Mission 2 Turn 2: Preparations

[Corporal Hicks]

Date: June 22, 2189
Location: Surface of Capua, Nembus System, Andromeda Cluster
22:10

Lieutenant Nelson looked at Morse and glanced briefly down at the bionic leg before returning his eyes to the grizzled face. “Sergeant… Morse is it?” he said, glancing at the name on Morse’s torn uniform. “Well, as for personnel, we have 37 active and another 9 seriously injured. The USS Shiloh carried 251 souls and 12 synthetics, as well as the 17-person crew of the USS Heimlich. We know from the ship’s log that Captain Murken and Lieutenant Blackstone were killed in the collision, in addition to 132 crew. An additional 22 were killed in the following minutes before the ship began to break up. We lost another 15 of our own number in the crash. That leaves at maximum 96 alive, with 62 accounted for and stationed in Camp Sierra. Frankly, I’d be surprised if we find many more.”

Nelson was silent for a few seconds to let this sink in, then he continued, “As for your other question, what do we have in the boxes? Everything we possess in this world. We have enough food and water for maybe two days. We have survival gear of all sorts, and mostly we have things that are of absolutely no use to us. Research equipment, dress uniforms, you name it. We are still going through it all. Unfortunately, we are short on tents, as far as I know they are all set up already, so your men are going to have to share.”

Nelson sighed and took a seat in a green canvas chair. “Have a seat, you men must be exhausted.” He motioned to the nearby chairs. “Here’s the situation, and I won’t sugar coat it. We are in bad shape here, we don’t have enough of anything, but more importantly we do not have a transmitter. We can’t call for help even if another cruiser flies right over us. Eventually they will come looking, but I don’t want to sit around and wait for that. We will need to keep foraging the land nearby for anything of use. The Shiloh broke up into a hundred pieces in orbital entry and they are scattered all over this jungle. We aren’t going to sit here on our asses and wait for the water to run out while all our supplies sink into a fucking swamp.”

“You three are the senior marines in the camp. I’m inclined to trust your judgement when it comes to land-based warfare or survival. I know how to operate a Naval Cruiser, which amounts to jack shit in the current situation. Don’t hold back, I want to hear your opinions.” Nelson sighed again, slowly coming to his point. “We have a very small transmitter which has helped us scan the nearby swamp at least. At first light or sooner, I want you to take two teams out into the swamp. About 15 klicks to the northeast is the remains of the Shiloh’s old vehicle bay. If we can find even one buggy or APC that would make a hell of a difference. In my wildest dreams you might even find our prototype juggernaut in serviceable condition. If nothing else, you should find some kind of supplies there. I will send a detachment of naval engineers to assist with salvaging anything you might find. The second group will go about 10 klicks to the south, where we have located an emergency supply locker, that means food and water for days if you get lucky. Those are my orders, everything else is up to you Sergeant Major.”

Sykes nodded gravely. “I appreciate the situation, thank you Sir. I will get you a report of my people and their condition as soon as possible. As for the two missions, I am flexible. I will take one platoon and the other will be led by Morse and Perez. Which objective do you two prefer?”
<Tag Morse and Perez… Choose your adventure!>

[CarbebthePoncho]

Fernandez looked over and saw his old Recruit Petty Officer for his ship during boot, it was almost impossible not to pick out the navy blue turban in a crowd.

"Hoy, Singh! I didn't know you were on the Shiloh too, we both had some bad luck on that placement."

"Well, it's only unusual for me to have that kind of misfortune." Singh responded with a grin.

"Hey, have y'all set up a mess tent already, or are we still on bags?"

[Quinn]

Sixtus limped into camp, Sergeant Cano’s M42A rifle slung across his back. His leg was wrapped in a few bandages, and slathered in antibiotic cream to keep any and all infections down. Terran salamanders were known for some nasty bacteria in their mouths, so the medic wasn’t taking chances.

The litter carrying Cano was being dragged along also had the naval officer that was found impaled upon the remains of the Shiloh. A large tent had been erected to serve as a makeshift field hospital, and so Quinn had Cano and the officer settled onto cots. Sixtus checked on Cano, who was still unconscious but otherwise stable. He would still need surgical care as soon as possible. But now, in better surroundings, his chance for survival increased.

The medic checked on the officer, only to find no pulse. It appeared that he had died after he had been cut free of the wreckage. He had managed to stop the bleeding, but the blood loss may have been too great. Or the exposure to the elements, or having gone into shock for too long. The point was moot now. He tapped his throat mic, opening a channel to Sykes.

