Introduction
Announcements
Nebula's Dawn Story Map
Part I: F.S.S. Salient
Part II: Lance of Liberty
Part III: ???
Circa August 5, 2093 S.C.M. - Nearing the End:
The F.S.S. Salient is the last of its kind, a Neptune Class Battlecruiser, commissioned May 29, 2093 S.C.E. (Solar Cycle Earth.) The ship is crewed with inexperienced members sent to the fringes of the Arcturus System to investigate the recent disruptions in the region. They are expected to arrive at their destination two months after deployment. It departed from the star port in Rust City, Mars on June 2, 2093 S.C.M. (Solar Cycle Mars.)
Synopsis:
The Salient arrived in Callisto, one of the Jovian moons, on June 14, 2093 S.C.J. (Solar Cycle Jupiter,) and docked in the central Callisto star port to resupply. The ship's crew had arrived from various posts and locations throughout the Federation, and were awaiting entrance to the large warship while it was docking in Callisto. The crew boarded the ship and met Admiral Weston, the Captain of the ship, who gave a brief introductory speech to the assembled group of soldiers, crew-members, personnel, scientists, doctors, pilots, and engineers. After which, the Salient departed from Callisto.
Not long after, the Salient entered the Middle Rim region of Federation space, where they came into contact with a pair of Altamus Corporation freighters carrying a highly valued commodity ore known as Duilium. The freighters, escorted by the private security firm, Tartarus Group, were ambushed by two pirate frigates. The two freighters and the security escort, Tartarus Group suffered losses, including two gunships and pilots KIA, and one gunship and pilot MIA. A distress beacon was activated by one of the escort gunships which alerted the Salient of their presence and their situation.
The Salient, being a federal vessel, and therefore responsible for the security and well-being of Federation citizens, intervened. In the ensuing skirmish near the gas planet of Themos V, the Salient managed to cripple both frigates, while destroying a dozen pirate fighters that had been been lying in wait for an ambush. The pirates then withdrew, leaving behind the damaged hulks of their frigates for the Federation to investigate. Meanwhile, the Altamus freighters, received word that another escort, the Queen Gertrude, was en route to their position. The Salient, under the direction of Admiral Weston, decided to put their original destination on hold and await the new escort before resuming their previous course in case more pirates showed up to raid the freighters for their precious Duilium cargo.
After disabling the two frigates, two Marine fire teams coordinated by Commander Atomsk Dunaway, infiltrated the hostile ships hoping to acquire whatever data was available on their networks. It was revealed that an explosive device was armed on the second frigate, prompting immediate evacuation by the team. However, complications arose as a pair of prisoners escaped from the brig and sought the help of the Marines. At the same time, the two Altamus vessels were given word to clear the proximity of the pirate frigate to avoid the damage resulting from an explosive blast.
Bravo Team led by Captain Eli Colter managed to disembark from the bomb strapped frigate, only to come to the realization, similar to that of the Salient's bridge crew, that more pirates were on the horizon. They had to depart without the prisoners, who were pinned in another section of the ship. These pirates, arrived under the direction of former Federation Vice Admiral Atreus Eturrer, who had turned rogue, and had been living by under the alias Silver Eyes.
They arrived precisely at the coordinates given to them by Courtney Reynolds, a pirate, and sister to Private First Class Gary Reynolds, who coincidentally was with Captain Colter. Courtney Reynolds had managed to infiltrate the Salient by unknown means and sabotage several of the generators, before she was apprehended by a team of Federation Marines led personally by Commander Dunaway after he saw her kill three of the ship's personnel on a video feed. Admiral Weston for his part, activated a secret contingency plan called Contingency CA.
Meanwhile, Jessica "Hyena" MacPhearson and a number of crew members were intoxicated in an unofficial social in the Salient's rear decks, leaving the majority of the ship unattended to in the wake of the assault by the pirates. Once Captain Colter had returned to the ship, he received a transmission from Elizabeth Waltz, the heiress of the multi-trillion dollar corporation, Waltz Enterprises. It was revealed that she was one of the two prisoners aboard the frigate he and his team had infiltrated. The pirates began their assault on the lone Federation starship with waves of fighters followed by salvos from their lesser ships.
As for the other prisoner aboard the second frigate, Ulric Kercheskoi, his last transmission was cut short and his status is currently unknown. Captain Colter believes he might attempt to crash the frigate into the pirate ranks and detonate the explosive, thereby destroying a large number of pirate ships. The pirates began to send their lines of lighter ships forth in an assault on the Salient, receiving many casualties, as their scrapped fleets were ripped apart by the state of the art Federation starship. A field of debris began to form as lone pirate ships were annihilated by the Salient.
This seemingly invincible warship held its ground for an hour or two, before Navigator Summer reported that the FTL drives had been activated, and the sequence could not be averted. Admiral Weston in an attempt to stall and gather up his personnel, allowed the Navigator to redirect energy from the FTL drives, thereby stalling its launch. Doctor Bergman, one of the chief doctors, operated on an unconscious, beaten, and battered Elizabeth Waltz who had arrived on board the Salient.
Several pilots, notably, "Ray," "Hyena," and Tiaan went to clear off any stragglers hidden within. "Hyena" had a close call as a pirate frigate barely missed a point blank shot that would have otherwise ended the cocky pilot's life. Captain Jon Dunaway, leader of Alpha Team, began his trip back to the Salient in his suit alone, while the rest of his team are presumed MIA aboard the first pirate frigate. The two A.Is, Max and T.A.U after successfully infiltrating the pirates' data stream began to scour their networks for useful information, as well as wreaking havoc by hacking into ships' control systems, returned to the ship. The Salient's structure began to fracture under the weight of the pirates' line of fire. Thaddeus Jackson remains to be seen, as he is presumed MIA aboard the first pirate frigate.
Silver Eyes, admitting his defeat, began to parley with Admiral Weston for the release of Courtney Reynolds. Admiral Weston, resoundingly, denied Silver Eyes the release, and battle resumed. Unfortunately, by then both sides realized that the jump was imminent, and Silver Eyes lowered his weapons so as to spare the ship from destruction, thus protecting Courtney. Peter "Ray" Davidson in an act of valor, was prepared to lay down his life and equipped his ship with a number of heavy duty armaments to take the battle to the enemy. After he assaulted the pirate ranks, his ship was damaged by multiple homing mines, resulting in the loss of his eye and the entire left side of his body was response-less. Finally, facing an inevitable meltdown in his gunship, "Ray" shut down his systems to power an old radio and send a final message of goodbye before his ship exploded. "Hyena" and Tiaan and other fighters left the field, to rejoin the Salient for the jump.
Silver Eyes for his part, decided that he would continue the chase for Courtney, who by now had become sort of a daughter figure to him. As for the two freighters stacked with Duillium, he ordered his fleets to raid the ships after he had departed after the Salient. Once the Salient made its rip through slipstream, Silver Eyes quickly pursued. As for his pirate armada, they began to inch toward the freighters, only to be ambushed by two Federation battle groups composed of eighty ships total, under Commander Attalon Soters, that had just exited slipstream. The ships went into slipstream after receiving the Contingency CA beacon activated by Admiral Weston. On the other flank, a smaller group of warships numbering twenty vessels centered around the Queen Gertrude finally arrived to relieve the two Altamus freighters and repay the Federation for its part in protecting the two ships. The combined pincer was too much for the pirate fleet, and they were thus forced to retreat.
A mysterious A.I. appears on Silver Eyes ship, one that seems to command Silver Eyes himself, after enveloping his tactician A.I. Miranda. Silver Eyes immediately retreats as the A.I. relays the events that transpired to a secret source.
EXTERIOR:
INTERIOR:
Bridge Crew Members::
Captain/Admiral: Aronimus Weston (VindicatedPurpose)
First Mate/Second in Command {Lieutenant Commander}: Alice Chen (Everscale)
Engineer(s):
- Elizabeth Waltz (Mathew Littlepaw)
Navigator(s):
- Clyde Summer (Uncertainly)
Security Personnel/Marine Detachment::
Planetary Operations Commander: Atomsk Dunaway (TKDJ)
Captain(s):
- Eli Colter (VindicatedPurpose)
- Jon Dunaway (Nekohina)
Pilot(s):
Fighter Pilots:
- Jessica "Hyena" MacPhearson (DustAndEchoes)
- Tiaan Peyton (Rulke)
Gunship Pilots:
- Peter "Ray" Davidson (Colonel_Masters) - Deceased
Marines:
- Reterec Smithy (Mr. Baneling Squishy)
Medical Crew Members::
Chief Medical Director:
- Marcus Bergman (Smokescreen)
Science Corps::
Scientist(s):
- Adriana Stark (Uncertainly)
Extraneous Crew Members::
Android(s):
IRU-6K (Colonel Masters)
Artificial Intelligence(s):
- A.D.A.M. (Nekohina)
- Max (Mr.Baneling Squishy)
- T.A.U. (Gazimu)
Nebula's Dawn Story Map
Part I: F.S.S. Salient
Part II: Lance of Liberty
Part III: ???
Circa August 5, 2093 S.C.M. - Nearing the End:
The F.S.S. Salient is the last of its kind, a Neptune Class Battlecruiser, commissioned May 29, 2093 S.C.E. (Solar Cycle Earth.) The ship is crewed with inexperienced members sent to the fringes of the Arcturus System to investigate the recent disruptions in the region. They are expected to arrive at their destination two months after deployment. It departed from the star port in Rust City, Mars on June 2, 2093 S.C.M. (Solar Cycle Mars.)
Synopsis:
The Salient arrived in Callisto, one of the Jovian moons, on June 14, 2093 S.C.J. (Solar Cycle Jupiter,) and docked in the central Callisto star port to resupply. The ship's crew had arrived from various posts and locations throughout the Federation, and were awaiting entrance to the large warship while it was docking in Callisto. The crew boarded the ship and met Admiral Weston, the Captain of the ship, who gave a brief introductory speech to the assembled group of soldiers, crew-members, personnel, scientists, doctors, pilots, and engineers. After which, the Salient departed from Callisto.
Not long after, the Salient entered the Middle Rim region of Federation space, where they came into contact with a pair of Altamus Corporation freighters carrying a highly valued commodity ore known as Duilium. The freighters, escorted by the private security firm, Tartarus Group, were ambushed by two pirate frigates. The two freighters and the security escort, Tartarus Group suffered losses, including two gunships and pilots KIA, and one gunship and pilot MIA. A distress beacon was activated by one of the escort gunships which alerted the Salient of their presence and their situation.
The Salient, being a federal vessel, and therefore responsible for the security and well-being of Federation citizens, intervened. In the ensuing skirmish near the gas planet of Themos V, the Salient managed to cripple both frigates, while destroying a dozen pirate fighters that had been been lying in wait for an ambush. The pirates then withdrew, leaving behind the damaged hulks of their frigates for the Federation to investigate. Meanwhile, the Altamus freighters, received word that another escort, the Queen Gertrude, was en route to their position. The Salient, under the direction of Admiral Weston, decided to put their original destination on hold and await the new escort before resuming their previous course in case more pirates showed up to raid the freighters for their precious Duilium cargo.
After disabling the two frigates, two Marine fire teams coordinated by Commander Atomsk Dunaway, infiltrated the hostile ships hoping to acquire whatever data was available on their networks. It was revealed that an explosive device was armed on the second frigate, prompting immediate evacuation by the team. However, complications arose as a pair of prisoners escaped from the brig and sought the help of the Marines. At the same time, the two Altamus vessels were given word to clear the proximity of the pirate frigate to avoid the damage resulting from an explosive blast.
Bravo Team led by Captain Eli Colter managed to disembark from the bomb strapped frigate, only to come to the realization, similar to that of the Salient's bridge crew, that more pirates were on the horizon. They had to depart without the prisoners, who were pinned in another section of the ship. These pirates, arrived under the direction of former Federation Vice Admiral Atreus Eturrer, who had turned rogue, and had been living by under the alias Silver Eyes.
They arrived precisely at the coordinates given to them by Courtney Reynolds, a pirate, and sister to Private First Class Gary Reynolds, who coincidentally was with Captain Colter. Courtney Reynolds had managed to infiltrate the Salient by unknown means and sabotage several of the generators, before she was apprehended by a team of Federation Marines led personally by Commander Dunaway after he saw her kill three of the ship's personnel on a video feed. Admiral Weston for his part, activated a secret contingency plan called Contingency CA.
Meanwhile, Jessica "Hyena" MacPhearson and a number of crew members were intoxicated in an unofficial social in the Salient's rear decks, leaving the majority of the ship unattended to in the wake of the assault by the pirates. Once Captain Colter had returned to the ship, he received a transmission from Elizabeth Waltz, the heiress of the multi-trillion dollar corporation, Waltz Enterprises. It was revealed that she was one of the two prisoners aboard the frigate he and his team had infiltrated. The pirates began their assault on the lone Federation starship with waves of fighters followed by salvos from their lesser ships.
As for the other prisoner aboard the second frigate, Ulric Kercheskoi, his last transmission was cut short and his status is currently unknown. Captain Colter believes he might attempt to crash the frigate into the pirate ranks and detonate the explosive, thereby destroying a large number of pirate ships. The pirates began to send their lines of lighter ships forth in an assault on the Salient, receiving many casualties, as their scrapped fleets were ripped apart by the state of the art Federation starship. A field of debris began to form as lone pirate ships were annihilated by the Salient.
This seemingly invincible warship held its ground for an hour or two, before Navigator Summer reported that the FTL drives had been activated, and the sequence could not be averted. Admiral Weston in an attempt to stall and gather up his personnel, allowed the Navigator to redirect energy from the FTL drives, thereby stalling its launch. Doctor Bergman, one of the chief doctors, operated on an unconscious, beaten, and battered Elizabeth Waltz who had arrived on board the Salient.
Several pilots, notably, "Ray," "Hyena," and Tiaan went to clear off any stragglers hidden within. "Hyena" had a close call as a pirate frigate barely missed a point blank shot that would have otherwise ended the cocky pilot's life. Captain Jon Dunaway, leader of Alpha Team, began his trip back to the Salient in his suit alone, while the rest of his team are presumed MIA aboard the first pirate frigate. The two A.Is, Max and T.A.U after successfully infiltrating the pirates' data stream began to scour their networks for useful information, as well as wreaking havoc by hacking into ships' control systems, returned to the ship. The Salient's structure began to fracture under the weight of the pirates' line of fire. Thaddeus Jackson remains to be seen, as he is presumed MIA aboard the first pirate frigate.
Silver Eyes, admitting his defeat, began to parley with Admiral Weston for the release of Courtney Reynolds. Admiral Weston, resoundingly, denied Silver Eyes the release, and battle resumed. Unfortunately, by then both sides realized that the jump was imminent, and Silver Eyes lowered his weapons so as to spare the ship from destruction, thus protecting Courtney. Peter "Ray" Davidson in an act of valor, was prepared to lay down his life and equipped his ship with a number of heavy duty armaments to take the battle to the enemy. After he assaulted the pirate ranks, his ship was damaged by multiple homing mines, resulting in the loss of his eye and the entire left side of his body was response-less. Finally, facing an inevitable meltdown in his gunship, "Ray" shut down his systems to power an old radio and send a final message of goodbye before his ship exploded. "Hyena" and Tiaan and other fighters left the field, to rejoin the Salient for the jump.
Silver Eyes for his part, decided that he would continue the chase for Courtney, who by now had become sort of a daughter figure to him. As for the two freighters stacked with Duillium, he ordered his fleets to raid the ships after he had departed after the Salient. Once the Salient made its rip through slipstream, Silver Eyes quickly pursued. As for his pirate armada, they began to inch toward the freighters, only to be ambushed by two Federation battle groups composed of eighty ships total, under Commander Attalon Soters, that had just exited slipstream. The ships went into slipstream after receiving the Contingency CA beacon activated by Admiral Weston. On the other flank, a smaller group of warships numbering twenty vessels centered around the Queen Gertrude finally arrived to relieve the two Altamus freighters and repay the Federation for its part in protecting the two ships. The combined pincer was too much for the pirate fleet, and they were thus forced to retreat.
A mysterious A.I. appears on Silver Eyes ship, one that seems to command Silver Eyes himself, after enveloping his tactician A.I. Miranda. Silver Eyes immediately retreats as the A.I. relays the events that transpired to a secret source.
EXTERIOR:
- A reinforced hull with thick neo-steel
- Prototype Tile Shielding
- Twelve massive rail guns on both the port and starboard sides of the ship
- Coupled with thirty-six rotating mini-ion cannon nodes on each side
- A massive particle cannon as the main armament
- Twin sub-Hyperdrive Propulsion Systems
- Four supporting FTL Suspension Drive Systems
INTERIOR:
- Reinforced Plexi-Glass view ports
- State of the art data/control/navigation systems
- Two Barracks/Security Quarters
- Central Captain's Quarters
- Two Main Armories
- Two Vehicle Bays- A complement of Light Recon Vehicles, and Medium Armored Personnel Carriers
- Four Auxiliary Armories
- Engineers Quarters/Engine Corridor
- Individual Crew Quarters
- Four Medical Bays/Infirmaries
- Four Hangars- A complement of Fighters, and gunships.
- Three Mess Halls
- Multiple Observation Decks
- Two Recreation Centers
Bridge Crew Members::
Captain/Admiral: Aronimus Weston (VindicatedPurpose)
First Mate/Second in Command {Lieutenant Commander}: Alice Chen (Everscale)
Engineer(s):
- Elizabeth Waltz (Mathew Littlepaw)
Navigator(s):
- Clyde Summer (Uncertainly)
Security Personnel/Marine Detachment::
Planetary Operations Commander: Atomsk Dunaway (TKDJ)
Captain(s):
- Eli Colter (VindicatedPurpose)
- Jon Dunaway (Nekohina)
Pilot(s):
Fighter Pilots:
- Jessica "Hyena" MacPhearson (DustAndEchoes)
- Tiaan Peyton (Rulke)
Gunship Pilots:
- Peter "Ray" Davidson (Colonel_Masters) - Deceased
Marines:
- Reterec Smithy (Mr. Baneling Squishy)
Medical Crew Members::
Chief Medical Director:
- Marcus Bergman (Smokescreen)
Science Corps::
Scientist(s):
- Adriana Stark (Uncertainly)
Extraneous Crew Members::
Android(s):
IRU-6K (Colonel Masters)
Artificial Intelligence(s):
- A.D.A.M. (Nekohina)
- Max (Mr.Baneling Squishy)
- T.A.U. (Gazimu)
Threads
No threads found.
The Story
Prologue:
Date: June 14, 2093 S.C.J. (Solar Cycle Jupiter)
The Federation star ship known as the Salient had departed Rust City approximately two weeks ago. The man at the helm was none other than Admiral Aronimus Weston. The old admiral no longer had fleets at his command, for he relinquished such power near the end of his career in the Federation Navy. He chose to command a single ship, the last of its model. To him, the Salient was his mirror, they were both nearing the end. Aronimus's distinguished career was displayed prominently on the front of his standard Federation service dress grey. From ribbons to medallions, no one could deny his ability nor his position.
Sharp rises were leveled out by crescendos that elevated to a zenith before the string of music slowly and softly drifted from his ears. Aronimus was listening to an old record which he wanted to play once more on the transparent tablet he held in front of him as he sat in his platform in the bridge. While he was listening, he had another transparent screen with text opened to his left. It was a data feed on recent Federation news. As he scrolled through the page, a screen rolled up and a female reporter with red hair began to speak.
"Yesterday at approximately 9:00 A:M Earth time, a bomb was detonated in Verlon City Center, on Avalon. The blast killed 97 people and injured another 300 others."
She continued speaking in a tense business tone.
"Federation Security and Peacekeepers are currently investigating the scene as engineering crews attempt to salvage the wreckage. No leads have been found regarding the origins of the explosive device."
"Relatives of the victims are mourning their loss."
Aronimus looked up to see a man in his early thirties, with a thin beard, fully suited in combat gear standing before in front of the holographic star map wall. The illumination of the star map wall was partially blocked by the contours and outlines of the man. He had a look of solemnity on his face while he held onto a transparent panel. It was a list of sorts, with names, pictures, and profiles.
"Captain Colter...what is it?"
Eli slid the panel onto Aronimus's metallic desk, relaxed his stance, balled his hands into a fist behind him, and awaited the skipper's inspection.
"These are the crew members?" Aronimus used his forefinger to scroll through the list of rejects, greenhorns, and fresh meat. Every time his finger came onto a name, a profile and picture would slide up. Aronimus reached a named listed as Gavin Merrickson. His left eye brow shifted upwards, and he looked up at Colter with a perplexed glance.
"It says here, he's male, but the image makes me think otherwise. Medic?"
"Yes sir." Colter responded with ease.
Aronimus then scrolled down some more until he reached what he saw was a familiar name.
"Alice Chen. Now there's a familiar name." He paused a bit as he looked over her profile. He nodded and then chuckled to himself. Then he looked back at Captain Colter who was standing at ease.
"She was merely a Lieutenant when I last saw her. I actually thought I was getting a ship full of inexperienced recruits."
"Well, sir...they may not be experienced but they're talented." Eli nearly grinned with that comment.
"Excellent point." Aronimus continued scrolling until he reached Jon Dunaway.
"Jon Dunaway, special operations, shock trooper, and perfect record..." Aronimus looked up at Eli with raised eyebrows.
"It says here he was slated to be the commander of this ship's Marine detachment. Now he's just a company commander, like you." Eli titled his head to his side slightly confused.
"The ground commander should be listed..."
"No, it's not on the roster."
"Should I ask command?"
"No that won't be necessary, they'll contact us." Aronimus returned the tablet to Eli and resumed his music session. This was a sign for Eli to return to his quarters to continue preparations.
"Oh and by the way Captain Colter..."
"Sir?" He turned and looked back at the Admiral.
"Be sure to make our guests feel welcomed, I am going to personally meet and brief them in the session later."
"Understood sir."
"Dismissed." Eli saluted the Admiral before he turned away and walked off.
Date: June 14, 2093 S.C.J. (Solar Cycle Jupiter)
The Federation star ship known as the Salient had departed Rust City approximately two weeks ago. The man at the helm was none other than Admiral Aronimus Weston. The old admiral no longer had fleets at his command, for he relinquished such power near the end of his career in the Federation Navy. He chose to command a single ship, the last of its model. To him, the Salient was his mirror, they were both nearing the end. Aronimus's distinguished career was displayed prominently on the front of his standard Federation service dress grey. From ribbons to medallions, no one could deny his ability nor his position.
Sharp rises were leveled out by crescendos that elevated to a zenith before the string of music slowly and softly drifted from his ears. Aronimus was listening to an old record which he wanted to play once more on the transparent tablet he held in front of him as he sat in his platform in the bridge. While he was listening, he had another transparent screen with text opened to his left. It was a data feed on recent Federation news. As he scrolled through the page, a screen rolled up and a female reporter with red hair began to speak.
"Yesterday at approximately 9:00 A:M Earth time, a bomb was detonated in Verlon City Center, on Avalon. The blast killed 97 people and injured another 300 others."
She continued speaking in a tense business tone.
"Federation Security and Peacekeepers are currently investigating the scene as engineering crews attempt to salvage the wreckage. No leads have been found regarding the origins of the explosive device."
"Relatives of the victims are mourning their loss."
Aronimus looked up to see a man in his early thirties, with a thin beard, fully suited in combat gear standing before in front of the holographic star map wall. The illumination of the star map wall was partially blocked by the contours and outlines of the man. He had a look of solemnity on his face while he held onto a transparent panel. It was a list of sorts, with names, pictures, and profiles.
"Captain Colter...what is it?"
Eli slid the panel onto Aronimus's metallic desk, relaxed his stance, balled his hands into a fist behind him, and awaited the skipper's inspection.
"These are the crew members?" Aronimus used his forefinger to scroll through the list of rejects, greenhorns, and fresh meat. Every time his finger came onto a name, a profile and picture would slide up. Aronimus reached a named listed as Gavin Merrickson. His left eye brow shifted upwards, and he looked up at Colter with a perplexed glance.
"It says here, he's male, but the image makes me think otherwise. Medic?"
"Yes sir." Colter responded with ease.
Aronimus then scrolled down some more until he reached what he saw was a familiar name.
"Alice Chen. Now there's a familiar name." He paused a bit as he looked over her profile. He nodded and then chuckled to himself. Then he looked back at Captain Colter who was standing at ease.
"She was merely a Lieutenant when I last saw her. I actually thought I was getting a ship full of inexperienced recruits."
"Well, sir...they may not be experienced but they're talented." Eli nearly grinned with that comment.
"Excellent point." Aronimus continued scrolling until he reached Jon Dunaway.
"Jon Dunaway, special operations, shock trooper, and perfect record..." Aronimus looked up at Eli with raised eyebrows.
"It says here he was slated to be the commander of this ship's Marine detachment. Now he's just a company commander, like you." Eli titled his head to his side slightly confused.
"The ground commander should be listed..."
"No, it's not on the roster."
"Should I ask command?"
"No that won't be necessary, they'll contact us." Aronimus returned the tablet to Eli and resumed his music session. This was a sign for Eli to return to his quarters to continue preparations.
"Oh and by the way Captain Colter..."
"Sir?" He turned and looked back at the Admiral.
"Be sure to make our guests feel welcomed, I am going to personally meet and brief them in the session later."
"Understood sir."
"Dismissed." Eli saluted the Admiral before he turned away and walked off.
The setting changes from Bridge to The Milky Way Universe
The noise of the station was no distraction for Lieutenant Commander Alice Chen. She stood stiff-backed and proper, her uniform freshly ironed, unmoving at the center of an ever-flowing crowd. She was accustomed to the chaos of a docking station, had learned at a very early age how to withstand the current of a thousand warm and restless bodies. Like a rock in the sea, she lived out her existence, still in the chaos. She maintained order. That was her duty - to direct others and ensure that the ship on which she was stationed ran smoothly. It was a job her mother and father had done before her. A job she had been doing since she had left the Academy in her early twenties. Now, at twenty-seven, the young officer found herself in limbo. Too high now in rank for the ship which had jump-started her career, she would be separated from her friends in her old crew, promoted to service aboard the Salient. Alice could not pretend that she grieved over it. She loved her friends, but she lived for the Federation.
For the first time in perhaps half an hour, Alice shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She ran a gloved hand through her dark hair, straightening out the gentle waves and forcing the ponytail to fall straighter down her back. It would not do to have her raven locks getting in the way of her work. Prettiness was all well and good, when it could be afforded, but Alice ran a tight ship. She would not let the fact that she was a women, and men expected her to be beautiful, interfere with her service of the Admiral.
Admiral Aronimus Weston. She had not seen nor heard from him since she was, comparatively, a girl. She had spent her childhood watching his career, dreaming of someday being someone like him. The thought that she might someday serve beneath him... she'd never had that thought. And then two days before she had received her new assignment, with his name in the commanding position. It had been all the young commander could do to stop herself from crying. Dreams coming true, left and right. She only hoped her secrets would not ruin this opportunity for her. No one had found out yet...
Alice intended to keep it that way.
An announcement rang overhead, and a chill ran down Alice's spine. She pulled her heels together, lifted her chin properly. The perfect soldier, just what her parents had trained her to be. She would relax once she was on board the Salient. For now, she had to set an example.
Holding her breath and wondering who would come to meet the new crew members, guide them onto their new ship, Alice made her way forwards through the crowds, to the gate where she had been ordered to wait.
For the first time in perhaps half an hour, Alice shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She ran a gloved hand through her dark hair, straightening out the gentle waves and forcing the ponytail to fall straighter down her back. It would not do to have her raven locks getting in the way of her work. Prettiness was all well and good, when it could be afforded, but Alice ran a tight ship. She would not let the fact that she was a women, and men expected her to be beautiful, interfere with her service of the Admiral.
Admiral Aronimus Weston. She had not seen nor heard from him since she was, comparatively, a girl. She had spent her childhood watching his career, dreaming of someday being someone like him. The thought that she might someday serve beneath him... she'd never had that thought. And then two days before she had received her new assignment, with his name in the commanding position. It had been all the young commander could do to stop herself from crying. Dreams coming true, left and right. She only hoped her secrets would not ruin this opportunity for her. No one had found out yet...
Alice intended to keep it that way.
An announcement rang overhead, and a chill ran down Alice's spine. She pulled her heels together, lifted her chin properly. The perfect soldier, just what her parents had trained her to be. She would relax once she was on board the Salient. For now, she had to set an example.
Holding her breath and wondering who would come to meet the new crew members, guide them onto their new ship, Alice made her way forwards through the crowds, to the gate where she had been ordered to wait.
A.D.A.M.
"All systems green Admiral, Hyperdrives active and synchronized and FTLs coordinated. Environmental systems operating within safe parameters, atmosphere within.084% of Earth's ,artificial gravity at standard 1.03 Gs." Adam flashed into existence on one of the many holopads of the ship.
"If you wish I can send you a full system diagnostic, but I must submit a complaint about the isolated system AI's within the suits of Thaddeus and Commander Dunaway. Besides the occasional run-time link for a data update to primary memory systems they do not follow standard protocol."
He paused, a bit, still not fully accustomed to interactions with humans, "Is there anything else I can do Admiral?"
"All systems green Admiral, Hyperdrives active and synchronized and FTLs coordinated. Environmental systems operating within safe parameters, atmosphere within.084% of Earth's ,artificial gravity at standard 1.03 Gs." Adam flashed into existence on one of the many holopads of the ship.
"If you wish I can send you a full system diagnostic, but I must submit a complaint about the isolated system AI's within the suits of Thaddeus and Commander Dunaway. Besides the occasional run-time link for a data update to primary memory systems they do not follow standard protocol."
He paused, a bit, still not fully accustomed to interactions with humans, "Is there anything else I can do Admiral?"
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Bridge
The Admiral turned off his music and swiveled around to face the digitized artificial intelligence standing before him on his control panel. He had been disturbed by two pieces of news. Firstly, the roster had no Commander Dunaway listed, unless it was referring to Jon Dunaway, however he was merely a captain and not the detachment leader. Secondly, the isolated AIs were not brought up to attention before.
"Isolated AIs? Hmmm..." he rubbed his chin for a bit.
"Adam, remind me to address Mr. Thaddeus Jackson, and uh...Commander Dunaway."
"We'll resolve that issue during the briefing, for now, log off."
Aronimus stood up from his seat, folded his arms behind him, and walked to the general meeting hall. The corridors of the F.S.S. Salient were sterilized before it left the factories on Earth and departed to Mars. Not a soul in sight, he enjoyed this solitude for a moment before it would be swept away. He expected the hordes of recruits and crew members to pour in from the station as the ship docked in place. It brought him back to the old days, when he was once a recruit entering a star ship for the first time. It seemed like yesterday, but felt like eons ago.
"Isolated AIs? Hmmm..." he rubbed his chin for a bit.
"Adam, remind me to address Mr. Thaddeus Jackson, and uh...Commander Dunaway."
"We'll resolve that issue during the briefing, for now, log off."
Aronimus stood up from his seat, folded his arms behind him, and walked to the general meeting hall. The corridors of the F.S.S. Salient were sterilized before it left the factories on Earth and departed to Mars. Not a soul in sight, he enjoyed this solitude for a moment before it would be swept away. He expected the hordes of recruits and crew members to pour in from the station as the ship docked in place. It brought him back to the old days, when he was once a recruit entering a star ship for the first time. It seemed like yesterday, but felt like eons ago.
The setting changes from Bridge to F.S.S. Salient
Ben Owens
With everyone else milling around Ben stood in the middle of the crowd, his fingers twitching slightly as he waited. He did his best to control himself since he knew that he could get into a lot of trouble here, he'd seen the Lieutenant Commander chew men out for random things. Well, they seemed random to him. He noticed more than a few people shooting glances at her but he didn't care, when it came to the ones giving the orders it didn't matter what there private parts were. Just as long as they let him fly.
Ben kept his smile on his face as he made his way through the crowd, the only good thing about the wait was that his fighter was already being loaded and prepped. He couldn't wait to get in her again, she was an amazing thing. Shaking his head to clear his mind he looked around and at the people gathered around, some looked rather young for this job and others looked as though they should be back home with there families waiting to die.
It was then that the announcement started to wring out, with a small frown on his face he made his way forward not sure of what was going on. He flexed his hand again glanced around, ready and eager for what was to happen next.
James Grey
James stood with his eyes closed leaning on the gate, to anyone else it probably looked as though he was dozing off. In his head he had ARCHE going through he systems and pulling up progress reports and status updates. He shouldn't technically be doing this but many of the features on the ship were designed by him and had never really been tested properly. He'd be damned if he was gonna let go of his little projects so easily, at the very least he'd make sure they didn't blow up on them all. As one of the two main engineers on board he would be busy most of the time but he would still have to make sure everything was running properly...and maybe making a few additions here and there.
In his head ARCHE was reading off reports on various systems as he dove in and out of the computer systems as quickly and quietly as he could. ARCHE wasn't exactly standard issue, having been designed by James himself so if he got caught ARCHE might be permanently deleted. James didn't care though, it would just be a few weeks work to create another one. As ARCHE made another run into the system James thought about this job.
It would be the first time he'd ever been out in deep space, most of his time had been spent in labs and on stations. It would be an interesting experience but he couldn't help but wonder why he was here. Now granted he was a genius but still, most people wouldn't be assigned to a ship like this at his age. Something had to be going on.
With everyone else milling around Ben stood in the middle of the crowd, his fingers twitching slightly as he waited. He did his best to control himself since he knew that he could get into a lot of trouble here, he'd seen the Lieutenant Commander chew men out for random things. Well, they seemed random to him. He noticed more than a few people shooting glances at her but he didn't care, when it came to the ones giving the orders it didn't matter what there private parts were. Just as long as they let him fly.
Ben kept his smile on his face as he made his way through the crowd, the only good thing about the wait was that his fighter was already being loaded and prepped. He couldn't wait to get in her again, she was an amazing thing. Shaking his head to clear his mind he looked around and at the people gathered around, some looked rather young for this job and others looked as though they should be back home with there families waiting to die.
It was then that the announcement started to wring out, with a small frown on his face he made his way forward not sure of what was going on. He flexed his hand again glanced around, ready and eager for what was to happen next.
James Grey
James stood with his eyes closed leaning on the gate, to anyone else it probably looked as though he was dozing off. In his head he had ARCHE going through he systems and pulling up progress reports and status updates. He shouldn't technically be doing this but many of the features on the ship were designed by him and had never really been tested properly. He'd be damned if he was gonna let go of his little projects so easily, at the very least he'd make sure they didn't blow up on them all. As one of the two main engineers on board he would be busy most of the time but he would still have to make sure everything was running properly...and maybe making a few additions here and there.
In his head ARCHE was reading off reports on various systems as he dove in and out of the computer systems as quickly and quietly as he could. ARCHE wasn't exactly standard issue, having been designed by James himself so if he got caught ARCHE might be permanently deleted. James didn't care though, it would just be a few weeks work to create another one. As ARCHE made another run into the system James thought about this job.
It would be the first time he'd ever been out in deep space, most of his time had been spent in labs and on stations. It would be an interesting experience but he couldn't help but wonder why he was here. Now granted he was a genius but still, most people wouldn't be assigned to a ship like this at his age. Something had to be going on.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
The docking station proved to be as busy as any other as Ridley made his way through the dense crowds of people going about their business. It wasn't necessarily noisy, simply crowded. Ridley was fine with crowds, in fact he was fine with anything. Throughout the years he had learned one lesson and one lesson only; take everything in stride. Whether it be politics or formalities, he had always enjoyed taking the most comfortable seat. Perhaps his lack of ambition was why he was stuck in a Lieutenant's position, not that he minded. In fact he preferred to be the number two guy, or even the number three, over being the one at the top. After all, the one at the top was the one with all the responsibility. As for who that responsible man would be this time, it turned out to be none other than the great Aronimus Weston, whom he had heard of in more than just a passing reference. The Admiral had commanded fleets in his time, and yet here he was heading a single ship.
Speaking of the ship...
The gate that would take him to the Salient loomed into view as Ridley finally forced his way through the crowd and out into the waiting area. It was almost completely deserted, a few people walking about or chatting, but what really caught Ridley's eye was the woman in the crisp Officer's uniform. Admittedly, Ridley was perhaps the only Lieutenant who didn't bother trying to learn the long list of insignias that designated rank, he usually judged someone's station by how shiny their uniform was, and her's was shiny. Striding forward, he walked up to the disciplined-looking lady, snapping off a casual salute shortly before reaching her; "Good day, Ma'am." He stopped before her and inclined his head in a polite fashion, "Lieutenant DeLovat reporting and at your service."
Speaking of the ship...
The gate that would take him to the Salient loomed into view as Ridley finally forced his way through the crowd and out into the waiting area. It was almost completely deserted, a few people walking about or chatting, but what really caught Ridley's eye was the woman in the crisp Officer's uniform. Admittedly, Ridley was perhaps the only Lieutenant who didn't bother trying to learn the long list of insignias that designated rank, he usually judged someone's station by how shiny their uniform was, and her's was shiny. Striding forward, he walked up to the disciplined-looking lady, snapping off a casual salute shortly before reaching her; "Good day, Ma'am." He stopped before her and inclined his head in a polite fashion, "Lieutenant DeLovat reporting and at your service."
Alice turned at the movement of a rather casual salute, receiving the newcomer's greeting in silence. Chin still tipped with confident pride, she scanned him from head to toe, taking in his rank, his attitude, his specialty. An easy-going man with a loose salute, but polite. Aware of her station, at the very least. Not a troublemaker at first glance. At least, not to Alice.
"Lieutenant Commander Chen," Alice answered flatly, giving him a short nod. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." She spoke in the clipped phrases of a trained military woman. No time to waste on real formality or truly proper grammar. Alice was known for getting her point across in the fastest, most efficient way available. Unfortunately, on her previous command, that had often involved fists. She hoped that the Salient would be a different sort of ship. "Where are you coming from, Lieutenant? Have you served before?"
Alice had been informed that several of the crew members would be, in her father's words, greener than a fresh spring leaf. She hated training rookies. She could only hope they would not panic at the first sign of action.
"Lieutenant Commander Chen," Alice answered flatly, giving him a short nod. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." She spoke in the clipped phrases of a trained military woman. No time to waste on real formality or truly proper grammar. Alice was known for getting her point across in the fastest, most efficient way available. Unfortunately, on her previous command, that had often involved fists. She hoped that the Salient would be a different sort of ship. "Where are you coming from, Lieutenant? Have you served before?"
Alice had been informed that several of the crew members would be, in her father's words, greener than a fresh spring leaf. She hated training rookies. She could only hope they would not panic at the first sign of action.
Jon
Jon strode through the crowd, full gear as usual. The armor was still recording his every move, the AI, an extremely primitive one, balancing out the system so the circuits wouldn't shatter his bones. CO located ID Alice Chen, rank Lt. Commander the cold metallic voice played in his ear. Jon quickly altered his course, steering his way toward the woman, crisply stopping in front of her and snapping a picture perfect salute.
"Commander Jon Dunaway, former spec ops reporting for duty ma'am, currently operating at unknown rank for this voyage," he stated through the communications systems of his suit. He stayed in position, normally he'd outrank her but as his current status on the chain of command she could be his commanding officer.
"Don't suppose you have anything for me to do ma'am?"
Jon strode through the crowd, full gear as usual. The armor was still recording his every move, the AI, an extremely primitive one, balancing out the system so the circuits wouldn't shatter his bones. CO located ID Alice Chen, rank Lt. Commander the cold metallic voice played in his ear. Jon quickly altered his course, steering his way toward the woman, crisply stopping in front of her and snapping a picture perfect salute.
"Commander Jon Dunaway, former spec ops reporting for duty ma'am, currently operating at unknown rank for this voyage," he stated through the communications systems of his suit. He stayed in position, normally he'd outrank her but as his current status on the chain of command she could be his commanding officer.
"Don't suppose you have anything for me to do ma'am?"
Gavin hated docking stations. Hated them. There were just too many people and the chaos was absolutely horrible. Gavin hated chaos. He much preferred a nice, orderly medical bay. Of course, there was rarely such a thing as an 'orderly medical bay', especially during conflict. Still, at least there were designated tasks which everyone had to complete, and a nice order of how to do things. Much better than this docking station that was filled with hoards of people who had absolutely no clue where to go.
Luckily, he knew where he had to go, and was already heading there. Gavin had been told earlier to head to one of the gates where the F.S.S. Salient would dock and report to a woman named Alice Chen. Thankfully, there were very few women here, so Gavin was rather certain that he wouldn't have a particularly difficult time finding this 'Alice Chen', whoever she was. The thin male was rather curious about what sort of ranking she was. Usually he only had to report to the doctor, but, considering this was his first time on a new ship, he wouldn't be surprised if this 'Alice Chen' was a senior officer of some sort.
Arriving at the proper gate, he immediately saw the one woman there, and walked over to her. "Alice Chen, I presume?" he said softly in a manner that was somehow both formal and friendly at the same time. Gavin didn't quite follow the standard codes for conduct when speaking to other officers, even his seniors, which tended to get him in trouble every now and then. "Medic Gavin Merrickson reporting and at your service." Gavin had long since grown into the habit of using his full name in an introduction, purely from the amount of times he had been mistaken as a female. Of course, there was the occasional person who still believed he was a female despite his obviously male name, but most people seemed to realise he was a male after hearing his given name. He hoped this 'Alice Chen' was one of the latter types of people.
Luckily, he knew where he had to go, and was already heading there. Gavin had been told earlier to head to one of the gates where the F.S.S. Salient would dock and report to a woman named Alice Chen. Thankfully, there were very few women here, so Gavin was rather certain that he wouldn't have a particularly difficult time finding this 'Alice Chen', whoever she was. The thin male was rather curious about what sort of ranking she was. Usually he only had to report to the doctor, but, considering this was his first time on a new ship, he wouldn't be surprised if this 'Alice Chen' was a senior officer of some sort.
Arriving at the proper gate, he immediately saw the one woman there, and walked over to her. "Alice Chen, I presume?" he said softly in a manner that was somehow both formal and friendly at the same time. Gavin didn't quite follow the standard codes for conduct when speaking to other officers, even his seniors, which tended to get him in trouble every now and then. "Medic Gavin Merrickson reporting and at your service." Gavin had long since grown into the habit of using his full name in an introduction, purely from the amount of times he had been mistaken as a female. Of course, there was the occasional person who still believed he was a female despite his obviously male name, but most people seemed to realise he was a male after hearing his given name. He hoped this 'Alice Chen' was one of the latter types of people.
ADAM
"Will do sir," Adam did a quick background check on the subjects in question. "It would seem that Commander Dunaway was a Lt. Dunaway until a day ago, while I can't legally access the specifics it would appear there are some political strings behind the 2 rank jump. From what I can access it seems he's involved in a classified project of some sorts."
While he saying this, Adam did some illegal back door browsing anyways. The security was tight, well beyond what a normal AI could sort through, but he still got through, in the limited time he found some interesting data. He didn't find a lot of data but what he could get without blatantly hacking the system was still interesting, if the Admiral asked he'd share but for now he tucked the data away before discreetly backing out.
"Will do sir," Adam did a quick background check on the subjects in question. "It would seem that Commander Dunaway was a Lt. Dunaway until a day ago, while I can't legally access the specifics it would appear there are some political strings behind the 2 rank jump. From what I can access it seems he's involved in a classified project of some sorts."
While he saying this, Adam did some illegal back door browsing anyways. The security was tight, well beyond what a normal AI could sort through, but he still got through, in the limited time he found some interesting data. He didn't find a lot of data but what he could get without blatantly hacking the system was still interesting, if the Admiral asked he'd share but for now he tucked the data away before discreetly backing out.
Atomsk lit up a cigarette. He was always told that they were a hazard to the ship due to the higher quality oxygen that was more easily ignited. He knew it was a load though. He saw the Oxygen levels on ships and knew it was just a lie to keep the bridges "smoke free". He didn't do it out of disrespect. He simply thought that it was a stupid rule if it didn't matter to the safety of the ship or anyone else. He felt the same about ranks. Ranks meant little to him. He went off of reputation. The good you've done. That's what got him here. It's also why he didn't mind being here. He was a Colonel before he got booted to the F.S.S. Salient. The incident that got him here was the blatant insults he threw at Lieutenant General Conway. He disliked the Lieutenant General greatly. He obtained his rank through family and some brown nosing. Aronimus Weston on the other hand was a man that Atomsk highly respected. Decorated for his actions and not his family history. A man that Atomsk admired. He stood on the dock looking at the others. He was surprised when he saw his brother Jon. He was here because of punishment but Jon....why? He'd find out later but for now he was enjoying his cigarette before the long voyage ahead.
Allen spent most of his time in the engineering quarters or the engine corridor just to be by himself. He wasn't totally sure of the crew just yet but he knew that this was going to be the quietest place for him. Of course quiet being a relative term. He was running his normal daily scans of he engines and some of the little side projects he ended up working on. After a little while he deemed that he would need to venture on out of the quarters and attempt to socialize with people. He grabbed a jacket and left his own room on a trip to one of the mess halls. He scratched his head nad he was wondering around the ship. It was beautiful to him. The engineering that had gone into this ship was remarkable. The only hope that he really had was that he would get along with someone otherwise this was going to be the longest trip of his life.
Thaddeus kept at a 20ft distance from Jon when going through the crowd. He always loved the unlawfulness of large crowds for they always provided maximized cover. As he walked around the crowd, he saw Jon address a woman who was obviously Alice Chen. Thaddeus stood to wait and observe any others who may be a potential crew member. "Ghost. Zoom in on targets."
His AI responded and zoomed to an individual smoking a cigarette. The man's eyes took to the direction towards Jon. Nothing too odd about being surprised about a man in a full body suit Thaddeus thought to himself. He zoomed to a character who stopped in front of Alice Chen. In the crowd it was too hard to hear. "Ghost, zoom in on that person's lips." he said. Ghost read the lips and took the words medic ,Gavin, reporting, service from the spoken message.
Satisfied that he had enough information, Thaddeus walked up to Alice Chen and gave a formal salute. "Thaddeus Jackson reporting for duty and station."
His AI responded and zoomed to an individual smoking a cigarette. The man's eyes took to the direction towards Jon. Nothing too odd about being surprised about a man in a full body suit Thaddeus thought to himself. He zoomed to a character who stopped in front of Alice Chen. In the crowd it was too hard to hear. "Ghost, zoom in on that person's lips." he said. Ghost read the lips and took the words medic ,Gavin, reporting, service from the spoken message.
Satisfied that he had enough information, Thaddeus walked up to Alice Chen and gave a formal salute. "Thaddeus Jackson reporting for duty and station."
After Jon, they approached her too quickly for individual acknowledgement. Silently she nodded to each new crew member in turn, waiting for all of them to snap out of their salutes and fall silent.
"At ease, all of you," she commanded. Though some of them had not remained at attention, others had. There was no need to stand quite so stiffly here. They were going to be together for some months now, and if everyone was stiff and stressed the whole time, their voyage would not be a pretty one.
With a light toss of her head, Alice sent her hair back over her shoulder in a black tumble. She clasped her hands behind her hips and turned, long legs twisting, to survey the crew. Her eyes settled on Gavin for a moment. A medic, she thought. Looked like a child. A female one. Alice would have to make sure the rest of the crew was aware. Slowly, she gave each crew member the same quiet scrutiny. This was the Alice Chen of the military news reports. The woman who took in everything tiny detail before she ever made a move.
"We wait until the bridge is joined and we receive a signal from the Salient to come aboard. For now, how many of you have been on assignment before?" she scanned the ranks, wondering whether she was surrounded more by rookies, or by veterans. Some of them she knew must have served on a Federation vessel before. Commander Dunaway, the former spec-ops, for one. She glanced again at Gavin - he was interesting, and judging by his quiet character, it would be good to secure his loyalty.
With a quiet huff, she left that train of thought behind. This was not the same vessel. Alliances between crew members were no longer a matter of life or death. Here, she hoped, they could all be allies. Maybe even friends.
"At ease, all of you," she commanded. Though some of them had not remained at attention, others had. There was no need to stand quite so stiffly here. They were going to be together for some months now, and if everyone was stiff and stressed the whole time, their voyage would not be a pretty one.
With a light toss of her head, Alice sent her hair back over her shoulder in a black tumble. She clasped her hands behind her hips and turned, long legs twisting, to survey the crew. Her eyes settled on Gavin for a moment. A medic, she thought. Looked like a child. A female one. Alice would have to make sure the rest of the crew was aware. Slowly, she gave each crew member the same quiet scrutiny. This was the Alice Chen of the military news reports. The woman who took in everything tiny detail before she ever made a move.
"We wait until the bridge is joined and we receive a signal from the Salient to come aboard. For now, how many of you have been on assignment before?" she scanned the ranks, wondering whether she was surrounded more by rookies, or by veterans. Some of them she knew must have served on a Federation vessel before. Commander Dunaway, the former spec-ops, for one. She glanced again at Gavin - he was interesting, and judging by his quiet character, it would be good to secure his loyalty.
With a quiet huff, she left that train of thought behind. This was not the same vessel. Alliances between crew members were no longer a matter of life or death. Here, she hoped, they could all be allies. Maybe even friends.
Jon dropped back into standard position, stark straight behind back- the ideal image of a soldier.
[b]"...For now, how many of you have been on assignment before?" Alice openly addressed the crew.
"Dutch, open up Chen's service record and that of everyone else on the open roster of the Salient," he ordered the AI, in his suit. He quickly perused the record of everyone on board, he had to suppress a smirk when he saw Thaddeus on the roster, another pet of the super soldier project. Probably a more stealthy model of the same suit he was wearing.
"I have ma'am," he addressed Alice over the suits speakers, she had an impressive record-a bit on the ambitious side- but impressive. He forwarded his on record, detailed all the way up to this morning so it mentioned him partaking in a project for the brass while aboard the ship, and his highly unwanted political bullshit double rank jump of less than twenty-two hours ago.
"If you don't mind I sent you a copy of my record, I'd like you to ignore the last line," he specifically requested she ignore the line pertaining to his rank jump. On the other hand he figured she'd be pleased to have a soldier with no less than 16 orbital drops, 23 infiltration missions, 42 rescues, 4 active deploys, 9 deep behind line deployments, 31 shock missions,5 classifieds and 13 blatantly labeled suicide ops. All of which were executed well within "flawless" parameters.
He didn't know if he could personally get along with this ambitious woman, but no hurt in trying and if nothing else she'll make a splendid CO he was certain of that.
[b]"...For now, how many of you have been on assignment before?" Alice openly addressed the crew.
"Dutch, open up Chen's service record and that of everyone else on the open roster of the Salient," he ordered the AI, in his suit. He quickly perused the record of everyone on board, he had to suppress a smirk when he saw Thaddeus on the roster, another pet of the super soldier project. Probably a more stealthy model of the same suit he was wearing.
"I have ma'am," he addressed Alice over the suits speakers, she had an impressive record-a bit on the ambitious side- but impressive. He forwarded his on record, detailed all the way up to this morning so it mentioned him partaking in a project for the brass while aboard the ship, and his highly unwanted political bullshit double rank jump of less than twenty-two hours ago.
"If you don't mind I sent you a copy of my record, I'd like you to ignore the last line," he specifically requested she ignore the line pertaining to his rank jump. On the other hand he figured she'd be pleased to have a soldier with no less than 16 orbital drops, 23 infiltration missions, 42 rescues, 4 active deploys, 9 deep behind line deployments, 31 shock missions,5 classifieds and 13 blatantly labeled suicide ops. All of which were executed well within "flawless" parameters.
He didn't know if he could personally get along with this ambitious woman, but no hurt in trying and if nothing else she'll make a splendid CO he was certain of that.
The bridge to the ship was cluttered with people although only a small proportion were crew members. The rest were station personnel setting up the ship, going through last checks, and stocking it with supplies and rations for the trip. Large wheeled vehicles rolled through the bridge path to the entrance egresses, these were going to be sent to the vehicle bay for storage.
Aronimus was staring through one of the smaller observation ports located in the upper levels of the ship. He watched the mass of people, vehicles, and drones moving in and out of the ship, but he noted a group of people who were stationary and gathered around a single officer. At once he realized those were the crew members, who were awaiting the signal to board. Aronimus looked at his timekeeper, the signal to board for crew members was synchronized in approximately half an hour. During that time, he would walk towards the general assembly hall and wait for Captain Colter to welcome the recruits on board and lead them to the hall.
He continued walking, inspecting the interior features, from the wiring tubes to the holopads and map terminals, from the data receptors to the telescreens, they were advanced equipment for a ship that was the last of its kind.
Aronimus was staring through one of the smaller observation ports located in the upper levels of the ship. He watched the mass of people, vehicles, and drones moving in and out of the ship, but he noted a group of people who were stationary and gathered around a single officer. At once he realized those were the crew members, who were awaiting the signal to board. Aronimus looked at his timekeeper, the signal to board for crew members was synchronized in approximately half an hour. During that time, he would walk towards the general assembly hall and wait for Captain Colter to welcome the recruits on board and lead them to the hall.
