USCMRPG

Sgt Caden took a whiff of the warming exhaust from the dropship engines. It was a familiar smell that reminded him of other anxious prep holds before missions. In his old unit, the CO was somewhat superstitious, remarking that he could sense impending catastrophe in the quiet tension before a drop. ...

Caden chuckled to himself, listening to the platoon sort out their issues with one another. That's as it should be. It's better they let things out here than when we're in the line-of-fire. [...] may I operate an incinerator unit? [...] "Sorry to dampen your flame, my boy, but there's too much oppor...

L Cpl Morrison : "Get me some explosives, and drop Gagarin and me off at the roof- we can take out that antenna, and blow our way in thru one of those doors. Standard two-point entry, you know?" Sgt Caden thoughtfully considered the suggestion. "Taking the initiative, eh? Lt Minuteman introduced me...

Sgt Caden stood at the rear of the briefing and observed the platoon, most especially the new arrivals. He found that watching someone's reaction often gave you an idea of their personality. They might be a little rough around the edges, but I think they'll do... Hell, they'll have to... Despite the...

Lt Minuteman : "Ok people...dress down and hit the showers..." Sgt Caden let out an inaudible sigh. The mission was officially over, but that was a mixed blessing... trawler secure and hostiles neutralized, one dead Marine and a missing canister. Despite the hiccups that could be expected on any su...

Lt Minuteman : "What do you suggest Sergeant..." Sgt Caden relaxed a bit. ... felt good to get that off my chest... "Well, no point in letting anything slip through our fingers, sir. I say " C harlie M ike"-- C ontinue the M ission. We get Priest to run an intercept course with that trader ship and...

Lt Minuteman : "Permission granted Sergeant" Minuteman replied with a curious look on his face. Sgt Caden fell at ease and eyed the Lieutenant. "Things didn't go so well in there today, sir", Caden remarked with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "We've got a dead Marine and mutnieer synthet...

Sgt Caden kept his military bearing, nodding at Lt Minuteman's condolence. Still, he bit his lip at the sight of Copperstone's repulsion at the bodies. She signs up for wetwork and can't stand getting her hands dirty, huh? A Marine got waxed under my command! Caden knew that part of his anger was di...

L Cpl Chappel : "...recommend pack-up of 'A'-gun" [...] Chappell soon found plastic ID card [...] "Well, that's a break for us at least. Good call, Chappell. Hustle over to the 'hush puppy' and make it inactive." Sgt Caden turned to Veroskaya's near-motionless form and sighed. "Two birds with one s...

Sgt Caden reached up to his helmet and tilted the mounted camera toward the fallen woman. "Lt Minuteman... Are you getting this? We've got some kind of xenomorph attached to a crew member here..." Caden bent down a bit to get a closer look. The play of the lights on the Marines' helmets moving acros...

L Cpl Steel : "Now what Sarge?" Sgt Caden interrupted the banter sharply: "All right, all right... I know you're all excited that Green pulped an android, but the job's not done. Priest... Do you have a lock on Shirak's location and vitals? Are we gonna need a bodybag or a band-aid?" Caden turned t...

The threat from Cpt Stephan was neutralized, but the Marines on the Engine Deck were still tense from the firefight. Sgt Caden walked over to the splattered android, kicked its remains, and checked its uniform pockets for anything of interest. Minuteman's right... Damn, in all of the excitement, I f...

Suddenly, Green's smartgun went silent. Something's up... Green doesn't let off the trigger easy... Sgt Caden peeked around the ladder guard in time to see the remains of Cpt Stephan fall limp behind the synthetic's barricade. What was left of the android's head looked like smeared cottage cheese al...

Sgt Caden thrust his VP70 around the ladder guard just long enough to squeeze off a few rounds at Captain Stephan's approximate location. As anticipated, he was answered by more gunfire from the android. Pvt Bojan scaled down the Access Ladder and slipped by in a precious few seconds when the arti m...

Sgt Caden crouched down behind the ladder guard and focused on his drawn pistol. Slowly, the ringing began to fade from his ears as his cheek burned and dripped blood. Caden inched forward very slightly to give Pvt Green room to continue his descent. The sargeant gave a "halt" hand signal to L Cpl S...