited for a break in the enemy fire and bolted forward and to their right at a tactical sprint, ending comfortably behind a sturdy brick wall. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>29-07-2015, 21:40:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team2, Andrea.<br><strong>Warning:</strong> If there is anything in your post that might upset a more squeamish player, say so here.<br><br><hr><br>Upon using his signals he saw, her reactions seeing that she volunteered to go first, signalling her intent in the same way. It was nice to work with professionals, off course, you could leave it to the Germans to provide such professionalism. There was a reason they had spent a few years guarding Paris. <br><br>Covering her advance, carefully he kept an eye out for trouble. But saw none. They were flanking at least one alien by now, possibly the others as well. Noticing his new comrade, was behind a sturdy brick wall only a few meters from an side entrance, he waited until she was settled and ready for him. Before hurrying after and passed her, pressing himself against the wall near the door. <br><br>Looking at her questioningly, he gestured at the door. He wasn’t quite sure if they wanted to use it, but it was an option. Just in case she said, yes he already signalled he’d open and follow her. He left it unsaid that it would his turn for the next door. Fair was fair in combat, but only when dealing with your own people.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lustful Bride</strong> on <strong>03-08-2015, 19:46:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/Ae7FiF6.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski.<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Chrysalids.<br><hr><br>Chulski had spent a good minute or so tyring to coax the woman she spotted into runnign to the skyranger with little to no luck, only to be startled herself by the sudden chittering speech of Sectoids. The damn little beasts nearly made the woman jump out of her skin. She swung her rifle around and kept an eye on the doorway to the Butcher shop, forgetting about Yoshia for a moment as she looked for the Sectoids to pop up. She couldn't believe what she was doing, why the hell had she signed up! Wasn't it enough she had nearly been killed by these aliens before? Now she was practically putting herself up on a silver platter to be blasted into a pile of goop by them!<br><br>When the new contacts popped up she felt her jaw drop for a moment, the old lady she had been protecting taking the chance to flee away in fear, screaming as Yoshia laid some fire down on the spiders before her. Megan stared in horror at the bugs that looked like they belonged on Klendathu and took off running at a speed that would make usain bolt jealous as she ran past Yoshia and turned around once the other trooper was between her and the enemy. <br><br>she then took her chance and aimed in the Bug's general direction ebfore letting loose with a long automatic burst of fire, not aiming and just wanting to fill the air with as much lead as possible.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>06-08-2015, 05:15:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Team two moved, and claimed the first kill of the evening as John's fire took the ugly small grey alien in it over-sized head.&nbsp; &nbsp;Purplish fluids and matter splattered all over the wall behind the creature and it dropped to the ground, twitching involuntarily.&nbsp; &nbsp;As the corpse of the alien dropped to the ground, the weapon it had in hand hit the ground and there was a green flash as the weapon exploded into pieces.&nbsp; &nbsp; That caused its companion to flinch, and its weapon pulled as it did, causing its shot to go wide, giving Panzer and Rick the window to move in as they did and get behind cover so neither one of them were in the creature's cross hairs.<br><br>Yoshia laid down covering fire for Clulski as she dashed away from her exposed position.&nbsp; &nbsp;Miracles of all miracles, her shots hit one of the large aliens.&nbsp; &nbsp;Granted at that range it was difficult for her to miss but give the former desk clerk some credit she was the second one to draw alien blood that day.&nbsp; &nbsp;Her wound seemed to do nothing more than piss the large creature off however, and drew it away from Yoshia and right on Megan's tail.&nbsp; &nbsp; The second one seemed to be right on the heels of the first, but heavy cover fire from Nicoles and Skala that managed to deter it from joining up with its fellow alien.<br><br>The first alien merely got five steps before it was stopped in its tracks by single shot.&nbsp; &nbsp;The report of the weapon rang out in the air like a thunderbolt, and the hole in the alien's midsection started out the size perhaps of a large coin, but ended in a march larger exit wound.