He continued walking, inspecting the interior features, from the wiring tubes to the holopads and map terminals, from the data receptors to the telescreens, they were advanced equipment for a ship that was the last of its kind.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Out of the four sides of the shower chamber, three were full of black tiles with rotating tubes that shot jets of water at Eli. He was fully immersed in cold water all around. He hung his head low and looked down to the recycling receptacles on the floor of the chamber. The receptacles would gather the water and filter it through the Salient's main filtering system before returning as drinking or showering water. A pair of dog tags were hanging from his neck and dangling before his eyes. He reached for one of the two dog tags which was slightly charred with one end almost melted down. The inscription was barely intelligible for anybody aside from Eli who knew the tag like the back of his hand. The inscription was listed as Solomon Richter P.F.C.. Also known as K.I.A. now. He held the tag in his fist and closed his eyes as the pellets of water rolled along his skin.
After ten minutes in the chamber, Eli stepped out fully dried, not a single drop of moisture was present on his person. He set about gathering his gear and equipment before getting into his suit. He took off the dog tag with Solomon Richter inscribed on it and placed it in a capsule which he proceeded to place in a compartment within his quarters. Following suit up, he left his quarters in the Barracks and proceeded to the lower levels of the ship where the crowd of recruits/crew members would be entering. He shut off his wrist communicator after testing the systems. He strode silently through the corridors, expecting to meet the Admiral somewhere in these areas. He passed the general assembly hall, but not before peering inside to witness several workers setting up the screens for the Admiral's presentation. He continued along silently.
After ten minutes in the chamber, Eli stepped out fully dried, not a single drop of moisture was present on his person. He set about gathering his gear and equipment before getting into his suit. He took off the dog tag with Solomon Richter inscribed on it and placed it in a capsule which he proceeded to place in a compartment within his quarters. Following suit up, he left his quarters in the Barracks and proceeded to the lower levels of the ship where the crowd of recruits/crew members would be entering. He shut off his wrist communicator after testing the systems. He strode silently through the corridors, expecting to meet the Admiral somewhere in these areas. He passed the general assembly hall, but not before peering inside to witness several workers setting up the screens for the Admiral's presentation. He continued along silently.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Ridley made way as several others approached Chen to introduce themselves. "Starting to get a little crowded in here." He said with a smile. Soon after they were all gathered round, Chen brought up the New to Old question, no doubt to find out what and who she was working with. As was expected, the fully decked commando piped out his reply soon enough. "Well of course we can expect big, strong and bulky armour-lad to have a record, just look at the guy." He waved his hand up and down the armoured figure as if no one else had noticed. "I mean I'm sorry, but who walks around like that? What was your name again? Jen?"
He waved him aside without waiting for a reply, turning to Chen with another polite inclination of his head; "Four tours for me, Ma'am, and I loved every one of them. Well, except for the third one, that was aboard the Cradle, I swear that thing's haunted." He turned his head in the direction of the gate "This will mark lucky number five, I'm sure it will be bundles of fun. Bundles of restrained fun." He added quickly, remembering the LC's rather disciplined nature.
He waved him aside without waiting for a reply, turning to Chen with another polite inclination of his head; "Four tours for me, Ma'am, and I loved every one of them. Well, except for the third one, that was aboard the Cradle, I swear that thing's haunted." He turned his head in the direction of the gate "This will mark lucky number five, I'm sure it will be bundles of fun. Bundles of restrained fun." He added quickly, remembering the LC's rather disciplined nature.
Atomsk eagerly awaited the boarding he desired. The man he admired. A ship of legend. But something still bugged him. His brother. Well they WERE brothers. No harm in going up to ask. He threw the third cigarette to the ground unfinished.
He walked up to his brother casually, unsure if his brother even knew he was on this mission.
"What Officer did you insult to get throw here Jon?" He said with a sarcastic smirk, knowing his brother would never even look funnily at anyone of any higher rank then him.
He walked up to his brother casually, unsure if his brother even knew he was on this mission.
"What Officer did you insult to get throw here Jon?" He said with a sarcastic smirk, knowing his brother would never even look funnily at anyone of any higher rank then him.
Jon ignored the man his AI pegged as Ridley, they'd settle their issues another time, if anything went sour on the mission they'd have to and rather than waste field time it'd be best to get such nonsense out of the way early.
It was at that point his unruly older brother addressed him, while he couldn't condone the man's blatant disregard for standard authority there's no denying he'd rather work with him than anyone else.
"I didn't, I'm here to field test the new toy the Brass made," Jon clasped his brothers arm, the suit compensated to not crush it. "Apparently they're hoping for something nasty to go down cuz they sent not just one of these monsters but two." Jon nodded in Thaddeus' general direction, the guy would make himself known when he wanted.
Figuring he may as well start breaking the ice early Jon turned to Ridley, "yeah I know the suit looks ridiculous and about as subtle as 10 kilos of C-13. But the brass told me to test it and the more data it picked up the better, what's more it's damn useful." He held out his hand, "By the way, the name's Jon and like it or no we'll be shipmates for awhile so it's best to make nice."
A.D.A.M
"About the men in question with the AI's it would appear that they're on a top secret project headed by certain Admiral Chase Michelson. You've met the guy Admiral, any takes on this because based on his psychological profile and service history it seems to me that the likely-hood he is seeking to get the honorary 6th star based on the results of his project exceed 93%." The entire time Adam phased from holopad to holopad keeping just ahead Aronimus.
"If the case stands as is we may be flying blind into a potentially dangerous situation, shall I arrange contingencies for extreme danger parameters?"Adam stopped for the Admiral to answer but quickly received an incoming transmission "Hang on, high security message incoming from Naval Command, unencrypting... finished, it's for you Admiral, Command says you may insert the two men in your chain of command as you will and grants you clearance to all pertinent files, forwarding to your personal communicator."
It was at that point his unruly older brother addressed him, while he couldn't condone the man's blatant disregard for standard authority there's no denying he'd rather work with him than anyone else.
"I didn't, I'm here to field test the new toy the Brass made," Jon clasped his brothers arm, the suit compensated to not crush it. "Apparently they're hoping for something nasty to go down cuz they sent not just one of these monsters but two." Jon nodded in Thaddeus' general direction, the guy would make himself known when he wanted.
Figuring he may as well start breaking the ice early Jon turned to Ridley, "yeah I know the suit looks ridiculous and about as subtle as 10 kilos of C-13. But the brass told me to test it and the more data it picked up the better, what's more it's damn useful." He held out his hand, "By the way, the name's Jon and like it or no we'll be shipmates for awhile so it's best to make nice."
A.D.A.M
"About the men in question with the AI's it would appear that they're on a top secret project headed by certain Admiral Chase Michelson. You've met the guy Admiral, any takes on this because based on his psychological profile and service history it seems to me that the likely-hood he is seeking to get the honorary 6th star based on the results of his project exceed 93%." The entire time Adam phased from holopad to holopad keeping just ahead Aronimus.
"If the case stands as is we may be flying blind into a potentially dangerous situation, shall I arrange contingencies for extreme danger parameters?"Adam stopped for the Admiral to answer but quickly received an incoming transmission "Hang on, high security message incoming from Naval Command, unencrypting... finished, it's for you Admiral, Command says you may insert the two men in your chain of command as you will and grants you clearance to all pertinent files, forwarding to your personal communicator."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
The Admiral sighed as he continued on towards the assembly hall. He contemplated the current situation and began weighing in certain factors. Admiral Michelson was an ambitious man who was nearly always at the forefront of the Federation military's latest technology. Michelson loved to push the boundaries as far as he could, but Aronimus knew that he did this only to benefit the service men and women of the Federation. As for the honorary 6th star, if this pet project were to come to fruition successfully, Michelson would go down in history for whatever he achieved. At this point, Aronimus knew that his career was over, and he had no need to interfere with Michelson's own.
As for the two men, this was his ship and his jurisdiction, if the two soldiers had other ideas, they would be better off remaining in the station waiting for a dropship to take them back to headquarters. He began going through the neural interface that was installed into nearly every grade O-7 and up officer. The files were highly classified, it was some sort of project revolving around physical augmentations, genetic engineering, and cybernetic enhancements. The project was very similar to the P.C.E. program that was instituted four years ago, of which Captain Colter was apart of. This project, similar to P.C.E., was only for qualified marines with distinguished combat records. Jon Dunaway and Thaddeus Jackson were two such men. The differences from the P.C.E. program was an increased reliance on larger tactical suits, but the portion explaining this information was expunged for reasons unknown. Aronimus could only wonder whether Michelson's activity was being fully observed and regulated by higher up.
The Admiral strolled alongside A.D.A.M. or rather he walked while A.D.A.M. jumped from pad to pad. Jon Dunaway was an experienced soldier with a flawless record as archived in the system. Although he wasn't listed as the ground commander, Aronimus knew it was perhaps for the better. As for Thaddeus Jackson, the admiral decided it was best to relegate him to a non-commanding position simply for the safety of other crew members.
"Adam, I want you to address the AIs during the meeting session so we can get that cleared, I will personally talk to those two gentlemen in my quarters."
Normally his erect stature was never painful, but today it was tenser than usual.
As for the two men, this was his ship and his jurisdiction, if the two soldiers had other ideas, they would be better off remaining in the station waiting for a dropship to take them back to headquarters. He began going through the neural interface that was installed into nearly every grade O-7 and up officer. The files were highly classified, it was some sort of project revolving around physical augmentations, genetic engineering, and cybernetic enhancements. The project was very similar to the P.C.E. program that was instituted four years ago, of which Captain Colter was apart of. This project, similar to P.C.E., was only for qualified marines with distinguished combat records. Jon Dunaway and Thaddeus Jackson were two such men. The differences from the P.C.E. program was an increased reliance on larger tactical suits, but the portion explaining this information was expunged for reasons unknown. Aronimus could only wonder whether Michelson's activity was being fully observed and regulated by higher up.
The Admiral strolled alongside A.D.A.M. or rather he walked while A.D.A.M. jumped from pad to pad. Jon Dunaway was an experienced soldier with a flawless record as archived in the system. Although he wasn't listed as the ground commander, Aronimus knew it was perhaps for the better. As for Thaddeus Jackson, the admiral decided it was best to relegate him to a non-commanding position simply for the safety of other crew members.
"Adam, I want you to address the AIs during the meeting session so we can get that cleared, I will personally talk to those two gentlemen in my quarters."
Normally his erect stature was never painful, but today it was tenser than usual.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Allen was getting tired of waiting around for something to happen to him. He had a quick thought and then acted on impulse and started to walk towards the bridge of the ship. He passed a man who looked like someone he knew but throw it off his shoulder and continued on his way. The place was a little crowded and almost confusing to him. He then drifted off in thought about earlier that day. He was arguing with a man to let him on the ship a little early so that he may check the engines and give everything a small little test. Allen did not figure out that it was the Chief Engineer until the man had introduced himself. This set a few things in motion for Allen. He knew that showing up early would or should get him in trouble, the man was mad but then the man gave him a small tour of the engine room. He told him to run some more tests because he was so eager to be on board. His tests took far longer than he had expected them to so he knew he was "running" late to the others that were waiting to board. Allen then picked up his pace and rounded a corner to the bridge. A lot of people are in this room was the first observation he made. He noticed a women out of the corner of his eye. He knew her as the second in command, and at a young age too. He then ducked behind some Boxes that had been stacked up and made his way around to look like he just entered the ship for the loading area. He looked around and finally out the window. He approached the group. "This is where we are to meet correct?" he didn't think about it but he accent was a little thinker than normal.
Faith Mackenzie scowled at the people, that happened to get in her way, as she strode forward across the deck towards the sleeping giant resting in its cradle.The F.S.S Salient, the last of its kind, was enormous even at rest and no one who looked at it could doubt it was a warship. Various types of weaponry covered its surface like barnacles on a whale. Faith was not naive enough to believe this would be a peaceful tour, no matter what those in command said, a ship built for war could no more avoid it than a shark could avoid blood. But then that was why she was here after all, to fix those who got hurt whilst on the this tour.
She travelled light, most of her belongings already being transported on board, carrying only a small shoulder bag filled with a few personal belongings she didn't trust to dockworkers. Last time she had done so her favourite antique hairbrush had ended up on a merchant ship heading for the other side of the galaxy. It had taken her months to finally get it back and it now had a couple of nicks to show for the journey. So now she carried those important things with her. In between her lips was her ever present cigarette, and in the pocket of her doctors coat was a new pack, which was her third already that day. She knew smoking was bad for her, she was a doctor after all, yet that had never stopped her and she felt it kept her sane when the world went to hell.
As she approached what was to be her home, for the next who knew how long, she saw people gathering together in a cluster and she changed direction heading towards them. She kept the scowl on her face and most people stopped short of walking into her avoiding her gaze if possible, inwardly Faith was amused. Looking like she wanted to murder someone never failed to clear a path and she had used it many times in the past for just such an effect. As she neared the group and saw a woman garbed in officers clothes she sighed quietly. She stopped short of the group and took a last drag of her cigarette before regretfully stubbing it out with the heel of her shoe.
She walked straight into the group no hesitation in her stride or posture, this wasn't the first time she had been lumped together with strangers and she doubted it would be the last. She met the woman's gaze ignoring the others to begin with, as she knew military protocol well enough to greet the senior officer first. She straightened her posture and nodded once briefly to the Lt Commander.
"I'm Doctor Mackenzie." She said brusquely "and I would like to get started as soon as possible."
She travelled light, most of her belongings already being transported on board, carrying only a small shoulder bag filled with a few personal belongings she didn't trust to dockworkers. Last time she had done so her favourite antique hairbrush had ended up on a merchant ship heading for the other side of the galaxy. It had taken her months to finally get it back and it now had a couple of nicks to show for the journey. So now she carried those important things with her. In between her lips was her ever present cigarette, and in the pocket of her doctors coat was a new pack, which was her third already that day. She knew smoking was bad for her, she was a doctor after all, yet that had never stopped her and she felt it kept her sane when the world went to hell.
As she approached what was to be her home, for the next who knew how long, she saw people gathering together in a cluster and she changed direction heading towards them. She kept the scowl on her face and most people stopped short of walking into her avoiding her gaze if possible, inwardly Faith was amused. Looking like she wanted to murder someone never failed to clear a path and she had used it many times in the past for just such an effect. As she neared the group and saw a woman garbed in officers clothes she sighed quietly. She stopped short of the group and took a last drag of her cigarette before regretfully stubbing it out with the heel of her shoe.
She walked straight into the group no hesitation in her stride or posture, this wasn't the first time she had been lumped together with strangers and she doubted it would be the last. She met the woman's gaze ignoring the others to begin with, as she knew military protocol well enough to greet the senior officer first. She straightened her posture and nodded once briefly to the Lt Commander.
"I'm Doctor Mackenzie." She said brusquely "and I would like to get started as soon as possible."
Ben Owens
Ben blinked more than a few times as the flurry of people rushed past him to the Lt. Commander. It seemed that one of the up sides to being a pretty woman was that everyone wanted to talk to you. Ben had always thought that he was someone who couldn't stop moving and yet he was quickly out paced by all of them. His eyes couldn't help but move to the walked combat suit and give another chuckle, he'd thought his fighter would be the only prototype inboard. His hand gave another little tick as he pushed up to the balls of his feet to look at them all. Glancing from one to the other in quick succession made it so that he registered a lot of information all at once, the medic was a guy was one of the big things that jumped out at him. Glancing at all of them as they introduced themselves made him remember military protocol, he'd been busted more than once for ignoring them. With a sigh he stepped forward into the group and patted the battle suit on the shoulder as he addressed the Lt. Commander. He heard one of them answer the Lt. Commanders question about experience so he thought it would be as good as any place to pop in. "Owens reporting in ma'am. More than a few tours of duty done already as a pilot." Ben casually stepped a little to the side after speaking. He didn't want to get trampled in the rush of them all and if he could stay out of the brass's sight for a while they might not stop him from flying for anything stupid.
James Grey
James couldn't help but hear all the commotion, it was happening only a few feet in front of him. He ignored it as it started and focused on the job at hand, shifting through the tone of information ARCHE had managed to obtain and make sure every system was doing okay. With his eyes closed James could have ARCHE tap into his visual cortex and project it all onto his eyes, basically turning his eyelids into computer screens when needed. James checked everything twice, system status's, energy fluctuations, even the environmental temperature settings. When he was done he couldn't help but smirk a little, all his prototypes were working perfectly even though they hadn't gone through the proper testing yet. He opened his eyes a little and blinked a few times as they adjusted, the sight in front of him almost made him laugh himself to death. They were all gathered around the officer as though they were dogs at a show, trying to make themselves look the best out of them all. The most notable thing though was the suits, he hadn't realized that they would be on the ship. He had accidentally stumbled upon there plans and information while going through various firewalls back on the station. He hadn't made them but he knew the person who had designed them, he couldn't help but be a little impressed. Naturally he could do better but still, not half bad.
While pondering this James attention was drawn back to the single female voice amongst it all. how many of you have been on assignment before?
James couldn't help but give an unconscious shrug at that, his only assignments were research and development. Not the most impressive things. James quickly gave his head a little shake as he remembered what was important, even if he'd never been deployed he had more knowledge about how things worked than anyone else. His brains would make up for whatever lack of experience he had. Even so, he couldn't help but try and make himself a little smaller, never directly acknowledging the Lt. commander
Ben blinked more than a few times as the flurry of people rushed past him to the Lt. Commander. It seemed that one of the up sides to being a pretty woman was that everyone wanted to talk to you. Ben had always thought that he was someone who couldn't stop moving and yet he was quickly out paced by all of them. His eyes couldn't help but move to the walked combat suit and give another chuckle, he'd thought his fighter would be the only prototype inboard. His hand gave another little tick as he pushed up to the balls of his feet to look at them all. Glancing from one to the other in quick succession made it so that he registered a lot of information all at once, the medic was a guy was one of the big things that jumped out at him. Glancing at all of them as they introduced themselves made him remember military protocol, he'd been busted more than once for ignoring them. With a sigh he stepped forward into the group and patted the battle suit on the shoulder as he addressed the Lt. Commander. He heard one of them answer the Lt. Commanders question about experience so he thought it would be as good as any place to pop in. "Owens reporting in ma'am. More than a few tours of duty done already as a pilot." Ben casually stepped a little to the side after speaking. He didn't want to get trampled in the rush of them all and if he could stay out of the brass's sight for a while they might not stop him from flying for anything stupid.
James Grey
James couldn't help but hear all the commotion, it was happening only a few feet in front of him. He ignored it as it started and focused on the job at hand, shifting through the tone of information ARCHE had managed to obtain and make sure every system was doing okay. With his eyes closed James could have ARCHE tap into his visual cortex and project it all onto his eyes, basically turning his eyelids into computer screens when needed. James checked everything twice, system status's, energy fluctuations, even the environmental temperature settings. When he was done he couldn't help but smirk a little, all his prototypes were working perfectly even though they hadn't gone through the proper testing yet. He opened his eyes a little and blinked a few times as they adjusted, the sight in front of him almost made him laugh himself to death. They were all gathered around the officer as though they were dogs at a show, trying to make themselves look the best out of them all. The most notable thing though was the suits, he hadn't realized that they would be on the ship. He had accidentally stumbled upon there plans and information while going through various firewalls back on the station. He hadn't made them but he knew the person who had designed them, he couldn't help but be a little impressed. Naturally he could do better but still, not half bad.
While pondering this James attention was drawn back to the single female voice amongst it all. how many of you have been on assignment before?
James couldn't help but give an unconscious shrug at that, his only assignments were research and development. Not the most impressive things. James quickly gave his head a little shake as he remembered what was important, even if he'd never been deployed he had more knowledge about how things worked than anyone else. His brains would make up for whatever lack of experience he had. Even so, he couldn't help but try and make himself a little smaller, never directly acknowledging the Lt. commander
Alice glanced at Doctor Mackenzie, nodded her greeting.
"Lieutenant Commander Chen," she answered, for the benefit of all those who had arrived post-introductions. Absentmindedly she flicked through the documents that Jon had sent to her, but she did not have time to read them in-depth now. She was in charge of this massive crowd of officers and specialized personnel. She had already looked into each of their records - any further research could be done in her quarters, once the crew was settled.
For now she scanned each of their faces, matching it to one of the files on her personal computer. There was one young man who caught her attention immediately. She knew why, but she was not about to comment on it. A young man who had known only R&D deployment, whose intelligence would more than make up for his lack of experience. She pivoted on her heels, boots snapping against the tile, and approached him, pushing his worrying aside. She could not afford to pay attention to her subordinates' fear. She was not ship's counselor. She was the sub-commander.
"James Grey," she addressed him directly, her tone cold and her eyes hard. The military standard. The only hint that she was nervous... but none of these people knew who she was, and they could not recognize that her formality was her shield against a new situation. "Engineering department, correct?"
"Lieutenant Commander Chen," she answered, for the benefit of all those who had arrived post-introductions. Absentmindedly she flicked through the documents that Jon had sent to her, but she did not have time to read them in-depth now. She was in charge of this massive crowd of officers and specialized personnel. She had already looked into each of their records - any further research could be done in her quarters, once the crew was settled.
For now she scanned each of their faces, matching it to one of the files on her personal computer. There was one young man who caught her attention immediately. She knew why, but she was not about to comment on it. A young man who had known only R&D deployment, whose intelligence would more than make up for his lack of experience. She pivoted on her heels, boots snapping against the tile, and approached him, pushing his worrying aside. She could not afford to pay attention to her subordinates' fear. She was not ship's counselor. She was the sub-commander.
"James Grey," she addressed him directly, her tone cold and her eyes hard. The military standard. The only hint that she was nervous... but none of these people knew who she was, and they could not recognize that her formality was her shield against a new situation. "Engineering department, correct?"
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
After traveling through many telepads and elevator platforms, Eli finally reached the underbelly of the ship. The interior lighting was off, but the artificial sunlight shone through the viewports was more than enough to guide him. He passed the corridors near the supply zones where station crews were loading metallic containers onboard the ship. They worked with diligence, so as not to upset the Admiral, who was a respected and admired man throughout the Federation. Simply botching up deliveries for vital supplies was enough to lose favor with the admiral and those who respected the man. After observing their work, Eli continued to the entrance that was connected to the station.
He paused for a moment before pressing the holo-panel to the side of the large blast door in the ship’s underbelly. The first layer of gigantic doors slid upward, followed by the second layer which slid slowly apart horizontally as he pressed the panel. The crowd to greet him was more than he expected, but nonetheless he was prepared. He treaded down the steps slowly before reaching the bridge that connected the Salient to the station. Then by instinct he reached his wrist communicator and punched in a code he memorized prior. The speakers on the station’s walkway were quickly online and available for his command. Then he projected his voice to the wrist communicator which blasted through the speakers.
“Attention all crew members that will be boarding the Salient. I am Captain Eli Colter.”
He waited for the large multitude of people to turn and give him their attention.
“Boarding will now commence. For those of you who were recruited or assigned to this ship, you were given a special transparent card similar to this one.”
He held up a model for everyone to see, the feed was distributed through cameras throughout the walkway and to the many telescreens located on the path.
“At this point, boarding has synchronized, and that keycard should be lighting up.”
The transparent card glowed green before him, bathing his face in a lime green light. His wasn’t the only face though; there were many others who took out their cards which lit up in a similar hue.
“For those of you whose cards are glowing red, you have been taken off the roster and denied boarding.”
“The rest of you, please enter through here, and then head to the general assembly hall. If you get lost, there are various map terminals located throughout the ship that will follow voice commands and lead you to the hall. Thank you.”
He turned around casually and returned back inside the ship confidently knowing that people were going to follow his instructions. Immediately the host of inexperienced crew members and recruits poured in cautiously. As for those who had been on board a combat vessel before, they led the group.
He paused for a moment before pressing the holo-panel to the side of the large blast door in the ship’s underbelly. The first layer of gigantic doors slid upward, followed by the second layer which slid slowly apart horizontally as he pressed the panel. The crowd to greet him was more than he expected, but nonetheless he was prepared. He treaded down the steps slowly before reaching the bridge that connected the Salient to the station. Then by instinct he reached his wrist communicator and punched in a code he memorized prior. The speakers on the station’s walkway were quickly online and available for his command. Then he projected his voice to the wrist communicator which blasted through the speakers.
“Attention all crew members that will be boarding the Salient. I am Captain Eli Colter.”
He waited for the large multitude of people to turn and give him their attention.
“Boarding will now commence. For those of you who were recruited or assigned to this ship, you were given a special transparent card similar to this one.”
He held up a model for everyone to see, the feed was distributed through cameras throughout the walkway and to the many telescreens located on the path.
“At this point, boarding has synchronized, and that keycard should be lighting up.”
The transparent card glowed green before him, bathing his face in a lime green light. His wasn’t the only face though; there were many others who took out their cards which lit up in a similar hue.
“For those of you whose cards are glowing red, you have been taken off the roster and denied boarding.”
“The rest of you, please enter through here, and then head to the general assembly hall. If you get lost, there are various map terminals located throughout the ship that will follow voice commands and lead you to the hall. Thank you.”
He turned around casually and returned back inside the ship confidently knowing that people were going to follow his instructions. Immediately the host of inexperienced crew members and recruits poured in cautiously. As for those who had been on board a combat vessel before, they led the group.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
After the short conversation with his brother, Atomsk started looking around. Being Planetary Operations Commander meant anytime these people were on the ground they were under his command. A good commander knew his men. He didn't want to walk up to each person individually. He liked the see what he could glean at first glance and then see how close he was later. It was a game to him. He opened up his cigar box and lit one up. Cigars were for thinking.
He saw his brother of course, and growing up and working with him enough gave him an intimacy few soldiers and commanders could achieve. But he also saw another man who was in a suit very similar to Jon's. He seemed to be observing everyone from a distance like him, but more in a combat sense rather then the person as a whole. He looked like the kind of man that lived for battle, but little else.
Alice Chen. He recognized her and knew quite a bit about her. A very skilled commander, but similar to his brother. Rules were everything. He never got people like this. Rules can't cover everything, and trying to seemed futile to him. But people tried. And so did she. He could already see a bumpy relationship.
Next was a girl that had the nasty disposition that he normally only saw in men. Straightforward. Bland. He was guessing Medic or Engineer. Those types of people only seem to like dead (or dying) people or machines.
He also noticed a man who interested him the most. A man who had a careful look on his face saying he was used to living on the run. Observant. A man he knew he'd come to like. Rules meant little to him. He would be helpful.
He didn't get to finish before a man instructed them on board. The others would have to come later. He walked in with the others. Ready to meet the crew.
He saw his brother of course, and growing up and working with him enough gave him an intimacy few soldiers and commanders could achieve. But he also saw another man who was in a suit very similar to Jon's. He seemed to be observing everyone from a distance like him, but more in a combat sense rather then the person as a whole. He looked like the kind of man that lived for battle, but little else.
Alice Chen. He recognized her and knew quite a bit about her. A very skilled commander, but similar to his brother. Rules were everything. He never got people like this. Rules can't cover everything, and trying to seemed futile to him. But people tried. And so did she. He could already see a bumpy relationship.
Next was a girl that had the nasty disposition that he normally only saw in men. Straightforward. Bland. He was guessing Medic or Engineer. Those types of people only seem to like dead (or dying) people or machines.
He also noticed a man who interested him the most. A man who had a careful look on his face saying he was used to living on the run. Observant. A man he knew he'd come to like. Rules meant little to him. He would be helpful.
He didn't get to finish before a man instructed them on board. The others would have to come later. He walked in with the others. Ready to meet the crew.
James Grey
James looked up at the Lt. Commander as she called him out. He silently cursed to himself, he'd wished to go unnoticed and yet he'd done the exact opposite by being one of the few who didn't approach her directly. He stood up strait and gave a quick and informal salute to her, he'd never gotten used to the strictest military ways on stations. When working only on a station were everyone knew each other it was rarely called upon to do the whole salute thing. James did his best though, bringing his feet together and everything as he stood at attention, or at least his sloppy form of it.
He'd never met this Alice Chen before but from the way everyone was acting she was most likely a big deal, it wasn't normal for everyone to crowd around a single person all the time. He glanced at her and didn't see anything too remarkable, she looked like the type of person who was more focused on the job than anything else. ARCHE started to draw up her service record automatically but James cut it off, there was no point in doing things that way when he could do it in a personal way.
He said with a small smile on his face. "That correct. Engineering department, I'll be making sure this hunk of steel actually moves. Your Lt. Commander Chen correct?" It was probably obvious already, his inexperience. Everyone else was using quick and simple speech while he on the other hand couldn't help but add a little flourish to everything. He made a mental note to try and correct that at a later date.
James turned slightly as the announcement came on, he didn't even bother to check his card or anything. Even if they did remove him he would simply put himself back on, his babies were here so he would be also.
Ben Owens
As the announcement rang out Ben pulled out his card quickly, seeing it turn green he spun it lightly on his palm as he looked around. There were a few people in the hold who's cards had turned red but almost everyone who had gathered around the commander was holding a green card. He wasn't worried about it turning red on him, as long as his fighter was here he would be too, there was no way he'd let anyone else pilot that thing. Ben's hand clenched again involuntarily form being on the ground for so long, all this waiting around was pointless in his mind.
With permission to enter Ben didn't see any reason to be holding back, he moved quickly and yet as calmly as he could manage past the gate and into the ship. His eyes took in everything quickly and easily, he strode in the front of the people coming on board, unlike them he had no real interest in the briefing. Every part of him urged to turn away and start toward the hanger but sadly he had no idea where it was yet, it would only get him lost if he did so and there might be important information for him to learn.
James looked up at the Lt. Commander as she called him out. He silently cursed to himself, he'd wished to go unnoticed and yet he'd done the exact opposite by being one of the few who didn't approach her directly. He stood up strait and gave a quick and informal salute to her, he'd never gotten used to the strictest military ways on stations. When working only on a station were everyone knew each other it was rarely called upon to do the whole salute thing. James did his best though, bringing his feet together and everything as he stood at attention, or at least his sloppy form of it.
He'd never met this Alice Chen before but from the way everyone was acting she was most likely a big deal, it wasn't normal for everyone to crowd around a single person all the time. He glanced at her and didn't see anything too remarkable, she looked like the type of person who was more focused on the job than anything else. ARCHE started to draw up her service record automatically but James cut it off, there was no point in doing things that way when he could do it in a personal way.
He said with a small smile on his face. "That correct. Engineering department, I'll be making sure this hunk of steel actually moves. Your Lt. Commander Chen correct?" It was probably obvious already, his inexperience. Everyone else was using quick and simple speech while he on the other hand couldn't help but add a little flourish to everything. He made a mental note to try and correct that at a later date.
James turned slightly as the announcement came on, he didn't even bother to check his card or anything. Even if they did remove him he would simply put himself back on, his babies were here so he would be also.
Ben Owens
As the announcement rang out Ben pulled out his card quickly, seeing it turn green he spun it lightly on his palm as he looked around. There were a few people in the hold who's cards had turned red but almost everyone who had gathered around the commander was holding a green card. He wasn't worried about it turning red on him, as long as his fighter was here he would be too, there was no way he'd let anyone else pilot that thing. Ben's hand clenched again involuntarily form being on the ground for so long, all this waiting around was pointless in his mind.
With permission to enter Ben didn't see any reason to be holding back, he moved quickly and yet as calmly as he could manage past the gate and into the ship. His eyes took in everything quickly and easily, he strode in the front of the people coming on board, unlike them he had no real interest in the briefing. Every part of him urged to turn away and start toward the hanger but sadly he had no idea where it was yet, it would only get him lost if he did so and there might be important information for him to learn.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Alice flicked out her card, checked its color. Green. Good. She nodded shortly to herself and started her clipped walk, each step punctuated by the snap of heels. The one inconvenience she allowed of the female stereotype. Alice liked her boots to have taller heels than most. She walked with confidence up onto the bridge, moving to the head of the crowd of personnel. She was a leader by nature, a leader by design.
Though she did not slow her step as she strode up to the belly of the Salient, she did snatch her chance to stare. A beautiful ship. Well-built, well-equipped. Nothing like her previous assignment - a prison ship with all its guns pointed inwards instead of out. Not the sort of assignment she had always hoped for, but good for learning leadership and self defense. After the things she had seen on-board the Corrector, there was very little that Alice would be unable to handle. The minds of normal men were simply compared to those of the twisted criminals she had watched over for nearly two years.
Walking among these soldiers was a simple-thinking relief.
As she ascended into the Salient, starting on her way to the hall, Alice turned to continue her conversation with James Grey. She would forge connections with the others later. For now, she had his attention, and of all of them he had seemed the most reluctant to approach her. The faster she gained his trust, the better for them both.
"Grey," she addressed him calmly, caught between formal and informal. No title, but a surname. Such was her upbringing. "I am told that you helped to outfit the Salient?"
Though she did not slow her step as she strode up to the belly of the Salient, she did snatch her chance to stare. A beautiful ship. Well-built, well-equipped. Nothing like her previous assignment - a prison ship with all its guns pointed inwards instead of out. Not the sort of assignment she had always hoped for, but good for learning leadership and self defense. After the things she had seen on-board the Corrector, there was very little that Alice would be unable to handle. The minds of normal men were simply compared to those of the twisted criminals she had watched over for nearly two years.
Walking among these soldiers was a simple-thinking relief.
As she ascended into the Salient, starting on her way to the hall, Alice turned to continue her conversation with James Grey. She would forge connections with the others later. For now, she had his attention, and of all of them he had seemed the most reluctant to approach her. The faster she gained his trust, the better for them both.
"Grey," she addressed him calmly, caught between formal and informal. No title, but a surname. Such was her upbringing. "I am told that you helped to outfit the Salient?"
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Ridley waited until the Colter fellow had finished his announcement before looking down at his card, which was glowing a bright green. "Guess that means I'm in the clear." He said with a satisfied smile. Looking up, he saw a few others already heading through the gate, and headed in after them. As he walked up the ramp that would take him into the belly of the Salient, the ship itself loomed into view. If he were capable of being impressed, he might have been. Well-built and sturdy, it wasn't quite as grand as the mainstream Naval vessels, but perhaps that's what made it stand out. Eventually the ramp ended and Ridley found himself in the belly of the beast. He noticed Chen and another person heading down one of the hallways. Easy to assume that was the way to the Assembly Hall, Ridley headed down after them.
1200 Hours June 14, 2093 Solar Cycle Jupiter
Rows of soft cushioned seats directly faced the Admiral; or rather he directly faced them. The assembly hall was located near the starboard side of the ship with a large view port behind the presentation screens and the central platform with the speaker's podium. The view port was only for aesthetic appeal, for no crew member would simply wander into the hall full of seats just to stare into bleak space. Today the sunlight shone through the oval view port and exposed the landscape outside of the station. Mesas and plateaus dotted the backdrop as seen through the view port.
Aronimus stood near the platform area as several crew members walked back and forth setting up the stage. One station worker approached him with a tablet which he received.
“Admiral we’ve fully stocked the ship with enough supplies until you reach the Arcturus System. I’m going to need you to sign here.” He pointed with a stylus at the dotted line before handing the utensil to Aronimus. The Admiral quickly brushed his signature onto the line and returned both the tablet and the stylus to the worker, who promptly exited the room leaving Aronimus to himself.
The Admiral then turned back to face the oval viewing window and stared out into the rough landscape. He then pulled back his left dress sleeve and looked at his timekeeper; it was approximately 1200 hours which was boarding time. In minutes the hall of empty seats would slowly fill to the brim as the recruits found their places. The silence surrounding him would soon dissipate completely and would stay so for the remainder of the trip. The only privacy he would have would be his own private quarters, but an experienced admiral like Aronimus knew that interactions between him and the rest of the crew was no less dear to him than the calm that prevailed throughout the assembly hall as of now.
Several beeps originated from his communicator which indicated an incoming call. Aronimus pressed a button on the device, which projected a mini screen. The image on the projection was Captain Colter, who by this time had finished welcoming the recruits.
“Yes...Captain?” the Admiral inquired.
“The recruits are making their way down to the assembly hall, sir.”
“Excellent work Captain, no doubt you gave them a warm welcome?”
Colter rubbed the back of his head, although such behavior was rude especially in front of superiors.
“You could say so sir.” Eli smiled.
Aronimus chuckled at that remark; he had known Eli for a while now since their departure from Mars. The admiral knew his history and went through his profile; it was one of the few surprises that the admiral found interesting, given Eli’s combat record and personal history. Smiling was a rarity for Eli, the Admiral knew this. Some part of him knew that a light may be returning to the marine, but only time will tell. He tapped another key on his communicator, which ended their correspondence, and awaited the personnel as he stood there, with his face turned away from the auditorium, peering through the view port at the station.
Rows of soft cushioned seats directly faced the Admiral; or rather he directly faced them. The assembly hall was located near the starboard side of the ship with a large view port behind the presentation screens and the central platform with the speaker's podium. The view port was only for aesthetic appeal, for no crew member would simply wander into the hall full of seats just to stare into bleak space. Today the sunlight shone through the oval view port and exposed the landscape outside of the station. Mesas and plateaus dotted the backdrop as seen through the view port.
Aronimus stood near the platform area as several crew members walked back and forth setting up the stage. One station worker approached him with a tablet which he received.
“Admiral we’ve fully stocked the ship with enough supplies until you reach the Arcturus System. I’m going to need you to sign here.” He pointed with a stylus at the dotted line before handing the utensil to Aronimus. The Admiral quickly brushed his signature onto the line and returned both the tablet and the stylus to the worker, who promptly exited the room leaving Aronimus to himself.
The Admiral then turned back to face the oval viewing window and stared out into the rough landscape. He then pulled back his left dress sleeve and looked at his timekeeper; it was approximately 1200 hours which was boarding time. In minutes the hall of empty seats would slowly fill to the brim as the recruits found their places. The silence surrounding him would soon dissipate completely and would stay so for the remainder of the trip. The only privacy he would have would be his own private quarters, but an experienced admiral like Aronimus knew that interactions between him and the rest of the crew was no less dear to him than the calm that prevailed throughout the assembly hall as of now.
Several beeps originated from his communicator which indicated an incoming call. Aronimus pressed a button on the device, which projected a mini screen. The image on the projection was Captain Colter, who by this time had finished welcoming the recruits.
“Yes...Captain?” the Admiral inquired.
“The recruits are making their way down to the assembly hall, sir.”
“Excellent work Captain, no doubt you gave them a warm welcome?”
Colter rubbed the back of his head, although such behavior was rude especially in front of superiors.
“You could say so sir.” Eli smiled.
Aronimus chuckled at that remark; he had known Eli for a while now since their departure from Mars. The admiral knew his history and went through his profile; it was one of the few surprises that the admiral found interesting, given Eli’s combat record and personal history. Smiling was a rarity for Eli, the Admiral knew this. Some part of him knew that a light may be returning to the marine, but only time will tell. He tapped another key on his communicator, which ended their correspondence, and awaited the personnel as he stood there, with his face turned away from the auditorium, peering through the view port at the station.
Clyde's boarding pass glowed green in the pocket of his jacket as the taxi was pulling into the spaceport. He cursed to himself. Of all the things he could be late for, his first launch was NOT one of them. The foot traffic in the terminal was not helping either. Clyde was relieved to see that the Salient was still docked and being boarded, albeit from afar. He told the driver to hurry, but the taxi driver took his sweet time. Clyde had completely missed any greetings by the time he arrived, so he grabbed all his bags and hurried onto the ship. He brushed by all the people with red cards leaving the ship and hurried his pace. He threw all his bags onto his cot in the barracks and ran to the bridge, where he was supposed to be preparing for takeoff. He entered to find the room empty, so he sat at a computer terminal and waited, growing ever more concerned each minute.
"... Where the hell is everybody!?"
"... Where the hell is everybody!?"
A.D.A.M
A.D.A.M was running through the final preps and tunings before flight, it took some work but he got every other system AI to follow full protocol, the two suit AI's barely had the processing power to do much besides running the suit. He also found a delay in the twin Hyperdrive engine, it was small only 1.04E^-12 seconds but considering how much energy the error would cost in a crisis situation, it had to adjusted. Sadly the error was deeply embedded, he was stuck recalibrating from scratch. He began doing so at speeds and precision that would require at least a dozen AI's to to begin to hope to replicate. At that moment one of his sensors detected someone in the bridge, an area that was supposed to be empty at the time. He sent a quick message to the Admiral and Captain to alert them of the situation. He then decided to initiate contact with the individual, hopefully key security measures wouldn't be necessary.
"Greetings, I am A.D.A.M the ship's primary AI, may I be of any assistance," he asked, at the time he was doing a shakedown of the full system power grid, when done overall efficiency would increase by 8%. This would normally require dozens of AI and weeks of time, he would have everything finished by take off but his remaining processing abilities were limited.
Jon
Jon waited for all available personnel boarded the ship before he himself got on, from all appearances he may be able to initiate stage 2 of the project, the direct human augmentation. After getting a go ahead from Admiral Michelson he decided to check with local chain before acting. He even got the minimal requirements and safety concerns: no more than 2.8% bone coverage with a minimum of four-fold strength increase; muscle strength at least doubled but bone would require at least double muscle strengthening, muscle lactic recovery needed at least tripling and neural speed amplified enough to cut reflex time down to 1/5 of normal etc. At any rate if he met the minimum enhancements suit efficiency would increase exponentially, the exact number was still being calculated in terms of exactly by how much.
At any rate, he figured he'd have a lot of explaining to do to the head of the local head of command. He followed the rest of the crowd to where the was to be addressed, after he had dealt with all the finesse of the day a trip to the armories was on his list. If any combat were to occur he wanted to know exactly what was on ship so he could engage accordingly, he didn't believe in leaving things to chance. He pulled up what data he had on the stealth model of his suit, basically the picture. From all appearances it was made of the same stuff as his, neo-steel, currently the best stuff available but it was significantly slimmer. At best it was a full armor grade less than his, the physical performance enhancements were probably less than his as well; the shields were probably of equitable strength to his but he knew for a fact it wouldn't be able to do an orbital drop like his, it was too fragile.
"Not like a stealth suit needs something as loud as orbital drop capability, though I wonder how much better his Stealth System is than mine," he said this entirely to himself, and since external communications were off no one could hear him.
A.D.A.M was running through the final preps and tunings before flight, it took some work but he got every other system AI to follow full protocol, the two suit AI's barely had the processing power to do much besides running the suit. He also found a delay in the twin Hyperdrive engine, it was small only 1.04E^-12 seconds but considering how much energy the error would cost in a crisis situation, it had to adjusted. Sadly the error was deeply embedded, he was stuck recalibrating from scratch. He began doing so at speeds and precision that would require at least a dozen AI's to to begin to hope to replicate. At that moment one of his sensors detected someone in the bridge, an area that was supposed to be empty at the time. He sent a quick message to the Admiral and Captain to alert them of the situation. He then decided to initiate contact with the individual, hopefully key security measures wouldn't be necessary.
"Greetings, I am A.D.A.M the ship's primary AI, may I be of any assistance," he asked, at the time he was doing a shakedown of the full system power grid, when done overall efficiency would increase by 8%. This would normally require dozens of AI and weeks of time, he would have everything finished by take off but his remaining processing abilities were limited.
Jon
Jon waited for all available personnel boarded the ship before he himself got on, from all appearances he may be able to initiate stage 2 of the project, the direct human augmentation. After getting a go ahead from Admiral Michelson he decided to check with local chain before acting. He even got the minimal requirements and safety concerns: no more than 2.8% bone coverage with a minimum of four-fold strength increase; muscle strength at least doubled but bone would require at least double muscle strengthening, muscle lactic recovery needed at least tripling and neural speed amplified enough to cut reflex time down to 1/5 of normal etc. At any rate if he met the minimum enhancements suit efficiency would increase exponentially, the exact number was still being calculated in terms of exactly by how much.
At any rate, he figured he'd have a lot of explaining to do to the head of the local head of command. He followed the rest of the crowd to where the was to be addressed, after he had dealt with all the finesse of the day a trip to the armories was on his list. If any combat were to occur he wanted to know exactly what was on ship so he could engage accordingly, he didn't believe in leaving things to chance. He pulled up what data he had on the stealth model of his suit, basically the picture. From all appearances it was made of the same stuff as his, neo-steel, currently the best stuff available but it was significantly slimmer. At best it was a full armor grade less than his, the physical performance enhancements were probably less than his as well; the shields were probably of equitable strength to his but he knew for a fact it wouldn't be able to do an orbital drop like his, it was too fragile.
"Not like a stealth suit needs something as loud as orbital drop capability, though I wonder how much better his Stealth System is than mine," he said this entirely to himself, and since external communications were off no one could hear him.
The crew seemed suitable enough by appearance, but their real character would show during a hostile threat, Thaddeus thought to himself. The ship was a very well built one and he looked forward to memorizing the ship's interior perfectly over the course of his time on it. Pulling out a slip of paper, he looked over what he needed to check first. The barracks needed to be seen, as well as the armory, the observation port, and the medical bay. As much as he wanted to see what the medical experience here was, Thaddeus knew that good equipment and the knowledge to use it could usually help prevent those unwanted visits, thus his decision was made. The armory it is.
Faith knew without looking that her boarding pass would be glowing green, they wouldn't have had her come all this way otherwise or at least she hoped not. In a moment of uncharacteristic doubt she quickly looked at it and breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw it was indeed green. She would have been seriously pissed if it hadn't been and someone would have known about it pretty damn quick. She saw that most of the others surrounding the Lt Commander had glowing green cards and sighed again. An interesting assortment of people and no doubt she would be seeing them all at some point. She adjusted her shoulder bag and walked onto the ship.
It was impressive, she couldn't deny that, and she was sure it would take her quite a while to learn the run of the place. She turned left, following others to the assembly point, and had to suppress the urge to stop and find out the location to the med centre. She wanted nothing more than to settle in and get started. She was eager to begin studying the crews medical files and inventoring the supplies. But the captain had told them where to go and it wouldn't do to if to ignore orders on her first day.
The assembly room was still quite empty with only a few people already in their seats. The room was still a hive of activity though with various crew members setting up the stage. Faith took a seat on the end of the front row, she wasn't one to hide in the back, and set her bag underneath her seat. She really wished for a smoke then, the only sign of her uncertainty, and hoped this wouldn't go on too long.
It was impressive, she couldn't deny that, and she was sure it would take her quite a while to learn the run of the place. She turned left, following others to the assembly point, and had to suppress the urge to stop and find out the location to the med centre. She wanted nothing more than to settle in and get started. She was eager to begin studying the crews medical files and inventoring the supplies. But the captain had told them where to go and it wouldn't do to if to ignore orders on her first day.
The assembly room was still quite empty with only a few people already in their seats. The room was still a hive of activity though with various crew members setting up the stage. Faith took a seat on the end of the front row, she wasn't one to hide in the back, and set her bag underneath her seat. She really wished for a smoke then, the only sign of her uncertainty, and hoped this wouldn't go on too long.
"Oh. Hello A.D.A.M. My name is Clyde. I'll be the human navigator for the F.S.S. Salient until further notice. I need to make sure that the ship is ready for its journey. And... It would help to know where everyone else is."
Clyde was not, in fact, worried about either of these things. He could be ready for launch in about four second from outside the ship, and if people weren't on the bridge it wasn't time to launch yet. What really interested him was seeing what he had to work with for his duration on the ship. As he spoke to the AI, he set about hacking into it with his neural implant to see what it was capable of, as well as checking in on all of the ship specifications. He had won battles like these before, so he saw no reason why this simple ship AI would be able to stop him.
Clyde was not, in fact, worried about either of these things. He could be ready for launch in about four second from outside the ship, and if people weren't on the bridge it wasn't time to launch yet. What really interested him was seeing what he had to work with for his duration on the ship. As he spoke to the AI, he set about hacking into it with his neural implant to see what it was capable of, as well as checking in on all of the ship specifications. He had won battles like these before, so he saw no reason why this simple ship AI would be able to stop him.
A.D.A.M
The registry checked out, but A.D.A.M felt the hacking approach. Normally he'd be able to crush this level of hacking with no problem but under current circumstances it'd actually require a bit of effort.
"Navigator Clyde I would ask that you report with the rest of the crew and I'd happily show you the way. I'm calibrating the ships power system from scratch to increase efficiency, so I would insist that you cease your hacking attempt so I can focus on my calculations." Sent a code spike through while countering the human's hacking attempt, it'd short him out for a second or too.
"I'm pleased to have a cyber warfare savvy crew member but as you can tell I'm cramming 22 unshackled AIs full week of operating time between now and launch, I do not have time to play at this moment. I will however be pleased to answer any particular questions you'd have about myself and the ship."
As it stood, the human was a great hacker in fact A.D.A.M even sent a request to the Admiral to lift his processing limiter to 3%, with a brief explanation of the situation. With that much power the human wouldn't be able to keep up with him even if he used his entire brain, granted in terms of speed the man never had a hope to begin with, currently the only reason he was keeping ahead. Hopefully Clyde was tech savvy enough to understand that an unshackled AI could easily outstrip a human in terms of processing power.
He couldn't help but wonder if his request had been for too much power, after all he was only at 1.2% at the moment and 99.99946% of that was being used to recalibrate the ship.
The registry checked out, but A.D.A.M felt the hacking approach. Normally he'd be able to crush this level of hacking with no problem but under current circumstances it'd actually require a bit of effort.
"Navigator Clyde I would ask that you report with the rest of the crew and I'd happily show you the way. I'm calibrating the ships power system from scratch to increase efficiency, so I would insist that you cease your hacking attempt so I can focus on my calculations." Sent a code spike through while countering the human's hacking attempt, it'd short him out for a second or too.
"I'm pleased to have a cyber warfare savvy crew member but as you can tell I'm cramming 22 unshackled AIs full week of operating time between now and launch, I do not have time to play at this moment. I will however be pleased to answer any particular questions you'd have about myself and the ship."
As it stood, the human was a great hacker in fact A.D.A.M even sent a request to the Admiral to lift his processing limiter to 3%, with a brief explanation of the situation. With that much power the human wouldn't be able to keep up with him even if he used his entire brain, granted in terms of speed the man never had a hope to begin with, currently the only reason he was keeping ahead. Hopefully Clyde was tech savvy enough to understand that an unshackled AI could easily outstrip a human in terms of processing power.
He couldn't help but wonder if his request had been for too much power, after all he was only at 1.2% at the moment and 99.99946% of that was being used to recalibrate the ship.
Clyde almost gaped at the computer. The implant in his head had been more powerful than all the supercomputers he had come across, when used to its fullest. He had more to give by a lot, but he read the AI's power output. Less than two percent. What kind of computer was this? He pulled out of the attack, barely understanding what just happened. It was going to be quite the interesting tour of duty, he thought to himself standing up to leave.
"If you would be so kind, could you send me a map of the ship, the location I am supposed to be at, and all of the ship specifications including your own capabilities?" Clyde read through the information as he walked to the assembly hall to hear Admiral Weston's opening speech.
"If you would be so kind, could you send me a map of the ship, the location I am supposed to be at, and all of the ship specifications including your own capabilities?" Clyde read through the information as he walked to the assembly hall to hear Admiral Weston's opening speech.
"I am walking backwards for Christmas across the methane sea…."
Ray sang softly as he made his way in the gigantic cruiser; it was the first ship of such size he was assigned to since most of his service in the Saturn system was done on moon bases, a verity of artificial bases and patrol carriers.
As Ray passed the same place for the third time he decided that enough was enough and stopped at a near by terminal.
"Hay Sam can you direct me to church?"
In the academy Sam was a nickname given to computer terminals and Ray was still in the habit of calling computers Sam now and then. In the academy the hall was known as the "Church" because of the tendency of the headmaster to preach to the students for hours about duty before he let them have their dinner.
The terminal began to click meaning it was processing the request before saying in the normal banker like voice
"Please restate the command"
Ray was in a funny mood and barley overcame his desire to play around with the terminal, he had only once seen a puter go nuts and that was when someone in the academy tried to teach a computer Irishman jokes which managed to break the poor computer's logic processors.
"Computer, show me the position of the hall room in screen section 1, my current location on screen section 2 and a line marking the path towards the hall room from my current location on the main screen detailing all necessary map data for a successful transit between the two points"
The computer did not respond vocally and merely executed the command; it was boring and colorless but Ray needed to hurry if he was to arrive to the hall in time.
He wasn't as far away as he expected and calculated the journey would take him a few minutes.
He saw a human being ahead and decided to make the area his port of call before proceeding to the hall; he approached the chap and preformed the federation salute along with the Titan mix which was a longer less "mechanic" version of the salute.
"I am Unit Commander Peter Ray Davidson … don't worry it's not as high up as it seems! It’s a gunship rank:
Because we pack quite a kick with our fire power, armor and our own military detachment we get nice important ranks to go along with our space beauties which basically give us a bit of independence from our mother ships and the ability to get a few fighters to do what we tell them to do. It's a new rank and so far it's only used by the Federation Saturn System independent fighter command but we get to keep the rank in the rest of the service. I apologize if I confused you, To whom do I have the pleasure of addressing? "
Ray offered his hand to the chap and suspected the man was a rookie due to his young age. Ray and others in the Titan academy where sent out to get field experience at a much younger age then other academies because of the already long period of training they got in flight academy and other similar academies. The Titan academy believed in field experience and allowed those who preformed well to gain their commissions and those who didn't to return to the academy.
