AW [OPFOR BLUE] True Dark

[Char]

Memories always came in the brief but everlasting moment between stupor and rebirth. Like waves on a silt shore beach, they were distant at first like a whisper or an echo before the tide inevitably pushed in with the weight of the ocean itself and they crashed hard like brutal waves upon the beach.

"I'll agree the theory is there. But even speaking hypothetically the ethics- To use children is..."

"They're out there. Vultures fighting over a beast not yet felled."

"She burned them. A whole city of vandals was trapped within the walls of Prospero as it falls and..."

"You need not fall now, my friend. Do not try to speak. just blink twice- They say they can save you but..."

"Where did the ships come from? They were built too fast. They arrived so soon. In just ten years how-"

And with the growing sounds of trumpeting horns and flashing lights they were born anew into a cold and cruel world as lungs wheezed and gasped for air only to sting with the freezing chill of pure biting ice as half blind and struggling to remember how to breathe they found themselves in tight, cramped, confined spaces like a coffin upright and impossibly cold.

Eventually, vision turned from blur to bleary as the light started to filter through and the rapid blinking slowly alleviated their blindness into nearsightedness as the interior of the white-lined pods came into focus. Simple built-in lights illuminated the interior while a fogged window barely larger than the palm of a hand showed nothing outside but a flashing red light. Within moments the pods opened of their own accord as doors pulled up and away into the ceiling of the small bay and tilting forwards the pods pretty much forced their occupants onto the warm deck plating.

They were cold. Shivering. Confused. Naked.

To their left and right were others just like them. And in front of them were lockers with large numbers and small nameplates with their names on them. The haze of confusion fading, training kicked in and they lurched towards the lockers with unsteady feet. They opened only for them with the biometric lock and revealed everything they knew they needed as it all came back to them.

Underclothes, bodysuit, turnout coat, webbing and duty gear.

All dawned but for the greatcoats. Next came the under armor harness and bodysuit. Then piece by piece the Einherjar light-variant armor was removed and slid on piece by piece in the exact required order. Others came to them now, their neighbors awoken not first but recovered faster and already armored as they helped their armor up and check each other's gear. When all was dawned a lower safe-like locker on the bottom was opened with a biometric interface and inside was a weapon and arranged magazine, pistol, knives, ammo, anything issued to them that would harm another. They were slid into open slots or maglocked to the armor.

"One is ready!" Someone down the hall shouted.
"Two ready!" from the same direction.
It went on and got closer as the first woken in the order declared they were ready. When it was their turn and their neighbor inspected and gave them the thumbs up it was their turn.

All in all fifty decrees of readiness sounded and then back down the line from the last to the first they sounded this time over the radio in their heads.

"Fifty going in!"
"Four-nine goin in!"

Until all were back in the pods and the lid slid back over the now slightly more cramped it sealed with physically felt pressure as the very air was drained from the interior and their suits switched to a short-lived internal oxygen supply.

"Ready." A monotone voice stepped on the priority channel.

"Steady." It intoned a moment later and all prepared both physically and mentally for what came next.

"Mark. Mark. Mark." the man sounded in a rapid clipped statement before one final message of "Drop." Came from a different, more commanding voice and the feeling of the ground being pulled out from them was felt across fifty bodies as their pods were shot out with several G-forces behind them.

It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once as the view from the tiny window in their pods changed from gray interior metal, to a flash of rapidly passing lights, to pure black as they fell. Handles on the inside of the pod to hold on to were clenched as nausea and strain was pushed onto the occupants. Eventually there was a new sight of event horizon; Of a purple and black and blue onyx marble beneath them and spanning for the horizon as the view of Ereshkigal could be briefly seen.

Within moments, however, their pods rocked and shook and the G-forces lightened as the viewport was bathed in red-orange as they hit the outer atmosphere and their tiny drop ods were bathed in the friction of fire. There was no more radio communication here; If not for the interference all they would hear were the screams of exhilaration or of fear and terror.

At least for most. As in two pods specially designed for them their occupants; More machine than man at this point sat stoic and silent and appraised the view and experience with detached and morbid curiocity now lacking the nerves and guts to feel the G-forces other than slight pressure on their braincases.

In a minute the fire turned to a darkening blue and eventually a darker purple-black as they passed through the atmosphere and hurtled toward the ground at fatal speeds. Their pods shook as something beneath their feet kicked on and vibrated and something above them popped and pulled as the two antigravs not only corrected its trajectory but also slowed its descent.

