meeting the Department Chief

Posted on Wed Sep 19th, 2018 @ 9:38pm by Ensign Raymond McBain & Lieutenant Samuel Clemens XV

Mission: Holographic Horrors
Location: Intelligence offices
Timeline: 72683.105

McBain had been told when he arrived there was no intelligence Chief but he had heard that someone had recently filled the position. Since he was all signed in now he decided it was time to meet the Boss. He saw someone in the outer offices so he made sure he was heard at the door. He did not want to startle his new boss, that seemed a very bad way to make a good impression! Once past the door he walked over to the Lieutenant and came to attention "Ensign McBain reporting for duty Sir. Would you want to see my transfer orders?"

The man behind the desk had his back to the door. His hands were rapidly moving in a holographic set of controls. Some of the view was obscured, but some of the items looked suspiciously like MACO armor. He turned around, and flashed a brilliant smile at McBain.

"Ahhh! Ensihn MechBayn! Ah'm glad ya came by! Ah was jest gonna call yah down h'yeah. C'mere, have a looksee." He wheeled back from the display, showing that it was, indeed, the schematics for the exact model of MACO armor that the ensign in question had been training others with in the previous days. But there were a few changes added- grav boots, instead of mag boots, so they'd work even on non-ferrous surfaces, and what looked to be nano-cable launchers, with selectable grapplers, barbs, or maglocks. The MACO armor was particularly well-suited to this sort of modification, with intentional hard points seemingly everywhere.

McBain looked over the Chief's selections of equipment. He noted the gravity-boots, he seldom used the mag-locks as he preferred the additional movement conferred by zero-'G'. The additional grapplers meant the Boss must expect EVA or a lot of climbing. That was something he would keep in mind. He liked having the retractable climbing claws in his gloves and boots for climbing himself. He was more inclined to use the armors strength enhancements though as he was stronger than most people. The Chief had not made many weapon selections as yet so he must be waiting till he knew more of the threat they would face before deciding. That was reasonable. McBain had a one shot bunker buster he had not added to his suit because he was not a MACO anymore. He smiled as he wondered if this infiltration gig was truly going to be all that much different than what he was used to.

McBain nodded with approval "the Captain said we were using ballistic weapons rather than phasers. We would be using the TR-116c. I added my heavy pistol but I have a typeII phaser that fits the same holster. What are you thinking about carrying?"

The Intel Chief waved his hand. "Whatevah we have layin' around at th'time. Half tempted t'just carry dud grenades, t'scare 'em off. An' a couple o'knives. Yer th'heavy firepowah, son. Ah'm bettah at cuttin' throats in th'night an' movin' on, when ah'm not convincin' 'em ah'm someone ah'm not."

He had done that before often enough as a sniper. Providing cover and fire support for the team. This time he was just carrying a battle rifle and expected he was going in with the team. Was why he was training security and the Doc? "Ah, Lieutenant, I am not carrying anything heavy that I was aware of? I think maybe you should explain the team make up here. I was under the concept we were all going in? What do you see as my duties here for this infiltration assignment?"

"Oh, we ahh all goin' in, suh. But we'll each have diff'runt duties t'perfoahm. Ah 'spect it's gonna take a lot moah infoahmayshun than we have t'figger out how t'take out this harpy. She's got a his'try of backstabbin', and usin' people that ain't worth a spit t'git her dirty deeds done. We're gonna hafta get below her level t'have a snowball's chance o'keepin' her from exterminatin' most ev'ryone we know, an' ah don't think big guns'll do much more'n let her know where her next target is," Clemens replied, quite seriously. "Ah see you as doin' infil, an' cover fer th'specialists, an' bein' th'Grim Reapuh t'anyone that plans t'stop us in owah duty t'remove her from th'boahd."

McBain shrugged "seems to me it should be the other way around. I should be on point and as the Chief you should be with the specialists gathering the intel? After all that was what I did as a MACO. I was death." McBain did not normally like talking like that but he needed the Chief here to understand who he was. He had been black ops and he was as deadly as anyone he had ever met. Considering the places he had been and who he had taken down, he was a true reaper. "Sir I spent my entire adult life before the Academy learning how to or in the field ending lives. Just felt you should understand who I am Sir."

"Oh, you misundahstahnd me, Ensign. Ah'll be with th'team- unless ah'm not. Mah pahtic'lah skillset makes me th'best man tah sweet and oah fast talk owah way past puhsonnel, if need be. Ah'm countin' on you t'be th'Angel o'Death, like it says on thuh tin. But thuh sit'u'ayshun may call fer slight o'hand, or ov mind, an' those just happen tuh be mah specialty. You keep th'team safe, by whatevuh means you need to, but remembuh- we'll be theah to gathuh intel, oah sabotage, oah make mayhem- oah all of th'above. Ah need you ta be thuh Batman t'mah James Bahnd," the Section Chief explained. "Ah know ya don't take pleasure in what y'do best, but yer part is essentyal.