Ray liked the chap as he did with nearly every new person he met and decided to make conversation. He then noticed the distinct navigator colors on the chap's uniform and smiled; he liked navigators because he knew from his own experiences that navigators rarely let you down even when everything else did.
"Managed to get lost too? I am in the same boat it seems. How about you navigate us out of this predicament? If at all possible before we get our skins turned inside out by the brass." The last few words where meant as a joke but Ray suspected they would not be so much of a joke if they didn't arrive at the hall within the next few minutes.
Ray sang softly as he made his way in the gigantic cruiser; it was the first ship of such size he was assigned to since most of his service in the Saturn system was done on moon bases, a verity of artificial bases and patrol carriers.
As Ray passed the same place for the third time he decided that enough was enough and stopped at a near by terminal.
"Hay Sam can you direct me to church?"
In the academy Sam was a nickname given to computer terminals and Ray was still in the habit of calling computers Sam now and then. In the academy the hall was known as the "Church" because of the tendency of the headmaster to preach to the students for hours about duty before he let them have their dinner.
The terminal began to click meaning it was processing the request before saying in the normal banker like voice
"Please restate the command"
Ray was in a funny mood and barley overcame his desire to play around with the terminal, he had only once seen a puter go nuts and that was when someone in the academy tried to teach a computer Irishman jokes which managed to break the poor computer's logic processors.
"Computer, show me the position of the hall room in screen section 1, my current location on screen section 2 and a line marking the path towards the hall room from my current location on the main screen detailing all necessary map data for a successful transit between the two points"
The computer did not respond vocally and merely executed the command; it was boring and colorless but Ray needed to hurry if he was to arrive to the hall in time.
He wasn't as far away as he expected and calculated the journey would take him a few minutes.
He saw a human being ahead and decided to make the area his port of call before proceeding to the hall; he approached the chap and preformed the federation salute along with the Titan mix which was a longer less "mechanic" version of the salute.
"I am Unit Commander Peter Ray Davidson … don't worry it's not as high up as it seems! It’s a gunship rank:
Because we pack quite a kick with our fire power, armor and our own military detachment we get nice important ranks to go along with our space beauties which basically give us a bit of independence from our mother ships and the ability to get a few fighters to do what we tell them to do. It's a new rank and so far it's only used by the Federation Saturn System independent fighter command but we get to keep the rank in the rest of the service. I apologize if I confused you, To whom do I have the pleasure of addressing? "
Ray offered his hand to the chap and suspected the man was a rookie due to his young age. Ray and others in the Titan academy where sent out to get field experience at a much younger age then other academies because of the already long period of training they got in flight academy and other similar academies. The Titan academy believed in field experience and allowed those who preformed well to gain their commissions and those who didn't to return to the academy.
Ray liked the chap as he did with nearly every new person he met and decided to make conversation. He then noticed the distinct navigator colors on the chap's uniform and smiled; he liked navigators because he knew from his own experiences that navigators rarely let you down even when everything else did.
"Managed to get lost too? I am in the same boat it seems. How about you navigate us out of this predicament? If at all possible before we get our skins turned inside out by the brass." The last few words where meant as a joke but Ray suspected they would not be so much of a joke if they didn't arrive at the hall within the next few minutes.
FO Jessica "Hyena" MacPhearson
Jess had been in amongst the group of people milling near the boarding site; a flash of flightsuit gray at the very fringes of the officer crowd, more often turned towards what enlisted were brave enough to mill close by. As chilly as initial contact with a 'Mustang' officer could be, it didnt take long for the Flight Officer to be more involved bullshitting with the deck crewman then paying attention to the dance of rank and protocol. As numerous as enlisted were, it wasnt hard to find someone that'd also served with so-and-so, or who'd had what's-his-face as an instructor. It made the community seem smaller, and Jess was pleased when several cards in the group lit up green.
Flashing them all a smile that was as much teeth as it was good humor, the pilot spun her own pass between her fingers and scooped up her duffle before heading on board the massive ship, giving a low whistle for the venerable old lady's impressive sights. The stately been-there-done-that atmosphere made her feel much more comfortable then the startched uniforms that made Jess second-guess her decision to go with the much more casual flightsuit and service jacket. Not expressly inappropriate, but definately dressed down. She hated officer dress uniforms. They itched like fury, and always made her feel as if she was wearing a skin she didnt belong in.
"Well, if you've gotta go to the end of the universe, you might as well go in style..."
Entering the assembly hall, Jess picks the first seat she comes to and drops herself without preamble into it, stretching her boots out in front of her. She openly watches the others enter, grinning broadly at them all as if she were in on some joke. Some of these people would disappear into the bowels of the great ship, and she'd never see them again. Some she'd work with every day. Either way, she was eager to get to know them. Never knew where you'd find a buddy to count on.
"Eurgh. Welcome aboard, pride of the Navy, head on a swivel, so on and so forth..." She sighs at the ceiling, speaking to no one in particular, anticipating a speach much like the dozens like it she'd heared before, "Are we taking bets on how many sleepers we get?"
Jess had been in amongst the group of people milling near the boarding site; a flash of flightsuit gray at the very fringes of the officer crowd, more often turned towards what enlisted were brave enough to mill close by. As chilly as initial contact with a 'Mustang' officer could be, it didnt take long for the Flight Officer to be more involved bullshitting with the deck crewman then paying attention to the dance of rank and protocol. As numerous as enlisted were, it wasnt hard to find someone that'd also served with so-and-so, or who'd had what's-his-face as an instructor. It made the community seem smaller, and Jess was pleased when several cards in the group lit up green.
Flashing them all a smile that was as much teeth as it was good humor, the pilot spun her own pass between her fingers and scooped up her duffle before heading on board the massive ship, giving a low whistle for the venerable old lady's impressive sights. The stately been-there-done-that atmosphere made her feel much more comfortable then the startched uniforms that made Jess second-guess her decision to go with the much more casual flightsuit and service jacket. Not expressly inappropriate, but definately dressed down. She hated officer dress uniforms. They itched like fury, and always made her feel as if she was wearing a skin she didnt belong in.
"Well, if you've gotta go to the end of the universe, you might as well go in style..."
Entering the assembly hall, Jess picks the first seat she comes to and drops herself without preamble into it, stretching her boots out in front of her. She openly watches the others enter, grinning broadly at them all as if she were in on some joke. Some of these people would disappear into the bowels of the great ship, and she'd never see them again. Some she'd work with every day. Either way, she was eager to get to know them. Never knew where you'd find a buddy to count on.
"Eurgh. Welcome aboard, pride of the Navy, head on a swivel, so on and so forth..." She sighs at the ceiling, speaking to no one in particular, anticipating a speach much like the dozens like it she'd heared before, "Are we taking bets on how many sleepers we get?"
Clyde snapped himself out of the flow of data as the pilot approached. He returned the federation salute and spoke to the man, relived he wouldn't be arriving alone.
"Clyde Summer. This is my first deployment so... I guess I'm a private," he said with a smile, shaking Ray's hand. "... Lost? Never. Navigators never get lost. Just... delayed... " Clyde trailed off into nothing. "Kind of the problem isn't it... Anyway. This way," he waved down the hall and started walking.
Clyde wasn't quite sure how well he liked Ray, having known him for about a minute and a half, but he was less sure about the other crew members. He decided that Ray would be harmless to him and kept the conversation going. "So. What did you do to get sent here? I don't know if you've noticed yet, but something about this mission is... off. Starting with the crew. You'll see when you get there if you haven't read their profiles yet."
"Clyde Summer. This is my first deployment so... I guess I'm a private," he said with a smile, shaking Ray's hand. "... Lost? Never. Navigators never get lost. Just... delayed... " Clyde trailed off into nothing. "Kind of the problem isn't it... Anyway. This way," he waved down the hall and started walking.
Clyde wasn't quite sure how well he liked Ray, having known him for about a minute and a half, but he was less sure about the other crew members. He decided that Ray would be harmless to him and kept the conversation going. "So. What did you do to get sent here? I don't know if you've noticed yet, but something about this mission is... off. Starting with the crew. You'll see when you get there if you haven't read their profiles yet."
Ray wondered about this new acquaintance of his, Clyde seemed to be a very interesting person for some reason even if he was a bit distant Ray knew there was always something to someone but also knew that it wasn't really his business.
Me? Ray asked surprised at Clyde's question, Ray wondered about how he would answer the question and began to formulate ways in which he could evade lying but not tell the exact truth ether. Ray didn't mind talking about the nature of his mental wounds which he sustained during the conflict but one question would lead to another until one of them reached forbidden territory which Ray didn't like to talk about.
Ray decided to go with his normal answer to such questions; not answering the question and maintaining a seemingly joyful appearance. Ray suddenly stopped, maybe a part of the reason would appease him.
As they neared the hall Ray simply said not knowing if Clyde heard him or not with the growing noise from the hall.
"one straw too many"
Me? Ray asked surprised at Clyde's question, Ray wondered about how he would answer the question and began to formulate ways in which he could evade lying but not tell the exact truth ether. Ray didn't mind talking about the nature of his mental wounds which he sustained during the conflict but one question would lead to another until one of them reached forbidden territory which Ray didn't like to talk about.
Ray decided to go with his normal answer to such questions; not answering the question and maintaining a seemingly joyful appearance. Ray suddenly stopped, maybe a part of the reason would appease him.
As they neared the hall Ray simply said not knowing if Clyde heard him or not with the growing noise from the hall.
"one straw too many"
Clyde stopped a few steps later as the words sank in. "The straw that broke the camel's back you say?" He turned his head back to Ray and flashed him an evil smile. "You too?"
Clyde proceeded alone into the hall and took a look around at everyone inside. The Admiral sitting facing everyone. The marines in their bulky suits. The girl flashing him a wide smile. There's an interesting one...
He jumped over the back of the chair next to Jessica's and smiled back. "Hi. My name's Clyde."
Clyde proceeded alone into the hall and took a look around at everyone inside. The Admiral sitting facing everyone. The marines in their bulky suits. The girl flashing him a wide smile. There's an interesting one...
He jumped over the back of the chair next to Jessica's and smiled back. "Hi. My name's Clyde."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
Eli had reached the hall first, ahead of the many recruits, but they were quick behind him. Soon the hall was slowly filling as crew mates picked seats in an overwhelmingly vacant hall. Eli approached the admiral, who was still locked in his posture as he stared out the view port. At this point the Admiral turned to meet the oncoming soldier.
“You know, I expected better from recruits…” the admiral shifted his head towards the bare, with the exception of a few crew members, meeting hall.
Eli’s brow furrowed, he was unsure as to what Aronimus meant and how he would reply. To which Aronimus replied,
“The hall should’ve been filled to the brim as of now,” he looked back at the timekeeper on his wrist. It had barely been two minutes since boarding commenced.
Eli realized his meaning and had laughed a bit inside upon discernment.
“I suppose we could wait a little longer…sir?” Eli wondered.
“Perhaps…Captain…perhaps…” The Admiral paused a bit and glanced at Eli.
“An old dog can get tired of this sometimes…” he returned to observing the outside.
“I’m sure you’ve been through many of these, an experienced ship captain and Admiral such as yourself.” Eli reminded him.
“Don’t get me started…” the admiral paused and glanced at Eli again.
“Anyways, the rest of these tenderfeet need to get here immediately. Go look around for stragglers who are lost, Captain.”
“Understood sir.” The captain gave Aronimus a fairly formal salute before heading out through the opened metal blast doors that sealed off the hall.
The Admiral turned around once more to look at the rows of seats lacking people. He noticed a familiar face, one he saw on the roster. Lieutenant Commander Alice Chen, she was seated in the front row. He could see that she was a prompt and sedulous individual. She had gotten to her rank with those qualities, Aronimus could tell. Her position, in his opinion, was well deserved. Then he noted another woman who had a fairly large smile that was shot at almost all the new recruits who came in after her; she was going to be a character no doubt. The admiral’s neural interface registered her as Jessica MacPhearson, also known as “Hyena.” The label was perhaps given to her by fellow crew mates out of affection or otherwise. She had the look of someone awaiting good news, perhaps a last minute re-assignment from this ship. The admiral doubted he had news of any kind to deliver; this was merely going to be an introduction and then straight to the bridge with the command crew to send the Salient to its objective.
By now the hall was halfway full with more recruits pouring in. The admiral went to re-adjusting the see-through screens hovering behind him in mid-air for the presentation. Such technology was a spectacle to the Admiral who knew that innovation was a constant in this day and age. Ingenuity was a prized attribute to the Federation. He wondered beyond his death whether technology would race so fast as to overwhelm man’s capacity to control them for the betterment of his fellow people. Such were the thoughts of an aging Admiral.
“You know, I expected better from recruits…” the admiral shifted his head towards the bare, with the exception of a few crew members, meeting hall.
Eli’s brow furrowed, he was unsure as to what Aronimus meant and how he would reply. To which Aronimus replied,
“The hall should’ve been filled to the brim as of now,” he looked back at the timekeeper on his wrist. It had barely been two minutes since boarding commenced.
Eli realized his meaning and had laughed a bit inside upon discernment.
“I suppose we could wait a little longer…sir?” Eli wondered.
“Perhaps…Captain…perhaps…” The Admiral paused a bit and glanced at Eli.
“An old dog can get tired of this sometimes…” he returned to observing the outside.
“I’m sure you’ve been through many of these, an experienced ship captain and Admiral such as yourself.” Eli reminded him.
“Don’t get me started…” the admiral paused and glanced at Eli again.
“Anyways, the rest of these tenderfeet need to get here immediately. Go look around for stragglers who are lost, Captain.”
“Understood sir.” The captain gave Aronimus a fairly formal salute before heading out through the opened metal blast doors that sealed off the hall.
The Admiral turned around once more to look at the rows of seats lacking people. He noticed a familiar face, one he saw on the roster. Lieutenant Commander Alice Chen, she was seated in the front row. He could see that she was a prompt and sedulous individual. She had gotten to her rank with those qualities, Aronimus could tell. Her position, in his opinion, was well deserved. Then he noted another woman who had a fairly large smile that was shot at almost all the new recruits who came in after her; she was going to be a character no doubt. The admiral’s neural interface registered her as Jessica MacPhearson, also known as “Hyena.” The label was perhaps given to her by fellow crew mates out of affection or otherwise. She had the look of someone awaiting good news, perhaps a last minute re-assignment from this ship. The admiral doubted he had news of any kind to deliver; this was merely going to be an introduction and then straight to the bridge with the command crew to send the Salient to its objective.
By now the hall was halfway full with more recruits pouring in. The admiral went to re-adjusting the see-through screens hovering behind him in mid-air for the presentation. Such technology was a spectacle to the Admiral who knew that innovation was a constant in this day and age. Ingenuity was a prized attribute to the Federation. He wondered beyond his death whether technology would race so fast as to overwhelm man’s capacity to control them for the betterment of his fellow people. Such were the thoughts of an aging Admiral.
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to The Milky Way Universe
Alice sat quietly, straight-backed and certain, but also remarkably relaxed. She watched the Admiral with calm and unwavering eyes. The young Lieutenant Commander took everything in - the movements of the people, the ship, the emotions of the crewmen around her. She was surrounded by nervous excitement, but also by boredom, frustration, from those who had seen too many of these assignments. Too many boardings. Some of that excitement, she was getting from the Admiral himself. No surprise there. Alice was an ambitious woman, had devoted her life and liberty to the Federation - she still doubted that she would be serving, or even alive, as long as the Admiral.
Nodding to herself, she crossed one leg up over the other and folded her hands comfortably in her lap. She glanced at the timepiece on her wrist, not moving, not giving the glance away. So many of them were late already... she was going to have to whip this crew into shape, if the personnel were meant to be worthy of their famous commander. No need for him to worry himself over it, either. That was why Alice was here. To take care of the crew while he worried about the mission at hand.
And to serve as his right hand and advisor. That, however, would come later. For now, she was as new to this as any of them.
Nodding to herself, she crossed one leg up over the other and folded her hands comfortably in her lap. She glanced at the timepiece on her wrist, not moving, not giving the glance away. So many of them were late already... she was going to have to whip this crew into shape, if the personnel were meant to be worthy of their famous commander. No need for him to worry himself over it, either. That was why Alice was here. To take care of the crew while he worried about the mission at hand.
And to serve as his right hand and advisor. That, however, would come later. For now, she was as new to this as any of them.
Jess' agressive grin only grows as Clyde doesnt hesitate to hop the row of seats and introduce himself. Thank god; she'd have someone to chat with during this briefing. As exciting as it was to be aboard a new ship starting a new mission, a formation was a formation; boredom was a given. Bright blue eyes that dont seem to blink stare straight through both Clyde and Ray, if the other has chosen to follow.
She extends a hand in introduction. If he takes it, her grasp is rough but brief.
"What's up, Clyde? Jessica. I also answer to 'Jess', 'rotten witch', and Hyena." Disengaging her hand from her offer of a shake, she gives an affectionate flick to the leather name patch of her jacket. Along with her rank and name, the telling callsign is emblazoned above a set of pilot's wings. Stick-jock. Worse; a fighter jock. And for the tripple threat? An -enlisted- fighter jock.
She gives an eye to the uniform of the others, kicking her chin in acknowledgement of fellow spacer Ray. By now they can surmise that the broad smile she wore was pretty much a permanent fixture; it'd softened to a casual smirk but never fully disappeared. She flings an elbow over the back of the chair she sits in, proping a boot up on the duffle of her belongings.
"Either of you served with this one yet?" She says, jerking a thumb up at the Admiral on the stage as he dismisses Eli to go round up stragglers.
"I mean, I've heared stories, but that's it. Guy's almost been in the service longer then my -parents- have been alive. Collected more chest candy then I knew they awarded..." The pilot turns that blue-eyed stare onto the distant figure of Aronimus; getting a feel for the officer she'd spend the next stretch of future serving under. Rumors had been decent, as far as she'd heared, but her accounts had never come from people who personally knew the man.
This was the man that was going to lead them into who-knew-what at the edge of god-knew-where. Hopefully he was going to be worth that kind of dedication.
She extends a hand in introduction. If he takes it, her grasp is rough but brief.
"What's up, Clyde? Jessica. I also answer to 'Jess', 'rotten witch', and Hyena." Disengaging her hand from her offer of a shake, she gives an affectionate flick to the leather name patch of her jacket. Along with her rank and name, the telling callsign is emblazoned above a set of pilot's wings. Stick-jock. Worse; a fighter jock. And for the tripple threat? An -enlisted- fighter jock.
She gives an eye to the uniform of the others, kicking her chin in acknowledgement of fellow spacer Ray. By now they can surmise that the broad smile she wore was pretty much a permanent fixture; it'd softened to a casual smirk but never fully disappeared. She flings an elbow over the back of the chair she sits in, proping a boot up on the duffle of her belongings.
"Either of you served with this one yet?" She says, jerking a thumb up at the Admiral on the stage as he dismisses Eli to go round up stragglers.
"I mean, I've heared stories, but that's it. Guy's almost been in the service longer then my -parents- have been alive. Collected more chest candy then I knew they awarded..." The pilot turns that blue-eyed stare onto the distant figure of Aronimus; getting a feel for the officer she'd spend the next stretch of future serving under. Rumors had been decent, as far as she'd heared, but her accounts had never come from people who personally knew the man.
This was the man that was going to lead them into who-knew-what at the edge of god-knew-where. Hopefully he was going to be worth that kind of dedication.
Clyde watched her grin grow wider and mirrored it. This one was going to be interesting, he hoped.
"I think I'll go with Hyena. Nice to meet you." Clyde wondered vaguely why she answered to rotten witch, but didn't dwell on it long. He look up to Admiral Weston when prompted. "Weston. Hardly- this is my first assignment. Under him, no less. This is a man who is introduced as "the man, the myth, the legend". What is he even doing here?"
Clyde was genuinely curious about this. This mission was strange, and it began with Admiral Weston. Such a prestigious man for such a mundane mission. He commands a single ship. But then look at the ship. It has more guns than the gunships it carries, and its AI is the most powerful computer ever built. Then there are marines on board with prototype battle suits, and a pilot who brought a prototype gunship. Half the crew have something weird in their records. They were orphans, or they're crazy, or it's classified, or they got in trouble with the Federation. Clyde was going to get to the bottom of this, and there was no way A.D.A.M. was going to let him into the classified files. He would talk to everyone on board to see what he could learn.
"I think I'll go with Hyena. Nice to meet you." Clyde wondered vaguely why she answered to rotten witch, but didn't dwell on it long. He look up to Admiral Weston when prompted. "Weston. Hardly- this is my first assignment. Under him, no less. This is a man who is introduced as "the man, the myth, the legend". What is he even doing here?"
Clyde was genuinely curious about this. This mission was strange, and it began with Admiral Weston. Such a prestigious man for such a mundane mission. He commands a single ship. But then look at the ship. It has more guns than the gunships it carries, and its AI is the most powerful computer ever built. Then there are marines on board with prototype battle suits, and a pilot who brought a prototype gunship. Half the crew have something weird in their records. They were orphans, or they're crazy, or it's classified, or they got in trouble with the Federation. Clyde was going to get to the bottom of this, and there was no way A.D.A.M. was going to let him into the classified files. He would talk to everyone on board to see what he could learn.
Allen wanted to get some things that he wanted to get done with but he knew that something was suppose to be happening that he needed to be at. He check to see if his card was green and it was. So he entered the ship and continued to the hall. His mind was racing, he wanted to know what kind of things he would be doing and the kinda of people he would meet. He was already in love with this place. To him only one problem remained, and that was that people seemed to just look past him as if he was nothing. The motivation that this was giving him would drive him to do something great. The ideas that ran though his head were interesting to say the least. "Maybe I can improve the vital recognition on the battle suits that the soldiers have." he said to himself as he entered the hall and too a seat in the third row and second from the left. The reason he choose this seat was it seems like a good place to sit. He rarely second guessed himself. The only thing left to do is prove himself to the admiral and some of the crew.
"Him? Nope never had him as my CO; he could not keep up with us in Independent fighter Command any way if he is as old as he seems. Admirals fancy their ships to be as XL as possible and ships like this aren’t much use in the Saturn system; too many little asteroid moon bases where torpedo bombers can sneak up on em and blow out a bit at a time. what about you? (he said to his fellow pilot)"
.
Ray looked at the old admiral; he had heard of the man's exploits but knowing how the federation press worked with the insurgency about didn't count on everything he had heard about him, it would be better to get his own opinion but for now he didn't have a particularly high one of the admiral like all admirals.
Ray didn't like admirals; admirals got small craft pilots killed and normally didn't understand the issues with fighter warfare. Admirals where a carry on form an older era when fleets seemed as the ultimate formation of power because of the habit of Earth's navy's to mass like that. Ray had heard the claim that had the Saturn sector command ship Alexander hadn't been destroyed in the first day of the war the loyalists would have lost it because the independent fighter command would have never been formed; Ray partly agreed with this because the nature of the war was one of fast strikes and ambushes and not of clumsy ships of the line showing off on the target sensors of a bomber and fast attack ships like a god damned red giant.
Oh well, Ray didn't know this admiral yet and decided he would give him a chance; not all of them where egotistic bastards.
Ray sat down near the two he had been chatting to and whistled for a few moments while the brass got some order in the room; he thought he saw an LC meaning CO and wondered if he should stop but decided to quietly whistle and removed his lucky coin from his pocket and began playing with it.
.
Ray looked at the old admiral; he had heard of the man's exploits but knowing how the federation press worked with the insurgency about didn't count on everything he had heard about him, it would be better to get his own opinion but for now he didn't have a particularly high one of the admiral like all admirals.
Ray didn't like admirals; admirals got small craft pilots killed and normally didn't understand the issues with fighter warfare. Admirals where a carry on form an older era when fleets seemed as the ultimate formation of power because of the habit of Earth's navy's to mass like that. Ray had heard the claim that had the Saturn sector command ship Alexander hadn't been destroyed in the first day of the war the loyalists would have lost it because the independent fighter command would have never been formed; Ray partly agreed with this because the nature of the war was one of fast strikes and ambushes and not of clumsy ships of the line showing off on the target sensors of a bomber and fast attack ships like a god damned red giant.
Oh well, Ray didn't know this admiral yet and decided he would give him a chance; not all of them where egotistic bastards.
Ray sat down near the two he had been chatting to and whistled for a few moments while the brass got some order in the room; he thought he saw an LC meaning CO and wondered if he should stop but decided to quietly whistle and removed his lucky coin from his pocket and began playing with it.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
Jon
Jon had stood around in the Assembly Hall while most of the other soldiers grabbed their own seats, he didn't know if his suit was light enough to not break a chair. He shrugged and went to the second row,deliberately forming a bridge between the group on the first row and the young Engineer Allen in the third. Rather than popping open the visor he took off the helmet before addressing them. He arrived just when the first row had hit the end of their conversation on the Admiral.
"Admiral Weston, that old dog's won every award the Federation's got to give, hell he's gotten most of em twice or more," Jon figured he'd butt in on the end of the conversation as an ice breaker. "Haven't worked under him but my first Black Ops deployment involved boarding his ship to clear out some hostiles, by the time I got to the bridge to finish the rescue, the guy had done and rescued the crew for me. After that I had to do a ground mission and it was the cleanest outer atmosphere I ever had, nothing got through him." He looked up at the man he was talking about before finishing, I swear he's like a god of victory on the field."
"The name's Jon Dunaway by the way, but people tend to call me Papa Jon... so think I can sit here, suits damn heavy," that last bit he obviously addressed to Allen, Jon himself didn't feel any weight from the suit. With that in mind he hoped the guy could give him some insight," You're Allen right, from what I hear you're a real wiz kid and if i'm not mistaken you helped big this ship."
Jon had stood around in the Assembly Hall while most of the other soldiers grabbed their own seats, he didn't know if his suit was light enough to not break a chair. He shrugged and went to the second row,deliberately forming a bridge between the group on the first row and the young Engineer Allen in the third. Rather than popping open the visor he took off the helmet before addressing them. He arrived just when the first row had hit the end of their conversation on the Admiral.
"Admiral Weston, that old dog's won every award the Federation's got to give, hell he's gotten most of em twice or more," Jon figured he'd butt in on the end of the conversation as an ice breaker. "Haven't worked under him but my first Black Ops deployment involved boarding his ship to clear out some hostiles, by the time I got to the bridge to finish the rescue, the guy had done and rescued the crew for me. After that I had to do a ground mission and it was the cleanest outer atmosphere I ever had, nothing got through him." He looked up at the man he was talking about before finishing, I swear he's like a god of victory on the field."
"The name's Jon Dunaway by the way, but people tend to call me Papa Jon... so think I can sit here, suits damn heavy," that last bit he obviously addressed to Allen, Jon himself didn't feel any weight from the suit. With that in mind he hoped the guy could give him some insight," You're Allen right, from what I hear you're a real wiz kid and if i'm not mistaken you helped big this ship."
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to The Milky Way Universe
Clyde had done his reading a while back. It interested him to know who he would be working with. Reading profiles only told so much, however, and he had long ago resolved to meet the people behind the pages before he passed real judgments on them. "Not to steal anyone's thunder here, but you are mistaken. Allen didn't work on the Salient. That was James Grey. I suppose this is a decent time for introductions. Papa Jon, meet Hyena and Ray, seasoned pilots, you already know Allen it seems, and myself, the navigator fresh out of the Academy. I'm Clyde , nice to meet you."
Clyde looked up at the Admiral again, lost in his own musings already. "A god of victory on the field. Maybe you can enlighten us, Papa Jon. Do you know, by chance, what makes this mission so special?"
Clyde looked up at the Admiral again, lost in his own musings already. "A god of victory on the field. Maybe you can enlighten us, Papa Jon. Do you know, by chance, what makes this mission so special?"
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
Jess snorts and grimaces at Ray when he mentions torpedos and sneak attacks, "Oh, I know all about it. I was on the Defiance, buddy; I'm that Hyena."
The incident would've made its rounds quickly around the ward rooms and hangar decks; a Federation patrol ship sent after pirates into the asteroid belt with no immediate support, the subsequent ambush, and the outlaws' sucess in getting in a torpedo that eradicated the crew quarters and a full 1/3rd of her fighting crew - including most of her pilots who had still been scrambling out of their bunks. And then the mad-as-hell maintainer that'd jumped into a spare bird and gotten her 5 Ace kills as a goddamn 3rd class crewman. Opinions after that were mixed, wether or not she'd truly 'earned' her sudden promotion to what was essentially an Officer's rank, and wether or not they should've just given her an award instead of a cockpit. Damn dirty enlisted and all of that. Her attitude hardly helped endear her to the upper eschelons.
Jon makes his appearance behind them - it was hard to miss the approach of all that hardware. That toothy smile makes its reappearance, mischevous light clear in the pilot's eyes.
"Aaaw, hell; Bullet-sponges in the house. Holy crap, is there a guy in there or is it just Tank?? I dont even want to know about bathroom breaks.."
Discipline and tact; two things of which Hyena will never be accused of... But between the Space side and the Ground side, how could she NOT stir the familiar pot of rivalry? It was too easy when her target showed up wearing his own personal pillbox. Too bad her tongue is lightyears ahead of the thought to check that armor for rank.
"And he can wear all the medals he wants, good on him. I just want to know if he's going to be a hardass or what? This is going to be a looooong ride with a spit-and-polish Skipper, you know? Last thing I need is inspections every week, or dry port calls..." Oh, tragedy!
The incident would've made its rounds quickly around the ward rooms and hangar decks; a Federation patrol ship sent after pirates into the asteroid belt with no immediate support, the subsequent ambush, and the outlaws' sucess in getting in a torpedo that eradicated the crew quarters and a full 1/3rd of her fighting crew - including most of her pilots who had still been scrambling out of their bunks. And then the mad-as-hell maintainer that'd jumped into a spare bird and gotten her 5 Ace kills as a goddamn 3rd class crewman. Opinions after that were mixed, wether or not she'd truly 'earned' her sudden promotion to what was essentially an Officer's rank, and wether or not they should've just given her an award instead of a cockpit. Damn dirty enlisted and all of that. Her attitude hardly helped endear her to the upper eschelons.
Jon makes his appearance behind them - it was hard to miss the approach of all that hardware. That toothy smile makes its reappearance, mischevous light clear in the pilot's eyes.
"Aaaw, hell; Bullet-sponges in the house. Holy crap, is there a guy in there or is it just Tank?? I dont even want to know about bathroom breaks.."
Discipline and tact; two things of which Hyena will never be accused of... But between the Space side and the Ground side, how could she NOT stir the familiar pot of rivalry? It was too easy when her target showed up wearing his own personal pillbox. Too bad her tongue is lightyears ahead of the thought to check that armor for rank.
"And he can wear all the medals he wants, good on him. I just want to know if he's going to be a hardass or what? This is going to be a looooong ride with a spit-and-polish Skipper, you know? Last thing I need is inspections every week, or dry port calls..." Oh, tragedy!
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to The Milky Way Universe
Jon screwed up his face while racking his brain," I don't know of anything of the top of my head... but with 2 crazy high-tech suits, a prototype ship, a new generation of AI, the Admiral and a crew of elite if potentially dangerous personnel there's a lot more to this than we'll ever know." He shrugged, something very hard to do due to the armor amplifying his body movements.
"In truth I doubt even Weston of the damn AI know what's going on, if anything I'd say we're flying blind but with this much heat something big is definitely going down. Sorry about getting you mixed up Allen, if you aren't the wiz kid you must be that Irish engineering ace. Having trouble matching faces to files, it's never been my strong suit, I'm more of a face-to-face type of guy."
Deciding he'd go for it Jon sat down, the chair gave a lot under his weight but held,"Nice chairs, eh? But in all seriousness, call it paranoia call it experience but my guts telling me that whatever we're dealing with won't be at all pretty. On the plus side it means that we'll be given more freedom of operation of a judgement call on the field, I might be able to test this baby's atmosphere insertion systems, can you believe it orbital personnel airdrop. The people in R&D are either crazy, or genius...probably both."
He looked at Jessica,"Best Bullet Sponge in the business and believe it or not bathroom breaks aren't that bad." He flashed a smile before he answered the last question, "No room for clothes in the suit sweetheart so man or tank is your call. I don't know about him being a hard ass but I've yet to have a CO that had the heart to enforce a dry port call."
"In truth I doubt even Weston of the damn AI know what's going on, if anything I'd say we're flying blind but with this much heat something big is definitely going down. Sorry about getting you mixed up Allen, if you aren't the wiz kid you must be that Irish engineering ace. Having trouble matching faces to files, it's never been my strong suit, I'm more of a face-to-face type of guy."
Deciding he'd go for it Jon sat down, the chair gave a lot under his weight but held,"Nice chairs, eh? But in all seriousness, call it paranoia call it experience but my guts telling me that whatever we're dealing with won't be at all pretty. On the plus side it means that we'll be given more freedom of operation of a judgement call on the field, I might be able to test this baby's atmosphere insertion systems, can you believe it orbital personnel airdrop. The people in R&D are either crazy, or genius...probably both."
He looked at Jessica,"Best Bullet Sponge in the business and believe it or not bathroom breaks aren't that bad." He flashed a smile before he answered the last question, "No room for clothes in the suit sweetheart so man or tank is your call. I don't know about him being a hard ass but I've yet to have a CO that had the heart to enforce a dry port call."
Clyde sat back and listened to the others talk for a while. Maybe it was because he didn't feel like poking fun at the man wearing two tons of metal. Maybe he didn't have too many stories to tell, this being his first deployment. Maybe he was playing a video game. Who knows.
"I don't think it matters how hardass our CO is going to be. From what I'm seeing by just looking around, most of the crew aren't going to give a shit about orders. Maybe it's just this relaxed atmosphere talking, but I think I need to wish the Admiral good luck keeping a lid on this place."
"I don't think it matters how hardass our CO is going to be. From what I'm seeing by just looking around, most of the crew aren't going to give a shit about orders. Maybe it's just this relaxed atmosphere talking, but I think I need to wish the Admiral good luck keeping a lid on this place."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
The Admiral had sent him out to round up any lost rookies, which seemed like an easy job until Eli realized that any recruit could have and should have found their way to the hall by relying on the many map terminals that were literally everywhere. The engineers and architects of the Salient obviously realized that its massive size would have made it difficult for crew members to find their way around. That was the exact reason for the map terminals, and even Eli knew that every recruit from whichever station they came from whether they were ship cadets, marine recruits, or pilot recruits were told of map terminals during their training. He distinctly remembered that he instructed the massive crowd that gathered outside the ship that there were various terminals for crewmen to access.
Eli came upon a group of three crew members and two marines scratching their heads at a map terminal located in the lower corridors of the ship. He was surprised and slightly irritated, but he reminded himself that these crew members were inexperienced, a fact that was more than evident. They ran over to him, after recognizing him from earlier, and addressed him in full attention and salute.
“Sir, Private First Class Gary Reynolds reporting!” the eagerness in his voice was very much expected by Eli.
“Lance Corporal Shane Weifert reporting, Sir!” These two marines had the nerve to approach him where the other three crew personnel did not as they came behind these two and gave their salutations.
“At ease marines ladies and gentlemen.” They relaxed their stances.
“I can tell you’re lost.” Eli walked over to the terminal and pressed several keys on the transparent visual screen, immediately blue prints of the ship, their location, the location of the hall, and the immediate directions from the former point to the latter point were displayed. He looked back at the group of five who were slightly embarrassed. Eli felt he had insulted their intelligences a bit, and he felt a little guilty for doing so.
“Just follow that path; the briefing is just about to begin. Try making a better impression next time when you’re serving on board another vessel, but start by doing so on this vessel.” Eli dismissed them. As they walked off, Eli lingered a bit waiting for any other personnel coming through this area, before he went back to the hall.
Eli came upon a group of three crew members and two marines scratching their heads at a map terminal located in the lower corridors of the ship. He was surprised and slightly irritated, but he reminded himself that these crew members were inexperienced, a fact that was more than evident. They ran over to him, after recognizing him from earlier, and addressed him in full attention and salute.
“Sir, Private First Class Gary Reynolds reporting!” the eagerness in his voice was very much expected by Eli.
“Lance Corporal Shane Weifert reporting, Sir!” These two marines had the nerve to approach him where the other three crew personnel did not as they came behind these two and gave their salutations.
“At ease marines ladies and gentlemen.” They relaxed their stances.
“I can tell you’re lost.” Eli walked over to the terminal and pressed several keys on the transparent visual screen, immediately blue prints of the ship, their location, the location of the hall, and the immediate directions from the former point to the latter point were displayed. He looked back at the group of five who were slightly embarrassed. Eli felt he had insulted their intelligences a bit, and he felt a little guilty for doing so.
“Just follow that path; the briefing is just about to begin. Try making a better impression next time when you’re serving on board another vessel, but start by doing so on this vessel.” Eli dismissed them. As they walked off, Eli lingered a bit waiting for any other personnel coming through this area, before he went back to the hall.
The Admiral noticed the growing group in the center section; it was a variety of different personnel when compared to other sections which had been subdivided into different cliques of soldiers, technicians, pilots, engineers, etc. This group was different however; the large encased marine trying to sit down was Jon Dunaway. His bulky suit risked crushing one of the seats, or even a fellow crew member. Then there were two pilots, one of which was the woman with the constant grin, and other with dirty blond hair. Those were the main features that he could point out in order to tell them apart from other pilots. Then a younger lad who seemed to be a very quiet individual sitting on the edge entered the conversation that was started between the woman and a fellow crew mate who had dropped by. The crew mate was wearing full formal navigator’s uniform; a fellow whom the Admiral believed would be serving on the Bridge with him for the duration of the trip.
MacPhearson, Davidson, Ryker, and Summer were their listed names. They were all gathered together and talking with intense interest about a certain topic. The Admiral could only guess as to what post-pubescent subject they were discussing. Then he shifted his attention over to the number of crew members swelling the room to full capacity. Aronimus was interested in leaving port immediately, so he'd strike down the key details he wanted to address which included the rogue contained AIs. After all had been said and done, he would leave immediately for the Bridge. He had no time to look back and wait for the crews to disband and separate into their particular stations.
MacPhearson, Davidson, Ryker, and Summer were their listed names. They were all gathered together and talking with intense interest about a certain topic. The Admiral could only guess as to what post-pubescent subject they were discussing. Then he shifted his attention over to the number of crew members swelling the room to full capacity. Aronimus was interested in leaving port immediately, so he'd strike down the key details he wanted to address which included the rogue contained AIs. After all had been said and done, he would leave immediately for the Bridge. He had no time to look back and wait for the crews to disband and separate into their particular stations.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
"Oh, I know all about it. I was on the Defiance, buddy; I'm that Hyena."
Ray chuckled; he should have noticed who she was as she was the talk of fighter tactics for a number of years even in the Titan academy which admittedly had a mighty high opinion of itself.
"Great to meat you!, I should have realized it was you but things happened since I got the report about what you did out there. Bloody good job too, even my gunship would have been in for a real buggering in that situation; I might have missiles, canons, plasma, armor and my very own marine force in my locker but I could never take off in time or doge those bandits without a fighter playing mama and an interceptor playing papa for me."
Ray smiled; he liked meeting a fellow vet and wondered if they could have a test flight at some point. When some one talked about his own record Ray didn't mention his own; as far as he was concerned he was happy if people just saw him as a nobody and was lucky in that respect since the news coverage he had reported him under his old name "Peter Raymond Davidson; if people had a look at his files they would know the truth about him but the average Joe didn't see them and normally didn't make the 1+1 about his history.
Ray could not help but pass a remark however on the matter of torpedos:
"I saw the Alexander get reduced to Coffee powder; bloody freaking oversized fully manned, fully crewed behemoth of destruction which was the living and berthing spirit of Federation ass kicking in the Saturn system gone in twelve minutes along with its crew and its bogey busters in a swarm of Torpedo bombers and there wasn't a thing any one could do to stop them because the torpedo disruptors decided to take a day off and we where busy shooting down the missiles coming out of their Corvettes. At least now the federation knows that it should not hand out its disruptor codes to any Tom Dick or Harry with a shiny uniform and rank"
Ray became temporarily internally focused as he relieved the memory; he did not mean to bring it up but flash backs like that happened to him now and then. What he did not mention was that he knew exactly who gave away the codes and his own failure to stop him. Alexander was a mighty fine ship with nearly all the none local federation fleet in it or near it; it didn't matter where the rest of the ships where because they all got torched as the Alexander got ripped to shreds by debris and the torpedo's that missed the Alexander and hit them instead. This was the reason why a war that should have ended in a week of asteroid demolition by the Alexander's heavy guns became a year of dog fighting because the federation was not willing to risk another cruiser while the asteroid bases where still up and running not to mention the infamous Independence canon which sent the Napoleon panicked right back to its Mars port for a fix.
The federation later claimed that the conquerors class had a number of faults in its design but Ray knew that was just BS; while the anti fighter guns where not great that was true the real reason for the fiasco's was the way the admirals who where in charge of the operation handled their tactics and lousy security of information. It was another ploy by the federation to improve moral just like the act of calling the rebellion an act of insurgence when it was clearly much more then that at the time.
Ray noticed he had held his hand in the shape of a fist and bore the expression of some one who had just seen a ghost for at least a few seconds by now, he relaxed himself and forced a grin on his face and said cheerfully:
"Sorry I got carried away, sorry for spoiling the mood. Now I really must have a look around this ship, so much to see!"
Ray got up and pretended to inspect the hall, he felt awkward at his sudden loss of control and was reminded of how different he was now then he once was, even when fighting the rebels he at least had something to keep his mind off the fact that all his friends had ether died fighting for the federation or died fighting for the rebellion apart from the one on whom the entire responsibility for it all lay.
"Take it easy Ray; one day at a time" he told himself and felt a little better as he passed near by to a fella in a as heavy as Olympus piece of armor"
Ray chuckled; he should have noticed who she was as she was the talk of fighter tactics for a number of years even in the Titan academy which admittedly had a mighty high opinion of itself.
"Great to meat you!, I should have realized it was you but things happened since I got the report about what you did out there. Bloody good job too, even my gunship would have been in for a real buggering in that situation; I might have missiles, canons, plasma, armor and my very own marine force in my locker but I could never take off in time or doge those bandits without a fighter playing mama and an interceptor playing papa for me."
Ray smiled; he liked meeting a fellow vet and wondered if they could have a test flight at some point. When some one talked about his own record Ray didn't mention his own; as far as he was concerned he was happy if people just saw him as a nobody and was lucky in that respect since the news coverage he had reported him under his old name "Peter Raymond Davidson; if people had a look at his files they would know the truth about him but the average Joe didn't see them and normally didn't make the 1+1 about his history.
Ray could not help but pass a remark however on the matter of torpedos:
"I saw the Alexander get reduced to Coffee powder; bloody freaking oversized fully manned, fully crewed behemoth of destruction which was the living and berthing spirit of Federation ass kicking in the Saturn system gone in twelve minutes along with its crew and its bogey busters in a swarm of Torpedo bombers and there wasn't a thing any one could do to stop them because the torpedo disruptors decided to take a day off and we where busy shooting down the missiles coming out of their Corvettes. At least now the federation knows that it should not hand out its disruptor codes to any Tom Dick or Harry with a shiny uniform and rank"
Ray became temporarily internally focused as he relieved the memory; he did not mean to bring it up but flash backs like that happened to him now and then. What he did not mention was that he knew exactly who gave away the codes and his own failure to stop him. Alexander was a mighty fine ship with nearly all the none local federation fleet in it or near it; it didn't matter where the rest of the ships where because they all got torched as the Alexander got ripped to shreds by debris and the torpedo's that missed the Alexander and hit them instead. This was the reason why a war that should have ended in a week of asteroid demolition by the Alexander's heavy guns became a year of dog fighting because the federation was not willing to risk another cruiser while the asteroid bases where still up and running not to mention the infamous Independence canon which sent the Napoleon panicked right back to its Mars port for a fix.
The federation later claimed that the conquerors class had a number of faults in its design but Ray knew that was just BS; while the anti fighter guns where not great that was true the real reason for the fiasco's was the way the admirals who where in charge of the operation handled their tactics and lousy security of information. It was another ploy by the federation to improve moral just like the act of calling the rebellion an act of insurgence when it was clearly much more then that at the time.
Ray noticed he had held his hand in the shape of a fist and bore the expression of some one who had just seen a ghost for at least a few seconds by now, he relaxed himself and forced a grin on his face and said cheerfully:
"Sorry I got carried away, sorry for spoiling the mood. Now I really must have a look around this ship, so much to see!"
Ray got up and pretended to inspect the hall, he felt awkward at his sudden loss of control and was reminded of how different he was now then he once was, even when fighting the rebels he at least had something to keep his mind off the fact that all his friends had ether died fighting for the federation or died fighting for the rebellion apart from the one on whom the entire responsibility for it all lay.
"Take it easy Ray; one day at a time" he told himself and felt a little better as he passed near by to a fella in a as heavy as Olympus piece of armor"
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to The Milky Way Universe
Walking into the Assembly hall was chaos. He knew it would be, but it still surprised him. He saw his brother down front and decided to go stand with him. He wanted to see if he could get his brothers opinion on the others.
"So Jon?" he said in a low voice so that no one else could hear. "What's your take on the others?"
"So Jon?" he said in a low voice so that no one else could hear. "What's your take on the others?"
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Faith sat tapping her fingers and wondering not for the first time how long it would take for this intro thing to get started. Admittedly this was her first actual tour on board a battleship rather than being planetside but she doubted that healing people changed whether you were on a ship or planet. They still got messed up and she still put them back together or at least that was what she figured. If she was wrong then she decided someone had better tell her now before they wasted any more of her time. She sighed again in irritation and glanced up at the stage where the admiral stood clearly waiting for everyone to arrive. At least she wasn't the only one impatient to get started from the expression on his face, but then she figured a man in his position was probably used to others waiting on him and not the other way around.
She heard voices nearby and turned her head to see a group of the crew already becoming acquainted and she watched them for a few moments, she liked to watch people sometimes before speaking to them as she had found you could learn a lot from someone's body language. From what she saw it was a pretty standard bunch with your typical brash extrovert pilots, hardly surprising given their line of work, your quieter studious types and then those in the middle. She made a mental note to find out more about the suit one of them was wearing and what, if any, stresses it caused on the body as she was nothing if not prepared.
Deciding it probably wouldn't hurt to at least greet those she would be working with, she turned around in her seat and looked at the group. She smiled slightly though perhaps a smile was not the right word. It was somewhere between a mocking smile and a grimace as Faith generally didn't do chirpy, dry and sarcastic yes but chirpy no.
"Hi I'm Faith." She said. "I'm the one that is going to be doing those awful unpleasant things called health checks to you people." Her British accent was still strong even after time spent off world.
She heard voices nearby and turned her head to see a group of the crew already becoming acquainted and she watched them for a few moments, she liked to watch people sometimes before speaking to them as she had found you could learn a lot from someone's body language. From what she saw it was a pretty standard bunch with your typical brash extrovert pilots, hardly surprising given their line of work, your quieter studious types and then those in the middle. She made a mental note to find out more about the suit one of them was wearing and what, if any, stresses it caused on the body as she was nothing if not prepared.
Deciding it probably wouldn't hurt to at least greet those she would be working with, she turned around in her seat and looked at the group. She smiled slightly though perhaps a smile was not the right word. It was somewhere between a mocking smile and a grimace as Faith generally didn't do chirpy, dry and sarcastic yes but chirpy no.
"Hi I'm Faith." She said. "I'm the one that is going to be doing those awful unpleasant things called health checks to you people." Her British accent was still strong even after time spent off world.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
Clyde watched Ray walk away, and filed away that his past was traumatic enough to cause flashbacks. He didn't really care what Ray had done on his old ship. This was a new day, a new crew, and a new mission. He would make new mistakes this time. He would tell Ray later that there was no use dwelling in the past: it would only make him screw up in the present. In the mean time he watched the group grow larger even as it lost a member. The other Dunaway brother approached, smoking in sullen silence. Then the doctor turned to face the group.
Clyde didn't bother doing introductions this time- there were too many people that he really had no connections with. He let everyone introduce themselves. Again. "Hey. I'm Clyde. I drive the ship." He paused.
"Isn't this a merry group we have here? Who's missing? Nobody? It should be about time to head out. I for one am rather interested in hearing what such a famous Admiral has to say to us. And a little tired of waiting."
Clyde didn't bother doing introductions this time- there were too many people that he really had no connections with. He let everyone introduce themselves. Again. "Hey. I'm Clyde. I drive the ship." He paused.
"Isn't this a merry group we have here? Who's missing? Nobody? It should be about time to head out. I for one am rather interested in hearing what such a famous Admiral has to say to us. And a little tired of waiting."
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to The Milky Way Universe
Jon looked to his brother and mouthed, nothing but elites, some active some on last ditch tours... this is fishy. He knew his brother could read lips and no reason to spoil the mood. It was then one of the medicals gave them her attention, "Hi I'm Faith. I'm the one that is going to be doing those awful unpleasant things call health checks to you people." She had a strong British accent, Jon would be lying if he didn't find it attractive he considered using some accents he'd had to perfect for undercover jobs and decided no.
"Great to hear Dr. Faith, if it's all right with you I'd like to get mine out of the way ASAP. Local chain of command pending I also have a file or two you may find interesting," he stated. "By the way name's Jon Dunaway,some people call me 'Papa Jon' call me whichever you prefer." He pointed at his brother, not letting the guy ignore the crowd.
"This guy's my brother Atomsk, might not be your uptight military man like myself but you won't find a more effective ground commander. Come on Atty introduce yourself."
"Great to hear Dr. Faith, if it's all right with you I'd like to get mine out of the way ASAP. Local chain of command pending I also have a file or two you may find interesting," he stated. "By the way name's Jon Dunaway,some people call me 'Papa Jon' call me whichever you prefer." He pointed at his brother, not letting the guy ignore the crowd.
"This guy's my brother Atomsk, might not be your uptight military man like myself but you won't find a more effective ground commander. Come on Atty introduce yourself."
Allen was a little out of it. He had heard his nae and a lot of people talking around him. When he snapped back into focus he saw a very large man in a very large suit. "Huh? Oh yea I am Allen. Sorry I was lost in some thought about how to improve the Med read out on the combat suits." When Allen too a look around at tall the people gathered he was a little curious as to why they had sat near him. But he didn't care anymore he was finally happy that someone was talking to him. He was used to being alone for long periods of time that this was almost new to him. "And yea I did a few things for the ship but not a whole lot." He said addressing Jon. "Plus one of my main goals is to get a new and improved Med system in these suits so we are better at seeing vital signs and wont lose any men." He took a look at Jons suit. 'High tech that is for sure.' he thought to himself he leaned forward "Good to meet you Clyde, I'm Allen, Oh and good to meet you to Faith." He stopped for a second "And Its nice to meet you Jon." Allen had so many things he wanted to talk about with the soldier even though he might not know what he is saying he though he would like the tachno babble about keeping him alive. He was excited when talking to these people and his accent was a little thicker than normal but hey he was Irish. Allen stood up and looked at all the people near him "Well I guess I should just say, Hello you all I am Allen, I'll be the one fixing things and checking the engines. And I hope that we can all be drinking buddies by the time this is over."
Ray saw that their grandfather clock admiral was waiting dear old man that he was for every one to shut down, stay put and wait for rescue.
Ray flipped the coin one last time and took the time to look at the picture of the long dead king which was on the coin ,in one fast maneuver slipped the coin back into his pocket and jumped back into a near by seat which was in the area the group he had unofficially joined and sat just in the outskirts of its territory as marked by the area in which a few people did not take the hint and went on talking as if it was a high school lecture which in many respects it was one.
He heard the British voice and learned who he would be cursing and praying for depending on his situation on this journey; Titans no longer had the once British accents they had at one time and had now a very thick and heavy accent of many sources which could be understood by most people but was highly confusing to British people who could hear the British origin but could not get their minds on the extreme variations in the English Titans spoke unless they spent time around Titans for a few days. A British relative who visited Ray's family when Ray was 11 described this as expecting a sweetie and getting it but under a few layers of sand, spit and shit not to mention the sweetie itself is actually Japanese made.
Ray faced the doctor and grinned
"God bless! At least we have an old girl as our Doc! I would not want a shaky hand entertaining my body with some off jokes"
It was an old Titan joke made during the nation wars more then half a century ago when earth was still split by nationality and when Fighter's first developed proper armor which instead of killing the pilots buggered up their bodies which was admittedly a vast improvement but did see the introduction of many raw incompletely trained doctors to deal with the new influx of some what living bodies upon whom the joke was made on due to their chop chop medical philosophy.
"Sorry about that doc, can't help myself maybe you have a pill for that? I am unit commander Peter Ray Davidson or just Ray, I tried getting rid of the Peter part but its illegal for me to do so caz of the Titan naming laws or some other Tory thing and the UC rank isn't as high as it sounds actually"
Ray would have to discuss the naming of his rank with the captain or even the admiral; what was accepted in the Saturn local defense fleet wasn't widely known in the rest of the federation and explaining his rank every time was becoming tedious.
