New Toys...

Posted on 31 Mar 2015 @ 2:50am by Sergeant Major Arcenio Velez & Gunnery Sergeant Jason Frey & Major Richard Sharpe

1,243 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: M13-A: From the Old to the New
Location: Shuttle Bay

The deck crew directed the workpod as it deposited the cargo container on the flight deck and the Marines moved in to empty the container as fast as possible as the next container was already coming into the bay.

Velez cracked the seal on the container and let out a sharp whistle.

Everyone was scrambling and some things were being transported while others were being moved old school...by hand. Jason had just returned from taking a crate of rifles to the armory and saw the new container being opened and his shoulders dropped. However when he saw what was in them he perked up immediately. "Oh now THAT I have to try..."

Velez looked back at the Recon Marine and tossed him the padd. "Well these are for the recon teams anyway."

Jason in turn tossed the PADD to Eirias and unsecured the bike and walked it out onto the flight deck and fired up the engine.

Catching the PADD was by now a reflex reaction, Jason had done it enough over the last few hours to him that Eirias was beginning to think the Recon Marine was trying to catch him off guard. Checking over the PADD, he briefly read the specs, precautions, and instructions before getting well out of the path the bike would have to take. Pulling out a set of transport markers, he walked over to the next set of crates designated for the armory, and attached them. Once completed, he reached over and tapped one, and the entire mass disappeared. Shifting his stance to at ease, Eirias simply waited until Jason was done with his play time for the next order. So far, he'd met some of their new detachment, some older faces, but hadn't seen the Captain yet.

Jason has made quick work of the ships shuttle bay, even as big as it was, all the while pissing off the deck crew and brought the bike to a skidding halt in front of the others.

Before Velez could even say a word the Chief of the Deck had seemed to come out of no where. "What the HELL is going on here?!! You think you can just..."

Jason chimed in without missing a beat. "Sorry Chief, where are my manners. Wanna give it a spin?"

The huffed and shook his head. "Just get this stuff outta here."

It was at this moment that Sharpe entered the bay, reading a PADD as he spoke to Sergeant Major Velez. He was still without an XO, as seemed to be the norm for him, so the Sergeant Major would be pulling that duty... again. "So, they finally decided to outfit us with the new gear?" He was asking as he read the proposed inventory.

Velez nodded, turning his PADD to show the inventory of the new equipment. "That they have sir. Weapons, ammo, and new vehiles as well."

Richard looked up at the racket going on. "Don't they give you recon boys enough work to do, Staff Sergeant?"

Frey grinned, still straddling the bike. "That they do sir. Just making sure everything is operational. Don't want anyone getting hurt due to poor quality control."

"Well, you most certainly do not get to play with the new toys first. I believe rank doth have its privileges after all." Richard grinned. "Sergeant Major, can you smooth things over with the Chief. Tell him we'll just do a few laps to make sure the equipment works. Invoke my name if you need to."

Chucking he knew what the cheif was going to say, but he was sure two senior NCOs could negotiate an appropriate agreement. "Roger that. Just make sure you make it back here in one piece."

"You know I will." Sharpe smirked. "Alright Frey, Eirias, show me how this thing works..."

Frey swung himself off and gave the pair some room as they went over the bike.

Walking over to the bike, Eirias quickly checked the PADD before tapping two of the buttons on the display. "This thing is meant to be driven either by hand like the Staff Sergeant was doing, or via the HUD from the helmets once they've been reconfigured. It has a default mode, and a limited AI module that allows it to learn and adapt to the style of the operator. Currently rated for up to 126 different operator profiles. There's two hard-points for installing sensor gear or armaments, but in remote piloting mode, you could also use your own sidearm, Captain." He finished the summation and stepped back, shifting his stance to attention.

"Well, lets give it a go." Sharpe said, climbing onto the bike.

As the Captain started up the bike Frey nudged the Sergeant Major and whispered. "bet ya he lays it down..."

Velez grinned and whispered back. "Your on."

As fortune would have it, Captain Sharpe was actually rather adept at motor-cycles, thanks to a misspent youth. Hover-bikes had been all the rage, and being a young man, was susceptible to the ebbs and flows of trends. He'd frequently found himself out in the fields racing his fathers bike around the trees, zipping in and out. So this course on the flight-deck wasn't exactly a new experience for him. However, it would not be good practice to be cocky. This was not a hover-bike, but a wheeled bike, which would have different handling characteristics and on a polished surface such as the flight-deck, there was bound to be very little traction.

Starting up the engine, the machine came to life with a majestic purr. Richard slapped the helmet down and took a comfortable riding position. After a few moments, he eased the bike forwards and accelerated into the rag-tag course that the marines had assembled earlier. He zoomed around the obstacles that had been laid out, careful not to overcompensate on the lean, so that the bike's angle of attack became too severe and what little traction was available to the wheels was not lost. He managed a complete circuit with no issues, and went back around for another go, this time increasing the speed somewhat.

As their CO took off on his second lap of the shuttled bay Velez leaned in towards Frey. "You owe me."

Frey growled under his breath. "Yeah yeah...what do you expect. My grandmother could ride faster."

"I don't care if he did his lapse with a set a training wheels...you still owe me."

Jason frowned as he began to imagine what he was going to have to do to pay up.

Fortunately for Eirias, he had long ago learned to keep his mouth shut in situations like these, and had continued transporting the crates to their armory in designated places. Naturally, he had to wonder what price was going to be extracted, but he'd hear about it soon enough. Eventually, he heard just about everything that went on around the ship, even if it took a little time.

Once their CO came to a stop Velez turned to those gathered. "Alright you loafers, enough gawking! Get this gear stowed...we have another transport coming in!"

"Everything of ours from this last shipment is already in the armory or training rooms as designated, Sergeant Major." Eirias pointed out and then pointed back to the now almost totally empty spaces behind them.




Sgt Major Arcenio Velez
SNCO (NPC)

Sgt Jason Frey
Recon Marine (NPC)

Capt. Richard Sharpe
MCO

(Terminal) PFC Jason Eirias (NPC)
Marine Rifleman

 

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