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Author Topic: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)  (Read 39141 times)

Kashyyk

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #420 on: November 14, 2021, 11:25:21 pm »

Nikita Taylor the Martial Artist
This month, like many in the future, will have missions that prevent us from getting weapons where they need to be, so let's turn an operator into one. Nikita Taylor has spent her whole ife having to look after herself, alone, in dangerous situations. She's also our physically smallest operator. She will definitely appreciate the value of unarmed combat classes. We want maximum violence in a minimum time frame, against potentially multiple opponents who may be armed. A mixture of Krav Maga, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, and whatever Neil's favourite techniques are from his time in the Green Berets should do the trick.

Quote from: Specialist Phase Votebox
(3) Let Chief Train a Pickpocket: Ops Chief, m1895, Kashyyk
(2) Human Ice Technician/AKA Assassin: Stirk, SC777
() Nikita the Martial Artist

Also, have an official recruitment shortlist.

1) Agent Charlie Lively. Ex-AMR CI/FP Agent turned Anghabar Insurgent. Other than being burned by Barcley, has no reason to actually stay on Anghabar. An opportunity to live somewhere permanent enough to have plumbing and delivery food sounds much more pleasant than fighting a counter-insurgency against a planet-wide authority

2) Dorothy Rae Miller (née Wilder). Ex-CoFor Army Medic. Goodhaven. She's lost her husband and child, and is now living back in her hometown, when she originally enlisted specifically for a chance to leave. Her father is likely very protective of her, considering the bereavements and hostage situation, which no doubt cuts into her feeling of freedom even more

3) Janet "Holla" Hollaran. Goodhaven Sheriff's Deputy. She's proven to be competent under fire and has a strong rapport with Anna and Redrick. She's no doubt someone who wants to explore the unknown and make a name for herself with her own two hands if she's chosen to live out in a frontier town, and if she didn't choose, then a chance to leave and see new sights is likely what she wants instead

4) Jack Bauer. Ex-Greywater, Bauer Investigations and Security. Harad. Ex-Merc, let's offer him more Merc work. He's had a few months to see what life is like pulling small fry jobs in the donkey end of nowhere. Maybe he'd like to come back to the ship.

5) Sid the Velocirator. You said you can interview anyone, and I want a dinosaur.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2021, 06:21:09 pm by Kashyyk »
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ConscriptFive

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #421 on: November 19, 2021, 01:35:46 am »

Quote
Specialist: Nikita the Pickpocket
"You got this, Chief."

Given latitude to select an operator for training as a pickpocket, Neil decides on Nikita Taylor.  Still, he can't help but recall how badly it went the first time.  Mrs. Ocean had wanted some kind of glitterworld cyber-ninja done on the cheap, and it didn't work out.  Getting laughed out of the TI Clinic put the poor girl on tilt and derailed her training.  But given her operational record, perhaps she'd picked up more than she let on?  Nikita has since proven herself a tireless operator and a trusted teammate several times over.

Physically, Nikita fits the type of a traditional pickpocket.  A young woman of small stature, she doesn't present an obvious threat to most marks.  Even better, she already doesn't draw much attention to herself in fashion or demeanor, which should hopefully translate as a polite (but forgettable) "grey man" in a crowd.  Perhaps her small hands will deftly and delicately manipulate fasteners and pockets with surgical precision as well?

Neil isn't surprised when she excels in this training.  (It's soon obvious she's had prior experience in this.)

Neil teaches her the fundamentals of slight of hand: how to appear to move naturally, but disguise a smaller movement.  She picks up the basic "French Drop" immediately, making small objects disappear in the palm of her hand.  After mastering the French Drop, she learns how to direct attention and block line of sight with her body.  A good pickpocket knows how to force eye-contact and use that moment to make their move.  Of course, sight isn't the only sense to be fooled.  Nikita learns when and how to touch a mark to desensitize, distract, or disguise from the physical sensation of a theft.

Sitting in his office, Neil awaits patiently as Nikita executes her final exam.  It was a live practical exercise, and he had high hopes for her.  She enters and holds up a fist full of smartphones.  With a proud grin, she places all four on his desk, reciting which operator she lifted them from.

Nikita the Pickpocket
An unassuming young woman who can discreetly swipe an object in the blink of an eye.  A master of slight of hand and misdirection.

Spoiler: Roll (click to show/hide)

Operations Phase

"Well Ma'am, I'm feeling better about that job on the train now.  Still, that mission on Anghabar is some serious business though.  I spoke again with our contact, and he had a lot more to tell us.  Here's some imagery of the objective and the surrounding area."

Spoiler: Objective Map (click to show/hide)

"So the objective is set in a dusty neighborhood of goat ranches turned industrial.  The land is mostly laid out in 200 meter by 200 meter squares, surrounded by dirt roads.  Like most compounds out there, its surrounded by an eight foot adobe wall with a strand of barbed wire on top."

"The VA HQ building is an oddball kind of place.  The rancher traded in his goats and rebuild it all as a banquet hall, which is why the main grounds looks like some kind of Mediterranean plaza.  All very Godfather-esque with plaster imitation sculptures and whatnot.  Kinda reminds me of a tacky version of the Olive Garden."

"Olive Garden?"

"Before your time, Ma'am.  Anyhow, the VA Company has taken over the whole compound.  According to the IRA's insider, most personnel stay up there for meals, recreation, and training.  The parking lot to the east is used as their motorpool."

"That lot looks pretty empty."

"Indeed Ma'am.  As our contact stated, most of the company spends daylight hours guarding properties elsewhere."  He continues, "Through a double doors from the kitchen, you can see the remnants of the old goat ranch to the South.  Here the rancher was trying to build a wedding chapel."

