PHD #251: EVENT - HALO Training
HALO Training
Summary: Volunteers to learn how to HALO put their cubits where their mouths are.
Date: 04 NOV 2041 AE
Related Logs: There's a few.
Constin Vandenberg Marko Wade Khloe Cora Andrea Richards Robinson Rian 
It starts in a Raptor. The scenesets are below.
Post-Holocaust Day: #251

With the exercise set and the briefings done, the group of volunteers waddled themselves into the Raptors and set for take-off. The Air Wing was kind enough to donate three of the craft to accommodate the eighteen personnel that decided to take the literal plunge. Fifteen minutes later the group approaches the dropzone, thirty thousand feet from the ground below. The target is a huge open field a couple miles east of Ewe Aerilon - the grassy patch not difficult to make out due to the massive black 'X' scorched into the grass. With everyone decked out in pilot ejection gear and flightsuits, the added weight of rifles and a chest pack full of armor might hint to something coming their way. Nobody had been given live rifle rounds, either. Rather the paint rounds associated with normal training have been passed out to everyone. Outside, it's the middle of the afternoon. The only clouds to be seen are distant on the horizon and should not pose any problems to the jumpers. It looks like a beautiful day for a jump. What lies in store for the jumpers is something they will have to find out for themselves as the pilots up front give the signal for everyone in the rear compartments to get ready.

Andrea smiles as the birds get into position. She had volunteered for a simple reason… it was fun to jump out of Raptors at altitude. Elbowing Wade in his ribs, she smiled. "I dunno, you think this get-up makes my ass look too big?"

Vandenberg is in the back of the Raptor, slowly rising with the aid of another Marine. The amount of gear she's wearing looks obscene on her short stature. The Lieutenant steadies herself against the side of the Raptor, her eyes wide behind the helmet of the flightsuit. There is no hiding that grin either. She is probably either insane or nervous as all hell. Or a combination of both. Hands run over her clips and straps to make sure everything is solid and tight. "Right? Someone should have designed these things with more flattery of the female figure in mind. I feel like I've got Crowe strapped to me." Its not worded like that's something she would enjoy.

Khloe is busy going over her gear, going through the same checklist that was gone over in the briefing room, and before they took off. Poppy is always thorough. "I could make the observation that your ass makes your ass look big, Hosedown. But I mean that as the figurative 'you' and not the literal." she says without looking up. "Now if Drips said it, then it'd be literal, and you'd have my permission to punch him." Stoic SL is stoic, but that almost sounds like a joke.

One of the Marines is simply sitting until the hand gesture to get ready is given, Richards strapped tightly in his jumpseat looking as if they're just out for a Sunday stroll instead of preparing to do a jump. His gear has been checked and rechecked prior to lifting off and is given one more quick looksee as he gets up, the bulkiness of his jumpgear making doing so a bit difficult. Shaking his head, he looks at his CO - Vandenberg - with a quick raise of a brow, grinning impishly as he does. "You look just fine to me, El-Tee," he compliments, trying not to leer too much while doing so.

'Oof' is what comes from Wade as Andrea elbows him. Nope, he wasn't expecting that. His attention moves to her and he offers an amused grin "Massive, I'll probably have to put my hands against it and push you outside" He smiles to this and then looks down at the big X marking the spot. "Almost feel like going treasure hunting. Which makes you wonder what happens when you reach the X" Now he looks at Khloe and he shakes his head "No punching Drips today, at least right now…maybe later" A faint smile shows again and then he looks down, at that X.

Up front, the pilot and ECO have been trading calls and runs-up. "Ready to go, sir," calls the ECO to the pilot. The Raptor driver cranes a bit in her ejection seat and looks to Constin. "Descending to twenty-five thousand feet. Slowing to two-hundred knots indicated. Be ready for the jump in twenty seconds."

For his part, Constin sits solid and silent on the bench nearest the Raptor's back hatch, crammed into a flight suit. The big marine's breathing is low and even; his gun, chutes, jump knife and air gauges already double and triple checked. Under his breath, the big man breathes, "This shit never gets old," with a small smile. At ten, he rises to his booted feet, instructing curtly, "Jump team up!"

Robinson is here only as a PA-C. If somebody gets hurt, her expertise will be required. That's what she's been telling everyone, anyway. Plain fact of the matter is, she thought it would be fun. She giggles at all the talk and looks to Andrea and Vandenberg. "Definitely one thing I've never liked about the outfits. They should make them more fashionable. Padded enough to keep you warm for jumps like this, but form fitting enough to make a gal look good. Obviously all the outfit designers were not thinking practically. Only bulkily." She shakes her head and tsks. "But who am I to complain? I chose this life, and I'm lovin' every second of it." She says with a grin, preparing herself for the jump.

"Marko…why are you doing this?" the young ECO asks himself as he goes over his equipment for the umpteenth time since the Raptor took off. To say that he looks nervous is something of an understatement. This is the look of a man who believes himself on his way to a particularly nasty death.

Andrea's look at Wade is one of very dangerous innocence. "Why punch, when I'm armed?" Andrea then shoots back at Khloe with a grin. "I'd retort, sir, but rumor has it that your ass is something of a sore subject, these days. Wouldn't want to get in too much trouble." As she gets into jump position she keeps laughing to herself. She was totally gonna steal some of those socks, one of these days. Maybe hang one from Pallas' gear. Her excitement grows as she prepares.

Cora checks and re-checks her gear and then looks up as the jump-site nears and people around her begin to rise and prepare. One more gear-check and then she snorts softly at Robinson, lips quirking in a faint smile as she agrees, "Color's not flattering on anyone, either." Marko behind her earns a glance and she reaches over to nudge the ECO's shoulder with a fist, since this much gear makes subtlety difficult: "Don't worry, all that ammo will break your fall."

"You still look twelve, Sergeant," Vandenberg asides to Richards, glancing at him under her helmet. There's a quick tap out to his shoulder as she steps up. She is still grinning like an idiot. There's a nod to Robinson as the Lieutenant moves towards the door. "At least someone here agrees with me. Alright Sergeant Constin. Ready when you are." She takes a loooong breath and pats her chute handle once more.

