Faction Orientation | GA | Task Force Null

[Pyke Lazar]

____________________________________________________________
D E A D M A N

OPFOR: OPPOSING FORCE
OBJECTIVE: 'Evaluate' Task Force Null
______________________________________________________________

[FACE FISTED]
​

---

Two hours, three? Pyke couldn't tell how long he'd been sitting idle in the simulation. Temporal perception tended to become a bit slippery, especially the longer one had been under. IVI had specifically ordered he be sent under long before Null agents had even arrived for orientation. At first, he became indignant, thinking she was trying to sweep him under the rug until absolutely necessary. Profane slanders were slung liberally, his tune only changing when he learned the real purpose of his preemptive dive. All of the briefing material was received after his perceptions had been digitized, scrawling onto the virtual imitations of his optical implants.

A sudden shift in the tangible cyberspace around him begot the movement of Vahl Cultists that had been eerily still for hours. Pyke looked around, anticipating some kind of-

WELCOME, TASK FORCE NULL.

Aaaand there it was.

"Finally!" Pyke exclaimed with exasperation that somehow managed to seem impossibly nonchalant.

Phrik fingers seized the handle of a case he'd been sitting on before the announcement drew him to his feet. Stones scraping beneath his boots, Pyke surged toward the temple's exit with the case in tow. For a moment, just outside of the Temple he paused, and scanned the artificial horizon with optical sensors that contained all the same features in the digital as they did in the real. HUD elements marked locations and projected a steady scroll of information onto his view. A wrathful grin crept across his face, the expression almost audible as his unfamiliar voice was broadcast unexpectedly to every subject within the simulation; something only OPFOR was capable of.

<"Menace One-Five, Thunder One-Five... This is Deadman.>

<"...">

<"Welcome to Hell, fuckers.">
​

Cackling to himself, he sprinted off into the wilderness beyond the temple, course set for the equidistance Thunder 1-5' and Menace 1-5's approximate position.

---

MENACE 1-5: Verin | Samuel Exel | Lyrrin | Mara Kellarov | @Elen
THUNDER 1-5: Dominik Borra | Driver | Cordé Sabo | Lorian Arrlandi
OPFOR: Tiric Sar'andor ​

 

[Lorian Arrlandi]

Location: Coruscant, Unknown location.
Objective: UPDATED: Get the Artifact.
Proximity Tag: Cordé Sabo | Dominik Borra


"Nice, let's go then!" Weirdly, Lorian still had his gear on, even if the Optical Dephaser and Field Enhancer were off and hanging around his torso. It didn't mean he wasn't ready to simulate a fight. Anyways, Lorian casually followed Cordé Sabo to the said hallways, as she opened the doors Lorian slipped in and said.

"Eh, it's bigger than my apartment." Before going in one of these booths, it was weird as, they felt like made for the Task Force, everyone of us had a private one, two were closed though? Maybe peeps are joining in? Or are they in the simulation, waiting for us to get in?

Ah Kriff, it ain't so comfortable with the gear.. Alright, Lorian sat, and the chair encircled him for a moment, before letting him contemplate pure darkness. The air, it's practically liquid, he didn't feel normal,he could hear his blood flow through his veins and his heart beating. It felt weird, even if he did not feel completely himself.

And then, boom. Nothing became everything, and everything became atoms who then became something, something a ground, grass, trees and a whole background. "For the Higher One's sake..", Lorian said, before opening his eyes. He had a kind of headache, and when he tried to take his Field Enhancer, it was already on, with an armor. Nice, I guess.

And, firmly, a HUD appeared infront of him, I guess? "Uh, what the Kriff-"


"WELCOME, TASK FORCE NULL.

THERE ARE NO ENHANCEMENTS TO YOUR PERFORMANCE. THIS IS AS REAL A SIMULATION AS POSSIBLE — INCLUDING THE FULL SENSORY EXPERIENCE. THERE WILL BE PAIN."

- "Oh my, there will be enhancements. Not biological ones."

"YOUR TEAM DESIGNATIONS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO YOU. ANYONE NOT ON YOUR TEAM LIKELY HAS A COUNTER OBJECTIVE.

BOTH TEAMS WILL ENCOUNTER HOSTILES. HOW YOU CHOOSE TO ENGAGE THE HOSTILES, THE OTHER TEAM, AND YOUR OWN TEAM, IS SUBJECT TO EVALUATION.