”SMaj, the officer from the Shiloh is dead.” Quinn’s voice was flat and emotionless, a result of reporting too many deaths. ”Sergeant Cano is still stable, will be monitoring for any changes.”

[JuanPerez]

Perez followed Lt Nelson, SgtMaj Sykes and Sgt Morse into the tent. The Lt explained the current status of the camp, which in short could be summed up with "fucked up".196 confirmed KIAs, 34 soldiers still missing, and 62 barely alive, many of them wounded, he calculated quickly in his mind, which made him sigh for a moment, before regaining composure. They had been in worse situations before and they had to deal with it anyway.

"A salute to the fallen ones" ... he came to attention and saluted ... which was Perez way to honor the unlucky souls, who did not made it.
<Tag Nelson, Sykes, Morse>

Then, Nelson explained their current status of food, water and equipment. This did not lighten up the situation in any way. At least, they had enough to survive the next two days. Gratefully, he took a seat, feeling every single muscle of his aching body. Nelson assessed the situation from his point of view, and, much to Perez surprise, he tried not to cover up the fact, that as a naval officer he did not have the faintest idea of how to deal with land warfare and survival. Perez liked that and the Lt gained some sympathie.

After Nelson and Sykes had finished ...

"Lieutenant, i may have missed it, but, do we have equipment for perimeter security, like sentry guns?"
<Tag Nelson>

"Regarding your question about opinions, in my opinion, the situation at hand, as worse as it may be, is a no-brainer:

- gather enough supplies and medicine to survive
- fortifiy our position against any nasty critters, which call this shit-hole of a planet their "home"
- and get a functional long-range transmitter up-and-running to order a taxi
"
... he commented on the situation and gave the other marines a chance to express their opinions and thoughts ...
<Tag Nelson, Sykes, Morse>

As for the choice of missions, he smiled to Sykes and Morse, while bringing out his "lucky coin", flipping it in a fluid motion, while looking to Morse and not at the result of his coin-flip ...
"Heads or Tails, Morse? Heads is vehicle bay, Tail is supplies"
<Tag Morse>

OOC: Perez wants Morse to choose

[pants]

Lieutenant Allison Davenport stood listening in as her superior discussed the depressing situation with the marines. She wasn't much for talking so listened to the discussion going on.

[taimdala]

Dmitri was glad to find survivors and some semblance of a camp, hard up though it was. Nevertheless, he didn't let his guard down completely. The survivors looked hard-pressed and damned if he was going to make their overall situation worse by getting complacent and sloppy.

So while they were relatively at ease, Dmitri kept his eyes and ears open for trouble ... and for orders.

[Corporal Hicks]

"Hey, have y'all set up a mess tent already, or are we still on bags?"

Petty Officer Singh shook his head at Fernandez. “No mess tent, man. We didn’t get too much real food, mostly iron rations and that kind of shit. This whole day has been like a bad dream. I feel like sleeping where I stand. How did you fare? Stuck with a whole bunch of marines I see, how bad was that?”
<Tag Fernandez>

”SMaj, the officer from the Shiloh is dead. Sergeant Cano is still stable, will be monitoring for any changes.”

Sergeant Major Sykes nodded grimly when he heard Quinn’s transmission about the dead navy crewman. He wasn’t too terribly surprised, and at least they had done what they could. “Copy that, Corporal. Keep me updated and have someone look at that leg of yours. I want to be sure you are fit for duty. Oh, and thank you.” Sykes reflected on Quinn’s place in the unit, he had proven to be a valuable asset as a medic and a team player. He wasn’t surprised at all after the shining reviews he had heard from the marines in his unit that had served with Quinn in the past. ‘If any of us survive this,’ he thought to himself, ‘I’ll see if I can’t get him transferred into the Dawgs.’
<Tag Quinn>

"A salute to the fallen ones"

The others in the room saluted the fallen with Perez

"Lieutenant, i may have missed it, but, do we have equipment for perimeter security, like sentry guns?"

