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 Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 1:52 am
"You're kidding me, right Corporal? This is fused together." He slapped the foreign metal twice. His mood was quickly souring as he stood gazing at the slab of excess hull. I was going to enjoy a lovely evening with two rather pretty ladies and now this bullshit. He put one hand to his head, trying to think. With his other he punched the metal, sending a shot of pain halfway up his forearm, but he made no reaction. Slowly, he lowered both arms and folded them over his chest. Then he took a deep breath. "Have you tried using any of the lock pastes? Nevermind, if you haven't it won't matter. Too slow." He looked over the length of the fusion, trying to identify weak spots or loose sections, but there weren't any! "Damn it, do you need it removed? If anything, it'll reinforce hull strength along this section. I don't even think attempting to remove it is worth the effort." Despite the question and his suggestion, he knew what the response would be. "I'll be back in three hours. If there aren't eight men armed with torches here when I get back, I'm going to make sure that you end up with some janitorial duty that involves climbing into the waste storage facilities on your hands and knees naked. Do I make myself clear?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:36 pm
Dante looked at Garrett and then the admiral. You know this can't end well. I should get out of here before she realizes that Garrett is hitting on her. She doesn't know me so we may be able to start over when I'm sober. Dante said, “You know I got things I got to do so I'll catch you later. Tell me when your free for a lesson.” Dante turned to the admiral and saluted: “Ma'am.” With that he left. Dante walked to rec room and sat down to write a letter.
To: Captain John Weller
Location: T.R.S. Chaos
Subject: Thank You
Message: Hey Dad. I Would have waited to message you but there is a lot that has happened since we went our separate ways. I saw my first piece of action, promoted, and was put in a shock squad. Interesting eh? Well they all kinda go hand in hand. While on the transport I was given my first orders: To report for further orders. I was given one of those new guns that they had us train with in the academy and told to find my squad leader on planet side. For a while I couldn’t find him. I wasn't in any danger. I was just to hack the ship we raided. Because of that I was promoted to P1C and placed in shock squad 215. Anyways I'll be sending a little gift. Remember to share.
Your son,
P1C Dante Sol
Dante sealed the letter in an envelope and went to the mail room. When he arrived he asked the P3C that was in charge to package and ship a bottle of wine he had gotten at the bar with his letter. The P3C was going a little slowly and Dante stood in line waiting for the total shipping fee. When he had gotten a charge of $5.63, he paid with six dollars and told the P3C to keep the change. By this time he had gone down to a borderline drunk and decided to try to walk it off until he was at a buzz.
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Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:31 pm
Not too much later, a very revealed Frank found the Weapon Specialists department. 'I had a feeling that it might be in engineering. Glad it was my first stop, I could have been wandering around for a while.'
Frank approached the door and was about to open it when he spotted the letter on the door. He took a step back and read it carefully. 'The Cobalt Sky? Isn't that a Pluto class vessel? I can't remember the last time I have seen one of those. No matter, this job is exactly what I have been looking for.'
Frank opened the door and walked in, a huge grin planted firmly on his face.
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:13 pm
Steven gave Arcadia an appreciative nod as he strode into the staging area. He approached his own fighter at an enegetic pace and made there moments later. Passing the ladder he grabbed onto one of the wings of the fighter and hoisted himself up. Leaving his legs hanging over the edge he positioned himself so as to better watch his squad. After a bit more time passed and some more of the squad had arrived Steven took note of the good mood he was in. It was interesting considering how sullen he had been in, but that was in the past and he mentally swept the thought away.
The time came, a few minutes later, when Steven decided that he could get started. He boosted himself up and away from the fighter and landed softly on one foot. He walked to the center of the group of fighters before starting.
"I am grateful that you all decided to come to the meeting, and pleased even more at the fact that four of you were already here working on your fighters. Anyways, to get to the point, I called this meeting for a few reasons. Mainly because I have not yet had the chance to properly introduce the three new pilots who joined our squadron recently, and I also wanted a chance to properly thank all of you for the courage you all showed during our last mission," Steven said in a strong voice.
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:20 pm
Emma soon made her own way into the hangar bay, Unaccosted by theAuthorities as she went. She finally managed to make it to the group, and just sort of wandered in, beaming, and sat down in a manner so as to not draw attention away from the captain.