"What?"

"No, really.  It looks finished but the IRA insists it was never consecrated. Of more practical concerns, it does have a little mock belltower that they post a lookout in.  Everything else in the compound is single story."

"Everything?"

"Yes, Ma'am, including the southernmost portion of the compound, where VA Commander resides.  The rancher's adobe home along the west wall, and sheet metal animal sheds along the east wall.  I don't see any prominent antennas or dishes elsewhere, so I'm guessing the radio shack is located in the ranch house.  Last, but not least, there's a backdoor onto the road there that's normally kept locked.  The IRA insider plans to leave that gate unlocked for us.  If all goes well, it could be a fast decapitation."

"Very nice, there has to be a catch, though?"

Neil winces, "You are correct, Ma'am.  Take a look at this area map."

Spoiler: Area Map (click to show/hide)

"What am I supposed to be seeing?"

"So we may be on the outskirts of town, but there are two neighboring AMR facilities that are actively guarded.  That irregularly shaped grey factory 250 meters NNE is a tire refurbishment plant with a guard force of VA troops."

"And that thing by the highway?"

"Yes, Ma'am, that a regional fueling point.  Main fuel reserves for the whole town, and guarded by a CoFor detachment."

"Shit."

"Yeah, the IRA's plan is to hit the compound from the South, set up blocking positions to hold off reinforcements from the North, and then exfil SW into the wilderness.  I sketched out their plan accordingly."

Spoiler: Battleplan (click to show/hide)

"That's a lot of moving pieces."

"It's not as bad as it looks.  Lively will be personally taking Orange Platoon on the main assault in the compound.  (The IRA has never met Barclay before, so he or us needs to PID the kill.)  Green Squad will support by fire nearby with a machinegun.  White Squad are their supposed scout snipers, and they'll be set up in the trash dump to hold off anything coming from the fueling point.  Gold Squad is the reserve element and guards the trucks everybody will need for exfil."

"So where do we fit in?"

"Well, our choice Ma'am.  While Orange will surely need bodies for CQB in the compound itself, White could easily get overrun if they can't hold off reinforcements.  Both elements can expect to be committed to combat extensively.  However, Green and Gold are choices that will allow us tactical flexibility.  (Keep in mind, anybody who can't make it to Gold's vehicles is going to be left behind.)  Might be a bit of an image issue though.  If I were to spend good money on a outside contractor, I'd expect them to lead from the front."

"I'll have to think about this."

"As for the train job, Ma'am, I don't have much more to brief you.  From Lively's photo, our men should be able to PID the mark boarding the train at the spaceport.  It's a two hour train ride with two intermediate stops before the mark reaches his destination at Crystal City.  Should be ample time for our new pickpocket to setup a pull."

"Well that sounds relatively easy compared to a full on wartime raid."

"Yes and no, Ma'am.  We have a lot of witnesses in a confined environment, not to mention armed neutrals present.  We cause enough of a scene, and we get get an operator tazed and cuffed.  The 9 mil's are nice to have, but if we try to shoot our way off a speeding train, it's going to go badly."

"Surely none of our operators would just take a flying leap..."

You and Neil share an awkward glance.

Quote from: Plan Vote
(1) "I got ahead of myself, Chief.  I think you should still handle this.": OpsChief

As much as you'd like to pore over these maps, the recruiting shortlist stays at the top of your mind.  Five names, due immediately...

Quote from: Recruit Shortlist (Pick 5)
(0) Jack Ryan - Greywater Solutions operator
(0) Sheriff Wilder - The Sheriff of Goodhaven
(1) Janet "Holla" Hollaran - Goodhaven Sheriff's Deputy: Kashyyk
(1) Jack Bauer - Former Greywater Solutions operator: Kashyyk
(1) Agent Charlie Lively - Former AMR CI Agent: Kashyyk
(0) Major Nguyen Quan Dung - Orion Six
(0) Sergeant Major Luke Hartley - Orion Seven
(0) Matthew Vogel - Patron of the Shildon Hunt
(0) Doc Jack Barbera - Raptor King
(0) Bellatrix - Doc Jack Barbara's assistant
(1) "Sid" the Velocirator: Kashyyk
(0) Stanley "Stan" Wellmark - ex-Guard and laundryman at Flossmore
(0) Deniska - Slavic Vor mobster at Flossmore
(0) Lise Schubert - multi-talented performer
(0) FitzPatrick - IRA lieutenant
(0) SPC Rana Chatterjee - CoFor interpreter
(0) CoFor HQ Platoon Sergeant Jogendra "Jon" Sen - CoFor B/2-2 Rifle Company
(0) Lieutenant George Rogers - CoFor B/2-2 Rifle Company
(0) Arkady Tretyakov - Special Military Advisor, Second Regiment/Wagner Group
(1) Dorothy Rae Miller (nee Dorothy Wilder) - widow of Lt Miller, former CoFor Medic: Kashyyk
(0) Kelsey Bennington - Wild party girl
(0) Maartje Thyssen - Strong One-percenter chafing at cultural norms
(0) Pratima Ambani - Idealist funding IRA
(0) Khadija Gilani - Potter Properties Civil Engineer. Overqualified, but enjoys the freedom of life on Harad.
(0) Logan Kenny - teen rebel and IRA fighter
(0) Cormac Connlongas - IRA sharpshooter

Of course you also can suggest lines of questioning to the contractor as well.

Stirk

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #422 on: November 20, 2021, 02:51:02 pm »

Note to any government officials reading this thread: This is just a game and any potential terrorism plans are purely for entertainment purposes.


