Post by mongoose on May 4, 2007 16:19:31 GMT -5
An opening scene: POV Kihn
Plot points addressed:
* Introduce the character of Kihn Waiting Bear, subordinate to Miksa Pole, and from who's perspective we may view the actions of the latter
* Show Kihn's philosophy and approach to operations
((If this is out of bounds because it's not in the Story Bible, feel free to ignore or delete it. I won't be hurt too badly. ;-) ))
So much was involved in these landings. So much in most things he did in his job these days, and he couldn't say it was all worth while or good to be doing. A part of the man would have prefered common infantry work over this, but that was out of the question since . . . But he would not think of that.
The human, of Native American descent, Blackfoot, to be exact, moved with practiced efficiency as he brought up and scanned one security feed after another. That was his job since the FUBAR with the Earth Federation Space Marines. Private security consultant. No doubt his skills and knowledge came in handy for these big corporation owners who hadn't a clue about anything other than whom to hire to do their work for them. Miksa Pole had done at least one thing right by hiring Kihn, and it looked like he'd done another by choosing this planet. By all appearances, it should yeild plenty of profitable ore and minerals.
Kihn sneered inwardly. Profit. That was all these people seemed to care about. The planet below might be ripe with untold natural riches for scientists of all stripes, but those would be ignored or destroyed in the thirst for material riches of his employer. Never mind, that was the way of the 'verse these days. Not much he could do about it, and the pay he received would support his ex wife and teenaged daughter.
As he scanned the readouts a portion of Kihn's mind processed the radio chatter coming over his headset. He still prefered the old fashioned unit over the hidden ear-pieces that were standard issue for most in his profession. He paused for a moment, hearing Miksa demand, yet again, something inane of the Kalorbi commander. He glanced up for a moment, frowning at the screen that would be used should Miksa deign to demand something of him.
Redundant, it clearly was, hiring a private security consultant when the Kalorbi government, which had jurisdiction here, had already provided a perfectly capable army commander to provide those services. The fact that Kihn was here at all pointed a big red finger at Miksa's paranoia. Apparently he figured he could trust a paid human more than a volunteer Kalorbi. Yet others would dissaprove, so Kihn had been ordered in no-uncertain terms that he and his 11 men had better keep a low profile. Not a problem. Operational Security and covert surveilence/reconaisance were their specialties.
Yet there Miksa was, heading into another private conference with the Kalorbi commander. Those almost invariably meant trouble. The line soldiers, not being informed of the background of the decisions being made concerning their lives could not effectively plan for the situations into which they would be ordered. It usually meant the conspirator was doing something wrong, and wanted it to remain hidden. And it often meant people would die needlessly. It wouldn't be Kihn's men or women if he could help it. He activated a private comm channel of his own with his second in command, a former 1st sergeant of his from the space marines.
"Ears, Owl. Go secure."
"Owl, ears here. We are secure. Go ahead."
"Double check our exfil contingencies for me, will you? Come up with a couple more, something for each stage of the operation, kay?"
"Roger. Something up?" Lewis asked.
Kihn glanced again at Miksa's monitor.
"I don't know yet. Something feels off. Just make sure the others are ready for something to go off the wire, okay? Prep for a hot opp."
"You got it, cap. Thanks." The connection broke, hopefully before anyone noticed the aberation in protocol. Contracted employees weren't afforded those privilages taken by the owner of the corporation. At least not officially.
Kihn took up his own weapons, and tucked them into special sheiths designed to conceal them beneath his uniform. He shook his head a little with a grimace. His uniform, and that of the rest of his men, was similar to that of the mechanical crew that would roam about fixing things. The only ones that would notice enough to tell there was a difference were the mechanical crew and Miksa, who'd chosen the cover for them. Maybe you couldn't blame him. It had worked before.
They had another ten minutes before they'd pass through the clouds surrounding plannet NK-394 that kept them from any meaningful data on who might inhabit the place. Oh, sure, advanced intel said it was uninhabited by sentient life, but Kihn would believe it when he set foot on the place's high point and saw no trails or other signs of habitation. In the meantime, he had a few moments of dead time. He took advantage of it to stretch, and began a few of the simpler forms that didn't require too much precious space to complete. As he did so, his worried about Miksa retreated to the back of his mind, and he found a modicum of calm and relaxation needed for the highest awareness and most efficient operations.
