after breakfast the crew breaks up into it's work teams. the technical and tactical minds head off to plan the exploration of the dreadnought. While the 'hands on' folks head down to the cargo bay and weapons locker to sort and inventory the weapons captured then train the local militia on the use of the heavier weapons.

Balkiir saw to the kitchen moving around a bit stiffly once everyone was gone. setting down and quickly popping a couple of painkillers while he had the chance to do so without an audience.
  Part of the mystique of being Valkiir was that everyone saw you bleed but no one saw you hurting. and no one saw you scratching at the millions of ants crawling under your skin as the nano did their work.
   he packed lunch kits, made sure M'kira's had enough protein and carbs to fuel two women her size and added antibiotics, mineral supplements and enough water to keep the rest going in the arid heat of the planet. He wasn't a doctor but marine training always included a hellish amount of survival and preparedness training.
     Azia took it too far but Wodin knew what bugs the people that had taken hits had picked up from their wounds. everyone had nano meds and boosted immune systems just to get off world. but stumping around an alien world getting bruised scraped and occasionally shot required standard precautions.
    He never went for the mans/womans work thing other than in his kitchen but he did have a few habits from taking care of his sisters over the years. the others were just part of the job, but when he started Packing Elspeth's day pack he stopped smiled and slipped a few treats into her lunch pail. real ice cream and a container of strawberry preserves from his stash went into a chill-pac under the rest of the food pack.

 He thought everyone was gone, but that wasn't so. She frowned as she saw he was in pain, but stayed where she was, out of sight, out of mind, that was how she found things out. In the chaos of everyone leaving, she'd slipped under the table and sat with her knees drawn up, keeping quiet. She'd sensed everything wasn't as right as he'd tried to show, but she wasn't one to tell secrets not hers to tell. She'd just pretend she hadn't noticed his discomfort unless he let her see it deliberately.

 When he was done doing what he was doing and had everyone taken care of, she "sneezed" then crawled out from under the table. She stood up and dusted off her knees. She looked around then acted if she was surprised to see him there.
"Oh, I thought everyone was gone! Hey, can I help you cook some time? I can wash dishes too if you need me to help out. I like to cook but I don't know how to cook that much. Mostly eggs and french toast and easy stuff."

  " hey kiddo," Balkiir laughed as he spoke." Yo sure You want to be in here?"
   " I got a lot of work to do for dinner and I can be a little bossy in the kitchen. It's a guy thing..well a valkiir guy thing."

    " Hmm If ya want I need some of those veggies peeled and sliced about this big." Balkiir held up his fingers about an inch apart. " And once your done with that you can help me pick some grass, turns out that stuff Aziza grows in the halls is pretty good for seasoning." Balkiir motioned to a pile of vegetables from the fresh stores and then handed Maran a knife.he didn't show any outward discomfort or any hint he had spied her before she made herself know, if he had at all.

"Grass? Are you sure? Isn't grass for horses and cows and rabbits? Ok, sure, but you got to show me what grass. I might get the wrong one. Oh, is it like lemon grass? Of course I'll help. I ain't here as a guest am I? I want to do my share of helping out. I know I'm just a kid but there's things I can do to help isn't there? That leaves you guys to do stuff I can't do, right? And maybe you can teach me some of that stuff so I can get better at helping out."
 She looked at him wistfully, really wanting to help people out, and not just be pushed aside like some pesty little child. She was old enough to want to contribute. Sure, she wanted to relax and have some fun too, but she didn't feel like she could do that yet. She felt like she was on probation or something, and they might just decide to dump her into some backwoods orphanage or something and she'd never see her home planet or any of her friends again, or even have any opportunities to get away from this planet, let alone do anything worth anything.
 "I promise, I can do it! See?"
 She grabbed a knife and carefully started cleaning then chopping the carrots into chunks roughly the size he'd demonstrated, doing her best not to make a huge mess in the process.
 "So, what are we makin?"

During a quick break from weapons inventory, Elsbeth had stopped by to grab her day pack from the galley.  She gave Balkiir's hand a squeeze and leaned in to giving him a long kiss.  "Promissory note." she noted softly.

Only after they separated did she notice that Maran was there helping him.  She gave the young lady a slightly lopsided smile and with flushed cheeks made her way out to do her assigned duties for the day.  It promised to be a long, busy day.  And in many ways, Elsbeth preferred it that way - never ending grunt work.

 "I'll take you up on it. Balkiir whispered a broad smile on his face. He looked a bit embarrassed as he glanced toward Maran. " Ignore us adults for a second, we promise to behave ourselves later."" Balkiir wrapped both arms around Elspeth's shoulders and kissed her in return, letting her into his mind to feel the warm satisfied sensation her presence brought. He couldn't hide the amusement her blush gave hims although there was nothing mocking in his mind.

 <blue>"Lunch is packed, It took some effort not to stock you up like I should. But you'd probably only eat half of it...Maran here has volunteered to be my assistant chef for the day.
   I plan on teaching her my Marine Special, It ain't fancy, It ain't complicated but it gets the job done."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:59, Sun 20 Mar 2011.

He got up and moved to gather his gear for the day. HE would start helping with the inventory but in the end he knew he would end out on some lonesome point rifle in hand. HE gave the big guy a nod for breakfast and then headed out the door. He stopped in his room and grabbed his backpack and his rifle before heading down to the hold.

He looked around before cracking a slight smile, yes the tools of slaughter gave him pleasure. The tools to ends the lives of the unjust and wicked. He still thought about talking to T'risa about his idea. He would take it up with her later.

Trey, still not quite certain where he fit in in all the hubbub - not to mention still getting vertigo everytime he looked at the horizon (It DISAPPEARS!) - had retreated back to his room after the meal to slap on his 'borrowed' clothes and tool belt. Then go looking for his miserly old space suit, grinning for all the world like he'd won the lottery.

Which, considering circumstances, he might just have.

He swings into the kitchen once more, lifting a hand "Ey mon. Any-one know where de suit I an' I was wearin' be at? She some-thang special, ya knowin'. And, uh.. where I an' I being off to next, nao?"

In reply to Balkiir Kovul (msg #7):
"I'm a sou chef, hehe. I like that! Dad was the cook at home but mom cooked some great soups and stews. I liked helping them make stuff."
 She blushed slightly as they kissed but grinned at them because it reminded her of the way her parents were, and it wasn't anything to be ashamed of was it? Loving somebody was something special as far as she could tell. It was nice to see them happy. It made her feel happier somehow.

M'kira goes about her business making sure her fighter is in top form. She also checks her battle armor doing required maintenance. She also practices if there is time to do so. Aside from that M'kira helps around the ship and in other areas as she can.

Eventually she ends up where some of the crew seems to have gathered. Seeing trey She listens to what he said then shakes her head slightly. "I don't have any idea. Hopefully Aziza didn't get her hands on it. She might have had it vaporized to avoid contamination. It's possible T'risa might know what happened to it. I am not really sure about what's next aside from preparing Camp hope for trouble. Most likely we will probably try to find this queen and put a end to her. She does seem to be in the middle of this mess. Thoug the fact that the Marduke are here really bothers me. That's probably why we saw Chronos earlier. It's not often you see something like that. Chronos is a AI dreadnought in case you don't know."

Elsbeth grabbed the package that Balkiir had earmarked for her and headed down to the hold where the first set of weapons were to be reviewed.  She nodded to Victor and put down her lunch on a convenient, nearby table and started to wander about the stacks and boxes of weapons to get a general overview.  As well as noting types and numbers to make sure that when it came to checking and cleaning each one, they would have the proper supplies.

Once the initial review was done, she started pulling cleaning supplies.  Armed with what thought they would need to set the supplies down on one of the makeshift work benches.  "Are you cleaning or counting, Mr. Victor Grym?"  And she set to work separating, categorizing and cleaning working quietly and efficiently.

Conrad finished his breakfast and gave thanks to Balkiir for the nice meal.  Conrad then headed off from the mess hall, "If you need me, I'll be working on both mecha's finishing up whatever needs to be done., and made is way to the mecha's to make sure all repairs were finished up and wrap up any unfinished business.  Though he was still curious what was going to happen next but he know he would soon find out.

" Oooo Guns my favorite." Poppy cooed happily as she entered the weapons locker.' Big guns little guns, fancy guns, ugh...not so fancy guns... And guns that kill really big scary things that want to do mean scary things to poor defenseless love bots turned interplanetary bounty hunter slash gunslinger....<blue>" Poppy picked up an assault rifle out of the stack and eyed it critically field stripping it, checking springs and eying the firing mechanism. <blue>" Might as well make these with  cookie cutter..."

    Hmmm ya know between the two of you I could right a symphony in silent sharp... if ya make me do all the talking by the end of the day you are going to know more about Cyberoid fashions and how to pick out a nice pair of legs than you ever wanted to..... now if we want to talk guns though I can probably learn something from you two... I cut Grymmy I probably get a nice glass of ice water.... I hear marines bleed gun oil though."

Elsbeth looked up from the pieces of the receiver and barrel that she was inspecting, when Poppy made her assertion about the Praetorian's physiology.  She quirked her head to the side, and stated simply, "I may just as engineered a being as you are Ms. Poppy, but I bleed the same blood as any Tae woman or the same as Mr. Victor Grym.  Ice water would be dangerously low temperature for his physiology to work properly."  She sounded quite serious.

"Hmmm...." Elsbeth's brow furrowed, "I am surprised, Ms. Poppy that you claim to not know much about guns.  You handled your allocated firearms very well in the assault on the air defense towers."  She popped the receiver with its firing mechanism back into the housing and secured the barrel with a practiced ease, while she continued, "Often enough, it is not the weapon itself that is truly dangerous, but the hand that wields it."  Elsbeth glanced at Victor, her experience with him spoke to that assertion, "Though Mr. Victor Grym might quite like his specialized sniping weapon - and who wouldn't, he could still kill with great ease given any of the rifles here."  Still, the Marine had to concede, and she did so without any trace of irony, "Of course, his sniping weapon with it specialized, explosive ammunition only serve to make him even more effective..."  She shrugged slightly, and by the time she had finished her short musings, yet another rifle had joined the stack of others in the 'passed inspection' pile.

HE gave a slight smile at Poppy's comment which broke into quite laughter at the all to literal marine. "I think she was more commenting on our personalities, rather than what runs through our veins. And you are quite right, any of these weapons in here I could pick up and kill a person with. But it is that ice water, that makes my rifle and my skill with it such a scary proposition to our enemies. If given a chance and the right conditions I would take the shot to end this. That queen bitch dead in my sights would very soon simply be dead." He answered as he moved on to another crate of weapons, sorting them out and creating a list of what they could use to arm the colony.

" wow..Ummm Okay lets stick to knock knock jokes for now... Poppy looked confused for a moment then shook her head slightly."well everyone is a little engineered, even if they are Tae they still got a teeny bit of tinkering way down deep from way back when."

   " I really dont know that much about guns, I just know how to use them. and where to put the bullets to do the most damage... I can tell you nine times out of ten if a person is going to fight or run, i can even guess which way he'll duck if i shoot at him... Put me up against a Cyberoid, or one of those Marduk and I can tell you what they are going to do before they finish their runtimes....Guns I don't know.. I can only make them hit where I need them to hit..most of the time....the rest is just files in a database to me... if I want to clean a M-451 i have to stop look up the manual and do it by the numbers. I cant tell you which way they pull, or if they will malfunction in different atmospheres....any of that stuff Just point it and pull the trigger."

   "If she's the one that gave the order to kill my friends I want to hand you the bullets..." Poppy worked as she talked hands moving with mechanical precision as she stripped cleaned and reassembled weapons. stopping to eye one or two critically and tossing the into the parts barrel. when she spoke about the queen her features lost any emotion even the slight mischievous gleam normally in her eyes went away for a split second...in it's place pain, loss, and sadness too deep to be a simple emulation " Wow Sorry got all talky on you guys again..I promise i will let you get a word in."

T'risa walked into the galley focussed entirely on a 3-d plan of the local area. She reached out touching some notes she'd placed as tags on the topography of the town, utterly absorbed, she almost took no notice of anyone else in the room.

"Hello everyone. Things are coming along. Poorly in some areas, but still any advance is better than none. Maran, once you've helped Balkiir with his cooking and it is all done and clean sit with me, and we will begin your training."

 Star hopped up onto the table and walked around the display once or twice before hopping down into T'risa's lap curling up into a ball and purring slightly as she settled in.
   " Ugh those tablets are positively ancient, my tail has better data fluidity than this thing."
    Maran might know the area a little she has been in the area a while...maybe she can help you. while shes peeling the veggies.a soothing sensation radiating from star as she touched both Maran and T'risa with her mind. ~Thats a lot of information to try and soak up at once.~ the sleet of data began to form in the minds eye of T'risa the hiss and crackle of the computer code became a soft whisper more like soft music than the ear grating sound of a data stream. T'risa no sooner thought of a bit of data she needed than star pulled it out of the files and presented it.
  The rough holo of the area formed into a nearly perfect image in full color rotating and zooming in in full detail as she focused on the images. <i>~our very own AI assist is definitely worth a bit of scratching right behind my shoulder blade wouldn't you say~

The visions appearing in her head startled her so much she nearly choked until she realized that the cat was sending them to her directly. Still, it was strange and a bit difficult to grasp at first, then she took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. That seemed to help some and she started seeing differences in the images, though it was hard at first trying to convert the images in her head comparing them to her memory of the dig site.
 "Some of that's not right. There's places where trenches were dug that don't show up there."

T'risa started petting Star, scratching between her shoulders as she envisioned the site. "Maran explain to Star where the trenches are. Make the map as complete as you can with Star's help. It will help our planning to know everything possible. It's a shame we have no way to run some sensor drones in the area to capture more data. Thank you Star. Any other tricks you have that can help us?"

Deciding to head to where poppy, Victor and Elsbeth are M'kira leaves Maran's lesson in T'risa's capable hands. Besides she had Bright star soaking up affection which should keep her plenty happy. That was important to M'kira making her smile at the fluff ball as T'risa scratches between her shoulders.

Making her way to Poppy and friends she smiles hearing them talking about guns amongst other things. Noting Poppy looking sad she lightly places a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Actually I like it when you talk Poppy. You tend to make me smile though I can't speak for everyone else. In my opinion I think your very well liked here. I am glad you can probably shoot a flies wings off at twenty feet."

She winks at poppy with a gentle expression and a twinkle in her eye as she hopes to cheer the woman up. "Besides you know I want to go shopping with you sometime. I think it will be a lot of fun. So what's on the menu for today? Are we taking inventory or something?"

The tall Marine merely shrugged to Poppy as she made her second apology, quipping afterwards, "Your speech does not bother me, Ms. Poppy.  Feel free to continue your stream of consciousness ramble for as long as you wish and are able."  Another disassembled rifle made its way into the separate scrap and spare piles.  "As for knowledge about various firearms..." Elsbeth shrugged again, followed by the rather uninspiring opinion, "the manual is fine place to start.  The rest merely has to do with first-hand experience.  Much of which you seemed to have experienced... um... first-hand."

Noting the presence and words of M'kira, Elsbeth nodded to the statuesque Valkiir woman.  "Yes, Inventory, then Distribution, Gunnery Sergeant." she noted dutifully.  "We are approximately 46.8% done with the inventory portion of the task, Gunny T'shal."  Elsbeth regarded M'kira for a moment, the beautiful blue woman was amazing to her, she seemed oddly at ease in all situations, social or battlefield.  An attitude and an aura that Elsbeth was envious of, though not covetous - it merely seemed an unattainable state to her; something that she was not really geared for properly.   She pointed to another section of crate that had yet to be cracked open, noting, "Those stacks have yet to be done.  Your help would be appreciated, but is not necessary.  You likely have other more pressing duties; which we would not want to keep you from."