OUT OF THIS SIMULATOR, YOU ARE ONE TEAM.

IN HERE, YOU'LL FIND OUT."


Alright, Lorian just listened to it. Just trying to get his Field Enhancer working, and it did. it's just still old.

Then, his communications worked, and heard:

<"Menace One-Five, Thunder One-Five... This is Deadman.>



<"...">



<"Welcome to Hell, fuckers.">




<<Bet.>>

He'd then proceed to cut his comms to everyone, only communicating with a pre-made channel 'Thunder'. So, I'm now Thunder 4, Thunder 1 is the Executive and is the lead of Thunder, I guess. Nice HUD, would be a shame if I only thrusted my gear..



______________________________________________________________



MENACE 1 Verin | MENACE 2 Samuel Exel | MENACE 3 Lyrrin | MENACE 4 Mara Kellarov | MENACE 5: Elena Lowe


[/SIZE]
THUNDER 1 Dominik Borra | THUNDER 2 Driver | THUNDER 3 Cordé Sabo | THUNDER 4 Lorian Arrlandi
ANTAG: Tiric Sar'andor | Pyke Lazar

ELIMINATED: N/A ​

​

 

[Samuel Exel]

CORUSCANT | CLOSED LOCATION

A Simulation. First sort of this kind of tech he’s seen, not including holos. This was certainly a promising business deal, if he could get his hands on stuff like this. The rumors weren’t kidding; the SIA had all sorts of fancy toys that were seemingly unheard of in most other places. He noticed the other two closed doors that were already there, his helmet tilting some as he looked to it. Noted for later. Then, he went in.

. . .

Feth, ‘course he wasn’t on the team with the other individual. It was when he heard the simulation state that the pain would be very real, and that set off alarm bells. Fingers flex as he unshouldered his Carbine - he affirmed that he seemingly had copies of the equipment he brought with him. His now imaginary armor seemed realistic, but he could note it was missing a sheen or two to it. Hand touched upon his face. His helmet had been outfitted with the visor, as well. As if he’d take his helmet off for this lot. Objectives came streaming in, displayed clearly on his HUD.

Contract Accepted. Now to prove he was worthy of it.

<“Alright, folks. Game faces on, then - we need to get a move-on immediately if we are to reach the objective first.”> Stated his modulated, cold voice through the comm. The Hunter wasted no time in beginning, booted feet moving swiftly across the terrain. He was unfamiliar with working in a squad such as this, and from what he’s seen, folks’ egos were more than likely keen on messing about. But he’s been on a security team, or two. Just have to get into a different mindset, presumably. This wasn’t really a time to be arguing about leadership - it's known there'll be protest if a Hunter acted like he was in charge. Regardless of that fact, the key to victory here was that everyone just needed to do their jobs. A brief once-over of the composition. An Engineer, an Agent, a Communications Specialist, the Demolitions Expert, and a Bounty Hunter. This should do. He cared little for the 'Welcome to Hell' announcement, it only drew annoyance.

<“Menace 5, information will be a strong ally today. Keep eyes for what you can gather that isn’t from us. See if you can isolate the general direction of where that OPFOR’s message came from.”> Giving a small request to Elena. Cocky folk, those who announced stuff like that. With luck, it can be used against them. His scanners and sensors would similarly be put to good use today. <”Watch each other's backs. If anyone’s good at long ranged engagements, that’ll be useful for cover fire. Try to move with cover,”> White-red armor began to blend and dull with the environment. Adaptive Camouflage. Paired with Reflec - sensor-dead coating on his equipment, if the simulation properly copied it. His kit was perfect for quick search-and-destroy operations like this. Carbine held in both hands with a practiced ease, one he had not been able to utilize in a while yet felt comfortable all the same, <”And be ready to shoot on sight, if necessary.”>

A good Hunter always came prepared.

MENACE 1 Verin | MENACE 2 Samuel Exel | MENACE 3 Lyrrin | MENACE 4 Mara Kellarov | MENACE 5 Elena Lowe
THUNDER 1 Dominik Borra | THUNDER 2 Driver | THUNDER 3 Cordé Sabo | THUNDER 4 Lorian Arrlandi
ANTAG: Tiric Sar'andor | Pyke Lazar​

 

[Dominik Borra]

Dominik nodded acknowledgment to Samuel Exel as he went over his roll. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about letting a mercenary in a top-secret task force, but here he was. IVI was the one who ran the show, not him. Sam felt like he could be rather useful in the future, should he remain loyal.

