Post by AceTheMercenary on Oct 29, 2010 23:35:59 GMT -6
"Commander!"
The sounds of soldiers chatting, laughing, sparring, and training echo through the military base as they prepare for the days to come. A man of average height wearing prototypical human military garb turns about as a messenger strides up to him, holding a datapad. Nodding as a show of appreciation, the man takes the datapad and begins surfing through the contents. His face becomes grim upon reading the final part of the letter, and, jaw firmly set, he turns on his heel and immediately begins the trip back to his quarters.
Lieutenant Commander Saul Jefferson Rowland enters his quarters, immediately stripping off his uniform and stepping into the shower. After briefly showering for a grand total of ten minutes, he pauses to glance at his face in the mirror, running his fingers across the glass swiftly to remove the condensation that has formed on the glass from the heat of the water. Crystal blue eyes greet him once again, causing him to smile. Things were much different now for humanity than they were back on Earth. Years and years of multiculturalism and racial intermingling had made recessive traits such as blue eyes and blond hair very rare, but Saul was one of the lucky ones to possess such things.
I need to shave... Saul runs his fingers over his face, wincing at the feel of stubble and toying with the idea of taking up a razor before finally ignoring it. He could shave later, when an urgent meeting with the Council wasn't bearing down on him. The Council was humanity's new government, having spawned back on Earth from the ashes of the failed United Nations. It was born around the time the first of the infected persons began appearing in the United States, but was unable to deal with the Metallicyte Virus effectively, thus resulting in the loss of Earth to the infected. Still, humanity continued to hold the Council in high regard. It was the first successful attempt to unify people of every race and gender against a common enemy.
Aserethia was the name of a habitable planet that had been discovered by humans what was almost literally an eternity ago, and had been the target of humanity's flight from Earth when the infected took it. Aserethia was very much like Earth in many aspects; it had oceans, mountains, volcanoes, and other such things. To most humans living in the current year of 2721, it was almost as if they had never left Earth, but bitterness still infected every human at the loss of their homeworld in 2015, and ever since they have been preparing for their glorious return to "that old ball of mud".
Drying himself off, Saul returns to the main area of his quarters, approaching a suit of heavy armor that is set up on a human-sized stand, before beginning the long, tedious process of putting the suit on. Humanity had made great gains in weaponry and armor in the past centuries of their stay on Aserethia, especially with the discovery of the planet's abundant resources, including a few others never-before seen by scientists on Earth. D104 Battle Armor had become the hardware standard for humanity's army, produced by the former Earth-based corporation of Hahne-Kadar. Sci-Fi fans of an age long since passed would have called them "Power Suits" or some other type of retarded name, and every Star Wars fan would kill each other for a replica of it.
Each suit was conformed to perfectly fit any wearer with an internal hydrostatic gel layer that conformed to the wearer's physical shape, body temperature, and even perspiration, over which was a micro-thin layer of information, power, and network conduits that ran through a flexible crystalline panel over the hydrostatic gel. Above this was a matte-black flexible armor material known as Volx, a ballistic armor that replaced kevlar once it was discovered to be useless against the weapons of the Infected Commandants. It was enough to stop high-caliber bullets and disperse the impact, and in some cases it was even enough to stop the clawed glaives of the Commandants. However, it was not completely sustainable; enough rounds in general areas penetrated it entirely, and it was completely useless against Commandant "Death Blades".
Which was why the most important layer had been added in the final phases. Solid plating of Titanium-Chramatium covered the external surface of the armored suits, namely the non-jointed areas of the body; the upper and lower sections of the torso, the forearms, upper arms, shoulders, thighs, calves, feet, hands, and fingers. In the area where jointing was located, the Volx material was exposed. However, the likelihood of hitting such small areas seriously negated the risks. The armor was surprisingly enough, also designed to give the soldier beneath total mobility.
At six hard points on the armor were powered thrusters that fed off the miniature plasma-fusion reactions located just over the tail bone in the armor, as did the rest of the power systems. These thrusters at full-thrust could make a soldier hover in place for thirty seconds, and hover at the same exact altitude and move in different directions at ten miles per hour for up to twenty seconds per charge, with a ten second recharge necessary between bursts.