That meant it was almost time. The body trembled in apprehension and anticipation as-

Each pod slammed into the mud at hundreds of miles per hour. The explosive force expelled at the last second by the directional antigrav and the purpose-built shock and suspension of each pod mitigated the kinetic force to just a jarring shake that slammed them harmlessly in their armors against the walls of their pods. Doors exploded out their occupants half stumbled, half lept out at the ready with rifles and weapons coming up from maglocks and maneuver gears whirring to life.

"One up." The check-in started again.

"Fifty up, no injuries." The last responded as they looked through the mint-green tint of their helmet optics and slowly made their way to a central position and formed up in a wide circle a hundred meters across until all were present.

"Delta in position." Motts declared on an open channel as they all stood with weapons pointed into the surroundings of the open mud plains they found themselves in while the two Golem slowly moved around the formation in an ever-expanding circle.

"Good timing, Delta!" A familiar voice answered back sounding like Astarte Dubrant and her reassuring-excited tone. "Stand down and move to point-Juliet seventy meters south by south west; Griffins on the way for exfil." The channel closed out and with a command from Motts everyone eased up.

"Good work, people. Anyone throw up?" It was impossible to miss the amusement in his tone at the exercise of their first orbital drop from the Chariot-class ship in orbit that in an actual drop would eventually make planetfall and disgorge the rest of the company, its mechs, vehicles, and equipment in support after they cleared the LZ.

"Morgan pull back in. Ares reconnoiter ahead to the LZ and get some flares dropped for out birds. The rest of you center yourselves and shake out the jitters but keep weapons on safe and at the ready incase one of the locals tries to snatch you like they did to Balthazar in Charlie yesterday. If you go masks off get your shoulder lights on, birds should be here in fifteen.

It had been six months since the events with their astray countrymen and the conflict that had lasted until the reactivation of councilwoman Persephone and the reconvergence of the board of directors.

Six months of training, drills, and monthly ship launches from the Atlas shipyards of now orbital warships and a slowly awakening and reemerging Babel.

It was three months past when their contracts would have expired and they would have shifted back to civilian positions had the council not re-activated them into another term.

It was life in babel now on a still untamed and majority unexplored world that was now their home that BAMF was needed to not only explore and conquer it of its hostile native wildlife but also balance the power between the new and much larger Colonial Guard that the warmaster Dread Persephone now commanded like she once had all of BAMF.

Like every day it was dark. And it was raining.

 

[LavaLung]

Morgan sprinted and danced through the dark world's ash-coloured sands, increasingly using gravity as their plaything as the concept of acting human slowly faded into memory. They liked that Motts had used their actual name- But being in such a different environment made it feel like the old world of concrete streets and high rise buildings was just some distant dream. That the person who lived there was just a dream.

That was fine. The metal scarecrow had accepted their situation.

"Hey, chin up, soldier." The black-chrome plated thing skidded down a dune, folding their hands behind their back as they regarded Alphaeus in his strung out state. "Think of it like being in one of those old perfume commercials! It's pretty, isn't it!"

Still didn't know what actually happened with Persephone being sealed in that tube. There were greater cogs turning here. But it wasn't like they could do much about all that, so they just lived in the moment. Just keep their humans alive.

 

[Gunhand4171]

Typhon had indeed began retching as soon as his pod popped open. Thankfully he was able to stop himself from throwing up inside his helmet. "Please tell me I won't get sick after every damn drop..." He muttered as he finished settling his stomach and began making his way to form up with the rest of the squad.

 

[Char]

Ereshkigal

"Never did get those commercials. Always seemed like they were trying to explain the entire premise of a mystery-murder novel in thirty seconds some of the-" A marine droned on to one of his comrades as they passed Morgan by.

There was a general mustering into a more relaxed atmosphere as the marines pulled in and waited patiently in a loose semi-circle a half hundred meters across. Lights danced in conical shapes as shoulder or weapon mounted light swayed about or one of the few spotlighters with the massive spotlights held on their shoulders like a rocket launcher casually passed tens of thousands of lumens in an eye-melting beam that shot out for well over a mile were it not obstructed by terrain.

"Contact," Someone yelled not too alarmed as one such beam passed over and then locked onto a creature a ways away. Flattened against the ground it stood up like some kind of bipedal gecko at the sudden light as four feet of oily-black salamander ran comically away on two legs pinwheeling like one of the old-world lizards that ran on the water until it was out of sight.