Rian bustles about easily enough with the momentum of the raptor, helmet covered eyes looking to the floor as she is quiet and lost in thought, ignoring her co passengers for the most part. As the order is given she is alert and on her feet, gloved hands moving over her body to check all of her gear, weapons and shoot. She's done these a few times back on Sagittaron and she silently agrees with Constin, the rush from jumping out on a HALO mission never gets old.

Khloe rises to her feet at the Sergeant's command — he's the head honcho, here, and she's back in the Academy as a Midshipman. Leveling a nasty gaze across the short distance at Andrea, she says, "That's probably wise, Hosedown. Boots on the ground and standing, Sergeant!" That last bit, of course, barked directly forward. She plays the part.

Wade arches both eyebrows at Andrea's first words and he says "You wouldn't shoot one of your own, would you?" he smiles amusedly at this and then looks down at his gear, running final checks to make sure everything is in order. When Constin's voice comes up, he takes a step forward to better aligned. He wants to do the jump, that's certain. As for the comment on Khloe's ass, he says nothing. "Alright then, let's do this"

"Thanks." Marko smirks in reply, shaking his head a little. "You ever talk yourself into doing something, then find yourself wondering why?" he asks with a nervous bark of laughter. "That's where I am."

"You can be my cougar anyday, Lieutenant," Vandenberg gets tossed back at her verbally, Richards still smiling like a frakking fool. He reaches out and pats the top of her helmet while he slides into position, waddling slightly thanks to how the gear hangs on his body. It's akward to have something that isn't your manhood dangling below your knees, after all.

"We're on station. Stiffy, open the hatch." The ECO does as ordered. Said door opens in front of them and the view is what one might expect out the window of a passenger airliner: clouds stretch in long whisps, their white blankets looking almost like fluffy cotton allowing glimpses of the verdant ground far, far beneath. But unlike a passenger plane, there is no window between the jumpers and the cumulus clouds below. From the cockpit, Mews offers 'helpfully'. "Don't mind the slap in the ass on the way down, sirs."

From his post nearest the hatch, Constin states brusquely to his excitable charges: "Cut the chatter, boys and girls." As the big marine gets the green light he wastes no time in barking, "Do or Die! Go! Go! Go!" to begin the jumpers out of the perfectly good spaceship and into the open air. So it begins.

Robinson smiles to Marko. "Don't worry. It'll be fine. And it's fun. Just remember: All's well that ends with a parachute opening." She says with a wide grin before turning her attention to Constin. Well, here goes nothing, right? It's jump time! JUMP!

Cora chuckles at Marko and nods, "Yeah, I can tell. It'll be over quick, one way or another," she says, helpfully reassuring, "I've done a few jumps before but none quite like this. Might as well learn now before it's another Leonis you're landing on, yeah?" This time the thump he gets to the shoulder is a bit more encouraging, and then she turns back to the line, steps up, and out the hatch she goes after the others.

This is it, and it is with the same gusto that makes her tease the Captain with little Humor that makes Andrea take the step out of the bird. The gee forces are fun, if not what a viper doinga full push would give. Still, no glass cage! She is hollering into her mask early in the jump. Why not! "WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"I never landed on Leo…." Marko starts to reply, then finds himself at the hatch. "Ah…frakkit!" he grumbles, takes hold of his chute handle and hauls himself out of the door.

"I'm gonna throw your ass to a cougar named Jag one day, Richie. Better you than me. You even legal yet?" Vandenberg just gets a chance to finish when Constin calls for everyone to get quiet. The officer does as she's told and seals them lips with a big old grin that stretches from ear to ear. She waddles her bad self up to the door like a penguin, arms flopping to the sides. She gives a nod to Constin as she steps up. The woman starts laughing uncontrollably as she stares down at the ground below before grabbing both sides of the hatchway. She ramps up once, twice, and then does her level best to hurtle herself out the door, her excited scream disappearing into the wind.

When it's her turn, Captain Vakos doesn't even hesitate. "Just like BASE jumping," she says to herself. And with that, she throws herself out of the open door with decent form and starts the freefall thing. "I should've joined the Marines! YEAAAAHH!!"

The roar of air is intense. The pressure of the air rushing against the suit is the only thing more powerful. Behind them, the last of the team jumps out of the door and extends their arms. True to promise, the Raptor's silhouette flashes behind them, the -BOOM- tremendous. It is almost enough to knock the breath out of those closest to the jumping ship. Below them, the colony does not seem to be getting any closer. It's a long way down, to be sure. But as their speeds increase towards terminal velocity, the altimeters on their wrists begin to unwind faster. And faster. After only thirty seconds or so, smallish vapor cones appear in front of each member of the HALO team as they tear toward the ground.

A keen eye will note that they aren't alone in the skies- two more Raptors have deployed teams of jumpers, putting the number of Colonials falling through the sky at eighteen.

'Aw frak…' Richards thinks while he watches the jumps start, his mood sobering. There are times to make jokes and play at hitting on Van and then there are times when being serious is in order, this being a time for the latter. Getting up to the door, he grabs either side of the hatch frame and counts - one, two, three - the numbers ran off in his head before he makes the jump, arms held close to his body at first only to then be held open once he's clear.

Rian actually backs away from the hatch a few steps as Constin gives the orders to jump, some might think fear but actually it's to get a running start. She never could just walk to the edge and 'jump'. Heel down she pushes off and runs towards the open whirling air, legs still in motion even when there is no longer metal beneath her. The screaming starts instantly, stopped by sporadic laughter as she falls through the fluffy clouds towards the X far below.

When Constin gives the order, Wade watches a few people jump. Those who reach the spot first. He looks at the taller Marine, nods in silence to him and then jumps. The man is dead silent right now, saying absolutely nothing as he looks at the ones below. He puts his arms against the sides of his body and his legs together, adopting a bullet standpoint to gain some speed, when he notices that he's not going to crash against anyone. Because nobody likes crashing.