Upon hearing the engineer Ray did what was always done to rookies; teasing.
"If you flamingo up my engines I will strap you to a table and pour molten toffee into your throat.
He then jumped again to the near by seat thus getting quite a few threatening looks from a few people to sit down and stay put.
Ray froze for a few moments as if he was a chameleon evading a predator by taking upon itself the background and then silently sat down near to the engineering lad.
"Don't worry about it al, I am Ray and I fly the prettiest jazz packed hornet in this corner of the galaxy. If you ever find yourself working on her there is a Jukebox I had put in from my old heavy escort hidden in a large "supplies" locker i had extended to house the extra machine; brass dosn't know about it so keep mum. if you want to you can enter the pass key "King Kong" and push a button to enjoy some old fashion style rokenanrolling or some swing that will make the ship dance along with ya"
Ray flipped the coin one last time and took the time to look at the picture of the long dead king which was on the coin ,in one fast maneuver slipped the coin back into his pocket and jumped back into a near by seat which was in the area the group he had unofficially joined and sat just in the outskirts of its territory as marked by the area in which a few people did not take the hint and went on talking as if it was a high school lecture which in many respects it was one.
He heard the British voice and learned who he would be cursing and praying for depending on his situation on this journey; Titans no longer had the once British accents they had at one time and had now a very thick and heavy accent of many sources which could be understood by most people but was highly confusing to British people who could hear the British origin but could not get their minds on the extreme variations in the English Titans spoke unless they spent time around Titans for a few days. A British relative who visited Ray's family when Ray was 11 described this as expecting a sweetie and getting it but under a few layers of sand, spit and shit not to mention the sweetie itself is actually Japanese made.
Ray faced the doctor and grinned
"God bless! At least we have an old girl as our Doc! I would not want a shaky hand entertaining my body with some off jokes"
It was an old Titan joke made during the nation wars more then half a century ago when earth was still split by nationality and when Fighter's first developed proper armor which instead of killing the pilots buggered up their bodies which was admittedly a vast improvement but did see the introduction of many raw incompletely trained doctors to deal with the new influx of some what living bodies upon whom the joke was made on due to their chop chop medical philosophy.
"Sorry about that doc, can't help myself maybe you have a pill for that? I am unit commander Peter Ray Davidson or just Ray, I tried getting rid of the Peter part but its illegal for me to do so caz of the Titan naming laws or some other Tory thing and the UC rank isn't as high as it sounds actually"
Ray would have to discuss the naming of his rank with the captain or even the admiral; what was accepted in the Saturn local defense fleet wasn't widely known in the rest of the federation and explaining his rank every time was becoming tedious.
Upon hearing the engineer Ray did what was always done to rookies; teasing.
"If you flamingo up my engines I will strap you to a table and pour molten toffee into your throat.
He then jumped again to the near by seat thus getting quite a few threatening looks from a few people to sit down and stay put.
Ray froze for a few moments as if he was a chameleon evading a predator by taking upon itself the background and then silently sat down near to the engineering lad.
"Don't worry about it al, I am Ray and I fly the prettiest jazz packed hornet in this corner of the galaxy. If you ever find yourself working on her there is a Jukebox I had put in from my old heavy escort hidden in a large "supplies" locker i had extended to house the extra machine; brass dosn't know about it so keep mum. if you want to you can enter the pass key "King Kong" and push a button to enjoy some old fashion style rokenanrolling or some swing that will make the ship dance along with ya"
Jess grimaces again briefly. The Alexander had been a rough peice of work; a lot of people had lost friends aboard her and Jess was no different. Being a grease monkey on a hangar deck seemed a lot less safe when you really absorbed the fact that the hangar could be blown out from underneath you. She doesnt pry further when Ray - clearly disturbed by it - detatches himself from the group to collect his thoughts. Give the guy his space, but hopefully he wouldnt spend the whole trip brooding. Otherwise good ol' Hyena might have to get creative.
Two more join their erstwhile group, and she smiles broadly at Atomsk and Faith equal parts cheer and casual evaluation. If she's blinked even once, it was gone too fast to notice.
"Now we're talking. Couple of Marines, couple of pilots, a Nav, an Eng, and now the Doc.... Hell, find me the cook and we've collected the whole set." She still lounges lazily across her chair and most of the one next to it, boots up on her duffle and arm slung over the back of the chair to keep the whole group in her view.
"Call me Hyena. I'm pretty much the ultimate badass in anything with an engine." And yes, Jess does casually assume an arms-outstretched 'Lord of the Dance' pose momentarily, as if basking in the light of adoring fans. It was all in good fun, of course; she was mocking classic pilot ego as much as she was extolling her own virtues.
"A group like this is lighting up to be a pretty lively cruise, innit? Who's betting Aliens? Anyone? How about Space Zombies?" The lopsided, canine-exposing smile on her face remains in place as she makes the joke, but she'd hardly missed the little signs that had some of the others antsy. She'd be a piss-poor fighter if she missed the little tells, after all, and an experimental starcraft being loaded had been a red flag the size of a small moon.
At this stage in the game, however, all she could do was wait for the word of the Admiral, still standing stoicly up on the stage as he waiting for everyone to finish finding their seats...
Two more join their erstwhile group, and she smiles broadly at Atomsk and Faith equal parts cheer and casual evaluation. If she's blinked even once, it was gone too fast to notice.
"Now we're talking. Couple of Marines, couple of pilots, a Nav, an Eng, and now the Doc.... Hell, find me the cook and we've collected the whole set." She still lounges lazily across her chair and most of the one next to it, boots up on her duffle and arm slung over the back of the chair to keep the whole group in her view.
"Call me Hyena. I'm pretty much the ultimate badass in anything with an engine." And yes, Jess does casually assume an arms-outstretched 'Lord of the Dance' pose momentarily, as if basking in the light of adoring fans. It was all in good fun, of course; she was mocking classic pilot ego as much as she was extolling her own virtues.
"A group like this is lighting up to be a pretty lively cruise, innit? Who's betting Aliens? Anyone? How about Space Zombies?" The lopsided, canine-exposing smile on her face remains in place as she makes the joke, but she'd hardly missed the little signs that had some of the others antsy. She'd be a piss-poor fighter if she missed the little tells, after all, and an experimental starcraft being loaded had been a red flag the size of a small moon.
At this stage in the game, however, all she could do was wait for the word of the Admiral, still standing stoicly up on the stage as he waiting for everyone to finish finding their seats...
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
Some new faces. He got back to his favorite game. A man who seemed scattered. Book smart. Probably a genius. He'd tear him apart soon enough.
Another man who seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. A pilot but that's all he could tell.
He was moving on to another woman when his Brother forced him into an introduction. Jon knew how to get under his skin. He looked at the woman called Faith and held out his hand. "Atomsk if you would. My brother knows i hate Atty."
Another man who seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. A pilot but that's all he could tell.
He was moving on to another woman when his Brother forced him into an introduction. Jon knew how to get under his skin. He looked at the woman called Faith and held out his hand. "Atomsk if you would. My brother knows i hate Atty."
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to The Milky Way Universe
Once the hall had filled, and Captain Colter being the last person to step in the auditorium, the Admiral finally began to speak. His voice over the speakers quickly quelled all digressing conversations and attention from the parts of the hall that were not present before soon faced the Admiral. It was resounding, firm, courteous, and resolute, aspects of an Admiral’s voice, specifically Aronimus’ voice. Yet there were subtle undertones which took on a different nature, one that was an overtly paternal voice, one with experience that was no less marked by the vicissitudes of life than any other person of his age.
“Welcome to the Salient, I am Admiral Aronimus Weston,” he paused and awaited the crew’s appropriate response which was a round of applause.
Then he continued.
“I will make this briefing…brief. First off, all of you who were assigned to this ship vary in past field experience, but that does not make you any more or less privileged than your fellow servicemen on board this ship for the duration of this mission.”
The Admiral then called upon Alice Chen and Atomsk Dunaway to platform. As he said this, their profile images and names appeared on the viewing screens, as if on cue, for all the hall to see.
“Lieutenant Commander Alice Chen is my second-in-command, should I be busy and unable to fulfill my duties then Commander Chen will address them for me under her own initiative. All ship crews, pilots, technicians, medical crews, and Science corps personnel will answer directly to her. As for Mr. Dunaway, he will be the Commander for all marines and security personnel; you will directly answer to him. These two will be my top subordinates for the duration of the mission lest some incident prevents either of them from fulfilling their duties.”
The Admiral then told the two officers to return to their seats.
Then he paused to regroup his thoughts, at this point he was at a juncture. He could tell them a truth, which would scare some to the point of requesting re-assignment, or he could leave the matter alone, believing the old saying “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” However, he decided to err on the side of truth, simply because that was who he was.
“I will not lie to you. In this mission, like all missions, there is a chance that you will die. I address this to each individual on board, right here, right now, in this room. I must present to you then, a decision. You can choose to stay and complete the mission, or you can choose to re-assign yourself elsewhere. Should you elect the latter, we will gather your personal belongings and transport you back to the station via drop ship.”
He paused, awaiting reactions. Some began to look startled and scared. Others accepted the news as nothing new.
“For the rest of you, we are departing immediately, command crews head to the bridge. I trust you will be able to find directions for yourself. Marines please follow Captain Colter to the Barracks section of the ship and set up your belongings. After which command will revert fully to Commander Atomsk Dunaway for the remainder of the trip. Thank you all for coming to the briefing...so...promptly.” The last bit was a touch of sarcasm that Admiral amused himself with.
The Admiral left the platform immediately, heading through a smaller corridor that led directly to the bridge. He had said all that was needed to be said.
“Welcome to the Salient, I am Admiral Aronimus Weston,” he paused and awaited the crew’s appropriate response which was a round of applause.
Then he continued.
“I will make this briefing…brief. First off, all of you who were assigned to this ship vary in past field experience, but that does not make you any more or less privileged than your fellow servicemen on board this ship for the duration of this mission.”
The Admiral then called upon Alice Chen and Atomsk Dunaway to platform. As he said this, their profile images and names appeared on the viewing screens, as if on cue, for all the hall to see.
“Lieutenant Commander Alice Chen is my second-in-command, should I be busy and unable to fulfill my duties then Commander Chen will address them for me under her own initiative. All ship crews, pilots, technicians, medical crews, and Science corps personnel will answer directly to her. As for Mr. Dunaway, he will be the Commander for all marines and security personnel; you will directly answer to him. These two will be my top subordinates for the duration of the mission lest some incident prevents either of them from fulfilling their duties.”
The Admiral then told the two officers to return to their seats.
Then he paused to regroup his thoughts, at this point he was at a juncture. He could tell them a truth, which would scare some to the point of requesting re-assignment, or he could leave the matter alone, believing the old saying “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” However, he decided to err on the side of truth, simply because that was who he was.
“I will not lie to you. In this mission, like all missions, there is a chance that you will die. I address this to each individual on board, right here, right now, in this room. I must present to you then, a decision. You can choose to stay and complete the mission, or you can choose to re-assign yourself elsewhere. Should you elect the latter, we will gather your personal belongings and transport you back to the station via drop ship.”
He paused, awaiting reactions. Some began to look startled and scared. Others accepted the news as nothing new.
“For the rest of you, we are departing immediately, command crews head to the bridge. I trust you will be able to find directions for yourself. Marines please follow Captain Colter to the Barracks section of the ship and set up your belongings. After which command will revert fully to Commander Atomsk Dunaway for the remainder of the trip. Thank you all for coming to the briefing...so...promptly.” The last bit was a touch of sarcasm that Admiral amused himself with.
The Admiral left the platform immediately, heading through a smaller corridor that led directly to the bridge. He had said all that was needed to be said.
Clyde pounded his fist on the arm of his chair as he stood up. "On the upside that was surprisingly brief. On the downside, I know nothing i did not know when I got here. Let's go everyone!" Clyde was mildly disappointed by the Admiral's "speech", but he didn't really know what he expected of Weston. Perhaps even he didn't have a clue what we would find. He was just a tired old man, it seemed.
Clyde hopped over the back of his chair (the same way he got into it) and took a brisk stride to the bridge. He went over some system checks in his head with a little help from A.D.A.M. and his job for the foreseeable voyage was done before he made it to his seat. The only thing left to do was wait, watch, and try not to fall asleep at the wheel. He settled into his chair and waited for the command to launch. Should it take a while, he logged back into a game of his own design, and feigned taking a nap.
Clyde hopped over the back of his chair (the same way he got into it) and took a brisk stride to the bridge. He went over some system checks in his head with a little help from A.D.A.M. and his job for the foreseeable voyage was done before he made it to his seat. The only thing left to do was wait, watch, and try not to fall asleep at the wheel. He settled into his chair and waited for the command to launch. Should it take a while, he logged back into a game of his own design, and feigned taking a nap.
He was cut short by the voice of the booming Aronimus Weston. His heart jumped at the sudden loud voice. He was excited, but hid it as well as he could. He was maybe the only one silent out of the whole hall. Not out of disrespect, but awe. He sat and began to listen to the man he admired. He was so entranced he almost missed the queue to step on stage. He stood up to walk on stage. He noticed the other woman get up. Alice Chen. He walked up as casually as he could without breaking his very upright stride.
He stopped politely to let Alice up first. As he walked up on stage he saw the man he had so long admired. He remained as calm as he could, but he was in awe of this man. He hoped that no one would notice his excitement. He hid emotion if he could for the sake of authority. Hid was a bad word. "Disguised" was a better word. He would show an emotion different from the one he felt at the moment.
Aronimus clearly stated Atomsk's place in the crew. He controlled the military portion of the crew. Granted he did answer to Aronimus, but he wouldn't meddle with him too much.....he hoped. That's the biggest reason he hid. To seem strong in front of his men.
After his brief introduction Atomsk was "shooed" off stage, for lack of a better word. He sat down again. After the speech was over he promptly got up. He hadn't had a chance to talk with Aronimus personally yet. He quickly ran to catch up to Aronimus. He knew he wouldn't be stopped by any security. Considering he WAS the head of security. He prepared to talk to his hero.
He stopped politely to let Alice up first. As he walked up on stage he saw the man he had so long admired. He remained as calm as he could, but he was in awe of this man. He hoped that no one would notice his excitement. He hid emotion if he could for the sake of authority. Hid was a bad word. "Disguised" was a better word. He would show an emotion different from the one he felt at the moment.
Aronimus clearly stated Atomsk's place in the crew. He controlled the military portion of the crew. Granted he did answer to Aronimus, but he wouldn't meddle with him too much.....he hoped. That's the biggest reason he hid. To seem strong in front of his men.
After his brief introduction Atomsk was "shooed" off stage, for lack of a better word. He sat down again. After the speech was over he promptly got up. He hadn't had a chance to talk with Aronimus personally yet. He quickly ran to catch up to Aronimus. He knew he wouldn't be stopped by any security. Considering he WAS the head of security. He prepared to talk to his hero.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Heading down the narrow corridor, he heard several footsteps outpacing his own behind him. Aronimus turned around, expecting Captain Colter or perhaps Lieutenant Chen. He was fairly surprised, to see the face of a scarred veteran of war, that of Atomsk Dunaway, who minutes earlier he called onto the platform. Aronimus did not know what to expect, he was fairly certain that the commander would have been heading to the Barracks under the direction of Captain Colter in order to set up his own quarters and begin organizing the security teams.
This seemed a bit out of the ordinary, even for the Admiral who has seen much. It was perhaps some important news that the Commander wanted to relay personally to him. That seemed to be the only logical explanation for Dunaway's quick approach after the dispersal of the ship personnel to their various stations. The admiral had not known much of Atomsk, only that he was Jon Dunaway's elder brother, and he was nonetheless a seasoned soldier in his own right. He was just as qualified as his younger brother for the ranking, but some things among his record...most notably his retorts against superiors kept him from reaching his full potential. The Admiral could gloss that much from his profile instantly. He was unsure whether all of this was falsified, but he would have to see for himself.
This seemed a bit out of the ordinary, even for the Admiral who has seen much. It was perhaps some important news that the Commander wanted to relay personally to him. That seemed to be the only logical explanation for Dunaway's quick approach after the dispersal of the ship personnel to their various stations. The admiral had not known much of Atomsk, only that he was Jon Dunaway's elder brother, and he was nonetheless a seasoned soldier in his own right. He was just as qualified as his younger brother for the ranking, but some things among his record...most notably his retorts against superiors kept him from reaching his full potential. The Admiral could gloss that much from his profile instantly. He was unsure whether all of this was falsified, but he would have to see for himself.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
He walked briskly behind the captain unsure of how to address him to initiate this conversation. As the captain turned around he stopped. Frozen, Atomsk saluted, something that he rarely did despite being an officer. He quickly realized that the Admiral was sizing him up, which caused him to snap out of his salute as fast as he snapped into it. He didn't mind this, but at the same time was worried. He admired this man and a bad impression could cause problems.
"Sir! Atomsk Dunway. Altough i'm sure you already...." He was stumbling, making a fool of himself already. "I just wanted to talk to you. Being my superior I was just wondering a few things when it comes to my command." He was lying. To a point. He respected this man, but he was still going to run things his way. He was looking for an excuse to talk.
"Sir! Atomsk Dunway. Altough i'm sure you already...." He was stumbling, making a fool of himself already. "I just wanted to talk to you. Being my superior I was just wondering a few things when it comes to my command." He was lying. To a point. He respected this man, but he was still going to run things his way. He was looking for an excuse to talk.
Thaddeus had his back against a wall listening. He had decided to test some of the aspects of his suit and the abilities of Ghost. He told Ghost to hack into Jon's hearing system while he zoomed his sight to see the faces he was talking to. Now he knew more of the crew without having to even having to speak to them, he couldn't wait to try the suit in battle.
Thaddeus couldn't believe that Jon even accepted a commanding rank, he thought the man would rather be on the field like himself. He personally didn't like the thought of deciding the fate of other soldiers. Thaddeus continued to stare at the members of the crew and Jon's suit until Ghost interrupted. "Is it time to say hello yet?" the A.I asked. With that Thaddeus said "Ya", Ghost switched the external communications back as Thaddeus approached Jon.
Thaddeus couldn't believe that Jon even accepted a commanding rank, he thought the man would rather be on the field like himself. He personally didn't like the thought of deciding the fate of other soldiers. Thaddeus continued to stare at the members of the crew and Jon's suit until Ghost interrupted. "Is it time to say hello yet?" the A.I asked. With that Thaddeus said "Ya", Ghost switched the external communications back as Thaddeus approached Jon.
Throwing both hands up into the air, Hyena is mildly bemused at the nature of the speach, given the large gathering to hear it.
"Halleluja and Amen! 'you might die, now get the fek to work'. I hope -all- command briefs are that short." She laughs, standing out of her seat to scoop up her duffle, "Could've gone for a little more on the 'what's our mission', but hey. I can wait for the flight schedual. Speaking of, someone point my ass to the hangar, I want to see my birds."
Smiling broadly at the remaining members of the erstwhile group in the seats around her, the pilot shrugs, "I guess this is s'long, folks. If you're ever down on the flight deck, look me up, we'll crack out the cards and contraband." Teeth flashing under a blue-eyed wink, it's hard to tell wether the pilot is joking about the whole contraband thing...
Threading her way out of the seats, she can only grin at Thaddeus as he bee-lines for Jon and remark as he passes, "Jesus it's like a convention for you guys, where do I pick up -my- spook suit?"
"Halleluja and Amen! 'you might die, now get the fek to work'. I hope -all- command briefs are that short." She laughs, standing out of her seat to scoop up her duffle, "Could've gone for a little more on the 'what's our mission', but hey. I can wait for the flight schedual. Speaking of, someone point my ass to the hangar, I want to see my birds."
Smiling broadly at the remaining members of the erstwhile group in the seats around her, the pilot shrugs, "I guess this is s'long, folks. If you're ever down on the flight deck, look me up, we'll crack out the cards and contraband." Teeth flashing under a blue-eyed wink, it's hard to tell wether the pilot is joking about the whole contraband thing...
Threading her way out of the seats, she can only grin at Thaddeus as he bee-lines for Jon and remark as he passes, "Jesus it's like a convention for you guys, where do I pick up -my- spook suit?"
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
Without looking up at Thaddues, Jon states," You really should be using a system link instead of hacking into my system, if you disrupt AI functions while I try to move it'd shatter the limb after which the human body's own inadvertent pain spasms would be amplified resulting in the death of the suit operator. I believe that was the 5th precautionary statement we were given on these things."
Jon stood up, his left arm hanging funny, "Luckily you shut down the suits amplifiers before it did any more than a minor fracture and dislocated my shoulder, guess we can confirm the tech's suspicion on increasing cyber-ware and compliment them on the effectiveness of the quick patch medical system, barely feel a thing."
"Guys this is Thaddeus, spec ops infiltration and stealth. He may be the coldest SOB you'll ever meet but he's the best in his field. We served together once, we were pinned for 72 hours in a bunker with nothing but 4 sidearms, a sniper, two rifles and one old fashioned chainsaw...damn I miss that thing, but you shoulda seen the faces when we walked outta that." Knowing Thaddeus would address him at his own speed Jon turned to the other guys and continued talking.
"Don't suppose we can all head over to the med wing and get this patched up can we doc, and I may need help getting this thing off."
Jon stood up, his left arm hanging funny, "Luckily you shut down the suits amplifiers before it did any more than a minor fracture and dislocated my shoulder, guess we can confirm the tech's suspicion on increasing cyber-ware and compliment them on the effectiveness of the quick patch medical system, barely feel a thing."
"Guys this is Thaddeus, spec ops infiltration and stealth. He may be the coldest SOB you'll ever meet but he's the best in his field. We served together once, we were pinned for 72 hours in a bunker with nothing but 4 sidearms, a sniper, two rifles and one old fashioned chainsaw...damn I miss that thing, but you shoulda seen the faces when we walked outta that." Knowing Thaddeus would address him at his own speed Jon turned to the other guys and continued talking.
"Don't suppose we can all head over to the med wing and get this patched up can we doc, and I may need help getting this thing off."
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to The Milky Way Universe
Tiaan Peyton
Why had she thought it was a good idea, she knew she had been reassigned and after being on the Demeter; one of the oldest battleships, practically a relic. Being reassigned finally was something to celebrate, have fun let loose and live like you were going to die tomorrow. In retrospect this idea seem stupid, no moronic. Everything had started grand, she was drinking, dancing and having a laugh -- then she appeared, a girl wearing a gorgeous blue dress leaving nothing to the imagination. Honestly she should have ignored her, but the girl kept trying to get her attention. Somehow or another they got dancing and just as night couldn't seem to get better, she leaned in to kiss her. When their lips were almost touching she screamed. The girl's face been bothering constantly, now she knew why, she was almost twin to Stephanie. In horror and humiliation she ran out dragging her picture out and weeping.
She couldn't go home like this, but where could she go, not like she had anywhere else.
Tiaan then remembered the card, she was near the port, and could probably sneak into the ship, and get over this depression, wake up and leave. No one would be aware.
Fast forward to now, the card was flashing green incessantly and she had a major hang over. It didn't help she had fallen on an actual bed, and her tears had soaked the mattress. This wasn't good, not good at all.
Leaping up she tried to straighten herself up. Maybe she could still rush home to get her uniform, maybe it was still night. Hopefully it was, once more trying to stand, she felt the hum of the engines and sighed heavily.
Well fuck...
"Tiaan what have you done now, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Glancing around she tried to see or guess where she was, it was a pretty spacious room with a chest of drawers, wardrobe and full sized window looking out into space. This was certainly not a room she should be in.
Just then she heard a footsteps and voices, "I tell you Frank there is someone here. I don't care what Captain says, not everyone arrived."
Oh shit... shitshitshit.
Looking herself over she grimace, her hair was an utter bedraggled mess and her dress wasn't sensible at all.
The door opened and she smiled sheepishly, "Uh... hi... I'm Peyton, Tiaan Peyton... don't suppose you guys know where my room is."
They merely glared.
Well this was great way to begin a new career...
Worse day of my life she thought, worse day ever.
Why had she thought it was a good idea, she knew she had been reassigned and after being on the Demeter; one of the oldest battleships, practically a relic. Being reassigned finally was something to celebrate, have fun let loose and live like you were going to die tomorrow. In retrospect this idea seem stupid, no moronic. Everything had started grand, she was drinking, dancing and having a laugh -- then she appeared, a girl wearing a gorgeous blue dress leaving nothing to the imagination. Honestly she should have ignored her, but the girl kept trying to get her attention. Somehow or another they got dancing and just as night couldn't seem to get better, she leaned in to kiss her. When their lips were almost touching she screamed. The girl's face been bothering constantly, now she knew why, she was almost twin to Stephanie. In horror and humiliation she ran out dragging her picture out and weeping.
She couldn't go home like this, but where could she go, not like she had anywhere else.
Tiaan then remembered the card, she was near the port, and could probably sneak into the ship, and get over this depression, wake up and leave. No one would be aware.
Fast forward to now, the card was flashing green incessantly and she had a major hang over. It didn't help she had fallen on an actual bed, and her tears had soaked the mattress. This wasn't good, not good at all.
Leaping up she tried to straighten herself up. Maybe she could still rush home to get her uniform, maybe it was still night. Hopefully it was, once more trying to stand, she felt the hum of the engines and sighed heavily.
Well fuck...
"Tiaan what have you done now, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Glancing around she tried to see or guess where she was, it was a pretty spacious room with a chest of drawers, wardrobe and full sized window looking out into space. This was certainly not a room she should be in.
Just then she heard a footsteps and voices, "I tell you Frank there is someone here. I don't care what Captain says, not everyone arrived."
Oh shit... shitshitshit.
Looking herself over she grimace, her hair was an utter bedraggled mess and her dress wasn't sensible at all.
The door opened and she smiled sheepishly, "Uh... hi... I'm Peyton, Tiaan Peyton... don't suppose you guys know where my room is."
They merely glared.
Well this was great way to begin a new career...
Worse day of my life she thought, worse day ever.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Ridley could hardly contain his laughter throughout the Captain's speech. It was all to clear that he was avoiding telling them some of their journey's finer qualities, but that just added to the excitement, he was looking forward to seeing how people reacted to the unexpected. A broad smile split his face; "A chance you will die." He muttered to himself. "Life's full of chances, isn't it?" Standing from his seat, he gave a quick look around the Assembly Hall before heading out into the hallway. As Lieutenant, he would be expected on the bridge, and so started down the long hall in that direction. One hardly needed a map to locate the bridge, regardless of what ship you were on, as long as you had able to pick out the 'important' looking areas. Nevertheless, he stopped by a map that had been posted to get a quick readout. Sure enough, to reach the bridge, all he had to do was climb. He continued heading down the hallway toward what would be his station for quite a while to come, that is unless life decided to play his 'chances'.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Ray knew he was going to love this admiral from this point on; short speeches and no lectures was a way by which a CO could become from an inconvenience to a godsend.
As everyone remembered they had the fleshy things called legs and decided to stand up and go have a sniff around the ship and get comfortable Ray could not help but be nervous by the admiral's clear lack of any kind of "voyage blessing" in his speech.
Ray wasn't really a religious man even if Titan law decreed that people had to go to church on Sunday as part of their civic duty. There where quite a few people who where religious on Titan including Ray's family but Ray never liked the idea so much.
Even so making a speech without a voyage blessing was a rotten start for a voyage and could be seen as a bad omen; Ray knew this was a load of nonsense and that any misfortune which occurred in the voyage was ether because of coincidence or the mental state of seeing every bit of misfortune as the omen coming true. Ray tried to dismiss his feeling but could not and hoped the admiral would make the appropriate blessing once the journey began.
Ray decided he would pay a visit to his beauty, many wondered why he called her butcher pete and addressed her as female; the reason for this was that butcher pete was the name of her type and registration in the swing class. As far as the brass where concerned the ship had no other official name apart from its designation and crew names didn't matter in the name list.
Ray still hadn't decided on a name for her and decided to think about one later, he journeyed into the depths of the ship still marveling at the workmanship and the fantastic artificial gravity the ship had; Titan's colonies never developed beyond 71% earth gravity because of the effect the rain had on the generators and also the conservative party which was very popular on Titan believed that to extend the gravity would be a breach of tradition.
And so Ray wasn't used to this kind of gravity and found it rather tedious especially since he had spent most of the past few years in a gunship with barley 20% earth gravity at best and asteroid bases and space stations with barley 30% earth gravity.
As Ray managed to get himself lost again in the vast corridors and halls the ship possessed he decided to make a guess and took a left turn. As he marched on he saw a small commotion ahead of him and decided to investigate; it seemed that two crew personal where investigating a badly dressed but good looking chick.
Ray decided he would enjoy himself a bit by meddling In affairs he had no business with and stepped into the setuation holding his hands behind his back and mimicking the "officers stance" which every CO showed off.
With a sharp voice designed to make people jump in surprise and by copying the average Titan policeman Ray said:
"Allo allo allo; what's happening here then?"
As everyone remembered they had the fleshy things called legs and decided to stand up and go have a sniff around the ship and get comfortable Ray could not help but be nervous by the admiral's clear lack of any kind of "voyage blessing" in his speech.
Ray wasn't really a religious man even if Titan law decreed that people had to go to church on Sunday as part of their civic duty. There where quite a few people who where religious on Titan including Ray's family but Ray never liked the idea so much.
Even so making a speech without a voyage blessing was a rotten start for a voyage and could be seen as a bad omen; Ray knew this was a load of nonsense and that any misfortune which occurred in the voyage was ether because of coincidence or the mental state of seeing every bit of misfortune as the omen coming true. Ray tried to dismiss his feeling but could not and hoped the admiral would make the appropriate blessing once the journey began.
Ray decided he would pay a visit to his beauty, many wondered why he called her butcher pete and addressed her as female; the reason for this was that butcher pete was the name of her type and registration in the swing class. As far as the brass where concerned the ship had no other official name apart from its designation and crew names didn't matter in the name list.
Ray still hadn't decided on a name for her and decided to think about one later, he journeyed into the depths of the ship still marveling at the workmanship and the fantastic artificial gravity the ship had; Titan's colonies never developed beyond 71% earth gravity because of the effect the rain had on the generators and also the conservative party which was very popular on Titan believed that to extend the gravity would be a breach of tradition.
And so Ray wasn't used to this kind of gravity and found it rather tedious especially since he had spent most of the past few years in a gunship with barley 20% earth gravity at best and asteroid bases and space stations with barley 30% earth gravity.
As Ray managed to get himself lost again in the vast corridors and halls the ship possessed he decided to make a guess and took a left turn. As he marched on he saw a small commotion ahead of him and decided to investigate; it seemed that two crew personal where investigating a badly dressed but good looking chick.
Ray decided he would enjoy himself a bit by meddling In affairs he had no business with and stepped into the setuation holding his hands behind his back and mimicking the "officers stance" which every CO showed off.
With a sharp voice designed to make people jump in surprise and by copying the average Titan policeman Ray said:
"Allo allo allo; what's happening here then?"
Tiaan Peyton
Seeing another person arrive she blanched and saluted instinctively driving through her mind for her rank and details, "I'm Tiann Peyton Fighter Pilot 1st Class--- of um.... um... oh year of the SS Demeter... number... oh um..." think Tiaan think!, "36789." Phew.
The guy she guessed called Frank replied in sharp tone, "How did you get on board."
Tentatively she pulled out her pass, "This..."
Catching the eye of the third person she swore she saw a wink, great, not only was she being humiliated but now she was being sexualised, "I understand this isn't my uniform, but I promise my stuff is already on board, it was sent earlier on. If you could just get the Captain---."
"He's busy!"
Looking desperately around she at this moment wished the earth would open up.
Seeing another person arrive she blanched and saluted instinctively driving through her mind for her rank and details, "I'm Tiann Peyton Fighter Pilot 1st Class--- of um.... um... oh year of the SS Demeter... number... oh um..." think Tiaan think!, "36789." Phew.
The guy she guessed called Frank replied in sharp tone, "How did you get on board."
Tentatively she pulled out her pass, "This..."
Catching the eye of the third person she swore she saw a wink, great, not only was she being humiliated but now she was being sexualised, "I understand this isn't my uniform, but I promise my stuff is already on board, it was sent earlier on. If you could just get the Captain---."
"He's busy!"
Looking desperately around she at this moment wished the earth would open up.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to General Assembly Hall
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Faith was not really surprised at the mix of personalities she had come into contact with, each person dealt with this sort of assignment in his or her own way. The woman calling herself 'Hyena' was a typical example of a fighter pilot, all bravado and cockiness, and Faith could not help but grin back at the other woman. She couldn't help herself, she liked the over confident brash woman already and figured they would end up drinking together in the bar at some point. Faith did not get much of a chance to respond to any of them before the admiral begun his welcoming speech, Faith settled back in her seat and watched the admiral. Her first thoughts were finally he was getting on with it and secondly that he wasn't doing too bad in terms of health for a man of his age. She would bet twenty Royals, her favourite brand of cigarette, that his medical file said he was in perfect shape as men like him usually were. It seemed something about the career military that they were disciplined and most hated medicals of any kind. She would be surprised if he were any different but he would soon learn that she would expect the same from him as the other crew in that regard.
The admirals speech was short and to the point, exactly how Faith liked it, and within minutes it was over. She now knew his immediate subordinates were and was not overly worried. She doubted she would have much to do with the elder Dunway except perhaps when she fixed up he or any of his men during this tour. Chen she would almost certainly deal with but the woman seemed reasonable enough in that she was hard but fair. As Chief Medical Director she had no doubt that she and Chen would be working closely together. She decided at a later date that it might be worth she and Chen having a quiet drink and getting to know each other a little better. Her job running the medical staff on board would go a lot smoother if she and the Lt Commander understood each other.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by one of the men in suits addressing her, she glanced at him and noticed immediately that one of his arms hung at an odd angle. She sighed and nodded. "Come on then, might as well test out the equipment. Hope you enjoy being my lab rat." She commented.
She walked out of the hall and stopped for a moment to get her bearings, she had no idea where any of the medical centres were. She stopped at a terminal on the wall and requested directions to the nearest med bay. The terminal displayed the corridors between here and the med bay and she took a moment to remember the route. She then walked confidently down the corridor and in short order arrived at the medical bay closest to the Assembly Hall.
Staff were already in here hurrying to and fro ensuring everything was as it should be before they left. Faith nodded to those in acknowledgement before walking to the nearest bed.
"Well lets get on with this then." She said to Jon.
The admirals speech was short and to the point, exactly how Faith liked it, and within minutes it was over. She now knew his immediate subordinates were and was not overly worried. She doubted she would have much to do with the elder Dunway except perhaps when she fixed up he or any of his men during this tour. Chen she would almost certainly deal with but the woman seemed reasonable enough in that she was hard but fair. As Chief Medical Director she had no doubt that she and Chen would be working closely together. She decided at a later date that it might be worth she and Chen having a quiet drink and getting to know each other a little better. Her job running the medical staff on board would go a lot smoother if she and the Lt Commander understood each other.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by one of the men in suits addressing her, she glanced at him and noticed immediately that one of his arms hung at an odd angle. She sighed and nodded. "Come on then, might as well test out the equipment. Hope you enjoy being my lab rat." She commented.
She walked out of the hall and stopped for a moment to get her bearings, she had no idea where any of the medical centres were. She stopped at a terminal on the wall and requested directions to the nearest med bay. The terminal displayed the corridors between here and the med bay and she took a moment to remember the route. She then walked confidently down the corridor and in short order arrived at the medical bay closest to the Assembly Hall.
Staff were already in here hurrying to and fro ensuring everything was as it should be before they left. Faith nodded to those in acknowledgement before walking to the nearest bed.
"Well lets get on with this then." She said to Jon.
The setting changes from General Assembly Hall to F.S.S. Salient
Aronimus noted some tension in Atomsk's reaction, which was anything but calm. The admiral, however, did not detect a hint of anxiety or nervousness, mainly because he did not expect it from someone such as the commander. His hurried salute meant there was perhaps some vital news that he needed to bring to Aronimus' attention. Even the admiral was surprised, the ship had barely departed yet, the crew members were still disbanding, and the marines were still setting up their quarters. Perhaps this could be some urgent message relayed personally to Atomsk, whom they wanted to bring the news directly to him.
Nonetheless, the commander asked about his position and duties, which was fairly odd even for Aronimus. A man like Atomsk surely should have been told or learned of his priorities on board the Salient beforehand. Although, Atomsk would be the unlikeliest of ground commanders given his past record of insubordination to superiors. A man who did not respect his superiors, surely would be unable to command the respect of his subordinates. Yet, that was merely speculation on the Admiral's part. Despite all this, the Admiral knew though that Atomsk was experienced in the field, and perhaps there was some unique aspect regarding this stubborn veteran that made him the suitable candidate to be assigned to this ship. However, the unique aspect or quality remained to be seen.
"At ease, Commander, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"
The admiral continued his stride, expecting that commander Dunaway would follow him to the bridge if necessary.
Nonetheless, the commander asked about his position and duties, which was fairly odd even for Aronimus. A man like Atomsk surely should have been told or learned of his priorities on board the Salient beforehand. Although, Atomsk would be the unlikeliest of ground commanders given his past record of insubordination to superiors. A man who did not respect his superiors, surely would be unable to command the respect of his subordinates. Yet, that was merely speculation on the Admiral's part. Despite all this, the Admiral knew though that Atomsk was experienced in the field, and perhaps there was some unique aspect regarding this stubborn veteran that made him the suitable candidate to be assigned to this ship. However, the unique aspect or quality remained to be seen.
"At ease, Commander, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"
The admiral continued his stride, expecting that commander Dunaway would follow him to the bridge if necessary.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
"Thank you sir." He began to walk along side Aronimus. "I apologize. I know your busy and my question is a stupid one to ask considering my position." He was loosening up.
"I hope we can find a time in the future to talk more casually. But for now I just wanted to make sure you were aware of how I run things. I'm assuming you've read my profile. I was just making sure I wouldn't be controlled too much. That will hinder my ability to command." He was sounding arrogant now, but he couldn't think of another way to put it.
"I hope we can find a time in the future to talk more casually. But for now I just wanted to make sure you were aware of how I run things. I'm assuming you've read my profile. I was just making sure I wouldn't be controlled too much. That will hinder my ability to command." He was sounding arrogant now, but he couldn't think of another way to put it.
Allen sat and listened to the speech that the admiral had given. It was nice to hear some of the things, he almost trusted that nothing would happen to anyone. Yet he somehow knew better to think like that. After the speech was over and people started to mil about he turned to those remaining near him. "Well, i'm off to go and get a drink." He stated as he stood up and started to walk off. He knew the way for the most part from being allowed on just a tad bit early but he still got lost. He touched two fingers to his forehead out of frustration, then began to search for a map. Once he found one Allen place his finger where he was and then traced where he wanted to go. "There we are." he said as he turned a corner to find his way. He had to be honest with himself he was tired not just from lack of sleep but all the emotional things that he never wanted to talk about. As for this moment the only thing left in his mind was wanting a good drink.
Ray found the entire situation outrageously amusing and wondered to whom the room belonged to and secretly hoped it turned out to belong to miss china town the CO and thus expand the drama.
Ray however wasn't so cruel to show his amusement and decided to help his fellow pilot, he wanted at least one of his guardian angles to owe him a favor and not leave him to fend for himself as they went after targets in their never ending quest for glory.
"Hay Fred, what's up mate?" he said to the man called Frank and began his normal procedure of confusing people to oblivion until they gave up.
"Who are you? My name's Frank and this matter Is under my authority" said Frank who was as Ray saw it a very frank person.
Ray made himself look even more official and saluted back to the damsel in distress and then turned to Frank the frank and said with his "I outrank you so piss off before I piss on your career kind of tone"
"Well Frodo I am Unit Commander Peter Raymond Davidson stand too when talking to a superior!"
Frank took his time and looked at the crew manifesto and then with a grin of triumph said savagely
" I can't see your name on the list princess so explain yourself before I turn you in"
Ray snatched the data pad and looked down on his profile; since he changed his name his full name was further down on his profile and he assumed Frank the frank ignoramus didn't read it all.
Ray then marked that part of the profile and gave it back to him and presented himself as an even nastier figure; Ray assumed the man didn't know that unit commander wasn't actually a high rank but he wasn't about to tell him that.
"Well then general Franco I belleive you where about to do something?"
Frank the Frank ignoramus Kaputtus looked at the data pad and went into attention, his fellow womanizer who acted the part of long Jones parrot during the conversation also saluted and both seemed rather pale apart from some very red cheeks.
"Sorry sir I didn't know sir, we where just doin our job sir"
Ray looked at Frank the Frank ignoramus Kaputtus pussyfootus and broke into a smile; a cruel smile of seemingly sadistic pleasure.
"Yes you do have a job Mr. François, your job is to inspect the ship is that correct?"
"Yes… sir"
"Well then Francis go to it! if your job is inspection have you inspected our waste disposal drains yet?
'No… sir" he said now knowing where the conversation was going
Ray enjoying every moment came closer to him and smiled again
"Well the drains do not inspect themselves; go to it bullet!"
And with that Frank the Frank ignoramus Kaputtus pussyfootus Idiotus and his parrot ran off, Ray wondered how long it would take for them to realize that Ray had no authority over them and how would they react to that knowledge.
He then turned to the lassie and saluted again and said at last with his friendly natured voice barley containing his will to laugh out loud.
"I wonder how long it will take for them to figure out I had no authority to give them that order" Ray then laughed unable to contain his amusement any longer, after regaining himself he offered his hand and said still chuckling from the bizarre event.
"Sorry about that, I can't help it. The names Ray by the way and don't worry about them. They won't recall your name as they will be to busy cursing mine.
I can see you had a bit of fun before our mission so I suggest we get rid of the evidence in the room you used and get you in a presentable state of affairs"
Ray entered the room and took out a jar of coffee and took out a few cups and pressed the hot water option on the tap.
"How many do you think you need?"
Ray however wasn't so cruel to show his amusement and decided to help his fellow pilot, he wanted at least one of his guardian angles to owe him a favor and not leave him to fend for himself as they went after targets in their never ending quest for glory.
"Hay Fred, what's up mate?" he said to the man called Frank and began his normal procedure of confusing people to oblivion until they gave up.
"Who are you? My name's Frank and this matter Is under my authority" said Frank who was as Ray saw it a very frank person.
Ray made himself look even more official and saluted back to the damsel in distress and then turned to Frank the frank and said with his "I outrank you so piss off before I piss on your career kind of tone"
"Well Frodo I am Unit Commander Peter Raymond Davidson stand too when talking to a superior!"
Frank took his time and looked at the crew manifesto and then with a grin of triumph said savagely
" I can't see your name on the list princess so explain yourself before I turn you in"
Ray snatched the data pad and looked down on his profile; since he changed his name his full name was further down on his profile and he assumed Frank the frank ignoramus didn't read it all.
Ray then marked that part of the profile and gave it back to him and presented himself as an even nastier figure; Ray assumed the man didn't know that unit commander wasn't actually a high rank but he wasn't about to tell him that.
"Well then general Franco I belleive you where about to do something?"
Frank the Frank ignoramus Kaputtus looked at the data pad and went into attention, his fellow womanizer who acted the part of long Jones parrot during the conversation also saluted and both seemed rather pale apart from some very red cheeks.
"Sorry sir I didn't know sir, we where just doin our job sir"
Ray looked at Frank the Frank ignoramus Kaputtus pussyfootus and broke into a smile; a cruel smile of seemingly sadistic pleasure.
"Yes you do have a job Mr. François, your job is to inspect the ship is that correct?"
"Yes… sir"
"Well then Francis go to it! if your job is inspection have you inspected our waste disposal drains yet?
'No… sir" he said now knowing where the conversation was going
Ray enjoying every moment came closer to him and smiled again
"Well the drains do not inspect themselves; go to it bullet!"
And with that Frank the Frank ignoramus Kaputtus pussyfootus Idiotus and his parrot ran off, Ray wondered how long it would take for them to realize that Ray had no authority over them and how would they react to that knowledge.
He then turned to the lassie and saluted again and said at last with his friendly natured voice barley containing his will to laugh out loud.
"I wonder how long it will take for them to figure out I had no authority to give them that order" Ray then laughed unable to contain his amusement any longer, after regaining himself he offered his hand and said still chuckling from the bizarre event.
"Sorry about that, I can't help it. The names Ray by the way and don't worry about them. They won't recall your name as they will be to busy cursing mine.
I can see you had a bit of fun before our mission so I suggest we get rid of the evidence in the room you used and get you in a presentable state of affairs"
Ray entered the room and took out a jar of coffee and took out a few cups and pressed the hot water option on the tap.
"How many do you think you need?"
Tiaan Peyton
Watching all that happened in morbid curiosity she almost didn't hear him, but after he repeated she replied, "Oh um, four should be enough, I didn't drink too much, but did drink hard, if ya catch my drift. This is rather embarrassing I normally better prepared than this." grinning sheepishly she continued, "Thank you though for getting rid of them, I can defend myself, but in state I am right now, doubt could win any fight. I'm Tiaan by the way, you might have heard of my family Clarice Peyton, I'm his daughter, his progeny. I know it doesn't seem likely, but last night was kinda of distressing, I just couldn't go home.
Seeing him fling over a uniform she stripped out her dress and threw on uniform hurriedly, relaxing a little as the cotton and polyester touch her skin. Although the insignia was wrong, she was now officially part of the crew, which was great -- she hoped her fighter had made the transfer since much like ship's, she could never have another Blue Tit (Mercury Class Fighter Customized out the wazoo).
"I'm rather ashamed can't truly thank you in anyway. I've got nothing really to give and what items do have, are considered priceless." she breathed sadly, "I hope you understand." she doubted he would mind, despite her misgiving about him, first impressions could be a bitch and in this case, she looked likely wrong.
"You look familiar, I swear my Father has a photo with ya in it, it's him and his whole fighter crew." He really did look like the guy, but surely he would have retired by now.
"Clarice (Vulture) Peyton ring any bells?"
Of course her name from Demeter would need to change since new ship changed the whole dynamic, to be honest she never liked Birdy anyway.
Watching all that happened in morbid curiosity she almost didn't hear him, but after he repeated she replied, "Oh um, four should be enough, I didn't drink too much, but did drink hard, if ya catch my drift. This is rather embarrassing I normally better prepared than this." grinning sheepishly she continued, "Thank you though for getting rid of them, I can defend myself, but in state I am right now, doubt could win any fight. I'm Tiaan by the way, you might have heard of my family Clarice Peyton, I'm his daughter, his progeny. I know it doesn't seem likely, but last night was kinda of distressing, I just couldn't go home.
Seeing him fling over a uniform she stripped out her dress and threw on uniform hurriedly, relaxing a little as the cotton and polyester touch her skin. Although the insignia was wrong, she was now officially part of the crew, which was great -- she hoped her fighter had made the transfer since much like ship's, she could never have another Blue Tit (Mercury Class Fighter Customized out the wazoo).
"I'm rather ashamed can't truly thank you in anyway. I've got nothing really to give and what items do have, are considered priceless." she breathed sadly, "I hope you understand." she doubted he would mind, despite her misgiving about him, first impressions could be a bitch and in this case, she looked likely wrong.
"You look familiar, I swear my Father has a photo with ya in it, it's him and his whole fighter crew." He really did look like the guy, but surely he would have retired by now.
"Clarice (Vulture) Peyton ring any bells?"
Of course her name from Demeter would need to change since new ship changed the whole dynamic, to be honest she never liked Birdy anyway.
Thaddeus enjoyed the results of his little experiment. They said to test out the suits and he did just that by bending a few rules in order to do it. "About that arm Jon," Thaddeus began to say "I know we weren't supposed to attempt it but I just couldn't pass up a chance to give it a whirl. It may be a little unethical to say it in that way, but you of all people should know of how different my line of work can be than that of a traditional soldier.
Thaddeus turned to the medic treating Jon. "So madam, how experienced of a field medic are you? How well can you perform a surgery during the heat of battle? Thaddeus asked. He was interested in the crew, especially Atomsk, who looked as if he might try to strangle Thaddeus in any moment. Though he usually over planned things, Thaddeus favored a straight diagonal kick to the knee cap and a jab to the elbow was a nice touch for such events. Never the less he had prepared himself for such movements earlier. He continued to watch the medic handle Jon's arm.
Thaddeus turned to the medic treating Jon. "So madam, how experienced of a field medic are you? How well can you perform a surgery during the heat of battle? Thaddeus asked. He was interested in the crew, especially Atomsk, who looked as if he might try to strangle Thaddeus in any moment. Though he usually over planned things, Thaddeus favored a straight diagonal kick to the knee cap and a jab to the elbow was a nice touch for such events. Never the less he had prepared himself for such movements earlier. He continued to watch the medic handle Jon's arm.
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Alice walked calmly from the briefing room, letting the tide of crewmen carry her away down the hall, in no hurry to be anywhere. It would take some time for the ship to be ready to sail. She could wait to meet the Admiral - he would be swamped now, she was sure, by more experienced officers eager to put their names up to him. Alice doubted that she needed to put in a good word for herself. She trusted that the Admiral had read his personnel's service records, just as she had, and her own record was more than enough to explain the sort of officer she was. She would take care of her duties, and anything beyond she felt necessary to keep the ship running under the Admiral's command. She would serve the Admiral loyally - so long as his decisions were logical and did not put unnecessary danger to crew or vessel. The prodigal officer. The perfect military woman.
Sometimes, Alice wished there was someone else in the Federation who knew her secret, just so she could have a black mark on that shining reputation of hers. Glittering records drew attention, weighed heavily on the shoulders of their owners. Attention and extra worry were two things that Alice did not need. Nevertheless, she accepted both. Comfort was a simple thing to trade for this dream life. She wanted nothing more than to be an officer.
Alice turned a sharp corner, spinning on the heel of her boot, prepared to enter her room. And found it occupied. She stopped in the door, staring around, stunned but showing none of it on her fiercely military face.
The room was a wreck. At least, compared to what it should have been. Alcohol bottles - her bottles, naturally - strewn everywhere, bed mussed and obviously damp. Someone had spent the night here, on the ship before it was approved. Drunk. Very drunk.
That someone was still inside the room.
At first, Alice thought it might be the wayward Peter Davidson. But no, she had already seen him at the briefing, and he looked much too well tended to be suffering from the hangover Alice knew would be caused by this much spirit. No, there was another here. The offending officer...
Her eyes fell on a woman. Of course, the spitfire pilot, Tiaan Peyton. A loyal fighter and a trouble-maker, like many pilots Alice had met in her time. This was the sort of person she was expected to deal with... but Tiaan did not need to be dealt with. Not now. Grief filled the woman's face and thoughts. Alice nodded silently to herself. This offense, considering its causes, could be allowed to slide...
"Rough night?" she asked evenly, striding into the room. Her heels snapped against the floor, accentuating her every movement. Alice was not an ugly woman - the precise opposite, in fact. Tall and slender and very strong, wearing the flattering officer's uniform, she had received many propositions from men aboard the prison ship she had commanded until recently. She expected to receive many more. She expected to turn down every one. Her lustrous black here was beautiful, her face perfectly kept, her eyes made-up and her teeth white and perfect not because she wished to attract a mate. Her body was marvelously fit not because she wanted it played with. Alice maintained her appearance for only one reason.
To uphold the image of the Federation.
Striding across to the bed, Alice shrugged off the sharp officer's jacket and tossed it to one side, baring the crisp whites underneath. She turned then to face Ray and Tiaan, tugging her dark hair out of its stiff ponytail and letting it relax into curls which lapped at her mid-back. She was a formal, military woman.
But these were her quarters. She had the right to relax here... and being as stiff as she usually was would help her make no friends with this pair. She could tell.
Sometimes, Alice wished there was someone else in the Federation who knew her secret, just so she could have a black mark on that shining reputation of hers. Glittering records drew attention, weighed heavily on the shoulders of their owners. Attention and extra worry were two things that Alice did not need. Nevertheless, she accepted both. Comfort was a simple thing to trade for this dream life. She wanted nothing more than to be an officer.
Alice turned a sharp corner, spinning on the heel of her boot, prepared to enter her room. And found it occupied. She stopped in the door, staring around, stunned but showing none of it on her fiercely military face.
The room was a wreck. At least, compared to what it should have been. Alcohol bottles - her bottles, naturally - strewn everywhere, bed mussed and obviously damp. Someone had spent the night here, on the ship before it was approved. Drunk. Very drunk.
That someone was still inside the room.
At first, Alice thought it might be the wayward Peter Davidson. But no, she had already seen him at the briefing, and he looked much too well tended to be suffering from the hangover Alice knew would be caused by this much spirit. No, there was another here. The offending officer...
Her eyes fell on a woman. Of course, the spitfire pilot, Tiaan Peyton. A loyal fighter and a trouble-maker, like many pilots Alice had met in her time. This was the sort of person she was expected to deal with... but Tiaan did not need to be dealt with. Not now. Grief filled the woman's face and thoughts. Alice nodded silently to herself. This offense, considering its causes, could be allowed to slide...