As I suggested earlier we're here to perform an assassination, not a raid. Battles are super cool and I'm sure our operators would have fun but we really just need to kill one guy and we have insiders to help with that. Well two guys I guess. If they want to play raid they can do it after the job is done.

So we'll hit this in two phases. Phase 1 is a silent decapitation, Phase 2 is Shadow Legends.

For P1 we first rendezvous with local infiltrators in order to receive the identity and location of our targets. First priority is the Agent, second is the leadership of the base we're attacking, third is the leadership of the tire factory and gas station. Neither have obvious on-location housing meaning whoever orders those guys around has to drive to the base. We can hopefully shoot them when they're doing that so we don't have to deal with an angry army. As the tire factory and gas station are defensive posts when they're leadership is down they're likely to hesitate to leave their location to assist someone else, buying us time while they try to figure out if they should stay and place or run towards the gunshots.

We will then equip our infiltrators with button cameras, and "disposable" handguns if they desire. Now that our cameras are wireless we can disperse them around the base and town to get a real-time picture of the entire battlefield and all the invaluable tactical information that comes with this. Our own agents should be able to place some in less-suspicions places in town to assist with this. If the infiltrators are willing, we then open a secure and covert communication link to them to plan our assassination. With full eyes on the base we can direct them to our targets and give them an easy escape route. If they arn't willing to be our triggermen then we have an IRA sniper armed with one of our VALs do the deed instead. They can add their own scope and site it in somewhere in the desert of they want. In either case it is basically shooting them quietly then getting out before anyone notices. Ideally we'd be able to shoot them off-base with no witnesses so we'd keep the element of surprise.

Other two leaders may be more difficult depending on if we have any infiltrators in there and if they're driving convoys to work. We'll equip six snipers with our VALs and their own scopes and basically use the same plan as before, just without the unbelievable intel. Which is again just shoot them when nobody is looking. If it is necessary we can equip their demolition team with our semtex and launch an ambush as they head in to work.

As long as we finish the Agent guy, everything else doesn't actually matter and is just there so it looks like we're putting in a good-faith effort lol.

Anyway once the leadership is dead they can launch the raid like they planned. While I'm aware they want us to lead from the front, I'm sure they'll settle for us sitting in a van giving them real-time intel on where literally every bad guy in the town currently is and what they are doing. Simon will be sitting in a van doing just that. He'll also lead the "talk to the infiltrators" part of the plan, and direct the assassin teams. Ethan Hunt will be there helping out, and act as our signal fixer since this network is entirely reliant on us borrowing a bunch of smartphones from the IRA and leaving them within 5 meters of all those button cameras and is liable to go down basically constantly. Nikita's newly found smartphone stealing ability could potentially help out there but I guess we have to send her to the thief mission. Anyway point is we can set up both our guys in the van and make it look like they're doing something without putting them at real risk letting them drive away when the raid succeeds/fails/whatever we already killed our guy.

Operators: Simon, Ethan
Equipment: A bunch of button cameras, 6 AS Val SP-6s, Semtex, and standard issue gear from us. Scopes, and a bunch of smartphones from the IRA.

As a reminder to all our Ms.Ocean personalities we really just want to kill this guy and have no interest in the IRA actually succeeding in this mission. If we end up siding with Theil it'd technically be a good thing if they killed our target and ended up failing so I'm not overly concerned with the raid panning out.

On the train: Not really a lot we can plan here since we've only got two hours. Let Nikita pickpocket with her super ninja pickpocket skills basically. Send Erik with her just so she doesn't get lonely and also because he's kinda a thief too. Shoot him and take it off his body if you run out of time. We can send some button cameras just so they can look at him without looking at him but it is basically "You know what you're doing Nikita just go handle it"

Operators: Nikita, Erik
Equipment: A smaller number of button cameras, some concealed handguns, whatever Nikita wants to bring that isn't already on the goat farm.
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m1895

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #423 on: December 03, 2021, 04:18:12 pm »

Quote from: Recruit Shortlist (Pick 5)
(0) Jack Ryan - Greywater Solutions operator
(0) Sheriff Wilder - The Sheriff of Goodhaven
(1) Janet "Holla" Hollaran - Goodhaven Sheriff's Deputy: Kashyyk
(1) Jack Bauer - Former Greywater Solutions operator: Kashyyk
(2) Agent Charlie Lively - Former AMR CI Agent: Kashyyk
(0) Major Nguyen Quan Dung - Orion Six
(0) Sergeant Major Luke Hartley - Orion Seven
(0) Matthew Vogel - Patron of the Shildon Hunt
(0) Doc Jack Barbera - Raptor King
(0) Bellatrix - Doc Jack Barbara's assistant
(2) "Sid" the Velocirator: Kashyyk
(0) Stanley "Stan" Wellmark - ex-Guard and laundryman at Flossmore
(0) Deniska - Slavic Vor mobster at Flossmore
(0) Lise Schubert - multi-talented performer
(0) FitzPatrick - IRA lieutenant
(1) SPC Rana Chatterjee - CoFor interpreter: m1895
(1) CoFor HQ Platoon Sergeant Jogendra "Jon" Sen - CoFor B/2-2 Rifle Company: m1895
(0) Lieutenant George Rogers - CoFor B/2-2 Rifle Company
(0) Arkady Tretyakov - Special Military Advisor, Second Regiment/Wagner Group
(2) Dorothy Rae Miller (nee Dorothy Wilder) - widow of Lt Miller, former CoFor Medic: Kashyyk, m1895
(0) Kelsey Bennington - Wild party girl
(0) Maartje Thyssen - Strong One-percenter chafing at cultural norms
(0) Pratima Ambani - Idealist funding IRA
(0) Khadija Gilani - Potter Properties Civil Engineer. Overqualified, but enjoys the freedom of life on Harad.
(0) Logan Kenny - teen rebel and IRA fighter
(0) Cormac Connlongas - IRA sharpshooter
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Stirk