"Clear!" Several voices confirmed at once, and things went back to normal.

Climatizing to their new homeworld had required more than just embracing the rain as most with the exception of any newly awakened or the seemingly aquaphobic Astarte were. It was living with a world of new flora and fauna that often leaned into the hazardous as a world of pure darkness evolved millennia of ambush predators and stalkers that only the light they had lived without gave much pause and made Chaldea and a few other burgeoning settlements safe as many of even the most dangerous or brazen of Ereshkigals predators avoided like the city lights were fire made manifest.

But not always. As occasionally hardened men who survived the death of their very world still disappeared in the dark without a sound and the marines of BAMF learned that to travel in the true dark of the night in anything other than force was delayed suicide waiting to happen.

"First bird inbound!" Motts voice carried right as Ares slunk back into their formation; His sleek-black scout body almost silently passed by a group of four marines proving that it was still very possible even in the dim light of noon.

"You have been allocated to additional duties, N-14." Ares communicated remotely to Morgan, not needing to be in speaking range or even looking at her to do so and pointing out the obvious. Since Alexandar of Amtapov was removed as her designated handler and moved back to the general command tether of Major Eurydice in overall command of the 2nd-shock there was less bleed of information and it was transmitted straight from the Golem Net instead of via the command net that she and several others had been ordered to a temporary deployment before the order had even reached them directly.

Not Ares, however.

"Alph, Cae, Ty, N-14 load up on the first bird. We're wanted at Khandar, Sherry too; The lady Astarte specified you directly, something about your kid?" Motts spoke the last part as a question before someone else on the same comm-net was less subtle about it.

"Sherry has kids?!" It was shouted as half feigned shock and half obvious joke as a couple of marines joined in on the light-hearted jibes at Sherry's expense before the distant whine of tilt-motors drowned them out and the spotlight of a Griffin painted the area even from afar. By the time it landed and its back ramp deployed a second then a third and a loitering fourth were already in the area as Marines began streaming in until the last of them with weapons extended and ready for last-minute ambushers stood on the ramp and only stepped in when the craft started to lift away with the ease of a leaf on the wind.

The trip to the Khandar military base was barely thirty minutes away by griffin and soon enough the massive lighthouse in its center was like a swaying candle in the dark. When they touched down light bathed them infrequently as the massive tower so tall it was lost in the darkness until only the rotating light fixture was visible as its bleed painted the darkest parts of the base a third at a time.

"Sherry go see Astarte, the rest of you load up at the armory for expedition and be back at the pad in thirty; N-14 go modify for close quarters in general-layout facility operations with absolute-minimum collateral allotment; No javelins or explosives, absolutely no incendiaries. All of you move out."

 

[Soresu]

The Qadeshi scientist, seeming turned impromptu marine surged toward Motts her sapphire eyes almost seeming alight with fire at the mention of 'her kid'. Motts was a career soldier, she a greenhorn by comparison but there was no feigning the sheer intensity of that look. It was at once maternal and the savage restraint a fighting man or woman wore while trying to overcome an otherwise hopeless situation. Motts received no more response from the tall woman than her passing them by. Even the jibe at her having kids from the other marines went ignored.

Afterward still appeared rumpled but focused, and intent, heart thundering in her chest from adrenaline, worry, anger, a co-mingling of emotion that may well have given an un-augmented human a heart attack did she come upon the Astarte woman.

"Where are they?" her voice low, not a whisper but a mix of concern and a veiled threat of a mother ready to fight for their children. They were her sisters, yes, but it made no difference. She was the one raising them. And thus, in a sense, they had become her children.

 

[Char]

Khandar Military Base

The sheer size of Khandar was intimidating enough with the thousands of BAMF marines running about with no small number scrambling on the soakpad around the griffins as marines disembarked and made for the armories to disarm and move into the dry and warm buildings for final debrief before the long break they had been waiting for R&R after a cryo-drop let alone only being chilled for a few hours.

Astarte had been waiting not far from the soakpads that the griffins landed on and in a nearby open hangar; Her usual umbrella still open and extended despite the cover as one of the few people who had yet to acclimatize to the rain waited eagerly for Sherry but lost the warm spark when the Einherjar armored woman, towering over her, loomed clearly more menacingly than she may have thought.