&nbsp; &nbsp;The alien monstrosity had a presence enough to tilt its head down to the wound, then he raised its head up in defiance and issued out yet another blood curdling scream of challenge, as if it would not be denied its chosen prey!<br><br>Which made it the perfect target for one of Ren's shot, the head of the alien disintegrating like an over ripe melon hit by a bullet.&nbsp; &nbsp; The alien dropped dead to the ground then.&nbsp; There was a silence over the battle field for a moment, as if the aliens could not believe in scarce time it took to breath they had lost two of there number.&nbsp; &nbsp; It was as if fear had pushed itself to the front of the alien's thought processes, and that there was indeed stiff opposition to their task at hand.<br><br>Then as if prodded into action by a electrical current, the aliens reacted.&nbsp; &nbsp;The one of the roof blasted down at the members of team one, and one blast managed to hit Nicoles square in the chest, putting him to the ground.&nbsp; &nbsp;The stench of burnt flesh was sharp in the air.&nbsp; &nbsp;The other alien tuned on a dime and lunged from Yoshia.&nbsp; &nbsp;He managed to pepper it with his weapon, but nothing that stopped it as it picked him up and held him fast with twin appendages.&nbsp; &nbsp;Its mouth then struck hard and fast right to Yoshia's midsection.&nbsp; &nbsp;That was when Yoshida screamed.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>06-08-2015, 23:58:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Combat zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>"Target down, good kill." John reported, ducking away from the window and moving deeper into the building. He wasn't sure what penetration power that green shit had, but if they enemy was smart, they'd likely put a few rounds into any likely cover near where the shot had come from. Best way to avoid being hit was not to be where the shots were.<br><br>Keeping low he moved towards the door across the room. With a little luck it would lead into the next building, or another part of this one, and put him in a better spot to flank the shooters outside. He paused at the door, checking around for any activity before moving deeper. With nothing in sight he pulled out his mirror and eased the door open a crack, checking what the next room looked like before entering.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>14-08-2015, 02:47:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong> Not even out of the damn ship<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> open<br><br><br><hr><br>It took almost half a second for Ren to realize her bolt was locked open on an empty, chamber, stunned by the ferocity of the aliens' assault, and the odd, flat pop-pop-pop of the hue rounds echoing in the tight space.&nbsp; It wasn't something they generally trained for, running dry- most sniper engagements were over in a few shots.<br><br>Fumbling at her hip, the shaken agent unclipped another mag, released the empty one, slammed the new one home, worked the bolt.&nbsp; At least her near-random firing had had some effect, had put one of the beasts on the ground. Now it was time to do what they actually paid her for.<br><br><em>Shoulda asked about medical benefits, </em>she quipped in her head, trying to steady herself. Was the Tang on the roof still in view? It was. Taking in air as evenly as she could, she centered the drop-comp pinger on the bulbous head, and took up on the trigger...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lustful Bride</strong> on <strong>17-08-2015, 20:06:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/Ae7FiF6.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski.<br><strong>Location:</strong> Skyranger.<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Chrysalids.<br><hr><br>Chulski's mind was frazzeled by the sight before her. She had filled the air between her and the alien with an entire magazine and even Yoshia had done similar, the rounds hitting the bug as it&nbsp; moved forth with impossible speed. Its carapace seeming to take the bullet storm in a simple stride as it closed the distance to Yoshia. In a flash of talons and blood the other Xcom trooper went down. She watched the thing <em>vomit </em> something into Yoshia's throat and the way the other person's neck bulged to the point of nearly exploding as whatever it was made its new home within the corpse and began its terrible, foul work. <br><br>Megan felt her hands trembling on the magazine as she tried to get it out, nearly forgetting about the mag release on the side of the rifle. When it finally did occur to her, the magazine clattered to the ground just as soon as she slapped a new one in. Her feet moved of their own accord, tugging her along as she raised the weapon and kept an eye on the Chrysalid, watching it seemingly feast on the other human.