The Pluto Campagin: Hard Drop [Starship Troopers]

"The young recruit is silly - 'e
thinks o' suicide.
'E's lost 'is gutter-devil; 'e 'asin't
got 'is pride;
But day by day they kicks 'im,
which 'elps 'im on a bit,
Till 'e finds 'isself one mornin'
with a full an' proper kit.
Gettin' clear o' dirtiness, gettin'
done with mess,
Gettin' shut o' doin' things
rather-more-or less."
-Rudyard Kipling

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Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964) was a United States soldier, famous for his heroism in World War I.

York was born in poverty in Pall Mall, Tennessee. His family owned a meager farm and often supplemented their diet via hunting. As a result, young Alvin became an expert marksman in the area woods. York was something of a "nuisance" as a youth, frequently getting into drunken brawls. In 1914 his best friend was killed in a bar fight, prompting York to change his ways.

York eventually was drafted into the 82nd Infantry Division in 1917. As a corporal in its 328th Infantry, in the Battle of Meuse River-Argonne Forest on 1918 October 8, he assumed command of his platoon after three other NCOs fell. While he is sometimes described as acting single-handedly, his official citation says he led seven others in a charge on an active machine-gun nest. They killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132, including four officers. (He is said to have explained this feat by saying they had surrounded the enemy.) His chain of command honored this accomplishment by awarding him the Distinguished Service Cross. France, whose forces he was directly aiding and whose territory was involved, added its Croix de Guerre and Legion of Honor. Italy and Montenegro, also allies, awarded him their Croce di Guerra and War Medal, respectively. At the time of his heroics, he was in fact only a corporal; his promotion to sergeant was part of the honor that he received for his valor but resulted in his becoming known to the US (and much of the world) as "Sergeant York".

On April 18, 1919, York received the highest decoration that the United States awards, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

High Pluto Orbit aboard the TFCT Alvin York


1st Lt. John Wheeler looked out of the starbord veiw plate of the fast drop transport Alvin York staring at the collection of ships that made up the SICON Navy's Task Force 7 as they orbited the cold dark planet of Pluto. His back was to the collected Squads and Platoons of his Moble Infantry Company "The Wheeler's Wildcats" who stood at attention.

He then turned to stare at the men. Lt. Wheeler might have been called a handsome man once before a bug clawed out his right eye. He had a metalic optical inplant now which tracked with his good eye as he looked over the ranks of men under his command.


"Listen up Apes. For you new recruits, welcome to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, 7th Army of the Mobile Infantry." The new recruits fresh out of boot had been placed in Second Squad under Sergeant James just before the Alvin York took off from Sanctuary about a week ago. This is your first real interaction with the Lt.

"Pay attention, cause this is only coming once. As most of you know, two months ago SICON detected activity on Pluto and went in to find an aggressive alien race infesting a run of valleys and caverns. There were a few... incidents, but we fought back against these aliens and managed to wipe them from the face of Pluto for good. Or so we though.

That's right you heard me. Command has just gotten word of a reinfestation. Now maybe they had a bunch of eggs in hibernation cause of the cold. Maybe they had deeper tunnels the last force didn't find. All I need to know, and all you need to know, is that a month after clearing Pluto, the bugs have reappeared. They were sighted a few hours ago and are already swarming the back side of Entora Valley. They haven't spread out yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Settle down! Now for the bad news, apes. There are a whole lot of them this time. SICON predicts at least five times as many as encountered the first time. The worst news is how few of us are here right now. Somebody up the chain of command miscalculated our need for reinforcements to hold this ball of rock, so we don’t have the manpower to assault the LZ Properly. Look left. Look right. What you see is all we got.

It’ll be enough, Troopers! We have the tools and the talent, but this time we have to fight smarter. We have to be harder than the bugs. If they get their pincers into Pluto and dig in long enough to reproduce again, we’ll have a real incident on our hands. No one expected em to be seen again, let alone in such numbers. Hell, boys, the Black Hats at Intel are even saying there might be a whole colony system full of these things deeper underground.

