It was loud in the assembly hall as the new recruits gathered to hear Commander Beck speak. He seemed to be running a little late and the room filled with idle chatter. A hush fell over the crowd as an unfamiliar man took the stage.



"Greetings," he said in a voice that echoed throughout the hall. "I am Director Lazeer. I'm in charge of the business aspects of the Vindicta Force and I guess you could say I'm top dog around here." His light-hearted tone received small chuckles from the audience. "You may be wondering where Commander Beck is. He's taking care of some urgent matters so I decided to greet you all personally. It's been a while since we've gotten such a promising group of prospects and I wanted to get a good look at you all. Each of you have your own reasons for fighting and I see the flames of passion in each and every one of your eyes. I'm quite interested in seeing how well you will do. Welcome to the Vindicta Force and, try not to die." He gave a playful smile with his last sentence and walked offstage.
Jenova then took the stage and began giving orders. "Report to your departments right away. If you get lost, we have maps posted all throughout the facility. You should have already unpacked your things in the dormitory. If you need equipment, it will be issued at your department. That is all. Dismissed!"
Everyone began to file out of the room and headed towards their departments.

Max Crimson would have alredy unpacked his things in his dormitory, his room seemed very simple and practical. Everything seemed to be neatly ordered, in fact everything seemed to be keeping some sort of alignment to all of the other items in the room, judging from that, Max was probably some sort of clean freak, huh...Anyways.

Max would arrive quickly at the R&D after Director Lazeer's speech, he would arrive at the room and then search for the closest officer or anyone of rank nearby to which he could report to, he'd give a short salute, seeming as serious as always, his voice being filtered by suit's systems as he spoke. "Private First class, Max Crimson, reporting for duty."

A young woman watched as a man in a full body suit approached her and saluted. "Private First Class, Max Crimson, reporting for duty," he said through his helmet.
"Ah, is it that time already?" the woman asked. She turned towards a nearby tank and called out. "Miss Heimrich! The new recruits are here to see you!"
The hatch popped open and a red-haired woman wearing goggles jumped out. She landed gracefully and removed her goggles from her eyes, resting them on top of her head. "So you're the new recruits, huh? I'm Elena Heimrich, head of R&D. We have a lot of responsibilities here but they're divided into two categories: producing new technology and maintaining and piloting vehicles." She noticed Max standing at the front of the crowd. "Mr. Crimson, you're a pilot if I recall. Welcome aboard. We have all manner of vehicles for you. From boats to tanks to submarines to fighter jets to even trains. It's all up to your personal preference. Director Lazeer's philosophy for the Vindicta Force is letting recruits do what they feel most comfortable with. We've found it's produced amazing results. So take your pick and I'll set you up with someone to show you the ropes."

Max would be quiet for a moment, staring at both the young woman she had just reported to and to Elena, after a moment of thought though, he'd snap out of it, saluting again. "I see...My experience is mostly focused on piloting planes and land vehicles, I'm afraid to say i've never piloted a boat before though, ma'am." He'd say, his strict posture never leaving him as he stood straight in his 5'7'' feet. Max then took a look around the hangar, staring at all of the jets, tanks, boats, weapons, all sorts of technology just laying around, he seemed to be distracted for that moment, though the helmet hid it, Max's eyes would be staring all around, examining all of that technology in all of it's splendor.

"Land and air, huh? It's nice to have a good balance. Oh, and you don't have to stand at attention all the time. At least, not around here. R&D's pretty lax in that respect. Don't tell anyone you heard it from me but some of the other COs are kinda anal about it, though." Elena burst out laughing and clapped Max on the shoulder. Once her laughter died down, she called for another girl. "Miyuki-chan!"
"Oh! Er, yes?" Another young girl approached Max. She was covered in grime from working on the vehicles.
"This is Max. He's a new pilot. Max, this is Miyuki. She's a Japanese mechanic. Quite talented for her age. I gotta get back to work so you help Max get situated, okay?" She gave them a thumb's up and hopped back into the tank.
"Pleased to meet you, Max-san," Miyuki said and gave a slight bow. "I heard you pilot air and ground vehicles. May I ask which ones in particular you have experience in?"