The helmet, which fitted over the soldier's entire head, was in its own way a psychological aspect of the suit; the lower portion fitted around the soldier's head just loosely enough to give the soldier some room within his helmet, but only a marginal amount.
It would have been an entirely rounded-off affair, except for the two sharp ovular ports for the eyes. When not powered up, the ports were semi-reflective dark gray. They prevented the soldier from being blinded from flashes or explosions, and enhanced light in dark areas. When powered, they retained this feature, but a live-feed HUD displayed vital information before the soldier's eyes, but in an out-of-way location, so as not to interfere with the soldier's combat functions. The visual systems also had three settings; standard, infrared, and motion/infrared, all of which could be cycled through with just a thought from the wearer.
The suit itself also was a totally sealed life-support system; air was cycled through vent-like slits located along the front of the lower half of the suit, giving the wearers an alien and chilling appearance. The suit was designed both to protect the wearer, and to be a psychological weapon... The humans had no clue as to whether the infected could feel fear or not, but they were certainly going to give them the opportunity. The colors of the suit depended entirely on the choice of the owner; each suit was unique in their own way. The eagle, the new symbol of humanity, is painted everywhere on the suits, one on each shoulderplate, one over the right breast of the torso, and one on the back of each glove. The color of the eagle was also, however, the discretion of the owner, as long as it was different from the primary color of the armor. Saul's primary color was white, while the secondary was black.
In the way of weapons, each infantryman carried an M-117B assault rifle, complete with different styles of ammo, from armor-piercing to the newly-produced radioactive rounds, an M-13 automatic pistol, an L-2 laser knife, which had replaced the combat knives of centuries ago, and various types of explosives, including a new range of plasma "sticky" grenades. A favorite among marksmen was the S-53 semi-automatic sniper rifle, which most soldiers jokingly referred to as "The Finger of God", for the fact it could reach out at an unbelievable distance and smite anyone with one hundred percent accuracy.
Fully dressed in his armor minus the helmet, Saul exits his quarters, heading out into the courtyard of the military base. The Council would be waiting for him in the state buildings within the city, but thankfully it was a short trip by troop transport. Saul catches a ride on one of the transports bound for the city of Utopia, the driver generously offering to take a different route in his patrol.
"Permission to speak freely, Commander?" One of the soldiers asks, his voice muffled slightly by his helmet. At Saul's nod, he continued. "What brings you to Utopia? Last I heard, you were supposed to be handling the obstacle courses today." Saul twists his head to the side, applying pressure and listening as his neck cracks and pops loudly. Damn, I'm stiff... "From what I know, it's classified. Info's on a need-to-know basis. The Council Chairman requested to see me though, so it must be important." He responds. "Rumors have it we're about to mount a military operation against Earth. The entire planet's on edge."
"I don't know if that's true or not, soldier. But we've been prepared for this for years now. I wouldn't mind letting my boots hit the ground on Earth and killing some infected bastards though..." Saul responds. The younger soldier gives a laugh at his words. "You and the rest of the human race, sir. Maybe I'll see you down there, if that's what'll happen."
The truck came to a stop just outside the Capitol. Saul jumps out of the back of the truck, saluting briefly to the driver, who merely honks the horn before driving off. Now able to freely move once again, Saul starts up the huge flight of stairs, taking a grand total of five minutes to finally reach the entrance.
The Capitol was modeled after the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. back on Earth. The only real difference was how large the building was. Now no longer a planet divided by nation boundaries, the united humans required a larger government in order to make sure that laws were continually upheld and passed. Most humans seemed happy with the form of government; when a member of the Council was elected, he served until he died, at which point another election was held to decide upon his heir. The Council could expell any of its members at any time with a majority vote, though the Chairman could remove officials at will if they turned out to be corrupt. Consequently, any Chairman was, for the most part, completely immune to removal, unless he simply did not act in the best interests of humanity.