Conrad works on any final repairs that needed to be made on either the mecha's or any random vehicle that needs some tough up.  His pace today has decreased since there wasnt a rush to get things done.  He even takes some time to play with Tiny and adjust the mecha.  As Conrad works, he seems to always be in thought about something.  Conrad was getting ready to get off of this planet and start building prototypes.

Trey, failing to find his old suit - which isn't necessarily surprising considering he lived in it for a month or so and then brought it aboard Aziza's ship - falls back as a second fiddle for Conrad. Not out of inability so much as inexperience; Slaves aren't allowed near war-time material, for obvious reasons, but he picks up with surprising speed. Of course, a lot of his training was more of the classic 'dropped on a planet now build me a colony' kind, but that just makes him resourceful.

Part of the appeal of the clone series, and what makes them still cost effective, is the ability to quickly adapt. Despite his mannerisms, he's anything but stupid.

"Con-Raid.." Begins Trey, seeming to be in the midst of giving one of the mechas a rather invasive colonoscopy. He grunts as his hand is pinched, jerks his arm to get more leverage, and continues working.

"Con-Raid, yah nevah said. Why yah be all up in dis place wit' dem blue sistahs? I an' I meanin' no mouth, mon, but yah don be strikin' me as a soljah boi, noa."

M'kira Smiles at Elsbeth as she opens up a crate in the specified area. "Actually at the moment I am free to lend you a hand. Your all making great progress with this task."

With practiced ease M'kira begins to skillfully assist with the inventory. She's careful to work as a team with everyone else so they wouldn't break stride. "We will probably check out that crashed dreadnought in the very near future. Ought to give all of us some excitement and who knows what we will find. It will probably be You Elsbeth, Poppy and I in the lead with grym playing the grim reaper if he can line up shots. Just in case theirs something unpleasant that might try to say hi to Conrad and Trey. Could be wrong on the team make up as I haven't got the official word yet."

Elsbeth tilted her head as M'kira describes the next objective in the on-going campaign to survive and get off of this planet.  Her hands didn't stop working, but her brow furrowed for a moment.  "I'll be ready for the mission, if chosen to go, Gunnery Sergeant." she stated simply. adding, "I'm sure that I'd enjoy the chance to serve along side of you."  As for what was troubling her, it was inconsequential, or at least that is what she told herself: it had been a while that she had to actually had to protect, i.e. bodyguard someone - and though she was bred for it and old habits die hard, something deep down gnawed at her.  In some ways, she had failed in epic fashion that last time she had attempted such things.

It had always struck Elsbeth as ironic that of all of her clutchmates that she should survive the longest.  Nothing in her genetic code nor in her training would have indicated such.  And such are the vagaries of Fate - at least, that is what she presumed.  Another cleaned and inspected rifle joined the stack with its brothers ready for distribution.  Elsbeth never let her mind really wander, there was no place for it to wander to.  Generally, when she hit her rest cycle, there were mind clearing and focusing exercises for her to do - a number of simple mantras that she repeated over and over.  A seemingly peaceful, or at least inwardly focused state that allowed for rapid healing and rejuvenation of the body.

In a rather clumsy attempt to get M'kira to divulge more detailed information, Elsbeth asked, "How long ago was that dreadnought shot down?  Presumably, that mission will not happen today, but tomorrow perhaps?"  There was the click of another bolt sliding into place as Elsbeth inspected the breach and checked the firing action on another salvaged weapon.

 " I'm glad I dont get on your nerves. I know I get on my own nerves sometimes." Poppy shrugged, signed and went back to work. When M'kira came in she smiled brightly." Oooo crepy abandoned alien ship.... Sounds fun, thank goodness i am 100% alien parasite proof... You ever watch one of those old flat vids...alien ship, sexy space babe, and big burly marines. Just add slime dripping chest bursting alien parasite for maximum funnage... well I guess in this case it have to be some cute wide eyed space boy and sexy marines..."<blue> M'kira glanced at Grim. <blue> we have our quota of men of few words though. but Its the strong silent ones that usually save the day anyways.... alien horror about to eat the face off of someone and BOOM headshot!"

   I sneaked a look atht eh shootdown footage. two on one in the atmo slugging match between dreadnoughts.... thats not ever good for the insurance rates. Well really anything Kronos took the time to personally smack down can't be that good. He just sits out there in hyperspace, only pops up for a show or to transmit his latest album. Probably writing new songs and getting cozy with his captain. I don't even want to know how that works. i mean I'm all for mixed relationships but wow...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Tue 05 Apr 2011.

"Hmm? oh the dreadnought was shot down by Chronos while we were actually here. I hear there is ancient yet advanced tech at the dig sights. From whatever race was on this planet before it became a dead planet. Something drove the entire planetary population to flee this world. At the moment we are thinking it's this queen entity."

She shakes her head speaking softly. "To go back to the original question not to long ago since we were here when it happened." Looking at poppy she smiles at the cyberoid woman. Then looks up at any security equipment that might be monitoring them. She laughs for a moment shaking her head again. "Your thinking about eye candy during a horror flick poppy? Either your braver then me or you have a stronger libido. During horror movies im to scared to think about that and usually clinging to someone. Though it's only movies that do that to me. Mmm careful if Aziza hears you talking about alien parasites and chest bursting she might get out the medical probes."

M'kira laughs and smiles when she mentions the Dreadnought Ai getting Cozy with the captain. "That does remind me of a old flat vids. The strong handsome captain and his female AI warship. They just had to touch on romance. It was kind of interesting. Guess the captain of the Kronos likes her men big and sexy. Doesn't get much bigger then a dreadnought." She laughs again with a amused expression. Not that she minded Kronos had his own personality. If this captain worked with him every day they might really develop a close relationship.

In reply to T'risa K'mahda (msg #21):

 She did her best to try to show her where the trenches and other additions were, but it still looked strange from above so she wasn't sure she had them all 100% right.
"I think that's it. I may be off a bit though since I never saw it from above."

He gave a dry chuckle at Poppy's flavorful comments. Stuck in an old horror vid, if they could only be so lucky. He moved on to the last and final crate and began once again to sort and count. Keeping an ear on the conversation but choosing to remain quite. He had learned that a wise man listened before speaking, words he had tried to adhere too. Listening was just as important in his craft as knowing how to shoot. To avoid the tunnel vision of the scope and forget that there were others around who could wish you harm.

Like Victor, Elsbeth remained quiet during the exchange between Poppy and M'kira.  She had not seen the dreadnought battle footage, nor did she know anything about this Kronos AI and its relationship to its humanoid Captain.  She shook her head, Elsbeth may be a product of very specific bio-engineering, but what Poppy was proposing made little to no sense to her at all.  Either that or it was all so disturbing to her that images were instantly banished from her mind.

So, instantly banished that it left a bit of void.  Which probably explained the rather vacant look on Elsbeth's face for the briefest of moments.  Once the moment passed, Elsbeth shook her head for another moment, as though clearing cobwebs from her eyes.  Having finished with her crate and seeing Victor start in on the last create, Elsbeth began to distribute the various piles of weapons into sets for each defensive position.  But before the distribution was finalized, Elsbeth looked at their ex-Marine sniper and moved to stand next to him.  "Mr. Victor Grym," she asked while looking at the various piles, "Which set of armaments do you want to reserve for the sniper team?  I'm afraid that we will have to retask some of the assault rifles - though we may be able to retool and fit some extended barrels on them and smooth out some of the action on them."  While her facility in the machine shop was limited, she did have some experience.  So, retooling the barrels and receivers on the assault rifles might actually not be outside of her limited abilities...

In reply to Trey Uv'secks (msg #25):


Conrad listens to Trey carefully... still not use to his thick accent.

"Oh... well... er... I fear for my life.  One can mind rape me and the other could blow me sky high... and neither are in a good way.  But if your looking for a little something, I'm sure you could give Poppy a pretty new gun.  Some like diamonds... she likes weaponry."

Conrad gives a slight mischievous grin knowing damn well that if Trey actually tried that he would most likely get shot by Poppy.  But Conrad could always use some humor around here.

T'risa encouraged Maran to look all over the battlefield. "Details are important. Feel free to look around and explore. Star has created a wonderful workspace for us here. Details help us set up good defensive positions, ways to set traps for anyone coming towards us....." T'risa paused for a moment. "Conrad...how easy is it to make mines and claymores, preferably that can read an IFF transponder." before returning to Maran "and mean less of our people get hurt. The goal is to come back from every operation with as few a casualties as possible, but understand that every operation might have a moment where someone is required to make a sacrifice so everyone else lives. It's a hard life....to lead. Every person is special."

T'risa sipped at a cup of coffee "Now, we both know you are psychic. I am not really aware as to how different the human mind is in comparison to a Tau. The first thing we need to work on is communication. It is much easier to communicate with people you know. So....what we will do here, is have you probe my mind. Don't probe for personal information. Just probe to find the unique characteristics that make me me. Feel for the space I inhabit." T'risa pored over the maps. "Let me know when you think you are ready."

 She did her best to remember and imagine what things would look like from above so she could let them know what she could. The fact though that she never thought about needing to know that stuff didn't help. Only because she'd explored some areas that weren't used much allowed her to help identify some things they needed to know at all.
 "I'll do my best, but I wasn't paying that much attention to that kind of stuff."
 When she was told to try to sense who her fellow companions were, she looked puzzled a bit. They were who they were, right? A chocolate bar just was, wasn't it? It tasted like chocolate, and nothing else tasted exactly like it. It was the same way for people, right? They all had their own particular "taste/scent/visual/sound/spiritual" aspect that made them them. She had never really thought about that either, before because she hadn't realized it was any different than what everyone else sensed. She nodded and concentrated upon the woman, trying to sense who/what/when/where she was. She wondered if they had a name for the whole being encompassed with psy sense.
 "Ok, I'll try."
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:03, Fri 15 Apr 2011.

He looked over the small amount of weapons available before turning to the marine. "Honestly a true sniper team will not be an option. The weapons and the training time are unavailable. I was thinking of simply pulling a squad of men and training them in a more designated marksman role. Quick, mobile and able to disrupt enemy advances easily in a more urban setting. That I think would play more to the strengths of the settlement then a true sniper. If they have need of that, hopefully I will be around and can fulfill that." He answered her as he set aside a few assault rifles.

Conrad pauses for a moment when he hears voices in his head.  Oh no... she heard me... i'm doomed!  After listening to the mental message... he ponders the question and replies back to T'risa.  "Um, shouldn't be too hard.  When do you need the final product?"

T'risa looked at Maran winking as she responded to Conrad "As soon as it doesn't interfere with more important work. Use your best judgement. Mines are superb defensive weapons, but they are no good to us unless they're safe for our people to cross."

Elsbeth nodded to Victor - an eminently, pragmatic answer.   She watched him pull aside a certain number of rifles and mentally categorized that number.  "Are you thinking of a single or double fire team, Mr. Victor Grym?  In any case, I'll keep on the look out for appropriate personnel while going through the drills with the colonists."  She rubbed her chin for a moment, then added, "I also know a little about skirmishing and harassment tactics as per Recon - though that is through the filter of the CMC's Force Recon units."  A slight, crooked smile passed by her lips, "  If you require any additional support with training or equipment of your special squad, Mr. Victor Grym, just let me know."

Elsbeth began to stow the sundry loads of ammunition, magazines, various accessories and cleaning kits into duffel bags for easy transport with their respective weapons - each bag labeled with contents and desired location for easy sorting and distribution.  Elsbeth intended to load everything onto one of the vehicles for quick distribution before then making the rounds to each station to start training personnel.  She mentally queried T'risa, Marshal K'mahda, we are almost ready to start moving the first set of weapons to their emplacement locations.  Are the personnel already in place to receive them and begin training or do I need to get in touch with the Operations Chief to set that up?

"Call me Victor, or Reaper my callsign back in the day." He said with a small smile."As for the teams, two man units. They can cover each other and perhaps two area of eyes will give them the edge that training gives us. They are in an uphill battle, don't have the years of experience you and I have in both combat and military thinking. We have to hive them the most we can in a short while. I would appreciate the help in training, you will provide experiences I don't have. I worked solo for most of my ops, teaching them might help with our own unit cohesion as well."

  There is always time for eye candy. Poppy waggled her eyebrows comically." I Didn't think Valkiir did the whole squealy jumpy, clingy thing....well maybe in the really good ones, but most of the time I'm pretty sure I've seen a lot uglier critters...annndddd never go to a movie with Rhic, he's like "Oh I've seen this before, or thats like in ...and oh come on I could see that coming a mile off..... Poppy mimicked Rhic's voice and puffed up in a manly pose." He does have a really good collection of old flat-vids, and he keeps the popcorn coming so it's not too bad."
   Poppy finished her last weapons and held it up cycled the bolt a few times then expertly tucked it into her shoulder sighting it on a bullet trap in the corner. then set it with the other rifles." Ya know I never really thought about it... well since all the valkiir guys are already taken,well the ones who might like a nice little Cyberoid girl with a slightly crazed sparkle in her eye. do the guys buy the popcorn or do the girls...I mean he could go broke fast if he has to buy...and if he has like four or five girlfriends man the same movie would get really old by the end of the week.."

  There is always time for eye candy. Poppy waggled her eyebrows comically." I Didn't think Valkiir did the whole squealy jumpy, clingy thing....well maybe in the really good ones, but most of the time I'm pretty sure I've seen a lot uglier critters...annndddd never go to a movie with Rhic, he's like "Oh I've seen this before, or thats like in ...and oh come on I could see that coming a mile off..... Poppy mimicked Rhic's voice and puffed up in a manly pose." He does have a really good collection of old flat-vids, and he keeps the popcorn coming so it's not too bad."
   Poppy finished her last weapons and held it up cycled the bolt a few times then expertly tucked it into her shoulder sighting it on a bullet trap in the corner. then set it with the other rifles." Ya know I never really thought about it... well since all the valkiir guys are already taken,well the ones who might like a nice little Cyberoid girl with a slightly crazed sparkle in her eye. do the guys buy the popcorn or do the girls...I mean he could go broke fast if he has to buy...and if he has like four or five girlfriends man the same movie would get really old by the end of the week.."

  There is always time for eye candy. Poppy waggled her eyebrows comically." I Didn't think Valkiir did the whole squealy jumpy, clingy thing....well maybe in the really good ones, but most of the time I'm pretty sure I've seen a lot uglier critters...annndddd never go to a movie with Rhic, he's like "Oh I've seen this before, or thats like in ...and oh come on I could see that coming a mile off..... Poppy mimicked Rhic's voice and puffed up in a manly pose." He does have a really good collection of old flat-vids, and he keeps the popcorn coming so it's not too bad."
   Poppy finished her last weapons and held it up cycled the bolt a few times then expertly tucked it into her shoulder sighting it on a bullet trap in the corner. then set it with the other rifles." Ya know I never really thought about it... well since all the valkiir guys are already taken,well the ones who might like a nice little Cyberoid girl with a slightly crazed sparkle in her eye. do the guys buy the popcorn or do the girls...I mean he could go broke fast if he has to buy...and if he has like four or five girlfriends man the same movie would get really old by the end of the week.."

She listens to Elsbeth talking with Grym about gear for the sniper team. Well technically they only had one professional sniper on hand and that was Grym. Anyone from the compound would have to prove themselves first. Not that they wouldn't work professionally together there was something to be said at having worked together for a while.

She keeps working listening to the two chatting with a feeling of approval. It was nice to see Grym talking a bit more. Now if only balkier was around there would probably be a bit more laughter and chatter. She missed the big lug but it couldn't be helped. With him being shot up like that he wouldn't get around as well. Luckily he wasn't confined to medical bay.

Laughing when poppy waggles her eyebrows plus her comment about eye candy made M'kira's eyes twinkle with amusement. "Oh I see. Rhic's a real movie spoiler is he? There's always one in a crowd I know what you mean."