Freedom, that's what this was. Occasionally glancing at her altimeter, Andrea also takes the bullet stance, reveling in the sheer SPEED of it all. This was abso-frakking-lutely brilliant, she needed to do this more often. It was almost disappointing when she reached terminal velocity. With afterburners, she could have gone faster!"

Omigods. Omigods. Omigodsthisisfrakkingawesome. Lieutenant Vandenberg's eyes are as big as saucers behind her helmet while she falls through the thin atmosphere. She's still laughing, the sound inside her helmet interspersed with shouts and howls. Even hurtling towards Aerilon at some rediculous speed can't rob her of some easily-found giggles. There's a glance to her altimeter before she looks back towards the ground, carefully shifting the weight of her legs to steer her a little towards the X.

Falling, falling, ever faster. The number of passing seconds grows uncertain in the adrenaline soaked moments of freefall. It might be a minute, or a mere handful of heartbeats before the world looms closer. "Fifteen seconds to main deployment," come the sergeant's flat words over the wireless. Those who focus on the altimeter may or may not be comforted as the needle spins wildly. 5000. 4000. 3000. 2000. The numbers flash past as the ground rushes up. Trees have definition at this altitude. One way or another, the team is about to hit the ground in seconds.

Richards' gaze is kept on the device on his wrist, the altitude kept a careful watch on for a bit until his nerves settle. Unlike some, there's no laughter or screaming from him, the jump being something he isn't exactly fond of, the MP simply waiting for the right time to pop his chute, praying to the Lords silently the entire way down.

Robinson is absolutely having the time of her life. Fun? Check. Free Falling? Check. About to deploy the parachute? Check. What's better than that? Once the altimeter reaches the right spot? Poof! The parachute opens and she feels the backlash for a second as the parachute pulls her up, but then rests as she floats back and forth and waits to finally hit the ground.

Okay…this was probably not the best idea Marko's ever had. In point of fact, the longer he goes before he pulls the D-ring, the worse an idea it seems to be becoming. Someone nearby is actually _laughing_, Gods' sake. Yeah, because falling towards the unforgiving ground at over one hundred kilometers an hour is always amusing. Fortunately, at the rate his altimeter's unwinding, it'll be time to hit the D-ring.

Khloe bullets towards the X, glancing at her altimeter only rarely. She quickly learns her speed, counting off her descent under her rapid breathing. Only when it approaches time to chute does she extend limbs to slow. And then, the tug, and chute deployment. If only her wireless were switched on, the Knights might actually hear their SL whooping and hollering like she just had the best chocolate ice cream crossed with the best sex crossed with the most potent high.

Andrea waits until she is darn sure about the landing before pulling the string. Aww, the ride was over.

Constin pulls the ripcord at a thousand feet, loosing the main chute. Its an incredibly violent action and the sergeant jerks hard, like an oversized puppet with the force. Behind the face shield, the marine snarls briefly. He only has time to swing in the chute eight times before hitting the ground in a textbook shoulder roll a short jog away from the scorched 'X'. Popping right back to his feet and shrugging out of the jump harness with a rapid series of snaps and clicks. "Team up! Marines, establish perimeter, NOW." With those last words, he releases the failsafe straps and readies the training rifle that had jumped down with him, drawing the paint gun to his shoulder.

Cora is somewhere between Wade's total silence (which one might be inclined to expect from the reserved TACCO) and Vandenberg's hysterical laughter. There is, as speed is first gained, a surprised laugh, and then she glances around at the jumpers around her, those exiting other Raptors and joining the party as they speed towards the ground. Her altimeter is peeked at periodically, the movements small enough not to disturb her path until she decides to steer a little, bombing towards that X.

Natalie looks back to her altimeter when she notices that, hey, them trees have branches! She doesn't even look at the ground after that. 3000, 2000, 1000- Vandy reaches across her chest and yanks the chute chord. The chute kicks out behind her and suddenly all that gear she's wearing seems a LOT heavier. 'This is what G-forces must feel like' flashes through her mind in that instant. AUGH. She swings a few times in the air before dropping towards the field, trying to force herself to relax her legs for the impact she knows is coming. She rolls throung the landing and scrambles to release her chute, the 'fabric brakes' released after a short second's fumbling. She tries to rise right away but finds this..a little hard. Van just starts unbuckling the jump gear while laying down, giving up on standing for the moment.

Khloe lands reasonably close to the X, landing on her feet. She throws the harness off her shoulders after pulling the buckles and straps keeping the thing lashed to her body. Rifle up, she takes a position along the perimeter that would make the most sense based on her landing area. She moves like any other trainee, although her movements are fairly precise and definitely energetic.

Robinson hits the ground with a little 'oof' and pushes herself up and starts to undo the clips that are holding the shoot to her. With a wide smile, she unclips it all and looks around. Getting a good grip on her training rifle, she looks to Constin as he shouts out his orders. Ah, setting up a perimeter. Good times. Being the good Marine that she is, she starts up, making sure a perimeter is established.

The need for speed, many folks have it, Wade is one of them. Regardless of him being silent, he is indeed enjoying the experience. The man eyes his altimeter, waiting for the right time. He pulls from that damn cord and his chute comes into play. His attention remains on the X and he finally lands safely /on/ that X. Harness comes off and he secures his gear, later taking his rifle and following the rest of the group, weapon at the ready.

The young ECO's altimeter reaches it's mark, and not a second too soon. Needing no prompting whatsoever, Marko grabs the D-ring and pulls _hard_. This part, he's actually done before thanks to his flight training, so he's very much ready for the G-forces that hit him when the canopy deploys over his head. What follows is, of all things, a chuckle, this being _so_ much gentler on the body than the ejection seat trainer at the Academy.

Cora pulls the chord when the altimeter hits 1000, and manages a decent sort of landing, dealing with the G-forces well enough to get in position to not break anything as she meets the ground. Chute and gear are shed once momentum has been dealt with, and then she rises as well, rifle in hand.