John strolled into the Espionage department, his suitcase replaced with a lunchbox, and still lacking a tie. With a spring in his step as he neared the center of the room, he began to speak in a sing-song kind of way,
"Good evening master, whom shall we be killing today" He stifled a maniacal laugh before assuming an almost professional posture and awaiting instruction.

"Eager to get to work, are we?" Jenova asked. She was sitting in an office chair facing away from John. She raised her hand and a man in a dark suit with dark glasses handed her some paperwork. She shuffled through it, making comments on things that interested her. "Lance Corporal? Impressive. Your methods certainly are...creative. I like that." She spun around and looked at John with a calculating gaze. "Tell me of your field experience. We are alone now I assure you, the information will not leave this room. You're welcome to try and kill me but I would not advise it."

"Killing you would be boring, ma'am" he said with a disappointed tone, "Incredibly difficult, but boring. I haven't got any special gadgets prepared for the occasion, so I'd have to use my guns and my knives, and they're so messy an unsatisfying - a last resort really." he shrugged and continued, "and I'm quite sure you'd be more skilled than me close range like this. I prefer a more... hands off approach. I have no specific military training but I've been carrying out 'hits' for sometime. Not your typical jobs either, I like to send a message, make a scene - if you will."
He sat down on his lunch box, idly taking the banana from his belt and twirling it around his hands, "My latest hobby is fruit. Let's say you have a mob boss, a hypothetical one, who everyday buys an apple to take home. One day the shop assistant, played by yours truly, performs a little switch under the counter. An apple that weighs about the same, but with a deadly price. So maybe the mob boss eats it on his way down the street, maybe he takes it home, maybe he hands it to his grandson - it makes no difference to me. As the stalk is pulled out of the 'apple' it brushes past a narrow lead styphnate crystal, creating a static shock and blowing the blasting cap, which in turn blows the makeshift TNT - or whatever explosive happened to take my fancy during the creation of the device. In short, an apple-grenade. The beauty is that the target holds the very thing that kills them, and the confusion caused often allows the same trick to be used several times before discovery."
He popped the banana back into his belt and looked up with a wild eye, "Of course, if you want my full field experience then I'm sure you could dig something up, this is Espionage after all." He beamed, "I'm just looking for another story I can tell to the next gig I waltz into, or maybe I'll stick around here and tell the story to some new recruit someday. But I've told all my best stories, and I'm itching to write some more"
He chuckled and re-assumed his professional posture and spoke again, "Or you can give me orders and I'll follow them to the T, ma'am. I play the game however management wants it done."

After listening to Director Lazeer's short speech, Wilkins headed up to his Dorm room to check on his belongings.
Everything was in place, his personal machine gun was in a case under his bed, he'd probably use VF guns for missions instead of risking getting his own on dirty. Although, he'd had a bit of a change of heart, he'd felt like he should get to know the insides of commanding a group of soldiers and directing to their mission. After all, at some point in life, he'd want to be a real Commanding Officer like he had met during his time at past PMC's.

A little while later, Wilkins headed down to the Mission Support department.
He knocked on the department door and walked in.
"First Class Private James Wilkins reporting for duty." He said, introducing himself with a salute.

Max relaxed his position a bit, letting out a short 'uh' before he seemed to fake a cough and then say. "R-Right, as your order, ma'am." He'd say, then starting to feel a bit stupid and shaking his head. He would then turn to the Miyuki girl, again a bit surprised, he'd comment, mostly thinking out loud. "There...Seems to be a lot of women on the R&D..."

He'd then sigh and reply to the girl's question. "I've piloted several non-warfare models of planes, but I have been in simulators for the warfare ones. About land vehicles...I know how to drive trucks and motorcycles, though admittedly, I've never been inside a real tank."

Jenova smiled at John's answer. "That's enough. I can tell you're eager to get started. You're cleared for C-rank missions but that doesn't mean you can't take lower level if you want to. You also have up to five people working either with you directly or supporting you in addition to your communications officer." She snapped her fingers and two men showed up this time and set up a small folding table and a third laid out three folders. One was marked E, another D, and a third C. "The higher ranking missions are more difficult but the pay is also better. Knowing you, you'll go for C right away." She spread her arms out. "Go ahead, take your pick."