She takes the last bit with a thoughtful expression one hand lightly brushing a bit of hair back from her eyes. "Well in Omaden society it's the women that do the chasing. You would want to flirt with him, buy him popcorn, ask him out on a date and so on. Got to let him know you want to rock his world as it were. But with Non Omadens like Rhic, Grym or Trey I have noted the males usually pay attention to a woman they like. It's different yet it still works rather well sometimes. Still I don't trust that if you like a guy let him know is the safest bet. I can't help but think that way because of my peoples culture. It's way to easy to end up without a partner. Elsbeth would probably tell you different but that's because she was raised different. I would ask Grym what he thinks but he probably would just give me one of his patented looks."

T'risa responded to Elsbeth "Ask the Chief for personnel. He has a better idea of his available resources than I do and where his teams strengths lie. Ask him to see me when he gets free, I need to run some of this by him."

"You know a unified dating manual would be nice." Poppy grinned."You know something you can use for trouble shooting, Not that cyberoids do a lot of dating, I mean some of the biological imperative stuff keeps humans busy with it, But you know it's not like we're gonna settle down and raise 2.5 Kids."
  "And it's really hard to find anyone who shares my interests...."Hi my name is Poppy. I like dancing, old movies, long walks on desolate worlds, and unleashing massive amounts of firepower on deserving slime from other planets. My favorite color is lavender and My sign is 'Discontinued Model 1/2 price'."
  Poppy talked as she worked packing up the weapons back into their shipping crates. " Okay so we go play Santa Claus and teach these guys how to shoot next. Sounds like fun."
  "I don't think I can teach the whole turn off autonomic reflexes, and stop breathing, and don't blink for two days, part of my game. But I can show them how to handle a pistol."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:30, Mon 09 May 2011.

  Once the rifles and other weapons are sorted and checked Chief Jons assembles his volunteers. An assortment of diggers, cooks archeologists and random workers from he various camps.
  Most have completed the TAE standardized Military Skills training programs required by most settled worlds during High School. But only a few have had the full Basic and advanced training the military gives recruits. The bright side is most of the group has spent several weeks under constant fire, and are eager to get proper training with the weapons they are issued.
   Rhic has a second group training on camp Hope's new air defense system Looking frazzled as he runs them through the reloading of missiles and fuel slugs for the weapons and how to properly control the automated systems.

   A small group of Potential Marksmen has been assembled they have more practice with their weapons and most are fro frontier colonies where hunting and ballistic vermin control is far more common.

Inside Maran completes the additions to the map and fills ina few key holes that might have let a small group through the planned defenses without first person knowledge of the area.

Leoulin was weaving among people in the encampment, a new bodysuit or perhaps the old one repaired adorning him so that his race was not so exposed.  He was more suited to training personal combat, not that he wasn't a fair shot, but that he felt guns took much of the fun out of a combat.  As far as causing massive damage to scum that deserved it, he could almost love Poppy for the sentiment.  He had been taking some time to acquaint himself with the peculiarities of his modified armor and weaponry.  The nanites were not as itchy in his blood as they used to be.

"An assault?  Why didn't someone tell me?  I'd have brought Glimmermourn flowers." He was teasing and the things would have been impossible to get out here anyhow.  "Human minds, in my experience are a little slower than us who were raised being reprimanded mentally, but that can be overcome for the most part with a lot of practice."

  " well for now we are short on everything but time." Rhic chuckled as he clapped the smaller man on the shoulder." grm Elspeth and the gang are on weapos training. T'risa is looking over the big picture. I think at this point maybe some of these locals could use some remedial hand to hand training jst in case the enemy is not overcome by your tasteful floral arrangements."
  Personally I'd have went with the Willow Spire whites. Glimermourn are sort of formal for an impromptu genocide don't you think." Rhic motioned to one group of volunteers." that bunch looks like a good place to stat why don't you teach them a few Of the basic blocks and deflections, nothing fancy just the keep your ass alive stuff. I'll work on the basics of a knife with them after you get them limbered up a little."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:34, Mon 09 May 2011.

Laughing and smiling M'kira shakes her head. "If only life were so simple as to have a dating manual." She lightly claps her on the back with a twinkle in her eye. "Don't sell yourself short. I like using lots of fire power on slime that deserves it and just about everyone likes dancing."

She shakes her head with a amused look smiling at Grym, poppy, and Elsbeth. "I don't know if I should feel sorry for the poor sods here or not. It's going to be interesting training newbies proper shooting. I know Grym is going to have a very high standard. Though I am looking forward to seeing how poppy teaches." Her eyes sparkle for a moment as she imagines the entire far end of the shooting rage going up in a massive explosion. With poppy standing there saying something like. "Now that's how you shoot!"

One hand comes up to brush a bit of hair back from her ear and she speaks softly. "Maybe we should have Elsbeth do the Training?"

Elsbeth nodded to Victor, "Call sign Reaper," she noted plainly, "I would be honored to instruct the recruits along side of you.  What I lack in instruction training, I trust in the Fickle Lady Ifni, a solid bit of ingenuity, and more than a dash of pure desperation to see us through."  Her delivery was just deadpan enough to engender uncertainty in its true intent as a joke or serious statement.

As for Poppy and M'kira's discussion about relationships.  Elsbeth could say next to nothing about it.  Not that she wasn't in one; it was merely that she really had no idea how she got there.  Elsbeth probably could have suggested Trust as a good foundation, but honestly she didn't know if that only applied to some sentients or all of them - it had worked for her, but she never really knew how.  So, she figured that it was best to keep her mouth shut and ears open.  Perhaps their discussion could shed some light on what Elsbeth found to be a strange and beautiful ritual that continued to amaze and mystify her time and time again.

Plus, Elsbeth mused to herself that she was not very good at dancing - having never really been trained in it; nor did she particularly care for it.  At least, not the way that Friend Balkiir engaged in dancing.  So, Elsbeth definitely could not speak about that.

Elsbeth's brow furrowed slightly when M'kira suggested that she take the lead in the training.  While she was not immediately averse to the idea, she was quick to mentally note to herself that she had not formal training as a drill instructor, nor did she have a background that was any less cloistered (even if it was vastly different from Poppy's), nor was her training entirely orthodox or truly grunt level.  Her specialty was powered armor - which meant that her bright ideas about teaching the base regulars, might be as with all of her tactics, a bit reckless, a bit bold and, more than a little bit reliant on luck.

But, if not given a choice, she would attempt to teach.

"Well done Maran. A good commander always knows the battlefield. Those little gaps you filled in, could have caused us big problems on the day. Imagine what might have happened if a group of Marduk got behind the line. Now we know of the weakness...we can exploit it. Set a trap for their elite forces. We want to demoralise more than win outright. They have vast more numbers than we do. So our part in this is to keep them demoralised. They've already lost a big battle, and food, and they know we are stocking up on both at their expense. We could never win a stand up fight with them, so we need to strike them. Harass them, make them make mistakes. The more mistakes they make, the easier they are to exploit. This town is rapidly turning into the best defensive structure we can build on the planet. They already know...if they come here...the cost will be high. We want the Q'sa and the O'maedan's guiding them to feel fear. To know we can reach out and touch them whereever they are. They already feel it, we need to magnify it a little. The programs we're setting up for defences, mines, the upgrading of the local bots to combat models, the marksmen, the training of the citizens in weaponry, Our air defences, all of them are little pieces going to make one coherent whole. A symbol of fear for the enemy." T'risa's eyes held Marans. "I am sorry Maran, in times of war, even the young need to learn. One thing I have grown to appreciate, is that in war, anything can happen. I teach you now, so if you need to, one day you will have the appreciation for what is needed. That reminds me."

T'risa reached for comms headset.
"M'Kira, can you and...well someone who has fighter experience take ours up and harass a Q'sa patrol or two? Try to leave one survivor in each case and don't stray too far. We need some recon of what's going on around the town and especially up to where Rhic destroyed that air defence tower."

 "War? You're going to war with somebody? I got to fight too? I'm just a kid. I don't want to kill nobody!"
 She accepted the praise like a plant took in rainwater but then she heard the war part and became uneasy. She didn't know about killing people and even the thought of shooting someone turned her stomach. She wasn't even sure she could kill anybody unless her life was at stake, and even then she wasn't sure she could do it.
 "I'll try to learn stuff but I don't know if I can shoot anybody."

He looked over the group of volunteers he had been given, he cradled an assault rifle in his arms. He looked them over, he wasn't't sure if he could do right by them, but he would try. "Listen up and listen well. I don't have the time to train you like I was. The time to take a single perfect shot. Because of this I have decided to take a different tack, we will turn you into a harassment to our enemies. You will use the tactics of a two man team, hit and run, and most importantly cover your comrades back. If the cost of a shot is your partners life its too high. Now over the next few days I want to run through several exercises and combat scenarios. Who wants to go first?"

Getting the com from T'risa M'kira nods slightly guessing it was time to kick a little more Q'sa butt. "Right I am on it T'risa. Don't think there is anyone else so I will have to do it on my own. Unless you want to involve Aziza."

She shrugs her shoulders helplessly smiling at the others. "Good luck with that training. Looks like Grym's going to take the lead after all. It's good experience Elsbeth I bet you can pick up a few tricks from Grym." Looking to poppy she smiles at her friend. "Looks like I have to run. Unless you have fighter pilot experience. If you do your welcome to come along. Just remember T'risa wants us to leave at least one survivor so they can run home and tell momma. That or she might want to question em as she didn't specify."

Walking gracefully to the hanger bay most likely on the Crow she gets into her powered battle armor. Then into her fighter prepping for take off. "Almost ready to go T'risa. So you want that survivor for questioning or let them run on home to tell the tale?"

T'risa looked at Maran carefully. "I intend to fight the war, so you do not have to. You should realise, dear Maran, that none of us are invincible. We can be killed. Balkiir had a very lucky escape in our last battle, likewise the team we sent to destroy the anti air emplacement very nearly did not come back. This is war, not the nice war you read about in books where 300 people died in one place. This is the war, where every person that dies has a name. I am not invincible. I will lose sometime. When that happens, people will die, probably including myself. The war being discussed here is a genocidal one. It is us or them. My intention is to make sure it is us. Always us. If I succeed, you will never have to raise a fist in anger. If I'm unsuccessful, you will have to take over."

T'risa moved to the kitchen to prepare some tea for both her an Maran. "During the battle for this place....if it ever happens. I might need to ask you to be my assistant. You know I am a battle witch. I cannot help the entire town. So I will help those I can. What I will need you to do...is this. You'll need to keep in mental communication with all of the commanders for each section, and let me know, when they think that something bad is close to happening." she poured out two cups of hot tea "Do you think you could do that?"

She waited for Maran's response before continuing.
"See if you can reach M'Kira. Tell her that we want the survivor to run home. We're more interested in causing fear among the patrols than inflicting casualties at the moment."

 The fighter freshly fueled and rearmed sat waiting with a light touch on the control it sprang into the air tactical downloads streaming from the crow to the smaller ships on board nav system.
   Without Oriental recon, or a forward air controller M'kira was flying on her own. the rough terrain left plenty f locations for hostiles to find shelter and possible launch an ambush with shoulder fired missiles. Valkiir pilots were all trained in ground support and primitive conditions flying but seldom did they find themselves forced to return to the very basics of combat flying.
    her craft was centuries more advanced than the first wood and fabric fighter craft but she now found herself in a role any pilot of that era would have found normal alone in the sky visually hunting for targets.

In reply to T'risa K'mahda (msg #56):

 She listened to T'risa explain things a little better then nodded solemnly. Said that way, it made her feel a bit better about things. She could help others without actually killing someone unless it was desperately needed. Maybe she could just knock em out or something defensive and help her friends or the good guys by taking out an attacker or by stirring dirt up into their faces or something.
 "I will try my bestest T'risa. If I can learn how. Can I try to do stuff that don't kill too? I'll learn all you want me to if I can, but if I don't gotta, do I have to kill people?"
 She listened to her ask for her to try to contact somebody and nodded.She'd try, if she could figure out who and how.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:25, Mon 16 May 2011.

While Victor introduced himself to first batch of recruits, Elsbeth pulled the weapons and equipment aside to be distributed to them.  She began to divide and recollate the material into individual stacks: one rifle, one knife, one set of webbing, three magazines each, one canteen, one small satchel ... and so on.

The individual piles were ready once Victor finished his opening remarks and asked for volunteers.  Channelling one of her old drill instructors, Chan Liu Goethe, Elsbeth stood rather imperioulsy near the carefully laid out piles and noted in rather clipped tones, "Well, don't all volunteer at once.  But you better start lining up so that we" and she indicated Victor, herself and Poppy, "can get on with the business of making sure that you survive and our enemies, like the Q'sa, don't."  Her tone bespoke what she knew of a 'command' voice - like Elsbeth herself, a bit 'no nonsense', a bit single-minded arrogance, and more than a tad on the 'more economic' side of efficient.

She intended to give the new recruits their gear, show them some of what could be done with all of it, then show most of what they wanted them to do with it.  And then let them loose on each other and some targets for a while.  Then some recon and stealth training; which was more Victor's forte than hers.  So, perhaps a number of stations to have the recruits rotate through might be most effective:  Poppy on the target range, Elsbeth working on hand-to-hand and physical conditioning, and Victor concentrating on recon and small unit tactics.  There would have to be some overlap and joint lessons, but these recruits would need to assimilate a lot of information very quickly.

Also, Elsbeth was keen on the endurance training and conditioning. perhaps running some such, was in order.  And she had mentioned it to Grym earlier, but she knew that time was limited.  For the regular troops, and not necessarily these skirmishers that Victor was training, Elsbeth intended to include plenty of manual labor as they got to help produce some of the defensive emplacements that they were going to have to defend.  Nothing like saying to someone, 'Well, you make that hole as deep as you need it to be so that you can properly defend yourself from multiple enemies and crossfire.'  And then, of course, adding, 'Oh, and watch out for thrown grenades.  They have a nasty habit of being attracted to foxholes that are too deep.'  But that regimen could wait for the moment.

And while hand to hand skills would be covered, but Elsbeth knew that more than likely, these boys would never get to that stage in the fight.  Nor should they, as Victor had so eloquently said.  Survival was the order of the day.  Keeping everyone alive at the end of the day was the most important.  They were undermanned currently, and that meant that each loss hurt them much more than the enemy.  They need to act smart or they would quickly join the dead.  And while tactics was not her forte, Elsbeth knew that they would need to instill some semblance of unit loyalty and cohesion to their new charges.  "Mr. Grym." she intoned addressing Victor, but making it loud enough so that the rest of the unit was well aware of the conversation, "We are going to need to name this ragged group of misfits.... Or have these greenies not earned that right yet?"

Patrolling with careful attention to detail M'kira remains alert. She does her best to spot any Q'sa patrols before they spot her. Scanning carefully she looks for com chatter, Reflective surfaces, heat/energy signatures, anything that might indicate a patrol was out there.

Personally she wasn't exactly interested in shooting up the Q'sa she was more interested in completing their mission. However T'risa felt there was a need to taking out a few patrols and that's all she needed to be out here looking. Eventually she would either find something or T'risa would call her back. With any luck they would track this queen down and put a end to her. Whatever was going on she was involved deeply in it. Though she hadn't forgotten other players were making trouble.  The Marduke were running around and for some reason the Omeda were there as well. Contacting T'risa she speaks softly. "No sign of patrols yet T'risa. No contacts of any kind. By the way if I run into Marduke I will blast it as for any unfriendly Omeda out here you want me to try to take a prisoner? I figure with all the action we have seen lately there is no telling what I will find out here if anything."

He looked out over the group of men, his face as cold as when he sighted down his rifle."Let them earn that right. In the blood of their enemies they can paint that name for all to see. Now get up here grab your packs and weapons and reassemble back here." He ordered and then turned on a heel and with a nod handed over the resins to the marine. She would be their taskmaster, the demon of their training. He would stay aloof and be the ideal they strove to compare themselves to. At least that's how he hoped it would work.