After running through the god-awful amount of security, Saul finally finds himself in the huge atrium that is the Chamber of the Council. Each member of the 900-strong government awaits him there, all of them dressed in their ludicrously extravagant garb. The Chairman sits high above the Council, though he stands to glare down at Saul when he steps into the light.
"Commander Rowland... I'm glad you were able to join us here." Saul clasps his hands together behind his back, standing up completely straight in the prototypical military officer stance. "I'm still not completely sure why you asked me to come here, Chairman." Saul retorts. The Chairman slowly begins to descend the stairs, speaking as he does so. "I won't lie to you, Commander. Humanity is about to go to war with the infected on Earth. I summoned you because I knew you were one of the best." The Chairman steps down off of the final step, his imposing height dwarfing Saul to a degree.
"I assume all the necessary precautions are being taken..." Saul begins. "Of course. We've been scanning the Earth for years... Now I believe we finally have a plan to defeat the infected and take back our homeworld." The Chairman motions toward a holographic image that appears nearby. Contained on the image is what appears to be a political map of Earth, though the boundary lines are drastically redrawn to represent the "new majority".
"We simply can't take the whole of the Earth by storm. As powerful as our military is, we just don't have the resources for complete interplanetary war. So, we'll have to divide and conquer..." The Chairman points to the former United States, Europe, and Japan, respectfully. "Despite their changes, these things are more human than they appear to be. They've set up governments, though in this case it appears to be more barbaric in nature. Tribes of them fight each other whenever they grow bored, but if humanity enters the picture, there's no doubt they'll unite against us." Saul raises an eyebrow, unable to contain his question.
"But if these things fight each other so much, where do they get their numbers?" He asks. The Chairman's face takes on a more grim expression. "As I said, they're more human-like than we previously thought... Even in matters such as reproduction." Saul's stomach gives a sudden lurch upon hearing this, and he finds himself unable to stop the disgusted expression which overtakes his features. "I know what you're thinking, but that doesn't make it any less true. But as I said, these things have governments... There are thousands of enclaves, but our targets are the tribes controlling America, Europe, and Japan. America will provide the base necessary to launch attacks against Canada and Mexico, Europe will provide a good hold-out from every front there, and Japan will provide the perfect springboard for an invasion of mainland Asia." Saul sets his jaw firmly.
"Sounds like goddamn suicide, Chairman. How exactly is the human army supposed to overcome these vast stretches of land with every Infected Commandant and their war parties gunning for us?" He asks. "Unfortunately, the army won't have any part in this. At least, not until later. The Council has raged over this for a long, long time, but we believe we've finally got a plan. If our elite strike teams can destabilize the three main infected enclaves, our fleet can pick up the pieces from there and fight out the remainder of the war. Divide and conquer, Commander. I'm sure you understand this... That's why I want you leading the strike team in America." Saul gives the Chairman an alarmed look, but immediately gives in.
"Of course... I've wanted to set foot on Earth for some time now. Maybe I'll be the first human to do so in seven hundred years." He responds. "That's what I like to hear, Commander." The Chairman gestures for a councilor to approach, upon closer inspection he bears four datapads, which he hands to Saul. "These are dossiers on some of the people who would be ideal for your mission in America. Seek them out if you choose, but the makeup of your squad is entirely up to you. Just remember... This could be our last chance to retake the Earth. Humanity is counting on you." Saul nods, saluting the Council briefly before turning on his heel and beginning the long trip out of the Capitol.
Back outside in Utopia's streets, Saul seats himself on one of the steps leading to the Capitol, deciding to briefly look over the dossiers before deciding on a destination.
-----
A few notes, the armor of the soldiers is very similar to the Cerberus Assault Armor from Mass Effect 2, just throwing that out there if you want a better mental image of it.
This is also where you, the reader, will come in. I need at least four created characters to be Saul's squad during the raid on Earth. If I get more than four, I'll review them and decide on the better characters for the task. If I get less than four, I'll just use whatever you lot give me and fill in the rest with characters of my own design. This will be similar in design to a cyoa, at least concerning certain plot points. I plan to get the readers more involved, at least in some way.