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>18-08-2015, 09:35:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Cairo<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><strong>Warning:</strong> If there is anything in your post that might upset a more squeamish player, say so here.<br><br><hr><br>Taking a few steadying breaths, no matter the experience you got, you needed that, if you were about to do something that would be considered foolish by anyone not with the military. It took a special kind to run across an open field with machine guns going. Not that people admitted that.<br><br>Taking hold of the doorknob, he tested it. Then threw it open and was inside the building, like a flash. Scanning his sector over the barrel of his gun. They were in a store room, judging from the boxes. Their contents being described in Egyptian, or Arabic. There was yet another door, leading into the actual store. <br><br>Moving towards it again, he readied himself then flung it open, peering into the store. Then ducking back. ‘’Contact’’ he hand signalled for his immediate partner. Adding to count and their general location. Before letting command and the others know over the comms. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sorrow Singer</strong> on <strong>18-08-2015, 13:24:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c190/godspie996/9fbf91eb-743b-4437-9914-79f45c53d03c.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Andrea 'Panzer' Dahl<br><strong>Classification:</strong> Assault<br><strong>Location:</strong>Cairo<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2. Sectoid Contacts.<br><br><hr><br>Andrea closed the distance with support from Ren's expert marksmanship and Rick's covering fire. One of the little gray men took a direct hit from the snipers heavy rifle and went down hard. reduced from three to two the Aliens appeared to be rethinking their strategy and fast, but not fast enough.<br><br>&nbsp;Rick flanked hard moving into a building on her right while Andrea moved in for the kill on the remaining contact at ground level. She moved quickly beside the corner of a market store, peaking over the side she spotted the Alien as it was preparing to shift location out of the snipers cross-hairs.<br><br>&nbsp;But Andrea had gotten around the stalls the creature had been using for cover, she had a clean shot and it had seemingly yet to spot her. Leveling her weapon Andrea lined up on that nice fat head and fired a short burst into it's flank. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>21-08-2015, 06:14:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				John's foresight paid off as he opened the door and looked through it with a mirror.&nbsp; &nbsp;The room beyond was dark, and looked to be a large open area with hookas and cushions for seating spread all about the many layers of carpet upon the floor, a tobacco den at first look of the room.&nbsp; &nbsp;There was large entry door beyond the room directly in view of John's mirror but by the darkness beyond the doors to the establishment were closed.&nbsp; &nbsp;The room was not completely dark as there was low light in the room, the virulent 'green from the alien's firearms as two more of the aliens named Sectoids were crouched before the windows to the right of the main entry looking out.<br><br>Geoff watched in horror as the Chrysalid picked up Yoshia and the scream he let out.&nbsp; &nbsp;Geoff felt his skin go cold and sweat break out all over.&nbsp; &nbsp;He had seen reports of this alien, but had never encountered one before in the field.&nbsp; &nbsp;The after action report of the mission that his previous team had lost their lives.&nbsp; All he could picture was each of them being torn apart by these creatures.&nbsp; &nbsp;He shuddered a bit and then rage took and he raised up hos weapon and fired.&nbsp; &nbsp;Again the thunderous report of his sniper rifle rang our and reverberated with enough force that those close to Geoff would feel their teeth rattle.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Chrysalid's head exploded in a rush of gore that splattered over a wide radius.&nbsp; &nbsp;The creature's body twitched and it dropped Yoshia to the ground where he continued to cry out and writhe in pain.<br><br>That was not the last head shot of this engagement.&nbsp; &nbsp;Despite her slightly shaken resolve in the face of such an unnatural enemy, Ren managed to slam home the reload for her weapon and draw a bead upon the alien that had took down Nicholos.&nbsp; The alien popped out of cover and as it did, Re pulled the trigger.&nbsp; &nbsp;The resulting shot took the alien in its large, bulbous head.&nbsp; Purplish and green body matter and fluid splattered all about the area the alien was, and then its weapon dropped to the ground.