Meanwhile at Mission Support...

"Private Wilkins, nice to meet you." A young man approached him and shook his hand. "I'm George Hampton, chief of mission support. We work here around the clock supporting agents on the field. Transportation, extractions, air strikes, and anything else they can't handle by themselves falls to us. We also feed them a constant supply of information so they're always aware of battlefield conditions."
"HQ, this is Zero," a voice came from a nearby speaker. "I'm ready for extraction."
"That's Zero, our best agent," George said. "Ready for a little crash course in support? Go ahead and take the call. Press that red button next to the mic to talk. Tell him we'll have a chopper there as soon as we get a lock on his position. Each agent has a tracking device that only we can monitor on them. Once they're ready for extraction, we just pull up their tracker and send someone out there. You any good at reading maps?"

Meanwhile at R&D...

"A lot of us don't prefer direct combat. Plus Elena-san is a great inspiration. She's the youngest CO here at the Vindicta Force and is looked up to by everyone here in R&D. Let me look at your file here." Miyuki flipped through some papers. "Your scores in the simulators are pretty good. I'm sure it won't be a problem to send you out in the combat models."
"R&D, this is mission support. Agent Zero is requesting extraction," a voice echoed through the hangar. "We're are currently locking on his location. Someone'll need to get out there and pick him up."
"This would be a good chance for you to practice piloting a helicopter. Extractions are all D-rank missions so you're cleared for them. However, if you'd rather not, someone else will get him. The list of E and D rank missions you can alternatively choose are on the table over there." She motioned over to a small metal table with folders on its surface.

Max seemed to be in thought for a moment. "An helicopter you say? I've been in one before, though I haven't had the chance to pilot a real one yet...Fair enough, I'll do it." Max looked around for a moment. "So...Where do I go for that?"


((OOC: -Rages at the size of his own post.-))

Myles yawned as he walked through the halls of the base. He had slept through the speech, first time he managed to fall asleep standing up before.The door to Mission support was open, so Myles simply just invited himself in. There, a rather important looking man was explaining things to a new recruit. Rather than interupt he stood around, waiting to be noticed.

John strolled over to the table,
"Eager doesn't even begin to cover it." he answered. He thought for a moment, pondering his possible moves, then landed on the class E missions. "I wouldn't want to be predictable, and I haven't got any tricks up my sleeve, yet. I'll sample an E, get a feel for military operations, try a D, get used to working with a team, and then hit the C grades." He rummaged around in his pocket, taking out a notepad, "To this day I've only ever failed one mission, I'm intent on never letting it happen again. Money's not a problem, so I'll bide my time - make sure I've worked off my lunch before I go swimming - if you get what I mean."

He idly flicked open the E file; as he expected they were incredibly simple missions, bits and pieces he could have done years ago - but the entertainment of a simple mission after the burden of his last job seemed enticing.
"So which one of these puppies shall I take?"

Wilkins leaned over and held down the red button.
"Agent Zero, a Helicopter will be heading to your location as soon as we've locked onto your position. Over." He spoke.
" I'm not so bad with maps, what do you need done?" He asked George.

(Also rages at short post.)

(OOC: Haha, short posts are bound to happen guys. Don't sweat it.)

Jenova smiled. "You've got a good head on your shoulders. A slightly fucked up head, if you'll excuse the language, but a good head nonetheless. There are three rank E missions available right now. First up, we got a small resistance group in a Middle Eastern country. They're small time but the government wants them gone regardless. We figure if we take out the leader, the rest of them will break up. Next we got a bit of corporate espionage. One of our affiliates is about to release a new product. However, word on the street is a rival company is about to one-up them. Break into their building and steal the blueprints. Also, this is a non-lethal operation so you'll only be allowed tranq guns. Last is a bit more personal. There's a politician who's platform is to get rid of private military contractors. In other words, us. He's running a smear campaign that's bad for business. You've a couple options on this one. Take him out, or scare him into working for us. I'm sure you can guess which one is my preference but ultimately, the choice is yours. If you don't take it, someone else probably will."

