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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 5150169" data-attributes="member: 143">At this point, being called to the workshop instead of the medical bay equated to a big sigh of relief on the part of the harried Alphas. But yes, I tried to keep the action fast and furious in this campaign, which worked out for the most part, since most of the missions fit neatly into the two hours that we played each week. Some of the longer missions like the Russian base infiltration had to be split. * * * Session 19 (September 1, 2008)Chapter 73"Feel kind of loose,” Vasily said.  “Rattles." "We can fix that, Mister Kasprjak.  Hold on." A series of whirs and clanks followed, as the technicians tightened bolts and straps, while another made adjustments at the console the suit is plugged into.  "Is that any better?" The Russian made a fist inside the mechanised gauntlet, and took a few experimental steps.  "It feel like elephant sitting on me," he complained, beginning to sweat.  He couldn't imagine running and fighting while carrying weapons and gear in a getup like this…   "How about now?" …and suddenly the crushing weight was gone, as the generator on the back of the suit began to hum.  He took a couple more steps, bounced on his feet a couple of times, and nodded. "Better."Jane looked him up and down as he walked over to her.  She’d put a lot of extra work on the suit project over the last week, and she nodded as he came to a stop in front of her.  He was normally just a few inches taller than her, but the armor gave him a slight boost, and she had to crane her head back to meet his eyes.  “Looks good on you,” she said.  In the hangar bay, Hadrian was the first to arrive, and was greeted warmly by Doctor Sandesh, who was trailed by the latest incarnation of the Heavy Weapons Platform.  The Marine eyed the contraption dubiously.  While he hadn’t been with them on the Canada mission, he’d read the mission files, and the report on the sabotage of the prototype platform in Research Lab 2.  The HWP looked a little different than the HWP that Alpha had brought with them to Canada, with new bolsters along the sides of the turret, surrounding the bulky laser assembly, and a new bulge in the front that glowed slightly red, almost like an unblinking eye. “It’s all tuned up and ready to go,” Sandesh said, pleased to show off his creation.  “You have been briefed on their use, correct?  I can initialize your voice patterns on the device, and it will follow your commands.”“It any good?” Hadrian asked, his expression betraying his wariness of the machine.“The laser is lethal, with increased penetration over the last model.  Targeting is precise.”  He went on to explain various features his team had upgraded.  Hadrian listened, but he was relieved when the hangar door opened, and the other Alphas filed into the hangar. It was a diminished company.  Vasily was clad in the new powered armor, its weight causing the floor tiles to tremble with each step he took.  Hadrian was happy to leave it to the Russian.  His own training had focused on speed and stealth in the tactical environment, neither of which seemed to be a priority of the new suit.  Jane wore the same Personal Armor he did, and carried an extra weapon, which she held out to Hadrian as she approached.  The Marine took it a bit reluctantly; the alien weapons made him a bit uneasy, as he didn’t like a weapon he couldn’t field-strip and repair on his own.  From what little he’d been able to understand of the briefing materials on the new tech, trying that with the alien guns would likely leave him scattered about in tiny pieces.  “New gun?” he asked.“These were what the floater infiltrators were using,” she explained.  “We’ve encountered a few samples before.  They’re calling them ‘plasma rifles,’ although really they’re just a slightly upsized version of the pistol.  They look ugly as sin and aren’t well-balanced, but they’ll deliver a more focused blast with about fifteen percent more stopping power, and more accuracy at longer distances.  The only down side is the faster ammo consumption; you’ll get about fifteen shots before you deplete the cell.”“Well, I think I prefer my trusty M4 for long-distance engagements,” Hadrian said.“Regular gun not stop alien sometimes,” Vasily said.  Hadrian saw that he had one of the weapons fastened to the hip of his armor, in addition to his heavy autocannon.  “You expecting trouble on this mission?” he asked. “Always expect trouble,” Vasily returned.  Behind him the hangar door slid open again, and they turned to see Catalina coming toward them.  She was dressed in her field kit, including her stealth-blackened Personal Armor, and was trying her best to conceal a slight limp.  “No way I’m letting you leave without me,” she said, with a slight grimace as she caught up to them.  Vasily nodded in approval, then looked over her shoulder as one of the surgical nurses, still clad in scrubs, burst into the hangar behind her. “Miss De Farrago!” the nurse exclaimed.  “Someone tied Garrison to the surgical bed!  Gagged him, too!” “Hmm,” Hadrian said, his expression sere. “Must be some sort of terrorist flitting around,” Catalina said deadpan.  The nurse frowned.  “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” he said.“Well, you’ve got a prescription pad, doc, and I’ve got a plasma gun,” she said.  “So I guess I get to do what I want.”“We bring her back safe and sound,” Vasily said.  “We only going to Dallas.”Hadrian raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.  They turned to the Skyranger, and the mission ahead.</blockquote>

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