&nbsp; &nbsp;Once more the weapon whined in high pitch whine clearly heard in the battlefield then exploded in a small flash of the putrid green light.&nbsp; &nbsp;In the area where the gun landed, the surface of the roof was on fire.<br><br>The teamwork displayed by Rick and Andrea was astonishing given how this was their first mission technically, tossed into this conflict cold with no familiarization or coordination.&nbsp; Rick's covering fire and movement had captured the other Sectoid's attention, allowing Andrea free movement and no longer under the alien's sights as she had been in the opening salvo of the battle.&nbsp; &nbsp;The alien had no idea Andrea had flanked it, and her resulting weapon's fire riddled into the creatures spine.&nbsp; &nbsp;Again while the entry wounds were small, the exit wounds were far from it and more purplish and green fluid and spilled out and splashed upon the covering wall in front of it.&nbsp; &nbsp; It slumped to the ground, dead.&nbsp; <br><br>With the last visible alien in the LZ down, it looked like for the moment the team's insertion point to the battle was secured.&nbsp; &nbsp;The did not know of the two aliens that John had in his sights inside the smoking lounge, and they did not know how many more aliens were perhaps out there, waiting for the team on the ground to make a mistake to take advantage, and perhaps turn the battle against them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>21-08-2015, 16:37:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Combat zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>John's grin would not have looked out of place on something rising from the ocean deeps. <em>Situational awareness, boys. It's a lifesaver.</em> He panned the mirror around, taking note of the layout of the room. <em>Second lesson of the day, the clusterfuck formation. You cluster up, you're fucked.</em><br><br>He eased the mirror back, and tucked it away, taking one of the grenades he'd gotten from the equipment locker on the plane. <em>Lemme see .. that cushion, just about there</em> he thought, mentally mapping the room and the blast radius of the grenade. <em>Yep, that should be enough to catch the pair of them.</em><br><br>Simple plans were always the best. Toss the frag onto a cushion between and behind the targets, where with a little luck they wouldn't even hear it land. After it went off, swing in low on full auto rock and roll and hose down anything still twitching. He eased the fire selecter on his gun to auto, took a breath, pulled the pin on the grenade ... <em>1 ... 2 ... 3</em> ... and threw it around the doorway to the cushions beyond.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>28-08-2015, 05:20:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Sky Ranger Landing Zone<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Full Team<br><br><hr><br>Geoff looked up from his scope, his breathing hard and labored as if he had done a hard sprint.&nbsp; &nbsp;He gazed about and did not see any other x-rays about, but he doubted that they tried an assault like this with only five aliens.&nbsp; &nbsp;No, there were more of them out there, but for the time it looked like the land site was secured.&nbsp; They could begin to heard the civilians out, and fan out to eliminate the rest of the aliens.&nbsp; &nbsp;If this was a typical terror mission on their part, there were anywhere from seven to ten more aliens out there, and at least two to four more of the Chrysalids out there.<br><br>Geoff keyed his comms to talk to all his team.<strong>Someone get medical attention to Nicholes and Yoshia.&nbsp; Make sure the X=Rays re down, then start to fan out.&nbsp; &nbsp;We have at least seven to ten more targets out there if the aliens remain to their standard pattern for missions such as this.&nbsp; &nbsp;Lets move, the more we wait, to more people they can kill."</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>29-08-2015, 02:46:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong> Coming out (of the Ranger)<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> open, Chulski<br><br><br>After one more quick sweep of her field of view with her optics set to IR, Colbert started to pick her way gingerly down the ramp, her rifle held at hip level, like an assault weapon.&nbsp; Not ideal, but keeping it up would be worse. Restricted vision, slow to track- no. Today was a not a day to worry about field drills and conserving ammo.&nbsp; Today was a day just for staying alive. Step by step, checking every shadow, she moved towards Chulski and the maimed Yoshia.&nbsp; She needed high ground, she needed it like five minutes ago last yesterday, but they couldn't leave a team mate just lying out there, if there was any chance he was still alive.