Elsbeth carried her concussion rod more for effect.  Obviously, she would never actually us it on a person - at least not with an active singularity, but it was still an effective collapsible baton.   The rod snapped open, when she sensed that the recruits were a little slow on the uptake to picking up their packs.  "Move." she stated with a level of understated menace.  To ensure that she was taken seriously, before the recruits were allowed to reassemble with Victor, Elsbeth took them for a ten minute run sprint around the compound with everything they had just picked up - the crackle and snap of the concussion rod ensured a nice pace.  She told them that she expected them to sleep with much of that gear on or near their person from now on.  Her idea of conditioning consisted of ensuring that drills were carried out carrying everything they were given.  It was not that much weight necessarily, but the extra twenty or thirty pounds of gear and weapons always took its toll by the end of the day.  Intervals of running and then shooting practice or sparring - she wanted her people tired, but driven.  Elsbeth also trusted her own conditioning, despite the obvious bruises and minor scars from the previous day's battle - she ran every meter with the recruits and was willing to dig, spar, demonstrate, or shoot along side them, if necessary.

Ultimately, even though she had no children nor any real family, what Elsbeth knew that she needed to do was something that every parent grapples with.  She did not intend to be the recruits' friend, she needed to make them productive members of society - which in this case, meant a good, cohesive fighting unit.  Of course, she cared about them on a level that they likely would never understand - but, their reciprocating that care was neither required nor necessarily desired at this point.  And, like most children who survive to adulthood, only in the long run might they thank her for whatever she might have done for them.  Elsbeth knew that she only started to appreciate her makers training and instructors and her Marine drill instructors and their lessons some time well after they had been put into practice and proven time and again that they were some of the only things that kept her alive sometimes.

Elsbeth never minded playing 'bad cop' or 'taskmistress' or more accurately, 'harsh drill instructor', which to her was really more about being attentive and critical, a little callous and more than a little cruel to be kind.  Her upbringing was more than fourteen years of what the recruits were about to experience over the next couple of days.  It wasn't about sleep deprivation or rigorous routines, but she knew that repetition instilled familiarity and that pushing the recruits to (and perhaps beyond) certain limits would help them survive.  And survival was the name of the game.

Despite her genetically engineered background, Elsbeth was aware of a number of sociological studies (hell, her entire existence up to the age of 17 or so had been one of those studies).  The human condition is such that, when everything is stripped away, primal fears and instincts rise to the surface.  And in some ways, Elsbeth knew that these people needed to harness that energy, that emotion, that fear.  Her self-awareness about the nature of fear stemmed from her own personal experiences confronting and coping with such things: the accelerated learning and stilted military and bodyguard training, her time in the slave pits, and all of the time spent in Force Recon.  Whether she could effectively translate that experience to something that the others could relate to remained to be seen.

Elsbeth also knew that she, Grym and Poppy would walk a razor's edge:  only the most unstable would crack after only a couple of days of exercise and practice.  But, raw emotions were a common occurance when dealing with stress and outbursts would need to be dealt with effectively and efficiently.  Elsbeth was never really sure what the right method to effectively deal with such things might be, but tended to lead by example, her words often failed her - so, demonstrating a move or nuance or action often served her best.  That and she was never above a little corporal punishment - again, a holdover from her upbringing.  Elsbeth was not eager to call out recruits, but their aggression did need to be channeled and harnessed.  And in the compressed timeframe crucible here, sometimes a well-placed dope slap, uppercut, or even a knife scar could help to curb any insubordinate tendencies and correct even the most egregious habits.  Well, and Elsbeth was confident that anything they could dish out, she could take and return in kind.  Her size precluded most from harboring any really damaging grudges or trying anything, but there was always one or two striving to make a name for themselves - those  who had just enough previous training to make them slightly arrogant or dangerous or those that were big and naive enough to think that even a tall girl was not match for them.  Again, when push came to shove - these boys needed to be focused and ready, primed to fight.  Everyone's survival was at stake.

Many of the colonists they were given, were already somewhat combat hardened; and that was a good thing.  But that hardening, did not always translate into unit cohesion or trust in their comrades or themselves for the upcoming battle.  So, Elsbeth focused on getting them ready for those particular things.  And that meant developing and stressing teamwork and trust for their fellow recruits.  In some ways the colonists trusted each other, but not to the extent that she (and Victor or the Marshal) needed them to.  So, this is where the razor's edge came in.  Elsbeth intended to push the recruits: to learn about themselves and to trust their fellow recruits.  While, Elsbeth knew in her heart of hearts that the recruits could trust her in the heat of battle, this was not that battle yet.  Her role was not to coddle them or to nurture them, but to ensure that they could and would fight whenever and whatever was necessary.  And, ultimately, they would not be fighting side by side with her, necessarily - it was the greenies to either side of them that they need to put their lives in the hands of.

So, Elsbeth pushed her charges as much as she could.  It would not be their training that was their downfall.  Not if she could help it...

The first patrol sweep is a no go, nothing moves in the desert for kilometers in any direction a vast expanse of broken hills and rocky scrub bakes silently under the sun. Boredom is the worst encounter M'kira has as three hours of flying back and forth patterns over the empty landscape drags on.
   " Colony control to Air patrol please investigate coordinates 15-23.1 by 73-4.40. our spotters indicate movement in area. a calm voice crackled over the colonies frequency the encrypted signal having the familiar buzz common to most military broadcasts.

  as M'kira approaches the area her thermal sensors ping three high temperature sources, classifying them as civilian grade vehicle power plant.As she zooms in she spots three land rovers offloading a group of Q'sa and a second group emerging from spider holes dug in the hillside heading toward the vehicles.

---

   The training session is productive, the volunteers seem a little stunned by Elspeth's forceful and commanding presence as she takes control of the situation. The weeks of stress and physical hardship followed by a short break and time to recover has left the recruits in better physical shape than most greenies. although the lack of hard military discipline shows in the grumbling and joking from a few of them, until Elspeth cracks the whip. the Military veterans respond the est to the hardline Elspeth takes quickly settling back into a military frame of mind.
   

---

The group slated for hand to hand training is a rough group at best  brawlers, amateur athletes, and one or two martial arts enthusiasts who spend the first part of the session jaw jacking and blustering. Until deposited on the floor by someone half there size and looking more like a dancer than a fighter. the abrupt and in one case bruising introduction to O'maeda martial arts soon brings them to an attentive state.

Conrad leaves Trey to work on any repairs for the mecha's while he went to go work on T'risa's mines.  The trigger mechanism goes fairly fast but the demolitions takes a lot longer, since that area wasn't Conrad's strongest point.  Though after he gets a few finished, he went and tracked down T'risa to show her what he had made.

"Hey T'risa, here is a few mines that I've made so far.  Would you like to go test this out before I make more?"

T'risa arched an eyebrow. "Presumably you do not mean by stepping on them. I think we might need Chief Jons help on this one." T'risa reached out to communicate with the Chief "Hi Chief, our resident technical genius has repsonded to my request for a passive defense for the town and come up with land mines. I required he put an IFF coder in each mine....but we need some method of testing whether or not the mines work...do you have an old vehicle we could use? And a volunteer. The volunteer would be safe in any case. I can precog when they would be in danger, but it lets us know if the IFF system works."

" I think I can find someone I want to go jump up and down on a mine. chief Jons let out a genuine laugh at the idea, more amused by the image than anything else. " I'l send one of our mechs out. If it cant take an anti personnel mine we need to know, One of our demo techs can handle the placement if you can work out a pattern for them."

"T'risa we got something interesting going on. I have located three Land rovers offloading a group of Q'sa. A second group is emerging from spider holes dug into the hillside heading towards the vehicles. We might have a nest here. I can take out the vehicles and maybe the Q'sa before the dissapear into the spider holes. If you prefer I can leave them be so that you can send in a team. Find out what's in there? Let me know if you want me to take them out. I only have a short window here. Of course if I do open fire per your orders I will try to let at least one get away."

T'risa responded quickly. "Destroy the vehicles and entrance ways. Make it very noticeable we know where they are. If you have bombs use them. We're not going to go into tunnels after the Q'sa. They would annihilate us. If however we know where they are massing up.....hold on."

T'risa raised her face looking at Conrad. "Conrad. I need another touch of your genius. I need you to make a powerful bomb, that can bury through ground, detect nearby lifeforms of Q'sa dimensions and detonate, hopefully collapsing tunnels and causing a lot of devastation. The bomb would need to be transportable by M'Kira's fighter, or if you can make more than one, we could fashion some kind of bomb bay on the Crow. Do you think you could do that?"

"I'm discussing a way to turn your fighter into a bomber to pay a visit to the location at a future date. Mark the location and return to base. We want to catch them by surprise. Leave the vehicles and soldiers alone."

Responding to T'risa's mental communication of her wishes M'kira was maneuvering for her attack run. Her finger ready to pull the trigger then she suddenly moves her finger away. Pulling out she speaks softly even though she knows T'risa can hear her thoughts. "Roger that. Returning to base. I look forward to seeing your plan come to fruition. It's probably going to have to be a bomber bay on the Crow. My fighters not designed for bombs. Then again who knows what wonders Conrad and Trey might come up with. Personally I wouldn't mind a more powerful fighter. I like being fast and maneuverable but having armor and better weapons won't make me cry either."

She grins at the thought of getting her hands on a really sweet fighter to complete mission in. Just flying it would be a joy!

Conrad just stares at T'risa almost blankly.  "You know... demolitions really isnt my thing.  I damn near killed myself just making a few mines.  But, I can go see if Trey is good at not blowing himself up.  I'll go see what I can do.  Why cant you just ask for a gun..."  Conrad gives her a nod and heads off to find Trey to see if he could lend Conrad a hand in making a super nuker.

"I can talk to the chief. They might have some commercial grade explosives we can use, or a budding chemist that might be able to help." T'risa looked distant "Chief....you have anyone skilled in explosives? We need to plany a bomb at a Q'sa outpost nearby and Conrad can come up with a delivery mechanism, but we need someone to make a powerful explosive to fill the shell and work with Conrad....and the sooner the better."

He took a group of trainees off to the side and began working them through exercises on skirmish fighting and quick target sighting.

" I have a few mining engineers who know thier way around a seismic charge, and a chemist or two who could probably cook up some weapons grade explosives out to the industrial stuff we have here at the camp. Jons replied after a moment." But we're talking maybe a hundred kilos at best. Nothing in the bunker buster range, unless you take apart one of the warheads from the ship killers.

(training Group)

  The recruits show some promise by the end of the day, handling their weapons and executing their orders with more skill and coordination. there is still much work to be done with the nearly raw troopers but the few experienced soldiers show the potential to be solid squad leaders for the new force.

   As the teams break up for the day,the smell of dinner fills the halls of the ship, a rich hearty stew, fresh bread and more of the looted fruit stands ready in the galley to handle anyones appetite. Balkiir looking over the table with a nod of satisfaction as he sets out the center piece fresh apple pie.

---

(defense Group)

Conrad's claymores test well, no one looses any fingers or other valuable body parts, and the colonies Mech shrugs off one test blast with little more than suffed pain and a startled pilot. using the detailed map put together earlier mines can be placed in key locations the next day to prevent any univited guests om reaching the walls without heavy losses.
   M'kira can finish her patrols having marked the spider holes and avoided detection without incident while plans for a new heavy bomb ae put together.

(training Group)

  The recruits show some promise by the end of the day, handling their weapons and executing their orders with more skill and coordination. there is still much work to be done with the nearly raw troopers but the few experienced soldiers show the potential to be solid squad leaders for the new force.

   As the teams break up for the day,the smell of dinner fills the halls of the ship, a rich hearty stew, fresh bread and more of the looted fruit stands ready in the galley to handle anyones appetite. Balkiir looking over the table with a nod of satisfaction as he sets out the center piece fresh apple pie.

---

(defense Group)

Conrad's claymores test well, no one looses any fingers or other valuable body parts, and the colonies Mech shrugs off one test blast with little more than suffed pain and a startled pilot. using the detailed map put together earlier mines can be placed in key locations the next day to prevent any univited guests om reaching the walls without heavy losses.
   M'kira can finish her patrols having marked the spider holes and avoided detection without incident while plans for a new heavy bomb ae put together.

Finishing her patrol M'kira returns to base happy to land so that she could get out of the cockpit and stretch her legs. Slipping out of her fighter she arches her back with her hands locked together over her head. Walking gracefully towards the cafeteria she plans on getting something to nibble on. That was a high metabolism for you! No doubt Balkir's stomach was probably growling particularly with the nanites busily healing and reconstructing his damaged legs.

She keeps an eye out for others of her group feeling like chatting with someone at least for a little while. She gets herself a bit of pie after all she enjoys god food as well. Nibbling on it she wonders if they perchance might have vanilla ice cream available. It makes a good combo with apple pie! "Hi everyone! I wonder if there is any Vanilla ice cream available. It's pretty good with apple pie. If the outpost doesn't have any I wonder if Aziza's crow is able to produce it."

The benefits of hi tech levels was the ability to produce things almost no matter where you were. Course there was no gurantee!

Elsbeth tried to keep the various groups of recruits on their toes throughout the day.  She made some quick decisions about which ones showed leadership promise (mostly some of those ex-military types) and which had potential for Grym.  She worked with Victor to repeat the 'harsh drill instructor, aloof drill instructor' routine with numerous sets of recruits.  She assigned squad leaders and worked on assessment and drill as well as starting in on getting emplacements shored up.

As the work on the defenses started to take shape and they had separated a group for Victor to start to work with extensively, Elsbeth began to float from group to group to ensure that they kept themselves busy.  Her motto was 'no idle hands' and that meant keeping everyone busy by hook or crook.  And that included herself, she was willing and able to help dig ditches or erect barriers, spar, shoot on the range, and then chase and yell at recruits as necessary.  Elsbeth invited Poppy along so that their charges might have some eye candy along the way.  That and they might learn a thing or two about getting their asses kicked by someone that was amazingly attractive.  She figured it was a wonderfully ironic statement on either 'Beauty and the Beast' or that 'Appearances can be Deceptive'.  Or both, at the same time.

By the end of the day, she was reasonably satisfied with the progress that had been made with personnel and with the camp defenses.  Everything may not be done and there was plenty more to do, but neither the Alliance nor the Empire had been built in a day.

Before heading off to eat, Elsbeth reported to T'risa about the progress of the recruits.  She didn't do it in person, assuming that the Marshal was busy and moving about the compound as she was.  Over the mental link she noted, Marshal, I've finished drilling and sent the various groups of recruits home.  They are due to report back early tomorrow.  If now is convenient, I can give you a preliminary assessment...  She proceeded to list the numbers of personnel available and her observations of their qualities, including amount of previous service, that seemed to be present.  Elsbeth outlined what equipment and training had been distributed and which and how many people had been alloted to each station and also to Victor.  She meticulously outlined any standouts and glaring deficiencies that found, anything that the Marshal might need to know about the people themselves or that she might need to bring up with the Operations Chief.  Then she outlined a summary of the progress that had been made on any defenses.  She also gave her assessment of when and where they we would need to focus more effort on personnel and emplacements over the next day or two.  When she was done, Elsbeth wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, blew and errant lock of hair from in front of her face, and then let out a physical and mental sigh.  Given report was almost harder than the actual work; she ended with, I believe that is all, Ma'am.  Unless you have any additional questions or if you need anything else done this evening, I'll report to the mess hall...

After finishing any other required chores and getting freshened up slightly, Elsbeth moved to the mess to eat with the others.  She smiled weakly as she sat down next to Balkiir - not physically, but mentally tired.  His presence was comforting, making all of the grime and toil of the day seemed worth it at that moment.  She had been on edge all day and not really known it or why; she only knew that it was required for her to get the recruit training that she was alloted done.  But given a chance to take a break from that - her mind was a bit void and Elsbeth welcomed the thoughts of the large Valkiir man intruding in on that empty space.  Every so often, between mouthfuls of stew, she gave Balkiir's hand a squeeze.