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #424 on: December 03, 2021, 06:11:20 pm »

Quote from: Recruit Shortlist (Pick 5)
(0) Jack Ryan - Greywater Solutions operator
(0) Sheriff Wilder - The Sheriff of Goodhaven
(1) Janet "Holla" Hollaran - Goodhaven Sheriff's Deputy: Kashyyk
(2) Jack Bauer - Former Greywater Solutions operator: Kashyyk, Stirk
(2) Agent Charlie Lively - Former AMR CI Agent: Kashyyk, m1895
(0) Major Nguyen Quan Dung - Orion Six
(0) Sergeant Major Luke Hartley - Orion Seven
(0) Matthew Vogel - Patron of the Shildon Hunt
(0) Doc Jack Barbera - Raptor King
(0) Bellatrix - Doc Jack Barbara's assistant
(3) "Sid" the Velocirator: Kashyyk, m1895 Stirk
(0) Stanley "Stan" Wellmark - ex-Guard and laundryman at Flossmore
(0) Deniska - Slavic Vor mobster at Flossmore
(0) Lise Schubert - multi-talented performer
(0) FitzPatrick - IRA lieutenant
(1) SPC Rana Chatterjee - CoFor interpreter: m1895
(1) CoFor HQ Platoon Sergeant Jogendra "Jon" Sen - CoFor B/2-2 Rifle Company: m1895
(0) Lieutenant George Rogers - CoFor B/2-2 Rifle Company
(0) Arkady Tretyakov - Special Military Advisor, Second Regiment/Wagner Group
(2) Dorothy Rae Miller (nee Dorothy Wilder) - widow of Lt Miller, former CoFor Medic: Kashyyk, m1895
(0) Kelsey Bennington - Wild party girl
(0) Maartje Thyssen - Strong One-percenter chafing at cultural norms
(0) Pratima Ambani - Idealist funding IRA
(0) Khadija Gilani - Potter Properties Civil Engineer. Overqualified, but enjoys the freedom of life on Harad.
(0) Logan Kenny - teen rebel and IRA fighter
(0) Cormac Connlongas - IRA sharpshooter

Special questions:
Sid: Is it possible that you could forgive us for what we've done to you?
Jack Bauer: Mostly questioning him to see what Specialties our old friend Nicky bought for him.

I'm still pretty set on JB. Sid would be cool too. Especially if he gets the immortality thing.
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ConscriptFive

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #425 on: December 20, 2021, 11:51:34 pm »

Event Resolution

Operations Chief Neil McCauley opens up a presentation on the prospects you requested, "Now that we've all read the prospect scouting report, I've prepared a short presentation discussing my recommendations."

Your Legal Counsel Sam Goldman nods appreciatively, "Breaking out the Powerpoint?  How classic."

"Old habits, Sam...."

The first prospect of the presentation is "Jack Bauer," a disgraced veteran operator from your direct rival, Greywater Solutions.

"Now Ma'am, I'm sure you've probably seen this guy around the ship.  I'm also sure you know that him and me were POW's together after the Battle of Marina Bay Sands.  I was an ODA, he was a Batt Boy.  We did our duty, but we just didn't have what we needed to stop the ChiComs in Singapore."

Sam notably keeps a hushed reverance.

"Good dude, but we lost track of each other after repatriation.  'Small world' when he turned up doing PMC work."

"Small world?" you ask.

Sam laughs, "An idiom from back in the Old World-"

You interrupt slightly embarrassed, "-oh, I get it.  Nevermind."

Neil continues, "The interview filled out his dossier pretty much as I expected.  Volunteered as a US Army Ranger at 18.  Served as junior enlisted in the 75th Ranger Regiment during the Pacific War.  Earned his Combat Infantryman Badge against the North Koreans before redeploying to Singapore.  After over a year in captivity, he was repatriated during the 'First Ceasefire.'  Honorably discharged and got into an Old World PMC.  Built up a decent rep, and became one of the founding members of Greywater."

You inadvertantly gasp, "That's a lot of experience."

Neil nods, "Indeed Ma'am.  By now he's probably as OG a Cowboy as I am."

Sam quips, "And probably has more mission hours than you."

Neil frowns, but begrudgingly concedes, "True... but a certain lawyer won't let me out into the field anymore."

"Trust me, it's for your own good, Chief."

Neil rolls his eyes, "Anyhow, he's an experienced infantryman qualified on a wide-variety of US military hardware.  Picked up some languages over the years, and claims to be functional in Mandarin.  Still wouldn't break his NDA with Greywater, but we know Nick had him billeted as a 'Project Manager' before his termination.  Medically, his Reju-Renu'd body should still be in top shape, and getting TI Med services transferred back onto our account should be a pretty straighforward process at the Clinic.  In terms of him taking up a shipside billet as one of the Ten, he's almost certainly better soldier than either Templar or Vega, and possesses a lifetime of tactical leadership experience none of our operators will ever catch up to."

"But is he interested?" you ask.

Neil laughs, "Well, per procedure, we had the contractor be all crafty about the actual job and employer.  An old hand like him saw through it immediately though.  He explicity told the contractor than he wanted the employer to know than 'he bore no ill will towards them' and had always 'harbored a profound respect for his peer operators, even though employer regulations did not allow him to express such personal beliefs at the time.'"