<br><br>She had to constantly remind herself that behind her was the Skyranger, secure (more or less) ground. It was the only way to keep her form constantly turning around to look behind herself- which she knew damn well would be exactly whens something all teeth and attitude would pop out and eat her head.&nbsp; Counting her steps made it a little better. Ten to that bit of cover, ten more to there. Five to Chulski, who looked frozen.&nbsp; Actually, she looked like Colbert felt, sweat soaked and fucking terrified. Ren tapped her on the shoulder, pointed two fingers to her own eyes, swivelled them, telling the other woman to keep watch.<br><br>It was another twenty steps to where Yoshia lay. It only<em> felt</em> like three miles.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>29-08-2015, 19:54:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick steen<br><strong>Location:</strong> Cairo, <br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2, John<br><br><hr><br>Rick’s two contacts turned out to two locals, in typical middle eastern fashion carrying rusty AK’s, which made his shoulder blade itch, even as he aimed his rifle at them. Using hand signals, he managed to get them on their way to safety, although he kept an eye on them for as long as he could see them. He didn’t trust anyone with guns but not a uniform. <br><br>He acknowledge the orders, and did a quick clearance of the store he had blundered into, finding little of interest. The grenade going off startled him slightly, due to it being relatively close. Moving with a bit more urgency he went towards the noise. Smiling faintly about how only soldiers went towards explosions, well they and cops,..but he needed to stop that. <br><br>Getting his head back in the game, he knelt beside a glass door, its window gone, scanning the smoke filled interior. Activating his comms. ‘’Friendly, southern exit.” He announced himself to the grenade thrower. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>03-09-2015, 03:35:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				One explosion, two more dead aliens, and if anyone could have seen the nearly human look of shock and horror as the grenade landed between the two of them.&nbsp; &nbsp;They both tried to move, to get behind some form of cover but the grenade had the three second trigger and the two aliens only had enough time to get bend their disjointed legs before the explosion and having thousand or more pieces of razor sharp shrapnel through their bodies.&nbsp; Their skin proved to be no more resilient than human skin as their bodies as they were shredded by the grenade.<br><br>Clulski managed to reach Nicholes first.&nbsp; &nbsp;Her hands shock and it took an act of will on her part to still them as she pulled out the medical kit.&nbsp; &nbsp;She went through the motions and activated the device.&nbsp; A fine mist settled over the downed form of Nicholes.&nbsp; Before her eyes the wounds stopped bleeding and began to close.&nbsp; &nbsp;Nicholes stopped twitching and he his body slumped, as if no longer in pain after having been in pain for some bit.&nbsp; &nbsp;As Clulski was treating Nicholes, Colbert moved cautiously towards Yoshia.&nbsp; &nbsp; No other aliens popped out of the shadows but as she got within ten yards of downed soldier, flashes of an explosion came through the windows of a building no more than seventy-five yards away.<br><br>The two civilians had first raised their weapons towards Steen, but seeing that he was human, their relief on their face was visible.&nbsp; &nbsp;Both of them started to talk over one another as they lowered their weapons, pointing towards the west, further into the operations area were intel had the aliens operating.&nbsp; &nbsp; The two civilians did not drop their weapons, but they left as soon as they felt they communicated their message to Steen.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>07-09-2015, 22:16:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Combat zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>"Two targets confirmed down." John sent out, smiling at the results of his handiwork. "Greys." Transmission sent, he relocated to the lee of the large door, just in case the bad guys had the ability to rapidly triangluate signals. <em>Better to overestimate their capabilities and act with proper caution than think I'm Rambo and go in guns blazing</em> he thought. <em>What was that quote again? Prepare for the worst and all your surprises will be pleasent?</em><br><br>He eyes narrowed in thought as he regarded the door ahead of him. The door that was an obvious way out. If any of the aliens had heard their friends get fragged, they'd maybe figure he was coming out this way.<br><br><em>All warfare is based on deception.<br><br>Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.