"Than we should work well together Sir. I am quiet and resourceful but I am not a fast talker. I am not much good at talking my way out of a problem. In fact I tend to get myself in deeper with every word. Now when it comes to sabotage, well I got a lot of practice in making that look like accident." McBain had indeed made several critical hits on people in the Badlands and Tzenkethi that had to look like anything but an assassination. A lot of what I learned in the academy just made me better at getting in and out of places.

"So..." the Chief pondered, "...what kills gods? An' what, praytell, are we gonna do 'bout all the shit they've conjured up over th'centuries? Killin' th'boss is all fine and good, but she's a real bitch- and they tend to lay traps for revenge."

McBain leaned against the wall. "The only known weapons that can even truly damage one of these God-beings is adamantine. It can only be created by them though so it is not like we are going to find it laying around. Now my research has shown tungsten and rhenium combined into a sort of wire is as dense as adamantine. I am on my way to Engineering and Science next to see if we can bond that wire into the edge of a bladed weapon. Sort of like using a diamond bit in a drill. Rhenium is rather rare, tungsten not so much. I am also going to try and make bullets of this material as many of the minions we will be facing will be nearly as tough. Now that is what I am working on."

McBain sighed "now if you happen to have the head of the medusa or the highly toxic poisonous blood from the Lernaean Hydra either of those would be very helpful." McBain laughed softly "although I imagine both would be very dangerous to handle. There was her son Hephaistos who made a golden throne with invisible fetters that trapped her? I doubt we will find that laying around either. You know Lieutenant this Hera has only forgiven one being in any of the information on her. Hercules. She did terrible things to him but in the end, after he completed all her tasks. She welcomed him among the other Gods. His only sin was being the son of Zeus by another woman. She made him slaughter his own children. Once we get in her way there just is no turning back." McBain's expression was dead serious "we go in and we win or the entire Federation might just burn."

"We're of a mind on that. Intel, fuhst, than plannin' with improvisashun baked-in, an' then a blitz, fruhm a main foahse, as th' distractshun, with th'rest ov thuh kitchen sink from all angles." The blue eyed man looked thoughtful. "Ah don' know if'n a wiyah runnin' 'round thuh edge uv a blade'll be shahp 'nuff t'slice 'em, b'cause th'wiyah'll be thinnah than thuh blayde. But what about garrotes, bolos, 'n arruh'hehds, awul made up uv ya McBainium?"

"The stuff will be heavy, which is a reason to just make the cutting edge of the stuff." McBain thought of how the weight might affect a garrote type weapon. "I am guessing as long as the garrote had grips? I am just guessing but if the hide is as tough as it looks I am not sure what you could use for gloves that would resist the wire longer than their skin? Bolos should work against the Harpy's. Arrowheads, the point of crossbow bolts, and bullets I was already planning on. If you are good with a sling I could even ask engineering to make ammo for that. I am not sure how much we will be able to make in the time we have so, now that you mention it we should make a list of the weapons we want."

McBain had another thought, something he was not very familiar with. "Lieutenant do you know much about sonic weapons? I am thinking those statues might be impervious to being hit but sonic weapons have been used against stonewalls since the time of the bible? Those statues might have a weakness?"

"Ah've had some, an' they're pretty effective against stone. But we've gotta be careful- she's tuhned many folks into statues, an' we may yet have a way t'restore 'em. It'd be tragic if'n we missed- sonics're hard ta aim, b'cause th'"beam" isn't visible, and even tho coherent, there's a definite beam spread to 'em." He swung back around to the earlier question- "...and fer th'garroting, have y'self a pair o'gauntlets made outta McBainum chainmail. Maybe even plated cohvuhs, fer th'puhpose o'beatin' th'livin' hell outta someone. Yuh combat ahmuh oughta boot yer strength enough t'pack one helluvah whallop."

"How's th'testin' on th'McBainium goin'?"

Just spoke to engineering before coming here. The stuff is not going to be flexible like for gloves or boots. It is going to be very heavy as well. I will look into making you a garrote though." McBain took a moment before answering about the sonics. "Sir I don't know enough about transporter tech to make a comment really. Transporters lock onto DNA though. So if those people are truly stone, I don't see how you are going to lock on to reanimate them? Even so those statues are a clear danger and stone doesn't cut very easily? I think we need to look into effective weapons against each of Hera's agents. The choice of having and using compared to not having an option seems a mute point. Your team lead though, it is after all your call. I made the suggestion so I did my part." McBain chuckled at that, "and yesSir, I can be a smart-ass."

His brow furrowed a bit, the Chief replied, "Well, if'n it can be drawn out intah a wiyah, it kin be woven by some means- chain-link is made outta completleh-inflexible rings, aftah ahl. An' fer' th'restoahashun, it's a dim hope, but one we hafta factuh into tactics- no smashin' statues, no killin' animals, unless they'ah attackin' ya, oah those unduh yoah protecshun. Keep bein' ah smaht-ass, as long as it's not just t'be a dick, an' we'll get 'long just fine." He smiled at the last. "Ah've gotta git ovah to th'archive room- theah may be some olduh recoahds theah we kin mine fer moah notions on weaponry. Keep up th' good work, Raymond." He gave a quick nod, and headed out.