Sam grins, "Yep, that sure sounds like somebody who's spent a lifetime in middle-management."

Neil nods, "Right?  So we know this guy can definitely bullshit, which is a valuable skill in our line of work."

"But what if he's telling the truth?" you ask.

Sam and Neil look at each other awkwardly and then shrug indifferently.

Neil explains, "Either way, this guy's going to come with all sorts of baggage.  Even if he's telling the truth, there's still an 'old dog, new tricks' factor, get me?"

Sam fills in, "Another idiom: us old timers can get very set in their ways.  While we share similar core competencies with Greywater Solutions, we differ greatly in corporate culture.  It may take him awhile to adjust to our way of doing business."

Neil continues, "That's one way of putting it.  He may know the business and lifestyle, but you've still got different SOP's, Code of Conduct, and hardware.  He's a good dude, but that's alot to unlearn.  Then there's also the billeting issue."

"Billeting issue?  Aren't we considering him as a direct replacement for 'Raptor?'" you ask.

"Yes, but he's got more experience than our other nine operators combined.  You can't shove a guy like that in an entry-level position.  If he doesn't get some kind of leadership role, there's going to be problems."

Sam agrees with Neil, "I concur, Mrs. Ocean.  I also would expect those kind of issues, especially given our unique small group dynamics.  Still, a promotion would be a double-edged sword.  As they say, 'elevate one, spurn a dozen.'"

"Or more specifically, spurn nine," you intone.

The presentation introduces the next prospect Rana Chatterjee, a military linguist deployed with Coalition Expeditionary Forces on Anghabar.

Neil briefs the slide, "Specialist Rana Chatterjee... Young and physically fit, yet not the best soldier.  But he is a genuine polyglot, and we may be able leverage him as a cultural advisor."

You arch an eyebrow, "Cultural advisor?  Chief, you're going to have to unpack that."

"Before the wars and ravages of climate change, South Asians consisted of roughly a quarter of the Old World's population and arguably was the most densely populated region of the planet."

Sam adds, "Shame so many of them were both dirt poor and in monsoon flood zones.  The sectarian conflicts didn't help either."

Neil continues, "With few exceptions, they didn't make it onto the first wave of Exodus Initiative ships.  Most traveled to the New Worlds on the later public domain ships.  As I'm sure you're well aware, Ma'am, many of the public domain ships never made it.  Interstellar navigation isn't kind to amateurs, and public domain ships ended up horribly off-course, arriving months (and sometimes years) later than planned.  The pioneers did what they had to do to survive..."

You nod somberly.

"As a result, many South Asians arrived in the New Worlds as total charity cases.  It's not as bad as it used to be, but they're still an often marginalized underclass.  (Even after all these decades, racists sometimes denigrate them as cannibals.)  But the Free Market still needs their labor, so they often turn up working menial 'dirty jobs' such as janitors, drivers, or day labor."

"Chief, I appreciate the history recap, but where is this going?"

"In the face of societal adversity, marginalized communities tend to turn inwards, rather than integrate.  South Asians are close-knit, and remain culturally very foreign.  And as our operators have seen these past months, the language barrier is an undeniable obstacle.  Even if we reworked our operators morphology, I doubt we could reliably embed any of our current operators in a genuine South Asian community.  Having a native South Asian in our roster opens us up to all sorts of new ISR opportunities."

Sam nods, "How often do One Percenters ignore 'the help?'  ...Especially those of differing heritage?"

"Exactly, Ma'am.  He may not be the strongest prospect as an operator, but the potential due to his heritage and general language capabilties shouldn't be overlooked."

"So B-Team?" you suggest.

"I would certainly keep him in consideration, Ma'am.  In terms of current employment, he's not happy to be sniper-bait on Anghbar, and CoFor doesn't even pay him very well for that.  I think he's done being a soldier, so the B-Team might be the opportune career change he needs."

The presentation introduces the third prospect "Charlie Lively", a burned CI/HUMINT Agent embedded in the IRA on Anghabar.

"Well, Ma'am. ...So it's worth noting that the contractor commented they had a difficult time locating him on Anghabar and then convincing him he wasn't a paid assassin."

You nod sympathetically, "Understandable."

Sam adds, "Which could be advantageous, correct?  Presumably he wants as far away from the Thiel Planetary System as possible?"

Neil answers, "The contractor pointed that out too.  He warmed up to the contractor once he realized this employment could be his ticket out of town.  Per our operators' reports, he doesn't even like the IRA, he's just stuck with them.

"'Any harbor in a storm.'  Sorry, Mrs. Ocean, another idiom."
 
You sigh, "Seriously, that's not that hard to figure out."
 
Neil continues, "An eager young man who seemed to be living his dream job until it all back-fired.  In terms of psyche profile, I like him as a prospect.  Quick-witted and keeps his sprits up despite the world of shit he's in.  Morally flexible, which is a plus some of the situations our operators find themselves in."

"But?" you ask.

"I mean, every time we've worked with him, the situation has gone horribly wrong.  Was it all Barclay secretly sabotaging us, or are they just incompetent as an organization?  Besides, CI/HUMINT is such a soft skillset, it's hard to objectively evaluate. ...I don't know how to put this delicately, Ma'am.  But I'm not sure he's actually good at his job?"

Sam smirks, "Well he has been a spy inside a murderous leftist insurgency, and not been murdered yet."

You add, "And is wanted by a intelligence agency ...and not murdered yet."

Neil shrugs, "Okay, I'll give him that.  But I also don't know how well he'll do in Chung-hwa?  He's a goofy white kid from the backwaters of Thiel who doesn't speak Mandarin."

"Neither do any of our operators?" you point out.