All I got to say is that is some other Company’s problem, at least until Intel makes it ours. All we have to do right now is keep our heads down and our guns up. We can theorize all day but that don’t put bullets in bugs! You get me? We either fight for this rock or we ditch it to the bugs. I don’t want Arachnids anywhere in my solar system. Do you? I don’t think so.

On the Bounce Apes! I want tactical ops and combat clearance by 07:00 tomorrow. Hit your bunks, set your hypnopeidia units for deep sleep and wake up sharp. Nobody infests this planet but us!”

Pvt. 1st class ROCK

Rock, standing at ridig attention, listened attentively as the L.T. described the situations what the f… he thought as a sinking sense of dread started washing over him at the thought of anything living and existing on the surface of Pluto… much less LOTS of somethings living down there. But that is what he was trained for… and damned if he would show any fear in front of his buddies.

After being dismissed, the saluted and head to Supply to make sure that he could get a Medikit and some additional Ammo… he then went straight towards his bunk, tomorrow was going to be one heck of a day.

Polar, listening intently to the LT., keeps flexing his fists to crack his knuckels, all the while images of his family flashing through his head. Afterwords he triple checks all his gear, paying particualr attention to the enviro systems, as he knows just how cold it is on Pluto. After his gear is attended to he tries to get some sleep, thankfull for the hypnopedia, else he would never be able to sleep before this drop."Only one mo day mama, one mo"

"Well, this should be interesting," Dana commented to no one in particular after the briefing, and then she headed back to her bunk to get the needed rest.

Dog whistles a nameless tune as he strips and rechecks his gun and other equipment for the third and final time before turning in. 'Oughta be a regular shootin' gallery tommorow fellas. Better rest yer eyes good."

Inside dog was going over the advice his father gave him before he left for boot camp: " Now listen boy, them bugs is nasty critters, but they go down just like a man if ya hits 'em in the right place. Aim for the soft spots, the the cortex, the inside of the mouth if ya have to. Their regular grounders gotta get mighty close ta hurt ya, don't give 'em the chance!"

Looking one last time at the strangers who ahd become his squad mates, Dog hoped he'd be able to do his job right, and hoped they knew how to do theirs....

Nails waits patiently and quietly until the briefing is over. As soon as he is dismissed, he takes a quick moment to look around. 'Wonder what happened to the last chaplain?' he ponders as he pulls out a small pouch of sunflower seeds and pops one in his mouth. He shrugs his shoulders and begins to check all his equipment before heading into sleep.

'This time tomorrow, we'll be in combat.' He thinks, just before sleep claims him.

Pvt "Pokey" Sands

After dismal, Pokey heads to his bunk like the other lemmings and checks his armor/enviroment gear/weapons. "Christ on a swivel stick. This might be an actual exciting day."

"Good morning, apes! It's a new day and a new problem. While you were sleeping, some of us were up and doing our jobs. You'll notice landing and drop zone information in your databoxes. See it? Good. Now erase it, cause everything's changed. A bunch of bugs came up through the landing pad and wrecked it a few hours ago. The team that went in first is no longer viable and we have to make a hard drop now. Get to Slingshot dropship and your caps, troopers! Garlan's Grizzlies won't be avenging themselves!" Bellowed SGT James Hodge.


2nd Squad, Company C

SGT James Hodge
CPL Elena Zavala
PVT Jack 'Dog' Calhoun
PVT Bobby ‘Pokey’ Sands
PVT Marcus ‘Rock’ Eckensberger
PVT Father Roger ‘Nails’ McGuire
PVT Dana Knight
PVT Braum ‘Polar’ Everlund
PVT Alexi Sokov
PVT Lee ‘Monk’ Tran


As you get your armor on and prep your equipment the Sargent says. “The Company will be dropped on the landing sight. We get the job of clearing the landing pad and getting the navigation and guidance beacon back up and operational. The other squads will form a perimeter around the site.” The Sarge looks at Dana. “Knight! Get a electronics repair kit from the quartermaster. It’s your job to get the beacon up and running. Everyone else gets standard kits. Now MOVE!”

Dog snaps off a salute as he heads to the dropship. Once there and suited up he double checks the action on his rifle before loading it, and checks that all his magazines and equipment are loaded and secured before stepping into place. "Hang on ta' yer helmets boys, its gonna be a bumpy ride!"