Dick's own landing is not as graceful as it could be and he misses the mark by some good measure but he's too busy hussling to his feet and removing his jump gear to worry too much about not hitting it. Once removed of his chute pack and extra crap he's getting up into position, rifle at the ready, the Marine taking to a knee when they collectively take up a defensive position.

The landing goes reasonably well, and in moments Andrea is unclipping from the pack and bringing her Rifle to bear. The hard tug from the deployed chute took a bit of the breath out of her, but otherwise she is fine. Her eyes dart about the field, taking in everything she can see. There will be more business on the ground, she is sure, but at the moment the 12 year old in pigtails that will always be a part of her keeps jumping up and down and begging to go again.

Nobody is more surprised than Marko at how easily the ECO lands, skipping on his tip toes as he pulls his canopy in, just like he was shown. And certainly nobody is happier than Marko to be on the ground and in one piece.

Constin scans the meadow- the treeline which rings their grassy Landing Zone roughly a mile across. When the 'all clear's start to drift in after several seconds, the sergeant spares a moment to haul off his sealed helmet and loose a big, bullish breath. Allowing a short lived, tight smile to tug at his fixed scowl as he surveys the team. A second big breath is let out, before he slips back into the mode of all-business, "Gather up the chutes and packs- secure them on the Ex. Don't want these frakking things blowing off and giving away our position. Move, team."

Landing on the ground and looking around? The dropzone is actually rather nice. There is a distinct lack of wind today, which was probably planned, and the nearby trees aren't swaying. The grassy meadow is about a mile across which provides plenty of room for people to land. It is ringed by a forested area and a road running through the middle and disappearing into each side. Its quiet, though. Very quiet.

Cora looks about for a moment, and then sets the rifle briefly down, leaning against her giant pile of gear, and takes a moment to remove the flight-suit helmet. She shakes out her hair with a hand and re-ties it with an elastic held briefly between her teeth and then, that done, collects her chute and her fear and moves it into the center of the drop zone as directed. "See?" she comments to Marko as she does it, "That was fun, right?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" It might normally inappropriate for a Navy Captain to call a Sergeant 'sir', but she's trying to set a good example, gods damnit. Khloe's quick to move back the several meters, grabbing her own chute and bundling it up, letting her rifle hang by straps. Then, after caring for her own gear, she assists anyone else who is having difficulty or who is slower than she is.

Andrea follows orders quickly stowing her pack and other such gear on the ex with the others. "This is much more my look," she says with a grin to Wade. "Check it out, Poppy hopping. Might have to commit that to memory."

Vandenberg finally gets all her gear off and stands up, calling to everyone as she starts digging in her gear. "Alright everyone!! In your packs should be helmets and bodyarmor!! Get it on!" There's that Marine Command Voice. "We should expect to be attacked in the next ten minutes! Take your time to stow your gear properly and get your equipment on correctly! Once that's done I want everyone on security and be ready! We don't know where the attack will come from!" She's already strapping on her helmet.

Wade looks at Constin and nods "Copy that" With that said, he gets all his gear packed and secured, so nothing brings a shit storm in the minutes to come. He looks at Andrea and tilts his head "I agree" He gives her an OK sign and then nods to that. At her last words, he looks over his shoulder at the Captain and smiles softly "Well, we all have to do it at some point. Why not now?" He winks at Andrea after that and then checks his rifle, moving one knee to the floor.

Marko sheds his pack and duly hands it over to the ex as instructed. "Heh….have to try that again some day." he comments to no-one in particular. "Now that I know I can live through it." he adds, beginning to don his body armor for the second phase of the operation. "Good to go." he announces, strapping his helmet on and readying his paintball gun.

Helmet? Check. Bodyarmor? Check. All's well that ends well? Yet to be seen. Getting ready, Robinson's eyes gaze the area in preparation. What's gonna happen? Attack, obviously. Well, fake attack. But still attack! This is the kinda thing the Marines train you for. Supposedly. And training helps a person to keep in tip top shape!

Constin gives a short look aside to Khloe when the Captain plays at being a grunt. "That's 'Yes, Sergeant', sir." The short correction offered, he barks out, "Yes, El-Tee," to Vandenberg's orders and crouches into the gross, rifle shouldered and scanning the trees.

"Told you, Scaurus," Cora says to Marko as she digs Marine blacks out of her pack. She's clearly more than familiar with the bodyarmor, pulling it on and getting gear and helmet, etc. in place with easy, rapid movements. She double-checks and then nods to herself and moves into position, checking the locations of the others around her.

Vandenberg makes hand motions towards the Marines for them to take up firing positions. "All non-Marine personnel, form up with Marine fireteams!" She kneels beside Constin and gives him a big-ass grin. "Godsdamn you know how to have fun, Sergeant," she says quietly. She then looks around once more. "Eyes up and out! If anyone is stuck in their gear or needs help, sound off! We -will- wait as a matter of safety!"

Richards yawns while looking down field, getting his ears to pop finally. "Frakking paintball guns…" he mutters to himself even as he keeps on guard, his tone a bit bemused. "We can make 'em look all purdy," he adds a bit louder, putting a bit of an accent to his voice then. Complaining officially done after that, he looks at Vandenberg and Constin, each of whom is given a nod and a tight smile.

Khloe glances over her shoulder at Constin's correction, a capricious grin on her face. If only Andrea and Wade had a camera. Then, she's back to business, eyes narrowed and scanning the horizon…

Constin allows a tight grin to tug at his lip at Vandenberg's words. "Only way to live, El-Tee," he drawls, not taking his eyes off the treeline as the squad forms up.

"Heh, yes, sir." Marko chuckles, nodding a little. "You did at that." he says, starting to scan the area around them for the trouble he knows is bound to be coming their way.

Robinson grins at Richard. "Yeah…all…'pretty like'." She laughs and then puts her attention toward the woods. Is there something out there? Hmmmm. Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell for sure!