</em><br><br>John took another look around the room, hoping for a skylight or some other hatch that might let him out onto the roof of the building.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>10-09-2015, 17:51:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong> in the LZ checking casualties<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> open<br><br>Nerves on fire, stomach already in an uproar, Colbert stopped by the fallen Yoshia and, after a moment, knelt. A faint wheezing sound was coming form the downed trooper, which meant he was alive, at least.<br><br>A second later, when she rolled him over, Ren was less sure that was a good thing. Yoshia's eyes were closed, but his mouth was hanging open limply, blood streaking his lips, both from where he had bitten into them, and from deeper in. His face was scraped and scarred where it had been ground against the alien beast's rough hide, but the worst damage was lower down, where he had been bitten. Loops of gut trailed out in garish colors, blood seemed to be everywhere, and bits of shattered and displaced rib could be seen in the massive gouge in his armor.<br><br>"Shit. Yoshia's down, it's bad..." At the last instant, she managed to turn her head away, and not puke into the dying trooper's wound.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Spear80</strong> on <strong>11-09-2015, 19:34:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://Place URL of character icon here)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rick Steen<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Cairo<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2, Colbert<br><br><strong>Warning:</strong> If there is anything in your post that might upset a more squeamish player, say so here.<br><br><hr><br>"Shit. Yoshia's down, it's bad..." Rick heard over the comm, accompanied by the sounds of retching which wasn’t very confidence inspiring. He swore softly. ‘Don’t tell us!’ he responded back over the comms. ‘jab some morphine in the poor bastard’s system and get some bandages going.’ <br><br>He leaned heavily against a wall, shaking his head sadly, then made a decision. He turned away and urgently made his way back to the LZ, kneeling beside the injured trooper opposite Colbert. Only then noticing the damage. And suddenly he didn’t blame her for puking her heart out. Adding her own special smell to the area. <br><br>“Shit” he swore, even as his hands fumbled for his medkit. “Fuck me” he murmured pulling out bandages and handing some over to Colbert. “Tell me you shot him up” he asked, looking for a Morphine tab. But then again, maybe overdosing the poor bastard would be the more humane thing. <br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>HairyHeretic</strong> on <strong>13-09-2015, 23:06:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/63/2551723-Equilibrium_Still0321-Cleric_John_PrestonChristian-Bale.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> John<br><strong>Location:</strong> Combat zone<br><strong>Tag:</strong> Team 2<br><br><hr><br>John paused as he heard the report come in over the team radio, his hand moving instinctively to his earpiece. <br><br><em>Shit.</em> <br><br>He was a soldier, casualities were expected during ops, but having dealt with the aliens he'd encountered, his spirits had been riding high. Hearing that the rest of the team wasn't as good, or perhaps simply not as lucky, was a splash of cold water to the face.<br><br>"Confirmed." he acknowledged. "Do you need me back at the LZ or do we have any other combat medics?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>16-09-2015, 18:49:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a2/3e/67/a23e675d6e1ea7db335b583f71e99d55.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Megan Chulski<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Rabbit<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Sky Ranger Landing Zone<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Ren, Yoshida<br><br><hr><br>Clulski moved from Nicholes over to Yoshida, moving as fast as she could and trying her best to keep her shaking under control.&nbsp; &nbsp;All she had to do was remember her training and not panic here.&nbsp; &nbsp;There were not aliens trying to shoot her, eat her, or probe her at this time.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was the same type of situation as she had training many times at Fort Bragg.&nbsp; &nbsp;She might have been a computer operator, a glorified clerk back then, but she still went out on exercises with the rest of the base and she had served her time over in Afghanistan.&nbsp; No this was no different, and she had further training since being conscripted (well she did volunteer in the end, but many could say it was was under protest) into X-COM on how to handle medical wounds.