"Rough night?" she asked evenly, striding into the room. Her heels snapped against the floor, accentuating her every movement. Alice was not an ugly woman - the precise opposite, in fact. Tall and slender and very strong, wearing the flattering officer's uniform, she had received many propositions from men aboard the prison ship she had commanded until recently. She expected to receive many more. She expected to turn down every one. Her lustrous black here was beautiful, her face perfectly kept, her eyes made-up and her teeth white and perfect not because she wished to attract a mate. Her body was marvelously fit not because she wanted it played with. Alice maintained her appearance for only one reason.
To uphold the image of the Federation.
Striding across to the bed, Alice shrugged off the sharp officer's jacket and tossed it to one side, baring the crisp whites underneath. She turned then to face Ray and Tiaan, tugging her dark hair out of its stiff ponytail and letting it relax into curls which lapped at her mid-back. She was a formal, military woman.
But these were her quarters. She had the right to relax here... and being as stiff as she usually was would help her make no friends with this pair. She could tell.
"I hope we can find a time in the future to talk more casually. But for now I just wanted to make sure you were aware of how I run things. I'm assuming you've read my profile. I was just making sure I wouldn't be controlled too much. That will hinder my ability to command." Atomsk now assumed a position beside the Admiral as they walked to the bridge.
Aronimus detected a twinge of bravado, perhaps even arrogance coming from the commander. He wondered whether this was the distinctive trait that got Atomsk assigned to this post. However, the admiral welcomed it, which might have come as a surprise to fellow acquaintances. Aronimus knew that arrogance was a sign of youth, but he knew that sooner or later it should be tempered otherwise it could be disastrous. At this point he was reminded of Captain Colter and his tragic exploits. It was psychologically shattering to a leader; even he himself had lost fellow crew members before. Aronimus decided he would have to deal with this now before it placed any crew members in danger. Although Atomsk had gotten this far without any relatively large incidents, sooner or later it was bound to happen. He was resolute in his decision to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, the point of history was to learn from it in order to better the present and guide the future.
"Certainly, I don't wish to converse with fellow crew members in a rigid manner all the time," he said this while maintaining his upright stature during his gait.
"And, yes I've read your profile...five tours, eighty-nine active deployments, seven classified missions, twenty three decorations...and then..." he paused for effect. He was astutely aware of Dunaway’s past record, and he was more than ready to bring it up. He was just surprised that the commander had brought it to his attention this early on.
"Sixty-seven counts of military insubordination and three court martials…" the Admiral turned to face Atomsk, who was trying to hide a smirk with a formal and serious front. Atomsk was decorated for his performance, yet at the same time he was incorrigible for his attitude.
"I honestly hope that you won't treat me with the same respect you treated Lieutenant General Conway..." the admiral turned away.
“But…remember, arrogance is an unbecoming trait, Commander Dunaway, see to it that you mend it, for it can jeopardize the lives of fellow soldiers and crewmen alike.” The admiral paused before continuing.
"Glad to have you on board…Commander." The admiral now walked ahead of Atomsk, leaving him to dwell on his words.
Aronimus detected a twinge of bravado, perhaps even arrogance coming from the commander. He wondered whether this was the distinctive trait that got Atomsk assigned to this post. However, the admiral welcomed it, which might have come as a surprise to fellow acquaintances. Aronimus knew that arrogance was a sign of youth, but he knew that sooner or later it should be tempered otherwise it could be disastrous. At this point he was reminded of Captain Colter and his tragic exploits. It was psychologically shattering to a leader; even he himself had lost fellow crew members before. Aronimus decided he would have to deal with this now before it placed any crew members in danger. Although Atomsk had gotten this far without any relatively large incidents, sooner or later it was bound to happen. He was resolute in his decision to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, the point of history was to learn from it in order to better the present and guide the future.
"Certainly, I don't wish to converse with fellow crew members in a rigid manner all the time," he said this while maintaining his upright stature during his gait.
"And, yes I've read your profile...five tours, eighty-nine active deployments, seven classified missions, twenty three decorations...and then..." he paused for effect. He was astutely aware of Dunaway’s past record, and he was more than ready to bring it up. He was just surprised that the commander had brought it to his attention this early on.
"Sixty-seven counts of military insubordination and three court martials…" the Admiral turned to face Atomsk, who was trying to hide a smirk with a formal and serious front. Atomsk was decorated for his performance, yet at the same time he was incorrigible for his attitude.
"I honestly hope that you won't treat me with the same respect you treated Lieutenant General Conway..." the admiral turned away.
“But…remember, arrogance is an unbecoming trait, Commander Dunaway, see to it that you mend it, for it can jeopardize the lives of fellow soldiers and crewmen alike.” The admiral paused before continuing.
"Glad to have you on board…Commander." The admiral now walked ahead of Atomsk, leaving him to dwell on his words.
He stood as he took the Admirals words very seriously. He thought he had made a decent impression. He also looked forward to talking again in the future. He disagreed with the arrogance though. He didn't believe he was arrogant. He simply didn't like rules. Or people undeserving of their ranks. He smirked when the Admiral brought up the insubordination and attempted court marshals. He loved the failed attempts at his post. To him it meant that the rules he broke weren't as important as the good he did.
As the Admiral turned to walk away Atomsk said a very respectful "Thank you. sir" with a slight bow, even though the Admiral had turned away. He was excited to talk again in the future. At this point he walked to a comm terminal close-by. He input a code that would give him the intercom for a minute. After he had control he stated a message for his portion of the crew. "Attention all military personnel. This is Commander Atomsk Dunaway Meet in Barracks 1 in 45 minutes. We will be performing a mission brief along with a few evaluations as well as forming our squads. Captain Eli Colter please meet me at Barracks 1 immediately for per-brief." He was aware of Captain Colter's position on the ship and wanted to size him up. He was sure they would be working together closely and wanted to start building a relationship fast. He began a brisk walk to the Barracks. He wanted to get as much talk time as he could.
As the Admiral turned to walk away Atomsk said a very respectful "Thank you. sir" with a slight bow, even though the Admiral had turned away. He was excited to talk again in the future. At this point he walked to a comm terminal close-by. He input a code that would give him the intercom for a minute. After he had control he stated a message for his portion of the crew. "Attention all military personnel. This is Commander Atomsk Dunaway Meet in Barracks 1 in 45 minutes. We will be performing a mission brief along with a few evaluations as well as forming our squads. Captain Eli Colter please meet me at Barracks 1 immediately for per-brief." He was aware of Captain Colter's position on the ship and wanted to size him up. He was sure they would be working together closely and wanted to start building a relationship fast. He began a brisk walk to the Barracks. He wanted to get as much talk time as he could.
The hangar was easy to find. It had to be in the rush of an attack when half-asleep pilots and crewman were stumbling to the scramble. Once a map terminal had put her boots on the right path, Jessica had just followed the broadest passageways and the smell. Yes, the smell. Void-touched metal, feul and hydraulic fluid, the sickly sweet-smoke smell of engine exhaust... all of it a fragrance that'd been ground into her memory of service. When she first stepped out into the huge open space, she stopped and smiled, staring out over the activity and the looming shapes of the various craft that were being nestled into their berths.
She belonged here, more so then anywhere else on the ship. Officer country still felt strange and alien to a career wrench-turner, so it was a welcome change of pace to step back into the beating heart of a fighter wing. Cold pricked the skin and the deck was too hard beneath the boots, acrid hazmat smells assaulted the nose, the lights were too bright, tools dropped and maintainers shouted and equipment whined. It was beautifully overwhelming, and it was hers.
The mechanics were cursing the shape and condition of other birds; those 'special' aircraft that belonged to some of the other pilots. While the ones in the cockpit swore by their performance and special modifications, the ground crew were the ones that had to deal with the constant headache of unpredictable maintainence and specialized tie-downs for non-standard hull shapes. And the officers that insisted on their own maintainence were the worst. If it took a whole maintainence department to divy up spaceframe, powerplants, electrical, electronics, lifesupport, and ordinance; one stick-jock claiming to know all of the necessary systems could cause migranes up and down a whole chain of command and put himself - and his bird - in some serious jeapordy. Before she ever picked up a wrench on her own craft, Hyena would have to do some serrious trust work with the shops she'd once had qualifications for back when she wore stripes instead of bars.
"How you doin, Chief?" You want in good with maintainence? Get in good with the Maintainence Chief. He was one of the group that Hyena had been bullshitting with out in airlock before boarding, and meets her handshake on equal terms, "I'm looking for a bird."
"I guessed that, ma'am." He snorts. The deal wasnt all one way; it never hurt for a crewman to have an ear that had rank, even if that rank was just a Flight Officer, and she'd already promised him a pack of Earth-made cigarettes for first pick of the proverbial litter, "You're going to want 338. Her book isnt the cleanest, but she's been up-and-up for just about every sortie they've thrown at her. Just make sure those smokes find their way to my desk later. Mars tabacco tastes like shit."
"It's the dirt, Chief. Gets into everything. Eventually anything you eat tastes the same." She laughs, being native to the Red Planet, herself, and gives him a reassuring wave prior to making her way back out onto the bay.
'Her' aircraft was already good to go. Its class had been a backbone of space superiority combat for years, and the berths were already configured for it. Huge, engine-heavy, dirty, and so ugly she was a work of art. This beater may not be RnD's new toy, but at least she could count on it when it mattered. Hyena reaches her hands out to lay them, palms flat, on the cold skin below where her name would be stenciled, smiling up at the craft. It was nasty-looking in every good way, a bare-bones bloody warbird.
"Hello, beautiful."
She belonged here, more so then anywhere else on the ship. Officer country still felt strange and alien to a career wrench-turner, so it was a welcome change of pace to step back into the beating heart of a fighter wing. Cold pricked the skin and the deck was too hard beneath the boots, acrid hazmat smells assaulted the nose, the lights were too bright, tools dropped and maintainers shouted and equipment whined. It was beautifully overwhelming, and it was hers.
The mechanics were cursing the shape and condition of other birds; those 'special' aircraft that belonged to some of the other pilots. While the ones in the cockpit swore by their performance and special modifications, the ground crew were the ones that had to deal with the constant headache of unpredictable maintainence and specialized tie-downs for non-standard hull shapes. And the officers that insisted on their own maintainence were the worst. If it took a whole maintainence department to divy up spaceframe, powerplants, electrical, electronics, lifesupport, and ordinance; one stick-jock claiming to know all of the necessary systems could cause migranes up and down a whole chain of command and put himself - and his bird - in some serious jeapordy. Before she ever picked up a wrench on her own craft, Hyena would have to do some serrious trust work with the shops she'd once had qualifications for back when she wore stripes instead of bars.
"How you doin, Chief?" You want in good with maintainence? Get in good with the Maintainence Chief. He was one of the group that Hyena had been bullshitting with out in airlock before boarding, and meets her handshake on equal terms, "I'm looking for a bird."
"I guessed that, ma'am." He snorts. The deal wasnt all one way; it never hurt for a crewman to have an ear that had rank, even if that rank was just a Flight Officer, and she'd already promised him a pack of Earth-made cigarettes for first pick of the proverbial litter, "You're going to want 338. Her book isnt the cleanest, but she's been up-and-up for just about every sortie they've thrown at her. Just make sure those smokes find their way to my desk later. Mars tabacco tastes like shit."
"It's the dirt, Chief. Gets into everything. Eventually anything you eat tastes the same." She laughs, being native to the Red Planet, herself, and gives him a reassuring wave prior to making her way back out onto the bay.
'Her' aircraft was already good to go. Its class had been a backbone of space superiority combat for years, and the berths were already configured for it. Huge, engine-heavy, dirty, and so ugly she was a work of art. This beater may not be RnD's new toy, but at least she could count on it when it mattered. Hyena reaches her hands out to lay them, palms flat, on the cold skin below where her name would be stenciled, smiling up at the craft. It was nasty-looking in every good way, a bare-bones bloody warbird.
"Hello, beautiful."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Clyde - Bridge
It didn't take Clyde long to realize that the ship was not, in fact, taking off. Quite the opposite- the crew had decided to absently wander the ship for a while. It was going to be a long nap. ... Or was it? No, there were more interesting things to do than twiddle one's thumbs on a ship full of extraordinary strangers. But who to take an interest in? There were quite a few characters.
But Clyde was not a normal person. He didn't have to choose. He would simply watch all of them from his perch at the bridge. There were computer terminals every few feet along the ship, each one capable of receiving input from people nearby. Clyde sat back, hooked into the computer system, and watched everyone on the ship mill about at the same time.
Adriana - Research Lab
"Attention all military personnel. This is Commander Atomsk Dunaway. Meet in Barracks one in forty-five minutes."
Adriana jumped at the sudden interruption of her concentration. Her latest project rolled off of her work table and shattered on the floor. She didn't know which annoyed her more- that some idiot was calling a meeting two days before boarding, or that her project laid in pieces on the floor. She began to sweep up the broken glass and wondered how long it would be before completion now. It was a mirror ball. Not the normal sort of mirror ball- it wasn't for parties. It was ammunition for Stanley, her laser rifle. It was designed so that light could pass into the ball, but not out of it. It would be charged in the chamber of the gun and then fired. It would shatter on impact and let out all of the energy stored inside of it... provided it made it that far. Adriana sighed and poured the garbage into the incinerator.
She was tired, disheveled, hungry, and disappointed. There would be time to work on the shells later. Someone named Dunaway had called a meeting, and she was curious to know who she owed the destruction of her pet project to. She swung Stanley across her back and headed out into the halls. Adriana wove between crew members going about their business, doing some calculations in her head about the time it would take her to redo what she had lost. Minus all the blunders she had made, all the calculations, the occasional break... Eight hours. Eight hours? How long had she taken the first time?
Adriana stopped in the middle of the hallway, and grabbed the nearest crew member by the arm. "What day is it?" She asked, without even looking at him.
"It's the fifth. We're heading out in a few hours. Where have YOU been?" He answered.
Then everything fell into place. "... Right... here..." Adriana had been in the lab for three days. She didn't even notice, she was so focused on her work. She remembered the name Dunaway now. But not Atomsk. Something closer to... John? She had worked on a few suits a while back, she didn't know how long. Adriana stopped at a computer terminal and pulled up Commander Dunaway's file. The new ground commander. That's who it was. She closed off the files and started walking to the barracks again. There was a lot of work to do after this meeting, starting with reading all the crew files to find out who she was going to be working with, assuming she ever saw them. It was going to be a busy voyage.
It didn't take Clyde long to realize that the ship was not, in fact, taking off. Quite the opposite- the crew had decided to absently wander the ship for a while. It was going to be a long nap. ... Or was it? No, there were more interesting things to do than twiddle one's thumbs on a ship full of extraordinary strangers. But who to take an interest in? There were quite a few characters.
But Clyde was not a normal person. He didn't have to choose. He would simply watch all of them from his perch at the bridge. There were computer terminals every few feet along the ship, each one capable of receiving input from people nearby. Clyde sat back, hooked into the computer system, and watched everyone on the ship mill about at the same time.
Adriana - Research Lab
"Attention all military personnel. This is Commander Atomsk Dunaway. Meet in Barracks one in forty-five minutes."
Adriana jumped at the sudden interruption of her concentration. Her latest project rolled off of her work table and shattered on the floor. She didn't know which annoyed her more- that some idiot was calling a meeting two days before boarding, or that her project laid in pieces on the floor. She began to sweep up the broken glass and wondered how long it would be before completion now. It was a mirror ball. Not the normal sort of mirror ball- it wasn't for parties. It was ammunition for Stanley, her laser rifle. It was designed so that light could pass into the ball, but not out of it. It would be charged in the chamber of the gun and then fired. It would shatter on impact and let out all of the energy stored inside of it... provided it made it that far. Adriana sighed and poured the garbage into the incinerator.
She was tired, disheveled, hungry, and disappointed. There would be time to work on the shells later. Someone named Dunaway had called a meeting, and she was curious to know who she owed the destruction of her pet project to. She swung Stanley across her back and headed out into the halls. Adriana wove between crew members going about their business, doing some calculations in her head about the time it would take her to redo what she had lost. Minus all the blunders she had made, all the calculations, the occasional break... Eight hours. Eight hours? How long had she taken the first time?
Adriana stopped in the middle of the hallway, and grabbed the nearest crew member by the arm. "What day is it?" She asked, without even looking at him.
"It's the fifth. We're heading out in a few hours. Where have YOU been?" He answered.
Then everything fell into place. "... Right... here..." Adriana had been in the lab for three days. She didn't even notice, she was so focused on her work. She remembered the name Dunaway now. But not Atomsk. Something closer to... John? She had worked on a few suits a while back, she didn't know how long. Adriana stopped at a computer terminal and pulled up Commander Dunaway's file. The new ground commander. That's who it was. She closed off the files and started walking to the barracks again. There was a lot of work to do after this meeting, starting with reading all the crew files to find out who she was going to be working with, assuming she ever saw them. It was going to be a busy voyage.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
As Ray made the coffee and passed the first glass to Tiaan he decided to sit down near by.
"Don't worry about it, hell I am a Titan grad; we don't give a damn about earning shiny things." This wasn't exactly true but Ray liked to say it was and the academy needed all the support of its grads had to offer after losing so much prestige in the officers revolt.
"I heard about your name and even the name you just said but I am actually only 24; surprising isn't it? Well we Titans age faster then earthlings during our childhoods so my body is 26-8 years old while I am really 24. So I could not have flown with your old man and my parents are beer brewers so it was not my pa but plenty of my greater family has been flying the galaxy since it became profitable so the guy on the picture might be a distant relative."
Ray was about to keep the conversation going when Alice the CO came marching but Ray did not find It funny liked he believed he would. Ray was glad for Tiaan's sake the CO didn't explode but was a bit put off by the woman's puffed up approach to things and was of the impression that while the CO seemed to be taking the situation lightly she would remember all of this and use it if she stood to gain something for doing so.
Ray stood up to attention and tried to encourage Tiann to do the same and then saluted his Titan way that he knew would annoy the CO at least a bit.
"hello sir; I was just about to start cleaning up and hide all the evidence" Ray regretted sending frank away because he could use a clean up team but pilots had to help each other and he wasn't about to brake the most sacred of commandments.
Ray looked at Tiaan and wondered what he could do now? With the CO here the situation was no longer under his authority but he would at least try to keep under his influence.
"Don't worry about it, hell I am a Titan grad; we don't give a damn about earning shiny things." This wasn't exactly true but Ray liked to say it was and the academy needed all the support of its grads had to offer after losing so much prestige in the officers revolt.
"I heard about your name and even the name you just said but I am actually only 24; surprising isn't it? Well we Titans age faster then earthlings during our childhoods so my body is 26-8 years old while I am really 24. So I could not have flown with your old man and my parents are beer brewers so it was not my pa but plenty of my greater family has been flying the galaxy since it became profitable so the guy on the picture might be a distant relative."
Ray was about to keep the conversation going when Alice the CO came marching but Ray did not find It funny liked he believed he would. Ray was glad for Tiaan's sake the CO didn't explode but was a bit put off by the woman's puffed up approach to things and was of the impression that while the CO seemed to be taking the situation lightly she would remember all of this and use it if she stood to gain something for doing so.
Ray stood up to attention and tried to encourage Tiann to do the same and then saluted his Titan way that he knew would annoy the CO at least a bit.
"hello sir; I was just about to start cleaning up and hide all the evidence" Ray regretted sending frank away because he could use a clean up team but pilots had to help each other and he wasn't about to brake the most sacred of commandments.
Ray looked at Tiaan and wondered what he could do now? With the CO here the situation was no longer under his authority but he would at least try to keep under his influence.
Tiaan Peyton
Startled by the arrival of the other person she pushed away the sodden thing once known as her dress with her foot, trying to hide the fact she slept here. Slept through nearly everything. This really wasn't a good day. At least she wouldn't be called Birdy anymore, but to be honest she had found Birdy rather patronising as her Father had a real name, Vulture, a bird of prey, not some cheap insult. She had never fit in with those guys, in fact more than once she had fought them. Well she was off now and hoped this wouldn't go on her record, "If this is your room Miss--Sir---Madam---" feeling flustered she couldn't decide how to address the woman who was clearly above her rank, that's for sure.
"I understand how this looks." she took a long deep breath, "But, I promise this won't happen again. In fact I'd like to go see my Fighter arrived safely." as she spoke she tried to tidy her hair with her hand and fingers, making it less messy, but failing rather miserably."
Most people who saw Tiaan thought she looked cute, but also deeply sad inside, they could be right, but she also had a very upbeat demeanour and wasn't above a little fun. Although on the Demeter only chance she got with that was during Dock Leave, and even then it sucked to love someone and then leave them. So yesterday had seemed amazing, here was a girl coming on to her, so why the hell had she decided to scream.
God knows, still waiting for an answer she gave up on her hair growling annoyed and resumed saluting.
Startled by the arrival of the other person she pushed away the sodden thing once known as her dress with her foot, trying to hide the fact she slept here. Slept through nearly everything. This really wasn't a good day. At least she wouldn't be called Birdy anymore, but to be honest she had found Birdy rather patronising as her Father had a real name, Vulture, a bird of prey, not some cheap insult. She had never fit in with those guys, in fact more than once she had fought them. Well she was off now and hoped this wouldn't go on her record, "If this is your room Miss--Sir---Madam---" feeling flustered she couldn't decide how to address the woman who was clearly above her rank, that's for sure.
"I understand how this looks." she took a long deep breath, "But, I promise this won't happen again. In fact I'd like to go see my Fighter arrived safely." as she spoke she tried to tidy her hair with her hand and fingers, making it less messy, but failing rather miserably."
Most people who saw Tiaan thought she looked cute, but also deeply sad inside, they could be right, but she also had a very upbeat demeanour and wasn't above a little fun. Although on the Demeter only chance she got with that was during Dock Leave, and even then it sucked to love someone and then leave them. So yesterday had seemed amazing, here was a girl coming on to her, so why the hell had she decided to scream.
God knows, still waiting for an answer she gave up on her hair growling annoyed and resumed saluting.
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"At ease, Peyton," Alice murmured, giving the girl a sharp nod. "There's no need to panic. You can't be blamed for one night of revelry." She crossed her room towards the cabinets and began putting away the now-open bottles of spirits. She was going to have to host a crew party if she did not want it to go to waste... "Just make sure that it doe snot happen again. Without permission from superiors."
She glanced back at Tiaan to ensure that she was heard, and nodded to herself when she was. She stacked all the bottles back in the cabinet.
"Davidson," she called to the second pilot. "If you would contact the ship's service and ask to have the linens changed. If they ask what happened, hang up."
With that, Alice turned so that she could see the pair of them.
"I am Lieutenant Commander Alice Chen," she announced evenly. "Second in command aboard the Salient."
She glanced back at Tiaan to ensure that she was heard, and nodded to herself when she was. She stacked all the bottles back in the cabinet.
"Davidson," she called to the second pilot. "If you would contact the ship's service and ask to have the linens changed. If they ask what happened, hang up."
With that, Alice turned so that she could see the pair of them.
"I am Lieutenant Commander Alice Chen," she announced evenly. "Second in command aboard the Salient."
Tiaan Peyton
Calming a little she grinned; Tiaan had a beautiful lopsided smile, that spoke so much, but revealed little. Stephanie had joked she'd make a great politician, since everyone would believe her. Of course she had laughed it off, but after what she went through on Argus 50, she felt politicians got off lightly. It had been a routine mission on board the Demeter to collect minerals for transport, what happened though was one of crew members was on the make, and tried to sell them out to local smugglers, she had apparently been a great catch. This is what the record never told though, the reason Alfie didn't get taken in was because she persuaded him to commit suicide, it was easy, almost disturbing how simple it was, she got him to believe he was nothing and no one would miss him. He agreed and agreed and asked what should he do then, Tiaan had simply said this, "Walk out of the airlock and breath deeply."
That was terrifying to see him so solemn and yet so willing.
Fortunately it hadn't been put on record because her actions had scared the smugglers so much they fled. She didn't even have any powers, she just used his weakness to her advantage. No one believed her, and that mission was why she had begged, no pleaded for reassignment.
Eventually Captain Elias Riggs had given in and reassigned her, knowing she wasn't happy, but he was sorry to see her go, since outside of all the pilots she actually wasn't a red-shirt. Most pilots onboard Demeter didn't last a month, she had lasted 4 years.
"Thank you Lt Chen, your reputation precedes you. I heard of your actions on the colonies. Why I might not agree with how you handled it, your solution resulted in the least bloodshed. Glad someone had firm head on during that time."
Calming a little she grinned; Tiaan had a beautiful lopsided smile, that spoke so much, but revealed little. Stephanie had joked she'd make a great politician, since everyone would believe her. Of course she had laughed it off, but after what she went through on Argus 50, she felt politicians got off lightly. It had been a routine mission on board the Demeter to collect minerals for transport, what happened though was one of crew members was on the make, and tried to sell them out to local smugglers, she had apparently been a great catch. This is what the record never told though, the reason Alfie didn't get taken in was because she persuaded him to commit suicide, it was easy, almost disturbing how simple it was, she got him to believe he was nothing and no one would miss him. He agreed and agreed and asked what should he do then, Tiaan had simply said this, "Walk out of the airlock and breath deeply."
That was terrifying to see him so solemn and yet so willing.
Fortunately it hadn't been put on record because her actions had scared the smugglers so much they fled. She didn't even have any powers, she just used his weakness to her advantage. No one believed her, and that mission was why she had begged, no pleaded for reassignment.
Eventually Captain Elias Riggs had given in and reassigned her, knowing she wasn't happy, but he was sorry to see her go, since outside of all the pilots she actually wasn't a red-shirt. Most pilots onboard Demeter didn't last a month, she had lasted 4 years.
"Thank you Lt Chen, your reputation precedes you. I heard of your actions on the colonies. Why I might not agree with how you handled it, your solution resulted in the least bloodshed. Glad someone had firm head on during that time."
Alice flicked Tiaan a smile. The expression was fleeting and tight, like she was unaccustomed to displaying that sort of emotion in front of... anyone. Raised by officers and secrets, Alice had spent her entire life suppressing her emotions in the presence of others. 'Stop smiling and salute' had been a more common command in her home than 'it's bedtime, go to sleep.' No one could call her family normal, even without knowing the things she did - about herself, about her mother, even about her illustrious Admiral father, whose record shown even brighter and less tarnished than her own.
An impossible record.
"Thank you, Peyton," Alice murmured, nodding to herself. "The colonies were difficult. I would have preferred any number of other choices but, well... they'd all have gotten someone killed."
And the colonies had been a difficult decision. Vega and Andromeda colonies, both under serious threat by a group of earth-born rebels who believed mankind did not belong in space. Something Alice had found rather amusing, as the rebels themselves were conducting their war in open space... that had not mattered at the time, however. Pointing out hypocritical tendencies was not going to help her. Yes, it had been a very difficult choice to make.
A good thing she had discovered that secret gas pocket just beneath the surface. The one that Vega's governor had been keeping a secret, to be used for his own profit. Evacuate the area, set the gas pocket alight as the rebels approached. Their ships went down, their crew were taken prisoner. So far as Alice knew, there had been only one casualty - a rebel engineer who got too close to the core when the explosion hit them. A wonderful record, considering the situation. All because of that governor's secrets...
Alice shrugged slightly to herself, then glanced over at the coffee pot. "Four cups, you wanted?" she asked calmly. "Best to get drinking. We can't have you hung over on duty."
Every movement sharp, clean, trained for battle, Alice crossed to the cabinets and pulled out a mug. She set it under the machine and poured a mug, then passed it across to Tiaan. She offered one to Davidson, as well, before returning her attention to the pilot girl. Her lopsided smile intrigued Alice... as did the numerous torturous events in the pilot's past.
"And you," she murmured. "From a long and shining line. Just like myself. You were on board the Demeter, were you not?"
An impossible record.
"Thank you, Peyton," Alice murmured, nodding to herself. "The colonies were difficult. I would have preferred any number of other choices but, well... they'd all have gotten someone killed."
And the colonies had been a difficult decision. Vega and Andromeda colonies, both under serious threat by a group of earth-born rebels who believed mankind did not belong in space. Something Alice had found rather amusing, as the rebels themselves were conducting their war in open space... that had not mattered at the time, however. Pointing out hypocritical tendencies was not going to help her. Yes, it had been a very difficult choice to make.
A good thing she had discovered that secret gas pocket just beneath the surface. The one that Vega's governor had been keeping a secret, to be used for his own profit. Evacuate the area, set the gas pocket alight as the rebels approached. Their ships went down, their crew were taken prisoner. So far as Alice knew, there had been only one casualty - a rebel engineer who got too close to the core when the explosion hit them. A wonderful record, considering the situation. All because of that governor's secrets...
Alice shrugged slightly to herself, then glanced over at the coffee pot. "Four cups, you wanted?" she asked calmly. "Best to get drinking. We can't have you hung over on duty."
Every movement sharp, clean, trained for battle, Alice crossed to the cabinets and pulled out a mug. She set it under the machine and poured a mug, then passed it across to Tiaan. She offered one to Davidson, as well, before returning her attention to the pilot girl. Her lopsided smile intrigued Alice... as did the numerous torturous events in the pilot's past.
"And you," she murmured. "From a long and shining line. Just like myself. You were on board the Demeter, were you not?"
Tiaan Peyton
Turning away and sipping the cup thoughtfully she replied in a far away tone, "Yes..." what else could she say, so much had happened on board that ship very little was official record, true Argus 50 events had caused her to leave, but it wasn't the only thing. In fact it had actually been the final straw, but well maybe decades ago Demeter had been a fantastic vessel, state of art, but when she had lived in it. So many things happened. Part of the reason she had been called Birdy was her co-pilot Kelly, whom she had taken out on a routine mission to patrol the sector and scan for minerals. Unfortunately they has miscalculated oxygen levels and went too far, they managed to limp back, but Kelly's had never told her just how bad she was, she just kept saying, "We'll make it Birdy, we'll make it." sadly Kelly's died before any medical help could come back. Only later she had found out that Kelly's had a crush on her, but was too scared to say.
There were so many events that had happened, her time on Demeter had taught her one thing, she couldn't trust anyone for long periods of time. Maybe she was wrong, maybe it was just rules of the jungle there, but she was on board the Salient now a more modern vessel. Could she risk trusting anyone, or would they get hurt? When she had received confirmation of acceptance, she had looked over the logs and details of the flight. The thing that worried her at the time, was the flight path was locked under voice recognition and password. This suggested she had no idea what she was getting into, what else was new?
Turning back she grinned again sipping the cup carefully before answering, "But that's old news, no point living in the past eh?"
Not waiting for an answer, she downed the coffee before picking up her dress and taking another mug, still grinning.
Turning away and sipping the cup thoughtfully she replied in a far away tone, "Yes..." what else could she say, so much had happened on board that ship very little was official record, true Argus 50 events had caused her to leave, but it wasn't the only thing. In fact it had actually been the final straw, but well maybe decades ago Demeter had been a fantastic vessel, state of art, but when she had lived in it. So many things happened. Part of the reason she had been called Birdy was her co-pilot Kelly, whom she had taken out on a routine mission to patrol the sector and scan for minerals. Unfortunately they has miscalculated oxygen levels and went too far, they managed to limp back, but Kelly's had never told her just how bad she was, she just kept saying, "We'll make it Birdy, we'll make it." sadly Kelly's died before any medical help could come back. Only later she had found out that Kelly's had a crush on her, but was too scared to say.
There were so many events that had happened, her time on Demeter had taught her one thing, she couldn't trust anyone for long periods of time. Maybe she was wrong, maybe it was just rules of the jungle there, but she was on board the Salient now a more modern vessel. Could she risk trusting anyone, or would they get hurt? When she had received confirmation of acceptance, she had looked over the logs and details of the flight. The thing that worried her at the time, was the flight path was locked under voice recognition and password. This suggested she had no idea what she was getting into, what else was new?
Turning back she grinned again sipping the cup carefully before answering, "But that's old news, no point living in the past eh?"
Not waiting for an answer, she downed the coffee before picking up her dress and taking another mug, still grinning.
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"No point in reliving the past," Alice agreed quietly. She walked away from the coffee maker without taking any - she did not drink caffeine while on duty. The buzzing energy was no good to control and reasoning, and she was in a position of command. Instead, she poured herself a glass of water and sipped at it. For a moment, she was absentminded. She turned and watched the two pilots, gazing deep into their eyes. Reading them. What she found curved her lips into a very slight smile. These two... would be interesting to work with. Alice thought she was off to a good start. Perhaps here, real, close relationships would be possible.
"I was glad to receive this assignment," she told them, saying the first thing that came to mind. Testing their own enthusiasm about the Salient. "You see some things on board prison vessels that can't be unseen. It's said that prison officers land themselves in the cells more often than not, if they stay too long." She chuckled to herself. No one knew that she had nearly done just that - no one, not even the prison vessel's captain. She'd seen to that. No one dead, no sign of the trouble, no memory for those who had witnessed the event. A simple matter, for Alice Chen. A dark secret she would never let go. "Here's to dodging proverbial bullets." She raised her water as though it were a glass of rich red wine.
"I was glad to receive this assignment," she told them, saying the first thing that came to mind. Testing their own enthusiasm about the Salient. "You see some things on board prison vessels that can't be unseen. It's said that prison officers land themselves in the cells more often than not, if they stay too long." She chuckled to herself. No one knew that she had nearly done just that - no one, not even the prison vessel's captain. She'd seen to that. No one dead, no sign of the trouble, no memory for those who had witnessed the event. A simple matter, for Alice Chen. A dark secret she would never let go. "Here's to dodging proverbial bullets." She raised her water as though it were a glass of rich red wine.
Tiaan Peyton
Giving her lopsided grin she replied, "It's very hush-hush but anything gotta be better than The Demeter. My Dad told me of the Great Warship the Gordian, it was once the gem of the entire fleet." She had no idea why she bringing this up, but well she was happy to be out the Demeter, but she was wondering if this was actually the proverbial frying pan, "He was stationed on it through most of his career, brought tears to his eyes when he heard they had scrapped it for pieces." Now she remembered why she mentioned it, "This ship had pieces of her inside it, in a way it's like the child of her." she smiled brightly winking, "Maybe I'm just a sentimental old fool, but I did look up schematics of this, and three great warships gave pieces to this. It mightn't be obvious, but everything about this ship suggests secrets, whispers of far away or battles once had. We're standing in history, while on brink of it."
Whatever that meant that was sure, taking another sip, she let her wander around, Alice seemed less official that her demenour would suggest, Ray just seemed like a card, someone who loved to play Jack-the-lad. Where she fit in? Was she the Albratross of this mission dooming everyone? The fact she liked both these people scared her. Gulping down too much she choked and coughed up a bit.
Blushing she apologized, "Sorry, drank down too fast."
If only.
Giving her lopsided grin she replied, "It's very hush-hush but anything gotta be better than The Demeter. My Dad told me of the Great Warship the Gordian, it was once the gem of the entire fleet." She had no idea why she bringing this up, but well she was happy to be out the Demeter, but she was wondering if this was actually the proverbial frying pan, "He was stationed on it through most of his career, brought tears to his eyes when he heard they had scrapped it for pieces." Now she remembered why she mentioned it, "This ship had pieces of her inside it, in a way it's like the child of her." she smiled brightly winking, "Maybe I'm just a sentimental old fool, but I did look up schematics of this, and three great warships gave pieces to this. It mightn't be obvious, but everything about this ship suggests secrets, whispers of far away or battles once had. We're standing in history, while on brink of it."
Whatever that meant that was sure, taking another sip, she let her wander around, Alice seemed less official that her demenour would suggest, Ray just seemed like a card, someone who loved to play Jack-the-lad. Where she fit in? Was she the Albratross of this mission dooming everyone? The fact she liked both these people scared her. Gulping down too much she choked and coughed up a bit.
Blushing she apologized, "Sorry, drank down too fast."
If only.
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"Not a problem," Alice answered, waving her off. What sort of person hadn't drunk too fast and choked before? Everyone did it. Alice was more interested in the emotions playing behind Tiaan's mask. Alice was a very... perceptive person. That was the way her father always put it. That was, her father told people in his shame, why she had risen so fast into the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Why she was a prodigy. Perception... she supposed it could be called that. A damned nice name for what she did. She was a thief and a spy. Her father saw to it she knew that - told her constantly, when they were in private. 'What you do is invasive and cruel. Stop.'
She could not stop. It was a part of her.
"There's no need for concern," she observed before she could stop herself. When she saw someone in pain, Alice had a bad habit of trying to comfort them. Whether she should know they were in pain or not. Some people on the prison ship had called her 'the witch', because she always seemed to know. They could put any obscure prisoner in front of her, and she would know exactly why they were in prison. "You can be friends with us. This isn't the Demeter."
She set her water down, half-finished, and met Tiaan's gaze. Alice was known for her more obscure tidbits of advice. It had even been mentioned once or twice on her record. Anyone who knew her reputation would think nothing, or little, of it. Nevertheless, best not to let Tiaan wonder too long about how she had realized what the pilot was worried about.
"You two wanted to go see your ships," she observed. "Shall I accompany you? I've not seen most of the ship yet."
She could not stop. It was a part of her.
"There's no need for concern," she observed before she could stop herself. When she saw someone in pain, Alice had a bad habit of trying to comfort them. Whether she should know they were in pain or not. Some people on the prison ship had called her 'the witch', because she always seemed to know. They could put any obscure prisoner in front of her, and she would know exactly why they were in prison. "You can be friends with us. This isn't the Demeter."
She set her water down, half-finished, and met Tiaan's gaze. Alice was known for her more obscure tidbits of advice. It had even been mentioned once or twice on her record. Anyone who knew her reputation would think nothing, or little, of it. Nevertheless, best not to let Tiaan wonder too long about how she had realized what the pilot was worried about.
"You two wanted to go see your ships," she observed. "Shall I accompany you? I've not seen most of the ship yet."
Tiaan Peyton
Nodding she downed her second cup while picking up another, "Fingers crossed the transfer went through for her." There very little that could truly bother Tiaan outside her own emotional turmoil, but if anyone ever even scratched 'Blue Tit' she would rip their heads off. That fighter was everything to her, a Mercury Class Fighter fully customized with on board rail cannon, Mark 35 Jolt Thrusters, a full supply of five missiles on each wing and finally her secret weapon, a manually controlled proton beam under it. Completing this she was painted Electric Blue with words Blue Tit em-blazed in Gold. This was her pride and joy, and it would destroy her if she found out it hadn't made it.
As she made her way to the Hanger, she said very little, instead listening for the sounds of the ship, wondering if what she had said had been bullshit. But her father had said that all ships record events that took place on them and off them, while being built. It's why Prison Ships often drove people insane, many companies cut corners building them, not caring about loss of life. She wondered if Lt Chen original ship had such a history.
Arriving at the hanger, she opened and the door squeed in joy, there she was standing out in full glory, 'Blue Tit' also on the above the title was calligraphy which stated, 'Birdy's Blue Tit' Kelly had done it. She had almost forgotten it. She should probably paint over it, she kept telling herself that, but part of her felt this would hurt Kelly's memory.
"YES, HERE IT IS." she grinned gleefully, "Ain't she just a beaut!" she had put more love into that ship than any human she had been with. It was her baby, her everything, if she had lost it, it would destroy her.
Nodding she downed her second cup while picking up another, "Fingers crossed the transfer went through for her." There very little that could truly bother Tiaan outside her own emotional turmoil, but if anyone ever even scratched 'Blue Tit' she would rip their heads off. That fighter was everything to her, a Mercury Class Fighter fully customized with on board rail cannon, Mark 35 Jolt Thrusters, a full supply of five missiles on each wing and finally her secret weapon, a manually controlled proton beam under it. Completing this she was painted Electric Blue with words Blue Tit em-blazed in Gold. This was her pride and joy, and it would destroy her if she found out it hadn't made it.
As she made her way to the Hanger, she said very little, instead listening for the sounds of the ship, wondering if what she had said had been bullshit. But her father had said that all ships record events that took place on them and off them, while being built. It's why Prison Ships often drove people insane, many companies cut corners building them, not caring about loss of life. She wondered if Lt Chen original ship had such a history.
Arriving at the hanger, she opened and the door squeed in joy, there she was standing out in full glory, 'Blue Tit' also on the above the title was calligraphy which stated, 'Birdy's Blue Tit' Kelly had done it. She had almost forgotten it. She should probably paint over it, she kept telling herself that, but part of her felt this would hurt Kelly's memory.
"YES, HERE IT IS." she grinned gleefully, "Ain't she just a beaut!" she had put more love into that ship than any human she had been with. It was her baby, her everything, if she had lost it, it would destroy her.
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Alice followed Tiaan in silence, respecting the pilot's need for a lack of conversation. Alice was not the sort of person who minded quiet company, nor did she really care when company was loud. So long as it was the company of someone she liked. And Alice would freely admit that she liked Tiaan. The girl was, as she had first guessed, a spitfire. A troubled spitfire. Alice tended to gravitate towards the troubled people in life. What else could have landed her - by volunteer application - on a prison vessel?
That was a decision she would regret for the rest of her - hopefully long - life.
Alice looked up at Tiaan's outburst, and smiled at the sight of the electric blue fighter.
"She's beautiful," Alice agreed calmly, approaching the ship. She looked, but dared not touch. There was a time when Alice would have given anything to fly in one of these ships, but that time had passed. She had found her love in command, overseeing the battle, ensuring as many people as possible survived. Alice would never hesitate to the take to the front lines, she was simply of more use watching from a distance. Her secrets made sure of that.
"Birdy..." Alice murmured in a contemplative tone, staring up at the writing. She glanced around at Tiaan, into the girl's eyes. Reading her. Alice was grasping at straws now, searching for some common ground to continue to strengthen their relationship. That was what Alice did best - forged bonds in the crew. One of the reasons there had been only six cases of insanity, and four deaths, while she was on board that prison ship. Curse its name... the Nottingham. "I take it that's you?"
That was a decision she would regret for the rest of her - hopefully long - life.
Alice looked up at Tiaan's outburst, and smiled at the sight of the electric blue fighter.
"She's beautiful," Alice agreed calmly, approaching the ship. She looked, but dared not touch. There was a time when Alice would have given anything to fly in one of these ships, but that time had passed. She had found her love in command, overseeing the battle, ensuring as many people as possible survived. Alice would never hesitate to the take to the front lines, she was simply of more use watching from a distance. Her secrets made sure of that.
"Birdy..." Alice murmured in a contemplative tone, staring up at the writing. She glanced around at Tiaan, into the girl's eyes. Reading her. Alice was grasping at straws now, searching for some common ground to continue to strengthen their relationship. That was what Alice did best - forged bonds in the crew. One of the reasons there had been only six cases of insanity, and four deaths, while she was on board that prison ship. Curse its name... the Nottingham. "I take it that's you?"
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
James Grey
James walked slowly down one of the many passageways of the ship, his head bowed slowly so that he was looking at the floor; or at least he would have been if his eyes were open. Anyone who had worked with him before would know what was going on, James was letting ARCHE run a thousand processes through his brain as Grey used his very own mind as a computer for his work. Since none of the people who had known him were onboard though it probably just looked like some shy guy keeping his head down or maybe someone sleep walking onboard the ship.
On the outside James looked just about as peaceful as could be, every muscle relaxed as he moved slowly without a clue where he was going. On the inside was another story, on the back of his eyelids thousands and thousands of points of data flashed around and moved as though they had a mind of their own. This was James’s storm, and he was right at the center of it letting all the information swirl around as he absorbed as much as he could. Every piece of data on how the ship was doing was going through his mind, all illegally obtained by his internal A.I. It was necessary though, without it he couldn’t tell if his prototypes were working correctly and if they didn’t work correctly the ship might very well go boom. James had been making corrects the entire time, compensating for minor fluctuations and problems that were showing up in the codes and issues with the installation. All things considered his little projects were working amazingly, especially since they had never been tested fully.
James stopped for a second as he looked up, his eyes opening for the first time since he’d boarded. He’d seen the whole briefing via a camera feed that ARCHE had tapped into but he hadn’t actually had any contact with anyone except for Lt. Commander Chen. That encounter had ended with her walking away and him getting carried away in the storm of people without getting to answer.
He touched his temple slightly and let out a sigh as he thought. It wouldn’t be good for him to be a loner here, he’d never been the best with people but he still needed to find some allies. At the very least he needed to make sure he didn’t make too many people angry with him.
Ben Owens
Ben let out a small sigh as he scooted himself out from under his fighter, he’d never seen anything so amazing before and it just took his breath away that he was the one who got to fly her. He moved quickly to wipe his hands down, bouncing at the balls of his feet as he always did. The thought of flying had him brimming with energy again and he couldn’t stop it, a small smile masked the flurry of thoughts within him. Even after all his training he still ended up accidently skipping the briefing to work on his fighter, he hadn’t even noticed that he did it. The moment they had let him on board the ship he had planned on being a straight shooter, he just happened to see his fighter out of the corner of his eye while he was walking through and just had to make sure everything was okay with her.
Ben looked her over again as he stood in the doorway, he couldn’t help but feel as though he was the only one who should be allowed to work on her. It wasn’t that the mechanics were good it was just that in the end it would be him out there in the fighter so it would be him who took all the risks. He couldn’t help but think that he should be the one making sure she was flight worthy also.
He turned on a pivot and headed out of the hanger, his arms at his sides and his back as straight as a board. No matter what anyone had every said he had to admit that the academy had drilled more than a little discipline into the young street racer that he used to be. He’d always be thankful to the military, they had let him get his life in order and they had let him do the one thing he loved to do. Fly. There were a few other perks though, food for instance. With that though Ben turned to head out of the hanger.
James walked slowly down one of the many passageways of the ship, his head bowed slowly so that he was looking at the floor; or at least he would have been if his eyes were open. Anyone who had worked with him before would know what was going on, James was letting ARCHE run a thousand processes through his brain as Grey used his very own mind as a computer for his work. Since none of the people who had known him were onboard though it probably just looked like some shy guy keeping his head down or maybe someone sleep walking onboard the ship.
On the outside James looked just about as peaceful as could be, every muscle relaxed as he moved slowly without a clue where he was going. On the inside was another story, on the back of his eyelids thousands and thousands of points of data flashed around and moved as though they had a mind of their own. This was James’s storm, and he was right at the center of it letting all the information swirl around as he absorbed as much as he could. Every piece of data on how the ship was doing was going through his mind, all illegally obtained by his internal A.I. It was necessary though, without it he couldn’t tell if his prototypes were working correctly and if they didn’t work correctly the ship might very well go boom. James had been making corrects the entire time, compensating for minor fluctuations and problems that were showing up in the codes and issues with the installation. All things considered his little projects were working amazingly, especially since they had never been tested fully.
James stopped for a second as he looked up, his eyes opening for the first time since he’d boarded. He’d seen the whole briefing via a camera feed that ARCHE had tapped into but he hadn’t actually had any contact with anyone except for Lt. Commander Chen. That encounter had ended with her walking away and him getting carried away in the storm of people without getting to answer.
He touched his temple slightly and let out a sigh as he thought. It wouldn’t be good for him to be a loner here, he’d never been the best with people but he still needed to find some allies. At the very least he needed to make sure he didn’t make too many people angry with him.
Ben Owens
Ben let out a small sigh as he scooted himself out from under his fighter, he’d never seen anything so amazing before and it just took his breath away that he was the one who got to fly her. He moved quickly to wipe his hands down, bouncing at the balls of his feet as he always did. The thought of flying had him brimming with energy again and he couldn’t stop it, a small smile masked the flurry of thoughts within him. Even after all his training he still ended up accidently skipping the briefing to work on his fighter, he hadn’t even noticed that he did it. The moment they had let him on board the ship he had planned on being a straight shooter, he just happened to see his fighter out of the corner of his eye while he was walking through and just had to make sure everything was okay with her.
Ben looked her over again as he stood in the doorway, he couldn’t help but feel as though he was the only one who should be allowed to work on her. It wasn’t that the mechanics were good it was just that in the end it would be him out there in the fighter so it would be him who took all the risks. He couldn’t help but think that he should be the one making sure she was flight worthy also.
He turned on a pivot and headed out of the hanger, his arms at his sides and his back as straight as a board. No matter what anyone had every said he had to admit that the academy had drilled more than a little discipline into the young street racer that he used to be. He’d always be thankful to the military, they had let him get his life in order and they had let him do the one thing he loved to do. Fly. There were a few other perks though, food for instance. With that though Ben turned to head out of the hanger.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Tiaan Peyton
Her grin vanished and she stared for a bit, before walking silently over to the ship and stroking her lovingly, some people may have been disturbed with love she showed it. Either way she could less, running her hands over the sleek finish she considered before saying enigmatically, "It doesn't matter." with that said she continued to stroke the curves and bumps of her. Maybe Tiaan was a little messed up, but 'Blue Tit' had never let her down, people tended to do that. Thus said less truths spoken, less risks she took. Instead she would offer half-truths or not answer. In a way it was a game, and most people onboard The Demeter had failed. No one knew she blamed herself constantly for Kelly and Stephanie death. No one knew, and that was how she liked it.
"Everyone has secrets Lt, everyone."
She could admit she was confusing people, but well this was often the case and it was how she worked. Admiring the finish she bent down to check if there was any travelling damage, fortunately there was nothing except scars of battles, she never removed them. Much like a human this ship was a living person, it just never tried to screw her, both literally and figuratively.
Trust in space cost money, love in space cost secrets, and truth in space cost your life. Truth in space was a death sentence, no one wanted to know the real you. Instead they'd rather see you how they perceive you. Don't mistaken this for being a cynic or pessimistic, Tiaan could love, but in end up she saw only pain through it, so instead drifted through life and had fun.
Finally happy with her review of the 'Blue Tit' she smiled cheekily saying nothing, taking occasional sips. This was a tight-rope, lets see if she could keep balance.
Her grin vanished and she stared for a bit, before walking silently over to the ship and stroking her lovingly, some people may have been disturbed with love she showed it. Either way she could less, running her hands over the sleek finish she considered before saying enigmatically, "It doesn't matter." with that said she continued to stroke the curves and bumps of her. Maybe Tiaan was a little messed up, but 'Blue Tit' had never let her down, people tended to do that. Thus said less truths spoken, less risks she took. Instead she would offer half-truths or not answer. In a way it was a game, and most people onboard The Demeter had failed. No one knew she blamed herself constantly for Kelly and Stephanie death. No one knew, and that was how she liked it.
"Everyone has secrets Lt, everyone."
She could admit she was confusing people, but well this was often the case and it was how she worked. Admiring the finish she bent down to check if there was any travelling damage, fortunately there was nothing except scars of battles, she never removed them. Much like a human this ship was a living person, it just never tried to screw her, both literally and figuratively.
Trust in space cost money, love in space cost secrets, and truth in space cost your life. Truth in space was a death sentence, no one wanted to know the real you. Instead they'd rather see you how they perceive you. Don't mistaken this for being a cynic or pessimistic, Tiaan could love, but in end up she saw only pain through it, so instead drifted through life and had fun.
Finally happy with her review of the 'Blue Tit' she smiled cheekily saying nothing, taking occasional sips. This was a tight-rope, lets see if she could keep balance.
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Alice frowned briefly at the comment about secrets... but that frown became a tiny smile. It was true. Unfortunately... those secrets everyone had? She knew most of them. Would likely know all of them by the end of the week. That was simply the way Alice's life worked. Secrets seemed to fall into her lap, whether she wanted them to or not. It got her in trouble sometimes. Never trouble she could not get out of.
There was no such thing as trouble Alice Chen could not get out of.
"Everyone has secrets," Alice agreed calmly. "I know that. Better than most."
Alice took another step closer to the hull, examining the thing. Good construction, right down to the paint job. This fighter would not fail.
"A good ship," Alice observed calmly. "She'll take you far."
Quietly, Alice checked her timepiece. They had some space before they were meant to report, as requested by Captain Dunaway. What he hoped to brief them on, she did not know. No one knew the purpose of this mission. No one.
"Peyton," she murmured, calling the pilot's attention back to her. "I was wondering if you would join me in my quarters tonight, for dinner?" She looked up at Tiaan, dark eyes calm. She reached into the pocket of her uniform and produced a scrunchy. In half an hour's time she would be back on full duty, at the briefing. She had to look like the officer she was. And Lieutenant Commander Chen never let her hair down, even if Alice Chen did. Alice flicked Peyton yet another tiny smile. Almost the smile of someone scared to share things. Almost. More the smile of someone who did not know how to smile. "I have a lot of open bottles in my cabinets. There's no way I'm going to be able to drink them all before they go to waste. At least, not on my own."
More than an invitation - a finally confirmation that Alice was not at all upset about Tiaan's conduct the night before. Why Alice was not upset by it, however, Tiaan could - and would - never know.
There was no such thing as trouble Alice Chen could not get out of.
"Everyone has secrets," Alice agreed calmly. "I know that. Better than most."
Alice took another step closer to the hull, examining the thing. Good construction, right down to the paint job. This fighter would not fail.
"A good ship," Alice observed calmly. "She'll take you far."
Quietly, Alice checked her timepiece. They had some space before they were meant to report, as requested by Captain Dunaway. What he hoped to brief them on, she did not know. No one knew the purpose of this mission. No one.