PM me any characters you create and I'll review them. The app for the characters will be in the next post.
The sounds of soldiers chatting, laughing, sparring, and training echo through the military base as they prepare for the days to come. A man of average height wearing prototypical human military garb turns about as a messenger strides up to him, holding a datapad. Nodding as a show of appreciation, the man takes the datapad and begins surfing through the contents. His face becomes grim upon reading the final part of the letter, and, jaw firmly set, he turns on his heel and immediately begins the trip back to his quarters.
Lieutenant Commander Saul Jefferson Rowland enters his quarters, immediately stripping off his uniform and stepping into the shower. After briefly showering for a grand total of ten minutes, he pauses to glance at his face in the mirror, running his fingers across the glass swiftly to remove the condensation that has formed on the glass from the heat of the water. Crystal blue eyes greet him once again, causing him to smile. Things were much different now for humanity than they were back on Earth. Years and years of multiculturalism and racial intermingling had made recessive traits such as blue eyes and blond hair very rare, but Saul was one of the lucky ones to possess such things.
I need to shave... Saul runs his fingers over his face, wincing at the feel of stubble and toying with the idea of taking up a razor before finally ignoring it. He could shave later, when an urgent meeting with the Council wasn't bearing down on him. The Council was humanity's new government, having spawned back on Earth from the ashes of the failed United Nations. It was born around the time the first of the infected persons began appearing in the United States, but was unable to deal with the Metallicyte Virus effectively, thus resulting in the loss of Earth to the infected. Still, humanity continued to hold the Council in high regard. It was the first successful attempt to unify people of every race and gender against a common enemy.
Aserethia was the name of a habitable planet that had been discovered by humans what was almost literally an eternity ago, and had been the target of humanity's flight from Earth when the infected took it. Aserethia was very much like Earth in many aspects; it had oceans, mountains, volcanoes, and other such things. To most humans living in the current year of 2721, it was almost as if they had never left Earth, but bitterness still infected every human at the loss of their homeworld in 2015, and ever since they have been preparing for their glorious return to "that old ball of mud".
Drying himself off, Saul returns to the main area of his quarters, approaching a suit of heavy armor that is set up on a human-sized stand, before beginning the long, tedious process of putting the suit on. Humanity had made great gains in weaponry and armor in the past centuries of their stay on Aserethia, especially with the discovery of the planet's abundant resources, including a few others never-before seen by scientists on Earth. D104 Battle Armor had become the hardware standard for humanity's army, produced by the former Earth-based corporation of Hahne-Kadar. Sci-Fi fans of an age long since passed would have called them "Power Suits" or some other type of retarded name, and every Star Wars fan would kill each other for a replica of it.
Each suit was conformed to perfectly fit any wearer with an internal hydrostatic gel layer that conformed to the wearer's physical shape, body temperature, and even perspiration, over which was a micro-thin layer of information, power, and network conduits that ran through a flexible crystalline panel over the hydrostatic gel. Above this was a matte-black flexible armor material known as Volx, a ballistic armor that replaced kevlar once it was discovered to be useless against the weapons of the Infected Commandants. It was enough to stop high-caliber bullets and disperse the impact, and in some cases it was even enough to stop the clawed glaives of the Commandants. However, it was not completely sustainable; enough rounds in general areas penetrated it entirely, and it was completely useless against Commandant "Death Blades".
Which was why the most important layer had been added in the final phases. Solid plating of Titanium-Chramatium covered the external surface of the armored suits, namely the non-jointed areas of the body; the upper and lower sections of the torso, the forearms, upper arms, shoulders, thighs, calves, feet, hands, and fingers. In the area where jointing was located, the Volx material was exposed. However, the likelihood of hitting such small areas seriously negated the risks. The armor was surprisingly enough, also designed to give the soldier beneath total mobility.
At six hard points on the armor were powered thrusters that fed off the miniature plasma-fusion reactions located just over the tail bone in the armor, as did the rest of the power systems. These thrusters at full-thrust could make a soldier hover in place for thirty seconds, and hover at the same exact altitude and move in different directions at ten miles per hour for up to twenty seconds per charge, with a ten second recharge necessary between bursts.