"Lady Čehrāzād," Astarte composed herself and for her part kept a level tone, using the formal title of lady to address Sherry as either a defense mechanism or something else when greeting her. "I see your drop went well."

The longer sherry loomed, the more the smaller woman seemed to lose that composure, however. With another attempt at small talk deflected Astarte took a half step back and gestured her into the overhead of the hangar. "At least come inside where its dry." She asked, stepping just enough inside and to the side to get out of the rain; Her aversion to the rain still a mystery and point of gossip for some.

Wearing the same oiled-leather greatcoat as most BAMF marines Astarte was not a marine herself but held some clerical role personally for the units major and was still under some civilian contract of some kind. She did not bear arms, did not share barracks with the marines, and had no actual authority to order them around and simply spoke on behalf of officers like Alexander and Eurydice. Under the coat was a simple buy smart set of fatigues like everyone else but there was something that set her apart from them beyond everything else that simply could not be put upon.

Not dawdling any longer, Astarte removed a sealed plastic and waterproof envelope from inside her coat and held it between them, pulling back suddenly from sherrys impatient grasp.

"This," She began, not looking to delay the looming qaedeshi any longer. "Is an alpha-level service contract. By accepting it you will be accepting a commission within the Babel Armed Military Forces as a Second Lieutenant of the 2nd shock corps."

There was a clear pause to digest the apparent offer, implications of extended service and lack of actual reason to accept it Astarte continued.

"The lady Persephone, having accepted her seat upon the board of directors once again, and with passible majority support extended the service contract of all currently active BAMF personnel by two years. The Colonial guard has also been established to oversee the defense... of..." Astarte droned off slightly, clearly seeing something in Sherrys gaze before steeling her resolve and moving on.

"Certain benefits have been offered to service-level military contracts which you can read about later but officers have received an increased stimulus to benefits including priority revival of any sub-contracts, spouses, or immediate family members."

The benefits of that however were clear. Officers got their families unfrozen first.

"With the current census taken and previous service registered I was able to put in a request to have you transferred back to your group within BTS. Most of your group are still either frozen or currently listed as impacified in service to the OIA; It was this very request that got flagged by another board member, The lady Tiamat of the OIA. After a conference with her, myself, and the major; Major Eurydice opted for you to remain within the 2nd primarily while the Lady Tiamat requested you be turned over to the OIA but did not elaborate as to why.

Being on a basic service-level military contract the major has no authority to hold your contract and will be required to turn you over to the Office of Internal Affairs as soon as transport becomes available."

The contract and its implications hovered in her hand between them. The unification of her family once more in return for service under the protection of the Major Eurydice who Sherry had never more than seen from a distance at mustering, or disappearing into the clutches of the OIA for reasons likely related to some of the research and projects her group led back on the old world. She didn't need to fear the OIA, but it was uncertainty at best as to her future and her family compared to the alternative...

One hour later.

The same two griffins the team had just left still waited, spooling up on the soak when the team returned from the armory. Eiherjar armor had been traded for the usual webbing and greatcoats and naval caps like usual while heavy load had been traded for a basic load of their corresponding small arms and a few magazines and basic equipment. Even morgan was slightly lighter from less ordinance, and alone without Ares who had slunk back towards his cradle in the bunker to rest and read and wished her the equivalent of a mind-to-mind goodbye wave before parting.

Besides the pilots and the griffins crew still checking their birds with the dedication of any flight crew there was Motts standing beside a group of six men, all in the same leather greatcoats as them but while still splayed open to reveal combat webbing were the blue coverall jumpsuits of BAMFs navy, and white berets on their head despite the rain while one of them wore a darker navy-cut uniform and officers cap as well as the greatcoat for the rain.

Most of them stood under the awning of the griffin to shy off most of the still light rain while Motts conversed casually with the officer who looked past the shoulder of the other man and watched them with hooded eyes.

While none of them could immediately place any of them men, Morgan at least could register the officers bio-tag around his neck and the signal it gave off alerting her of an Alpha-contract with limited authority over her

Lo Khan - Lieutenant - Serial Number... - Contract level Alpha X15523w - Navy - Special Projects Group - Continued...

The special projects group. The famed elite of the elites of BAMFs forces. Who before there was even a war for the heavens or an OIA were fighting practically alone to cripple and weaken the hordes at the gates. The very same men and women of near myth and legend and untold deeds bordering on the mythical so far fetched most of them had to be fabricated.