***
"Volunteer?" a gruff voice greeted Frank. It's source was a larger man, wearing a tank top and sporting hairy arms and a cigar (despite the sign mere feet from him, saying 'no smoking') He was behind a counter, and behind him were racks upon racks of tools, gear, datapads, computers, scanners, everything an engineer or weapons specialist could ever want. All frank had to do was ask for what he needed.
***
"Well, You've been placed here to watch the commander, as well as to help coordinate intelligence" The drawl continued, chair still turned away. "We just need you to act as a sort of personal assistant to her for now, keep tabs on her, make sure her decisions mirror those of high command. She's supposed to develop a personality of her own, but we don't want it getting out of hand, you see?" She paused for a moment, perhaps for Cibo to respond. "You will be required to file all your reports in hardcopy; Don't want our little commander to find out. Bring them to this office, once a week, and we hope everything goes smoothly."
***
"Well sir," the corporal tried to explain "This metal is weaker than the Duratanium armor, and we need to get underneath to repair the frame section" He scratched the back of his head "It's also showing some really weird properties, such as the join between this unknown alloy and the Duratanium has become mildly radioactive, and the self-healing issue is a weird bit. In any case, I'll try to get a team of people up here as soon as possible" And with that, the man left Garret, giving the Lieutennant time to inspect the anomaly himself, in more detail.
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 6:11 pm
One of Cibo's eyes winced slightly at the orders. Simply put, she was to babysit this...thing they created. Were the old geezers who built it so incompetent they failed to create a fail-safe? Either way, Cibo knew she had a job to do, and whining like a spoiled little B!@$# wasn't going to help. Her voice shifted into the icy tone of business, "Yes ma'am. I will become her personal assistant and oversee her work." she spoke, making sure to use the word 'her' in speech. "I need to inquire a few details in order for me to carry out my work. I hope I'm not asking too much; we all know there's no place for an officer that asks too much." Cibo paused briefly, perhaps waiting for an answer, and continued, "What would be considered 'out of hand' by High-Comm? And if she does get, as you say, 'out of hand' what are my orders, Ma'am?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:35 pm
Steven glanced sideways as Emma arrived and sat down. Grinning slightly he noted that everyone except for those in medbay, and one indisposed Raji, had arrived. Clearing his throat he continued speaking. ”Okay, now that we have most everyone here I can move on. For starters, I want to properly introduce the three, two at the moment I guess, new pilots who have come to join Green Squadron. So everybody, I would like to introduce PFC Arcadia Langdon(*he gestures towards Arcadia*), and PTC Emma Thompson(*he gestures towards Emma*), and PFC Raji Sedhik who was unable to show up.
Moving on, I have not yet had the chance to congratulate all of you for your outstanding performance on our last mission. Each and everyone of you made me proud to say that I am your commander. Without you guys I have no doubt in my mind that this offensive would not have ended as well as it did.”
”Nonsense, it wouldn't have ended well if not for some quick thinking on your part, Sir.” Thomas, Green Nine, interrupted. Tom was rocking back and forth as he sat on the wing of his fighter wearing his usual silly grin.
”That may very well be, but what good do strategies do if they fall on the ears of a group of untrained greenhorns? A commander is only as competent as the subordinates who follow him. So do not think otherwise, this victory belongs to the lot of you. Now, anyone else have anything they would like to add?” Steven continued.
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:40 pm
Frank was taken by surprise by the man behind the counter.
"Why yes, but first..." Frank stopped speaking for a few moments and examined the room. His eyes first swept over the equipment racks. Everything he needed was here for sure. His eyes then moved over a bit. A sign on the wall caught his attention, it was a no smoking sign and it was probably there for a good reason. The sign brought to Frank's attention the cigar smoke which in turn brought his eyes back to the large man with the cigar.
Frank was about to tell the man that he shouldn't be smoking in this room, but Frank held his tongue. There were more important things that had to be accomplished.
"But first I want some equipment. I need the basic tools of course: An assortment of screwdrivers, some open socket wrenches, a pipe wrench, a drill with assortment of bits, an acetylene welding torch, a fuel tank for the torch, a welding helmet, a large tool box, a tool belt, measuring tape, a small hammer, a rubber mallet, and a pair of thick leather gloves. If you have a back pack to carry some of this stuff in I would really appreciate it." Frank paused for a second.
"Most importantly I need the S.S.W.D.D. It should have my name on it. It should have been set aside for a Frank Lumes."