Lyrrin seemed satisfied enough. Verin made a joke and even he smirked at it, before Lyrrin made a jab at her. With a contained sigh he said nothing. With all the posturing, one also had to stand up for themselves. He already had made a point to Lorian Arrlandi and defended the medic and Elena, but he couldn't do it for everybody. They would only continue when his back was turned, and it could turn ugly then. Better they settle differences now without his intervention. And Verin had a great idea, the simulations. He'd rather them go over what they could do like reasonable adults but there was always the drive to show off what one could do. Especially with how many members of the opposite sex there were in the group for each member. Doing that in a crash-and-burn simulation would do well for them all, put them under some pressure to get along.

"Let's do it."

Dominik nodded to Verin with a small smile and lead them to the simulation pod room. He knew where it was but hadn't been inside of it yet. Two pods were already taken up, just as he had been told. He got in the one closest to the already occupied pods and let it close on him. He relaxed and let the device do its job. Four stings behind his ears and he was somewhere else.

He had been in a few simulations before but none in the past decade or more, and his life total never went into the double digits. So the rush of sensory information and suddenly standing was still a bit of a surprise for him. The darkness lightened up to reveal their surroundings, a mostly ruined town that looked plucked straight from Tatooine, one of the Mos cities, but overgrown with fauna and trees. Some buildings had trees growing out of the roof or windows. Green grass covered the ground, bending around bushes and small ferns that concealed roots running along the ancient ground.

WELCOME, TASK FORCE NULL.

THERE ARE NO ENHANCEMENTS TO YOUR PERFORMANCE. THIS IS AS REAL A SIMULATION AS POSSIBLE — INCLUDING THE FULL SENSORY EXPERIENCE. THERE WILL BE PAIN.

Dominik tried to activate his Cybernetic Eye, and it came online. Implants and cybernetics were working then, good. He flexed his robotic left arm.

YOUR TEAM DESIGNATIONS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO YOU. ANYONE NOT ON YOUR TEAM LIKELY HAS A COUNTER OBJECTIVE.

BOTH TEAMS WILL ENCOUNTER HOSTILES. HOW YOU CHOOSE TO ENGAGE THE HOSTILES, THE OTHER TEAM, AND YOUR OWN TEAM, IS SUBJECT TO EVALUATION.

OUT OF THIS SIMULATOR, YOU ARE ONE TEAM.

IN HERE, YOU'LL FIND OUT.

Dominik read the hud readout. Interesting objective, playing out a scenario they were likely to perform in the real world. It was also interesting that this pit them against the Jedi. It was probably an excuse to have a time limit, but they purposefully made the narrative to be taking the artefact before the Jedi would destroy it. What did that mean for the future, he wondered? He was with Cordé Sabo and Lorian Arrlandi , and found that they had small yellow triangles above them, marking them as part of Thunder Squad, of which he was Thunder 1. The other five candidates must be on the other team. Three on five on two, plus a few dozen AI cultists.

ENJOY LEARNING ONE ANOTHER'S INTIMACIES.

​

It was also only now that he realized he was in his classic armor. He practically lived in it for a number of years, it felt like home to him. He quickly found that he was equipped with his usual go-to, the DC-17m, his SPS-25 Whisperon his thigh holster, and Ebony, his old trusted sword, on his back. They didn't have time to lose, and the top of the temple could be seen from their position. "Alright Thunder, let's get-"

