Mission 1

[Tori]

"Hind Echo," Forbes said without looking up. "Similar capability to hind delta with improved avionics, including fire control and pilot interface.

"Lynx is one of my five choices. In fact, it is third, though I'd like McKenzie to be given her choice above all, as long as finance approves. First is the Eurocopter Dauphin. It's used by the Coast Guard, so maintenance and parts will not be an issue. Fast, with ability to add armament and plenty of room for the team. Second is the AW 109S Grand. Slightly slower than the Dauphin but better maneuverability. A former type used by the USCG so we would have some experienced maintenance personnel. Third is the Lynx, preferred with tricycle landing gear. Great maneuverability and speed, little maintenance experience or spare parts stateside. Fourth is the S-76 C++. Good speed, though slower than the Dauphin and 109. Roomy, and a Sikorsky bird, so plenty of maintenance and parts. Last is the S-70. Plenty of parts and personnel to maintain and repair. Great speed. Undesirable, however because it is the civilian variation of the UH-60 family. Nothing says 'War on Terror' like a Blackhawk, no matter how you paint it."

He looked up at Ramirez briefly from his note pad. "I have some thoughts on armament as well, assuming McKenzie is alright with it, and we are allowed to customize. A number of features are borrowed from the RAH-66."

[sasqaricious]

Alex secures her chair in the upright position and waits for the landing to happen.

[Mierin]

Julia smirks a bit at the Ghoulia comment, but stays quiet during the rest of the discussion, not being the expert on the mechanics of helicopters. When they get the message about the weather, Julia fastens her seat belt and prepares herself for the landing.

[dakota]

"As long as you don't want to soup up a Huey, I don't really care." Xander replied, buckling in. He fiddled with the charm on his necklace, a fair sized shark's tooth before glancing at Sullivan," Good to have a real doc on our side for a change. I hate being corpsman, and apparently my bedside manner sucks."

The plane started to hit some turbulance as it descended

[Dome]

Simmons walks down then isle back towards his seat noticing all the seat belts. His natural ability over kinetic energy keeping him from the jostling through the turbulence.

He thinks, 'I always forget other people get bounced around by turbulence. Wonder if any will puke.'
He the sits down in the seat next to the young private.

[Tori]

"I think Mr. Simmons has spent enough time in a Huey. A lot from the sandbox say the same about Blackhawks." He continued his writing without looking up. By now, he was already on a third page of the small pocket notebook.

[lwcoyote]

McKenzie gives her head a little shake. "I don't have a lot of familiarity with russian birds, but I could probably figure it out with some time... I'd much rather use something I'm more familiar with though, especially if I'm in a position where a lot of lives are at stake. One of the AW109 variants would be most suitable, especially if we can get our hands on some upgrades." she comments.

At talk of the impending mission, she glances to Ramirez with suspicioun, then to Forbes. "Hopefully they won't keep us cooling our heels for long before we get some sort of briefing."

[Tori]

"You prefer the 109 to the Dauphin?" Forbes scrawled some notes at a furious pace. "Interesting. I am going to requisition the fold out weapon wings to host AGM-114, AIM-9 and AIM-92 stinger. It gives us a good range of weapons with minimal risk of collateral damage. I'm also going to requisition it be fitted with the M301 20 mike-mike from the Commanche. It's your bird. Do you want the 301 or would you prefer a retractable Mk-19?"

Forbes looked out the window to study the weather. That was a good excuse not to look at anyone.

[dakota]

Xander whistled, " Remember, we need to get this thing across international borders. Even friendlies are gonna ask questions if we take something to heavy into their airspace. The Hind suggestion was a joke." At the mention of Simmons and Hueys, he gave the older soldier an odd look.

[Tori]

"Retractable weapon pylons and primary armament should keep the chopper's capabilities under wraps, unless someone takes a screwdriver to the bird or x-rays it. But I do defer to you as our ops officer and quartermaster.

"If we go minimal, I'd still like to keep the door guns. For Mr. Simmons, on the port side, an M82A2 to dispatch victors and high priority targets. Starboard maybe an M240. Another team member can man that position. We have precision on the pilot's side, firepower on the dismount side, and a lot of versatility. The door-mounts could easily be retractable as well. The weapons themselves could be stashed in locked compartments beneath the floor boards, along with ammo.

"Mr. Simmons, do you feel comfortable using an AMR (anti-material rifle) on a heliborne platform?" Forbes continued scrawling, seemingly faster and faster.

[Dome]

Simmons shrugs, "its fine by me. The flight wont bother me any, just like this one."

He rubs his chin and has a question but wants to be careful how he words it so he says, "permission to speak freely?"

[Tori]

"Absolutely. You're senior non-com for a reason. Though you may also speak privately if you wish."

[Dome]

"I just need some clarification. I was under the impression this was more a covert team brought in to handle situations outside the normal field ops of regular armed forces. Using our abilities to help where the standard military failed," he says before pausing to let that statement sink in.

After only a short pause he goes on, "However, it almost sounds like you are gearing up so that the few of us here can take on a small army. Now if that's the case, fine by me, I'll even go first after all Rangers lead the way, but I just want to be clear on what the overall spec of this deployment is going to be."

[dakota]

"I don't mean to speak for anyone, butI've got some insight here since I've talked to the DD a fair bit already." Xander butted in. " The ops we're going to get are ones they can't use a traditional special ops team for. I didn't get a look at our work schedule, but I know one of the targets, simply because it hits close to my hometown. They kept it under wraps from the press, but that big shootout between the cocaine monkeys and border services two weeks ago had a third party involved, an eight man hit squad that had two obvious metas on the team. They were protecting a few million dollars worth of explosives. I voiced my concerns since my family lives just outside El Paso, and the DD said it was high on our to do list once they scrounge up some intel."

[lwcoyote]

Brows raise a little at Xanders explanation, nodding slowly. "I don't know much about metas, aside from apparently being one, but it seems to me that some.. or possibly even most.. would be as vulnerable to conventional weapons as anyone else, so I can certainly see the need for more standard issue equipment like what the el-tee is talking about. Not to mention henchment." she adds with a little chuckle.

"Ahh, this feels like a comic-book, you know?" McKenzie muses to herself, looking around at the team before looking back to Xander. "Do you know if we have any standard ROE, or is it going to be too mission specific to say?"

Once that is addressed, the aviator (who has buckled into her seat) looks to Forbes. "Retracable is better, so go with the Mk19. If it can be quickly dismounted, all the better... I could use a firearm." she adds with a slight grin.

Finally, she decides to look ove rthe team once again. "I get the impression that we're going to be a team for awhile, so I hope that we can become comfortable with each other.. I know we all come from differant units, traditions and maybe even generations, but even still, I don't see why we couldn't all be friends as well as team-mates, at least in time."