The very same SPG who, alongside the veteran 1st Security Group had died almost to a man holding the line while the 2nd held the rear and evacuated as many civilians as possible before they too were forced to retreat in the end and left the 1st and most of the SPG to die when the tower fell literally.

"Typhon did you really bring a long rifle when I said close quarters?" He admonished with a clearly embarrassed and forced chuckle infront of the officer when Motts noticed them arrive. "Good, you're here. Wheres sherry?" Motts asked, examining them and their gear more thoroughly.

 

[Soresu]

Sherry had a mind to call what Astarte offered nothing more than a carrot and stick scenario. Persephone would be the one to blame for that. And now Tiamat had begun to flex her claws. Eyes on the woman standing before the much shorter Astarte. It was all part of a political game she was sure. A tug of war with her thrown in the middle likely as a prelude and excuse for something larger. But, there was too little to go on beyond mere theory. It still held some weight in the end. And made her take a mental note of the matter. She pressed a finger to the contract all the while speaking her native dialect. A proverb of some sort involving the wind, vessels and wishes.

"Wishing she had a honest to the Creator good cup of coffee from her home." came the answer to Motts' question as to the scientist's whereabouts. She was dressed was they were with the exception of a small recycled paper cup that was drained, crushed, and tossed. The woman hadn't had a decent cup in decades. And the retort serving the purpose of trying to get her mind off matters with the Astarte woman, Tiamat and Persephone.

 

[Char]

Landing Pad

As Sherry, still wearing her troopers stripes until her new, as of yet unannounced promotion was filed arrived with Astarte Dubrant in tow arrived the squaring-up concluded and the naval officer beckoned them under the shelter of the Griffin transport as the rain began to pick up.

"Good to have you, marines." The tan-skinned officer greeted them. "My name is Lieutenant Khan. Of the Special Projects Group if you didnt guess already. Me and my boys,"

Khan gestured to the five other SPG troopers with him, all giving nods and platitude greetings in order but being rather average and forgettable for being some of BAMFs most elite.

"Have a simple errand to run to the west and south of here on behalf of the OIA, who lost one of their assets and need boots on the ground to collect. The office has its own team for this kind of thing but they're all tied up getting measured for some fancy suits and ties and my boys specialize in some of this stuff on the side. I know you've just come off OP, but the office wants us on site an hour ago and from what i've been told,"

There was the slightest, withering glare towards Astarte who, still under her umbrella was still in the rain and clearly beyond-social distance from the briefing. While brief before he went back towards the briefing it was picked up on that it was directed at the woman herself and not the delay or situation.

"-ThatYou have business in the same area and are already on-kit so for the duration you will be working under my command. Your Golem is already sub-ordered under my contract, and your executive officer has already approved the loan so heres what you need to know..."

Garcia went on to explain that west and south of Khandar was a cold-site installation that held upwards of twenty-thousand still sleeping cryo-caskets of unwoken babel civilians and personnel who were awaiting the infrastructure and foundation to be woken. The facility was considerably large and housed a number of other storages and functions and had a skeleton crew of mostly fifteen on site and five members of the Colonial Guard; The same orange-uniformed and poncho'd militia that they had come up against a half year before.

An OIA asset; Undescribed and vague but from the context clues was an individual or more than one was also on-site and for reasons the Lieutenant was either unable or unwilling to get into needed to be recovered or detained and that was his teams primary objective to secure it. Motts team was expected to back them up and essentially help secure the facility so they could ensure the asset did not slip away and then Khan and his team would call in extraction while Motts team escorted revived personnel; Sherrys sisters of all people, back to the capital of Chaldea via a separate Griffin.

With a couple of hours' flight there, and hopefully no longer securing the facility Khan was optimistic that they could be in and out within five hours and that Motts and his team could be out within twelve.

"Any questions before we touch off?"

 

[LavaLung]

N-14's optical sensors coldly observed the man's subtle mood signifiers in infra-red, trying to decipher his honesty in this situation. Perhaps his unit had some relation to that great cataclysm that landed them all here, but... Well, frankly, it had become such an all-consuming trauma for such a long time, that it was simply boring to keep thinking about it now.

"Lieutenant Lo Khan, I am beholden to your specific commands. The words chosen are important, sir." The Golem unit smiled subtly. Their porcelain visage, with those glowing blue eyes, actively weaponizing the uncanny valley effect. Other members of the squad had seen them put on the act often enough- Acting like a dumb machine doll let them get away with a lot more gall around officers, than a flesh-and-blood soldier might dare. "Please state exactly how intact you would like the asset to be repossessed. Sir. I was ordered to arm with a melee focus. That carries certain connotations. Sir."