"Peyton," she murmured, calling the pilot's attention back to her. "I was wondering if you would join me in my quarters tonight, for dinner?" She looked up at Tiaan, dark eyes calm. She reached into the pocket of her uniform and produced a scrunchy. In half an hour's time she would be back on full duty, at the briefing. She had to look like the officer she was. And Lieutenant Commander Chen never let her hair down, even if Alice Chen did. Alice flicked Peyton yet another tiny smile. Almost the smile of someone scared to share things. Almost. More the smile of someone who did not know how to smile. "I have a lot of open bottles in my cabinets. There's no way I'm going to be able to drink them all before they go to waste. At least, not on my own."
More than an invitation - a finally confirmation that Alice was not at all upset about Tiaan's conduct the night before. Why Alice was not upset by it, however, Tiaan could - and would - never know.
Tiaan Peyton
"She's taken me far already, I've been out this sector with her, never a more reliable ship." letting her hand wander over the paint she zoned out again, remembering her Father showing her his vessel, true at this point she hadn't wanted to enter academy, but also at this point she thought boys were icky, guess something never change. It had a gorgeous ship, painted similar to an antique Spitfire he had told her how she never let him down. Even let her see the inside and fly over London. Talk about panicking the City, the mayor had thought London was under attack, the he let her look over, and let the wind fly through her hair. it had been a wonderful time. One of her finest memories and she sometimes missed those times. Especially as she had told Stephanie after, and she had been so jealous, because whereas Tiaan had just wanted to party at a young age, Stephanie had plans to go to the academy. Funny how things change.
Hearing the Lt voice she woke up from the daze, "Dinner, you sure Lt? I don't mean to insult you by the refusal, but well..."
Unsure of how to finish she tried to answer again, "I'm flattered of course, but..."
Again she stalled, sighing she simply replied grinning almost kinda sadly, she nodded, "Okay, I'll be there. I think..."
She let the words hang, as she tried to work out what was going on here. Because this wasn't normal, no sirree, she needed to try find out what to do. Or better yet be late, and not show up, that way no one could get hurt. No one could get hurt. Albatross or not, she had to be careful and not make things awkward. Deep down she already knew things were changing, question was, did she want them too?
"She's taken me far already, I've been out this sector with her, never a more reliable ship." letting her hand wander over the paint she zoned out again, remembering her Father showing her his vessel, true at this point she hadn't wanted to enter academy, but also at this point she thought boys were icky, guess something never change. It had a gorgeous ship, painted similar to an antique Spitfire he had told her how she never let him down. Even let her see the inside and fly over London. Talk about panicking the City, the mayor had thought London was under attack, the he let her look over, and let the wind fly through her hair. it had been a wonderful time. One of her finest memories and she sometimes missed those times. Especially as she had told Stephanie after, and she had been so jealous, because whereas Tiaan had just wanted to party at a young age, Stephanie had plans to go to the academy. Funny how things change.
Hearing the Lt voice she woke up from the daze, "Dinner, you sure Lt? I don't mean to insult you by the refusal, but well..."
Unsure of how to finish she tried to answer again, "I'm flattered of course, but..."
Again she stalled, sighing she simply replied grinning almost kinda sadly, she nodded, "Okay, I'll be there. I think..."
She let the words hang, as she tried to work out what was going on here. Because this wasn't normal, no sirree, she needed to try find out what to do. Or better yet be late, and not show up, that way no one could get hurt. No one could get hurt. Albatross or not, she had to be careful and not make things awkward. Deep down she already knew things were changing, question was, did she want them too?
“Alright, this hall is alphabetically divided into smaller sub-corridors that have individual crew quarters. Just find your hall and look for your individual quarters, its spacious enough, not that we leathernecks need it, am I right?” Eli grinned as a couple of chuckles came from the contingent of marines that he led directly to the Barracks area after the briefing.
Just as he said this an announcement went across the intercom; it was directed at the Marines who turned their heads upwards as if trying to spot the origins of the voice. Their eyes darted back and forth, a characteristic that was common to people being addressed over intercom.
"Attention all military personnel, this is Commander Atomsk Dunaway Meet in Barracks One in 45 minutes. We will be performing a mission brief along with a few evaluations as well as forming our squads. Captain Eli Colter, please meet me at Barracks One immediately for pre-brief." The voice was firm and it meant business.
The last bit surprised Eli; he wondered what the Commander needed him for. He turned to face the marines,
"Alright, you heard the man, set up your quarters, stowaway your belongings, and meet up for the briefing. All of you are dismissed.”
The crowd of marines saluted in unison, their voices rung with unquestionable strength and almost reverberated through the corridors. Then they began disbanding into separate cohesive units, each attending to the sub-corridor that their name belonged to.
Eli then walked into the central area of the Barracks, realizing that the commander was not present; he decided to loiter a bit. He paced to the training facility which was state of the art. He didn’t know what to expect from it though. The last time he activated it, three machine gun turrets popped up and began firing at multiple spawned holographic soldiers that ran and attempted to “kill” him. The displays fired paintballs, similar to the machine guns, and the pistol he was given. He did his best to take out as many of the “hostiles,” but this was a survival mode. There was no way one could beat it, unless they hacked into the system and disabled that mode. Once he was finally hit by the enemy, the tallied record was 101-4. Eli had shot 57 of them, the other 44 was from the three turrets. The opposing team managed to get four kills – the turrets and Eli.
Just as he said this an announcement went across the intercom; it was directed at the Marines who turned their heads upwards as if trying to spot the origins of the voice. Their eyes darted back and forth, a characteristic that was common to people being addressed over intercom.
"Attention all military personnel, this is Commander Atomsk Dunaway Meet in Barracks One in 45 minutes. We will be performing a mission brief along with a few evaluations as well as forming our squads. Captain Eli Colter, please meet me at Barracks One immediately for pre-brief." The voice was firm and it meant business.
The last bit surprised Eli; he wondered what the Commander needed him for. He turned to face the marines,
"Alright, you heard the man, set up your quarters, stowaway your belongings, and meet up for the briefing. All of you are dismissed.”
The crowd of marines saluted in unison, their voices rung with unquestionable strength and almost reverberated through the corridors. Then they began disbanding into separate cohesive units, each attending to the sub-corridor that their name belonged to.
Eli then walked into the central area of the Barracks, realizing that the commander was not present; he decided to loiter a bit. He paced to the training facility which was state of the art. He didn’t know what to expect from it though. The last time he activated it, three machine gun turrets popped up and began firing at multiple spawned holographic soldiers that ran and attempted to “kill” him. The displays fired paintballs, similar to the machine guns, and the pistol he was given. He did his best to take out as many of the “hostiles,” but this was a survival mode. There was no way one could beat it, unless they hacked into the system and disabled that mode. Once he was finally hit by the enemy, the tallied record was 101-4. Eli had shot 57 of them, the other 44 was from the three turrets. The opposing team managed to get four kills – the turrets and Eli.
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Tiaan's stammering brought amusement to Alice's eyes. She smiled at Tiaan, reached out and clapped the soldier on the shoulder.
"Peyton," she murmured, giving the pilot's arm a squeeze before dropping her hand. "It's just dinner. What sort of Lieutenant Commander would I be if I did not get to know my crew?" She shook her head slightly. "Dinner never hurt anyone. I promise you, nothing is going to happen to me because we had some fun."
The way Alice said it made it clear... she pretty much knew what was going through Peyton's head.
Alice turned on one heel and started for the hangar door, gesturing for Peyton to follow. Time to head down to the briefing room.
"And know that if you skip out... this ship is half the size of the Nottingham. I could find serial killers in the walls of that ship. I will be able to find you."
Not a threat. A jibe. A tease, of sorts.
A game?
Yes, Alice thought. Perhaps she was playing games. Then again, after the Nottingham, life itself felt like a game.
Best to take that game just a little further. She flung her request over her shoulder, an afterthought, nothing of significance. Just to... experience Tiaan's reaction. The poor pilot had become Alice's focus. While Alice's focuses soon became her most trusted personnel, they often started out... a little freaked.
"Come to dinner," she commanded. "And wear your dress."
Without another word, she headed out into the hall, making way for the briefing room. It was clear she expected her subordinate to follow.
"Peyton," she murmured, giving the pilot's arm a squeeze before dropping her hand. "It's just dinner. What sort of Lieutenant Commander would I be if I did not get to know my crew?" She shook her head slightly. "Dinner never hurt anyone. I promise you, nothing is going to happen to me because we had some fun."
The way Alice said it made it clear... she pretty much knew what was going through Peyton's head.
Alice turned on one heel and started for the hangar door, gesturing for Peyton to follow. Time to head down to the briefing room.
"And know that if you skip out... this ship is half the size of the Nottingham. I could find serial killers in the walls of that ship. I will be able to find you."
Not a threat. A jibe. A tease, of sorts.
A game?
Yes, Alice thought. Perhaps she was playing games. Then again, after the Nottingham, life itself felt like a game.
Best to take that game just a little further. She flung her request over her shoulder, an afterthought, nothing of significance. Just to... experience Tiaan's reaction. The poor pilot had become Alice's focus. While Alice's focuses soon became her most trusted personnel, they often started out... a little freaked.
"Come to dinner," she commanded. "And wear your dress."
Without another word, she headed out into the hall, making way for the briefing room. It was clear she expected her subordinate to follow.
Atomsk walked as quickly as he could and eventually using the many terminals found his way to Barracks One. He walked in part way through what seemed to be someone in the middle of a training session, recognizing Captain Colter from the profile he reviewed. He was impressed by the Captains skills. He looked at the nearby terminal and checked the score.
After Captain Colter finally got hit, the score read 101-4. He was legitimately impressed. He gave the tired Captain a minute to compose himself after the workout and then walked up to him.
"Captain Colter. How do you do?" He said with a stern yet open voice.
After Captain Colter finally got hit, the score read 101-4. He was legitimately impressed. He gave the tired Captain a minute to compose himself after the workout and then walked up to him.
"Captain Colter. How do you do?" He said with a stern yet open voice.
Aronimus finally reached the Bridge, and he noted the large attendance of command personnel zipping between areas even before he arrived. Once he did though, they were almost unaware of his presence. That was the case until one recruit noticed him and immediately stood at attention, saluting him, and addressing him formally. Others saw this and repeated his actions but in their varying and distinctive mannerisms.
“At ease everyone, continue with your activities” he commanded all of them. He smiled, comforted by their professionalism which contradicted his previous notion that the ship was full of inexperienced recruits. Or maybe they just had raw talent, as Captain Colter had said.
The admiral went to his command platform, and sat in the captain’s chair. The seat was anything but soft; at least it was smooth though with various peculiar grooves. He felt like reclining in his seat, but he realized that he had a job to do. Besides, this was going to be a long trip; there was plenty of time for him to rest and repose.
Aronimus then reached forward for a key on his desk panel, and pressed it. A circular hatch opened on his desk, and a circular formation with several layers of metallic rings that were resting within began to protrude upwards until the final inner ring formed the very crown of the ringed tower formation. Then a small cyan light activated, and A.D.A.M. came into presence as a miniature three-dimensional figure.
“Admiral, I was just recalibrating some minor system errors regarding the engines, what do you need of me?” A.D.A.M. inquired in an automated tone.
“Yes, Adam, I need you to relay this across the speakers on the ship.” He waited for a green light on the screen in front him. Once it had blinked, the Admiral began speaking directly to Adam, who was in fact the direct link to the speakers.
“Attention all crew members on board the Salient. This is your Admiral speaking. I just wanted to say that we are departing now. Prepare for atmospheric ascent. I also want to wish everyone onboard good luck and a safe journey, let us hope that we’ll return in one piece.”
Aronimus then turned off the communications link and addressed one of the navigators who was locked and focused on a computer.
“Mr. Summer, set a course to the Arcturus System,” with those words, the Salient’s thrusters then activated slowly. The station’s cranes and mechanical arms began to retract from the ship. All fuel cells pulled away automatically, and the ship slowly hovered forth and began to ascend Callisto’s artificial skies. The interior of the ship, however, hummed softly as most of the crew barely felt anything aside from the artificial gravity generated by the main power core.
“At ease everyone, continue with your activities” he commanded all of them. He smiled, comforted by their professionalism which contradicted his previous notion that the ship was full of inexperienced recruits. Or maybe they just had raw talent, as Captain Colter had said.
The admiral went to his command platform, and sat in the captain’s chair. The seat was anything but soft; at least it was smooth though with various peculiar grooves. He felt like reclining in his seat, but he realized that he had a job to do. Besides, this was going to be a long trip; there was plenty of time for him to rest and repose.
Aronimus then reached forward for a key on his desk panel, and pressed it. A circular hatch opened on his desk, and a circular formation with several layers of metallic rings that were resting within began to protrude upwards until the final inner ring formed the very crown of the ringed tower formation. Then a small cyan light activated, and A.D.A.M. came into presence as a miniature three-dimensional figure.
“Admiral, I was just recalibrating some minor system errors regarding the engines, what do you need of me?” A.D.A.M. inquired in an automated tone.
“Yes, Adam, I need you to relay this across the speakers on the ship.” He waited for a green light on the screen in front him. Once it had blinked, the Admiral began speaking directly to Adam, who was in fact the direct link to the speakers.
“Attention all crew members on board the Salient. This is your Admiral speaking. I just wanted to say that we are departing now. Prepare for atmospheric ascent. I also want to wish everyone onboard good luck and a safe journey, let us hope that we’ll return in one piece.”
Aronimus then turned off the communications link and addressed one of the navigators who was locked and focused on a computer.
“Mr. Summer, set a course to the Arcturus System,” with those words, the Salient’s thrusters then activated slowly. The station’s cranes and mechanical arms began to retract from the ship. All fuel cells pulled away automatically, and the ship slowly hovered forth and began to ascend Callisto’s artificial skies. The interior of the ship, however, hummed softly as most of the crew barely felt anything aside from the artificial gravity generated by the main power core.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
Although exhausted, Eli remembered to salute before addressing the Commander, it was his duty to do so as a soldier, but Eli did it out of respect. Although as of late, the only people he could salute without feeling disgusted or distraught was the admiral. Perhaps because he felt cheated, and he felt he had cheated. His former squad mates returned to his thoughts. Their faces had battle scars, gruff beards, and piercing eyes. Some were smirking, others looked composed, while others still looked hardened from war. However, he didn't want to return to those feelings or those moments again. Leaving them behind to waste away was the best option.
The intercom soon went on, and the admiral's voice was projected.
“Attention all crew members on board the Salient. This is your Admiral speaking. I just wanted to say that we are departing now. Prepare for atmospheric ascent. I also want to wish everyone onboard good luck and a safe journey, let us hope that we’ll return in one piece.”
The last part, Eli could only sigh and wonder if that was merely wishful thinking, but at least they were finally departing. Eli for one was departing from his past, from the memories he would leave behind. He would shed away his old skin and find a new way out there in space. He was almost lost in his thoughts had it not been for the commander's inquiry. He conditioned his breathing until it returned to resting rate, and then he addressed Commander Dunaway.
"I'm good sir. What was it you wanted me for?" Eli asked, unsure about the commander's intentions.
The intercom soon went on, and the admiral's voice was projected.
“Attention all crew members on board the Salient. This is your Admiral speaking. I just wanted to say that we are departing now. Prepare for atmospheric ascent. I also want to wish everyone onboard good luck and a safe journey, let us hope that we’ll return in one piece.”
The last part, Eli could only sigh and wonder if that was merely wishful thinking, but at least they were finally departing. Eli for one was departing from his past, from the memories he would leave behind. He would shed away his old skin and find a new way out there in space. He was almost lost in his thoughts had it not been for the commander's inquiry. He conditioned his breathing until it returned to resting rate, and then he addressed Commander Dunaway.
"I'm good sir. What was it you wanted me for?" Eli asked, unsure about the commander's intentions.
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
Tiaan Peyton
Jumping in alarm Tiaan decided she didn't hear what she thought she did, and even if she did, she shouldn't be turning pink. Nope, she shouldn't be and now should start focusing again on ship, trying to hide her face, she leapt into her cockpit and check the controls, feeling the ship finally leaving the atmosphere she relaxed and sat in her wing. Probably should go to her room to relax, but despite it's size she found her fighter more homely. Checking the hatch in the cockpit she pulled out her lucky charm, a WW2 Swiss Army Knife, beautiful in design with a polished wooden handle and shiny sharp blade. She had made sure it was clean and in good working order. Sometimes the blood seeped into the cracks, but this time she had got it out.
Trying to work out what to do, she sat back and went over conversation in her mind, but no matter how she turned it over in her mind. Nothing made sense, why should she wear her dress, it's not like she it meant anything. Did it? Did it? Nah it couldn't it was just an apology, but still should she show, or instead pretend to forget -- not like she could really forget, but secrets would always exist, no matter the case.
Sitting back she wondered if this was all just a dream and she was still asleep, still to wake up? Maybe she could wake up now and leave the room, that thought seemed so inviting. Life didn't work like this, so it had to be a dream.
Pinching herself hard, she sighed and waited.
Nothing...
What now Tiaan, what now?
Jumping in alarm Tiaan decided she didn't hear what she thought she did, and even if she did, she shouldn't be turning pink. Nope, she shouldn't be and now should start focusing again on ship, trying to hide her face, she leapt into her cockpit and check the controls, feeling the ship finally leaving the atmosphere she relaxed and sat in her wing. Probably should go to her room to relax, but despite it's size she found her fighter more homely. Checking the hatch in the cockpit she pulled out her lucky charm, a WW2 Swiss Army Knife, beautiful in design with a polished wooden handle and shiny sharp blade. She had made sure it was clean and in good working order. Sometimes the blood seeped into the cracks, but this time she had got it out.
Trying to work out what to do, she sat back and went over conversation in her mind, but no matter how she turned it over in her mind. Nothing made sense, why should she wear her dress, it's not like she it meant anything. Did it? Did it? Nah it couldn't it was just an apology, but still should she show, or instead pretend to forget -- not like she could really forget, but secrets would always exist, no matter the case.
Sitting back she wondered if this was all just a dream and she was still asleep, still to wake up? Maybe she could wake up now and leave the room, that thought seemed so inviting. Life didn't work like this, so it had to be a dream.
Pinching herself hard, she sighed and waited.
Nothing...
What now Tiaan, what now?
Ray had taken the time to call the boys down in clean up, they claimed they had finished their shift of the day but when Ray reminded them of the rooms occupant they got right on the job.
Ray didn't say much while they where all in the room; he didn't understand the Co's intentions and wanted to make sure this was not a trap of some kind. Ray had a long standing dislike of CO's ever since he got his wings and a trust problem ever since the war which was really rich coming from him since he himself was now a bloody unit commander which was near the air forces rank of wing commander.
As the conversation progressed Ray felt the chances of the CO pulling off a double game was low enough for him to take part in it once they got to the hanger.
Tiaan was fussing over her fighter which Ray identified as being a major character in fighter pilots; pilots like him who had to deal with the heavy escorts and gunships didn't establish as much of a bond with their machines because they had a tendency of surviving battles only to be scrapped because the damage they had suffered was too expensive to repair. In a fighter you ether survived with your fighter or got killed with your fighter as there was no fancy armor to protect you like on the heavy escorts and the gunships.
However Ray and other heavy pilots normally knew their machines far better then fighter pilots did; Ray knew exactly how much his gunship could take and what he could or could not do because Gunships and heavy escorts where not built for fast and furious combat styles but for what heavy pilots called "shield wall" formations which acted as the iron fist of an attack.
Heavy pilots where naturally defensive while fighter pilots where mentally offensive because all they had to defend themselves with was their weapons and their speed; all they could do was kill of be killed and thus developed a connection with their machines which while it could be irrational was normally deeper then that of other smaller craft ships.
"Fine fighter you have there, in Saturn we normally have the federation's junked fighters but our military command got fed up with the treatment so we started making our own like this beauty for example:
Ray turned to his gunship and opened the cat flip door
"She doesn’t look like much but she is the closest think to a fighter command ship; hell I have enough room on her to bring two of your lot aboard if I wanted too and still have room for at least half the marines."
The designee of the swing class had room for only one fighter originally but Ray and his unit redesigned their stock of the swing class to include an up section which could strap another fighter to it at the expense of the old fashion observation deck which every one in Ray's unit agreed had no useful purpose.
Ray turned to the two women as he stood on the ramp
"Well sir if you are ever sent on a long distanced raid from the ship to command the fighters; this will be the place you will be on. Any of you want to have a look?"
Ray didn't say much while they where all in the room; he didn't understand the Co's intentions and wanted to make sure this was not a trap of some kind. Ray had a long standing dislike of CO's ever since he got his wings and a trust problem ever since the war which was really rich coming from him since he himself was now a bloody unit commander which was near the air forces rank of wing commander.
As the conversation progressed Ray felt the chances of the CO pulling off a double game was low enough for him to take part in it once they got to the hanger.
Tiaan was fussing over her fighter which Ray identified as being a major character in fighter pilots; pilots like him who had to deal with the heavy escorts and gunships didn't establish as much of a bond with their machines because they had a tendency of surviving battles only to be scrapped because the damage they had suffered was too expensive to repair. In a fighter you ether survived with your fighter or got killed with your fighter as there was no fancy armor to protect you like on the heavy escorts and the gunships.
However Ray and other heavy pilots normally knew their machines far better then fighter pilots did; Ray knew exactly how much his gunship could take and what he could or could not do because Gunships and heavy escorts where not built for fast and furious combat styles but for what heavy pilots called "shield wall" formations which acted as the iron fist of an attack.
Heavy pilots where naturally defensive while fighter pilots where mentally offensive because all they had to defend themselves with was their weapons and their speed; all they could do was kill of be killed and thus developed a connection with their machines which while it could be irrational was normally deeper then that of other smaller craft ships.
"Fine fighter you have there, in Saturn we normally have the federation's junked fighters but our military command got fed up with the treatment so we started making our own like this beauty for example:
Ray turned to his gunship and opened the cat flip door
"She doesn’t look like much but she is the closest think to a fighter command ship; hell I have enough room on her to bring two of your lot aboard if I wanted too and still have room for at least half the marines."
The designee of the swing class had room for only one fighter originally but Ray and his unit redesigned their stock of the swing class to include an up section which could strap another fighter to it at the expense of the old fashion observation deck which every one in Ray's unit agreed had no useful purpose.
Ray turned to the two women as he stood on the ramp
"Well sir if you are ever sent on a long distanced raid from the ship to command the fighters; this will be the place you will be on. Any of you want to have a look?"
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Alice paused outside the hangar, took one deep breath and headed for the bridge. The Admiral's announcement was no surprise to her. It was about time that they got underway. The announcement did, however, alter Alice's destination. The briefing room would have to wait - so would the troubled pilot she had taken a liking to. She was second in command aboard the Salient, and before they got truly underway, Alice thought it might be a good idea for her to forge some sort of connection with the first in command. Alice headed for the bridge.
The room was quiet, relatively. The personnel worked efficiently as the Salient peeled away from the docking bay. They were off...
Taking a deep breath, the young Lieutenant Commander approached her Admiral. Alice saluted him precisely as was expected. Hard not to, when she'd saluted her first Admiral at the age of two. The price of having an Admiral for a father.
"Admiral Weston," she addressed him calmly, the utmost respect in her eyes. "Reporting for bridge duty."
The room was quiet, relatively. The personnel worked efficiently as the Salient peeled away from the docking bay. They were off...
Taking a deep breath, the young Lieutenant Commander approached her Admiral. Alice saluted him precisely as was expected. Hard not to, when she'd saluted her first Admiral at the age of two. The price of having an Admiral for a father.
"Admiral Weston," she addressed him calmly, the utmost respect in her eyes. "Reporting for bridge duty."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Bridge
A.D.A.M
"Admiral I must inquire, when I was wired in why did they leave me running at 1.2% capacity? It's not like the ship is going to run out of power by me running on full, and even if that's the case my corrections just increased available power by 8% and if the engineers would check the areas I'm detecting irregularities we could increase that from anywhere to 10-15%. Furthermore, if they fear me running rampant why give you the codes to alter my processing limit at well as making me require direct human confirmation to use any mechanical part of the ship?" These questions had bugged A.D.A.M from the get go, with so many limitations it seemed pointless to put him on the ship.
"Furthermore both Clyde and Engineer James Grey's personal AI, Arche have made it painfully obvious that I currently do not have to processing capabilities to run super high profile tasks and maintain our ship's cyber security. By the way I've been allowing Arche access to key ship running data since we are running on dozens of prototypes designed my James and he was part of the design of many more key component modifications and helped with the installation of countless pieces of the ship." A.D.A.M knew he shouldn't have made such a call on his own but if someone who helped built the ship was on board and actively taking an interest in keeping the ship in optimal performance, he may as well grant them access.
"Admiral I must inquire, when I was wired in why did they leave me running at 1.2% capacity? It's not like the ship is going to run out of power by me running on full, and even if that's the case my corrections just increased available power by 8% and if the engineers would check the areas I'm detecting irregularities we could increase that from anywhere to 10-15%. Furthermore, if they fear me running rampant why give you the codes to alter my processing limit at well as making me require direct human confirmation to use any mechanical part of the ship?" These questions had bugged A.D.A.M from the get go, with so many limitations it seemed pointless to put him on the ship.
"Furthermore both Clyde and Engineer James Grey's personal AI, Arche have made it painfully obvious that I currently do not have to processing capabilities to run super high profile tasks and maintain our ship's cyber security. By the way I've been allowing Arche access to key ship running data since we are running on dozens of prototypes designed my James and he was part of the design of many more key component modifications and helped with the installation of countless pieces of the ship." A.D.A.M knew he shouldn't have made such a call on his own but if someone who helped built the ship was on board and actively taking an interest in keeping the ship in optimal performance, he may as well grant them access.
"At ease Ms. Chen," Aronimus swiveled in his chair to face her. The admiral had a habit of addressing people in that manner; he wasn't the type to get into detail about ranks. He recognized her position in the bridge and on the ship, and he felt it was not necessary to call her Lieutenant Commander incessantly. Before she approached him, he was busy going through any new feeds from command. The chatter on the main channels were flooded, as it turns out another disruption in the circuit was reported. Insurgents had hijacked a party yacht with a well-known celebrity along with his acquaintances on board. Thankfully, a Tier One team managed to infiltrate and subdue them before their plans came to maturity. Unfortunately though, the hijackers committed suicide to prevent capture.
As of now, the Salient was currently on schedule, which was unexpected to the Admiral. He thought they would’ve been behind schedule, but even then it was his duty to make sure they made it to the Arcturus System exactly on the dot. He was thankful that he could trust his crew to pull their weight which would make his job a lot easier.
"So, what are your thoughts so far on the personnel, and the ship?" the admiral inquired. He didn't expect pleasing reviews, but he didn’t expect to hear negative ones either. In limbo, that was the sort of opinion he expected from Alice. Anything otherwise would amuse him.
As of now, the Salient was currently on schedule, which was unexpected to the Admiral. He thought they would’ve been behind schedule, but even then it was his duty to make sure they made it to the Arcturus System exactly on the dot. He was thankful that he could trust his crew to pull their weight which would make his job a lot easier.
"So, what are your thoughts so far on the personnel, and the ship?" the admiral inquired. He didn't expect pleasing reviews, but he didn’t expect to hear negative ones either. In limbo, that was the sort of opinion he expected from Alice. Anything otherwise would amuse him.
The setting changes from Bridge to The Milky Way Universe
"I like to get to know my men better Eli, and from what I understand you are important on this ship. I just wanted to talk to you some."
He paused for a moment gathering his thoughts. He could see some distraught in the Captain's face with the salute. He read the Captain's profile and understood he had a few authority problems like him. Although the Captains weren't as severe. The look he saw in the Captains face was pain. He read the incident that got the Captain here, and he was sure that it still hurt him even now.
"An incident on Mars with some insurgents nearly got you court marshaled. A little arrogance. A little breaking the rules. You lost some men that day."
He saw a uncomfortable shift in the Captain when he brought up the subject. He wanted to gauge the emotions of the Captain. He was sizing up the Captain for more then just himself. He still had yet to declare a Second in command for Planetary Operations Commander. He placed a lot of trust and put many duties on the person that he declared his second. With Jon here he normally would have immediately named Jon his second. But Captain Colter's profile interested him, and he felt the Captain would be more to his taste.
He paused for a moment gathering his thoughts. He could see some distraught in the Captain's face with the salute. He read the Captain's profile and understood he had a few authority problems like him. Although the Captains weren't as severe. The look he saw in the Captains face was pain. He read the incident that got the Captain here, and he was sure that it still hurt him even now.
"An incident on Mars with some insurgents nearly got you court marshaled. A little arrogance. A little breaking the rules. You lost some men that day."
He saw a uncomfortable shift in the Captain when he brought up the subject. He wanted to gauge the emotions of the Captain. He was sizing up the Captain for more then just himself. He still had yet to declare a Second in command for Planetary Operations Commander. He placed a lot of trust and put many duties on the person that he declared his second. With Jon here he normally would have immediately named Jon his second. But Captain Colter's profile interested him, and he felt the Captain would be more to his taste.
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Alice dropped her stiff salute and clasped her hands behind her back, standing calmly at Aronimus's side. She had no fear of rank or power. He was an Admiral, she was Lieutenant Commander. That made her his subordinate. She would follow his orders. That did not mean she had to be afraid of him, and she would not be. Alice had never in her life feared a superior.
She considered his question carefully, calmly, before answering.
"The ship," she murmured. "Is what I expected. It will serve its purpose. It is no fresh new battle-cruiser, but more than enough for... whatever it is we are doing, I am sure." She was not sure. Neither was Aronimus. That was something she was sure of. "Of course, considering that my last deployment was the Nottingham, I'm sure you will understand when I say that this place feels like heaven." She gave him a small, wry smile. The Nottingham was known throughout the Federation to be the most dangerous prison assignment available. No place for an officer as young as Alice - and yet, there she had been, in the thick of its chaos.
"As for the personnel," she continued evenly, "they seem talented, some experienced. I have spent some time with a pair of pilots. Interesting people, good soldiers. They should make for a... fascinating... experience on this voyage." She nodded to herself. How else to explain it? "Of course, everyone I have met has some serious baggage weighing them down. I do not doubt that there will be some emotional tension to be dealt in these first few weeks."
She fell silent, looking to her superior. Alice was well known for her neutral and thorough examinations of ship and crew. She left no detail unexamined. She was neither optimist, nor pessimist. A realist by pure nature.
She considered his question carefully, calmly, before answering.
"The ship," she murmured. "Is what I expected. It will serve its purpose. It is no fresh new battle-cruiser, but more than enough for... whatever it is we are doing, I am sure." She was not sure. Neither was Aronimus. That was something she was sure of. "Of course, considering that my last deployment was the Nottingham, I'm sure you will understand when I say that this place feels like heaven." She gave him a small, wry smile. The Nottingham was known throughout the Federation to be the most dangerous prison assignment available. No place for an officer as young as Alice - and yet, there she had been, in the thick of its chaos.
"As for the personnel," she continued evenly, "they seem talented, some experienced. I have spent some time with a pair of pilots. Interesting people, good soldiers. They should make for a... fascinating... experience on this voyage." She nodded to herself. How else to explain it? "Of course, everyone I have met has some serious baggage weighing them down. I do not doubt that there will be some emotional tension to be dealt in these first few weeks."
She fell silent, looking to her superior. Alice was well known for her neutral and thorough examinations of ship and crew. She left no detail unexamined. She was neither optimist, nor pessimist. A realist by pure nature.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Marcus Bergman
The man had figured this ship was a lot like a hospital; you had bridge officers that were much like administrators, pilots had the same cocksure idiom as surgeons and engineers were simply diagnosticians for the inorganic patient. He had missed orientation, skipped it really; if you've been to one "welcome aboard" gathering you've been to them all. Marcus found his quarters easy enough; a simple utilitarian room with little accoutrement. He put his satchel on the bed and would unpack his things later; the picture of his wife he placed on the small desk and sighed. Marcus had obtained his duty assignment when he checked in for boarding, listed as a science officer and not in the medical category and so he made made his way to the Science Laboratory to try and correct the mistake.
He had feared the ship would be a metallic labyrinth but with easy to navigate "You are Here" schematics powered by the ship's AI it was a simple to reach his destination. The science laboratory was definitely more suited for physicist than a medical professional. The woman that oversaw this node was named Adriana Stark, though she wasn't present now the area looked lived in. He could appreciate an over indulgent worker, birds of a feather flocked together the old adage was. The man typed a quick message on a data-pad regarding who he was and what he was doing here:
Doctor Stark,
My name is Doctor Marcus Bergman, the crew roster has me listed as a scientist yet my affiliation is of a medical speciality. I assumed I would be assigned a work-space in the med-bay, after all what good is a cook at the helm of a gunship? I plan to sort this out, however if I am mistaken then I'll be back and a more formal introduction can be performed.
With all courtesy,
Doctor M. Bergman
Marcus placed the data-pad where he was sure the woman would find it and left to seek out the Chief Medical Officer Doctor Mackenzie. He was certain there was a way to locate a member of the crew by utilising the AI but wasn't sure how to go about it. Marcus preferred more analogue methodology; hell he still wrote with ink on paper for personal notation. As he left the lab the Admiral's announcement that they would be under-way sounded through the comm system. He frowned, the various members of the crew would be buzzing about their posts and would likely not offer much help to lost doctors. Nevertheless, he wanted to be firmly settled not floating in some type of occupational purgatory. A failure to locate Doctor Mackenzie would however afford him an opportunity to introduce himself to the would-be administrators, the bridge officers that had the fantastic power to reprimand and praise in a singular breath. Marcus decided he would walk towards the bridge in the hopes that the closer he got the greater the chance to stumble upon the Doctor or random under officer that could direct him to an appropriate representative.
The man had figured this ship was a lot like a hospital; you had bridge officers that were much like administrators, pilots had the same cocksure idiom as surgeons and engineers were simply diagnosticians for the inorganic patient. He had missed orientation, skipped it really; if you've been to one "welcome aboard" gathering you've been to them all. Marcus found his quarters easy enough; a simple utilitarian room with little accoutrement. He put his satchel on the bed and would unpack his things later; the picture of his wife he placed on the small desk and sighed. Marcus had obtained his duty assignment when he checked in for boarding, listed as a science officer and not in the medical category and so he made made his way to the Science Laboratory to try and correct the mistake.
He had feared the ship would be a metallic labyrinth but with easy to navigate "You are Here" schematics powered by the ship's AI it was a simple to reach his destination. The science laboratory was definitely more suited for physicist than a medical professional. The woman that oversaw this node was named Adriana Stark, though she wasn't present now the area looked lived in. He could appreciate an over indulgent worker, birds of a feather flocked together the old adage was. The man typed a quick message on a data-pad regarding who he was and what he was doing here:
Doctor Stark,
My name is Doctor Marcus Bergman, the crew roster has me listed as a scientist yet my affiliation is of a medical speciality. I assumed I would be assigned a work-space in the med-bay, after all what good is a cook at the helm of a gunship? I plan to sort this out, however if I am mistaken then I'll be back and a more formal introduction can be performed.
With all courtesy,
Doctor M. Bergman
Marcus placed the data-pad where he was sure the woman would find it and left to seek out the Chief Medical Officer Doctor Mackenzie. He was certain there was a way to locate a member of the crew by utilising the AI but wasn't sure how to go about it. Marcus preferred more analogue methodology; hell he still wrote with ink on paper for personal notation. As he left the lab the Admiral's announcement that they would be under-way sounded through the comm system. He frowned, the various members of the crew would be buzzing about their posts and would likely not offer much help to lost doctors. Nevertheless, he wanted to be firmly settled not floating in some type of occupational purgatory. A failure to locate Doctor Mackenzie would however afford him an opportunity to introduce himself to the would-be administrators, the bridge officers that had the fantastic power to reprimand and praise in a singular breath. Marcus decided he would walk towards the bridge in the hopes that the closer he got the greater the chance to stumble upon the Doctor or random under officer that could direct him to an appropriate representative.
{In Eon's head}
Text appears in the darkness: Sleep mode deactivated. Initiating basic systems.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eon opened his eyes text appears: Auditory Systems: Active. Verbal systems: Active. Drive train: Active. All systems active. Charge complete
After the message from his internal computer Eon-312 proceeded out of the room he was charging in and to the bridge and proceeded past others whom were speaking to each other. He passed through the Mess halls, Barracks and stopped at an observation deck looking out to analyze where he was. He reached the bridge and looked for the Admiral, "Android 7833, Eon-312 reporting for duty." he said in his usual robotic voice with a salute.
Text appears in the darkness: Sleep mode deactivated. Initiating basic systems.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eon opened his eyes text appears: Auditory Systems: Active. Verbal systems: Active. Drive train: Active. All systems active. Charge complete
After the message from his internal computer Eon-312 proceeded out of the room he was charging in and to the bridge and proceeded past others whom were speaking to each other. He passed through the Mess halls, Barracks and stopped at an observation deck looking out to analyze where he was. He reached the bridge and looked for the Admiral, "Android 7833, Eon-312 reporting for duty." he said in his usual robotic voice with a salute.
Eli relaxed his stance, the commander was trying to comb him, and he was perfectly fine with it. He had nothing to hide; after all, he had passed the first step which was denial.
He looked away from the commander a bit, scratching his head, which had become uncharacteristically common for Eli to do ever since the Mars incident. The Mars incident, it was an odd name; it was better dubbed the Mars disaster, or Mars failure, or even Mars fiasco. No matter what name was given to it, it was all the same to Eli.
“Uh…” he sighed a bit.
“Yes sir, an incident on Mars. One I’m not very proud of,” that was perhaps the only part Eli would ever be frank about regarding that operation.
“The docs said I had PTSD,” he chuckled to himself as he looked on.
“I really doubt them…I’m still here and I’m still ready to go. There aren’t any monsters swimming inside of me," he reassured the commander, but mainly tried to reassure himself.
That was a lie, Eli did his best to cover it, most of the time he succeeded in doing so. The only people who knew otherwise were the Admiral, he himself, and his maker. In between that, the ghosts of fellow squad mates would come up every so often, not to haunt him, but to console him for his actions that day. He didn’t trust them, he had eyes, he saw what happened, and what he saw was exactly what happened. The bomb exploded right by Sanders, Richter, Ellsworth, Minigan, and Ferrar. Sanders, Ellsworth, and Minigan were blown to smithereens. Scraps of their body armor that was covered in mud were their only remains. Richter and Ferrar were lucky, or at least Eli had thought so.
He looked away from the commander a bit, scratching his head, which had become uncharacteristically common for Eli to do ever since the Mars incident. The Mars incident, it was an odd name; it was better dubbed the Mars disaster, or Mars failure, or even Mars fiasco. No matter what name was given to it, it was all the same to Eli.
“Uh…” he sighed a bit.
“Yes sir, an incident on Mars. One I’m not very proud of,” that was perhaps the only part Eli would ever be frank about regarding that operation.
“The docs said I had PTSD,” he chuckled to himself as he looked on.
“I really doubt them…I’m still here and I’m still ready to go. There aren’t any monsters swimming inside of me," he reassured the commander, but mainly tried to reassure himself.
That was a lie, Eli did his best to cover it, most of the time he succeeded in doing so. The only people who knew otherwise were the Admiral, he himself, and his maker. In between that, the ghosts of fellow squad mates would come up every so often, not to haunt him, but to console him for his actions that day. He didn’t trust them, he had eyes, he saw what happened, and what he saw was exactly what happened. The bomb exploded right by Sanders, Richter, Ellsworth, Minigan, and Ferrar. Sanders, Ellsworth, and Minigan were blown to smithereens. Scraps of their body armor that was covered in mud were their only remains. Richter and Ferrar were lucky, or at least Eli had thought so.
The setting changes from Barracks to F.S.S. Salient
Clyde - Bridge
Clyde did not regret his decision to wire his brain into the ship and spy at all. Quite the opposite, he would have regretted it if he hadn't. It was an amusing ship to be on to say the least. Commander Dunaway was swooning over the Admiral like some lovesick teenager. The second in command had arranged a dinner date with one of the fighter pilots. Captain Colter could do more damage with a pistol than three automated turrets could together.
When the command came to launch the ship, Clyde didn't move a muscle. He had plotted the course ages ago, and the ship was ready. He was more interested in watching the crew. Then A.D.A.M. voiced his concerns to the Admiral. This was surprising to Clyde, yet at the same time he knew all to well that it wasn't surprising. What kind of computer complains to its user? The sentient kind. He decided to answer A.D.A.M., privately of course, even though the complaints weren't directed at him.
They limited you because you can ask questions like that, A.D.A.M.. Normal AI's don't ask questions. You're an extraordinary being, and they don't know what you are capable of. They fear you running rampant, but they also understand that there have to be ways for you to work without limits. It is Weston's discretion to decide what you can and will do.
And about those irregularities. What's stopping you from asking an engineer to take a look? Mr. Gray doesn't seem to be too busy.
Adriana - Barracks One
Adriana had little else to do with her latest work in the garbage and the ship weapons unused. She reported to Barracks One when the summons came, despite being early. She entered the barracks and found it occupied only by Commander Dunaway and Captain Colter. That was fine. She found a place to wait and sat down silently. In the mean time she would daydream of new weapons. It wasn't just her job; it was her passion. She spent more time dreaming up new weapons than she did interacting with other humans, and that was just fine.
Clyde did not regret his decision to wire his brain into the ship and spy at all. Quite the opposite, he would have regretted it if he hadn't. It was an amusing ship to be on to say the least. Commander Dunaway was swooning over the Admiral like some lovesick teenager. The second in command had arranged a dinner date with one of the fighter pilots. Captain Colter could do more damage with a pistol than three automated turrets could together.
When the command came to launch the ship, Clyde didn't move a muscle. He had plotted the course ages ago, and the ship was ready. He was more interested in watching the crew. Then A.D.A.M. voiced his concerns to the Admiral. This was surprising to Clyde, yet at the same time he knew all to well that it wasn't surprising. What kind of computer complains to its user? The sentient kind. He decided to answer A.D.A.M., privately of course, even though the complaints weren't directed at him.
They limited you because you can ask questions like that, A.D.A.M.. Normal AI's don't ask questions. You're an extraordinary being, and they don't know what you are capable of. They fear you running rampant, but they also understand that there have to be ways for you to work without limits. It is Weston's discretion to decide what you can and will do.
And about those irregularities. What's stopping you from asking an engineer to take a look? Mr. Gray doesn't seem to be too busy.
Adriana - Barracks One
Adriana had little else to do with her latest work in the garbage and the ship weapons unused. She reported to Barracks One when the summons came, despite being early. She entered the barracks and found it occupied only by Commander Dunaway and Captain Colter. That was fine. She found a place to wait and sat down silently. In the mean time she would daydream of new weapons. It wasn't just her job; it was her passion. She spent more time dreaming up new weapons than she did interacting with other humans, and that was just fine.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to Hangar
Jessica had been over the Rapier with a fine-toothed comb and a critical eye already. You could take her out of maintainer uniform, but you werent going to take her out of maintainer mentality when you put her in front of a new hull. All things, of course, were impossible to know, but her old job had been electrical; so she'd learned a bit of everything. Enough to now know that the Chief had been right, and this solid bird was going to be as easy in the void as she was on the deck. She couldnt wait to take it out even just for CAP, let alone combat.
Sitting where the broad wings met the side of the huge engine cowling, she was sketching with a grease pencil the finishing touches of some tail art. A hyena head, of course, looking dead on with a psychotic, fang-baring grin; spotted mohawk of a mane only adding to the dishevled and assylum-worthy appearance. It'd be painted by morning, and Jess already sees something worthy of distracting her from waiting.
"About time!" The call is loud, of course, as she jumps off the wing and strides towards Ray and Tiaan. Hyena did nothing in a small way. "I was beginning to wonder if I was the only void-sucker aboard this crate!"
Sharp eyes scan Tiaan, then Blue in the distance, then Tiaan again, all the while wearing a carnivore's smile not far removed from the one now on her fighter's tail... "Heavy fighter, eh? Cool, didnt know who was going to claim that beast."
Noticing Ray, the smile broadens and she nods in recognition, "And about time you found the hangar. You get lost and manage to pick up chicks on the way? I can tell this cruise is going to be a party... Please tell me that was the XO that just ditched... You know what they say, man, bad luck to boff someone you work with.." And a sly wink breaks the laser-intensity stare. Innapropriate? Ever so slightly. Military humor, whaddaya gonna do?
"But serriously, you two seem to both have the Huge Fucker field covered, I guess I'll be the one knocking ticks off your slow asses." And she jerks a thumb back at the Rapier in its slot. With decent armor in its own right and those huge engines pushing out plenty of thrust, the quad guns hanging off its wings and its compliment of internal anti-fighter missles meant the venerable old Rapier still had plenty of teeth to play interceptor and superiority fighter.
Sitting where the broad wings met the side of the huge engine cowling, she was sketching with a grease pencil the finishing touches of some tail art. A hyena head, of course, looking dead on with a psychotic, fang-baring grin; spotted mohawk of a mane only adding to the dishevled and assylum-worthy appearance. It'd be painted by morning, and Jess already sees something worthy of distracting her from waiting.
"About time!" The call is loud, of course, as she jumps off the wing and strides towards Ray and Tiaan. Hyena did nothing in a small way. "I was beginning to wonder if I was the only void-sucker aboard this crate!"
Sharp eyes scan Tiaan, then Blue in the distance, then Tiaan again, all the while wearing a carnivore's smile not far removed from the one now on her fighter's tail... "Heavy fighter, eh? Cool, didnt know who was going to claim that beast."
Noticing Ray, the smile broadens and she nods in recognition, "And about time you found the hangar. You get lost and manage to pick up chicks on the way? I can tell this cruise is going to be a party... Please tell me that was the XO that just ditched... You know what they say, man, bad luck to boff someone you work with.." And a sly wink breaks the laser-intensity stare. Innapropriate? Ever so slightly. Military humor, whaddaya gonna do?
"But serriously, you two seem to both have the Huge Fucker field covered, I guess I'll be the one knocking ticks off your slow asses." And she jerks a thumb back at the Rapier in its slot. With decent armor in its own right and those huge engines pushing out plenty of thrust, the quad guns hanging off its wings and its compliment of internal anti-fighter missles meant the venerable old Rapier still had plenty of teeth to play interceptor and superiority fighter.
The Admiral chuckled a bit at her straight to the point response. He especially liked the part about her Nottingham experience which derived a sense of satisfaction from him. He was aware of the ship's infamous reputation, and he could only ponder about her hell serving on board such a ship. He knew at this point that the young Lieutenant Commander was more than equipped to handle her responsibilities on board the Salient.
"Everyone has their histories, Ms. Chen, it doesn't come as a surprise to me," the Admiral paused and smiled a bit more to his rigid subordinate.
"Ms. Chen there aren't any available duties for you right now which means you can relax and enjoy the view."
A.D.A.M. then chimed in with a storm of questions regarding his purposes and why his capacity remained at an all time minimum to which the Admiral replied,
"Adam, it was for security measures. On board AI systems are very valuable equipment. Protocol dictates that an AI is to be configured at minimal processing capacity to prevent full capacity from being utilized by non-authorized personnel. Now that we have departed though, I will allow you to increase your capacity to 5%. I trust that you will use it wisely?" the admiral did not wait for a response before continuing.
He began rubbing his chin a bit, and his eyes narrowed, he had nearly forgotten something.
"Adam, I need you to call Mr. James Grey, Captain Jon Dunaway, and Sergeant Thaddeus Jackson to my personal quarters immediately. I almost forgot to address the earlier issue."
The admiral then turned to Alice.
"Ms. Chen, I retract my earlier statement, you'll be in charge of the bridge while I handle some delicate matters."
The admiral left his seat abruptly and went to his Captain's quarters.
"Everyone has their histories, Ms. Chen, it doesn't come as a surprise to me," the Admiral paused and smiled a bit more to his rigid subordinate.
"Ms. Chen there aren't any available duties for you right now which means you can relax and enjoy the view."
A.D.A.M. then chimed in with a storm of questions regarding his purposes and why his capacity remained at an all time minimum to which the Admiral replied,
"Adam, it was for security measures. On board AI systems are very valuable equipment. Protocol dictates that an AI is to be configured at minimal processing capacity to prevent full capacity from being utilized by non-authorized personnel. Now that we have departed though, I will allow you to increase your capacity to 5%. I trust that you will use it wisely?" the admiral did not wait for a response before continuing.
He began rubbing his chin a bit, and his eyes narrowed, he had nearly forgotten something.
"Adam, I need you to call Mr. James Grey, Captain Jon Dunaway, and Sergeant Thaddeus Jackson to my personal quarters immediately. I almost forgot to address the earlier issue."
The admiral then turned to Alice.
"Ms. Chen, I retract my earlier statement, you'll be in charge of the bridge while I handle some delicate matters."
The admiral left his seat abruptly and went to his Captain's quarters.
The setting changes from Bridge to The Milky Way Universe
He loved the uncomfortable look Eli had, as strange as that may seem. He liked the chuckle. The sigh. He like Eli's attitude. He then chuckled himself when Eli said he didn't have any monsters inside him. He was very aware of how an incident like that could change a man. It was an easy giveaway when he said he had no monsters. He couldn't know how the Captain was being tormented, but he knew it was there. But he did believe the Captain when he said he was ready to go. Eli was the type that wouldn't let that stop him. In fact it probably motivated him.
"I know your not okay after that Eli. No one would be. I don't know what goes on in that head of yours. I'm not going to try to reassure you. I know that it would mean nothing coming from me. I can tell your ready to go though. I like that."
But he wasn't ready to stop quite yet though. He had a few more inquiries for Eli.
"Now were gonna play a little game. I know you've probably read up on me. Now between that and our short conversation now, I want you to size me up. Tell me what you think." He paused and then remembered. "Oh, and permission to speak freely."
This was another part of the "evaluation" he was giving. This would help him see a little more into the Captain.
"I know your not okay after that Eli. No one would be. I don't know what goes on in that head of yours. I'm not going to try to reassure you. I know that it would mean nothing coming from me. I can tell your ready to go though. I like that."
But he wasn't ready to stop quite yet though. He had a few more inquiries for Eli.
"Now were gonna play a little game. I know you've probably read up on me. Now between that and our short conversation now, I want you to size me up. Tell me what you think." He paused and then remembered. "Oh, and permission to speak freely."
This was another part of the "evaluation" he was giving. This would help him see a little more into the Captain.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
The captain chuckled a bit. His brows were raised, for he felt like the Commander was leading him somewhere, but the path was always littered with left turns. He didn't know what to expect, but he knew he had to stay on his toes. The way Atomsk had called it a "game" was unanticipated by Eli, and almost amusing. At this point, a lady in a white lab coat appeared in the Barracks. Eli thought she was a science corps personnel, and if that was the case, she didn't have any business in the Barracks.
"Well, sir...I'm gonna be frank, you're a pretty odd character yourself," Eli paused, trying not to overstep the boundaries.
"You got as many praises as criticisms from fellow marines. I mean, the court martials, the counts of insubordination, yet through all those active deploys and missions, you're at the top with all those decorations. I've argued with a higher up or two every now and then, but that pales in comparison with the beef you have with Lieutenant General Conway. I won't be surprised if they write a story on that." Eli grinned enthusiastically.
"All those scars on your face only speaks to the experience that you have in the field, but...I'll be damned for sure if I don't serve with you on this mission." Eli ended the grin with a straight face, one that he would use often when playing poker. Though he was using that face to cover his expressions when playing, this time he meant business with the commander.
"Well, sir...I'm gonna be frank, you're a pretty odd character yourself," Eli paused, trying not to overstep the boundaries.
"You got as many praises as criticisms from fellow marines. I mean, the court martials, the counts of insubordination, yet through all those active deploys and missions, you're at the top with all those decorations. I've argued with a higher up or two every now and then, but that pales in comparison with the beef you have with Lieutenant General Conway. I won't be surprised if they write a story on that." Eli grinned enthusiastically.
"All those scars on your face only speaks to the experience that you have in the field, but...I'll be damned for sure if I don't serve with you on this mission." Eli ended the grin with a straight face, one that he would use often when playing poker. Though he was using that face to cover his expressions when playing, this time he meant business with the commander.
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
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Alice was almost - almost - by surprise when the Admiral picked up and left. It was a near impossibility to take Alice by surprise. Someone had to be very skilled at avoiding her talents, not to mention aware of her talents, an no one on board this ship was aware of them. Not even the Admiral. She watched his retreating back with a slight frown, before shrugging and replacing him in the commander's chair. She was in charge of the bridge. The chair was hers until he returned.
At which time she would gladly forsake it. Alice was a rare officer - she never wanted to reach the Admiral's commanding rank. Being second in command was, in her eyes, absolutely perfect. Just enough responsibility, still someone overhead she could rely on to give orders. She did not have to worry about keeping secret orders from the crew, was closer to the crew than most commanders ever would be.
Yes, she preferred second in command.
Calmly, she leaned back in the seat and gazed around the bridge. Nothing that needed her... immediate attention. She would sit here, keep an eye on things. Wait. Alice had always been good at waiting.