Plot points addressed:
* Introduce the character of Kihn Waiting Bear, subordinate to Miksa Pole, and from who's perspective we may view the actions of the latter
* Show Kihn's philosophy and approach to operations
((If this is out of bounds because it's not in the Story Bible, feel free to ignore or delete it. I won't be hurt too badly. ;-) ))
So much was involved in these landings. So much in most things he did in his job these days, and he couldn't say it was all worth while or good to be doing. A part of the man would have prefered common infantry work over this, but that was out of the question since . . . But he would not think of that.
The human, of Native American descent, Blackfoot, to be exact, moved with practiced efficiency as he brought up and scanned one security feed after another. That was his job since the FUBAR with the Earth Federation Space Marines. Private security consultant. No doubt his skills and knowledge came in handy for these big corporation owners who hadn't a clue about anything other than whom to hire to do their work for them. Miksa Pole had done at least one thing right by hiring Kihn, and it looked like he'd done another by choosing this planet. By all appearances, it should yeild plenty of profitable ore and minerals.
Kihn sneered inwardly. Profit. That was all these people seemed to care about. The planet below might be ripe with untold natural riches for scientists of all stripes, but those would be ignored or destroyed in the thirst for material riches of his employer. Never mind, that was the way of the 'verse these days. Not much he could do about it, and the pay he received would support his ex wife and teenaged daughter.
As he scanned the readouts a portion of Kihn's mind processed the radio chatter coming over his headset. He still prefered the old fashioned unit over the hidden ear-pieces that were standard issue for most in his profession. He paused for a moment, hearing Miksa demand, yet again, something inane of the Kalorbi commander. He glanced up for a moment, frowning at the screen that would be used should Miksa deign to demand something of him.
Redundant, it clearly was, hiring a private security consultant when the Kalorbi government, which had jurisdiction here, had already provided a perfectly capable army commander to provide those services. The fact that Kihn was here at all pointed a big red finger at Miksa's paranoia. Apparently he figured he could trust a paid human more than a volunteer Kalorbi. Yet others would dissaprove, so Kihn had been ordered in no-uncertain terms that he and his 11 men had better keep a low profile. Not a problem. Operational Security and covert surveilence/reconaisance were their specialties.
Yet there Miksa was, heading into another private conference with the Kalorbi commander. Those almost invariably meant trouble. The line soldiers, not being informed of the background of the decisions being made concerning their lives could not effectively plan for the situations into which they would be ordered. It usually meant the conspirator was doing something wrong, and wanted it to remain hidden. And it often meant people would die needlessly. It wouldn't be Kihn's men or women if he could help it. He activated a private comm channel of his own with his second in command, a former 1st sergeant of his from the space marines.
"Ears, Owl. Go secure."
"Owl, ears here. We are secure. Go ahead."
"Double check our exfil contingencies for me, will you? Come up with a couple more, something for each stage of the operation, kay?"
"Roger. Something up?" Lewis asked.
Kihn glanced again at Miksa's monitor.
"I don't know yet. Something feels off. Just make sure the others are ready for something to go off the wire, okay? Prep for a hot opp."
"You got it, cap. Thanks." The connection broke, hopefully before anyone noticed the aberation in protocol. Contracted employees weren't afforded those privilages taken by the owner of the corporation. At least not officially.
Kihn took up his own weapons, and tucked them into special sheiths designed to conceal them beneath his uniform. He shook his head a little with a grimace. His uniform, and that of the rest of his men, was similar to that of the mechanical crew that would roam about fixing things. The only ones that would notice enough to tell there was a difference were the mechanical crew and Miksa, who'd chosen the cover for them. Maybe you couldn't blame him. It had worked before.
They had another ten minutes before they'd pass through the clouds surrounding plannet NK-394 that kept them from any meaningful data on who might inhabit the place. Oh, sure, advanced intel said it was uninhabited by sentient life, but Kihn would believe it when he set foot on the place's high point and saw no trails or other signs of habitation. In the meantime, he had a few moments of dead time. He took advantage of it to stretch, and began a few of the simpler forms that didn't require too much precious space to complete. As he did so, his worried about Miksa retreated to the back of his mind, and he found a modicum of calm and relaxation needed for the highest awareness and most efficient operations.
