Ch 2 headed to Dinosaur Swamp

[Dome]

"Yes si...I mean Shepherd."

Richardson being back in his original seat, reaches for his pack and begins going through it much like Socrates. He checks his tools, not sure if he is even going to have cause to use them on this mission.

He tried to ignore the cat as she calls for the doctor. Thats not his concern at the moment, the mission was.

[sasqaricious]

Autumn does not respond as no one has explained to her what a pog is yet. Realizing that the better part of valour now is to probably get out of the way of the CO she reaches up and grabs her armour and heads over to the cat. Not being a boy that is trying to pick her up this is not a social situation she is afraid of and there is no stuttering at this point.

"I am here, and please I know not what this pog is but by rights of military order you are to refer to me as Specialist Autumn or Doctor." She then goes on to quote the rules by the books.

[Tori]

"Regulations do not interest me. Right now, my job is to square you away. First of all, a pogue, is a Person Other than Grunt. If that name offends you, I am sorry, but it does describe your status.

"Like I said, my job is to square you away. If you want non-pogue status, your first step is to learn to wear armour. You're a doctor, so you'll find method in the madness of CA-3 Deadboy armour. Start with your boots first. The long 'bones' go next. I usually start wit the thighs, but you can do forearms and upper arms as well. It snaps together just like so. Good.

"Ok, when you have the longbones in place, do your knees and elbows next. We do the bones before the joints, because the joints have the airtight seal in them. "

"Next is the torso piece, it wraps around your lumbar region and snaps.

"Next, the codpiece. It has the unfortunate nickname of chastity belt, because it wears just like that device. The lock is on your left hip. Like the joints, it contains airtight seals. If you think you are going to be in armor for a while, wear an adult diaper. The codpiece has a quick pull-away feature so you can relieve yourself in the field.

"The final body piece is your pauldron and breastplate. Lift it over your shoulders just like a t-shirt and tighten it with the clip on the left side of your chest. You can go airtight with a helmet, or, if not under fire, you may wear a soft cover." Tori placed an eight-point cap, in Navy cammo, on Autumn's head.

"You're in the army now, congratulations. That soft cover was the best I could do." She looked over at Janx with an apologetic shrug.

"Basic training takes eight weeks for the Navy, nine weeks for the Army and 12 weeks for the Marine Corps. At the end of week one, all boots are tested to identify parts of their armour, and are given three minutes to armour up, and get into battle posture. We do not have nine weeks to get you to basic military proficiency. We do not even have one week to get you to proficiency with your armour. Practice for one hour until we move on. Proficiency with CA series Deadboy armour will save your life in the field."

Tori gave Autumn a moment for her words to soak in. A day was no time to turn a pogue into even the greenest grunt, but it was all she had. Keeping Autumn alive and safe might mean avoiding an error that gets her, and other members of the team zipped.

"Quit laughing Janxi. You and me are going to have to camouflage her."

"Oh, and Pogue, other than when practicing, SOP is to wear your armour at all times in the field or in a victor that's oscar mike off post."

[sasqaricious]

Autumn fully in her Armour and such. "Thank-you, this was not my choice to be here. But we are stuck with what we have. And you do not need to worry I do know how to fire my side-arm with proficiency. Dr. Bradford wished to make sure we knew how to do that at the very least." She waits to see what is next in the list of instructions.

[Renekin Skywalker]

Socrates leaned over to Richardson. "See? The cats will eventually adapt to army life. And our Shep, here, only wants everyone to be equal because it means not having to excersize a hierarchy."

[Tori]

"Bradford?" Tori shuddered when she heard the name. She never had an experience with the man, but it made her shudder all the same.

"Side-arms are good, but to every operator, they are only a backup, in case our primary goes down. When we get to the FOB, I'll see about requisitioning one of those Triax p-beams. You're not to use your weapon unless told by me, Cpl. Janxi, Shep or Six, or unless your life is in immediate danger.

"I know you say you can't leave, but I want you to look around this bay. Every one in here not only has basic military proficiency, but basic infantry training. Many of us go beyond, with advanced hand to hand, sniping, explosive ordinance disposal, tracking, survival, parachuting and combat swimming training. The Emperor has invested maybe millions of credits, and we've put out for years to be where we are today.

"Going before our enemy unseen and unheard is our stock and trade. We find our enemy and kill him when he does not want to be found. We are trained to observe and record our enemy's activities without firing a shot. I don't think you have this training. While I admire your willingness to serve, there is a better way. Enlist, go to basic, get advanced training, even special warfare school if you are willing to put out and able to meet and exceed expectation. When we land, why not DOR, go back to Chi-Town and get trained. Get motivated. There's no shame in leaving a team when you are completely unqualified to be on one. You're a citizen. Enlist. You can do this, but for your sake and ours, do it the right way.