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 3:54 pm
"uuhhh" the Cigar-chomping man said, turning around and looking for the gear Frank had requested. finding a box with a packaged that had the name "Frank Lumes" written on it, he remembered getting all the gear ready earlier in preparation for the new guy. grabbing the medium-sized box, he hefted it up, placing it on the counter "Here ya go. Everything you need will be in here, just sign this release form and take this timecard" he said, producing said sheets of paper.
***
"Out of hand means if she starts getting too dangerous, or if she gets reckless. It ESPECIALLY means if she starts deliberately doing anything to get Terrans killed, got it sug?" the voice said. "for now I want you to go to the Repair bay of the Station and find her; she should be there watching the Pluto-class get repaired. I will say that she is rather curious for a robot."
***
Emma perked up when Steven mentioned her, smiling and blushing a little, it was hard to believe that she was more than 10 or 12. she listened intently, wondering why he was still proud of her even though she had ignored a direct order. It wasn't something she would question, however, and simply sat there, before suddenly asking "What was the purpose of gethering us all together, exactly, Captain?"
***
Before long, a group of about 15 men with blowtorches came to the fused panel and attempted to cut it off. their efforts were unsuccessful, the cuts simply closing up within seconds of being made, no matter how quickly they tried to cut. Inside, there were a number of structural engineers and technicians trying to figure out what to do with it. finally, they simply went up to Garrett and said "Sir, we need to blow the panel off, or it isn't going to come off. Collateral damage is fine, considering the shape the ship is in, so make sure it's pretty looking."
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:05 pm
"The reason, you ask?" Steven said with a rather vacant look on his face. A second or two past before Steven focused again. "The main reason I wanted to have this meeting is just as I said before. I wanted to congratulate all of you for your good work, and also to try and spend a little time together as a group in a non-hostile environment. You know, get to know the people you are trusting your life to.
I mean, aside from Fred here(*he gestures towards Fred*) who has been flying with me since I first started as pilot myself, I barely know anything about any of you except for maybe your first name. Who knows, maybe spending some time getting to know each other, and working together on a project in a more casual setting might increase our overall performance when in the cockpit." Steven said as he slowly looked at the different members of his squadron.
"Is this the part where we go around in a circle and share interesting facts about ourselves?" Fred said calmly from his seat off to the side of the staging area.
"That thought had crossed my mind, but I am guessing that that would make everyone lose what respect they have for me," Steven replied with a chuckle. "But seriously though, maily what I am getting at is that I want us to start familiarizing ourselves with one another, ya know, make friends with your squadmates."
"And how might we go about doing that, Sir?" Pablo, Green Ten asked.
"Well, once I stop talking and we go back to work, go and talk with somebody you don't really know. Break the ice. Oh! and just a reminder, we are on shore leave, and as much as I admire your dedication to your scimitar, you don't need my permission to take a break.
Unless anyone else has anything to add, you may go about your business. Green Squadron is dismissed." Steven said in as official sounding of voice he could manage. He turned moved over to his scimitar and watched as the pilots gave a few rather confused looks before either going back to work, or breaking off and simply talking. Steven smiled inwardly, but wondered if he was doing this right. After all, he had no clue how to get a team to bond and make friends.
After a few more moments of watching he started walking over where Emma and Arcadia were sitting.
"How did I do?" he asked the two of them, giving both a warm smile in turn.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:41 pm
"Peachy, Captain," was Arcadia's answer, with no real discernible tone to her voice. There was no desire in Langdon to make friends with her squadmates, at least not yet. Steven and Raji were the only two that interested her slightly, but she was rather irritated by Raji's blunt hatred of men; it was thick-headed and downright dumb. It could lead to... bad decisions in the field. But that was unimportant right now, so she pushed it all from her mind and hopped off the nose of her freshly painted Scimitar. The coffee mug was in her hand--empty--and she intended to refill it.
"Right. Pretty..." Garrett sighed. "All of you stay here. I want you four," he pointed them all out, "to make sure people get clear of this section of the bay. If anyone other than this sixteen are injured, it's on you four."
He left without awaiting confirmation, expecting action to be taken. He returned a solid 20 minutes later with a duffel over his shoulder. Once back on the ship he made sure all 15 were there. "Alright, this is how it goes: you make incisions in the hull along the border of the alien alloy. Then I plant my goods, and we tear off the rest."
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 1:54 pm
"I see," Raji replied, "I hadn't realized we had ships on the offensive besides the Hymn." Raji gave a curt glare at Aurelia as she approached.
