"For today's orientation, we've chosen to go with an escort assignment. The mission will require our team to cooperate with four other groups to protect the delivery vehicle to a designated point. How much you contribute to this mission will determine your level of pay." the Lieutenant said.
She pressed one of the buttons on the remote in her hand. And in response to her action, the wall itself turned into a live satellite feed that explains the current situation on Planet Lucent's surface.
From the look of it, the route, delivery details, and everything else has been arranged. Even the soldier's supply has been readied for this mission. From the mission detail itself, their delivery route was about twenty-five kilometers to the destination.
But because this was a foreign planet, the delivery route went on like a snake, where they'd be forced to go through a few valley chokepoints to reach the destination. Some groups are already posted at a few checkpoints on their route, but this mission is still dangerous.
The briefing continued, where the ten seniors of the force introduced themselves. As for a reason, it was nineteen people, including Li-Xin, because the pilot is considered one of the force members. This also means that the who group would move together.
In any case, losing the leader or pilot would spell the end of the entire force. But since this was a meticulously assembled force, the chances of that happening can be said to be lower by those teams made outside on the Assignment Office.
"Any questions so far?" Lieutenant Kuang Lu asked as she paused in between. Based on the slide, what comes next would likely be related to their position, pay, and responsibility on this assignment.
Everyone was paying attention to the Lieutenant while she was waiting for questions. After a minute of silence, she continued.
"4,000 Geass. That's your pay for completing the delivery. All kills will be accounted for, so make sure that you hunt as many locals down there."
"Although this is a delivery mission and we're expected to be their escort, always pay attention to your surrounding. To those coming for the first orientation, expect an additional task to come in at any time."
"Each one of you will be paired with a senior, and the team leader will go together with the pilot. You can rest assured that your way back here is secured because we have three standby pilots cum leaders in our force."
"If there's no other question, suit up. You'll depart in the next five minutes! Use the time to get to know each other, and report to Hangar number 14!" the Lieutenant left the room after she was done with her briefing.
But before she did, she went to Li-Xin's side and gestured to another female member of the force to come closer.
"Li-Xin, this is Rita. She will be your partner in this assignment. If you have any questions, ask her. And try to bond together so you can trust your back to each other, alright?" the Lieutenant said.
There's a hint of blush appearing on her face after she mentioned the word "bond" as it was not a wrong term to use between senior and junior soldiers.
"Senior Rita," Li-Xin greets her. Although he was the last to arrive, he came here fully ready for deployment. As for Rita... She seems to have nothing much on her except for a pistol and two melee weapons.
"We should talk when we walk," Rita said. She gives Li-Xin a smile while reaching for the weapon sitting in the corner of the briefing room.
'Seriously?' Li-Xin was stunned when he saw his senior grabbed a Bolter Rifle instead of any regularly issued rifle. This means the seniors were someone with both skills and experience. Almost all of them had their own preferred weapon.
And a Bolter Rifle was one of the top choices.
But to use this weapon efficiently, one would have to undergo a few surgeries or body augmentation to get used to the gun's recoil. Without that, using a Bolter Rifle would be spelling for trouble.
The two talked while heading to the hangar. And adding to Li-Xin's surprise wasn't just the fact the team is better than a hurriedly assembled group. Their equipment also varied because there's a bipedal walker is joining them in this assignment.
"Wha-What class is this?" Li-Xin was impressed by this 3 meters beast that will follow them on this assignment. This bipedal walker is akin to a moving weapon on the battlefield. Armed with a minigun on both arms, a six-slot rocket launcher pack on both shoulders, thing machine could do more damage than Li-Xin could.
But it came with a cost to maintain. Something of this level would be draining Geass left and right to operate.
It won't be ridiculous to say that this thing runs on Geass as its fuel.
The dropship they had was also a better quality compared to the standard dropship he's been taking for his five previous battles. This gave him a good overview of how much financial strength a private force has control over.
And since this was his first time joining a team like this, Li-Xin was still overwhelmed by everything he had seen. He remained untalkative on their way down to the Planet Lucent. But as the mission started, he couldn't control himself anymore.
The excitement and stress levels were far above his expectation.
Barely a kilometer out from their starting point, the escort team was already under the local's heavy resistance. And unlike all the missions he's been so far, this one is a hundred times crazier.
"Is this kind of resistance is normal?" Li-Xin asked Rita. He's confident with his accuracy, but it was still dangerous to try taking out the Luminescent Drone one by one while they're getting attack from all directions.
The adrenaline rush was coming nonstop as the attack from the locals was getting fiercer.
"This is cute compared to what they had for us. You're still too green, Xin-Xin." Rita used her Bolter Rifle and gave Li-Xin's helmet a knock. From the look of it, she was used to doing this to their new members.
"Bzzt..."
"Get ready to push forward." order came from their earpiece.
Barely seconds after the order came, the bipedal walker from all five groups acted. Bullets were swarming out at the locals as the five war machines charged forward.
"NOW! MOVE OUT!" everyone had the same order through their earpiece.