Orbital Deployment Reconnaissance, Infiltration, and Assault Force-S Division

Brief History

The Systems Alliance constructed the Orbital Deployment Reconnaissance, Infiltration, and Assault Force (ODRIAF) not long after the discovery of Prothean artifacts on Mars, though admittedly they have come a long way since then. Originally, they were used to drop single scouts onto planets in areas no ship or craft could reach, but their use as a means of getting soldiers behind enemy lines with an exceptionally low chance of detection was soon realized. They were implemented during the First Contact war on Shanxi as a means of flanking the Turian front lines, though at the time they were not nearly as successful due to the relatively high death rate during landing. Still, they managed to do their fair share of damage to the Turians besieging the planet. Since then, they have been used in almost every planet-side engagement in which there was a need for someone to get in there and do the impossible.

Upgrades to the original systems and technology began to reduce the landing death toll, though the division as a whole has the largest death toll percentage per unit deployed out of the entire Systems Alliance. The reason: while the N7's get the most secretive and important missions, the S7's (this division) get the absolute most dangerous and suicidal. It is not uncommon for larger ships to keep a few of these soldiers on board due to the fact that they tend to get the job done... even if it kills them. Likewise, the only faction with a rate of success nearly as high as their's is the Special Forces-N Division. Oftentimes, soldiers of the two divisions tend to start minor to major rivalries when aboard the same ship, and it is not uncommon for the two divisions to not get along in the slightest.

'Dead-Man' Profile

Due to the 'interesting' nature of the ODRIAF’s work, the soldiers tend to be rather 'interesting' themselves. They vary from musclebound soldiers to frail biotic's users, and are about equal in terms of gender ratio. Words commonly used to describe the ODRIAF soldiers, aka. "Dead-Men", are fearless, brutal, crazy, suicidal, and efficient. Truthfully, every soldier in this division falls into one of those categories. Violent tendencies, brutality, ruthlessness, and similar 'negative' things are seen amongst many of the Dead-Men, though it is obvious that the commissioned officers are seen as perfectly normal... in terms of being psychologically sound. NCOs and Enlisted on the other hand... not always the case. However, it is noted that the ties of brotherhood/sisterhood amongst these soldiers is utterly amazing, with fireteams becoming akin to small family units, and squadrons like the extended family. Also, all Dead-Men are highly trained, often time being geniuses or experts in their respective fields.

Disregulation

Due to the... unique... nature of the Dead-Men, and due to their high casualty rate and high success rate, the Alliance tends to be rather lenient with this particular division. Drinking, smoking, fraternization, family working together, and several other breaches of protocol tend to be tolerated except under the more severe circumstances. Things such as criminal activity and endangerment or harm of others are not tolerated in the slightest, however. Aside from that, if the soldiers are still physically fit and able to do their job, they are pretty much free to do what they will as long as they follow orders.

Tactics

Their are two levels of organization, as the Dead-Men are stationed on ships only, not on bases: Fireteams, and Squads. Larger vessels will carry several squads, while smaller one's will carry but one. They are deployed as fireteams, they function as fireteams, and they interact amongst each other as fireteams. They tend to function as guerrilla units or rapid assault units, such as SWAT teams. As they tend to function in groups of 4, with one member leading the group as Fireteam Captain, they tend to keep their member's skills varied so they are useful in any situation. Also note that a low level commissioned officer is in charge of each squad (a squad is composed of two fireteams). The Squad Leader will typically fight alongside one of the fireteams under their leadership.



Deployment takes place via a drop pod, which houses one soldier per pod. Due to the cramped innards, claustrophobia is a big 'no' for anyone in the ODRIAF. Also, due to it's unique shape and one-person fittings, they are often dubbed 'Coffins' by the Dead-Men and other divisions alike. They typically deploy four at a time, all withing the same general area, and they are deployed from either low to high orbit, the ultimate HALO drop. After landing, the Dead-Men exit their Coffins with weapons raised, and meet up in the center of their respective landing sites before continuing onwards. Upon completion of their objectives, and provided they can be picked up (and are alive), they acquiesce a pickup and an LZ and await extraction via dropship.

Equipment

OD-31 Combat Armor



The armor is built much like the standard Naval armors, kinetic barriers, magnetic weapon attachments, et al. However, they have more compartments for storing extra gear, such as more medigel and omnigel, grenades, and other explosives. Due to the rather extreme situation the Dead-Men are thrown into, the OD-31 Armor has a combat exoskeleton directly integrated into the system to supply them with greater strength, faster movements, and quicker reflexes, with the omnitool and possible bioamp as something one must integrate into it themselves. It is not uncommon to see the Dead-Men modify their armor in a unique fashion, such as putting a bulls-eye on their chest or painting a smile along the bottom portion of their helmet. Also, the armor comes in light, medium, and heavy varieties.