And when the apple pie was served, she was quite surprised at the flavors.  It was a far cry from the hard tack and reconstituted messes that she had grown accustomed to on previous missions.  There had been cobblers and such before, but those were always sloppy with an imbalance of spice.  Here the cinnamon tickled her nose and the crunch was just so.  Elsbeth smiled appreciatively to the cook and gave him a wink and an approving nod.  She'd thank him for the meal more later.

T'risa nodded with satisfaction as the latest status updates came across her computer. They'd made significant progress since they'd started. Of particular note was the plans progressing for the delivery of the underground bomb. That was a particular piece of luck. She wondered if her subconscious mind was tapping into her precognition and sending people to do certain tasks that would benefit all without her conscious knowledge. Destroying a supply depot or staging area for the Q'sa would cause the enemy significant setbacks. She wondered if the Q'sa already had a nickname for her and the team.

"Thanks Chief, the extra expertise you sent our way, really helped out. Sorry for the short notice, but it was actionable intelligence. We might catch the Q'sa napping and cause them a whole bunch of problems if we can exploit it soon."

T'risa clipped the computer shut.

"Good progress has been made by all. I'd like to stage the dreadnought expedition in two days. I know it's not a lot of time. Elsbeth and Victor, concentrate on training efforts. Conrad, we need the bomb as soon as possible. After that do some design work for the droids here to be upgraded to combat status, then see me. Pull Tiny, Poppy and Trey in for assistance. Balkiir, you and Rhic work on fortifications for the town. M'Kira, we still need some patrol flying to gather intel. We still don't have space superiority regardless of what the imperial Navy think, so keep an eye on the town approaches and strafe any passing enemy patrols. Aziza keep repairing the Crow and the spare fighter we have."

Enjoying her apple pie quite a bit she simple nods to T'risa's statement with a contented happy look. She enjoyed the food and she would enjoy flying! "T'risa have some apple pie before it's all gone. It's really good!"

   " Now everyone eat till you're full." Balkiir returned Elspeth's smile with a broad satisfied smile as she dug into the meal. Setting down beside her grumbling as he worked one leg into place and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and massaged her neck with his free hand fingers finding the tense muscles with supernatural accuracy.
   with his other hand he ate a healthy portion of his own cooking pausing to taste a mouthful of pie critically made a slight Hmmm. and hppd up and returned with a container of ice cream and whipped cream.
   " I was taking a look at your 'boots'." he commented absently"Glad they are motivated, I don't think they would survive gunny H'nahn for a week if it wasn't a no way out situation."

He had spent a grueling day training his new recruits. He had made notes that showed the greatest promise. He would lean on them the hardest, but they would also be the core of his force. After several hours of drill and training he released them to their respite and went searching for the others.

He entered the mess hall cracking his neck from the stress of training. He gave a nod to the others and a slight smile to Elsbeth. "You did good today, better than I could have asked for. What are your thoughts as of the end of the first day? What can we do to make the training better, make our guys sharper?"

A crooked smile to the large Valkiir man, "Their motivation is born of pure desperation.  Something that I cannot instill in them, only reinforce with my actions... and my concussion rod." the tall marine noted quietly.

Elsbeth nodded to Victor as he entered.  When prompted, she scratched her head, which had the effect of messing up what was already a fairly unruly mess of brown hair.  "I scarcely know what to do with them from moment to moment," she noted with a weak smile, "Victor Grym.  Planning ahead, is a novel idea."

"But," she nodded thoughtfully as she gave Balkiir's hand another squeeze, "such foresight, is the mark of a good trainer and training regimen."  Elsbeth paused for a moment, as she thought back to her own basic training - it was not so long ago, but seemed distant in many ways.  But, basic was nothing really - her earlier Praetorian and gladiatorial training on Enchoa Rhi with all that they entailed had more than prepared her for anything that the Colonial Marine Corps might throw at her.  Elsbeth's rather strange upbringing meant that the drill instructors had to come up with some rather novel ways of depriving this particular recruit of any expected creature comforts.  Not that they didn't try - nor were they overly successful with her.

Elsbeth cocked her head to one side, "I suspect given the compressed timeframe... that our options are limited."  She shrugged slightly, "It seemed to me that Basic was about deriving two main things for raw recruits.  Determining limits and instincts, physical and mental, and instilling loyalty to the Corps and to each other."  She glanced at about the room, "Of the two, I think that we will be more successful, reinforcing the latter than the former.  Help them form a cohesive unit and trust in themselves and each other.  To do so, we will need to direct their energies likely through, the limited training, tactics, and conditioning that they will have to be given.  My experience is that when given something to believe in - even something as short-term as just survival - the body can be pushed to do many extraordinary things."  Elsbeth pursed her lips for a moment, "We only have a couple of days to instill the belief that they can win."

"And, unfortunately," she added quickly - slight shadow crossed her expression, "the sword cuts both ways.  Fatalistic psychology and flagging morale can also destroy strength just as easily ... if not easier."  Elsbeth spoke with a particular vehemence, one that seemingly belied some personal experience, likely.

M'kira laughs and smiles lightly punching Balkiir in the arm. One of the few places she was sure it wouldn't hurt him. "You don't have to worry about me. I will be delighted to enjoy your cooking."

She nibbles on her apple pie eagerly her honey hued eyes flicking to various people when they speak.  She also gets some of the ice cream not wanting to miss out on that sweet delicacy. Listening to Victor talking business M'kira waits to see what Elsbeth has to say. She had been out on patrol in her fighter so for the most part she didn't have the chance to observe any of the training.

"Maybe Balkiir can have a little fun helping with the moral issues. Maybe even the training. His legs might not be one hundred percent but there's nothing wrong with the rest of him. I bet he can help to keep them thinking on a positive note." She gives Balkiir a smile that was famous for the Valkir appeal. They had a reputation when it came to this sort of thing and it's a good one!

  I can come up with a few tricks My old Gunny used when we forgot we were supposed to be on the same side." Balkiir Nodded smiling fondly. He used to have an old wooden post, when he thought we needed to work on playing on the same side he'd give it to the squad, till he gave us the word it's couldn't touch the ground and someone always had to be holding it. Damn thing was heavy, took some thinking and some team work to get our work done and keep the damn thing off the ground.

Elsbeth chuckled slightly at Balkiir's suggestion.  "Is good." she remarked with a curt nod, referring to both his suggestion and his cooking seemingly.

"All I could think of," the gen-engineered Praetorian continued, "was putting them under at tarp and beating them...."  She glanced about at the others in the mess hall, then shrugged slightly apologetically, "I didn't say it was a good idea...." Elsbeth left out the part where she had some personal experience with being on the receiving end of such tactics - and look how she had turned out.  Though, that was a long time ago, way before the Colonial Marines.

"Actually," she noted distantly, as the Marine rubbed her chin, "my FR instructors were fond of dropping the squad in the middle of nowhere with our skivvies and our knives and letting us make our way back to base camp."  She fondly recalled coming back to camp in style once, her squad had happened upon a ten point buck.  Coming into camp wearing the skin alone had been worth it.  Then Elsbeth shrugged, "time limits were unnecessary back then - though the longer it took you, the less likely you were to make it back in one piece.  Hmmm ... Probably not the most appropriate exercise here."  Another shrug between mouthfuls of apple pie.

M'kira laughs and smiles having heard their ideas on how to improve moral. "Well that will certainly help to build a bond between them. It also emphasizes teamwork through hardship. Though I was also hopping to cheer them up a little as well. Thank you I appreciate your ideas. The pole idea is definitely implimentable. I also agree your idea Elsbeth has some risks. With the enemy out there and no idea when they will be back the risks would be to great." Still enjoying her desert her Valkir metabolism had her getting a second helping!
This message was last edited by the player at 02:34, Thu 07 July 2011.

"The blanket party...not the most inspired form of team building." Rhic cpoke up as he snagged a slice of apple pie."Nothing beuilds morale like a win, right now your guys are the second string. They know your the top dogs. As long as you guys are the ones kicking asss they are just the reserves."

   "If they could score a win that'd go a long way to getting their morale up." Rhic glanced toward the direction of the Q'sa firces." if we could spot a snall force and get the locals in position to ambush them it'd be a good way to test their fangs.

Elsbeth nodded slowly as Rhic spoke.  She couldn't say more about her experiences with Blanket Party Morale^TM; at least, not in semi-public forum like this.

But Rhic's idea of morale boosting ambush seemed to have merit.  She ventured tentatively, "A victory would be good."  The bio-engineered marine waggled her spoon, "if we could find the right venue.... but," and she paused for effect, "but, guaranteed victories are hard to come by in this day and age."  Elsbeth shrugged briefly before she continued to brainstorm.

"Gunnery Sergeant." Elsbeth glanced at M'kira, prompting her "Did you see anything during your recon sweep that might be a good target?"  She rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment, before continuing, "And do you think that the Marshal would clear us for a simple, if anything of that sort can be simple, 'In and Out' Op of that nature?"

"Well we could keep picking away at the bugs looking for this queen that seems to largely be behind the mess. If we are lucky maybe we can get the marduke to fight her. Think about it they obviously want something here and the queen obviously isn't friendly with them. At least I don't see how since they seem to hate anything biological. While they fight we could do some discrete surgical strikes to actually get something big done. Maybe even figure out exactly what it is everyone seems to be gathering here for."

She knew it might not be possible but hey maybe they would do it on their own and all they had to do was time things right. "Anyway it's just a thought. T'risa said she wants to stage the dreadnought expedition. When she brought it up she said in two days. I think that's a good start so lets plan on doing that."

"Well if we turn patrols and security over to the grunts that'll make it easier for us to get some of the bigger jobs done. Balkiir nodded as he ate and talked in turns." If the folks around here start seeing their own people as the ones holding the line then the grunt will start picking up on it."

  So we go find that dreadnought and let the recruits have a few days holding the fort."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:51, Wed 20 July 2011.

T'risa spoke "It's still unlikely they'll make a move against the town in the short term. It'll take a while before they determine what to do with us. When M'Kira drops the bomb on one of their forward bases, that will wake them up and more so after we go to the site of the crashed dreadnought. Leaving our teams here in charge of security will show them we have confidence in them. We also borrowed some in our victory in recovering the starship. Elsbeth, go pick out 3 or 4 candidates from your team to go with us. It might be handy in case we run into anything untoward and it shows our confidence in their abilities, also lets us see them under stress and pick the ones we'll need to lead the others."

M'kira grins at Balkir a sparkle in her honey hued eyes as she speaks. "That's our Balkir always ready to go. Even if he's got nanites making him all itchy."

She listens to T'risa nodding slightly with a determined look. "I am ready to go anytime. Looking forward to what we find on this dreadnought. Aside from information I best there's some choice salvage to boot. If we are going to see heavy combat I could use a fighter that's got a bit more teeth and can take a beating if I do get hit. Wishful thinking I know at the moment but you never know."

   "I'm always game for a fight." Balkiir smiled and chuckled as his hand massaged Elevenths neck slightly.Or a tickle. he whispered to Elizabeth's mind.  " I think that bunch of Roughnecks your training are up to holding the fort, and I can walk just don't ask me to dance."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:47, Wed 20 July 2011.

   quick Recap

Elisabeth, And Grim Have spent time Preparing a group of Grunt to take over the defense of the compound drilling them in marksmanship, small unit tactics and teamwork. While they were busy with a crash course in being a grunt Leo and Rhic were giving some of the less military types training in hand to hand combat and wrestling in hopes of giving them a bit ore of a chance if the worst case scenario unfolded and the enemy got into the compound.

   While Helping Balkiir in the kitchen and around the ship Maran has time to begin a few basic lessons in focusing and sensing the thoughts of others, as well as a few pointers from T'risa on hat was going on and what was planned for the next few days. While far from ready to try her hand at reading peoples minds some of the confusing and disturbing whispers and noises have faded to the point she can easily block them out.

  T'risa has had time to develop a solid defense plan, and integrate Conrad's explosives and Maran's insights into the terrain into her defense plan. Her final product is far from perfect but it s solid enough to hold off anything but a full out assault by the combined Q'sa and Marduk forces.

 M'kira has continued her patrols and marked several likely Q'sa assembly areas and hiding places near the camp for future assault when the bombs and modifications to the second fighter to turn it into a bomber are complete. The process of converting fuel and mining explosives into a military grade weapon are slow and tedious but proving fruitful.


 The crew enjoys a meal together in the afternoon, tend to their on duties and equipment and retire for the night. With the addition of the local grunts and the heavy weapons supplied by their raids the need to constantly be on alert is lessened allowing everyone to get a good nights sleep before the planned excursion to the dreadnought.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:35, Mon 01 Aug 2011.

She waits for everyone to get together so they could go on the next mission. Pouring herself a drink M'kira checks the time. She had a feeling T'risa would be up and about getting things organized.

She coms Elsbeth, Poppy, Rhictor, Balkir, Victor, Tiny, Conrad and anyone else relevant to recent ops. "Good morning everyone. We should gather together and begin preparations for the op to explore the crashed dreadnought. I have a feeling T'risa is going to be looking for us soon. Maran can come at least to the meeting if she wants. I am not sure about her going to the dreadnought though without clearing it with T'risa first."

Elsbeth's head shifted slightly when her comm went off with a slight ping.  She relished the smell and touch of the body next to her and slowly disentangled herself from the sheets and Balkiir's sleeping form.  After reviewing M'kira's voice message, Elsbeth sat on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes for a brief moment to focus and center herself.  Then she turned to regard the large blue figure next to her.  She smiled slightly as her eyes wandered up and down the silhouette of the sheets.  Elsbeth placed her hands gently on Balkiir's chest.  Then she shifted her own weight and position on the bed and moved her hands up to his shoulders.  She started to gently massage his shoulders and neck, and then she leaned down putting her lips to his ear, speaking quietly, "Wake up, Friend Balkiir."

When he began to stir, Elsbeth continued the massage for another minute or two, but then got out of bed and started to pull her clothing on.  She squeezed Balkiir's hand, "Honor, Duty, and our Enemies call."  She added with a slight curl in her lips, as she cinched her belt and started to pull on her webbing, "Gunnery Sergeant T'shal and the Marshal have called for muster.  The fallen dreadnought awaits us."

She then stood and strapped on the blade that Balkiir had given her to her left thigh.  Once Elsbeth had finished dressing herself, she ensured that Balkiir was taken care of as well.  He may be reasonably mobile and he appeared to heal incredibly fast.  But the man still needed help tying his boot laces.

  Morning friend Elspeth. Balkiir's eyes opened, and he turned to face Elisabeth kissing her lips Lightly as a broad content smile beamed on the big mans face. He watched her dress for a moment before levering himself out of bed and standing on his leg with an open look of discomfort then his expression changed to a confident easy smile, the moment of pain for Elspeth's eyes only.
   Moving around in the small cabin was tricky his broad tall and thick build making it impossible to get showered and dressed without bumping into Elspeth or some fixture.  "A Bigger bedroom is definitely on the list."

   "If the enemy is in a hurry to die for god and queen, by all means let us oblige." He joked lightly as he strapped on his own blade and pistol.Thin we should give them a few minutes to get their affairs in order, while I fix breakfast? I got a million or so nanites eating me out of house and home."

Elsbeth watched Balkiir's grimace rather stoically, though she did purse her lips ever so slightly.  She knew that pain was part of Life and that it helped to inform the recipient that they were both in need of attention and yet still very much alive.  Elsbeth moved to steady the large blue Valkiir offering her arm and shoulder.  Even she knew that the questions of "Are you all right?" and "Does it hurt?" were rather inane and self-evident; and so, she kept her mouth shut and had the wherewithal to not ask it - though she did not have the wherewithal to ask or say anything else, either.  But, she did make eye contact with him and let it linger for a long moment.

