"Okay, with introducing our two new members being finished, we'll get right into the informational dump. Pay attention to your CO, Lucas,"
A disgruntled and rugged-looking man dressed in a typical wild outland outfit steps towards the table in response to her comment. His unshaven face and drunkenly tired eyes make the entire room shift a bit uncomfortable as he taps a few keys on the panel in front of him. The hologram table then removes everything from it before a new, larger screen pops up, revealing a planet.
"Listen up, twerps, this planet is our operating grounds. Now for obvious reasons, we are not going to exactly take over the damn rock, but merely strike at vital areas,'
He presses a few more keys and zooms the planet into a very specific section, where more images pop up. If one looks closely at each file as it rotates around, a quarry, bunkers, a variety of weaponry, and troop files can be seen. A flat terrain of the area is then produced above those files, revealing a large area with much vegetation covering the land.
'This is our operating zone, There shouldn't be any other Ghosts in the area, but that'll be for...fuck, why am I even explaining this, Hyme, take over. I'm getting a drink,"
The man grumbles as he walks away, to the astonishment of everyone except Hyme, who merely nods and walks up to the table. Rynoske and Lock look at each other and, in silence, agree to question their leader's credibility.
"Following up on Lucas' plan, we will be splitting into teams to tackle each of them quickly,"
"Given how there are three objectives to the north and three to the south on this map, there will be two squads. From there, the decision will be decided by your squad leaders, which, by the way, have already been decided,"
The room seems to dwell in silent curiosity as everyone glances at one another. The hologram table pops up each member's images within groups. Lock narrows his eyes at the screen as he notices this...setup.
"Lock, you'll be leading the ground forces; accompanying you are Tobias, 'Alex', Mye, and Rynoske,"
"Understood,"
For some reason, Lock doesn't have a good feeling about the group that he is assigned to. Glancing over, he decides to look over those that he can see as Hyme continues explaining the other two groups.
Rynoske, though annoying with their interaction, has to admit the guy is impressive with his mix of close and mid-range combat style. A muscle head, but reliable enough if they get into an all-out brawl. For a Drakon Semifer, his dark red scale extremities, along with his tail and wings, can probably aid in crowd control.
Then there is the big guy, Tobias, well, TobiasXcu, to be precise.
' What a weird name...'
The Extranicus is the most noticeable in the room. The reason is not just his appearance but the sole fact that he is the largest in the room. However, Lock, including those in the room, knows better than to mess with an Extranicus. What intrigues him, though, are the two handles dangling from the sides of their waist from the belt he is wearing.
Then there is the other...wait, where is the fifth?
Lock frowns as his scanning software seems to struggle a bit before he deactivates it, seeing as it just couldn't find this individual.
"So, with that said, I'll explain the rest to the ground team. The rest of you are dismissed,"
Returning his attention to Hyme, he sees that she just finished the initial explanation. With the room clearing, all that remains are the five she mentioned first.
" Is there anything any of you want to say?"
"Saw right through us, boss, so what is our objective here?"
Rynoske grins as he looks pumped up for this. Glancing back at Hyme, Lock notices her giving a smile before bringing up a flat terrain map of what seems to be their operating zone. As the terrain materializes, another profile image pops up, showing a person dressed in high-tech gear with some kind of backpack. Multiple small grenades are on their chest rig, followed by what looks to be a flamethrower in their hand, except the symbol on it shows a death cross symbol.
" This is your objective. Find the target, Seth. The planet we are attacking is controlled by the Ningens. For those of you who don't know, this Cryptid faction is notorious for their chemical usage and productive...ventures, which is to say, don't expect this mission to be smooth sailing or even remotely a fair fight,"
While finished materializing, the terrain now showcases a few structures of interest on the map. Looking at the structures available, Lock notices one in particular, which his eyes zoom in on as Hyme continues.
" It took some time, but recon and extensive infiltration attempts allowed us to pinpoint his general location,"
"You said, 'attempts,' can you elaborate, ma'am?"
Hearing the robotic autotuned voice, heads turn towards the fully clothed and geared individual. It was here that Lock noticed the small individual standing behind 'Alex'.
Giving a quick lookover, Lock sees that this 'Alex' gives off a shady aura. Equipped with multiple knives currently sheathed, he assumes they are some sort of assassin.
"Several assassination attempts were made; only about three times we nearly got him, but they all ended in comms silence,"
"And you think we have a chance?"
That is a good point, but there is also another thing to consider.
"You all had one way or another engaged with Cryptids, and even if you didn't, there are veterans here from the Timeporal Conflict. So no one here should be-"
"Sorry, ma'am, there is one..."
Looking over at 'Alex', Lock notices the small individual standing next to them, whom they are looking down at as well.
At first glance, she looks like someone too young to even be in this group. Yet, despite her youthful appearance of a person who never got her hands dirty, her posture and face are a whole other story. A soulless and tired expression that hadn't changed once, even as she looked up at 'Alex'. Turning on his eyes' energy detector, his eyes widened.
So, that's why my scanner couldn't detect anything
Magic, this female is a magic user. Energy is resonating over her entire body, acting as a sort of Electromagnetic barrier. That's why his analysis mode couldn't detect her, much less 'Alex', who is standing next to her.
"Apologies, but excluding that note, you're not going to be entirely alone; unlike those attempts, this is a full-front assault. While they may or may not directly cross paths with you, but there will be other ground teams operating over the planet,"
"Speaking of that, what about identifications? We're not really wearing a uniform to distinguish between friendlies,"
"Good thing you asked that 'Alex', because this is where the neural-comms devices comes in,"
Hyme brings up a new screen, revealing a device that looks a little too big for anyone to carry. It shrinks as a humanoid image is brought up, and the device is then shown to go to the ear, similar to an earbud of sorts.
"This device will allow all of you to keep in touch, courtesy of our benefactors. It has already been coded and linked to the HQ's network; it'll give you an audio or video notification of friendlies nearby. However, as with all equipment, it is just a helpful tool. Use your intuitions on when and where to use it,"
Lock keeps this in mind. He is no stranger to knowing about people relying too much on their assets. This usually would result in fatal results.
"Out of curiosity, ma'am, wouldn't having that earbud hinder hearing capabilities?"
"It can just be linked up to your headgear, or a custom request for an integration card can be installed if required. Otherwise, it shouldn't hinder any senses; besides, logistics and communication are key factors to group fights,"
She is not wrong, but even then, the fact that these devices are all they have to use for comms...
" Now, here is where the fun part begins."
Without wasting more time, Hyme brings up a few new intel as the team proceeds to go over the upcoming operation.