Aurelia had caught the Admiral's report about the ship as she came to her side, and she looked up at the vessel with a bit more respect than previously. "Luck aside, they must have a crack crew. A Mars couldn't even handle a dozen Raptors on its own, never mind one of these little relics." Aurelia began to reconsider her new assignment. Perhaps her new crew was a bit more than she could have expected.
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:06 pm
(( I honestly hope I'm not moving too quickly. ))
"Yes ma'am. It's understood. I will proceed at once to the Admiral's side and begin the operation." Cibo replied crisply. When it finally became appropriate, she got up, gave a salute which went unseen, and left the room she was never in. The two men in black never really picked Cibo up, and it was very likely that there was never a high ranking Intelligence officer on record aboard the 'Battle Hymn'. Regardless of these conditions, Cibo had orders that were as good as from the mouths of High Command, despite the fact they came out of an electronic nowhere. She would follow the ordfers down to the last D@#^ed letter, regardless of how she felt. And oh, how she felt! For the first time since her demotions, a most horrendous hatred and tingle of defeat laced her mind. "I can't believe they're doing this to me." she thought. "Being under command of that...machine was worse enough, but now I'm literally under it's thumb! They want me to suffer, don't they? DON'T THEY?!" This last thought brought along horror, and doused her hateful fire quickly. Her mood soon reflected in how she carried herself. As Cibo walked the halls of the 'Battle Hymn', she was no longer feared by many of those who walked by; it was something that had not happened in a very long time indeed. She asked directions, and got them, but...they just weren't spat out with the startling efficiency she was used to. Cibo soon found the Admiral, "Evelyn, was it?" she recalled from her briefing. Unseen and unnoticed, Cibo floated over and presented herself, "Admiral. I have been issued orders to act as your adjutant and personal assistant!"
The intense fire no longer mixed with her, and instead was replaced by a glum mood. Cibo was simply no longer a shade that haunted the halls. For now, she was going to be just another person. Just another unnoticed ghost.
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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:59 am
As Arcadia went off to refill her mug a small light turned on in Steven's head telling him that he was overdue for his next cup of coffee. "Hm, coffee sounds pretty good right about now," he said to no one in particular. He stood where he was staring of into the distance with a vacant look in his eyes, and a moment later his eyes refocused and he began walking in the direction of coffee.
"Hey Arcadia, hold up a second," Steven said as he soon caught up with her. "I could go for a cup of coffee as well, so I hope you don't mind if I tag along."
***
Back in the hangar the pilots of Green Squadron continued to have conversations amongst themselves. In one of the groups Aaron, Green Eleven, and Pablo, Green Ten, were laughing as they shared stories with each other. Out of the corner of his eye Aaron noticed Steven talking with two of the new pilots, one of which soon went off somewhere and Steven followed soon after.
"So, what do you think of the new pilots?" Pablo asked Aaron.
"Looks like the captain has the hots for that Arcadia," Aaron replied.
"What are you talking about. She is pretty much the polar opposite of Steven."
"Hey opposites attract, man."
"I still don't think so."
"Eh, we'll see. That Raji chick is kinda a you-know-what though, you've got to admit that." Aaron said changing the topic a bit.
"She is a little frightening. Then there is Emma. Hopefully her skill makes up for her lack of experience." Pablo added.
"Yeah, and speaking of Emma, she is alone now. Perfect chance for me to go fine tune my skills. Watch and learn, amigo," Aaron jeered. He then quickly straightened his hair and walked over towards Emma; Pablo stayed where he was laughing quietly.
"Hey there, you're Emma right? My name is Aaron, I am Green Eleven. How do you like flying with my squadron so far?" Aaron asked Emma as he got close to her.
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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:21 pm
Arcadia didn't glance at Steven until he was in stride with her. "Not at all, sir." In the mess, there was coffee and decaf; the Scimitar pilot opted for the former--black. Sugar and any other sort of additives ruined the taste, in her opinion. Once her cup was full, she took a sip, and it was the perfect temperature: just a little cooler than scalding on her tongue.
Garrett watched as the men cut an outline around the foreign plating. He set his charges along that perforation, except for the top. Once the team was clear, he hit the button. Boom! the chunk of hull bent upward and outward like a ballerina's skirt. He ordered the team to get a crane to hold the piece of unusable hull while the men with torches cut off the remainder. Had he blown all of it at once, Garrett could have done a lot of collateral damage both to the ship and to the Hymn.
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