<"Menace One-Five, Thunder One-Five... This is Deadman.>

<"...">

<"Welcome to Hell, fuckers.">
​

Great, one of their OPFORs was having fun with this. Tiric Sar'andor would also be around here somewhere, and he wondered if the man would just watch or take part in opposing them. "Right, cultists. Assume minor force powers, possible lightsabers." He told his squad. "One Deadman who you just heard is on their side. Highly dangerous, call him out if you see him. Best to let the other team deal with him than us, but we take him down together if we have to. We're smaller and thus faster." He raised his left hand towards a tree growing out of a roof and activated the device in his palm. The tree groaned and shifted a bit before Dominik was lifted into the air and pulled towards the tree as if he was on a wire. He landed on a branch and brought out his gun, quickly equipping the lengthened barrel. "Move out." He aimed down his sights and found, just another street over, was Menace Squad. Dominik took aim at Samuel Exel , and thought about shooting him now. He would certainly knock out one of their opposers, but that would draw the rest of them over to fight here. Elena was more information and sniping, so it would be three-on-three with a bit of backup on their side. But that wasn't the objective, and they still had to take on Deadman. He didn't know a lot about him other than he was heavily augmented, a real cyborg. He would be a challenge with cultist backup. Best to leave the other Squad alive for now, help draw resources from their opponents. His team, Thunder Squad, was smaller and could move faster. He had Lorian who could go invisible. Capitalizing on that stealth potential was their best option.

Then he swung from the tree back down to the ground, rolling as he came up jogging. "First lesson for fighting anyone, especially FUs." He broadcasted to Thunder Squad, "If someone else can deal with them, you let them. It's best if we stay silent on our approach up, don't engage Menace Squad unless they engage us. If they do, we retreat west, put some distance between them and us, and keep moving up. They have a time limit too. Sound good?"

 

[Verin]

“You were smart to smoke before doing this.”

"Ah, girly, you know me... am a kriffin' genius." Verin drawled as they entered the simulation hallway. Borra seemed to have liked her plan, which was good, because scoring a positive point with your team leader on the first day?

Hey.

That was always something to celebrate.

"I will see ya on the other side, eh?" And then Verin slapped Cordé on the arm. A supportive gesture? Perhaps. Except that when she looked at her forearm... Cordé would notice a sticker. "I tried to quit a dozen times, maybe that will 'elp with ya nerves." The last thing Cordé would see was the chit-eating grin of Verin, before she dropped herself into the simulation pod and the doors closed to a hiss.

A cigarra patch was not that bad a gift.

It took a moment for Verin to acclimatize herself with the environment. It wasn't her first time in virtual reality. In her youth she had been more often in a pod like this than outside of it.

Quick-brand education with little risk besides boredom.

She checked her equipment. Standard, to the point, and in the background she absently took note of two things. The default message playing their current objective. And the insertion of complication. Deadman? M sure loved her private jokes and toys. Verin sighed and checked over her rifle one more time before following suit with Exel.

Her call sign MENACE 1 suggested she was the leader of Team Menace. Luckily Exel seemed to grab the reins naturally. This was a relief to the woman. The last thing Verin wanted was to start barking orders at her colleagues on the first day.

Sure as feth way to create tensions.

Exel could have at it.

"Veri- Menace One here. I guess it's too late to suggest we all work together to eliminate Sith opposition and then play a round of dice for the artifacts, before the Jedi NPCs show up?" This one was broadcasted to both Team Menace and Thunder. While she mentioned this she kept her eyes on the horizon.

Was that movement?

Oh, yeah, Thunder was out there, alright.

MENACE 1 Verin | MENACE 2 Samuel Exel | MENACE 3 Lyrrin | MENACE 4 Mara Kellarov | MENACE 5: Elena Lowe
THUNDER 1 Dominik Borra | THUNDER 2 Driver | THUNDER 3 Cordé Sabo | THUNDER 4 Lorian Arrlandi
ANTAG: Tiric Sar'andor | Pyke Lazar

 

[Lorian Arrlandi]

Location: Coruscant, Unknown location.
Objective: UPDATED: Get the Artifact.
Proximity Tag: Cordé Sabo | Dominik Borra || Verin Samuel Exel
​

<<Alright people, I see a squad, they're at 164, ES. I'll take a look, I'll try not to engage them.>>

Lorian said, as he vanished to human eyes. Before going, he'd check his equipment, the Field Enhancer and Sinrich Optical Dephaser. His 'Stealth' DC-19 will do the job as he had an enhanced vision, no need for scopes.

He'd proceed to run for 1.2km to the said position, tracking any of their movements. As he arrived in a close enough range to collect intel, Lorian concentrated on the target, and only on the target. He recognized Samuel Exel and Verin . They had their gear intact. It was kinda clear for Lorian that he was the only one around this perimiterer with enhanced senses.

Even at 540m of distances, in the plains, he could hear Verin asking something over the comms as it reached his. He quickly took his device and said, <<Too late, I guess.>> Lorian said, in a quiet voice.