Meanwhile at Mission Support...

"A new guy, huh?" Zero asked rhetorically. "Take your time. I'll hold this position. Nothing like a trial by fire."
"He doesn't like saying over for some reason," George said with a sheepish smile. "Basically you'll need to look at his position on the map and determine whether an extraction is feasible from that location. Look at the geography as well as placement of enemy facilities. It wouldn't do any of us any good if our chopper gets shot down before we can pick him up. Even worse if he's on board." George noticed Myles and motioned him over. "You come help too. I'm George Hampton, remind me to give you a more formal introduction later."

Meanwhile at R&D...

"Well, they're locking onto his position as we speak and deciding whether or not it's safe to pick him up from where he is or if we'll have to tell him to move somewhere else. In the meantime, we should go outside to the helipad to prep for launch. I'll be accompanying you. If you have any personal equipment you'd like to bring, you have enough time to grab it." Miyuki pointed to a staircase in the back of the hangar. "That leads to the helipad on the roof. Come up there when you're ready. I'll be waiting for you." With that, she jogged over to the staircase and ascended to the roof.

"Non-lethal?" John pondered, disturbed by the thought, "Not really my MO, and since those other guys are so far away... Well, I suppose I have a politician to kill." He started rummaging through his pockets, eventually pulling out a plastic bag containing several differently coloured and shaped pills. "Does the kill have to be quiet? I could slip a poison that doesn't usually show up on toxicology reports right into his morning coffee. If he drives his own car he'd probably die behind the wheel, causing a collision and drawing attention away from his politics. Or I could do the classic 'pillow over the head, bullet in the face' move while he's sleeping. Hey, if you want me to I can make it look like suicide... That is, unless you already have a way you want me to dispose of him?"

Wilkins nodded and studied the map.
Seems like this place is pretty relaxed, I hope not too relaxed. he thought to himself.
Looking at the latest version of the map, Wilkin's noticed that enemy placement was dense in some area's, getting a chopper close would be risky.
The Anti Aircraft guns placed around the base would be able to blow most choppers out of the sky in a shot or two.
What exactly is Agent Zero doing anyway?
The searchlights aren't to huge of a problem. We can track their direction.
Seems like he'll either have to sabotage the Anti Aircraft guns to get a quicker extraction, otherwise, he'll have to make his way out of the base which could be difficult.
"Commander Hampton, the Anti-Aircraft guns seem to be the biggest problem, if Agent Zero has the resources, I'd recommend he use them to sabotage them and put the AA guns out of commission while the extraction takes place. Otherwise, the extraction team would be destroyed if they got too close."

"Yes sir," replied Myles, giving a brief salute before walking over to Wilkins side. While Wilkins explained his take on the situation, Myles did his own studying of the map. Wilkins had explained nearly everything, though he didn't offer a solution to the anti-aircraft guns. It wasn't agent Zero's job to take out the guns. There could be the possibility that he possibly couldn't. So how were they going to get him out? Land support?
Myles scanned the map, looking for any geographical items that may protect the extraction team from the guns, given that Zero could make it there.

"You're free to use whatever means necessary as long as it doesn't draw attention to VF," Jenova said simply. "Obviously what we're doing isn't exactly legal." She smiled coldly. "We get all the dirty jobs here. I'm sure you'll fit right in. Move out as soon as you're ready. We'll provide transport and a communications officer to update you on mission-critical information."

Meanwhile at Mission Support...

"I see," George said and walked over to the microphone and pressed the button. "There are some AA guns that could tear us to shreds. You'll have to take them out if you want us to pick you up from there."
There was a moment of silence. "Hmm, well we can try," came Zero's response. "What if we can't?"
"I already have someone looking for a good spot. Standby."
"Roger that. I'll see what I can do about these guns in the meantime."

Meanwhile, back at R&D...