<br><br>Megan moved next to Ren and put a hand on her shoulder.&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"Here, let me see if this helps."</strong>&nbsp; Megan held up the medical kit, which is a fairly sophisticated piece of equipment, so much so it makes someone wonder why it was not standard issue.&nbsp; &nbsp;Megan held the unit before Yoshida and let it take a scan.&nbsp; &nbsp;It waited for several moments and then made some adjustments.&nbsp; &nbsp; It them emitted three several types of sprays.&nbsp; &nbsp;The first one Ren noticed caused a mass that was pulsating slightly in the wound to shrivel and dry up.&nbsp; &nbsp;The next spray was like a complex clotting agent that managed to stop any bleeding, and the final spray managed to put some form of artificial mesh to cover the wound so it was no longer exposed.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>After the spray happened, color returned to Yoshida's face, and his breathing stopped being erratic.&nbsp; &nbsp;Ren could see on the display of the medical kit Yoshida's vitals go from flashing red to yellow.&nbsp; &nbsp;At the change on the display, an uneasy smile appeared on Megan's face, and her voice was not quite as shaky at the start.&nbsp; <strong>"See, just like in training.&nbsp; &nbsp;Red goes yellow, means they are going to live.&nbsp; &nbsp;Maybe.&nbsp; &nbsp;I think..."</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>BlackStone</strong> on <strong>16-09-2015, 19:57:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201403/43ad45506d86bb4bce2a2f6c3501a6ed.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Geoffrey Barnes<br><br><strong>Callsign:</strong> Uriel<br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Sky Ranger Landing Zone<br><br><strong>Tag:</strong> Both teams<br><br><hr><br>Geoff let out a sigh of relief.&nbsp; &nbsp;Likely both Nicholes and Yoshida were never going to be fit for combat, or any other duty in the military, but they were alive right now, and that was all that mattered.&nbsp; &nbsp;Also for once Clulski did not panic and run, that was progress.&nbsp; So far that had seven dead aliens to two wounded X-COM soldiers, and the brass would consider that a good exchange of fire and press on.&nbsp; &nbsp;Funny how the brass thought that when they never knew the person that likely was going to be facing physical disabilities for the rest of his life.<br><br>Geff tapped the comms to talk to talk to everyone and to issue the battle orders going forward.&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong><em>"Negative to that Team 2, looks like the situation is in hand for now.&nbsp; Team one will secure the wounded and civilians at EVAC point and then press out in search and find to the east of the LZ.&nbsp; &nbsp;I need you to take Team 2 and press out west for the search and kill.&nbsp; We have at least three to seven more X-Rays in the area that I want dead."</em></strong><br><br>&nbsp;
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: X-COM: Price of Glory - Act 1: Into the Fire</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Nowherewoman</strong> on <strong>17-09-2015, 01:19:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(http://ginva.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/01.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ren Colbert<br><strong>Location: </strong> Getting some sight lines<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> Chulski, Steen, open<br><br>"Hey, I <em>make</em> holes in shit, I don't patch 'em up," Ren growled under her breath at the other two providing support for the maimed Yoshia.&nbsp; She was pissed, but it wasn't at them- it was at herself, her loss of control. Wasn't like she hadn't seen wounds before- hell, she'd seen her own damn bone poking out through the leg of her fatigues after the fall.&nbsp; It was the extent of the damage, and the suddenness of it, and the...well, the alien-ness of the attack.&nbsp; Maybe it was true what they said about snipers, too: like pilots, you never really got close and personal with your kills, so you never really got a feel for the mess.<br><br><em>You wanted to&nbsp; play with the big boys, you stupid slag. Suck it up and soldier.</em><br><br>Double-clicking her mike in response to Barnes' orders, she went looking for a fire escape, a roof access ladder, even a good tall sign. Anything that would get her up above street level.&nbsp; One way for sure that snipers were like pilots- both were pretty damn useless on the ground. If the Tangos could get up on the roofs, she could. Unless they could fly...<br><br>That was something she didn't really want to think about.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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