The helmet, which fitted over the soldier's entire head, was in its own way a psychological aspect of the suit; the lower portion fitted around the soldier's head just loosely enough to give the soldier some room within his helmet, but only a marginal amount.
It would have been an entirely rounded-off affair, except for the two sharp ovular ports for the eyes. When not powered up, the ports were semi-reflective dark gray. They prevented the soldier from being blinded from flashes or explosions, and enhanced light in dark areas. When powered, they retained this feature, but a live-feed HUD displayed vital information before the soldier's eyes, but in an out-of-way location, so as not to interfere with the soldier's combat functions. The visual systems also had three settings; standard, infrared, and motion/infrared, all of which could be cycled through with just a thought from the wearer.
The suit itself also was a totally sealed life-support system; air was cycled through vent-like slits located along the front of the lower half of the suit, giving the wearers an alien and chilling appearance. The suit was designed both to protect the wearer, and to be a psychological weapon... The humans had no clue as to whether the infected could feel fear or not, but they were certainly going to give them the opportunity. The colors of the suit depended entirely on the choice of the owner; each suit was unique in their own way. The eagle, the new symbol of humanity, is painted everywhere on the suits, one on each shoulderplate, one over the right breast of the torso, and one on the back of each glove. The color of the eagle was also, however, the discretion of the owner, as long as it was different from the primary color of the armor. Saul's primary color was white, while the secondary was black.
In the way of weapons, each infantryman carried an M-117B assault rifle, complete with different styles of ammo, from armor-piercing to the newly-produced radioactive rounds, an M-13 automatic pistol, an L-2 laser knife, which had replaced the combat knives of centuries ago, and various types of explosives, including a new range of plasma "sticky" grenades. A favorite among marksmen was the S-53 semi-automatic sniper rifle, which most soldiers jokingly referred to as "The Finger of God", for the fact it could reach out at an unbelievable distance and smite anyone with one hundred percent accuracy.
Fully dressed in his armor minus the helmet, Saul exits his quarters, heading out into the courtyard of the military base. The Council would be waiting for him in the state buildings within the city, but thankfully it was a short trip by troop transport. Saul catches a ride on one of the transports bound for the city of Utopia, the driver generously offering to take a different route in his patrol.
"Permission to speak freely, Commander?" One of the soldiers asks, his voice muffled slightly by his helmet. At Saul's nod, he continued. "What brings you to Utopia? Last I heard, you were supposed to be handling the obstacle courses today." Saul twists his head to the side, applying pressure and listening as his neck cracks and pops loudly. Damn, I'm stiff... "From what I know, it's classified. Info's on a need-to-know basis. The Council Chairman requested to see me though, so it must be important." He responds. "Rumors have it we're about to mount a military operation against Earth. The entire planet's on edge."
"I don't know if that's true or not, soldier. But we've been prepared for this for years now. I wouldn't mind letting my boots hit the ground on Earth and killing some infected bastards though..." Saul responds. The younger soldier gives a laugh at his words. "You and the rest of the human race, sir. Maybe I'll see you down there, if that's what'll happen."
The truck came to a stop just outside the Capitol. Saul jumps out of the back of the truck, saluting briefly to the driver, who merely honks the horn before driving off. Now able to freely move once again, Saul starts up the huge flight of stairs, taking a grand total of five minutes to finally reach the entrance.
The Capitol was modeled after the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. back on Earth. The only real difference was how large the building was. Now no longer a planet divided by nation boundaries, the united humans required a larger government in order to make sure that laws were continually upheld and passed. Most humans seemed happy with the form of government; when a member of the Council was elected, he served until he died, at which point another election was held to decide upon his heir. The Council could expell any of its members at any time with a majority vote, though the Chairman could remove officials at will if they turned out to be corrupt. Consequently, any Chairman was, for the most part, completely immune to removal, unless he simply did not act in the best interests of humanity.