The cobalt-skinned cyborg had requisitioned a standard hooded poncho, literally just to fit in with the others. It didn't work super well up close, because they clunked and jangled way too much. Underneath, two smoke grenades, two flashbangs, and four combat knives on a bandoleer. A smorgasbord of magazines for their rifle arm, including solid slugs, rubber rounds and a sneaky flechette cartridge.

"Corporate property and non-related equipment will of course, remain out of my line of fire."

Hopefully she could squeeze just that little bit of extra information out of them, for all of their sakes.

 

[A_Bibor_Farkas]

The soft pattering of rain, had taken Alphaeus' attention for a time. The last half year felt like a blur, a nightmarish blur. Looking up to the blackened sky, letting the water hit his face, the familiar patter against the metal and polymer of his rifle. He quickly snapped back to what was happening." Sir, what are the rules of engagement with the collies? Are we expecting resistance or will this be a relatively....calm Op? Also, since this operation is currently under the visage of the OIA... I suppose we do not have any maps of the area, or are not privy to them?" His questions were curt, the wet, became commonplace, at this point, the marksman gave up on staying dry, slicking his hair back, his helmet mounted to his kit. A rough, field made scrim draped over his shoulder, still breaking up part of his silhouette.

 

[Char]

"Thank you, Unit." The Lieutenant actually patted morgan on her shoulder, the sleek wet surface make a pat-pat sound. "With any luck, you shouldn't be necessary other than to scare our asset out of hiding. Your build is appropriate for the facility; Most of the non-restricted spaces are full of our sleepers that we dont want to risk any fire around. As for the condition..."

The man paused, clearly gauging what was appropriate within earshot of everyone else present.

"The asset should remain alive as a priority, but if all else fails any force will be dealt by my team to ensure the asset receives the least amount of collateral. The asset is still part of the OIA and works for the betterment of Babel and its people and should be treated as an AWOL soldier at most."

Another one of Khans men spoke up, a tone of clear assurance as he declared to Morgan, "Don't underestimate her either. And don't let her touch any of you."

The man was not silenced by his leader but neither did he offer any more other than eluding to the gender of their target.

"As for your concerns, Trooper." The officer turned to Alphaeus, the almost sour look he gave making it very well how he felt about the Colonial Guard. "By the boards decree the CG is both a recognized domestic agency but does not fall under the authority of BAMF. We have no authority over them except what the OIA has entrusted in their stead so should experience no resistance. They will be armed but their duties extend only to the security of the facility and its grounds and nothing more and can neither obstruct or delay us overmuch."

Motts, for his part, tapped his breast where the same inner pocket in their greatcoats they all had likely contained a map as by unspoken agreement the SPG team nodded their goodbyes and gathered up their equipment and went to board their griffin. As Motts urged the rest of the team to the other bird a voice called over the rain from Lieutenant Khan.

"One more thing." He began, his tone cold and hard despite the loudness of it over the rain. "The lady Astarte will remember her place is here."

Any who turned back would see the hardness in the man's gaze and the sidelong glares of his men, while, between the SPG team and their own Astarte Dubrant simply looked past them all with an impassive mask having expected the remark. There was clearly more left unsaid than just a declaration of who will or would not accompany them; But when Astarte shook her umbrella slightly and strode past them without another word the SPG contentedly disappeared within their griffin.

"Load up." Motts ordered sternly as they boarded the separate craft.

Cryo Site - 2 Hours Later

The ride went as smoothly as possible in the limited turbulence of the light storm as they left the great lighthouse of Khandar and flew over nothing but black. Occasionally there was lightning or a patch of luminous vegetation bellow, but otherwise, they might as well be 30,000 feet or 30 off the ground in the pitch-black of true dark that nights on Ereshkigal brought about.

Between catching up on sleep that any soldier could in their spare time, Motts busted out a laminated waterproof map of the local area and a facility map. The local terrain was a scattering of tall foothills that rose into larger microtall hillocks nearly impossible to scale like small mountains. The cryo facility was situated ontop of one such hill roughly six hundred meters above sea level and encompassed one large 50,000 square-foot building that housed not only the minescule staff and GC security but was mostly accommodations and revitalization rooms for newly-awoken Babel citizens to recuperate after their thawing.