Andrea gets into her fire squad, now more or less completely focused on what she is doing. She hasn't had a lot of fire practice outside of the Viper since being recovered, and it could only help. Suddenly, her eyes narrow. "Possible contacts to the east, sir. Just at the treeline."

Cora forms up, glancing sidelong at Constin as he corrects Khloe. She watches sergeant and captain for a moment before taking her position, scanning the territory ahead. "Movement to the east," she adds a split-second after Andrea, "Around the treeline."

"Hearing the same." Marko replies, shouldering his weapon and thumbing the safety off. "No visual contact, though." he adds for clarity's sake.

Wade narrows his eyes, looking around in silence. He half listens to the brief chatter. Mostly, he keeps his focus on finding something. The man soon spots something and opens his mouth to say something, but Cora beats him to it. "I confirm that, I see that too" says the man, to provide some backup to the prior statement. There's definitely something there dudes.

"To the east…" Richards says quietly to the group as a whole while motioning in the direction he is now looking in, his joking put aside, the serious side to him now showing through. He shoulders the pseudo-weapon, his thumb on the safety which is clicked off, the sound annoyingly loud to him. Frakkers.

"Alright!!" Vandenberg's voice echos across the field, her small voice finding some bass. "We will have Marines attacking us and simulating Cylon Centurions! They will be marked with white helmets. Do -NOT- fire on anyone in a standard black helmet! WHITE is free-fire! Black is cease-fire!" As people start calling out movement, she hunkers down into the grass. "Hold fire until they open up!" She chambers a paint round and aims to the east, trusting those around her.

Constin sweeps his view slowly east, voicing steadily, "Confirmed," before continuing his visual sweep for flanking parties, in the moments before the first shots are fired.

Robinson turns her attention to the east as people mention movement. Huh. She missed the movement. But then, not everyone can be alert for every single thing, right? Her eyes trained, she waits for the first shots to be fired.

Khloe stays low; she can't quite make out the encroaching enemies just yet, but she's not going to be a rookie and stick her head up like a ferret to get blasted off. Instead, she stays crouched, and as alert as she can be.

There's flashes of white in those trees. The sun is casting shadows into the treeline and making it difficult to make out exactly how many there are. Its only a matter of seconds later when nearly half a dozen Marines in white helmets burst from the shadows and begin running at the people who dropped from so high. Guns held at the waist, they're moving like a Centurion would, too. They don't even bother to push the distance very far. Their guns begin firing moments after they appeared.

"Copy that," Cora replies to Vandenberg's orders, though she seems to say it more for herself than the Lieutenant. Crouched in the grass, rifle at the ready, she waits until those white-hatted Marines emerge and begin firing. She watches them just for a moment, and then crouches a little lower, lining up her shot as the 'centurions' come into range.

"White hats coming into range," Constin drawls simply, clicking the fire control on his training gun, drawing himself up from the crouch in order to maximize his field of fire.

"Here they come!" Andrea says with a grin as she pulls the trigger.

Aaaaand here they come, the Centurion/Marines with the white helmets. And of course, they start shooting. "Well, they act like Centurions" mutters Wade as he takes aim for one of them. He takes a deep breath, trying to relax as he prepares himself to do some shooting.

"Target!" Marko calls, leveling his paintball gun at the simulated Centurion's middle and squeezing off a three-round burst.

"Oh boy. Enemy units moving in," Richards intones quickly while looking down the scope of his weapon. Finding a target, he smiles while taking a single shot, aiming it for the faux-terion's head.

Robinson readies her aim as the opposition comes running out onto the field, shooting. As she takes her aim at one in particular, she shoots.

Khloe snaps off a shot at the first white helmet that she sees, shooting for center mass. "Targets incoming!" She calls out in the chorus of other soldiers calling the same.

Andrea grins as she sees the incoming, and lets off a full salvo of burst fire at one of her targets. Game time, much?

The bastard was hit, but still coming, darn it. Watching in frustration as two of Constin's targets fall, Andrea shakes her head. "Bet he paid 'em off with cigs," she mutters under her breath as she pulls her trigger again. Bastard was gonna go down this time.

"No, he's just really good at his job," Cora replies to Andrea, "And not afraid to get shot a half-dozen times doing it." Perhaps deciding to emulate the sergeant's approach, she straightens up out of her crouch, abandoning the bit of cover the grass provides in exchange for a clearer shot.

As the jumpteam opens fire the Mariens charging at them seem to stagger a bit, resisting the urge to dive to the ground. Its tough to overcome training but orders are orders: 'Act like Centurions.' So then continue charging ahead. Two of them take enough fire for it to finally hurt and they topple into the grass and hold their rifles up - the signal that they are 'dead' according ot game rules.

Wade manages to hit one of them, and for a person that sucks at shooting, that's not bad at all. Of course, the Marine's errr Centurion's armor stops that attack and he is forced to select another target. "Come to papa"

Khloe is almost nailed by a paintball but turns at the last second. She snaps off more shots at the same white helmet that she initially sighted on, staying cool and collected. Firearms aren't her specialty, so she's taking her time.

Rounds pepper the ground around Vandenberg and she rolls away from the position that is apparently a magnet for paint. All her rounds missed the first time so she's cursing through gritted teeth as she takes aim once more.

Robinson sighs as she misses her target. Though it would seem someone else got at it instead. BUT! She would have liked to take it down anyway. But that's beside the point! At least it's down!

Constin unloads on the 'Centurions' with the sort of reckless abandon one would expect if the marines under the helmets owed him a drink for each 'hit' he scores on them. But of course, such a thing would be ridiculous. With half his ammo remaining, the sergeant spends it. In a hurry.

No one likes to miss and that is true for Richards who growls when he misses only to watch the guy he was aiming for get taken down in a volley of paintrounds. "Frakkers!" Changing tactics along with targets since that one's out of the picture, going a bit more full-tilt with the next shot.