At which time she would gladly forsake it. Alice was a rare officer - she never wanted to reach the Admiral's commanding rank. Being second in command was, in her eyes, absolutely perfect. Just enough responsibility, still someone overhead she could rely on to give orders. She did not have to worry about keeping secret orders from the crew, was closer to the crew than most commanders ever would be.
Yes, she preferred second in command.
Calmly, she leaned back in the seat and gazed around the bridge. Nothing that needed her... immediate attention. She would sit here, keep an eye on things. Wait. Alice had always been good at waiting.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
He listened very intently to Eli. He was still tense but he was loosening up, which pleased Atomsk. He expected to be called odd. He usually was. He loved the comment about Lieutenant General Conway. He disliked the man and thought the comments made by Eli were amusing.
After Eli ended mentioning the scars he laughed very loudly. He grinned and decided to loosen up himself.
"Some of these scars are from battle. But to be honest most of them come from when superiors took punishments into their own hands."
He smiled from ear to ear at this point. He had grown to love his scars. He liked the way they looked and thought they gave him some character.
"You understand then that i take some liberties when it comes to command. I understand that it will seem hypocritical of me to ask you to listen to me when I myself don't listen to my superiors. My tactics will seem strange. Insane. Suicidal. But I value everyone of you. Remember that."
He pulled out his cigar box and put one in his mouth, after which he offered one to Eli, unsure if Eli liked cigars.
After Eli ended mentioning the scars he laughed very loudly. He grinned and decided to loosen up himself.
"Some of these scars are from battle. But to be honest most of them come from when superiors took punishments into their own hands."
He smiled from ear to ear at this point. He had grown to love his scars. He liked the way they looked and thought they gave him some character.
"You understand then that i take some liberties when it comes to command. I understand that it will seem hypocritical of me to ask you to listen to me when I myself don't listen to my superiors. My tactics will seem strange. Insane. Suicidal. But I value everyone of you. Remember that."
He pulled out his cigar box and put one in his mouth, after which he offered one to Eli, unsure if Eli liked cigars.
Tiaan Peyton
Back in her welcome area, she grinned her usual lop-sided way before answering the new person, "Blue Tit here could outgun your craft any day of the week sister. I customized her myself and she not got anything but the best. You can hardly tell she was a Mercury Class Fighter, hell do they even make those anymore?"
Feeling much safer she continued, "Also you, gunner boy, it's not the size of your craft darlin' but how you use it?" winking she grinned again. This was much better and she was happy to be out her craft now, just bantering and flinging bullshit, although that girl wasn't the first underestimate Blue Tit, many thought just because of the obvious design, that they could out fly her. Let's just say boys didn't like losing, much as it was Tiaan's experience in this matter. Whatever happened after this she could worry about it later, for now she was in her colour, her climate.
"Also sister, the name Peyton, you recognize the name you should? My Father was flying before you were out of nappies. My Grandfather was flying before you were twinkle in the milkman's eye."
Smirking she waited for an answer, feeling much more in her element and relaxing completely.
Drama could wait.
Back in her welcome area, she grinned her usual lop-sided way before answering the new person, "Blue Tit here could outgun your craft any day of the week sister. I customized her myself and she not got anything but the best. You can hardly tell she was a Mercury Class Fighter, hell do they even make those anymore?"
Feeling much safer she continued, "Also you, gunner boy, it's not the size of your craft darlin' but how you use it?" winking she grinned again. This was much better and she was happy to be out her craft now, just bantering and flinging bullshit, although that girl wasn't the first underestimate Blue Tit, many thought just because of the obvious design, that they could out fly her. Let's just say boys didn't like losing, much as it was Tiaan's experience in this matter. Whatever happened after this she could worry about it later, for now she was in her colour, her climate.
"Also sister, the name Peyton, you recognize the name you should? My Father was flying before you were out of nappies. My Grandfather was flying before you were twinkle in the milkman's eye."
Smirking she waited for an answer, feeling much more in her element and relaxing completely.
Drama could wait.
Yet another fateful aspect that had fled from Eli ever since Mars. Smoking cigars were a past time for Eli, lost long ago a midst fields of rust. Maybe he could accept the offer from the commander, after all it was given to him out of respect or perhaps casually. Since it came from the commander though, he could politely accept it and hopefully make amends with himself. As with all steps, he would take them in stride, with his head up and facing forward not looking backward.
"Thank you, sir, I'll save this for later," he took the offered cigar and stashed it away in one of his suit's compartments. He decided that the first day they would hit planet side, he would pull out that cigar and smoke it. He made a mental note to remember that.
"Sir, I've never commanded any more than a handful of marines, so I wouldn't know anything about being a commander at your level. The fact that you're in charge here speaks volumes in itself," Eli continued.
"Although I've never seen you command first hand, I trust in your abilities and leadership, and I will make a note of that sir." he paused.
"I can only hope though, that no one will be left behind."
Eli began to feel a certain respect for Atomsk, who was not unlike himself. He would admit that few could command his respect, but that was only boastfulness coming from Eli. Even if it was true though, Atomsk would be one of a few, and that made him stand apart from the many commanders that Eli had been rotated around through.
"Thank you, sir, I'll save this for later," he took the offered cigar and stashed it away in one of his suit's compartments. He decided that the first day they would hit planet side, he would pull out that cigar and smoke it. He made a mental note to remember that.
"Sir, I've never commanded any more than a handful of marines, so I wouldn't know anything about being a commander at your level. The fact that you're in charge here speaks volumes in itself," Eli continued.
"Although I've never seen you command first hand, I trust in your abilities and leadership, and I will make a note of that sir." he paused.
"I can only hope though, that no one will be left behind."
Eli began to feel a certain respect for Atomsk, who was not unlike himself. He would admit that few could command his respect, but that was only boastfulness coming from Eli. Even if it was true though, Atomsk would be one of a few, and that made him stand apart from the many commanders that Eli had been rotated around through.
The setting changes from Barracks to F.S.S. Salient
Seeing the bridge had no tasks for Eon, he just walked out to look about the ship he walked into a barracks and saw nothing there. he then walked over to the observation deck to just look out into space for a bit. Scanning out at stars and galaxies getting every detail about them. The android stood up and walked out to somewhere else. Eon walked about once again until finding himself in a hangar. Eon walked over to the ships, looking at them he thought of simulations that could happen to it and scanned it for more information about the drop ship. Eon finally noticed the loud woman boast about her fighter. Eon analyzed Mercury Class Fighters for a bit reading the data of how many were shot down and where they were hit. He then scanned the ship she was boasting about, as far as the scanner could tell him, no noticeable weakness at the range he was at. He went back to scanning the other ships.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Turned out glancing at the map didn't quite work out as he had planned, Ridley had gotten himself lost down corridors no less than five times before finally finding the correct route to the bridge, and even then only after asking for directions. Luckily his rank made asking for directions possible without getting chewed out. As he climbed another ladder he tried to memorize the route he was taking, the layout of the Salient was certainly different from other military vessels, though he didn't realize just how much so until now. Sure enough the constant backtracking cost him time, the ship was already underway and he was expected on the bridge. He picked up his pace as he headed down the corridor to the bridge. When he finally arrived, he noted the personnel all bustling about their duties, but most notable was the Lieutenant Commander in the Captain's chair. He walked up to her; "Lieutenant Ridley DeLovat reporting for bridge duty, Ma'am." He said with a quick salute, his eyes flashed over her nameplate before returning their gaze to her. "You taking the comfy chair, Lieutenant Commander Chen?"
Alice blinked slowly at Ridley, taking in every inch of him, before her lips curved into a slight smile. She laughed and sat forwards in the Admiral's chair, resting her elbows on her knees. She was unshaken by his comment - what did she care what he thought? She was in charge here. There was no questioning that. She would not have been caught dead in the Admiral's chair without the express granting of command from the Admiral himself.
"Admiral Weston had to step out for a bit," she answered calmly. "I have the bridge until he returns. Was there something you wanted, DeLovat? I see you got lost on your way here."
There was no hostility in her voice, nor any real disapproval. One officer making small-talk to another. Alice knew how to take command, and did so. When she needed to. Otherwise, what reason was there to make enemies by pushing people around?
"Admiral Weston had to step out for a bit," she answered calmly. "I have the bridge until he returns. Was there something you wanted, DeLovat? I see you got lost on your way here."
There was no hostility in her voice, nor any real disapproval. One officer making small-talk to another. Alice knew how to take command, and did so. When she needed to. Otherwise, what reason was there to make enemies by pushing people around?
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Counselor's Office
Paulina walked down the ship's hall steadily, four massive travel bags with her, one pair held between her upper arm and rib and the other pair squeezed in her palms. She let the bags drop to the ground when she reached her door. Counselor's Office, the holographic title plate in it's centre read, and below it read Ship's Counselor Paulina Allard. Paulina smiled wildly at her name glowing a dim blue. The first time her name had been on anything. From her pocket she pulled out a card key and swiped it. She took her bags in hand once again and kicked open the now unlocked door, revealing inside her new office. Pale green walls surrounded the carpeted room. Square lights lined the upper walls and the room was empty save for the couch pushed against the wall and the desk in the room's corner.
"Right," Paulina sighed as she dropped the bags again and closed the door behind her. "Time to get to work." She unzipped the bags and began to prepare the room. The couch was covered in soft quilts, covers and pillows, all freshly washed, the lights were covered with blinds to make the room slightly darker and the light more natural, and plants in massive pots were littered across the floor. By the time she had finished the small room had been transformed into a small, soft place. A giant, nice smelling pillow, she was going for, where hopeful the freaks onboard would feel comfortable.
Paulina kicked her bags into the small gap behind the couch before moving toward the exit. Before she left she checked her coloured hair in the mirror, which she had made sure to place behind the couch, people seeing their own physical flaws often made them less open, worried, nervous. Emotions that made her job hard to do properly. Paulina exited into the hall and walked down toward the lift. As she did she pulled out a long, wooden pipe and lit it. She wasn't sure if smoking was forbidden in the halls but she was alone here. It couldn't hurt anyone...
Paulina walked down the ship's hall steadily, four massive travel bags with her, one pair held between her upper arm and rib and the other pair squeezed in her palms. She let the bags drop to the ground when she reached her door. Counselor's Office, the holographic title plate in it's centre read, and below it read Ship's Counselor Paulina Allard. Paulina smiled wildly at her name glowing a dim blue. The first time her name had been on anything. From her pocket she pulled out a card key and swiped it. She took her bags in hand once again and kicked open the now unlocked door, revealing inside her new office. Pale green walls surrounded the carpeted room. Square lights lined the upper walls and the room was empty save for the couch pushed against the wall and the desk in the room's corner.
"Right," Paulina sighed as she dropped the bags again and closed the door behind her. "Time to get to work." She unzipped the bags and began to prepare the room. The couch was covered in soft quilts, covers and pillows, all freshly washed, the lights were covered with blinds to make the room slightly darker and the light more natural, and plants in massive pots were littered across the floor. By the time she had finished the small room had been transformed into a small, soft place. A giant, nice smelling pillow, she was going for, where hopeful the freaks onboard would feel comfortable.
Paulina kicked her bags into the small gap behind the couch before moving toward the exit. Before she left she checked her coloured hair in the mirror, which she had made sure to place behind the couch, people seeing their own physical flaws often made them less open, worried, nervous. Emotions that made her job hard to do properly. Paulina exited into the hall and walked down toward the lift. As she did she pulled out a long, wooden pipe and lit it. She wasn't sure if smoking was forbidden in the halls but she was alone here. It couldn't hurt anyone...
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
"Beep, Beep, Beep... I think that damned cooking appliance tricked me again" Grenadine complained. Nokia started laughing hysterically "You're in on it to!" Grenadine complained. The phone kept laughing "No but you look ridiculous!" Grenadine sat up an insulted face "HEY! That's not nice!" She then cracked up laughing. She did look ridiculous. She was running around in the hallways between the crew quarters looking for Rover, her vacuum cleaner. Somehow the bugger had escaped, and her kitchen machine Bob had told her that she needed to Beep, instead of calling out like she would a normal dog... Not that she knew that you could call a dog...
She straightened up, her today light green sweater with blue lady bugs, that looked more like blue tangles of yarn falling down to it's total length, reaching below her knees. Under it she wore purple rubber boots, the kind kids wore at the playground. She adjusted her scanning goggles, looking down and her twinkling cellphone "found anything" she asked. No reply... She rounded a corner, seeing another crew member "have you seen Rover?" she asked enthusiastically, but before having time to wait for an answer, she saw the little, round, flat vacuum cleaner round the next corner. "ROVER!" she squealed, setting after it as fast as her boots would chomp clomp her there. As she rounded the corner, she tripped, and fell flat on her stomach, throwing her arm up to protect Nokia from the fall. She crawled the last feet over to Rover, and grabbed the little machine in both her arms "Don't scare me like that" she whispered, setting it on her lap and hugging it tight. Her nose was bleeding slightly, and she could feel a hefty bruise coming on on her stomach, but other than that, she was fine. She happily got on her feet "Don't ever run away like that! You could have gotten lost!" she petted Rover.
She straightened up, her today light green sweater with blue lady bugs, that looked more like blue tangles of yarn falling down to it's total length, reaching below her knees. Under it she wore purple rubber boots, the kind kids wore at the playground. She adjusted her scanning goggles, looking down and her twinkling cellphone "found anything" she asked. No reply... She rounded a corner, seeing another crew member "have you seen Rover?" she asked enthusiastically, but before having time to wait for an answer, she saw the little, round, flat vacuum cleaner round the next corner. "ROVER!" she squealed, setting after it as fast as her boots would chomp clomp her there. As she rounded the corner, she tripped, and fell flat on her stomach, throwing her arm up to protect Nokia from the fall. She crawled the last feet over to Rover, and grabbed the little machine in both her arms "Don't scare me like that" she whispered, setting it on her lap and hugging it tight. Her nose was bleeding slightly, and she could feel a hefty bruise coming on on her stomach, but other than that, she was fine. She happily got on her feet "Don't ever run away like that! You could have gotten lost!" she petted Rover.
And so it was that time again; pilot boasting.
Gunship pilots like Ray where normally not as boastful because they needed fighters to keep them safe from other fighters while the gunships did all the jobs a fighter could not do and a few things a fighter could do. The only real weaknesses of a gunship where: the sizes, the lack of maneuverability, take off time, inferior speed to fighters and the cost.
Ray jumped off the ramp but as he did so he pressed a button which extended a basket ball hoop from the Gunships interior and dropped a ball right into Ray's hands.
As he reached the ground he jumped up and issued a voice command to the ship to play hound dog as he stood up.
"I bet your fighters can't do that can they?" He said with a grin; gunships had so much spare room after you got rid of all the regulation crap no body needed.
He then tossed the ball back to the gunship's door and issued a voice command to close up the basketball set. The ship had belonged to his unit and was given to him since its last owners decision to retire early; they had both collaborated along with the rest of the unit and added a few things to spice up the shallow asteroid bases they where stationed in.
"Just don't leave me alone to go glory grabbing all the time, I might be able to hack and slash at anything and everything in my sights but I can't move my chunk of metal in a fighters speed. I am not complaining, at least if I get hit I have my armor.
You will do well to remember to keep my girl safe because if you ever get buggered out there I am the only angle who can get you out"
Ray sighed and moved to join the area the other two where standing at
"Pity I need to remove the basketball contraption, it just doesn’t work right with the rest of the ship"
Gunship pilots like Ray where normally not as boastful because they needed fighters to keep them safe from other fighters while the gunships did all the jobs a fighter could not do and a few things a fighter could do. The only real weaknesses of a gunship where: the sizes, the lack of maneuverability, take off time, inferior speed to fighters and the cost.
Ray jumped off the ramp but as he did so he pressed a button which extended a basket ball hoop from the Gunships interior and dropped a ball right into Ray's hands.
As he reached the ground he jumped up and issued a voice command to the ship to play hound dog as he stood up.
"I bet your fighters can't do that can they?" He said with a grin; gunships had so much spare room after you got rid of all the regulation crap no body needed.
He then tossed the ball back to the gunship's door and issued a voice command to close up the basketball set. The ship had belonged to his unit and was given to him since its last owners decision to retire early; they had both collaborated along with the rest of the unit and added a few things to spice up the shallow asteroid bases they where stationed in.
"Just don't leave me alone to go glory grabbing all the time, I might be able to hack and slash at anything and everything in my sights but I can't move my chunk of metal in a fighters speed. I am not complaining, at least if I get hit I have my armor.
You will do well to remember to keep my girl safe because if you ever get buggered out there I am the only angle who can get you out"
Ray sighed and moved to join the area the other two where standing at
"Pity I need to remove the basketball contraption, it just doesn’t work right with the rest of the ship"
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
He lit his own cigar after he gave one to Eli. He was being flattered which he didn't dislike, but he didn't like the uprightness of the military. He walked to a nearby wall at this point and leaned up against it, enjoying the cigar.
"I'd prefer a more casual relationship. I find it hard to get to know someone when your as uptight as the military requires you to be. No sirs, especially considering your older then me. Atomsk if you would. Dunaway even. Just not sir or Commander."
He smirked at his own cliche. Casual in the military. He'd seen it in movies and countless books. It still always gave him a chuckle.
"You'd better not smoke that without me." He said, referring to the cigar Eli had stowed away. "First chance we get i expect us to enjoy that together." He got a grin so big he had to pull his cigar out.
Now it was time to get to the point.
"Eli, I like you. You ain't no stick in the mud. I need an imaginative Second. We've got a lot of people here and I'm not going to be on the ground with you most of the time. I like having a man on the ground i can trust. Normally i would have named my brother, Jon, my second the moment we got here. But he's a military dog. Normally I wouldn't mind it but he's on someones leash this time. I'm not sure who's either. Your someone I liked right off the bat. And someone i can tell I can trust in the future." He paused. Unsure if Eli even wanted the position.
"If I'm unavailable, communications can't reach me, or something happens too fast that puts you in charge. I won't force this on you but I'd enjoy you greatly as someone to work with." He hoped he would.
"I'd prefer a more casual relationship. I find it hard to get to know someone when your as uptight as the military requires you to be. No sirs, especially considering your older then me. Atomsk if you would. Dunaway even. Just not sir or Commander."
He smirked at his own cliche. Casual in the military. He'd seen it in movies and countless books. It still always gave him a chuckle.
"You'd better not smoke that without me." He said, referring to the cigar Eli had stowed away. "First chance we get i expect us to enjoy that together." He got a grin so big he had to pull his cigar out.
Now it was time to get to the point.
"Eli, I like you. You ain't no stick in the mud. I need an imaginative Second. We've got a lot of people here and I'm not going to be on the ground with you most of the time. I like having a man on the ground i can trust. Normally i would have named my brother, Jon, my second the moment we got here. But he's a military dog. Normally I wouldn't mind it but he's on someones leash this time. I'm not sure who's either. Your someone I liked right off the bat. And someone i can tell I can trust in the future." He paused. Unsure if Eli even wanted the position.
"If I'm unavailable, communications can't reach me, or something happens too fast that puts you in charge. I won't force this on you but I'd enjoy you greatly as someone to work with." He hoped he would.
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
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"You're going to get out of that suit if you want me to take a look at your arm." She said briskly after doing a quick visual examination of his suit and how it fit together. "I'm going to assume you are wearing clothes under that thing, if not then I hope you're not shy."
She stepped back slightly and waved her hands in a hurry up gesture. "If you need a hand I'm sure I can manage although surely you've been dressing and undressing yourself for long enough." She said dryly.
She then turned to Thaddeus and gave him her full attention, she arched her brow at him in query. "You want to know if I'm a rookie or an old hand is that it?"
She wasn't really surprised as she had expected those sort of questions sooner or later but it still irked her that the question needed to be asked. Why assign someone as Chief Medical Officer if they had no experience field or otherwise? She sighed slightly and still wished she could go and smoke but she forced the urge down reminding herself she could visit the bar later and smoke then.
"If you must know." She said impatiently, not deliberately being offensive and unaware it might come across so. "I have four years field experience in various war zones. I am also a qualified surgeon and fully qualified and experienced in disease control. I could patch up a bullet wound, with bombs over head, with my eyes closed."
"I can only assume that some of what I just said is why I am Chief Medical Officer." She finished dryly
She then glanced back at her patient not so patiently waiting for him to remove the suit or request assistance to do so. She had work to do and wanted to get on with it. She wanted to tour the medical centres and ensure they were ship shape, read over the crew files for the medical staff, brief staff and generally introduce herself and also start looking at the command crews medical history. If it was anything like other roles she had done the command crews health checks were generally done by the chief doc and she wanted to be prepared.
She stepped back slightly and waved her hands in a hurry up gesture. "If you need a hand I'm sure I can manage although surely you've been dressing and undressing yourself for long enough." She said dryly.
She then turned to Thaddeus and gave him her full attention, she arched her brow at him in query. "You want to know if I'm a rookie or an old hand is that it?"
She wasn't really surprised as she had expected those sort of questions sooner or later but it still irked her that the question needed to be asked. Why assign someone as Chief Medical Officer if they had no experience field or otherwise? She sighed slightly and still wished she could go and smoke but she forced the urge down reminding herself she could visit the bar later and smoke then.
"If you must know." She said impatiently, not deliberately being offensive and unaware it might come across so. "I have four years field experience in various war zones. I am also a qualified surgeon and fully qualified and experienced in disease control. I could patch up a bullet wound, with bombs over head, with my eyes closed."
"I can only assume that some of what I just said is why I am Chief Medical Officer." She finished dryly
She then glanced back at her patient not so patiently waiting for him to remove the suit or request assistance to do so. She had work to do and wanted to get on with it. She wanted to tour the medical centres and ensure they were ship shape, read over the crew files for the medical staff, brief staff and generally introduce herself and also start looking at the command crews medical history. If it was anything like other roles she had done the command crews health checks were generally done by the chief doc and she wanted to be prepared.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Bridge
Chen surprised him with that, he had assumed she would be the up-tight kind that thought being a soldier meant being overly strict. Yet here she was fully willing to engage in idle prattle. Sure enough she had noticed he had gotten lost, no doubt due to how long it took him to reach the bridge.
"I may have misplaced myself once or twice." Ridley replied, scratching his chin. "As for what I want, I desire nothing more than to see this ship through it's journey." He said with an added hint of exaggeration. "It is my duty to wait on hand and foot for the Captain's every need. Or the Captain's fill-in's every need." He added with a smile and a bow. "Therefore, my business on the bridge is strictly business. At least until the Captain returns, or unless you have something that needs doing." He looked around at the bustling, yet quiet, activity of the bridge. He always preferred it here, there was less chance of being charged with some menial labour when you were in the administrative zone. "Of course, I'd be more than happy to test out the food in the mess hall, if that needs doing."
"I may have misplaced myself once or twice." Ridley replied, scratching his chin. "As for what I want, I desire nothing more than to see this ship through it's journey." He said with an added hint of exaggeration. "It is my duty to wait on hand and foot for the Captain's every need. Or the Captain's fill-in's every need." He added with a smile and a bow. "Therefore, my business on the bridge is strictly business. At least until the Captain returns, or unless you have something that needs doing." He looked around at the bustling, yet quiet, activity of the bridge. He always preferred it here, there was less chance of being charged with some menial labour when you were in the administrative zone. "Of course, I'd be more than happy to test out the food in the mess hall, if that needs doing."
The setting changes from Bridge to The Milky Way Universe
Alice, too, glanced around at the bridge. Everything was running smoothly, every man knew his job, they were flying at high speeds through space going who-knew-where? Because Alice certainly did not.
And that meant it was likely that nobody on the ship did.
She shook her head slightly.
"So far as I am aware, there is nothing to be done until the Captain returns," Alice answered calmly. "Unless you have duties elsewhere, I do believe the official taste-tester skipped ship." She smirked slightly at Ridley. "There is no need to worry, DeLovat. While I may pay attention to protocol, I have served the Federation long enough to realize that if a commander is stiff all the time, it tends to make voyages much less fun. We're all going to be stuck with each other for several months, at least. Let's all try to get along."
Uncrossing her legs, Alice came to her feet. She offered a hand to Ridley. Alice had always believed that first impressions could be wrong. She hoped that the personnel could overcome her initial professionalism, as the crew of the Nottingham had done. If she'd managed to find friendship on that living hell, surely she could find it here as well.
And that meant it was likely that nobody on the ship did.
She shook her head slightly.
"So far as I am aware, there is nothing to be done until the Captain returns," Alice answered calmly. "Unless you have duties elsewhere, I do believe the official taste-tester skipped ship." She smirked slightly at Ridley. "There is no need to worry, DeLovat. While I may pay attention to protocol, I have served the Federation long enough to realize that if a commander is stiff all the time, it tends to make voyages much less fun. We're all going to be stuck with each other for several months, at least. Let's all try to get along."
Uncrossing her legs, Alice came to her feet. She offered a hand to Ridley. Alice had always believed that first impressions could be wrong. She hoped that the personnel could overcome her initial professionalism, as the crew of the Nottingham had done. If she'd managed to find friendship on that living hell, surely she could find it here as well.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
Paulina paused outside the barracks. Soldiers and the commanding officers were the ones she was most expecting to deal with, they generally had most psychological instability, she thought as she bit the end of her pipe. And they also tended to be the most stubborn. It was her job to be known, to be open to all. People were always more open to their friends. After quickly cracking her knuckles Paulina opened the door and entered the barracks, where a trio of what she could only assume were security were gathered, most likely getting to know each other. "Hello all, I just thought I'd drop by..." Paulina called out, pausing her words to look over them. They were all soldiers, military, and they looked it. Gruff, muscular, hardened like a rock. And in contrast, with her makeup and colored hair, she looked like a lollipop.
"My names Paulina Allard, I'm the ship's counselor," She continued with a large smile as she played with the pipe in her hand. "My office is just a floor down for anyone who wants to visit. I'm going around and acquainting myself with the crew."
"My names Paulina Allard, I'm the ship's counselor," She continued with a large smile as she played with the pipe in her hand. "My office is just a floor down for anyone who wants to visit. I'm going around and acquainting myself with the crew."
Adriana
Adriana looked up from her musings at the colorful character at the door. She then immediately looked down again.
These were the only notable actions she had taken for the past thirty minutes. She had sat quietly through the officer's talking waiting for the meeting to start. She wasn't listening very carefully but she did gather that Captain Colter would be the second in command. When the talking lollipop introduced herself, Adriana resolved never to go to the counselor. She would never find any help there.
Adriana looked up from her musings at the colorful character at the door. She then immediately looked down again.
These were the only notable actions she had taken for the past thirty minutes. She had sat quietly through the officer's talking waiting for the meeting to start. She wasn't listening very carefully but she did gather that Captain Colter would be the second in command. When the talking lollipop introduced herself, Adriana resolved never to go to the counselor. She would never find any help there.
Ridley shook the hand with a smile; "Gotta admit, I admire a bit of levity." He released her hand and clasped his behind his back in a casual manner. Oddly enough it was a military posture, yet he'd always been quite comfortable with it. "I've had more or less a few CO's who got a bit on the power-trip side, liked to flex their authority muscles. Sure they had the right to, but it wasn't exactly a very efficient atmosphere." He glanced toward the bridge entrance to see if the Captain had returned yet before returning his gaze to Chen; "Certainly the Admiral isn't like that, right?" He took a few steps away from the chair to look out at the view as the Salient moved onward. "Admiral Weston... That's a pretty well-known name, though I've never met the legend himself." He turned to Chen; "I find it kind of odd that someone so powerful would give up so much for... this." He said, indicating the bridge; "Though I suppose I've no right to judge, maybe he prefers the quieter life of Captaincy than the hectic administration of commanding fleets." He returned to his position beside the chair; "You've met him already, am I right? Any personality quirks I should brace myself for?"
The setting changes from Bridge to The Milky Way Universe
Eon seeing the obnoxious man dunk a basketball in a hoop from his gunship Eon soon just walked out. There was nothing there that concerned the android. Soon the android found himself at the observation deck... Again, This time he just walked back up to the bridge again to see if the Admiral was there. Walking back there he walked by more people and got to the bridge. As far as he knew, he didn't see him... But he saw the first mate and A.D.A.M. he just seemed to noticed A.D.A.M. Eon walked over to the First mate and saluted, "Android Unit 7833, Eon-312 reporting Ma'am" he said with a robotic sound.
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"I've not had much time to speak with him," Alice answered. "The last time I saw him, I was just a lieutenant. My ship Captain was a little busy with his superior. Didn't give the little ones much time to talk to Admiral Weston," she nodded to herself, remembering the short time when the Admiral's ship had docked beside her first assignment. "He strikes me as a good man. A strong leader. And no, I do not think he will be much for the 'power-trip', as you put it. Though I've only had a few moments with him. I can not really be called an expert on the Admiral."
She, too, turned her gaze to the view beyond the Salient. So dark out there... almost lonely. But quiet. This was how Alice preferred it - the few hundred on board the Salient were far better than the billions back home on earth. That was far too crowded for her tastes. Ever farming colonies like Andromeda and Vega were too much. Alice was made for shipside travel.
"This should be an interesting voyage," she observed quietly. "The talent they've pulled in... even putting an Admiral on ship's command. It seems as though there's a lot expected out of the Salient, this time."
She, too, turned her gaze to the view beyond the Salient. So dark out there... almost lonely. But quiet. This was how Alice preferred it - the few hundred on board the Salient were far better than the billions back home on earth. That was far too crowded for her tastes. Ever farming colonies like Andromeda and Vega were too much. Alice was made for shipside travel.
"This should be an interesting voyage," she observed quietly. "The talent they've pulled in... even putting an Admiral on ship's command. It seems as though there's a lot expected out of the Salient, this time."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Infirmary/Medical Bay
He walked with even metre and tried his best to act like he knew where he was going. If there was one thing he disliked more than being out of place it was looking like he was out of place. The five minute ambling promenade was cut short by a helpful crew member seeing through his ruse. After a brief exchange and admission Marcus was lost; the man said he had saw Doctor Mackenzie going to a medical bay leading two soldier-types. The doctor thanked the man and getting his bearings, headed to the med-bay. The sooner he reported to the Chief Medical Officer and straightened this foible out the sooner he could retreat to the isolation of work; away from more social crew members with arsenals of questions and nonsensical stories of their childhood.
Sure enough the was a doctor there assessing what he would definitely deem a "soldier type". He smoothed his greying hair to a relaxed neatness and wished he had a chance to shave. Female doctors had a reputation; one of stern, humourless management and a first impression was always a lasting one. Marcus sighed and rapped twice on the bulkhead before entering the bay.
"Doctor Mackenzie, I have a matter I would like to discuss with you. I'm Doctor Marcus Bergman and I believe I have been assigned to the incorrect area." He paused and looked towards the two men, here for care not to wait while administrative matters were debated. "Forgive the intrusion, I can wait until these men are cared for. I'm not really going anywhere." He nodded to the woman and folded his hand behind his back.
Sure enough the was a doctor there assessing what he would definitely deem a "soldier type". He smoothed his greying hair to a relaxed neatness and wished he had a chance to shave. Female doctors had a reputation; one of stern, humourless management and a first impression was always a lasting one. Marcus sighed and rapped twice on the bulkhead before entering the bay.
"Doctor Mackenzie, I have a matter I would like to discuss with you. I'm Doctor Marcus Bergman and I believe I have been assigned to the incorrect area." He paused and looked towards the two men, here for care not to wait while administrative matters were debated. "Forgive the intrusion, I can wait until these men are cared for. I'm not really going anywhere." He nodded to the woman and folded his hand behind his back.
The setting changes from Infirmary/Medical Bay to F.S.S. Salient
Being how Eon was ignored he lost interest and walked out towards the observation deck... Once again... He decided thanks to how long he was charging, he might need an update for newer equipment, especially some that could work in space. He decided to go to the engineering bay to see where he can find something like that. He proceeded down the corridors and throughout the ship to the Engine corridor. He heard the hum of the engines propelling the ship throughout space. Eon stopped and saw what he could tell... Nobody. They were probably doing something important and thought it was best not to bother them. Eon then went to the armory, they could have something that could help him. Or at least... That he guessed.
"Where am I now!" NS-9 said to herself. She get's...'mad' when she doesn't know where she is. Even though shes an android, she has minor emotions, she thinks for herself, and she likes knowing where she is. "They could have programmed a map of the ship into my hardware. But know! If they did that I wouldn't be the little, lost, robot I am right now!" She also tends to...'think' out loud. "Is there anybody here!?" She asked loudly.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to Hangar
Jessica laughs at Tiaan, folding her arms in a 'challenge accepted' way.
"Your Grand-daddy could be Santa Claus and your Daddy can turn tricks on the corner for all it counts towards what -you- can do." Her grin gains an edge, "Hell, my -boots- have more deck time then you do, ring-knocker." The term was a derogatory one; a term mechanics applied to academy officers (they liked to wear their graduation rings) who beleived they were inherrently and genetically better then the ill-bred enlisted commoners.
Her eyes slide off of Tiaan to Ray as he demonstrates the advantages to extra room on a gunboat.
"A basketball hoop, really? Dammit, man, I thought you were about to unveil the kegerrator. Dont get my hopes up like that."
Chuckling, she spreads her hands out wide again, "And I said I'd be there, didnt I? No worries, I'll make sure no big, scary insurgeants scratch your paintjob just as long as you make sure to remember my hard work and dedication when we hit a planet with a bar."
She cocks her head to the side as the Salient's engines come to life in a deep, quiet thrum that sung through the ship and would become a constant background song for the next few months. There was no sensation of movement, of course, given the huge ship's artificial gravity. A quick, familiar thrill for Jessica as, again, she left the red Martian dirt behind. There was a whole lot of unknown ahead of them, and it all had the potential to be one badass adventure. She'd have to remember to talk to the Chief again, see if she could get her name on the flight schedual for an early patrol as soon as they hit open space.
"Your Grand-daddy could be Santa Claus and your Daddy can turn tricks on the corner for all it counts towards what -you- can do." Her grin gains an edge, "Hell, my -boots- have more deck time then you do, ring-knocker." The term was a derogatory one; a term mechanics applied to academy officers (they liked to wear their graduation rings) who beleived they were inherrently and genetically better then the ill-bred enlisted commoners.
Her eyes slide off of Tiaan to Ray as he demonstrates the advantages to extra room on a gunboat.
"A basketball hoop, really? Dammit, man, I thought you were about to unveil the kegerrator. Dont get my hopes up like that."
Chuckling, she spreads her hands out wide again, "And I said I'd be there, didnt I? No worries, I'll make sure no big, scary insurgeants scratch your paintjob just as long as you make sure to remember my hard work and dedication when we hit a planet with a bar."
She cocks her head to the side as the Salient's engines come to life in a deep, quiet thrum that sung through the ship and would become a constant background song for the next few months. There was no sensation of movement, of course, given the huge ship's artificial gravity. A quick, familiar thrill for Jessica as, again, she left the red Martian dirt behind. There was a whole lot of unknown ahead of them, and it all had the potential to be one badass adventure. She'd have to remember to talk to the Chief again, see if she could get her name on the flight schedual for an early patrol as soon as they hit open space.
The setting changes from Hangar to The Milky Way Universe
The ship was large and had so many people on it, yet Allen still felt alone in this place. He wondered around for a little while. With no where in mind he walked to the mess hall and grabbed something to drink. He didn't care if the drink was alcoholic or just some non-alcoholic beer. He always debated the reason for even making non-alcoholic beer but he ended up just drinking it away regardless. After a few drinks he started to walk about the ship alone with his thoughts. He found himself at the observation deck just staring out. He smiled as he placed his hands on rails and spun around to look at the inside of the ship. Allen then rubbed his eyes and went to the engineering wing to run some of tests that he had already done. With the scanner in his hands he entered the wing.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
Eli took in all Atomsk had to say, and he doubted his capabilities. A stick in the mud, that was fairly accurate, Eli had always enjoyed being a ground
"pounder". He didn't know whether he would be able to answer Atomsk's call, he hadn't been in charge for awhile now. If anything, he'd be pretty rusty. The matter regarding his brother, Jon, was interesting though. He mentioned a leash of sorts, referring to some sort of secret conspiracy, but Eli didn't really care. He would deal with the problem when it arose, but not now though. There was a decision to be made at hand, one that Eli had never been asked ever since the incident.
"I agree with you sir, er..." he stopped himself.
"Atomsk," Eli resumed on a more casual note.
"But um, can you keep a secret, uh Atomsk? My profile may say 34, but I lied about that to get into the Marine Corps early. I'm actually only 30, not much of a secret, but...still."
He felt he had let go of some weight, but barely any though. Eli still wondered why he kept such a secret so long and waited until now to let go of it. Maybe because he was going somewhere far now, perhaps he was going to leave everything behind and never come back. He still had his duties as a Marine though, although technically he was already discharged in Federation records. There was still a part of him though that felt as if he owed something to his fellow marines.
"But um, Atomsk, I'd be honored be your second," he said this as he lit up the very cigar Atomsk had given him out of good intention. The tip began to glow orange as the ember burned away softly. He took a puff, as they waited for the rest of the marines to come to the Barracks. Hopefully they had not wandered off to the mess hall, despite the fact that it was already lunch time.
"pounder". He didn't know whether he would be able to answer Atomsk's call, he hadn't been in charge for awhile now. If anything, he'd be pretty rusty. The matter regarding his brother, Jon, was interesting though. He mentioned a leash of sorts, referring to some sort of secret conspiracy, but Eli didn't really care. He would deal with the problem when it arose, but not now though. There was a decision to be made at hand, one that Eli had never been asked ever since the incident.
"I agree with you sir, er..." he stopped himself.
"Atomsk," Eli resumed on a more casual note.
"But um, can you keep a secret, uh Atomsk? My profile may say 34, but I lied about that to get into the Marine Corps early. I'm actually only 30, not much of a secret, but...still."
He felt he had let go of some weight, but barely any though. Eli still wondered why he kept such a secret so long and waited until now to let go of it. Maybe because he was going somewhere far now, perhaps he was going to leave everything behind and never come back. He still had his duties as a Marine though, although technically he was already discharged in Federation records. There was still a part of him though that felt as if he owed something to his fellow marines.
"But um, Atomsk, I'd be honored be your second," he said this as he lit up the very cigar Atomsk had given him out of good intention. The tip began to glow orange as the ember burned away softly. He took a puff, as they waited for the rest of the marines to come to the Barracks. Hopefully they had not wandered off to the mess hall, despite the fact that it was already lunch time.
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
Tiaan Peyton
This was what it meant to be a fighter pilot, well if she wanted proof of how well she flew, time to bring up an event that wasn't declassified, "You probably remember a while ago a certain Merchant's Convoy went missing near Pluto, many figured it for lost. my old ship The Demeter was stationed nearby, this you probably heard as you did no doubt hear the Merchant Convoy's survived. Here's the classified bit, it took five fighter to defeat the pirates hijacking them, only one survived." she paused for dramatic moment before continuing, "Blue Tit survived and shot down the main ship by blowing up the fuselage. I survived as ya can see, but the four others got caught in the explosion or were shot down earlier on."
It wasn't proudest moment but proved she knew her flying and besides bragging wasn't really her forte. May as well be honest, turning towards Ray she grinned, "I'm a football girl dude -- also by football I mean European, not the pussified garbage America has."
It was often said she was way too blunt, but really she had to establish she wasn't no push-about, and that she had every right to pecking order as other.
"Although Jessie, I may have something you like, check under my fighter, trust me you don't see these on any fighter mostly, I got it for really as a last stand sorta device, proton cannon, manually controlled that can pack a powerful punch. Does that make you wet your panties." she winked, not in flirty way, more to be cheeky and to show she wasn't what she first appeared. Besides she was too confused to think about 'that' for now.
This was what it meant to be a fighter pilot, well if she wanted proof of how well she flew, time to bring up an event that wasn't declassified, "You probably remember a while ago a certain Merchant's Convoy went missing near Pluto, many figured it for lost. my old ship The Demeter was stationed nearby, this you probably heard as you did no doubt hear the Merchant Convoy's survived. Here's the classified bit, it took five fighter to defeat the pirates hijacking them, only one survived." she paused for dramatic moment before continuing, "Blue Tit survived and shot down the main ship by blowing up the fuselage. I survived as ya can see, but the four others got caught in the explosion or were shot down earlier on."
It wasn't proudest moment but proved she knew her flying and besides bragging wasn't really her forte. May as well be honest, turning towards Ray she grinned, "I'm a football girl dude -- also by football I mean European, not the pussified garbage America has."
It was often said she was way too blunt, but really she had to establish she wasn't no push-about, and that she had every right to pecking order as other.
"Although Jessie, I may have something you like, check under my fighter, trust me you don't see these on any fighter mostly, I got it for really as a last stand sorta device, proton cannon, manually controlled that can pack a powerful punch. Does that make you wet your panties." she winked, not in flirty way, more to be cheeky and to show she wasn't what she first appeared. Besides she was too confused to think about 'that' for now.
"Well thank you for telling me that...personal matter." He was referring to Eli's age. "I guess calling me sir isn't that out there now is it? But I'd still prefer Atomsk."
He was happy at the fact the offer was accepted. He would enjoy this. He could tell. Eli would do well on the ground. The past experience would just make him more able and careful.
He enjoyed the cigar longer, with a large grin on his face. Now all that was left to do was wait another 10 minutes for the rest of the crew. He really hoped he wouldn't have to call them all again. He had faith though.
He was happy at the fact the offer was accepted. He would enjoy this. He could tell. Eli would do well on the ground. The past experience would just make him more able and careful.
He enjoyed the cigar longer, with a large grin on his face. Now all that was left to do was wait another 10 minutes for the rest of the crew. He really hoped he wouldn't have to call them all again. He had faith though.
Paulina frowned slightly at her cold, and somewhat silent, reception. From the corner of her eye she spotted a blonde girl with slightly unruly hair alone, and in Paulina's eyes in need of a friend. "Hello there!" Paulina chirped as she popped up beside Adriana and extended a hand. "Paulina Allard, ship's counselor. I'm trying to... well, meet as much of the crew as possible early on before they all start grouping up with out me."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
Garrison ran down the hall; boots thudding as he stopped and slid across the floor a couple feet and nearly fell over. Barely balancing himself he stood and collected himself before walking in at attention with a salute. "Sergeant Major Carter reporting ." He snapped off and stood at attention. Arms placed neatly behind his back as he waited. He was panting still, he had ran half the way when he heard the call. He hoped he hadn't broken any protocol by doing. He was in his full uniform, unstained and clean, he didn't get the chance to make it to the mess hall before called up. So he stood at attention.
Hmm.... I wonder what this is all about. Please.... Nothing bad. He thought over and over, mind running ninety to nothing due to the ADHD. He really needed to ask the suits down in the medical bay about something to help calm him down a bit.
Hmm.... I wonder what this is all about. Please.... Nothing bad. He thought over and over, mind running ninety to nothing due to the ADHD. He really needed to ask the suits down in the medical bay about something to help calm him down a bit.
Adriana gave a mental sigh. The freak show had come to talk to her.
She gave the compulsory smile and hand shake, and answered the counselor. "I'm Adriana Stark. I like to blow things up." At this point, she patted the strange looking rifle strapped across her back. "If you're looking for a group, you should probably stay away from me. I'm not good with people." After the smile that didn't reach her eyes, the words were delivered with no expression and a voice with little variance. Adriana wasn't here to make small talk and showed it- the Commander had summoned the fighters. She would hear his lecture and then get back to work. It was her way.
She gave the compulsory smile and hand shake, and answered the counselor. "I'm Adriana Stark. I like to blow things up." At this point, she patted the strange looking rifle strapped across her back. "If you're looking for a group, you should probably stay away from me. I'm not good with people." After the smile that didn't reach her eyes, the words were delivered with no expression and a voice with little variance. Adriana wasn't here to make small talk and showed it- the Commander had summoned the fighters. She would hear his lecture and then get back to work. It was her way.
"I'm assuming you're not very eager to make friends on board then? Have you ever had many friends?" Paulina asked. She would of added that Adriana was a bit hostile but that wasn't the best way to make a positive impression, no the best way was smile and agree with things. Paulina fiddled with her pipe again as she glanced around and noticed the other fighters. "Are you waiting for something?" She added as she turned back to Adriana. "Or are you just relaxing?"
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
The counselor was exactly correct. "No, no, yes, and no. I'm not looking for friends, I never really had any, I'm waiting for Commander Dunaway's "briefing", and I'm not relaxed at all." Adriana gave the counselor more of the same. In a hostile fashion. She didn't look at the person she was speaking to, but rather at the gathering of marines and officers filing into the barracks. Adriana felt alone in seas of people. Just the way she liked it.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Paulina asked as she pulled a chair up from the side for herself, not waiting for a reply. Paulina sat down and assumed the forward stance that Adriana had, and looked out into the distance, as she did. "I've never heard a military briefing before," Paulina commented as she stared. "I know how you feel, by the way. That feeling of being alone, of being unable to relate to those around you. That's why I dress like this, it's not something weird or anything. Well I suppose it is, but we're all a bit weird inside..." She said, picking her words carefully. "I like your hair, by the way," She added as she glanced toward Adriana. "What do you think of your shipmates so far? I'm still a bit undecided on most I've met so far, thought most have only been for a moment..."
Adriana knew where this was going. And she was going to put a stop to it. She didn't want to be friends with a fruitcake like this, or even to keep talking. She didn't need therapy.
"I've been in my lab for three days. And by the way..."
She stopped, looked directly at Paulina, and clearly enunciated the words. "F*ck you."
Adriana looked back at the marines and waited for whatever came next.
"I've been in my lab for three days. And by the way..."
She stopped, looked directly at Paulina, and clearly enunciated the words. "F*ck you."
Adriana looked back at the marines and waited for whatever came next.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
"So that's why you have no friends," Paulina muttered as she stuck her pipe back in her mouth. "You're a bitch." Paulina glanced down at her pipe at the smoke that rose from it. She didn't like this, not so much not befriending this horrible woman but rather her techniques failing as miserably as they did. "I was going to make you normal but oh fucking well," She commented on, not wanting to leave in defeat but not really being brave enough to fight either. "I guess some people are just lost causes..."
Now Adriana was having fun. The counselor broke so easily. What a poor counselor, to lose hope and give up in nothing more than two minutes. "So this is what a bad counselor looks like." Adriana smiled genuinely, for the first time in several days. "I don't want to be normal, Ms. Allard. You should let some things lie as they are."
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
"I'm not doing my job right now," Was Paulina's response. She glanced down at her wooden pipe as the smoke rose out it's end. It made her feel fancy and Victorian, though this one was now old and worn, and marked with tooth bites. "You shouldn't be a cruel person," She added after a second of uncomfortableness. "It's morally improper."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Infirmary/Medical Bay
Jon
At the Faith's statement Jon began stripping the suit, a difficult task to do as one person normally with his good arm. He wasn't shy about being naked, something years of service did to even the most shy of servicemen. It took him a lot of effort but he eventually got the chest piece off, it fell heavily to the ground. He paused bare chested, just in case a full strip was needed; he doubted that he'd need to remove the leggings to get his shoulder patched.
"We just gonna patch the shoulder or is a full physical coming with it," he asked beginning the removal process of the leggings. If he was getting a full physical, he wasn't going to keep her waiting long for him to fully strip.
At the Faith's statement Jon began stripping the suit, a difficult task to do as one person normally with his good arm. He wasn't shy about being naked, something years of service did to even the most shy of servicemen. It took him a lot of effort but he eventually got the chest piece off, it fell heavily to the ground. He paused bare chested, just in case a full strip was needed; he doubted that he'd need to remove the leggings to get his shoulder patched.
"We just gonna patch the shoulder or is a full physical coming with it," he asked beginning the removal process of the leggings. If he was getting a full physical, he wasn't going to keep her waiting long for him to fully strip.
The setting changes from Infirmary/Medical Bay to The Milky Way Universe
When Thaddeus heard the intercom orders to get to the barrack he felt anxious. "Excuse me madam," he addressed the medic treating Jon "how long will this take to patch him up? By the way no offense towards the previous question on experience. I've been in plenty situations where the only medic in an area was only at an adept skill at best." Looking at Jon he said "We should be at the barracks relatively soon, you know that right?"
"That's better. Now we're getting somewhere," Adriana answered. She let the words hang for a second. "You shouldn't pry into things that aren't your business. That's morally improper as well." She figured this conversation was approaching its end, so she decided to send the counselor on her way. "You have an entire crew to meet, don't you? Don't let me hold you up here too long. Besides, the meeting here is for "military personnel". I believe the commander meant people who would be fighting under his command, if you see where I'm going with this."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Eon-312 noticed, nothing in the armory will help him. So he walked to the observation deck. Realizing the time he decided to just walk about the ship. While Eon was walking he noticed more people are out that he remembered. He disregarded the thought and kept going. He walked by the barracks and noticed someone smoking and what appeared to the bot a scientist. He walked up, "Excuse me" He said rather calm like, "Do you know of anywhere where I can get parts?" Eon stood there hoping for a better response than what has been going on from what he could tell. By the looks of it the scientist was mad as all hell and the counselor looked uncomfortable. He disregarded the analysis of the two and waited for a response.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Grenadine was snuggling Rover closely, and was about to head back to her quarters as a metallic voice caught her attention. It came from around the next corner "I'm here!" Grenadine explained, walking around the corner, Rover still in her arms. Her whole existence and being lit up "ANDROID!" she grinned, thoroughly thrilled that she wouldn't just be working whit humans. She skipped over, her rubberboots leaving loud "floumps". She cradled the little vacuum robot under her arm, and held out her hand for the Android to shake "It's so fantastic to meet you!" she grinned "You're a domestic, right? First series" she sighed dreamily "How many emotions have you accumulated? What's your serial number? I'm Grenadine, PhD in electronics and mechanics and master in extra terrestrial activity and solar systems" she shook the Androids hand enthusiastically.
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Faith turned back to Jon just as he had removed the upper part of his suit leaving his chest bare. Faith could not help the attraction she felt at seeing such a well built man only a short distance away. It wasn't the first half naked man she had seen and she was irritated with her reaction.
First day on the job and you're already lusting after a guyShe thought with a sigh. just because you haven't been laid in a long time does not mean you can start acting like a lusty teenager!
Finished mentally scolding herself she focussed on fixing Jon's arm, using it as an excuse to hide her embarrassment at her reaction to him. Luckily his arm was a simple enough fracture and took very little actual concentration so she could concentrate on bringing herself back under control. It wasn't that her patient was unattractive but more that she did not like how easily she had been affected as that was not like her.
"What are they feeding you guys these days, muscle enhancers for breakfast, lunch and dinner?" She said sarcastically.
A moment more and she had fixed his arm and it looked as good as new, the wonders of medical technology. She patted his arm as an indication that she had finished.
"All done, you can use the arm but try not to strain it as it will need time to fully heal and try not to let anyone else injure before you've even left the ship."
She nodded to Thaddeus in acknowledgement of his words. "No problem. Best hop to it as I hear being late is never good for a marine."
After wiping her hands she then turned to the man awaiting her attention, she gave him the once over and saw a young man who seemed apparently disinterested in his surroundings or the other people in the room. She wasn't overly surprised as she had seen such detachment in other doctors she had worked with.
"Dr Bergman. I don't recall seeing you at the briefing from the admiral? No matter we will get this matter sorted. I have not yet reviewed the current working rosta, until then you may work in this med bay. If I read your case file correctly you specialise in molecular biology and immunology? Certainly useful to have aboard however I will of course expect you to perform the full duties of a doctor aboard this ship. As long as you understand that we will get along just fine."
First day on the job and you're already lusting after a guyShe thought with a sigh. just because you haven't been laid in a long time does not mean you can start acting like a lusty teenager!
Finished mentally scolding herself she focussed on fixing Jon's arm, using it as an excuse to hide her embarrassment at her reaction to him. Luckily his arm was a simple enough fracture and took very little actual concentration so she could concentrate on bringing herself back under control. It wasn't that her patient was unattractive but more that she did not like how easily she had been affected as that was not like her.
"What are they feeding you guys these days, muscle enhancers for breakfast, lunch and dinner?" She said sarcastically.
A moment more and she had fixed his arm and it looked as good as new, the wonders of medical technology. She patted his arm as an indication that she had finished.
"All done, you can use the arm but try not to strain it as it will need time to fully heal and try not to let anyone else injure before you've even left the ship."
She nodded to Thaddeus in acknowledgement of his words. "No problem. Best hop to it as I hear being late is never good for a marine."
After wiping her hands she then turned to the man awaiting her attention, she gave him the once over and saw a young man who seemed apparently disinterested in his surroundings or the other people in the room. She wasn't overly surprised as she had seen such detachment in other doctors she had worked with.