"Yes, but we're also not kicking them planetside with no exfil plan to find and debrief HUMINT contacts.  We're going throw this kid out there in a foreign culture he's never seen, with a foreign language he doesn't speak, in a likely hostile police state.  Oh yeah, and he doesn't have a badge to save his ass if things go wrong anymore.  I just don't know how effective he's going to be.  ...Or if he'll even make it there."

"Wait, what to do mean?"

"Ma'am, he's currently a wanted man, sheltering with a guerrilla army in the wilderness of a war zone.  Oh yeah, and he's about to be engaged in a high risk CQB assault this month.  Apologies for speaking freely Ma'am, but we do need any new hires alive, in one piece, and aboard the Mothership by the time we hit FTL, right?"

You exchange and awkward glace with Sam, "Point taken, Chief."

The presentation introduces the fourth prospect, Dorothy Rae Miller, a widowed former combat medic.

"Dorothy Rae Miller, nee Wilder... She's been through a lot recently: held hostage at gunpoint, lost her only child, and then was widowed.  Meanwhile, her hometown is overrun with refugees and deadly infectious diseases."

Sam suggests, "Let's look at this glass half-full?  She has nothing tying her down anymore, and could use a change of scenery?  ...And a source of income?"

Neil shrugs, "I mean, you're not wrong..."

You wince, "We're not the bad guys here.  We will legitimately take care of her."

Neil shakes his head, "Just sounds so predatory."

Sam taunts Neil, "You going soft on us?"

Neil sighs and carries on, "Contractor noted that she was non-committal, and seemed to still be in a state of mourning.  Hopefully she'll get through this soon.  She was a total rockstar under pressure at the bank."

"Well that was before..." you intone.

The room falls into an awkward silence.

Neil moves on to the last prospect, Sid, a juvenile velociraptor once gifted to one of your operators after a mission.

Neil perks up, "So I want you all to know, the contractor called me to confirm that this wasn't a joke."

The room lets out a much needed laugh.

Neil continues, "So the contractor went to Doc Jack Barbera's shipside storefront in search of 'Sid.'  The shopkeeper explained that 'Sid' was no longer around, and had probably found a new forever home."

You try to hide your frown of disappointment.

Neil dramatically leans in, "However... the shopkeeper was intrigued when the contractor stated he was acting on behalf of a PMC.  So apparently Doc Barbera has been trying to make 'Military Working Dinosaurs' a thing."

Sam laughs, "Seriously?"

Neil shrugs, "Sounds crazy, but 'Military Working Dogs' were a key enabler during the GWOT, especially among US SOF.  I suppose you could do the same with small dinosaurs?  Doc Barbera insists it'll work."

Sam rolls his eyes, "Well if the 'Raptor King' says so..."

Neil agrees, "I know, right?  But if you'd like to pursue this Ma'am, it's your call.  Doc Barbera is eager to set up a pilot program.  As I said before, we'd have to build up accommodations, source dino kibble, and arrange whatever the hell veterinary and grooming care a gorram dinosaur needs.  I never got into the exotic animal business, so we'll kind of have to take his word on how to set up this all up, Ma'am.  He assures us we should be ready to go boots on the ground by Chung-hwa."

"Did he swear that deadline on his 'illuminated being?'" quips Sam.

Neil shakes his head laughing, "Right?"

You smile, "Hokey bullshit aside, he is from New Monaco, so presumably he does have the shipside means to support a long-term program with us?"

Sam answers affirmatively, "Indeed, he should Mrs. Ocean.  Beneath all his eccentricities, he's from an old bio-tech family.  Even if he's over-promising, his more strait-laced family members would probably be happy to help him move from bio-engineered novelties into more practical markets."

Neil nods cautiously, "I agree, Ma'am.  It could work.  So long as he checks his guru bullshit at the door.  I'm too old to hear any of that and keep a straight face."

You thank your advisors and wrap the meeting.  Despite a rough start, Ocean PMC is running a budget surplus, and you might be able to hire most, if not all, of those prospects.  Next month, you'll have the contractor make offers to them.

Still there's a matter of two very important missions to address this month.  You go over the plans on your terminal again...

EuchreJack

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #426 on: December 22, 2021, 04:38:07 am »

...I like how a month is this game is actually shorter than its real-life equivalent value of time.  In most games it is reversed.
I'll go back to lurking now.

BlackPaladin99

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #427 on: December 22, 2021, 04:26:40 pm »

how would i join this game?
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We're talking about partially sapient undead spaghetti here, you can probably instruct it to only strangle specific diners.

Kashyyk

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #428 on: December 22, 2021, 06:38:42 pm »

Just make some suggestions Paladin! We're all working together to keep the company going. We've got a discord linked in the OP, and you're welcome to join.

 Stirk's got a decent plan for the compound assault, so I figured I'd have a go at one fo the train job.

Quote from: Train Job Operational Plan
Operators:
Primary:-  Nikita Taylor
Support:- Erik Heller

Available Gear:
WhiteFalcon! Covert Entry Kit x1
All standard issue gear. If you think you need Plate carriers and shotguns though, you should reread this brief.

PIRs:
1) What security measures exist that prevent bringing operational gear onto the train?
2) What security measures may hinder operations on the train itself?
3) What are the SOPs for train crew in case of emergency?
4) When and where is each scheduled stop, and how common are delays/alterations to this schedule?
5) What is the layout of the train, and where can we expect the target to be?

The team have the budget cleared to book similar tickets to the target to travel on the days prior to the operation, so that first hand intelligence can be gathered and plans discreetly walked through. Similarly, a cautious green light is given for accessing non-public sections of the train or stations if this will help inform on the PIRs.