Fortunately, the 'Centurion' Marko decided to unload on doesn't seem to be remotely interested in shooting back at him. And who could blame the guy? Marko doubts that any of his three shots went anywhere within two meters of the man. They play hell with the underbursh, though, splattering paint far and wide. "Frak." he growls, breaking cover to try again.

"Reloading," Constin barks as the last of the paintballs are spent, and the sergeant crouches low in the grass to reload. glance flicking up from munitions hopper to 'enemies' periodically, he feeds fresh ammo into the gun, just in case..

Andrea nods in satisfaction as the 'Centurion" falls, turning as he does to get her next target in her sights. She was fairly certain she hadn't made the killing shot, but she wasn't going to complain too much. Still, she was feeling brave, and stood up.

Two more 'Cylons' go down in the hail of bullets, the last one looking around behind him as he realizes he's all alone. The man lets out an audible "Oh Shit!" and begins running at full speed and spraying bullets madly. Meanwhile, behind him, a new wave of the white-helmeted targets appear. They also move with the same gusto taken up by the last reaminder of the first wave.

Spending all those long hours in the cockpit, not doing anything else…had a downside. In Wade's case, it manifests in the lack of skill he has when it comes to firing a gun. Oh yes, he sucks, and he sucks big time. He misses the next shot and he curses "Frak!" he's a bit pissed at himself but remains 'calm' seeking to land a good paintball against one of the baddies.

Robinson smiles as she hits one of the Centurions, watching him then fall as he's hit by someone else. "Now that's one I call a success!" She chirps happily.

Cora manages to resist the urge to look too pleased with herself when she successfully takes out the first Centurion, but she does smirk, and then drop quickly back into the grass to work on reloading, ducking as low as possible.

Marko can't help but grin as one of his rounds strikes his previous target square on the helmet. That's much more the thing. Soon, the 'Cylon' goes down, leaving one more remaining for Marko to turn on. Until the others turn up.

Khloe tags the man she was shooting at, but Elf's masterful burst spread seems to have done most of the work. "Nice shots, Sergea… down! More incoming!" That's when she switches targets and snaps off more careful shots.

"INCOMING!!!" Vandenberg barks as she rises from her half-crouch on the ground and hefts the rifle for a better shot. She's still cursing about her accuracy.

Richards gets into a less-defensive, more-aggressive stance. "Frakker just needs to die," he grunts while again aiming for the same toaster-wannabe, his expression dark.

Constin pauses in his reloading as a concentrated hail of paint splatters the incoming 'Centurions'. "Ho-lee frak. Did the pilots remember how to shoot?" he drawls- the needling drawing his attention off enough that he takes a paintball in the stomach. "Aw frak me- never should've gone into cover," he growls. "ALWAYS get hit when I try to take cover.." clack, clack, and he;s back in the fight..

The last remaining target from the first wave crashes to the ground after a hail of gunfire hits him. He mutters something sounding like 'OW!' over the din of gunfire. Two more from the second wave tumble into the grass and don't bother getting up again, either.

"Target!" Marko shouts the instant the 'Cylon' goes down, swiveling the muzzle of his rifle to cover one of the remaining two. Constin is raising hell with the enemy, as usual, even in a simulated combat, it's something to behold. The different, Marko understands, between a fully trained combat-veteran Marine and an ECO.

Robinson fights the urge to cheer when she gets her target, changing over to a new target. Time to take another one down.

"Mother frakker!" Khloe yells, as a series of well-aimed shots whiz past her left ear and shoulder, and one nails her arm. Glancing down sharply, she notices that it's a glancing blow — not enough to take her out of the fight. But the next shot will probably take her out. "Time to die, me or you," she sneers, and clicks the 'auto' setting on her rifle all the way down…

Cora finishes reloading and gets back up, again forgoing cover in favor of shooting. It's just paint, after all, and these aren't even her own clothes.

Now this is pretty stinking fun, as well. Andrea whoops as she draws a bead on yet another target. Hearing Constin, she laughs. "We're just having to get used to having smaller guns, is all."

Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim. BOOM! Headshot! Wade opens his eyes wide and "Woooooo!" exclaims the man. What? He shoes emotion too, from time to time! Oh yes, he is oh so very happy that he nailed one and he actually keeps with the kamikaze style of shooting, selecting a new target.

Richards is in the kind of headspace where he is seeing only the targets, those he's fighting along side of noticed but only vaguely, enough to keep them from getting shot at by him and nothing more. When the tinner who he and a few others shot at goes down he grins and it's a matter of switching to yet a new face…or in this case two new faces…to aim at and the trigger is pulled back, spraying rounds towards the two remaining training 'dummies'.

There is no other word to describe the amount of paint thrown downrange except for 'Hail'. Some might even describe it as crazy. The two last Marines realize that they are the only two left and look at each other, their faces a pastey white before they are suddenly coated with various hues of red, blue, and yellow. One of them looked like he was about to dive for cover anyway. Both plunk heavily into the grass and the air becomes very still. There doesn't appear to be anymore movement from the trees. The eeries silence returns as the echo of the paintguns fades into the distance.

"Oorah!" Constin adds at the end of the horrific hail of paint that besets the outnumbered 'Centurions'. Taking a quick headcount of the jump team, he works hard to keep any surprise out of his expression at the lack of paint marking his comrades. THEN, the big sergeant cracks a grin.

"What is this, a morale-boosting exercise?" Cora remarks as all of the remaining Centurions tumble to the ground near-coated in a barrage of paint. She keeps her rifle at the ready, looking about to see if there are more coming in on an unexpected flank or something.

"That's how you frakking do it!" Khloe says affirmatively, giving a look over her shoulder at Elf's marine enthusiasm. "Oorah," she seconds, although it's much quieter — she's not one of them, after all. Still, the pride is felt. "Good exercise, people. Knights, any casualties?" She calls over to Andrea and Wade.

There it is, again. Andrea turns to Cora, and registers her voice again. Damn, but the woman sounds familiar. "I know, we really…" another pause. Hard to tell, with the gear, but… "didn't I meet you once, on…" they're not off the hook, yet. Shaking her head, Andrea starts scanning again.