Max shrugged some. "I'm alredy wearing my suit, only thing I could use as a sort of plus to that would be a gun, I suppose. I don't have one myself though so..." He'd sigh and then follow right after Miyuki. "No need for anything. I'm good like this." He'd comment, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked around.

Looking over the map, Myles eventually found what he was looking for. An elevated area of land, possibly a hill or large rock formation. Theoretically it should block off the view of the chopper from the guns in the West, which meant it would only be exposed to fire from the one or two guns located up-front north. Provided Agent Zero could get rid of one of the guns, the location was probably the best place for the extraction to take place. He double checked the map to make sure before calling George Hampton.
"Sir, I've been thinking that this spot is the most optimal," he stated, pointing at the map before explaining his reasoning.

John thought for a moment, before stating his plan, "If he travels alone, I'll make his death look like a simple mugging. If he travels with security, I'll take them out - hide the body - and then disguise myself as the security and perform the hit. If he travels with several security personal then I'll need something more cunning - maybe a fake terrorist attack, a car bomb and a political attack." John took out a modified pistol and attached a silencer to it from one of his pockets. "If everything is in order then I'll leave now."

The door to the Espionage department opened as Erika Dahl stepped in. She looked at John preparing his equipment and then turned to Jenova.

"Erika Dahl reporting for duty, sir! Excuse me for being late!"

She glanced at the dossiers on the table and asked:

"Is a mission briefing underway, sir?"

"Yes, that's good," Jenova said to John. "I'll have a communications officer send you the details of the mission." She noticed Erika walk in and motioned her over. "Espionage largely involves solo missions. John here is on his way to his first mission." A man in a suit brought her some papers and she looked them over. "Two Lance Corporals? This is rare. I'm sure you were told you had access to C-rank missions. They're all there on the table organized by class. You're free to choose whichever you like."

Meanwhile at Mission Support...

George looked at the map Myles had and listened to his explanation of the target location. "It's good," he said and patted Myles on the shoulder. "We'll go with this. Radio Zero and tell him to head to that location and try to disable at least one of the guns." he said to Wilkins. He moved over to the mic to notify R&D. "The coordinates for the Zero extraction mission have been added to the chopper's GPS. Head for it as soon as you can."

Meanwhile at R&D...

"Well, that's our cue," Miyuki said to Max and hopped into the helicopter. She started the engine and booted up the on-board GPS before putting on the seat belt. "It's your show from here on out. Let me know if you need any assistance."

John nodded and left the department. He immediately headed for his personal quarters, gathering everything he would need for the mission. First thing's first. He removed his lab coat, and several belts, they'd only draw attention to him. He rummaged through several pockets and brought out the necessary equipment: A wallet - one of several, a pistol with silencer, a vial containing a dark red liquid, chloroform, and rubber gloves.
He then rummaged through the suitcase, equipped with several articles of clothing. He settled on some bike shorts and threw everything else out onto the floor. He put all the equipment and shorts in the suitcase, and headed out of the building. Getting into an old, second-hand, blue saloon, he was already planning each detail.

"Yes sir!" Wilkins replied.
He headed back to the microphone and pushed the button.
"Agent Zero, I'm uploading co-ordinates for the location we'll extract you from to your own GPS, it should show up in a few moments.
You'll need to take down one of the guns that can target the location. Good luck, sir. Over."
He thought for a moment.
What type of anti-aircraft guns were the enemy using, perhaps there was an easier way to deactivate the problematic ones, or all of them.
If they were automatic, it would probably just be a matter of jamming the signals or shutting down any power sources in a nearby area.
Agent Zero would probably know what to look for.
Although, on the other hand, if he was to shut them all down, it would attract a lot of attention, it would be unlikely that the enemy would consider all of the AA guns would just suddenly break down.

"So these are the available missions, right?" Erika asked, "I'd like to have a look at the D-ranked ones."

Max slowly made his way up on the helicopter, taking the seat and looking around for a moment before he started flipping all of the switches up, preparing the helicopter for take off. Max's voice emanated through the suit. "All right then, let's hope I don't crash." Despite the overall pessimist thought, followed by that, Max would take off, if allowed and get started with the mission.