A potential plan follows. Operators are expected to modify/amend/discard as necessary.

The team acquires/clones a staff key to access private train carriages, and a suitable train steward unform. The target is identified pre-boarding and covertly tailed to his seat. Nikita Taylor, dressed as a steward, distracts the target and attempts to pickpocket for the thumb drive. Simultaneously, Erik Heller will steal any baggage. Once possession of the thumb drive in confirmed, the team exfiltrates separately at the next available station. Yeet Cannons are conceal-carried by both Operators as a worst case backup.
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ConscriptFive

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #429 on: December 23, 2021, 03:08:01 pm »

how would i join this game?

Yep, that's the best part about this kind of game: come and go as you like.

Go ahead and suggest & vote.

Also, something that's uncommon about this game is that I tend to merge suggestions from tabletalk & other plans into the voted one so long as there's no hard conflict.  It's PvE with a lot of narrative flourish, so any little bit can get added in.

ConscriptFive

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Re: Space Cowboys for Hire [Month 7] (New Blood Welcome)
« Reply #430 on: March 16, 2022, 04:27:34 pm »

Mission Report Part (1/?)

Hijinx on the Hank Reardon (Part One)

Quote from: Train Job Operational Plan
Operators:
Primary: Nikita Taylor
Support: Erik Heller

Available Gear:
WhiteFalcon! Covert Entry Kit x1
All standard issue gear. If you think you need Plate carriers and shotguns though, you should reread this brief.

PIRs:
1) What security measures exist that prevent bringing operational gear onto the train?
2) What security measures may hinder operations on the train itself?
3) What are the SOPs for train crew in case of emergency?
4) When and where is each scheduled stop, and how common are delays/alterations to this schedule?
5) What is the layout of the train, and where can we expect the target to be?

The team have the budget cleared to book similar tickets to the target to travel on the days prior to the operation, so that first hand intelligence can be gathered and plans discreetly walked through. Similarly, a cautious green light is given for accessing non-public sections of the train or stations if this will help inform on the PIRs.

A potential plan follows. Operators are expected to modify/amend/discard as necessary.

The team acquires/clones a staff key to access private train carriages, and a suitable train steward uniform. The target is identified pre-boarding and covertly tailed to his seat. Nikita Taylor, dressed as a steward, distracts the target and attempts to pickpocket for the thumb drive. Simultaneously, Erik Heller will steal any baggage. Once possession of the thumb drive in confirmed, the team exfiltrates separately at the next available station. Yeet Cannons are conceal-carried by both Operators as a worst case backup.

Erik holds back a laugh as Nikita emerges in her stewardess uniform.  She awkwardly twirls to show off the disguise, "Got it from the same uniform supplier.  They said they usually don't go this small though?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's cute in a uniform fetish kinda way."

Nikita scowls and points at the sidearm in her white leather shoulder holster, "Need I point out this feature of the stewardess uniform?"

"Hey, hey, boss lady.  Just playing around.  ...So how do you want to do this dry run?"

Having already rode one of the Transcontinental John Galt Lines from her brief time at the Cranbrook Academy, Nikita hopes this route isn't too different and lays out the situation thusly.  The Hank Reardon is a commuter rail train connecting the various settlements on the planet of Rivendell.  Per Charlie Lively, Junior Agent Tim Webster will be boarding at a spaceport station, and will be disembarking at the third stop, Crystal City.  At Crystal City Station, he will be met by other AMR-aligned security agents who will escort him to the AMR vault.

Erik nods, "Too much security and surveillance at either station, and once he links up with his buds, it's game over...  But there's still an upside."

"How?"

"We get to find out how good a lawyer Sam is."

***

In a cramped train restroom, Nikita stuffs her civilian clothes into a bag while trying not to bang her elbows any further.  (She always had her doubts about people claiming to join the "200 Mile Per Hour Club" in one of these, and now she's certain such claims were total puffery.)  After a lengthy talk with Erik the Blackbagger, they agreed trying to cross gate security in a crew uniform, but without supporting credentials was too risky.  With neither of your operators looking particularly conspicuous, they both passed through the gate with concealed operational gear without triggering a secondary inspection.

Elsewhere aboard the speeding Hank Reardon, Erik ambles his way along, non-chalantly casing the layout and emergency procedures of the train.  While he had never ridden on any of the Transcontinental John Galt Lines, Erik had expected more of an upscale experience.  Despite being on Rivendell, Hank Reardon is a utilitarian mass transit system that wouldn't be too far out of place in the Bezos or Chung-Hwa Planetary Systems.  Most of the train is cramped coach cars with "first-come, first-serve" seating shuttling working-class folks across the planet.  Tired clerks, maids, and secretaries idly doom-scroll on their smartphones during their regular commute between the gilded districts of their employers and wherever else they could find an affordable studio apartment.

Despite what Mr. Thiel insists, this was not the original plan.  Like a surprising amount of things in the New Worlds, the John Galt Lines started as a very public in-joke among the Founders.  The Musk and Bezos families having heavily hyped dysfunctional transport systems back on the Old Earth, the John Galt Lines on Rivendell were a not too subtle attempt for Mr. Thiel to casually build something both of his old peers couldn't.

"Defeating traffic is the ultimate boss battle.  Even the most powerful humans in the world cannot defeat traffic."

--Elon Musk

But a train?  Really?  Not exactly the kind of disruptive moon shot the Founders Fund triumphed.  But, no, the John Galt Lines wouldn't be the collectivist mass transit of yore.  Instead, each passenger car would be privately owned, with individual passengers making short-term leasing arrangements via AirBnB.