With nice rooms, a cafeteria, medbay, gym, pool, and even a theater to re-introduce hundreds of Babel citizens at a time to breifings of their new homeworld it was almost like a grand hotel and lodge surrounded by a 30-foot razorwire topped security wall two hundred feet from the facility in all directions and even a semi-armored security gate.

The Cryo-vaults themselves were not below the facility but instead buried like large bubbles in nearby hills and connected via a single loop of tram-tunnels connecting each sphere of cryo-pods to the next.

Motts explained that after securing the surface facility which should take no longer than an hour, there was only one rail-laden ramp down to the tunnels and by simply holding the bottom of that ramp if the SPGs target was down there would only take as long as it took the specialists to make a circuit and lead their missing asset into their custody.

"If He, or she" He stressed the implied gender, "Cant be found and Isnt in the facility at all and is beyond the wire then the mission is scrubbed. Its the frontier out there and untamed and nothing short of Morgan would even see what kills you let alone survive some of what we've all seen in the dark.

Keep your lights on at all times, always stick together. We'll get the OIA their runaway spook, grab Sherrys girls, and soon as they are stable enough to transport I've greased our flyboys palms to stick around so we dont need to drive home and can be home before noon."

At a warning from the pilot, Motts folded the map and placed it back in his breast pocket as the aircraft could be felt to bank slightly and the warning lights for the ramp flashed as the ramp descended. Still airborne the Griffin flew for another minute with the ramp exposing nothing but darkness until, as it turned, it revealed the facility at a distance as the craft circled.

It was brightly lit and spotlights around its perimeter banished all but the most stubborn shadows between it and the outer walls. A couple of large Colonial Guard armored vehicles sat parked by a very clearly defined entrance and windows upon windows were lit from within by the interior lighting of the multi-level facility.

Were it not so sparsely inhabited and well lit it may look almost abandoned due to most of Ereshkigals settlers prefering to stay indoors and only travel through the rain as breifly as possible. For the BAMF marines the rain had just become a part of life as their oiled leathers and water-retardant uniforms slid off the falling water and the gentle warmth of it made it easy to just climatize and be used to it. The only time it was ever truly noticed was in the really bad storms or right when it was time to dry off at the end of the day.

"Site Alpha this is BAMF G2-Actual" The Pilot of their griffin sounded in their commbeads at the non-military facility without their encryption making an open channel necessary.

"Site Alpha, G2-Actual, how copy?" The Pilot tried again and was instead responded to by the SPGs griffin.

"Two this is One, Dead traffic." The other pilot confirmed receiving no response either. Considering with laser-comms it was easy enough to send a message from the ground side to orbit, away from the base it really was the frontier in more ways than one with most facilities having very limited communications without the available infrastructure yet installed.

"Spotlights." The other pilot ordered, and without being able to see it, it was clear that the two aircraft turned on their spotlights and circles the facility in a slow corkscrew approach as they scanned the grounds around it. As they began their final approach the SPG lieutenant chimes in over their frequency.

"No commo traffic or visuals of staff. There's less than a dozen, maybe more who operate here so that's not unusual but stay on your toes. Take the front lobby on groundfall while we provide overwatch, Radio with the all clear."

With an affirmation, Motts stood up and braced himself against a handhold as the griffin slowed above the facility. Urging the rest of them up he led by example as the griffin descended rapidly and only slowed mere meters before impact where it slid on the wet asphalt right between the wall and the front of the facility where its entrance lay as nothing more than glass panels and a set of likewise double doors lit from within.

"Move out!"

 

[Soresu]

Sherry's mind was a crucible of conflicting emotions as the Griffin's rough touchdown rattled her bones. She had more on her mind than she wished at the exact moment, but she needed to focus. She had a mission to complete.

A small pack lay snug against her back, containing only a minor assortment of her usual loadout of electronic and medical equipment. It was enough, though. She didn't need fancy gadgets to do the job. She had her skills, her training, and determination.

She knew what she was doing was selfish, but she didn't care. She loved her sisters more than anything in the world and would do whatever it took to save them.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the task ahead. She would face whatever dangers came her way, no matter the cost. She would save them, save them, and bring them home to her.

She closed her eyes and imagined their faces. Seeing their laughter, heard their voices, and felt their love. It gave her the strength she needed to face the challenges ahead.