Nelson furrowed his brow. “That, I don’t know. As I said, they are still unpacking everything. We haven’t had much chance to worry about the perimeter yet, I’ve left that to the few marines we had in camp. I did think about possibly using chunks of the ship as a sort of wall, but that would depend on getting some kind of forklift or bulldozer from the vehicle bay. Lieutenant Davenport, do you know if we have any sentry guns?”
<Tag Perez/Davenport>

"Regarding your question about opinions, in my opinion, the situation at hand, as worse as it may be, is a no-brainer:

- gather enough supplies and medicine to survive
- fortifiy our position against any nasty critters, which call this shit-hole of a planet their "home"
- and get a functional long-range transmitter up-and-running to order a taxi"

Nelson smiled grimly as if he found it a little amusing. “Well I’m glad to see we are on the same wavelength. The hard part is the goddamn transmitter, we can’t really just make something like that. We need to find the parts out there somewhere. But one step at a time.”
<Tag Perez>

A Hispanic Navy officer walked past Dimitri with a large crate in his hands. He stopped as he passed and looked at Dimitri. "Standing around doing nothing?! Help us unpack this shit! Fucking marines aren't good for nothing!"
<Tag Taimdala>

[pants]

Nelson furrowed his brow. “That, I don’t know. As I said, they are still unpacking everything. We haven’t had much chance to worry about the perimeter yet, I’ve left that to the few marines we had in camp. I did think about possibly using chunks of the ship as a sort of wall, but that would depend on getting some kind of forklift or bulldozer from the vehicle bay. Lieutenant Davenport, do you know if we have any sentry guns?”
<Tag Perez/Davenport>

It took a second for Davenport to process the question but her years in the Navy had taught her that it was better to tackle a question head on even when you had no idea of the answer.

"Sir, I have not heard that we picked up any sentry guns but I will inventory the supplies we have gathered and confirm that. Is there anything else you need me to do sir?" she replied promptly.

Mentally she was already figuring out where the supplies were and what resources she had on hand to throw at the problem.

<tag Corporal Hicks>

[Morse]

The situation was not good, but not beyond Morse's comprehension. To his surprise the Lieutenant seemed to have a pretty strong grasp on their situation, as well as the lay of the land in the area. In a way they were better prepared then the marines were, given they had the man power and more technology on their side. But the Marines were a valuable asset to the Navy, the machete in the bush, and the NCOs would be the hand that swung the blade to tame the wilderness around them. Yet with so many mouths to feed the situation was not good. They would need to get a full handle on everything that was available to them, options that were obvious, and options that weren't.

Morse took a seat on a crate when it was suggested, and thought for a moment on what they needed to do. Though the thought about the vehicles was enticing, its general value to their present situation was not the most applicable. It would not hold everyone, nor would it carry the supplies they needed. If they could survive for longer then those two days then acquiring the vehicle would be a priority, but until they had secured that ability to do so... the vehicle was secondary.

"Tails." Morse said following their salute to the fallen and the question of what his preference was by Perez. "Vehicles got a use, just not in the immediate. We gotta get a way to eat and live more then ride around." Morse put his thoughts plainly. "Since we aint likely to get the food we need, we gotta start figurin' out what's here that can be ate. Isn't the first time we been stranded on a rock. If we got research equipment and some science types what know how to use em, they could take water samples and test the plants to see what can be ate n' drank. By way of real human style supply, we gotta get this group to that wreck and salvage all what's there. If there's a good plenty we can't haul by hand... we can get see about those vehicles n' get em ready to load... but no point unless we know what we gotta move."

That was Morse's entire mind. Survive, and then survive better. "I say we go for the supplies."

Morse looked to the others, but heard behind him someone say the phrase "Marines aren't good for nothing." after a series of other harsh words. He was saying it to someone else, but it was enough to get Morse's attention.

Like a dog who was put on edge he stood up, and looked to the Navy man that said it, waiting for the follow up to see if he needed to go an enforce cordiality among survivors.

<Tag Anyone

[JuanPerez]

"Tails. Vehicles got a use, just not in the immediate. We gotta get a way to eat and live more then ride around. Since we aint likely to get the food we need, we gotta start figurin' out what's here that can be ate. Isn't the first time we been stranded on a rock. If we got research equipment and some science types what know how to use em, they could take water samples and test the plants to see what can be ate n' drank. By way of real human style supply, we gotta get this group to that wreck and salvage all what's there. If there's a good plenty we can't haul by hand... we can get see about those vehicles n' get em ready to load... but no point unless we know what we gotta move. I say we go for the supplies."

Perez nodded to Morse in agreement ....

"So you and me are going for the supplies, and the Sergeant Major is going for the vehicles."
<Tag Morse>

Perez was indifferent about which one of the two missions ahead to choose , so he wanted Morse to choose with which one he would felt better. Supplies would definitly come in handy, increasing their chances for survival

....

"i agree with Morse regarding the supplies status, so i do not want to waste time. Let's give the troopers a short rest and then haul that supplies in. By the way, how exactly are thoses supplies stored? i assume in crates, so we need to carry them back to base camp, right?"
<Tag Anyone>

[taimdala]

Finally, some orders.

Duly rebuked, Dmitri set himself to gathering and moving whatever was needed.