And then….it's over….or at least, appears to be, Marko seems to be expecting another attack, keeping his rifle leveled as he scans the area. He learned the hard way on Saggitarion that peaceful moments like this one are usualy preludes to more chaos. Still, he seems much less rattled that he was in the Courtyard that day.

Robinson snorts and grins at Cora. "Maybe a little bit? A little morale-booster and a lil-exercise?" She laughs and lets out a cheer. "Well, never let it be said that shooting practice isn't fun…even if the targets aren't actually the real deal." She says with a smirk.

And another headshot! Wade is actually hitting stuff! This is amazing. If this is a morale boost attempt; mission accomplished. "That was frakking awesome" says the pilot, looking at his rifle as if it were a mighty sword. He looks at Andrea now and smiles at her "That was some damn fine shooting there" and then at Khloe "You too Captain, you gave them hell" Yep, he nods in acceptance at that. Good times.

Vandenberg grins over at Constin from under helmet. "Ooo-frakkin-Rah, Sergeant. That's how its done." She scans the treeline once more for flickers of movement. Not spotting anymore, she slowly rises from her kneel and reaches inside her armor to retrieve a whistle. She gives it a hard blow and waves her hand over her head in a circle. "Exercise complete! Everyone over here on myself and Sergeant Constin! Let's talk about what we just saw." She then grins over towards the 'dead Centurions' and calls out, "Centurions are dismissed. Thank you very much, Able Platoon!"

Wade actually looks at himself after the SL checks for casualties "Nothing here, sir" He takes a better look and then nods to himself "No bullet holes" He smiles at this, pleased.

Richards snorts and then spits, a wad of gum that he has been chewing on since before the HALO discarded rudely with that. "Yeah, ooorah," he echoes the Knights' SL, his voice a bit…trembly. Shaking it off, he turns to look at the other Marines, his head inclined once before he goes to stand next to the LT, choosing to stand to her right and just in front, turning to face her.

Constin nods curtly to Vandenberg, his exhale another bullish snort, as he checks the firing mechanism on his training rifle, and slings the 'weapon' across his chest. The Able boys get a brief scknowledgement, before the big sergeant falls in with the Lieutenant, facing the ad hoc squad.

Cora seems to expect more Centurions to appear from somewhere, up until the moment where Vandenberg calls the exercise. She safeties and shoulders her rifle casually, unfastening and removing her helmet as she heads over towards the marine organizers to listen to what they have to say.

Robinson stands from her position as Vandenberg calls everyone to her position. Rushing over, she looks around at all the people who were involved. What a variety of people they got. But it was good. Training means people can shoot things better.

Vandenberg slings up her rifle and looks around to everyone gathered. "Alright! Damned fine work everyone. Sirs." She nods the last word to Khloe and Cora. "I'll leave Sergeant Constin to comment on the jump but I was very impressed with the communication and fire discipline of everyone on the ground. We had a lot of fun today but remember that there are practical lessons to be learned from this. It was paint today. Real bullets hurt. A lot. For the next few days we will have exercises on the ground and workshops for anyone who wants to participate. Recon, ambushes, concealment, even normal patrol stuff. We aren't trying to train Marines here but we are trying to get people ready in case they ever need to be apart of something such as the Leonis operation. If this does not interest you, you are welcome to return to the Cerberus at your leisure. Once again, thanks for coming out and getting yourself jump trained. Damned proud of you all." The short Lietuenant gives everyone around a solid nod and smile before gesturing to Constin. "Sergeant? Comments on the jump or anything else?"

"Too damned much chatter," is Constin's glowing commendation of the brave folks who hazarded the HALO jump. "This baby jump was the first time out the hatch for some, but damnation if you lot didn't babble more than frakking schoolgirls." that bruisque opinion offered, he drawls on, "That said, it ain't a frakking race to the ground. A perfect jump is when all the boots hit together." Looking at YOU Andrea. Having fulfilled his NCO duty of pointing out everything negative, the big marine turns the discussion back to Vandenberg, before cracking a tight grin.

"Lieutenant, Sergeant," Cora replies with a nod after they've both spoken, "On behalf of myself and Command, thank you both for organizing these exercises and those to come. Given the realities of our situation and the nature of some of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, it's important to make sure personnel are competent and have basic preparedness in as many areas as possible, particularly when it comes to ground missions like this. I know I'll likely be back and forth over the next several days taking advantage of what you're offering and I encourage anyone else who can spare the time to do so as well. You never know what you're going to end up needing to do these days, might as well put some time in now while we have the luxury of it." She caps off that little public service announcement with a nod.

Andrea curbs the smile, but it takes some effort. She's the goat, at the moment, but the goat of an op that went off almost without a hitch. She nods respectfully and takes the news seriously. Chatter was part and partial of being a jock, but here, she was a jarhead, and so it was time to learn to be a better one. Otherwise, she stays at attention. There'll be room for joking later.

"Is there going to be any more jump training?" Marko asks simply, having kept his peace until the Marines who are running the show have said their piece.

"I'm still pumping adrenaline like nobody's business," Khloe says in response to Elf's comment about chatter. "That's the difference between a marine and a stick, Sergeant. Chatter's part of the game when you're in a cockpit. But, point taken." She glances sidelong at Hosedown for dramatic effect. Small closed-mouth smile sent her way.

Robinson tilts her head at Constin. "Come now, Sergeant. Some of us used to be schoolgirls at some point or another. It's a hard habit to break!" She says casually, giving the man a wink. "But yes. Thank you both for running this. It's nice to know that some of us are still able to shoot things with some proficiency, even if it has been a few…months since we got any practice in." She says happily.