OD-21 Underlayer

The Underlayer is simply what the Dead-Men wear under their OD-31 Combat Armor. It has no real purpose, other than making the armor a bit more comfortable. Also, these suits, which the Dead-Men surprisingly do NOT modify, tend to be used in place of their casual dress outfits. However, these outfits can cause quite a distraction, and, in the words of one particular commissioned officer: 'They might as well be walking around naked... moreso the women than the men'. To clarify, the suits leave VERY little to the imagination.

ST-218 Combat Rifle



The ST-218 is a culmination between old and new technologies. The design is clearly an original human design, but the weapons firing mechanism is clearly that of the standard Alliance Navy weapons. Also, the weapon uses the typical ammo blocks that the rest of the Universe uses, so that they never run out of ammo anywhere. However, the ammo can be switched out on the fly like a magazine; a unique ingenuity that allows the Dead-Men some added variety to their weaponry. The weapon has a built in sound suppressor, as you don’t get flashes from a mag rail and miniature eezo subsystem. The electronic scope has a wireless linkup to the user’s HUD, and the weapon has four modes of fire: 500 RPM fully automatic, 3 round burst, semi automatic, and single shot/sniper mode (the single shot automatically increases the mag rail’s output to maximum, turning this weapon into a sniper rifle in an instant). The round size is the equivalent of a .45 caliber round; standard assault weapon size.

ST-118 Combat Rifle



The ST-118 is actually a variant of the ST-218. Like it’s brethren, it’s firing mechanism is the same, it has an integrated sound suppressor (albeit an internal one), and has the same magazine-style ammo block system. It does not have a scope, and maintains all the modes of fire except for the single shot/sniper mode setting. In place of this, the bottom portion of the gun is capable of being used to fire an 8 gauge shotgun burst upon the pulling of a second trigger. Also, this variant’s fully automatic speed is increased from 500 RPM to 600 RPM. Likewise, it uses the same .45 caliber round.

ST-16 Pistol



The ST-16 is a lesser brother to the ST-X18 series. It maintains the magazine ammo block system, but is only useable in a semi automatic fashion. Unlike it’s brethren, it does not maintain an integrated silencer, though one can be added if necessary. The rounds that this weapons fires are the equivalent of .30 caliber bullets.

ST-311 Combat Knife



The ST-311 is... a combat knife. Seriously, it's just a knife, and you have to get in close enough that shield penetration is unnecessary. Not EVERYTHING here is some super amazing futuristic weapon. It is typically placed... wherever the user wants it.

Other Armaments

Other weapons include grenades of various types, flashbangs, C9 and demolition packs, and whatever else the individuals decide to take on their missions.

Additional Weapons

ST-19 Submachine Gun



A fully automatic variant of the ST-16, this gun sports a 450 RPM fully automatic firing rate, and it only comes in fully automatic. Training allows the Dead-Men to control the firing rate to a fair degree, and like the predecessor, it has an attachable silencer, magazine style ammo block system, and fires the same .30 caliber rounds.

ST-267 Anti-Armor Rifle



The St-267 is by far the largest and heaviest weapon used by the Dead-Men. It is, as it's name implies, for use against heavily armored foes, buildings, vehicles and spacecraft. This weapon contains two specialized ammo blocks in the magazine style format, and the two ammo's are combined prior to the actual firing to create a highly volatile compound. Upon firing, the round, the equivalent of about a .50 caliber, is fired at the target, and upon impact, which may or may not include some penetration, creates an exceptionally potent explosion capable of tearing through the hull of the ship. Unfortunately, the wireless HUD linking scope is not that powerful, and the weapon overheats very easily. Likewise, it is very heavy, even by the Dead-Men's standards, and also very large. It also tends to run out of ammo rather quickly, due to the fairly large caliber.

Dropships

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the Coffin's are not capable of flying back into space. That is where the TRAV (Tactical Retrieval and Assault Vehicle) aka. 'Seraph' comes into play.



The Seraph are a specialized ODRIAF dropships/fighters used primarily for the pickup of deployed ODRIAF forces. On rare occasion, the Seraph will be used to provide air support, but as the Dead-Men tend to be non-vehicular assisted infantry, it is rare for such a thing to occur. The ship is equipped with two stationary 50mm cannons, and two rotary 50mm cannons. It also carries two missile pods, one on either side, and has the capability to hold a full squad with full gear. The ship also comes equipped with stealth systems to fly by and under radar, and is capable of stationary hover so that post-pickup flight is achieved much quicker.