Down on the grounds of the contested planet, the team finally makes it to their initial target destination. A large quarry dug into a large hill where the sound of machinery could be heard miles out. Honestly, the map was only partially helpful, if it weren't for Tobias, they wouldn't have located the damn place. Guess Extranicus have enhanced hearing of sorts, you learn something new everyday.
Watching from a high point that is able to observe a majority of the massive area, Both Lock and Alex are peeking out from a large boulder. From their positions, both begin to observe what they could gather. The place looks like a normal sort of
"Isn't this fun...nearly a hundred people working amongst the soldiers," Alex's robotic voice says in a low volume as one of the lenses on their visor zooms a bit more towards the workers.
Scanning down towards the quarry, the two notice a good amount of people swinging pickaxes at the rocks. Though further observation reveals a darker image.
"Are those…chemical tanks?"
On the back of the miners are tanks with tubes that are strapped to a mask which covers the beings' mouths. All of the workers have similar work rags and pretty much the same tools they carry around as they walk in a zombie-like state. Looking over at a small group of workers moving the products via machine, they notice that their eyes are almost…lifeless. An unnatural look which makes it where the person looks like they are there, but their mind is in a whole different plane of existence. Alex pulls Lock back down, seemingly covering themselves behind cover as if a guard was about to look up in their general direction. However, before they fully went back into hiding, Lock noticed some weird device that is attached to areas that function similarly to that of a human's ear.
"Well, it seems like they are brainwashed, think it is some sort of sensory dampener or some sort of actual mind controlling chem?" Alex asks as they slump against the boulder with one knee up to rest their arm on.
" Most likely the first choice…I have to admit, I didn't really believe our SCO until now," Lock furrows his eyes as he runs through the possible decisions in his data bank.
"...You have doubts about our SCO's intel? Isn't that counter-intuitive?"
"No, that is just being cautious…" Lock sounds a bit annoyed as Alex's auto tuned voice just gives him a vibe that they are trying to get under his skin.
"Sure, sure, so, what is this faction again? I like a bit of a refresher before we try and start any sort of assault,"
"Did you not listen during the brief?"
Alex shrugs at Lock's question as they relocate a gut knife from their leg sheath and into a shoulder sheath.
"Do you realize how long that briefing was? Not all of us have the ability to record and replay a massive amount of information like that,"
Lock sighs before he nods and digs through his memory until he found the intel that he was looking for, yet, it is a bit broken due to the firmware being outdated for a while since.
"Ningens, according to the intel, the faction is notorious for stuff similar to what we just saw, chemical warfare is their specialty and they will use it to their advantage…however, there are a few ways for us to counter them, but most of it requires us to take them out before they can react with a response,"
Once he is done, Lock glances over at Alex who shifts their head a bit as if astonished by that information.
"Fun, so we need to act fast, but we are against a force who are on high alert, no air support due to their AA defenses, on top of that, civilians…so what's the plan, boss?"
Lock ponders for a bit. As much as he feels like it is necessary to risk civilian casualties, he remembers the strict words from his superior.
"There will most likely be civilians, the Ningens unfortunately may use them as meat shields or even possibly a bargaining chip to escape capture, the other teams will have their own rules of engagement, but for the safety of this team, I want you guys to eliminate every single hostile if there are civilians in the combat zone that they can use, understand?"
With those words replaying in his head, Lock slowly draws out his pistol as he peeks again to get a good look at the setup on those workers before making his decision.
" Let's disconnect those tubes supplying the chems into those workers' systems. Hopefully it won't be fatal if we do,"
Lock slips back behind the rock and turns to see what Alex thinks. They seem to think on this for a moment before nodding once. Taking out a knife and twirling it before grabbing the small blade into a reverse grip.
" Sounds good to me, what about the assault plan?"
" I'll explain it over comms, in the meantime, go ahead and grab Mye from rear watch,"
"Understood 'commander'," Alex gives him a small salute to which he shakes his head in disgust.
"Don't do that, ever,"
Alex just quietly chuckles before slipping off to pick up their third party member. Once alone, Lock brings his pistol up and cocks the slide back slightly to make sure there is a round in the chamber. Confirming it, he lets the slide lock forward and brings a hand up to his ear.
"This is Lock, report in entrance team, over"
[This is Ryn, Tobias is with me, over]
"Are you two good to go out there? over,"
[We've been watching the guards stargazing for about an hour, I think we are way more than good to go by now…over]
"...right, a simple yes would've been fine, listen, we're going to start our assault a bit here, what I want you two to do is draw attention, think you can do that?"
At that moment, he hears a couple of footsteps approaching him. Turning his head, he sees both Alex and Mye making their way over to him crouched down from the decently small little mining tunnel that they found when scouting around the outside of the quarry. Granted, there were quite a bit of them, but this specific tunnel had the best vantage point along with giving the most cover compared to the others.
As Lock waits for Ryn's response, an unexpected mistake happens. As both Mye and Alex make their way to them, Mye accidentally trips over herself and falls forward. Instinctively, Lock removes his hand from the earpiece and grabs Mye's shoulder. Alex also helps with grabbing her other arm which completely stopped her from crashing to the ground and possibly giving their position away. Regaining her footing, Mye nods her head before settling down onto her knees as she adjusts her scarf to cover her lower face as she looks towards the ground with little to no reaction with what happened. Lock narrows his eyes at her before looking at Alex. Though before he could ask his question, yelling and a massive quake to the quarry followed by Ryn's voice over the comms stopped him entirely.
[I hope you mean 'draw attention' as in right now! Because we could use some support on drawing those guns away from our position!]
Lock curses under his breath bringing his pistol at a low ready position as Alex shakes their head before drawing a second knife into their other hand. Seeing the two draw their weapons, Mye draws her pistol into both of her hands. Standing up, Lock looks over the rock to see a completely messy battle ensuing. A red flying figure can be seen charging at a few positions destroying the gun placements in a quick swoop before flying off as gunfire tries to trail after him. On the other hand, a large dark brownish figure can be seen with a massive shield holding off multiple soldiers who are shooting at him.
"Let's go. Those two preemptively struck before we were even ready,"
Lock's voice is filled with frustration as he darts out of the cover and slides his way down the slope of the quarry. Not confirming their response, he expects them to hopefully follow him in as they are now on the clock because of their front line duo.