Operation Kantaku

[t0l]

Day 1: Nagano System, 1736 SMT

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Tal waited for his cue, having let go of his rifle strap to bring his vest-mounted radio up closer to his face. One by one, the Dragon ships sounded off, then the Order commander chimed in, and then a few more Dragon ships checked in before the radio fell silent.

There was his cue.

He depressed the big red button labeled "TALK" on the side of his radio, and did exactly what the instructions told him to.

"This is Bravo 2, all systems are nominal. See you planetside."

With an audible click that echoed throughout an otherwise silent troop compartment, he shut his radio off and turned to face his men, a motley assortment of random mercenaries with some Blood Dragon regulars thrown into the mix. They didn't seem to talk much, but he didn't care. He just needed them to listen.

"Alright, boys!" he yelled, unslinging his carbine and catching it just before the stock hit the ground, "It's showtime, get tactical!"

The lightweight carbine was unsurprisingly pointable, and in a swift movement he was able to bring the shoulder stock up to, well, his shoulder, and assume the low ready carrying position. Looking down, he grabbed hold of the weapon's forward-mounted, ambidextrous charging handle and pulled it back with a satisfying schlock, locking the bolt to the rear and exposing the weapon's internals through the ejection port. He tilted his weapon towards him until the brass casings shone in the ample white overhead lighting, after which he reached his finger towards the bolt catch and flicked it downwards. With another schlock, the weapon lurched forwards in his grip, the bolt launching forwards into battery.

He proceeded to check the safety one more time as the rest of his gang gradually woke up, and once done, he moved to smack the metal wall behind him that seperated the troop compartment from the cockpit.

"Hey! We're not getting paid by the hour here, so gun it!"

Tal turned back around to examine his men, the cargo bay finally coming alive with the sounds of weapons being readied, and slowly panned his head around until a viewport was visible. Through it, he saw the various features of Nagano begin to pass by at an increasing rate, and he took a deep breath as he waited for atmospheric entry and of course, the landing while probably being under fire bit.

Times like this, it paid to be the strong, silent type.

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