Over the empathic link that she and Balkiir shared, Elsbeth could sense the pain for a moment and she understood his frustration and his determination all at once.  The mix was strangely intoxicating and she merely nodded as she helped Balkiir get dressed.  It was foreign territory for Elsbeth to care for someone in a way which she questioned the necessity of pain. She had never done so for any of her charges, nor for her clutch-mates, nor for any other companions.  But, Balkiir was not merely a companion.  And all that the CMC Marine could do was try to maintain her quiet demeanor of support and comfort.

Elsbeth agreed to breakfast, "We need not hasten to engage those enemies that we intend to send to Death.  They can wait for the time of our choosing."  She added with a slight smile, though her tone was completely deadpan, "Besides, my CMC instructors were always quite adamant, that whenever possible, one should never engage the enemy on an empty stomach."  She glanced up at Balkiir as they started off towards the common room of the Crow.

T'risa was reviewing the last information they got from M'kira's patrols, marking the locations of the Q'sa hives that they suspected on her maps. She intended to analyse the results and suggest a few more locations for M'kira to investigate on their return from the dreadnought. T'risa was confident that a scientific investigation of the dreadnought would give them many more clues as to the nature of the former civilisation on the planet and perhaps...an edge against their foes.

She ran over the sensor footage of the Crow as they arrived on planet, looking for weak spots in the dreadnought. Her ultimate hope that they could recover one or more of these vessels themselves. With a survey of the crashed dreadnought they might have some clue as to who made it...and how to operate it.

She opened another window, with her agenda for this expedition. Enemy strength at the site was unknown, and the opposition could tell her a great deal about the enemy. If resistance was light, then they clearly had another dreadnought close to lift. If it was heavy then they were planning to rebuild or salvage the downed dreadnought, which implied they had few left over.

T'risa bit her lip....that barren starport was the key. She was sure that the dreadnought had been uncovered there....but no use remained in pondering. T'risa left the bridge for the common area.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:44, Thu 04 Aug 2011.

Conrad awakens in the morning and goes about his usual morning routine.  He doesnt get too far into his morning duties without checking in on the status of the mission and any last minute briefings.  Before heading over to the mess hall, he gives Tiny some last minute instructions to start prepping the mech's and then wonders off to find the others and grab some breakfast.

He woke, the silent stillness of his sleep quickly fading to the depth's of his subconscious. His eyes stared up at the ceiling as the last vestiges of peace left him, awake, wired, and deadly. He got up donning his uniform and belt. His pistol slung low on his leg and a knife in his boot. He quickly checked the operational use of both the rifles he now had. The large sniper rifle that was kept in perfect order, ready to take that lethal shot at a moments notice, and the assault rifle he had taken for training use, battered and scared but treated with the same attention to detail as the larger gun.

He readied his equipment, he could feel it in the air. They would be going back out there soon. Into the lion's teeth to seize another victory and hopefully hold back the darkness from this place for a bit longer.

M'kira serves breakfast which is a interesting Valkir creation of tasty and yummy food. Needless to say there is plenty of it. More then likely there would be leftovers since not everyone there has the Valkir appetite fueled by their higher metabolism.

Once people arrive... "Good morning everyone. Enjoy breakfast it might be a little while before we get something better then MRE's. Dreadnoughts are pretty big so it's going to take time. We also might have to contend with hostile enemy crew that survived being shot down."

"That and anyone else on the planet that might be scrambling to salvage the valuable intel and raw materials that Dreadnought represents. Who knows someone might even try to fix it and get it space worthy. Between the Marduke, Q'sa, Certain Omeda clans, and the abomination it's bound to be crawling with something. Be on your toes while we are in there. We are going to get whatever intel we can. I suspect we will also do a bit of salvage while we are there. Resources are scarce and we might be on our own for a while depending on circumstances That said dig in daylight is burning."

M'kira starts to eat smiling warmly at T'risa should she be there.

 She came dragging in yawning sleepily and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She heard the remarks and looked around to see who all was in before trying to decide what she wanted to do. Right now, she just wanted a cup of hot tea and a decent breakfast. She was still reveling in the decent food after weeks of processed survival rations.
 "Hey, what's for breakfast?"

He poured a cup of coffee,drinking it black he sat at the table and started digging in to the grub. He knew that while he didn't have the same metabolism as some of the others, he was a career soldier, you ate when you got the chance. After serving  his plate he dug in a bit, giving a nod to the cook.

"And what do you think about the mission? I am figuring depending on the landscape you are going to need eyes watching your egress. I can find a perch somewhere and provide overwatch. At least you wont be caught with your pants around your ankles if someone else decides to come a knocking at the same time as we do."

"Well you know all those fruit we got off the Q'sa? I made blueberry and strawberry pancakes or waffles depending on your preference. Lavishly topped with more fruit some is inside it. We have fruit smoothies as a delightful drink/desert. I made scrambled eggs some with cheese some without if your not a cheese lover. I can make a custom omlet if someone is interested in something fancy with lots of ingredients."

"We have bacon for bacon lovers that can't do without. We have English style muffins with raisons and a hint of cinnamon can be added if you like that. For light eaters I can also produce french style Crepe's. Now the crepe's aren't ready if you want that but it won't take long to make them. For drinks we have water, strawberry lemonade, one of my personal favorites. Apple juice or orange juice on request. Like I said we have a ton of fruit might as well take advantage of it. Heck if you like we can add banana's to your pancakes if you like. We have syrup or honey if you prefer. Though I don't know how long some of the nicer things are going to last since we are stuck on this planet. Good thing the crow is capable of carrying a good bit of cargo!"

M'kira smiles looking happy at the moment and social as ever. She was wearing a I am the chef apron for fun. It might be hers she might have borrowed Balkir's if he has one. Who knows! "So where is poppy? She might not eat breakfast but im sure she needs social time just like anyone else." She gives Victor a nod and a smile. "Always a welcome thing your support Grym. Heck Conrad could put a eye in the sky remote drone. That or Aziza could but I think that might be dangerous if something gets her whiskers in a bind."

  Poppy's is tired. Poppy came into the galley looking frazzled with spatters of lubricant, on her clothes and smelling like she had been standing next to an arc welder for a week. I had to stop by and give a package to tiny, something the local Prometheans cooked up, I was out in the camp machine shop all night, boy those guys Like you fellas..... Me and pop have the same core so they had me trying things on all night... not really my style but it fits pretty good...low interface delay, not to shabby on the chassis...and it looks pretty good.well for something they threw together out of spare parts and some creative machining....would have told Conrad about it but didn't want to ruin the surprise.I mean you know how guys are no sense of the dramatic...they just rush in and bam no build up, no teasing... it's just bam...how do you like it."
   She sat down took a few pancakes and slathered them with fruit and began to dig in savoring each bite.to everyone's surprise she shut up and simply moved the food around in her mouth chewing slowly and give a satisfied smile.

He gave Poppy a nod as she entered, noting her unusually few words. He slid a cup of coffee over to her. His own silent way of giving her some support.

OOoo coffeeeee. Poppy smiled and took the coffee and washed down a bite of pancakes.Smiling at Grym and grinning as she drank it down.

M'kira gives poppy a look of sympathy at how obviously tired she is. Gently she rests a hand on her arm with a gentle supportive touch. "Maybe after breakfast you should get some rest. Honestly im not entirely sure I follow everything you said. If my guess is right though you got some upgrades poppy? I don't know how long we can delay but you should be rested for the mission. Course if you want to go as is I won't argue."

She grins thinking poppy could probably use a shower too. Although she has enough tact and delicacy not to bring it up. Out here and just about anywhere where someone has a hard day or in this case night would get like that. Including herself which she didn't overlook. Nibbling at her own food she was happy to be amongst friends.

 Her eyes go wide open at the mention of all that food, but they really lit up at the mention of fruit. She loved fruit and hadn't had any good fresh fruit in quite a long time! She loved pancakes and waffles and especially fruit filled crepes topped with fresh fruits and fruit syrups with whipped cream, but she didn't want to be a bother.
"Oh! I LOVE fruit! I like strawberries and raspberries and blackberries and blueberries and currants and nectarines and clementines and yellow apples and peaches and pears and red gooseberries and kiwis and mango and gee, I like just about any kind of fruit, even fresh vine ripened tomatoes! I remember we used to go to IHOP and get strawberry stuffed crepes topped with strawberries and strawberry syrup and whipped cream! Man, those sure were delicious, and a special treat we shared on special days!"
 She looked at the drinks and decided she'd have strawberry lemonade so she sat down and poured a bit of the chilled frothy drink in a glass. She took a sip of the sweet and tart drink, ending up with a slight foamy mustache, nodding at the deliciousness of the drink.
"YUM!"

   Sun Runner bounded over from where he had been in sleep cycle, laying on the mat near the door, guarding her even while inactive.  Now he licked her face repeatedly, then sat back on his haunches and gave her a big wolfish grin, his tail swishing frantically from side to side.
   "Good morning, Maran.  You slept a good long while, I hope it was restful." He followed her as she attended to her breakfast then sat down beside her while she enjoyed it.

  star strolled into he dining hall and swished around Maran's ankles before leaping up into T'risa's lap settling in with a satisfied purr and looking up sniffing at the meal and waiting licking her lips at the smell of the heavy cream on the strawberries.

Laughing and smiling at Maran's enthusiasm M'kira gives her a dazzling smile. "Fruit Crepe's coming right up then. I don't mind a special order especially if it brings up happy memories."

In short order she produces three of them exactly to Maran's desire. Loaded with the fruit she wants and cooked to crepe perfection. "Here you go enjoy. I see you like strawberry lemonade as well. Good choice!"

She smiles and waves at Sun runner looking curious for a moment. "So... does Sun Runner eat? I am sure we can provide something if your guardian is hungry." Seeing Bright star licking her lips it wasn't hard to figure out what a cat might want. She wasn't absolutely sure, however M'kira took a guess. "You want some heavy cream don't you."

Pouring a bowl for Bright star she sets it within easy reach of the cat. By default it would be close to T'risa as well. "Here you go. If it's something else your after let me know. I will be happy to get it for you."

A woman in the kitchen, oh lord we're doomed.> Balkiir teased as he made his way tot he table pulling out a chair for Elspeth and then setting down. Giving Elspeth a wink to let her know he was kidding ith M'kira." If ya loose a finger reaching for something It's not my fault He warned playfully and claimed a stack of pancakes and berries to go on them. " I got these nanites screaming for food so watch where ya putting anything you don't want eaten."

 She laughed as Sun licked her face like a regular dog, and hugged him close. When Star joined them she gave her a scritch under her chin then smiled as she joined her other new friend for a bit of lap time. When the food appeared, she went into thoes of delight at the wonderful smell, the fantastic taste, and got tears in her eyes as it all brought happy memories. This too was a special time with her new companions, her new family. They were her new family, as close now as she would get. It didn't matter if they were related if they cared about you and you cared about them. She slipped Sun a bite of crepe just as she would have at home if they'd had a dog there.
"Wow, this is GOOD! Mmmmmmmmm." She couldn't talk after that with her mouth full of hot steamy goodness!

Elsbeth raised an eyebrow at Balkiir's statement about women in the kitchen, but maintained silence.  When he winked at her, she merely shook her head with a crooked smile playing on her lips.  Elsbeth was tempted to test Balkiir's assertion about finger biting, but decided that could wait until later.  Besides, she wanted her fingers for the time being - relearning fighting grips and grappling techniques with a different number of fingers was not on her agenda for the morning.  And actually, she discovered that the big man continued to eat well past the point that she was hungry.  So, while she polished off a fair amount of food herself, Elsbeth became fascinated at just how much the big, blue man was able to eat.  She continued to pile additional pancakes on his plate (using the large serving fork, of course, ensure that the metal serving implement was sacrificed in lieu of any digits or limbs in the feeding frenzy) as the previous offerings disappeared.

It did help that Balkiir while attentive in eating, did appear to have the desire to chat a fair bit.  How the big man continued to talk while eating amazed Elsbeth - mostly, the tall marine found that she just need to continue to nod and smile in support to him - or, at least, follow the emotional cues from the link they shared.  This allowed her time to concoct the next round of food to see what he would eat.  She nodded approvingly in M'kira's direction as she forked three more waffles onto Balkiir's plate.  And then she gave Maran and her appreciative statements for the food and its taste, a thumbs up - as more bananas, berries and bacon somehow made their way onto the stack of waffles.

Elsbeth started experimenting with placing different condiments and varying amounts of 'stuff' on growing piles of carbohydrate infrastructure:  more syrup and less strawberries on this stack of pancakes ... more raspberries and blueberries on this stack of waffles ... bacon and eggs between two pancakes ... six pieces of french toast with plenty of butter and syrup ... powdered sugar and syrup on cheese omelet with a bacon and waffle chaser.  The list, like Balkiir's appetite, seemed pretty much endless.  She started to envision each little nanite being feed individually by the various breakfast foods that were being consumed.  Elsbeth also wondered if the individual nanites had preferences and dislikes just as they did.  Perhaps some of them preferred french toast more than bacon or pancakes?  Even though it was a foolish conceit, a faint smile was brought to her lips by the thoughts of the tiny nanites fighting like pigeons over the scraps of food that were being consumed.

And, of course, that small mental diversion did not prevent Elsbeth from piling another helping of cheese and bacon on a banana nut a stack of waffles onto Balkiir's plate.  She smiled sweetly at Balkiir, batting her eyelashes (she'd seen Lucy do it an old I Love Lucy re-run, so she figured it must be the right thing to do in this case) as she reached with her left hand to grab the syrup bottle to dress another growing pile of food on her companion's plate...

M'kira laughs watching Maran enjoy the food with a twinkle in her eye. The smiles at Balkir clapping him on the back in valkir style. "No offense taken. Usually you are our cook and a very good one I might add. I enjoy helping out though and this is one way I can do it."

She watches Elsbeth piling food onto Balkir's plate with a look of amusement. "Someone is going to eat well today." Looking to T'risa she continues softly. "After a good meal like this we will be ready to go. Though if you like we can take a little time for digestion. Will Maran be coming with us or did you wish her to stay on the crow with Aziza?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:44, Mon 08 Aug 2011.

"I'd be happier if she stayed behind where it's safer, but she's old enough to make her own decisions. If she comes along, so do her guardians. She has to remain as safe as we can make her." T'risa left it unsaid that if it came down to choice between her and Maran, Maran should be the one rescued. She know M'Kira well enough to know she'd understand. Reaching across the table, she pulled the saucer with cream closer to Bright Star. T'risa turned to face Maran. "Your options are limited and fraught with danger in either case. Come with us, and though we love you as our own.... you may end up severely injured or dead. Here, there is less risk. The towns defences are now strong, but risk does still exist and we will not be around to help."

He listened in on the conversation taking place as he sipped his coffee. He cleared his throat a bit before speaking to both Maran and T'risa. "If she wants to come she can stick with me. I could probably rig her up a suit in no time and she can act as a spotter. If I am doing my job right we are pretty much outside the major conflict zones. It would do her some good, she survived to this point, lets give her a chance to strike back at those that took her folks."

She grins at Victors suggestion wondering just how patient Marian was. A sniper could move stealthily through underbrush for twelve or more hours just to get into position to take a shot. They also could stay in one place all day and never see anything worth shooting at. It would require some serious patience as victor couldn't afford distractions.

"She's going to have to be awful patient victor. A snipers job is vital but it's also a very long time with nothing happening till you go into action as often as not. It is safe though I give you that as long as nothing manages to find you. Keep that in mind Marian if your with Victor his job requires a lot of waiting and always being vigilant. I just want to give you a  heads up if you go for that option."

She turns to Poppy curious about her potential abilities. "Poppy can you interface with the Dreadnoughts computers? We might be able to crack their database for evidence/information on the situation. If it's to risky we can find other ways."