"Dr Bergman. I don't recall seeing you at the briefing from the admiral? No matter we will get this matter sorted. I have not yet reviewed the current working rosta, until then you may work in this med bay. If I read your case file correctly you specialise in molecular biology and immunology? Certainly useful to have aboard however I will of course expect you to perform the full duties of a doctor aboard this ship. As long as you understand that we will get along just fine."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
Realizing he was dismissed, Jon suited up again, a task that was simplified by having both arms but still annoying due to the armors weight. Still he got it on, helmet and all and walked off, casually waving to the doctor as he left, "Call me if you wanna see me again doc," he said through the suits speakers. Realizing he was already late and not wanting to be more so he took off down the hall, running full tilt towards the barracks. Faith had said don't strain it too much, but he recognized the statement was more a procedure than genuine fact, with today's medicine that kind of damage was as if it never happened after fixing up. The trick though was how to get her interested, in advancing the project to stage 2; he sent her a message: Have a classified project the Brass wants done that involves medical expertise...interested?
By the time he hit send, he was in the barracks looking around, there were quite a few people here. "Hey everyone Jon Dunaway reporting for duty, sorry bout the wait, suit broke my arm and doc took her sweet time patching it up."
"By the way, does anyone here know a way to get in contact with Admiral Weston quickly, I have some files he really should see."
By the time he hit send, he was in the barracks looking around, there were quite a few people here. "Hey everyone Jon Dunaway reporting for duty, sorry bout the wait, suit broke my arm and doc took her sweet time patching it up."
"By the way, does anyone here know a way to get in contact with Admiral Weston quickly, I have some files he really should see."
Adriana looked up at the sound of a new voice addressing her. "Parts"? Parts for what? She appraised the android with a glance. It appeared to be in working order. What possible use could it have for new parts? Building itself a friend? It probably needed one if it got so badly lost it wound up in the barracks. But it wasn't Adriana's job to work with the robots.
"... Nope."
"... Nope."
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
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Faith was still talking with with Dr Bergman when her wrist communicator beeped indicating it had received a message, she frowned slightly having not expected a message quite so quickly. They were barely under way after all and she hardly knew anyone on board, she frowned harder when she saw the message was from Jon. The man had only just left, was he unhappy with how she had healed his arm? She hoped not as it would not do to her her first patient dis satisfied with her skills. For a brief moment she entertained the idea that he had recognised her attraction and was looking to pursue something but she dismissed that idea immediately. In her experience men showed interest at the time or after they had had a chance to think about it not moments after leaving the said woman's sight.
The actual message was none of the above and piqued her interest as soon as she read it. Classified project hmm? Something else to perhaps get her teeth into. She thought about it for a moment considering if she would have time for it given her already heavy workload that came with running the medical department on board a ship this size. She decided she would make time as she was curious as to what this project might be and she had never been very good at ignoring her curiosity.
She spoke into the communicator quickly and briefly not wanting to go into detail in front of a member of her staff.
The answer is yes
She trusted he would contact her again with more information and so she focussed once more on Dr Bergman awaiting his response to her words.
The actual message was none of the above and piqued her interest as soon as she read it. Classified project hmm? Something else to perhaps get her teeth into. She thought about it for a moment considering if she would have time for it given her already heavy workload that came with running the medical department on board a ship this size. She decided she would make time as she was curious as to what this project might be and she had never been very good at ignoring her curiosity.
She spoke into the communicator quickly and briefly not wanting to go into detail in front of a member of her staff.
The answer is yes
She trusted he would contact her again with more information and so she focussed once more on Dr Bergman awaiting his response to her words.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Infirmary/Medical Bay
Marcus Bergman
He nodded at the woman. "Of course I understand the position would encompass all the duties required of one in the medical field. I was under no allusion the arrangement would be a laboratory staffing; though my speciality is viral replication and pathogenesis I am fully accredited in internal medicine." Marcus had secretly hoped he would not have to treat the scrapped knees and only appear to administer inoculations. The man was tentative in undertaking such a progressive assignment. There would no doubt be several people with demands he didn't want to field. Why does it hurt when I do this; what does this look like; did I get it from a toilet seat. All thought provoking inquiries better suited for a field medic, yet here he was.
Marcus smoothed the front of his shirt, certain this Doctor Mackenzie was judging him by appearance alone. She looked tired already and they were barely underway. The man understood the minutiae with being the head of any department, in medicine it was even more stressful; constantly understaffed, underfunded and under appreciated. Marcus had worn that hat before yet the real headache was there was always a higher-up to appease. "I missed the orientation this is true, I have no excuse as to why but when I found myself assigned to a science section I assumed there was a mix up." He paused. "Something likely that could have been sorted at the briefing." The man relented. "If you could tell what is to be expected of me, I prefer to be thorough regardless of the duties exciting or otherwise.Any help I can offer Doctor Mackenzie would be no trouble at all." That was a lie, it would be bothersome but Marcus was always pleasant when dealing with administrators.
He nodded at the woman. "Of course I understand the position would encompass all the duties required of one in the medical field. I was under no allusion the arrangement would be a laboratory staffing; though my speciality is viral replication and pathogenesis I am fully accredited in internal medicine." Marcus had secretly hoped he would not have to treat the scrapped knees and only appear to administer inoculations. The man was tentative in undertaking such a progressive assignment. There would no doubt be several people with demands he didn't want to field. Why does it hurt when I do this; what does this look like; did I get it from a toilet seat. All thought provoking inquiries better suited for a field medic, yet here he was.
Marcus smoothed the front of his shirt, certain this Doctor Mackenzie was judging him by appearance alone. She looked tired already and they were barely underway. The man understood the minutiae with being the head of any department, in medicine it was even more stressful; constantly understaffed, underfunded and under appreciated. Marcus had worn that hat before yet the real headache was there was always a higher-up to appease. "I missed the orientation this is true, I have no excuse as to why but when I found myself assigned to a science section I assumed there was a mix up." He paused. "Something likely that could have been sorted at the briefing." The man relented. "If you could tell what is to be expected of me, I prefer to be thorough regardless of the duties exciting or otherwise.Any help I can offer Doctor Mackenzie would be no trouble at all." That was a lie, it would be bothersome but Marcus was always pleasant when dealing with administrators.
The setting changes from Infirmary/Medical Bay to Barracks
"Engineering would have these vague parts you speak of. I could escort you there, I was just leaving," Paulina commented as she stood, brushing her lap off as though sitting near Adriana had gotten her filthy. "Is something malfunctioning?" She asked the android as she made a quick glance down to the ship map that lay in a wide pocket of her dress...
The setting changes from Barracks to Captain's Quarters
The Captain's quarters was a rather commodious area with a luxurious lounge, a personal bar stocked with all of the Admiral’s favorite tastes from red wine and bourbon to gin and vermouth, a central map table with a holographic display that kept track of the Salient’s position in the Milky Way, an office that was directly linked to his desk in the bridge and of course the admiral’s own bed that had plush pillows, and soft sheeting. The only other quarters that could compare were the second-in-command’s own chamber, or even that of the planetary commander. Then again, the individual crew quarters weren’t that bad, it was more than enough for a person. Aronimus doubted that any admiral would need all the room given to him by the Captain’s quarters.
He approached the office which had a grooved seat similar to the one in the bridge, but it was raised upwards. The admiral decided to have a seat as he skimmed through the files on Thaddeus Jackson, Jon Dunaway, and James Grey. The strings of data floated around him like a sphere, engulfing him in data bits that illuminated his face in a cyan radiance. He reached a strand with Dunaway and Jackson’s name tagged in the file. The title had been expunged along with other vital pieces of data here and there in the descriptive profiles. Aronimus tapped his fingers in a rhythmic dance along his desk as he read on.
He continued doing so until he decided he had read enough, it was then that he turned to the transparent panel standing on his desk with the aid of a tripod and held down a button on the screen. He then spoke aloud,
“Attention Captain Jon Dunaway, Sergeant Thaddeus Jackson, please come to my quarters after the briefing with Commander Atomsk Dunaway. Mr. James Grey, come to my quarters immediately.”
After the message was broadcasted throughout the corridors of the ship, and even inside of Aronimus’s own quarters, he released his hold on the communications button. He pressed his fingers together leaving a space between his palms for him to gaze through as if he was trying to discern the future. He was interested in dealing with this particular matter immediately, before it got out of hand.
He approached the office which had a grooved seat similar to the one in the bridge, but it was raised upwards. The admiral decided to have a seat as he skimmed through the files on Thaddeus Jackson, Jon Dunaway, and James Grey. The strings of data floated around him like a sphere, engulfing him in data bits that illuminated his face in a cyan radiance. He reached a strand with Dunaway and Jackson’s name tagged in the file. The title had been expunged along with other vital pieces of data here and there in the descriptive profiles. Aronimus tapped his fingers in a rhythmic dance along his desk as he read on.
He continued doing so until he decided he had read enough, it was then that he turned to the transparent panel standing on his desk with the aid of a tripod and held down a button on the screen. He then spoke aloud,
“Attention Captain Jon Dunaway, Sergeant Thaddeus Jackson, please come to my quarters after the briefing with Commander Atomsk Dunaway. Mr. James Grey, come to my quarters immediately.”
After the message was broadcasted throughout the corridors of the ship, and even inside of Aronimus’s own quarters, he released his hold on the communications button. He pressed his fingers together leaving a space between his palms for him to gaze through as if he was trying to discern the future. He was interested in dealing with this particular matter immediately, before it got out of hand.
The setting changes from Captain's Quarters to The Milky Way Universe
“Attention Captain Jon Dunaway, Sergeant Thaddeus Jackson, please come to my quarters after the briefing with Commander Atomsk Dunaway. Mr. James Grey, come to my quarters immediately.” the broadcast proclaimed. Thaddeus knew he should get to the Admiral more quickly than this. He wanted to see the science laboratory for a possible custom item, but he was still a soldier so he had to follow the Admiral's orders first. "Ghost. Ze map." he said within his helmet. Ghost popped up with a virtual mapping system to get to the Captain's Quarters. With that Thaddeus sped up with walking pace.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
Eon looked at the woman whom stood up, "systems are all functional" He said, "Map, and parts for space work is optimal." The robot looked at the map, he scanned it. Text appeared in his vision: Download commencing... Complete. Applying map. The robot looked at the woman whom seemed a bit mean from her face and body movements. Diagnosis : Irritability due to stress. The robot opened up with a statement: "If you are stressed Ma'am then you should rest for a bit. Optimal relaxation: sleeping." The bot said with a "kind" demeanor. He turned to the woman whom he got the map from without her knowing, "Thank you for your assistance, and good luck with the overstressed homo-sapian." He walked away before hopefully he could hear the woman whom he insulted respond.
The setting changes from Barracks to The Milky Way Universe
James Grey
James couldn't help but flinch as he heard his name called on by the admiral. A thousand possible reasons why he was in trouble flashed through his mind. He had not even been on board for any real length of time and he was already in trouble. He had to assume that it was regarding some sort of problem since he was being called to the admirals’ quarters and not to the bridge or engineering room; that is where he would expect to be called if there was simply something that he needed to do. With that thought he had ARCHE run a quick check to see if there had been any detection of it in the system. He wouldn’t be able to tell for sure of course but James couldn’t help but think that it was a little too easy, ADAM should have stopped him by now.
James turned down the hallway, his eyes still closed as he consulted a map of the ship to find out where he needed to go. He was not too far away from the admiral and it would only take him a few moments to get there, best not to keep him waiting if possible. With that thought he moved from his previous slow and easy pace to a quick walk. James opened his eyes as he walked quickly down the hallway, the light of it causing a few spots to pop up in his vision which had gotten too used to being closed. They would disappear in a few moments but they were always a little bit of a pain when they first show up.
As James neared the room he could not help but have a small shiver of worry come over him. He had never been in a situation like this and he couldn’t help but let his inexperience run through him. He had never been very capable when it comes to dealing with the chain of command; he hoped that this all wasn’t going to blow up in his face.
Ben Owens
Ben yawned as he headed back to the hangar. He’d already eaten his fill and stored most of his gear, the only thing that he could think to do was check on his fighter one final time before getting out of there and perhaps hitting the hay. There wasn’t a whole lot for a pilot like him to do, no real need for him to be flying when there just traveling through space.
Ben moved as he always did, a little faster than most and on the balls of his feet as though ready to spring on anything in front of him. His time on the street had taught him to take notice of everything happening around you, it could help pick out a mark or anything like that. His time in the cockpit had taught him the same thing, you wanted to be able to see which ships were on your side and which were trying to shoot you down. As Ben walked this aspect of him kicked in as he noticed a thousand small things that he normally wouldn’t onboard a ship. Once again he saw the suit of armor striding through the halls and he even though he saw what looked like an android but that couldn’t be right. It seemed that everywhere he went there would be odd things happening. He was just happy that for the moment he wasn’t a part of it. He had to admit though that he was getting board, something that happened all too often for him.
James couldn't help but flinch as he heard his name called on by the admiral. A thousand possible reasons why he was in trouble flashed through his mind. He had not even been on board for any real length of time and he was already in trouble. He had to assume that it was regarding some sort of problem since he was being called to the admirals’ quarters and not to the bridge or engineering room; that is where he would expect to be called if there was simply something that he needed to do. With that thought he had ARCHE run a quick check to see if there had been any detection of it in the system. He wouldn’t be able to tell for sure of course but James couldn’t help but think that it was a little too easy, ADAM should have stopped him by now.
James turned down the hallway, his eyes still closed as he consulted a map of the ship to find out where he needed to go. He was not too far away from the admiral and it would only take him a few moments to get there, best not to keep him waiting if possible. With that thought he moved from his previous slow and easy pace to a quick walk. James opened his eyes as he walked quickly down the hallway, the light of it causing a few spots to pop up in his vision which had gotten too used to being closed. They would disappear in a few moments but they were always a little bit of a pain when they first show up.
As James neared the room he could not help but have a small shiver of worry come over him. He had never been in a situation like this and he couldn’t help but let his inexperience run through him. He had never been very capable when it comes to dealing with the chain of command; he hoped that this all wasn’t going to blow up in his face.
Ben Owens
Ben yawned as he headed back to the hangar. He’d already eaten his fill and stored most of his gear, the only thing that he could think to do was check on his fighter one final time before getting out of there and perhaps hitting the hay. There wasn’t a whole lot for a pilot like him to do, no real need for him to be flying when there just traveling through space.
Ben moved as he always did, a little faster than most and on the balls of his feet as though ready to spring on anything in front of him. His time on the street had taught him to take notice of everything happening around you, it could help pick out a mark or anything like that. His time in the cockpit had taught him the same thing, you wanted to be able to see which ships were on your side and which were trying to shoot you down. As Ben walked this aspect of him kicked in as he noticed a thousand small things that he normally wouldn’t onboard a ship. Once again he saw the suit of armor striding through the halls and he even though he saw what looked like an android but that couldn’t be right. It seemed that everywhere he went there would be odd things happening. He was just happy that for the moment he wasn’t a part of it. He had to admit though that he was getting board, something that happened all too often for him.
As Eon began to walk away Paulina popped up beside him and began to assume his pace. "So what are you exactly?" Paulina asked as she looked the Android down. "Model wise, I mean. What is your function onboard?" She quickly placed her pipe back in her mouth and extended her now free hand to the bot. "Paulina Allard, Ship's Counselor. Though I suppose you won't have much use to me," Paulina said, her words sloshed due to the pipe.
NS-9 turned as she heard a voice. "Hello." She said in her metallic voice. Then, she attempted to answer all the questions at once. "Yes, I am a domestic android. I have accumulated several of the most basic emotions. My serial number is N9237499." She got a human looking smile on her face. This was the second time anyone has ever shook her hand. She actually kind of liked it. It felt...human. "And it's very nice to meet you too." She added in the most humanly way she possibly could.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to F.S.S. Salient
Clyde - Bridge
"This should be an interesting voyage," Alice Chen observed quietly. "The talent they've pulled in... even putting an Admiral on ship's command. It seems as though there's a lot expected out of the Salient, this time."
Clyde spun around in his seat and leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head. He had set his implant to record the footage of the ship so he wouldn't miss anything. For now, it was time to get to know the people he would be living with. Or at least, get them to know him a little better. He would know them all inside and out before the week was finished. He addressed the bridge openly.
"I'm sure the Federation does expect much from the Salient. But does anyone know what we're going to be doing? The Admiral? Higher than him? Since nobody's told us a thing yet, I'm guessing we won't find anything out until we actually get to where we're going. And we're not expected there for about two months. Until then, we're just all going to be living together, one happy family. Anybody have any good stories? Jokes? Things we could do for fun to make the wait interesting?" Clyde nudged the other navigator, who hadn't seemed intent on talking before. "Anyone? What about you, A.D.A.M.? Got any interesting ideas?" Clyde purposely addressed the other navigator, and the ship's AI. The navigator because he hadn't spoken once yet and the AI because A.D.A.M. was practically a person. He probably did have ideas.
Adriana - Barracks One
Adriana gave a mental sigh of relief. The colorful counselor was going away and taking the android with her. "Stressed" he had said. Boy, was he wrong. She knew she wasn't stressed- she was always like this. It was how she lived and that was her comfort zone.
The last few arrivals were coming in- Dunaway with his super suit and a handful of straggler ship guards. It was almost time to start the briefing.
"This should be an interesting voyage," Alice Chen observed quietly. "The talent they've pulled in... even putting an Admiral on ship's command. It seems as though there's a lot expected out of the Salient, this time."
Clyde spun around in his seat and leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head. He had set his implant to record the footage of the ship so he wouldn't miss anything. For now, it was time to get to know the people he would be living with. Or at least, get them to know him a little better. He would know them all inside and out before the week was finished. He addressed the bridge openly.
"I'm sure the Federation does expect much from the Salient. But does anyone know what we're going to be doing? The Admiral? Higher than him? Since nobody's told us a thing yet, I'm guessing we won't find anything out until we actually get to where we're going. And we're not expected there for about two months. Until then, we're just all going to be living together, one happy family. Anybody have any good stories? Jokes? Things we could do for fun to make the wait interesting?" Clyde nudged the other navigator, who hadn't seemed intent on talking before. "Anyone? What about you, A.D.A.M.? Got any interesting ideas?" Clyde purposely addressed the other navigator, and the ship's AI. The navigator because he hadn't spoken once yet and the AI because A.D.A.M. was practically a person. He probably did have ideas.
Adriana - Barracks One
Adriana gave a mental sigh of relief. The colorful counselor was going away and taking the android with her. "Stressed" he had said. Boy, was he wrong. She knew she wasn't stressed- she was always like this. It was how she lived and that was her comfort zone.
The last few arrivals were coming in- Dunaway with his super suit and a handful of straggler ship guards. It was almost time to start the briefing.
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
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A.D.A.M.
"Two months seems rather slow for our travel time Clyde but I understand that most are quite hesitant to use a ship's Hyperdrive capabilities; standard AI's are a bit...inaccurate for such calculations. Truth be told even with my performance limit increased to 5% I doubt that I can bring drift down to less than a hundred thousand kilometers or so." A.D.A.M was enjoying the new amount of power he had, processes that before would have been an issue were much easier, this also freed him up for more interaction time with the crew.
"As for what our mission entails I do not know and from all appearances no one on board does, but considering the quality of the crew and the price and nature of the equipment on board I'd say walking into a war zone is well within feasible parameters. As for how we can amuse ourselves, this ship has virtually as many facilities for use as a standard city so activities shouldn't be an issue. But I must ask what is a joke, the definition of the word is in my database but I've no practical experience one."
"Two months seems rather slow for our travel time Clyde but I understand that most are quite hesitant to use a ship's Hyperdrive capabilities; standard AI's are a bit...inaccurate for such calculations. Truth be told even with my performance limit increased to 5% I doubt that I can bring drift down to less than a hundred thousand kilometers or so." A.D.A.M was enjoying the new amount of power he had, processes that before would have been an issue were much easier, this also freed him up for more interaction time with the crew.
"As for what our mission entails I do not know and from all appearances no one on board does, but considering the quality of the crew and the price and nature of the equipment on board I'd say walking into a war zone is well within feasible parameters. As for how we can amuse ourselves, this ship has virtually as many facilities for use as a standard city so activities shouldn't be an issue. But I must ask what is a joke, the definition of the word is in my database but I've no practical experience one."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
The timekeeper on Eli's wrist paced away slowly, the seconds were ever-changing, it was time for the briefing to start. Yet Commander Dunaway was still holding his thoughts as a few more personnel shuffled into the Barracks. The Barracks was a very large area with multiple zones set apart for different types of training. The mock battle area was an enclosed arena with a raised ceiling and a sky box viewing area from which officers or higher ups would observe the trainees in a simulated battlefield situation. The interesting part was the very floor itself which was drawn into a grid, each of the grid squares were actually automated concrete rectangular prism monoliths that would raise up to provide simulated battlefield geography which included barricades and cover. The monoliths however rose up in varying formations each time when activated.
The other training center was a large open arena containing circular rings and automated machine gun turrets that were either buried in the ground or covered in the ceiling. The rings provided an improved combat dynamic as gun turrets located on them could shift to varying angles and degrees and fire at trainees from those positions. This arena, like the grid arena, had a sky box for superiors to observe, analyze, and report, as well as holographic projectors that spawned artificial hostiles to send against personnel. Unlike the grid arena however, this arena had a zero gravity system to simulate space borne operations. As for aquatic training sessions, another chamber was set aside with size-able fluid content to simulate underwater combat.
All in all, the arenas were high end equipment that weren't found on many other ships. Back in the meeting area of the Barracks, Eli gave his timekeeper another look.
"Atomsk, er sir," Eli had to speak in formal tongue before other marines otherwise they'd think he had a sort of special relationship with the Commander. He was only following proper protocols, but when they were not on duty he would refer to his commander in that manner.
"We should probably get the briefing underway," Eli glanced at the timekeeper. Forty-five minutes had passed since Commander Dunaway gave the call for military personnel.
He noted the marines in the area; their haircuts were bordering on banality, but they weren't expected to look good. He also spotted the lady sitting on one of the metallic cubic containers. She didn't seem like military personnel given her lab coat, yet she had an interesting armament strapped to her back. It was a rifle of sorts, personal design from what he assumed, seeing as how he'd never seen that weapon before. He was going off of his own knowledge of standard marine equipment, maybe it was a civilian model but he could only guess. At this time, Dunaway the younger arrived in the barracks fully geared for an operation, alongside his compatriot in similar equipment, Thaddeus. Eli wondered why two soldiers of their caliber were among the last of military personnel to arrive in the Barracks, but it didn't matter, he wanted to get this briefing under way.
The other training center was a large open arena containing circular rings and automated machine gun turrets that were either buried in the ground or covered in the ceiling. The rings provided an improved combat dynamic as gun turrets located on them could shift to varying angles and degrees and fire at trainees from those positions. This arena, like the grid arena, had a sky box for superiors to observe, analyze, and report, as well as holographic projectors that spawned artificial hostiles to send against personnel. Unlike the grid arena however, this arena had a zero gravity system to simulate space borne operations. As for aquatic training sessions, another chamber was set aside with size-able fluid content to simulate underwater combat.
All in all, the arenas were high end equipment that weren't found on many other ships. Back in the meeting area of the Barracks, Eli gave his timekeeper another look.
"Atomsk, er sir," Eli had to speak in formal tongue before other marines otherwise they'd think he had a sort of special relationship with the Commander. He was only following proper protocols, but when they were not on duty he would refer to his commander in that manner.
"We should probably get the briefing underway," Eli glanced at the timekeeper. Forty-five minutes had passed since Commander Dunaway gave the call for military personnel.
He noted the marines in the area; their haircuts were bordering on banality, but they weren't expected to look good. He also spotted the lady sitting on one of the metallic cubic containers. She didn't seem like military personnel given her lab coat, yet she had an interesting armament strapped to her back. It was a rifle of sorts, personal design from what he assumed, seeing as how he'd never seen that weapon before. He was going off of his own knowledge of standard marine equipment, maybe it was a civilian model but he could only guess. At this time, Dunaway the younger arrived in the barracks fully geared for an operation, alongside his compatriot in similar equipment, Thaddeus. Eli wondered why two soldiers of their caliber were among the last of military personnel to arrive in the Barracks, but it didn't matter, he wanted to get this briefing under way.
The setting changes from Barracks to F.S.S. Salient
Eon noticed Paulina walk up to him. She caught up and asked questions to Eon, basic questions for him. He responded, "I am Eon-312 a Helios class Android built for various tasks on an starship." Eon responded, "and depending on experience here I may find need of you." Eon said with a surprisingly humanlike tone. Eon looked at the map to find his way around. He took a turn to the right to see another android and a human with it. He stopped to see why this person is nearly yelling in excitement and why why was holding a vacuum bot in her arm. He walked up, "Excuse me for asking, but what are your reasons of carrying a vacuum bot...?" He asked the woman
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to The Milky Way Universe
Although it was already past lunch time, Aronimus had not eaten, and he didn't plan on doing so either. He was waiting for Commander Dunaway's briefing to finish, in order to see the two soldiers along with engineer James Grey. At this moment several beeps were heard to which the Admiral responded by glancing at the transparent panel. It was a transmission from high command, the designation was Alpha-Mike-Juliet-00927, a code which Aronimus knew very well. It belonged to the fleet admiral of the Federation Navy, Admiral Michel Fontaine, Aronimus was surprised as to why the Admiral wanted to speak to him. This deployment wasn't even in his jurisdiction, and it was nothing of importance...at least in Aronimus's perspective. Admiral Fontaine had other matters to deal with, such as handling the command of the Sol Defense Fleet, one of the most massive armadas amassed within the Sol System.
Aronimus pressed the receiver key, which patched him through to the Admiral.
"Aronimus," Fontaine's face came into being on the viewing screen as his voice rang in with a certain gruffness that could only be the result of years of experience in conflict. Aronimus's name clearly signified a relationship that was beyond formal.
"Yes, sir..." Aronimus replied reluctantly to his superior.
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about your mission," to this Aronimus gave a perplexed glance to Fontaine.
"Sir?" he was unsure about what Fontaine had to contribute.
There was a brief sigh in the conversation on Fontaine's end.
"Aronimus, I understand that your prior objectives was to scout out the Arcturus System and then report your findings back to command. After which you would remain on patrol through the region, am I correct?"
There was nothing he left out, and Aronimus could only reply with a solemn yes.
"Very well then, you have new orders and objectives now."
Aronimus felt slightly perturbed by this sudden change in plans, but he would see what the Admiral had to say.
"Your new orders are to search and destroy, intelligence confirms that there is a large insurgent cell operating in that region of Federation space."
The last piece of news was fairly astonishing to Aronimus, and worry lines began to reform on his forehead. It was inconceivable, merely weeks ago when he departed from Mars, the planetary governor of New Sidney gave him word that there were pirates raiding the merchant lanes. He was given authorization to command the Salient and stop the raiders, this was a whole new dimension now. They had left Callisto for only two Earth hours so far and suddenly this revelation.
"Sir, do you have any idea how large it is?"
"Yes, I'll send you the information directly. The Salient is part of a long line of illustrious warships, and I believe that it is more than capable of handling any insurgent threat, based on statistics of the other Neptune Battlecruisers in action. Not to mention that the Salient has an experienced hand at the helm," the last part was a nod to Aronimus' experience.
"Sir, you flatter me." Aronimus smiled.
"Yes, I along with almost every other admiral in the Navy, but I must remind you to tread carefully. We've already seen these insurgents before, they are completely unpredictable. We don't know where they will strike next, and we don't know how many are in their ranks."
"I understand Admiral."
"Good, it is approximately..." Fontaine glanced at his timekeeper which was synced with Earth time.
"2:30 P.M. I am signing off." the communique ended as Fontaine's face disappeared from the screen and his voice vanished with it.
Aronimus pressed the receiver key, which patched him through to the Admiral.
"Aronimus," Fontaine's face came into being on the viewing screen as his voice rang in with a certain gruffness that could only be the result of years of experience in conflict. Aronimus's name clearly signified a relationship that was beyond formal.
"Yes, sir..." Aronimus replied reluctantly to his superior.
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about your mission," to this Aronimus gave a perplexed glance to Fontaine.
"Sir?" he was unsure about what Fontaine had to contribute.
There was a brief sigh in the conversation on Fontaine's end.
"Aronimus, I understand that your prior objectives was to scout out the Arcturus System and then report your findings back to command. After which you would remain on patrol through the region, am I correct?"
There was nothing he left out, and Aronimus could only reply with a solemn yes.
"Very well then, you have new orders and objectives now."
Aronimus felt slightly perturbed by this sudden change in plans, but he would see what the Admiral had to say.
"Your new orders are to search and destroy, intelligence confirms that there is a large insurgent cell operating in that region of Federation space."
The last piece of news was fairly astonishing to Aronimus, and worry lines began to reform on his forehead. It was inconceivable, merely weeks ago when he departed from Mars, the planetary governor of New Sidney gave him word that there were pirates raiding the merchant lanes. He was given authorization to command the Salient and stop the raiders, this was a whole new dimension now. They had left Callisto for only two Earth hours so far and suddenly this revelation.
"Sir, do you have any idea how large it is?"
"Yes, I'll send you the information directly. The Salient is part of a long line of illustrious warships, and I believe that it is more than capable of handling any insurgent threat, based on statistics of the other Neptune Battlecruisers in action. Not to mention that the Salient has an experienced hand at the helm," the last part was a nod to Aronimus' experience.
"Sir, you flatter me." Aronimus smiled.
"Yes, I along with almost every other admiral in the Navy, but I must remind you to tread carefully. We've already seen these insurgents before, they are completely unpredictable. We don't know where they will strike next, and we don't know how many are in their ranks."
"I understand Admiral."
"Good, it is approximately..." Fontaine glanced at his timekeeper which was synced with Earth time.
"2:30 P.M. I am signing off." the communique ended as Fontaine's face disappeared from the screen and his voice vanished with it.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Hangar
Hyena laughs lightly at Tiaan and shakes her head, "Yeah, I saw it. But I figured you had a gunner seat. What are you going to do with a manual turret in a dogfight? Put her in park every time you want to pop off a shot?"
Waving a hand dismissively to gloss over the comment, the pilot changes the conversation, "Now that the obligatory dick-waving is out of the way, we've got an issue."
Beckoning Ray and Tiaan in conspiratorily, that meat-eating grin spreads from ear to ear, "We're set up for pretty much The most boring sunset cruise in the Federation. This boat's got more guns then God, and we're heading out to the fringes of Big Fuckin Empty. Any pirates or insurgents out -that- goddamn far arent going to have the balls to step up to this crate unless they've gone completely batshit. What this says to me, is that smart people came -prepared-. See, I used to turn wrenches, and I've already tapped some guys I served with in another squadron. They know some comm crewman, who know some engineers, who have a compartment a few decks down that -no one- uses. I was going to just use it as an oversized closet, but I'm thinking it could have a more... 'social' calling. The kind of social you cant have in a ship's lounge with Big Brother breathing down your neck. You still with me?"
Jesus Christ, not 24 hours on board and she's already tapped into the JO Underground, planning to pool the resources of various enterprising individuals. Jess was the type of individual to whom you could trade a bent paperclip and by the end of the month she'd trade you back a brand new car. Came with growing up on a merchant dock, and maybe with being just plain sneaky.
"We need one last hoorah out here, before that XO with the starched shirt buckles down, and before people forget what shore leave was like. Besides, I dont know you two tug drivers, I dont trust people I dont know, and I dont fly with people I dont trust. So just think of it as 'building unit cohesion and encouraging good morale'."
She snaps her fingers and adds, almost as an asside to herself, "I think we can talk to a couple of the Marines and maybe that Nav I met at the breifing, too, they seemed pretty chill, if they can keep their mouths shut around the brass..."
Looking back to her fellow space-jockies, Hyena shrugs, "Whadaya say? I know you've got some hidey-holes in those big-ass birds, dont tell me you cant contribute. I've got some smokes, some cards.. We'll add in some booze and I'll see if I can scrounge up a cook willing to slide a few of the Staff Officer prime meat rations... One of the spaceframers is already working on cutting a grill out of a hydraulic drum... Oh, man, this is -so- on."
If that smile got any wider, it would split her skull, and she was practically dancing in place. Listen closely enough, and you might actually hear all those clever little gears in her head whirring at speeds to make FTL jealous.
Waving a hand dismissively to gloss over the comment, the pilot changes the conversation, "Now that the obligatory dick-waving is out of the way, we've got an issue."
Beckoning Ray and Tiaan in conspiratorily, that meat-eating grin spreads from ear to ear, "We're set up for pretty much The most boring sunset cruise in the Federation. This boat's got more guns then God, and we're heading out to the fringes of Big Fuckin Empty. Any pirates or insurgents out -that- goddamn far arent going to have the balls to step up to this crate unless they've gone completely batshit. What this says to me, is that smart people came -prepared-. See, I used to turn wrenches, and I've already tapped some guys I served with in another squadron. They know some comm crewman, who know some engineers, who have a compartment a few decks down that -no one- uses. I was going to just use it as an oversized closet, but I'm thinking it could have a more... 'social' calling. The kind of social you cant have in a ship's lounge with Big Brother breathing down your neck. You still with me?"
Jesus Christ, not 24 hours on board and she's already tapped into the JO Underground, planning to pool the resources of various enterprising individuals. Jess was the type of individual to whom you could trade a bent paperclip and by the end of the month she'd trade you back a brand new car. Came with growing up on a merchant dock, and maybe with being just plain sneaky.
"We need one last hoorah out here, before that XO with the starched shirt buckles down, and before people forget what shore leave was like. Besides, I dont know you two tug drivers, I dont trust people I dont know, and I dont fly with people I dont trust. So just think of it as 'building unit cohesion and encouraging good morale'."
She snaps her fingers and adds, almost as an asside to herself, "I think we can talk to a couple of the Marines and maybe that Nav I met at the breifing, too, they seemed pretty chill, if they can keep their mouths shut around the brass..."
Looking back to her fellow space-jockies, Hyena shrugs, "Whadaya say? I know you've got some hidey-holes in those big-ass birds, dont tell me you cant contribute. I've got some smokes, some cards.. We'll add in some booze and I'll see if I can scrounge up a cook willing to slide a few of the Staff Officer prime meat rations... One of the spaceframers is already working on cutting a grill out of a hydraulic drum... Oh, man, this is -so- on."
If that smile got any wider, it would split her skull, and she was practically dancing in place. Listen closely enough, and you might actually hear all those clever little gears in her head whirring at speeds to make FTL jealous.
The setting changes from Hangar to The Milky Way Universe
Grenadine smiled at NS-9 "It's so nice to meet you too, but I said that" she grinned. She spun around as she was approached by yet another android, and a woman that looked to be a counselor, or maybe medic she guessed from the uniform. "Oh, this?" she held up the bot "This is Rover, little rascal ran off and almost got itself into trouble" she ruffled the top of the bot like it had fur and ears "didn't you, you little troublemaker" she pet voiced lovingly at the bot, smiling up at the other android, holding out her hand "I'm grenadine! You're an all-rounder! And a pretty new one at that" she looked at her hand "humans usually take each others hand and give it a light shake when they meet new people. I assume you'll be accumulating emotions soon! It's so nice to meet you" Grenadine the turned to NS "Do you know each other?" she smiled from the one to the other, first then realizing that there was another human "Oh... um... h...h..hi" she muttered, eventually, carefully sticking out her hand to greet.
We should probably get the briefing underway," Eli said to him.
He looked around and agreed. There were many men and he couldn't tell if they were all here. He himself may not respect authority much, but he had the courtesy to at least be punctual. He took a glance around and noticed his brother and the other man. He wanted to keep an eye on them. He was deeply concerned about the leash these two were on. He knew that Jon would follow orders to a T and was afraid of any missions being jeopardized.
Enough was enough though and he decided to get started.
"Thank you all for coming, although not that you had much of a choice." He said with a chuckle. "As I'm sure you all already know, I am Commander Atomsk Dunaway. I will be Planetary Operations Commander for this voyage, putting your lives in my hands." This was the part of the speech where he told them his past, which he always told the truth to his men.
"I'm not sure how much any of you know about me, but to be honest I have an extensive record. Some good, Some bad. I have been nearly court marshaled 3 time, and have had many disciplinary actions taken against me. I don't follow orders. But realize this, the reason i don't follow orders is for you men. I do it to keep as many from you as dying as possible. I ask that you follow me while i don't follow those I'm supposed to. My tactics will seem insane. But if you DON'T follow you me, you have a much higher possibility of dying."
At this point he looked around to see what the men thought. He saw what he usually saw. Uncertainty and arrogance. He would break that as soon as he could. Next to make sure the men were aware of the chain of command, he would state Eli's position.
He looked to his right and began speaking. "You all should be aware of Captain Eli Colter here by now. He will be my Second-in-Command. I will not be on the ground most of the time. Eli will be my eyes and ears and will take command if I am unavailable." He looked closely at his brother at this point. He wanted to see what he would think of this, seeing as he made Jon his second on most occasions.
"At this point I would like everyone of Rank equal to or higher then a Sergeant to step forward, You will be serving as my squad leaders. If we don't have enough of you at that point I will personally review files and determine who will meet the requirements for a squad leader."
He looked around and agreed. There were many men and he couldn't tell if they were all here. He himself may not respect authority much, but he had the courtesy to at least be punctual. He took a glance around and noticed his brother and the other man. He wanted to keep an eye on them. He was deeply concerned about the leash these two were on. He knew that Jon would follow orders to a T and was afraid of any missions being jeopardized.
Enough was enough though and he decided to get started.
"Thank you all for coming, although not that you had much of a choice." He said with a chuckle. "As I'm sure you all already know, I am Commander Atomsk Dunaway. I will be Planetary Operations Commander for this voyage, putting your lives in my hands." This was the part of the speech where he told them his past, which he always told the truth to his men.
"I'm not sure how much any of you know about me, but to be honest I have an extensive record. Some good, Some bad. I have been nearly court marshaled 3 time, and have had many disciplinary actions taken against me. I don't follow orders. But realize this, the reason i don't follow orders is for you men. I do it to keep as many from you as dying as possible. I ask that you follow me while i don't follow those I'm supposed to. My tactics will seem insane. But if you DON'T follow you me, you have a much higher possibility of dying."
At this point he looked around to see what the men thought. He saw what he usually saw. Uncertainty and arrogance. He would break that as soon as he could. Next to make sure the men were aware of the chain of command, he would state Eli's position.
He looked to his right and began speaking. "You all should be aware of Captain Eli Colter here by now. He will be my Second-in-Command. I will not be on the ground most of the time. Eli will be my eyes and ears and will take command if I am unavailable." He looked closely at his brother at this point. He wanted to see what he would think of this, seeing as he made Jon his second on most occasions.
"At this point I would like everyone of Rank equal to or higher then a Sergeant to step forward, You will be serving as my squad leaders. If we don't have enough of you at that point I will personally review files and determine who will meet the requirements for a squad leader."
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Hangar
Tiaan Peyton
On one hand Tiaan loved this idea, on the other she was trying not to make big show. Although way things were going she doubted it be possible to avoid now. Chipping in she replied, "I can distract Lt General easily enough, you guys handle the supplies. All in all this could be fun." Why, why, why was she volunteering herself in this case. It's not like she had even been on board for a day, but now she was thinking of distracting her superior and letting a party happen. This wasn't right, not even close to right. Although wh was she kidding, she loved parties, and anything that loosened the crew up was a major plus. Either way, she wouldn't directly be involved and at least Lt Chen wouldn't assume anything as it was her who begun this.
Now to get that dress washed and try survive one day. Despite everything this day might not be the worse one ever. Not to mention maybe she could have some fun by taking such risks. Nothing was ever given by playing things safe. Nope, not at all, if anything Tiaan hated being cautious, preferred being impulsive. The only time she ever kept complete was during flying, and that was only to concentrate.
Remembering something she added, "To make an omelette gotta crack a few eggs eh?"
On one hand Tiaan loved this idea, on the other she was trying not to make big show. Although way things were going she doubted it be possible to avoid now. Chipping in she replied, "I can distract Lt General easily enough, you guys handle the supplies. All in all this could be fun." Why, why, why was she volunteering herself in this case. It's not like she had even been on board for a day, but now she was thinking of distracting her superior and letting a party happen. This wasn't right, not even close to right. Although wh was she kidding, she loved parties, and anything that loosened the crew up was a major plus. Either way, she wouldn't directly be involved and at least Lt Chen wouldn't assume anything as it was her who begun this.
Now to get that dress washed and try survive one day. Despite everything this day might not be the worse one ever. Not to mention maybe she could have some fun by taking such risks. Nothing was ever given by playing things safe. Nope, not at all, if anything Tiaan hated being cautious, preferred being impulsive. The only time she ever kept complete was during flying, and that was only to concentrate.
Remembering something she added, "To make an omelette gotta crack a few eggs eh?"
The setting changes from Hangar to The Milky Way Universe
Garrison scowled within in his mind and stepped forward, mind racing as he wondered if he misunderstood the order. Sergeant Major was above Sergeant by all technicalities. What was worse is that this Commander talking about being and using insane strategies, that worried him. Every other Commander he served under had always gone by the book, therefor he had always gone by the book. No exceptions. That probably contributed to fact his career had been so plan and his record was as clean as it was when he first left boot camp. But somehow he ended up with a Commander than proclaimed his own tactics as insane! However part of Garrison liked the idea, his more wild side egged him on. Part of him liked the idea of working outside normal protocol and using tactics that would actually get the job done, however he quickly snapped that side away. He was a Marine! Not some crazy Space-jock with a death wish and what was worse was that he had little experience leading a squad into a full on combat situation seeing as the areas he was stationed at were always more support roles in the Marine Corp.
Garrison gulped barely managing to keep his eyes focused. Looks like you finally get to be the big bad Sarge your father always wanted you to be. He could already tell, his tour on this ship was going to be the highlight of his career.
Garrison gulped barely managing to keep his eyes focused. Looks like you finally get to be the big bad Sarge your father always wanted you to be. He could already tell, his tour on this ship was going to be the highlight of his career.
The setting changes from The Milky Way Universe to Barracks
Some didn't care about his previous record; they were just worried about what would happen now. Others weren't so slow to forget however, they even wondered why in hell they were stuck with this guy. He could barely listen to the guy above him, and he expected them to listen to him. Those thoughts only circled among the gritty veterans though.
Eli noted the different expressions coming from them, some stood straight faced with a firm stance. A few gave darting glances of hesitation, and a couple glimpsed at the ground for a millisecond before returning eye contact with the commander. He couldn't see a thing beyond the visor of Jon's or Thaddeus's suits, others kept it better hidden, Carter for one gulped slightly. The very idea of having “insane” and "tactics" in the same sentence didn’t seem to mix well among the personnel.
“I do it to keep as many of you from dying as possible,” that statement echoed vaguely among the marines. Somehow, those two statements would need a hell of a time to make sense. Eli chuckled inside slightly; he thought that the commander perhaps could’ve touched on the matter more smoothly.
As his name was mentioned, Eli stepped forth and looked at the marines. He was careful not to smile lest he come off as an arrogant bastard. He nodded and returned to his position among the ranks of servicemen. The marines stood there, some tense, others relaxed. They weren't sure what else to expect from a man like Atomsk, the very statements he made were on the edge of bullshit to most of them.
The recruits, always the inverse of the experienced, were confused and were immediately asking questions. One of Eli’s earlier acquaintances, P.F.C. Gary Reynolds, reluctantly raised his hand before the Commander. In the Marine Corps, initiative was a commended trait, and each marine was expected to do his duty above and beyond the call. Hence Reynolds’ swift inquiry,
“Sir, do you know what we’re doing here?” any average officer might have been infuriated by such a question. Luckily for Reynolds though, this ship was entirely different, and the people on board could be deemed as such. Eli turned to Commander Dunaway, awaiting his response, but even Eli guessed that Atomsk had no idea. Even he himself was clueless regarding the matter, and he had been aboard the ship since Mars, Mars the planet. He’d remind himself to distinguish between the planet and incident that occurred on the planet.
Other marines had eyed the recruit, but even they didn’t know. They didn't have much ground to be staring.
Eli noted the different expressions coming from them, some stood straight faced with a firm stance. A few gave darting glances of hesitation, and a couple glimpsed at the ground for a millisecond before returning eye contact with the commander. He couldn't see a thing beyond the visor of Jon's or Thaddeus's suits, others kept it better hidden, Carter for one gulped slightly. The very idea of having “insane” and "tactics" in the same sentence didn’t seem to mix well among the personnel.
“I do it to keep as many of you from dying as possible,” that statement echoed vaguely among the marines. Somehow, those two statements would need a hell of a time to make sense. Eli chuckled inside slightly; he thought that the commander perhaps could’ve touched on the matter more smoothly.
As his name was mentioned, Eli stepped forth and looked at the marines. He was careful not to smile lest he come off as an arrogant bastard. He nodded and returned to his position among the ranks of servicemen. The marines stood there, some tense, others relaxed. They weren't sure what else to expect from a man like Atomsk, the very statements he made were on the edge of bullshit to most of them.
The recruits, always the inverse of the experienced, were confused and were immediately asking questions. One of Eli’s earlier acquaintances, P.F.C. Gary Reynolds, reluctantly raised his hand before the Commander. In the Marine Corps, initiative was a commended trait, and each marine was expected to do his duty above and beyond the call. Hence Reynolds’ swift inquiry,
“Sir, do you know what we’re doing here?” any average officer might have been infuriated by such a question. Luckily for Reynolds though, this ship was entirely different, and the people on board could be deemed as such. Eli turned to Commander Dunaway, awaiting his response, but even Eli guessed that Atomsk had no idea. Even he himself was clueless regarding the matter, and he had been aboard the ship since Mars, Mars the planet. He’d remind himself to distinguish between the planet and incident that occurred on the planet.
Other marines had eyed the recruit, but even they didn’t know. They didn't have much ground to be staring.
The setting changes from Barracks to F.S.S. Salient
A.I. Max:
Max "awoke", analyzing his location. He found out where he was located. A cargo hold, minor, emergency supplies mostly. Max first quietly made a loop of the systems, and set it to send the loop so that they would not detect him. He began setting up his own firewalls and such. He couldn't help but be afraid, he didn't know where he was or why he was there. Or how. He began searching the databanks, steering clear of anything that required special access, learning whatever he didn't know already.
Max then started analyzing himself. Looking for why he was there, where he was from, who got him there. Nothing, no leads. Then again, the chance any leads would be found were minimal. However, he then began cross analyzing himself with terms, bringing up the term "Anomaly Intelligence", a rare type of A.I. The similarities between himself and the description fit. It then assessed its situation after learning where it was.
Max wasn't sure how long he had been researching, exploring, looking. He was being careful not to alert anyone, especially any other A.I. on the ship. He couldn't be 100% sure he perfectly hid his actions, but since no one had busted down the door yet, he must be doing something right.......
Corporal Reterec Smithy:
Smithy was listening, but had remained silent for now. He was in the barracks, but leaning against a wall in the back. Its not like he was being disrespectful, not at all. He just wasn't a show off. At least, he tried not to be, but occasionally he would get competitive with his squad and/or partner. Nothing like a bit of rivalry to keep you on your toes. He simply looked back down momentarily, thinking about his brother and sister.
He then listened to the question asked. He thought to himself "If we are lucky, just some pirates playing Bad Boys. If we are unlucky, the insurgents are making their main bases far from civilization to make hits on them very hard to carry out....". He had a personal distaste for the insurgents, all their goals and the actions they took seemed hypocritical to him. They just didn't make sense.
Smithy then watched and listened, listening to see if there is anything else that was important to help.......
Max "awoke", analyzing his location. He found out where he was located. A cargo hold, minor, emergency supplies mostly. Max first quietly made a loop of the systems, and set it to send the loop so that they would not detect him. He began setting up his own firewalls and such. He couldn't help but be afraid, he didn't know where he was or why he was there. Or how. He began searching the databanks, steering clear of anything that required special access, learning whatever he didn't know already.
Max then started analyzing himself. Looking for why he was there, where he was from, who got him there. Nothing, no leads. Then again, the chance any leads would be found were minimal. However, he then began cross analyzing himself with terms, bringing up the term "Anomaly Intelligence", a rare type of A.I. The similarities between himself and the description fit. It then assessed its situation after learning where it was.
Max wasn't sure how long he had been researching, exploring, looking. He was being careful not to alert anyone, especially any other A.I. on the ship. He couldn't be 100% sure he perfectly hid his actions, but since no one had busted down the door yet, he must be doing something right.......
Corporal Reterec Smithy:
Smithy was listening, but had remained silent for now. He was in the barracks, but leaning against a wall in the back. Its not like he was being disrespectful, not at all. He just wasn't a show off. At least, he tried not to be, but occasionally he would get competitive with his squad and/or partner. Nothing like a bit of rivalry to keep you on your toes. He simply looked back down momentarily, thinking about his brother and sister.
He then listened to the question asked. He thought to himself "If we are lucky, just some pirates playing Bad Boys. If we are unlucky, the insurgents are making their main bases far from civilization to make hits on them very hard to carry out....". He had a personal distaste for the insurgents, all their goals and the actions they took seemed hypocritical to him. They just didn't make sense.
Smithy then watched and listened, listening to see if there is anything else that was important to help.......
The setting changes from F.S.S. Salient to Captain's Quarters
AI T.A.U.
TAU appeared as a Hologram on the Captain's desk. He was currently running a systems check and analysis on the Weaponry of the ship. "I thought I would take some time to go over my thoughts on the ship's load-out, Admiral" he said. TAU went over the main weapons quickly before starting, "The Railguns will provide enough firepower to fend off any large insurgent attacks that may arise" he says, alerting the Admiral to his knowledge of the true mission objectives. "As for the Mini Ions, I think they will be good for point defense against smaller ships as well as fighters". TAU's flames were dim at the moment, with little to get excited about at the moment. "I must admit my eagerness to use the Particle Cannon, that weapon really tops off the abilities of the ship" he concludes his assessment and awaits a response from the Admiral.
TAU appeared as a Hologram on the Captain's desk. He was currently running a systems check and analysis on the Weaponry of the ship. "I thought I would take some time to go over my thoughts on the ship's load-out, Admiral" he said. TAU went over the main weapons quickly before starting, "The Railguns will provide enough firepower to fend off any large insurgent attacks that may arise" he says, alerting the Admiral to his knowledge of the true mission objectives. "As for the Mini Ions, I think they will be good for point defense against smaller ships as well as fighters". TAU's flames were dim at the moment, with little to get excited about at the moment. "I must admit my eagerness to use the Particle Cannon, that weapon really tops off the abilities of the ship" he concludes his assessment and awaits a response from the Admiral.
"Tau, do you realize that you shouldn't be speaking right now? You'll alert Adam of your presence." the admiral went about sifting through the data receptors, perhaps going through old transmission logs.
"I can't have him know of your presence as of yet..." Aronimus was hoping that his quarters wasn't being secretly hacked by any non-authorized prowlers. The captain's quarters was built specifically to allow a captain privacy.
"Let Adam handle the ship's systems, I was more interested in your capabilities being utilized by Commander Dunaway," the admiral rubbed his sagely beard.
"I'm sure you've read his profile, and have perhaps gone through his live feeds? First hand sources say his tactics are self-proclaimed as...insane, even genius," the admiral smiled to himself.
"Hopefully, you'll be able to handle his...style of commanding. I'm interested in watching your capabilities during the training scenarios..."
"For now though, log off." Aronimus expected the flames of Tau to dissipate pixel by pixel until his visual presence vanished before him.
"I can't have him know of your presence as of yet..." Aronimus was hoping that his quarters wasn't being secretly hacked by any non-authorized prowlers. The captain's quarters was built specifically to allow a captain privacy.
"Let Adam handle the ship's systems, I was more interested in your capabilities being utilized by Commander Dunaway," the admiral rubbed his sagely beard.
"I'm sure you've read his profile, and have perhaps gone through his live feeds? First hand sources say his tactics are self-proclaimed as...insane, even genius," the admiral smiled to himself.
"Hopefully, you'll be able to handle his...style of commanding. I'm interested in watching your capabilities during the training scenarios..."
"For now though, log off." Aronimus expected the flames of Tau to dissipate pixel by pixel until his visual presence vanished before him.
The setting changes from Captain's Quarters to F.S.S. Salient
AI TAU
Tau nodded, "Of course, Admiral" Tau said, disappearing from the Captains Quarters. Tau kept most of his focuses on setting up some protection against ADAM finding him. The rest of his processes sifted through ship systems, adventuring in the only way an AI could. Tau had in fact checked out files on the Commander extensively, but now decided to locate him on the ship and access security cameras in the area to follow him and monitor his actions and habits. The Admiral had indicated Tau would spend a lot of time working with Commander Dunaway, so it was best to learn what he was like. Tau was particularly interested in seeing the Commander interact with Adam to attempt to gauge how he would act working with Tau later on.
Tau nodded, "Of course, Admiral" Tau said, disappearing from the Captains Quarters. Tau kept most of his focuses on setting up some protection against ADAM finding him. The rest of his processes sifted through ship systems, adventuring in the only way an AI could. Tau had in fact checked out files on the Commander extensively, but now decided to locate him on the ship and access security cameras in the area to follow him and monitor his actions and habits. The Admiral had indicated Tau would spend a lot of time working with Commander Dunaway, so it was best to learn what he was like. Tau was particularly interested in seeing the Commander interact with Adam to attempt to gauge how he would act working with Tau later on.