After running through the god-awful amount of security, Saul finally finds himself in the huge atrium that is the Chamber of the Council. Each member of the 900-strong government awaits him there, all of them dressed in their ludicrously extravagant garb. The Chairman sits high above the Council, though he stands to glare down at Saul when he steps into the light.
"Commander Rowland... I'm glad you were able to join us here." Saul clasps his hands together behind his back, standing up completely straight in the prototypical military officer stance. "I'm still not completely sure why you asked me to come here, Chairman." Saul retorts. The Chairman slowly begins to descend the stairs, speaking as he does so. "I won't lie to you, Commander. Humanity is about to go to war with the infected on Earth. I summoned you because I knew you were one of the best." The Chairman steps down off of the final step, his imposing height dwarfing Saul to a degree.
"I assume all the necessary precautions are being taken..." Saul begins. "Of course. We've been scanning the Earth for years... Now I believe we finally have a plan to defeat the infected and take back our homeworld." The Chairman motions toward a holographic image that appears nearby. Contained on the image is what appears to be a political map of Earth, though the boundary lines are drastically redrawn to represent the "new majority".
"We simply can't take the whole of the Earth by storm. As powerful as our military is, we just don't have the resources for complete interplanetary war. So, we'll have to divide and conquer..." The Chairman points to the former United States, Europe, and Japan, respectfully. "Despite their changes, these things are more human than they appear to be. They've set up governments, though in this case it appears to be more barbaric in nature. Tribes of them fight each other whenever they grow bored, but if humanity enters the picture, there's no doubt they'll unite against us." Saul raises an eyebrow, unable to contain his question.
"But if these things fight each other so much, where do they get their numbers?" He asks. The Chairman's face takes on a more grim expression. "As I said, they're more human-like than we previously thought... Even in matters such as reproduction." Saul's stomach gives a sudden lurch upon hearing this, and he finds himself unable to stop the disgusted expression which overtakes his features. "I know what you're thinking, but that doesn't make it any less true. But as I said, these things have governments... There are thousands of enclaves, but our targets are the tribes controlling America, Europe, and Japan. America will provide the base necessary to launch attacks against Canada and Mexico, Europe will provide a good hold-out from every front there, and Japan will provide the perfect springboard for an invasion of mainland Asia." Saul sets his jaw firmly.
"Sounds like goddamn suicide, Chairman. How exactly is the human army supposed to overcome these vast stretches of land with every Infected Commandant and their war parties gunning for us?" He asks. "Unfortunately, the army won't have any part in this. At least, not until later. The Council has raged over this for a long, long time, but we believe we've finally got a plan. If our elite strike teams can destabilize the three main infected enclaves, our fleet can pick up the pieces from there and fight out the remainder of the war. Divide and conquer, Commander. I'm sure you understand this... That's why I want you leading the strike team in America." Saul gives the Chairman an alarmed look, but immediately gives in.
"Of course... I've wanted to set foot on Earth for some time now. Maybe I'll be the first human to do so in seven hundred years." He responds. "That's what I like to hear, Commander." The Chairman gestures for a councilor to approach, upon closer inspection he bears four datapads, which he hands to Saul. "These are dossiers on some of the people who would be ideal for your mission in America. Seek them out if you choose, but the makeup of your squad is entirely up to you. Just remember... This could be our last chance to retake the Earth. Humanity is counting on you." Saul nods, saluting the Council briefly before turning on his heel and beginning the long trip out of the Capitol.
Back outside in Utopia's streets, Saul seats himself on one of the steps leading to the Capitol, deciding to briefly look over the dossiers before deciding on a destination.
-----
A few notes, the armor of the soldiers is very similar to the Cerberus Assault Armor from Mass Effect 2, just throwing that out there if you want a better mental image of it.
This is also where you, the reader, will come in. I need at least four created characters to be Saul's squad during the raid on Earth. If I get more than four, I'll review them and decide on the better characters for the task. If I get less than four, I'll just use whatever you lot give me and fill in the rest with characters of my own design. This will be similar in design to a cyoa, at least concerning certain plot points. I plan to get the readers more involved, at least in some way.
PM me any characters you create and I'll review them. The app for the characters will be in the next post.