OOC:I forgot Maran is a NPC. I kind of worried that Maran would be bored. lol. guess I don't have to worry about that.

 "Well... I've explored here a lot already, though of course there's still a lot to see, but... Well, if there's any way I can help, or Sunny or Star, well, we just have to help right? If there's something we can do that you can't, like go into small places or something. And Sunny and Star wouldn't go without me, I doubt. So if I won't get in the way, I'd like to go with you. Ok?"
 She smiled at Victor and nodded. She could use a suit, and the sooner she had one customized to her, the better all around. She didn't know what Sunny or Star needed in that way. They would probably do just fine as they were.
"That sounds good Victor. Thank you!"

He nodded setting his empty mug down on the table, as he turned in his seat to face her. "Then its decided we will go down to the hold and see if we cant rig you up a ghuille suit like mine. You have to understand though, what we will be doing. We are the first ones to arrive, and the last ones to leave. You become the hunter and our enemies, the ones who took your parents from you. They are our prey. We sit and watch, we give intel to T'risa and the others because they are the ones who do most of the fighting." He looked her over a bit and made up his mind. "Have you ever fired a gun in your life? I can take you out and teach you the basics. When you go out there with me, you will be armed. I will do everything I can to protect you, but you will also need to know how to in case we get seperated or something happens to me. You think you are up to this? A lot of grown man try to learn what I am going to teach you and fail, no dishonor or shame and saying you can't. But if you do want to, I expect you to pay attention and listen. Everything will be important.:

 Suddenly her breakfast wasn't sitting as nice and quiet as it had been, as she listened to him talk about killing and stuff. She just didn't think she could do that, kill people all dead with their guts hanging out and their blood all over the ground. She swallowed hard and looked a little green.

 "Oh, a gun? Do I gotta shoot people? I mean, if it's them bug things that killed my parents and friends, sure, I guess I can try, but I don't wanna shoot no people! Not dead. Cause dead is just dead, you know? And maybe them people got kids too, you see? But if I could shoot them not dead, that might be ok..."

He looked at her a look of sympathy crossing his face for only a few seconds before his own emotional controls clamped down and he was once again as cold as ice. "Maran, let me tell you a truth. I don't like to kill. Once long ago, I had a family myself. But there is a cold hard truth in this universe, evil exists and seeks to destroy the lives of the peaceful. There must be those who will hold the line and defend those who do not have the skills or the strength to defend themselves. Take a look around this room, every person in here as had to fight and to kill. But if you ask each one of them they would say they don't want to. We are the ones who have made the sacrifices to defend strangers."

He laid a hand on her shoulder as he lowered himself to be able to look into her eyes. "You don't have to do it. No one here will make you. But I want you to know if you choose to ride out with us, there will be people and things out there that don't share our ethics. They will not think twice about killing you, so you have to be better, faster, and just as determined as them if you want to survive. Taking a life is no easy thing. I still see the faces sometimes of those who have died in my gunsight, never knowing where the shot came from. Why don't you think about it and when you have made up your mind, come find me. Take the time to think and don't act out of emotion, the choice you are about to make will shape you in more ways than you will ever know."

 She looked down at the floor for a few moments then nodded. If it came down to saving her friends then she would do what she had to do. She knew it wouldn't be easy, and things would change, but she'd hold off as long as she could before killing if she could without endangering anyone else. She looked up at him with a sad face but there was conviction in her eyes.
"If I gotta do it to save you guys, then I'll do it. I ain't gonna see any of you laying there dead if I can stop it, don't worry. And I can shoot some. I used to play Paint Ball with my friends when we was all home, so I guess a gun won't be much different...except instead of paint it'll be blood and stuff on them. I'll do my best, that's all I can promise, ok?"
 She looked around at all the others, the adults in the room, and the AIs and all with that same look in her eyes, that said she'd do her best to protect them all while they did the hard stuff, the stuff she couldn't do.
"Me 'n' Sunny and Star, and probably even Blue if he's there...we'll all do what we can to help, even if it means we got to kill anyone who wants to hurt any of you, if we can get them first."

T'risa spoke "Killing is something we have to do, not something we choose to do. The Q'sa are driven mad and are in thrall to her. She has a mentality that will brook no other race in competition to her own. She uses the Q'sa as pawns. Each person is of no thought to her. She would consider sending 5 billion to their deaths as nothing. This will be a genocidal war. It is us or them, and by the grace of the supreme being I am going to make sure it is us that thrive, even if it cost the death of every Q'sa in existence. I do this not because I want to, but because I have to. If the Q'sa are to mean anything, then we have to prevail. Maran, to kill is something that wears on the soul. You are so young I would spare you that if I could, but you have the right to make the decisions. Rest assured that I carry the deaths of every person I have been responsible for with me, I've even been mind linked to others as they died. It is something I will carry with me forever and will do again and again to protect others, not just you, or anyone in this room, what we do here, we are doing for Tae, and Tau and sentient AI's and every other race in the galaxy. We're even doing it, strange as it might seem, for the Q'sa. A human philosopher once said 'Give me liberty or give me death' We're fighting for everyone everywhere that wishes to make their own choices."

T'risa picked up a slice of toast, wondering how M'kira managed to cook this huge breakfast and wondering where she managed to put it all. She knew from experience just how pushy Valkiir were regarding food from her time recuperating with M'Kira's family, but she thought M'Kira was pushing credibility even for a Valkiir's appetite. She looked over at M'Kira worried about her.

  Poppy stopped eating and scrunched her nose for a bit after M'kira asked about hacking." well I can, but I have to do it the old fashion way Keyboard and inputs ...I dont have the hardware for direct interface.... couldn't find a set u that didn't make my core itch... problem with a combat core is they really arent set up for data mining. lots of redundant memory and hardened attack barriers but not real chatty with other computers.... which I'm sure their glad of with me around.She grinned lopsidedly and reached over giving Maran a hug.

   " DOn't worry about all the serious grown up stuff just yet, enjoy breakfast and have some of the whipped cream it's really good....and when we get there we'll tuck yo in all nice and snug with Grymmy Poo and let him blast the baddies before they get out of bed... I'll even give you my old stunner, dont use it much but it'll knock anything smaller than a truck on it's but at fifty feet, and it's really cool to shoot just goes....brrrrrrzzzztttttttt and people fall down and twitch so you can stuff em in the trunk and haul them to the police station... it's fun at parties two you ought to see how Rhic twitches when it goes off.... by accident.. I mean would I zap him for failing to notice my new skin job...I mean he's as dense as a brick."

Conrad listens in and gets caught up while eating breakfast.  "Well it looks like we will be dealing hell to some poor bastard today.  I love the smell of carnage in the morning.  Well, if anyone has anything they need taken care of, speak now... if not, I think I am going to go catch a quick cat nap before we get this party started."    Conrad waits for anyone to ask, and if no one does, he heads off to check on Tiny's final touch ups on the mecha's and find a quiet spot to take a quick nap.

  Tiny Peeked around the corner of the galley door as Conrad started out. Looking decidedly un-mech like her new body smaller more compact and shaped like a young humanoid woman. the finish was Matte colored and smooth but it was obviously not an off the shelf model the formed panels of construction grade polymer and steel was heavier and more rugged than anything available from a standard outlet.
  "I hope you don't mind my friends Made me a present so I could get around the ship better."
    It's not very heavy but I can handle a gun she held up her hands and the sockets for power outlets and ammunition canisters.

Elsbeth glanced in Maran's direction, a slightly quizzical expression on her face.  The young girl was more than physically fit for the task at hand.  Though from the discussion, she obviously had not been trained in those disciplines.  Perhaps like the genetically engineered Sufi Brains, one of which she had previously been sworn to protect, her talents lay elsewhere.  The others obviously cared for the girl and Elsbeth could understand that on some level.  She wasn't Q'sa, the Marshal had said that the girl knew vital information, and she could sense that Balkiir was in protective mode when it came to Maran.  That was good enough for this Marine - Maran was on the protected (but hopefully not the endangered) species list.  "We will all do our best to keep the young lady from harm." the tall Marine stated almost ritualistically.

Of course, with Elsbeth.  Well, she smiled slightly ruefully as the conversation went on - her track record was not very good.  Not that such things stopped her from trying to protect others - it was just her nature as a Praetorian.  And even as she contemplated that rather dark mental diversion, it did not stop her from putting another stack of pancakes with bananas, berries and bacon onto Balkiir's plate.  After all, the needs of the living outweighed the memories of the dead.

"I don't know. Back at the camp, after everyone else was gone, and I was hiding...well, locked in then hiding...I got the sense that that bug lizard thing was crazy...you know, insane, lonely, searching for something she couldn't find. I don't know if that sounds nuts, but I swear, it's how things felt."
 She dipped her head, fingering Sunny's head as she thought about it, because she knew it sounded crazy. She hoped they didn't think she was bonkers too.

Conrad stares at Tiny for a moment, checking out her new suit.  "Thats a pretty nice suit.  This should also be useful if we have to go into another ship or in buildings.  Hmm, if we have a few extra minutes, maybe I can do a few touch ups to help you out."  Conrad ponders what to do for a moment and then has Tiny follow him to the storage area to see if there was any extra odds and ends parts laying around he could use to modify the body.

  Balkiir ate with gusto, smiling broadly as Elspeth began to vary the portions and experiment with the combination the Bacon and Pancake stack vanished as if it had folded away into hyperspace. He paused as she fluttered her eyelids getting an image of her in a checked dress with bright red hair....he couldn't help but smile and laugh good naturedly giving her arm a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek for the image.
     he relayed the image to Elseth, as well as an image of a horde of micro robots in full cartoonish viking gear swarming toward a bacon strip howling savagely and singing in tiny squeeky voices as they feasted on it.

   " Everyone is afraid sometimes Balkiir spoke up giving Maran a broad brotherly smile as he daubed at some syrup on his chin." It's natures way of letting you know when your about to do something damn silly. going into a combat zone for the first time is rough on everyone. Me, Elspeth, Grym, I bet even M'kira and T'risa were sweating bullets at the thought of having to fight, or kill the first time."
   "My first drop was on Elysium IV, ya know I was raised knowing someday I'd be in the thick of it bullets and bolts whizzing past me. People trying to mangle my unbelievable good looks. and Knowing sooner or later I'd have to put soe mothers son down for good."
   It was the worst day of my life, and I've had a few bad ones. I was so scared I could spit, My throat was tight, my hands shaking, I swear if anyone had said BOO, I would have tripped off my rifle right then and there. Being brave isn't about not being afraid..That's stupidity, Bravery is doing what you have to do when Nature and every ounce of common sense in your body is telling you to run away and hide under the nearest bed."

   "now here your in a different boat, your a kid with no training and no reason to ever expect to be in a real fight, and I'm damn certain you never expected to be in with this crew. But what you do with the situation decides who you are. maran the young woman, scared to death and wishing shed wake up...and ready to do whatever she has to do...or Maran the little girl.... I hate to be the one to tel ya but someone dealt ya a bum hand this time. You should have years to get ready for this. But your here, were hear with ya.and from the sound of it your more than just a little girl, you say she's nuts and you felt it..i believe ya, and I believe you have the makings of a fine woman, when your ready to be one."

 "I guess you're right. I got to grow up sometime. I'm just glad I get to do it with you all, though I still wish my parents was here. You guys can teach me what I need to know even better than my parents coulda, so I guess it's not such a bad thing you guys found me. It's sure better than being queen lizardbug bait, right? So I guess I'd better finish breakfast and go put on a unitard so I can get fitted for a suit. Oh...Ummm...but, ya might want to make it so it can be made bigger, cause...you know, I may start growing now I got such great food!"
 She jumped up and ran around, giving everybody a big hug, even the bots, and especially Balkiir, cause he was just like a favorite uncle. Then she scampered off to her quarters... returned and put her dishes in the recycler then ran out again.
"Be back in a couple minutes Victor!"

He watched her go, and for a few seconds a smile touched even his eyes. He got up and gathered his dishes, nodding to the others. "I'll keep her safe, at least this way she will learn a skill that can help while keeping her out of the fighting. When she comes back tell her to meet me in the hold." He said with a nod to the others. He walked out of the galley and headed for his room to gather his gear. He would spend the morning teaching her how to use every bit of the equipment, the faster she picked it the safer she would be.

He made his way down to the hold and looked for some combat webbing that could be adjusted to fit her, that and some netting to begin her own ghuille suit.

 She returned to her quarters, took a quick shower then put on a snug one piece the type one usually put on when being fitted for suits and heavy clothing, unless of course one wanted to try the nude or underwear way, but Maran sure wasn't gonna be caught in her birthday suit by some strange man, especially one as old as her dad!

 Of course, she wouldn't want a boy her own age seeing her like that either! No way! Boys were icky creatures sometimes when it came to seeing girls, shoving each other and making all kinds of stupid remarks and daring each other to go kiss a girl or to go talk to them. Boys were ok to fish with or to climb trees with or go swimming with, but no kissing! Ewwwww! They'd probably be all slobbery or have bubble gum in their mouths!
 She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. If it wasn't for her long hair, people'd think she was a boy or something. It seemed as if there wasn't going to be any growing anytime soon, that was for sure. Oh well, it didn't matter here and now anyway, did it? She slipped on a tunic over the unitard and went back to the galley area, where Sunny told her Victor Grym had gone to the hold.
 She turned around and headed down to the hold to see how Victor would fix her a suit.
"Victor? I'm home!" She smiled slightly, 'cause her mom had always called out like that to her dad, only she'd say "Rickie" for some reason, and her dad's name hadn't been Rickie, but they always laughed at it anyway. Parents were almost as strange as boys were sometimes.
 She went to see what he was doing, looking at the webbing and stuff he'd gotten out and put on the work table.

   Sun Runner followed Maran, faithfully, his entire sensor array scanning her for clues about her emotional state.  All of her vital signs were strong, and her brainwave activity was actually heightened.  As near as the ancient Steed could interpret the data, Maran was confident and excited.  Perhaps a little nervous, but her pulse was strong and steady, not the erratic beat of an organic in panic mode.  Evidently once she had made up her mind, Maran was focused and eager to initiate her education.  Sun Runner heard himself whimper, surprisingly, and his ears flattened back to his wolfish head.
   She was young, very young for a human, and had already been through more than many of her species who had lived three times her span.  Perhaps it was best that she learn to protect herself, it would strengthen her morale and confidence. It would provide her with purpose.  Still Sun Runner found himself profoundly sad.  For everything gained, something must be forfeited, that was simply the natural cycle of things.  While Sun Runner approved of her decision to learn self defense, he grieved that part of her humanity that would be lost in the process.
   He padded up to sit by her side, in support, wagging his tail a few times and looking up into her face with his bright canine optic sensors, but he could not smile.  He could only be here for her, by her side if she needed him.  That's what a bonded Steed's place was, and Sun Runner assumed it with silent dignity.

 She heard Sunny whimper softly as he came to sit beside her so she looked down ans smiled at him, running her fingers through his soft hair and ruffling his ears. She loved Sunny already, as if he was a true dog, but more so, since she knew he was so very much more...he was her friend as well, and part mentor. She gave him a tight hug then turned back to watch Victor at his work, though she kept her hand upon SunRunner's back, both as reassurance for him...and for herself.
 "Isn't this exciting Sunny?", She whispered as she hugged him.

He finishined laying out the weapons, the sniper rifle, the assault rifle, and a couple of pistols. He also had a pair of combat fatigues for her and the webbing. When she walked in he gave her a curt nod and handed her the fatigues. "These will become like a second skin to you. Go get dressed and then we will begin your training." He said.

He pulled out several cans of ammo, as well as all the tools they would need to make her suit. "When your done, meet me outside. First your gonna learn how to be invisible on the battlefield. For what we are going to be doing this is even more important than knowing how to shoot."