"I know you do not like your nickname. It's not given to you with respect. If you stay, think about how you're gonna feel when your enemy is shooting you, bombing you, or using some foxed-up spell to turn you into a damned-if-I-know or a diddle-eyed-joe. Think about how hard it is to talk to Richardson, and compare that experience to your imagination of being captured by the Splugorth. I guaran-damn-tee they will find other SERVICES for a pretty thing like you other than medical.

"For us, we go through a program called SERE- that's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape. We're taught to eat bugs and maggots, evade those seeking to capture us, resist actual torture and escape techniques.

"Right now, your skill with a pistol is just enough to be dangerous, mostly to us. We can't have you shooting at bushes when they shake, because it will probably be one of us. If you stay, wait for one of us to tell you you're free to use your weapon. When we're on a hump, you'll be behind Cpl. Janxi. You step where she steps, do what she does and do not speak in the field unless spoken to. A lot of our communication will be through hand gestures. You may not know what they mean, but react as she does. If she goes to cover, you go to cover. If she stops, you stop, and probably should go to a crouch. If she runs, you run. If she ducks, you duck. Keep five meters seperation from her at all times. Stay off the radio. And again, keep your hands off your weapon unless Six, XO, Janxi or me say use it, or your life is in imminent danger. The rest of the team will protect you, I promise you that.

"In the mean time, do you have any other skills we should know about, hand to hand? Silent movement? Other weapons? B&E skills? Psychics?"

[sasqaricious]

Autumn is not sure she should be sharing this with the Cat but also realizes from her research it is in her best interest to share with the group.

"Yes I was given the basics of Hand to Hand combat as well as well as more skill with my fire arm then you are giving me credit for. I have seen action at Lonestar as one of the raids that happened. Dr. Bradford wished for us to get a feel for combat on one of his experiments. But I digress I also have psychic skills focused completely on healing. Also with years of Ballet or gymnastics of course I can prowl. Also I am skilled with a knife as well, but that is professional reasons."

[Tori]

"Ballet and gymnastics are fine on stage, but a little different on a forest floor of pine needles and twigs. I'm counting on you to be as quiet as you can. As for your weapons-free status, I'll ask you to take that to Six for her opinion. I'd rather see you keep it in the holster, but it's her call, not mine."

Tori wondered about dropping the ramp and giving Autumn some target practice, but didn't know the altitude they were cruising at. If the cabin was pressurized, it could hoover the team down to the deck, and no parachutes had been issued.

"We'll get target practice once we're on the deck. If you want to practice some combatives, I think we have plenty of room."

[dakota]

" It's not my fault the General has a thing against discrimination. You should be happy, Soc." Shep said, starting to unload his weaponry from his duffle. As he laid it out for last minute inspection, it was easy to see none of it was regulation issue, though some of it looked similar to CS weaponry, starting with the laser carbine that looked like a cut down C-14, complete with grenade launcher.

as he went through his kit, he kept a wary eye on the cat and the doc, but was willing to let tori do her thing.

[Dome]

"Nice gear Shepherd. Where can I get gear like that ?"

[Tori]

"Mr. Trassk?" Tori seemed to be rigid with naval forms of address. Naval NCO's through E-6 would be addressed by last names. Chiefs, Senior Chiefs, and Master Chiefs would all be addressed by rank. Those of other services by rank and last name, Warrant officers of any grade would be called "Mister."

"Mister Trassk? Do you permit nipping in victors, sir?"

[Renekin Skywalker]

"While I am happy to have the general's trust as much as any other soldier." Socrates says to Shep, "It does nothing lessen the importance of ensuring a hierarchy."

"Oh, and by the way." He pulls Shep's helmet out of a bag. "You dropped this on the way to the plane." His grin toothy.

[Mierin]

Sam keeps an ear out listening to what the cats are telling Autumn, and seems fine with it so far. Hopefully, the doctor would be squared away enough so that she wouldn't shoot herself or anyone else by accident. She didn't understand why this Dr. person would train her how to shoot a firearm and not give her any training on her armour. It was extremely stupid and she was going to look this person up and give him a piece of her mind for sending out what was basically a baby into a war field.

Shaking her head, she sighs to herself, disgusted. She does, however, raise an eyebrow with a smirk as Socrates produces Shep's helmet. "And you WILL wear it." she tells Shep in a firm tone of voice "Or I'll staple it to your head."

[Dome]

Richardson checks the clip in his rifle, and also in his pistol. The extra clips he makes sure are accessible in his bag. He smirks as the Captain talks to the Chief. He continues sorting out his gear and tries not making eye contact with either of the two officers.

[Tori]

The pogue seemed distracted. She heeded Trassk's words, and contemplated. They were neither in the field, nor on patrol. She reached into her pocket, took out her can for a pinch of nip, then passed it over to Janxi. She exaggerated her movements and gave a self satisfied smile with her snuff, knowing the rat terrier was watching, before passing the can to Jan.

"Hey Pogue, I asked if you were up for a little sparring. Mostly, I want to see what you can do."