Vandenberg just nods to Constin's assessment. She doesn't look like she's going to contradict the man who rises over a foot above her. After Cora finishes, the Lieutenant dips her head in appreciation. "Thank you, sir. We'll work hard to make this available as we can. I believe we have plans with the Air Wing to train people on how to call in air strikes tomorrow afternoon. Should be a literal blast!" She sprawls a grin on her face. "As to the question about further jump training? We will know in a few weeks. Ultimately, that will be up to the CAG and Command." She takes one last breath and looks at the group. "Okay! That's all we have for you this evening. I'll be around to discuss things for awhile if anyone has any further questions. Otherwise? You're all dismissed. Be sure to grab your jump gear from the landing zone and the Raptors should be back here in about ten minutes to pick everyone up. Again, outstanding job everyone. You make this Marine proud. Can't speak for this one." She gestures towards Constin with an elbow. "Enjoy your evening! Workshops start at zero-eight-hundred tomorrow."

Andrea chuckles as she heads to get her pack, but does take a moment to fall into step next to Cora. "Pardon, sir, but I SWEAR that I know you from somewhere, maybe R+R at some point, before the war? I was with the Volans all the way up to Warday…"

Constin sniffs once, a crooked smirk twisting his lip at the responses his admonishment got from the jump team- who are clearly still buzzing with well deserved adrenaline. Another bullish exhale punctuates his nod to Cora and then Vendenberg, in turn. With the dismissal, he relaxes from 'Parade rest' and stretches his right shoulder.

Wade lightly elbows Andrea. His turn now. "Don't worry Hosedown, we'll be back in the cockpit and you can shout everything you want" He winks at this and smiles with a bit of amusement. His attention goes back to Vandenberg and Constin and he offers a nod to them "Thank you" Yep, training appreciated. And speaking of training, he really needs to start training for Flight Instructor. Nuggets need to be trained, shaped, molded…and all that.

"Thank you all for the training. Looking forward to more of it." Marko says, carefully unloading his 'rifle', it may only be paint, but even simunitions can kill at very close ranges, and starting to gather up his gear. "Love to stick around and shoot the breeze, but I got CAP in, like, thirty minutes." he sighs, looking at the three Marines. "Lieutenant, Seargeants." he says formally before gathering up his gear and making for the pick up point.

Cora nods to Vandenberg and Constin, and moves to step away, sticking a thumb in the neck of the body-armor as she heads back towards the X. Andrea's approach and remark draw a lift of a brow and she turns to look at the pilot for a long moment. She shrugs finally. "We may have run into each other somewhere?" she suggests, "I was never stationed on the Volans, I can't say it rings any particular bells."

Andrea glances over at Wade as she is elbowed. "You're gonna regret telling me that, you know. Nice shooting today, Drips." Her attention returns to Cora. "It is driving me crazy. It's something like…" suddenly she freezes. "Err, had you ever met Lt. Ellinon before Warday? Back before you were a captain?"

Vandenberg turns to Constin and puts a hand out to shake. "Thank you, Sergeant. That was outstanding work. Damned glad to have someone with your experience on board. Looking forward to working with you more in the future." She takes a breath, stilling smiling like an idiot. "And damned if that wasn't more fun than I've had in a long time. You also schedule vacations? Travel agent-type work?"

Richards has been keeping himself quiet, something getting the normally chatty man to be silent. When Marko addresses them he manages a tight, small grin of acknowledgement but that's it, the MP at least trying to be polite.

Cora does not have the moment of recognition (or possible recognition) that Andrea seems to be experiencing, just watching. "I met a lot of people before Warday," she replies, the words spaced just a little more than may be strictly necessary. She shakes her head minimally, one shoulder lifting in a shrug as she adds, "And I don't recall ever having met a Lieutenant Ellinon. If you'll excuse me, lieutenant, I need to speak with the marines about some logistics."

Constin faces Natalie as the officer offers her thanks and hand. Accepting the shake, the big sergeant answers the little lieutenant, "Glad this could go down, El-Tee." A quick check to make sure none of the other jumpers are within earshot, he adds, "Went real well. Think any of that bunch could handle a full sized Hay-lo next time around. Standard procedure is four more jumps like that, but we got what you'd call a 'special circumstance' I think."

Suddenly Andrea is blushing, and she nods. "Yes, sir. Of course, sir, sorry." She falls into step with the others, loading onto the Raptors.

"Hey, you see anything else needing doing with training, you know where to find me." The Marine Lieutenant gives Constin a firm nod and adjusts the sling of her rifle. "Know what you mean about the circumstances, too. Wish we could get more of these in but I'll leave the certifications to you, Sergeant. That isn't my bag. You better believe if we ever have to jump someplace I'll be asking to join."

"Hell, sir," constin drawls back to Natalie, "You all already got more Hay-lo training than I had before Anadyomene. But yeah, I won;t be quiet about what more we can do with the time we got, El-Tee." the approaching cora draws the big man's eye, and he holds further words.

Cora just nods to Andrea, the woman getting a glance for her blush, a faint hint of puzzlement in the captain's otherwise neutral expression. Up to Constin and Vandenberg she comes then, pausing at least long enough to comment in an undertone: "If you ever feel like running a full-length HALO jump, I'd like to register my interest."

Vandenberg straightens a bit at the approach of Cora and the smiles fades. But only a smidge. She dips her head but seems unsurprised. "Understood, sir. If we have some more time here on Aerilon I'd be happy to schedule one assuming that Sergeant Constin has the time. If not, maybe the next Colony we get to. But I'll see about organizing it in the future. Appreciate the interest, sir. We'll do our best to make it happen." She looks to Constin, expectant for him to comment.

"As time and personnel allow, sir," Constin states simply to Cora's expressed interest. As Cora didnt seem to be stopping for conversation, the sergeant directs his eye from Cora, to sweep over the team as they all gather up their packs for imminent pickup, and then back to Vandenberg.

Cora nods to the pair of marines, offering, "We intend to be rolling things up here on Aerilon over the next couple weeks, so the next colony might be preferable. As time and personnel allow, as the sergeant says." She nods again, and then offers with a brief, lightning-quick quirk of a smile, "That was fun. Good work, and thanks again," before heading off towards the gear and the camp, etc.