This worked as intended, until owners realized just how unrestricted their rights were.  With 24 hour access, owners began converting their cars into sleeper cars with extended "overnight" leasing.  Consumer demand for affordable housing turned these cars into weekly rate motels.  Some of the more enterprising owners even managed to convert their cars entirely into Japanese-stle coffin housing.  With no formal policing on the private property, gangs organized on some of the more high density cars.  "Slum tenements on rails" was not what Mr. Thiel had envisioned, and the property values around train stations fell, as no respectable property owner would want the unwashed masses merely a turnstile away.

But how to reboot the business?  Private owners may have owned the cars, but Mr. Thiel still owned the rails.  He raised "engine fees" by orders of magnitude, claiming the initial fee schedule was merely a trial rate.  However, those owners who no longer wanted to ride his rails could sell back their cars at a depreciated valuation.  With little alternative, the owners folded.

Thus the John Galt Lines of present day were re-engineered as a narrowly defined commuter rail, cleared of all passengers at the end of the line.  Private cars do exist, but they're tightly regulated to stay within defined roles, and must allow full access to crew for "safety" purposes.  In addition to armed crew on the train itself, each station was built-up as armed checkpoints to assuage property owner NIMBY fears.  And as a final nail in the coffin, firearms were restricted to baggage only.

"Still, it ain't as bad as Chung-Hwa," Erik thinks to himself as he passes into a dining car.  Knowing their customer well, Erik settles in with a surprisingly cheap coffee and a donut.

***

"Paging Emory G. Halliwell.  Again, Emory G. Halliwell, on the courtesy phone, please."

"Man, that's a WASPy name if I ever heard one," Nikita thinks to herself as she patrols the train in uniform.  After an hour, the dry run is going well so far.  She'd seen some other crew members in passing, and none of them pointed out her lack of a badge."

After a few minutes a 20-something male steward approaches her, "Hey, you're going in the wrong direction."

"Um, sorry?"

"Didn't you hear the page?"

"No?  ...I was busy talking to a passenger."

"You didn't get the push notice to your phone?  Or did IT screw that up again?"

"Gorram IT.  Never get anything right."

"Anyhow, another accident to cleanup in one of the sleeper cabins.  You can just follow me."

"Oh, thanks.  I'm new here."

The steward eyes her up and down as they walk, "Oh hey, where'd your badge go?"

"My bad.  I think I left it on my other uniform."

"Oh, gotta be careful with that.  I once put my badge through the laundry and wrecked it.  Management really got pissy about printing a new one, but what do you expect?"

"Management, they're the worst."

"Tell me about it... You probably saw my badge already, but my name is Kyle by the way..."

"Nikki.  Nice to meet you, Kyle," your operator replies with a weak smile.

"You know, I'm kinda surprised security even let you on without your badge.  I guess with a cute smile like that, you can get anywhere.  Of course, I only say that if you're still allowed to compliment a pretty girl at work."

Nikita laughs awkwardly in response.

Kyle congratulates himself internally, "She laughed at my joke.  I'm in."

***

"New girl, you get the legs," barks the female train conductor.

Your operator winces as she and Kyle lift a dead teenager into a bodybag.

"I tell ya, I've been working this Line so long, I got a sixth sense for trouble aboard.  Knew there was something going on in this cabin.  Sure enough, there was," she mutters.

After they finish zipping shut the bodybag, they grimly begin collecting up empty Green Owl cans.

"Gorram hophead teenagers.  Think this is bad, though?  Back in the day, they used to stick their damn heads out the window, hootin' and hollarin' on whatever trip they were on," she gripes.

As Kyle takes the wet vac to the chunky puddles of vomit, she comments further, "But with the windows screwed shut, at least we find these idiots in one piece now.  Don't have to scavenge for skull fragments at the end of the day."

Wrapping up their work, she matter of factly congratulates her two employees, "Good job, looks like you got it all.  Kyle, get that body down to the reefer car.  New girl, get the ozone generator from Storage Container Charlie and bring it back here."

Kyle speaks for Nikita, "Sorry Doreen, but she left her badge at home."

She looks at your operator incredulously, "And security didn't sign you out a temp badge at the station?"

"No... were they supposed to?"

Doreen sighs in agony, "They have your biometrics.  They could've ran your irises, and handed you a temp badge for the day.  Would've taken them two gorram seconds.  Those lazy sacks of shit."

"Security, they're the worst," your operator responds.

Doreen rolls her eyes, "Tell me about it.  Here, take my badge for now.  I'm going to be stuck here securing the cabin anyways.  Try not to lose my badge between here and the container, okay?"

Your operator is sincerely grateful, "Thank you, Ma'am.  I promise I'll take great care of your badge."

***

Erik the Blackbagger looks over the badge after he cracks open the WhiteFalcon! key cloner kit, "Doreen?  Who the hell names their kid that?"

Nikita shrugs in the cramped container car, "Less talking, more key cloning.  I'm on borrowed time here... literally."

"Fair enough, just making banter," Erik fumbles through the kit wishing to himself he had taken more time to familiarize himself with it.

Slotting the card, Erik blinks in disbelief, "Error Code 22?  That mean anything to you?"

Nikita scoffs, "Why you asking me?  I thought this was your thing?"

"Just asking... No worries, I got this."

"Good, because I have to find out what an ozone generator looks like."

"Oh, that's easy.  Just look for a generator, but one that makes ozone."

"Man, that was so funny I forgot to laugh.  Seriously though, any clue what I'm looking for?"

"Kinda busy here-"

"Knock, knock," Kyle calls out playfully.  "Anybody home?"

***
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