Paddy picks himself off the ground and mumbles something about Tango being a wuss hiding in his armor. He settles himself down in a seat, adjusting his shorts and opening another bottle of whiskey, giggling to himself about the plan of assaulting the Maryland and scratching his eyepatch.
" So urr, how do we do this. We get to shoot some bleedin' navy buggers and still the fec'ers ship? Sounds fun!"
He takes a swig of the bottle and closes his eyes again.
Petrucci waited a moment for the shock to set in. After the murmuring died down, he continued.
"This is the plan. As you are probably well aware.. especially you, Mr. Barry.. the Maryland is equipped for anti-fighter combat. It was last seen flying with a loadout of nine solaris turrets, one heavy mortar, two battle razors. Our usual method of taking down the reserve fleet with Sabres and a few Bombers would not work in this case - it would be suicide."
"In this case, we're going to hit it with something it cannot counter. A frontal capital assault as a diversionary tactic. The sister ships, Black Cloud and Silver Lining will assault the vessel from the front using long-range bombardment tactics - namely their light mortars. While they open up on the Maryland's shield, the third Storta, Nightmare will circle from behind, adding to the damage with it's own light mortars. Warlord Rudess will take command of the Fleet, while I'll handle things on the ground."
Petrucci walked over to the console, where he took a small drink from a glass of water.
"Our boarding craft will be housed in the Nightmare until such time as we get within range. Now, it's going to be a tight fit. Our boarding parties will be squeezed in two sabres, and two bayonets. Our larger Pirate Transports are unsuited for this task, as they would be shot down the moment they got near. "
The holographic screen changed, and displayed a list of names.
Sabre 1
John Petrucci
Scotty Hill
Tanisha Daniels
Sabre 2
Xavier Fierceshot
Jada Zachary
Bayonet 1
James LaBrie
Crazy Barry
Paddy Hughs
Dwight T. Barnes
Bayonet 2
Harold Kane
Doc Hoff
VR-02
Grizzly 1
Bandit meatshields (Marines)
"Everyone, assemble in your respective groups. We'll talk about what we do once we're on the ship next.
Dwight picked up his radio with his left hand, settling it into his lap as he took another hit from the J. He kicked at the floor, sliding the chair across the deck's flooring towards his group. Upon arrival he looked up, his eyes bloodshot to hell.
"A'ight so...once we like...y'know, get on board and stuff, what we gonna' do then? I can't shoot nothin' bigger than a pistol; hell, I ain' even worn armour before neither. You serious gonna' expect a bunch of pilots to assault somethin' manned by marines? I mean...d'get me wrong, I'm all f'kicking Liberty in the nuts, but..."
He took another drag, holding the J in an almost comical position as he contemplated his next question...
"Objection: You're putting me in the ship with someone who hides in his safety cabinet whenever I do this," he extends his left wristblade to demonstrate, "someone who can't handle any gun bigger than his nose, and on top of all that Dumb and Dumber." He pauses, surveying the reactions. "Query: Are you perhaps contemplating... population control?"
"Wait wait wait...you mean to say, I'm gonna be stuck in a tiny Bayonet with a drunk, plasma bot that wants to kill me, a guy that almost got me killed, and someone crazier then me?"
He looks around at everybody.
"Besides, arn't Bayonets incredibly cramped for 1 person, let alone 5? Why not something bigger...like a Waran...as ugly as they are.."
Dwight stood up suddenly, his boom-box clattering to the floor while continuing to play the meeting's apparent theme song. He drew a deep drag from the J, eyes bulging. Smoke poured from his mouth and nose as he spoke...
" 'Ey yo, a'ight check it! ONE, ma' stereo is frakin' in-de-struct-ay-BULL. Two! I ain' crazy, a drunk, dumb enough t'get ma' boys killed, and I sure as hell ain' a robot! 'Sides, B-dawg...you ever try sittin' in a Falchion wit' a cockpit full'a dro? This ain' gonna be nothin' on 'at."
Kane stared at Dwight with one eyebrow raised higher than the other. "The frak was that about your stereo being... 'dro'?" He looked the other way for a minute before turning around and simply saying, "Word, yo."
Dwight stood there for a second, the sudden onrush of a new participant pushing his already dope-addled mind to breaking point. His jaw hung agape, his stare went vacant and his breathing slowed. His mind drifted, thinking of drugs, guns, women, and the amazing amounts of cash he could make by producing and selling an album dedicated to rapping about them. Then he suddenly remembered that every other rapper in the history of Sol and Sirius had produced records on that exact basis...this was when he returned to reality.
He looked to Kane, giving him a wicked smirk before thumping his chest twice with the thumb-side of a closed fist, proceeding to give the peace sign afterwards.
"Now that you're all assembled in your respective ships we ca- Oh, one thing. Mr. Ryckman, please make sure we're broadcasting to the hangar bay, I want the Bandit Marines to see this."
Ryckman obediantly tapped on his console and nodded to Petrucci.
"Good. Now, you're probably wondering what we intend to do once we're aboard the Maryland. The Bandit Marines are going to spearhead the assault. We're going to break through the inevitable barricade of enemy Marines blocking the hangar bay entrance. Once through the initial resistance, we're going to break into several subgroups. The first group, which will be Bayonet Two, along with a contingent of marines will head to the first data terminal. Once there, LaBrie will access the main computer, and start causing a mess. Locking down bulkheads, venting atmosphere in the engine and reactor control room, diverting power from the Maryland's weapons to non-essential systems, sending graphic images to bridge crew's consoles... Anything and everything to make it difficult for the enemy."
Petrucci again, sipped from his glass.
"The second group, which will consist of Mr. Fierceshot's group, as well as my group and more marines, will make our way to the bridge. From there we should be able to take the flak off of our destroyers, and possibly capture the captain of the Maryland, whom we presume is Christina Robinson, a common thorn in our side.
The third and final group, which will be lead by Taskmaster Kane, will move to the engine and reactor control room, and capture it. With any luck, LaBrie should be able to vent that room of atmosphere before the Kane's group arrives, which should make it an easy capture. Once the room is vented, the rest of LaBrie's squad, excluding LaBrie and a few Bandits will move to the engine room to act as backup should Taskmaster Kane come under heavy fire.
"Yeah, so we're going to capture the bridge and detain the captain which will hopefully be Christina Robinson, I understand that. Now do we want the captain dead or alive so we can use him/her for some bargaining chips with the Navy, and if the same applies to any crew. Just need to know if I should be careful at what I shoot or not."