ARES:Gods of War

Safe or Sorry

"Alright, six gauge AP Slug shells, 7,62, 9mm and 5,56 ammo..." Niner checked the inventory for their upcoming departure, "Winter clothing, replacement parts, foodstuffs, water and temperature-maintaining canisters, water heaters, chemical heaters, the few spare MREs the Marines and Sergeant Major could lend to us. Damn if we aren't gonna be pack mules this op."

"Better than freezing to death," Pinne commented jovially as she loaded new slugs into her shotgun and racked the pump. Peering through her new holographic sight, the girl smiled and flicked through its various aiming modes. She also checked the barrel's new muzzle flash hider, then pumped the pump several times to dump the shells into her hand, triple-checked to make sure it was properly empty, then set it aside and slotted the slugs into her armor, which she'd taken off, leaving herself in a brown tank top only. She stretched and yawned, then commented, "You guys think this Pilgrim's all she's made out to be...?" a little wary.

Pinne would never admit it to anyone, neither friend, nor acquaintance, that her mind started feeling weird. She knew it wasn't Corruption for some reason, but it still felt so strange to talk about the Pilgrims. They were basically the stuff of legends amidst Nikkes in the Ark, with many even speculating they were the former Goddess Squad, the Elite of the Elite, the Nikkes that had sacrificed themselves for this last Ark to survive.

She didn't know how true it was. If that was the case. Something gnawed at her, telling her that it was true. Some sort of hope, some old melancholic thoughts. She didn't know. Instead, she now woke up with a bop on the noggin from Delta. She yelped and looked up, then covered her head, pushing down strands of her messy blonde hair and asking, "The heck was that for, Delta?"

"Trying to keep you awake," The girl replied, "You've been fading in and out ever since we met the sword Pilgrim, Scarlet. You sure you're okay?"

The Prod. 23 had to take a moment and look around at her comrades. A worried Signal, who was trying out her winter coat, looked at her with concern building behind those reddish eyes of hers, her mouth slightly open. Layla, beside her, had also started trying out her winter gear, a long-coat that covered a good chunk of her body, with the armor she usually wore placed on top.

Delta had gotten longer camouflage pants and gear with speckled white camouflage instead of the usual Desert 'MARPAT', as she called it. Niner had gotten her own camo gear and a coat underneath her armor, which she'd painted white, as well. So that left her. She had started modding her gear, padding her stuff with weather-resistant cloth and extra kevlar just to keep warm and safe. She'd even gotten a beanie.

That wasn't what she was asked, though. Stopping herself from scrutinizing her comrades' gear, she simply answered, "Yeah, sorry. I guess seeing a real-life Pilgrim shook me a little more than I thought, heh..." a simple excuse and a rather genuine truth. One which her friends seemed to have taken to heart, Delta offering her a smile and giving her a pat on the shoulder.

That, or she decided to let Chief handle it, if he wanted to...

Eitherway, Pinne sighed to herself and checked the new slugs Neon had made. More APFSDS slugs, though these ones apparently used tungsten instead of the previous steel-coated penetrator forms from before. She felt the slight heft increase, though it wasn't much worse. Setting them back into her armor's various shotgun ammo slots, she then put on her new kevlar coat, the beanie(which also had kevlar linings) and a face mask with a new visor of sorts.

Delta, meanwhile, loaded armor piercing rounds gifted by Neon and told them, "I see we're all running ammunition from Neon..." jokingly.

Sam walked in, carrying a can of fresh rounds and stating, "Yep. She's made sure to gift them to all of us..." and set it and her backpack down in the middle. "I also managed to scrounge a bunch more Splendamin up, so that should be good reserve food. Gifts from Diesel, too, strawberry candies and the likes, plus hot cocoa we got from the Toy Shop..."