Retrieving The Equipment From The APC

While Sarah is taking a moment to prepare herself for her journey into the bones of the Warden she hears boost scrape against sand and rock, when she looks up she spots Corporal Cho, Private Fischer and Private Sinclair.

“It’s time, you ready Sarge?” Asks Cho as she tucks her sidearm into her holster as she sets her sight onto the great monument of the USS Warden, once a miracle of engineering a symbol of the night of the USCM and now a representative of its many failings.

“Yeah… let’s get going…” daybreak won’t be long, if no one’s spotted the crashed ship in the night, it won’t take long for the inhabitants of the planet to spot the massive crash site in broad daylight in the middle of a fucking desert.

The search party head out of camp, venturing back into the hot zone where even now the ship decomposes, chunks of the hull fall away like skin flakes exposing the innards of the Warden, wires, cables and system modules that once regulated room temperature or water pressure.

As the cohort ventures into the still twitching carcass of the USS Warden, one thing is clear to all, ships like these weren’t meant to ever be planetside.

Inside the status of the hanger bay has deteriorated, great beams of light shine in through sections of the ceiling that have collapsed, sand is swept in by the wind steadily covering the floor in red dusty sheets.

As Sargent McClintock looks to the space the APC had been, it’s clear to see why the Corporal had such issue with noticing it. It’s almost entirely obscured by a great mound of metal and hanging cables, as though the Warden itself has sought to hide its treasures.

“It’s under there… beneath all the debris…” says Sarah as she points a finger at the cohorts destination, thankfully the door remains unbarred, with luck the party will be able to strip the APC of its valuables before the Warden seeks to swallow them whole like some great beast.

The crew set to work, taking turns creeping into the APC, retrieving a ridiculously heavy duffel bag and retreating before another would step up to replace them.

All together 2 duffle bags are unearthed, one packed by Cruz and the other by the Sargent herself.

“Corporal, check these over and make sure their worth bringing back to camp…” Sarah knows from experience that USCM equipment can be temperamental at the best of times after all, just about everything the corps gets from the Wey-Yu is either ancient artifacts that are 50 years out of date or prototypes that need testing.

Piece by piece Corporal Cho unpacks the duffel bags and inspects them for damage starting with Sarah’s bag.

Inside rests two standard issue M41A Pulse Rifles, a M56A2 Smartgun complete with harness, articulating arm and gimbal and finally a pair of M314 Motion Trackers, what little space remains is taken up by ammo for said guns.

Next comes Cruz’s bag, the one she had been packing when Sarah had found her in the armory. Inside is an M37A2 Shotgun, the very same that Sarah had used to break out of the APC, 6 high intensity flares, and 3 sets of M3 Pattern marine armor.

The cohort is ready to depart, satisfied with the haul when Sarah remembers the source of Cruz’s injury, that heavy case she was so intent on dragging into the ACP, Sarah peeks inside the vehicle and finds it towards the back of the darkened confines of the APC.

“Sarge, what are you doing…? We gotta go because the Warden gives up the ghost for good..!” Shouts Corporal Cho from outside.

When Sarah reemerges from the APC, she lays the case along the sand, her mind abuzz with what Cruz was so determined to save, with the click of latches the case is pulled open.

Inside is a group of components, disassembled, Sarah makes out some kind of reinforced tripod, a long barrel attached to some kind of box, some kind of camera a large, chunky looking battery, a large drum magazine and finally a small foldable terminal. Disassembled it’s hard to picture how all these separate components fit together to create a greater whole.

“Holy hell, that’s an Auto Turret…!” Shouts Corporal Cho from behind as she peers over Sargent McClintock’s shoulder.

“Once that little bastard is assembled it’ll lock down anything you like, hallway, courtyard, a field, all by its lonesome… thankfully since we’re all in the database it won’t think to shoot at us but anything else? Dog food.” There’s a certain measure of pride in Cho’s voice as she stares down at the disassembled auto gun.

“I’m guessing you know how to set this thing up then…?” Asks Sarah as she pulls the case closed, latching it closed again.

“Sure, every few weeks I gotta run tests on them to make sure they don’t malfunction or break when out in the field, that means setting them up on the shooting range, testing out each of its firing modes, putting it through its paces, the works.” Replies Cho as she leans down and scoops up the case with both hands, tucking it under her arms.

Overhead screeching groan is heard, the mining canary telling the cohort to retreat, to run and not stop until the Warden is far behind them.

“Alright everyone, let’s clear out!” Shouts Sarah as she lifts one of the duffles up, throwing the strap over her shoulder, Fischer grabbing the other as Cho holding the Sentry case close to her chest.

The salvage crew retreats with their spoils as the groaning, creaking intensifies the ceiling crumbling hard and fast, like a man sinking to the furthest depths of the ocean, the atmosphere of the surface is taking its toll on a ship never meant to be here.

The party escapes through the closing jaws of the Warden just as a horrendous boom sounds throughout the region, the great impact kicking up red sand and dust creating a smoke clouds that permeates the area.

The Warden isn’t navigable now but the salvage crew returns to camp, the remains of the armory in toe as the marines gather around to distribute the arms.

There is some bickering over who deserves what, especially where regards weapons and armor, ultimately Sargent McClintock has to pull rank, forcing the troops to accept the quartermaster’s decision.

After the fact Cho comes over holding in her hands clipboard with a messily written out account of inventory and who’s got what.

Private Sinclair’s Inventory: Sidearm, Pulse Rifle, M3 Marine Armor, 2 Flares.

Private Fischer’s Inventory: Sidearm, Pulse Rifle, M3 Marine Armor, 2 Flairs.

Private Winters Inventory: Sidearm, Shotgun, 5 Doses of Naproleve, 7 Bandages.

PFC Cruz’s Inventory: Sidearm, Seegson SSDD

Corporal Cho’s Inventory: Sidearm, Smartgun, Auto Turret.

Corporal Wilson’s Inventory: Sidearm, Motion Tracker.

Sargent McClintock’s Inventory: Sidearm, Motion Tracker, M3 Marine Armor, 2 Flares.