 After he left, she slipped off her tunic and put the fatigues on, taking a bit of time to figure out what went where. She folded up the tunic and laid it on the chair then headed outside to start her lessons. She was more nervous now that the time had come. This was NOT paintball, these were real weapons, and she didn't want to hurt someone by accident! She rested her hand on Sunny again for reassurance then stepped forward to announce her readiness.
"Ok Mr. Victor, I am ready. What do I do now?"

this should be interesting Blue watched from a distance giving maran a quick mental smile of reassurance as he kept out of the way and let the soldier work. He was just close enough to be reassuring but didn't want her to feel he was 'keeping an eye one here".

"I understand poppy. Though your shooting skills will be most welcome if something gets nasty with us inside or outside of the Dreadnought." She laughs and smiles loving Poppy's description of her stunner and how to use it.

"It's a excellent choice if you want to avoid killing someone. Though in self defense you should be prepared to use something lethal if the stunner doesn't cut it. The Q'sa won't show mercy nor with the Marduke and that's just the start of dangerous things running around on this planet. I understand your feelings though Maran and respect your personal choices. I just don't want to see you hurt or worse."

She slips one arm around T'risa in a affectionate half hug. "Same goes for you. I will be watching out for you T'risa and everyone." She glances at Conrad with a touch of amusment wondering if he really meant that. Some people really did like killing though you could usually tell without them having to say a thing once you went into combat with them at your side.

When Tiny enters M'kira blinks looking at her with a sense of wonder. Then gestures for her to come closer. "Come on in Tiny. I think we all want to get a better look at you. Conrad where did you get the materials for her new body? You look very tough Tiny though being smaller you wont' be able to carry the same weapons compliment your used to. It's going to take a little time getting used to new combat tactics. If you have the energy for it I think a high yield energy weapon might be a good choice. You won't have to worry about ammo and you might be able to pack a punch pretty close to what you used to. As a alternative a heavy calibor rail gun or something similar might work if you have the strength and body mass to handle the recoil and so on."

When she notes conrad staring at Tiny M'kira's delicate eyebrow shoots up. "You didn't do this? Who's your friend tiny that obvoiusly has outstanding skills to help you out like this."

Listening to Balkir she nods with agreement. "You still have choices. You can be whatever you want to be Maran once we make it off this planet. For now let's concentrate on staying alive. This is one family I want to keep intact."

T'risa blinked as Balkiir spoke "Elysium Four? It wasn't six years ago was it?" T'risa eye's opened wide. She relaxed visibly as M'Kira's arms stretched around her, smiling at her protector.

She was pleased to see Tiny enter. Really her nickname was a misnomer for her normal body. T'risa was pleased to see her adapting to life as a free being. She decided to wait for everyone to be in a good mood and all introductions and greetings were made, before proceeding with the plan.

"Yeah about that, during my first tour with the marines." Balkiir laughed dryly."It was supposed to be a quick drop to mp up some local troublemakers. It was pretty bad, had a few more bad guys than they thought, ended up calling in a "Hammerfall", dropped mecha and orbital gunships to punch through to some intel girls who got in too deep."
   "If that base hadn't been taken out they would have had an entire colony cluster choked, or so they told us later..."

      Balkiir looked at the last of a stack of pancakes and pushed the plate away with a chuckle and a smile to Elspeth," You feed me like my mom, keep that up and I'll need to let my armor out." He gave her a light kiss and put his arm around her shoulders to let her know that as a good thing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:53, Tue 16 Aug 2011.

He found a place to sit down in some shade and began to pick bits of dried grass and other vegetation. "You learn to become invisible. As a sniper or a spotter your greatest advantage lies within your enemy not knowing where you are at. Hence the ghuille suit. You make it to blend into your surroundings, to disguise the natural human form and hopefully with this under layer dissipate some of your body heat to make thermal imaging have a hard time to find you."

She not only saw it M'kira felt T'risa relax smiling warmly back at her. Paitently she waits for Tiny to answer her question about who helped to provide her with this new body. It was a wonderful chance for Tiny to grow and learn. If it wasn't conrad maybe it had something to do with the new engineer they had recently found. That or Aziza might be behind it which was a kind and warming gesture from the paranoid ships captain.

Either way she was happy to let Tiny join them and make her feel welcome. "You can take a seat if you like Tiny." Then she grins when Balkiir affectinatly tells Elsbeth she's going to cause him to have to let his armor out. "Hehe. Don't worry Balkir I think she's just getting used to our big appatites."

Elsbeth had been trying to keep track of, at least, three different threads in the conversations going on around her, with only limited success.  And it was fairly obvious to Balkiir over the link they shared.  She also suspected that the Marshal and perhaps the Gunnery Sergeant were also aware of her surface thoughts.

Part of her brain that was cast back to the first time that she had had to defend herself and her charge against and with lethal force; the first time that she had had to kill.  It had been a confusing and tumultuous affair - a test of sorts; she had barely been hurt and her charge, a young boy, had been saved.  She had earned her first Jannissary tattoo that day; only days before her 14th birthday.  And had a nice scar to show for it as well.  It had been a proud moment, as her clutchmates had congratulated her the following evening.  And Elsbeth had always felt a calm ease when defending others.

She was less comfortable killing for only her own self-preservation; the Praetorian template was strange that way - so, it was part of her genetic make-up.  And this was despite the fact that she had done such killing for purely self-preservation often when she had been little more than a caged animal in the gladiatorial pits on Enchoa Rhi.  Balkiir was spot on there, Elsbeth had felt keenly aware that every one of those deaths weighed upon her soul differently.  Elsbeth was reluctant to say anything about the nature of killing; she had been raised to believe it was all too natural for her and her clutchmates to engage in such violent activities without question.  Brainwashed into the regimen, so that the question was unthinkable.  And yet, here she was the last of her kind, thinking the question.  That fact only made her more confused - to question her Nature made her head hurt.

Another part of her mind was stuck on the juxtaposition image that the big blue man had projected to her of where she had red hair and a 1950's style Tae dress.  It was not so much that image itself, actually (though it was a bit disturbing to her, undoubtedly) - it was that in order to imagine herself as a (rather tall) Lucy, Elsbeth was required to imagine Balkiir as a huge Ricky.  And she was getting caught up on the pompadour and over-sized beige polyester suit coupled with the burly, blue physique.  Her consternation over the image was apparent to all that had any level of empathic or telepathic ability.

But then Balkiir stopped eating, when she moved to place more food on his plate, it was no longer in front of him.  Another level of confusion for her, as she glanced at him with a quizzical expression.  While, she knew intellectually that all good things must come to an end - Elsbeth had been planning at least two plates in advance - and so, the syrup dipped, bacon wrapped banana would never see the light of day.  She pursed her lips - and shrugged slightly.  When M'kira addressed her, she looked at the beautiful Valkiir woman and merely nodded.  "Very impressive." was about all that she could manage.  Of course, whether she meant it reference to the volume of food a Valkiir could eat, the image of Balkiir as Ricky, her own revelry on the Nature of killing, Tiny's new and improved body or all of the above, no one (including likely Elsbeth) could really say.

T'risa smiled as she looked at Balkiir, with something close to hero worship in her eyes. A look normally reserved only for M'Kira.

"It wasn't a team of Intel girls. It was just the one." T'risa rose from her chair moved over to Balkiir and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "Thank you." Then she moved back to her seat resting her head on M'Kira.

"Ok, everyone. Today we're going to look at a dreadnought. This is a scientific, research and recovery mission only. Our objective here is not to kill as many Q'sa as possible. Our main goals today are to find out as much about the culture that built these ships as possible. I'm even less concerned about the technology than I am about the information. It's doubtful we can recover anything technological that we could use. The mission is as follows."

A holomap flared to life showing the dreadnought crash site. T'risa pointed to a series of small hills overlooking the site. "This is for Sergeant Grym and Mara. Your primary job here is as spotters, our eyes to see what's going on. You'll be dropped off with a vehicle. I'll arrange with Chief Jons. You'll have one hour to get to the site and give us a preliminary recon report."

T'risa pointed towards another part of the map. "Assuming all goes well and there's been no substantial reinforcement. We will arrive here." T'risa pointed at the top of the dreadnought. "We intend to enter the crash site at the mid section of the dreadnought. There will be hostile forces encountered. How much information we get will depend on how quickly they can redeploy their forces inside the dreadnought. I would like to get to the bridge, as that's where most of the viable information is likely to be, but literally anything could be useful. If you see anything that looks interesting and can be carried, pick it up, we can analyse it back here later. If things get problematic, we make our way to the outside hull and hope we're in a position Aziza can pick us up. Any comments?"

 She sat down nearby and tried to do what Victor told her to do, become invisible by blending in with the surroundings, become part of the land. She touched the grass and plants and rocks and tried to figure out how to make the suit do it's job. She sighed abnd sat perfectly still after getting comfortable.

She gently trails her fingers through T'risa's hair affectionatly while listening to their leader explain the mission. She smiles at Balkir knowing they all had some history going back further for some then others.

"You heard T'risa looks like this is mostly a intel mission. Gathering whatever useful information we can get. Still if there is some valuable salvage that's easy to take we might as well take it so long as it won't compromise the mission. I certainly won't mind a few goodies to help us out in the future."

She smiles at T'risa when she talks about the bridge and picking things up as it were if they saw it. "Mmm if we pass through the hanger bays for any reason I will keep a eye out for operational transport or fighter craft. <blue> "Can't  hurt right?" After a crash like that she didn't expect much. Especially if their mission didn't bring them near said locations. However you never know where you might end up on missions.

Elsbeth knew that of the people in the room, she was likely the least bright bulb on the tree.  So, it fell to her to ask the more obtuse questions.  "Marshal K'mahda," she ventured as she raised her left arm, "how long do you estimate that we will have to explore the wreckage?  And will we need to split into sub-groups?  Or is that a game-time decision?"

She looked between both Rhic and T'risa, "Will we be taking any mecha?  Do we know if they'll fit in the interior?"  Elsbeth glanced at the other front line defenders, Rhic, Poppy, Balkiir, M'kira, and Leo, "If they are not able to fit in the interior of the dreadnought, wouldn't it be more prudent for a vanguard to perhaps enter first to clear the area, or at least a section, of hostiles?"  Then she looked to T'risa again, "I mean, your physical presence would not be necessary for that initial engagement, if we are expecting anything more than token resistance.  Or do you not intend to remain in any one place for too long - so that clearing sections is not practical?"  Elsbeth didn't mind reconnaissance missions, she just wanted to know as many of the parameters as possible before going in.

The large Marine glanced at Rhic, "Master Sergeant, presumably will we need to use standard encoding on comm traffic, since hostiles are on site?  Will any other precautions be necessary?"

Elsbeth pursed her lips and swallowed hard, even though she was conflicted, she still felt the need to ask, "Ummm... Marshal the tall brunette started tentatively, "I know that you have stated that we are there primarily for intelligence gathering.  Would it be prudent to take some demolition ordinance?"  Obviously, she was entertaining standard Force Recon mentality that there may be something there that they could not extract and yet could not suffer to remain in enemy hands.  Elsbeth added somewhat sheepishly, if somewhat hastily as well, "I mean, just in case.  You know, merely as a precaution..."

"I don't know how long we'll have. A dreadnought is a seriously large ship. Much depends on how much of the internal transport structure remains intact, if any. There are Q'sa forces all around at all times, so we'll have however long it takes them to respond. No point in a vanguard, all it will do is heighten alertness. With the element of surprise we stand a chance of getting some useful data before they start deploying to face us. Our intel on the area surrounding it is decent, but we've no idea how many Q'sa forces there are inside, if any." T'risa nodded "Demo gear and hacking tools will be required. As for room for mecha? I don't know, but given the risk, we'll need to deploy without and use man sized bodies and battlesuits. We'll lack the heavy support, but we'd risk losing them if we had to go anywhere they could not. As for splitting up, I'm loathe to do so, for fear of groups becoming seperated and isolated, if necessary, I've no objection to splitting but only for concrete goals. For example if we uncover a computer core en route to the bridge, I'll leave a team behind to try to crack it while the rest of us press on, but in principle I'd like to keep us together."

"The object is a simple smash and grab. My hopes for this are primarily to get a schematic for the dreadnought and a basis for the language used by whoever built it. Any scientific data would also be good, even inconsequential things. Crew artifacts. Pictures of control panels. I'm going to ask each of you to carry recording gear for this trip. We can review things that might have been missed later." T'risa wondered if she dare reveal her own master plan. "My reasoning is this. Where you have one dreadnought, they will have more, and ladies and gentlemen, I eventually intend to steal us a dreadnought to evacuate this town and use as a weapon in the war to come. To that extent, I want you all to explore."

   " I can use explosive pretty well....unless Rhic is in the area...hes bad luck. Poppy playfully stuck her tongue out at Rhic as she spoke. " big ship like that ALWAYS have internal security, Blast doors, security locks, lockouts, you almost ays need some sort of breaching charge and lots of plasma cutters whe you try and take a capital ship, it's not really something anyone with any sort of common sense,<blue> she glanced sheepishly at T'risa<blue>  or a choice does without being really prepared."

     "I mean we just took a refitted merchant cruiser, and it took us a day or two just to cut through the bulkheads and blast doors to get into the hold and ummmm..... recover the cargo. Not that I have ever did anything illegal mind you they were sort of stealing all their cargo to begin with, and we were honestly just helping out the local constabulary by liberating the ship and taking out the crew, not that they were that good just a bunch of deserters who had spaced their captain and decided to play space pirate...but if there's any crew left on that ship they have a real home court advantage..

   Ummm did you say STEAL a dreadnought, oh my god that's insane...I love it!!! they'll never see it coming... Nobody tries to Steal a dreadnaought, it's like the one thing they will not be expecting.....Your a genius, crazy but a genius.  just show up wave out the window and blow a huge smoking hole in the ground....I meant crazy in a good way... Poppy glanced with a wide goofy grin at T'risa and the M'kira.

  " This seems an opportune time to interrupt your briefing Marshall, If you will allow me. It seems my selection for this mission was more than it seemed."

   "I examined the detailed recordings of the battle and Have determined that the dreadnought was not brought don entirely due to structural damage. It suffered a catastrophic cascade failure of it's gravitational control system when the combination of damage, sustained in atmosphere flight, and it's improper fire discipline caused a momentary power failure to it's gravitational control system resulting in ... a crash. The lieutenant inclined her head deferentially to Tt'risa and brought up a display from he data pad she carried as she entered the galley. The display replayed the final seconds of the dreadnoughts fight with Kronos she paused it and highlighted several flickers of energy across t's outer hull before it tumbled and slammed into the ground.

    " As a result of it's gravitational control system being disrupted it is likely the crew suffered severe if not fatal injury from a terminal velocity impact."
   My background before being diverted to tactical assistance was in engineering, I have seen similar failures of capital ships engaged in atmospheric combat. Most notably the cruiser J'li N'mahd over Sergei Prime four years ago. firing it's main weapons while attempting to reboot it's disrupted gravitational control systems caused the emitters to restart out of sequence and the craft impacted the surface killing it's crew and several hundred civilians on the ground.
    It's unlikely any orginized resistence will be encountered unless the Q'sa are attempting to repair or salvage equipment fro the wreck, and it is unlikely they will be of any quality as combatants. Typically Q'sa deligate labor and technical assignments to their least combat capable personnel....that is if they have not altered their protocols significantly with the addition of illegal tactical advisers to their ranks.

In reply to Maran (msg #149):

He began his teachings, citing view lines and the importance of not back dropping yourself against any type of solid background. The sky, ridge lines and the such were dangerous enemies when you attempted to take advantage of lack of observation. With no time he had helped her put together a suit that would blend nicely with the native terrain.

Once that lesson was taught, he gave her a slight smile, she was a quick learner but these skills would soon be tested. HE walked back into the hold and came out with the assembled weapons. HE laid each one out in front of her. The massive sniper rifle, a battered but well tended assault rifle, his own pistol and one he had found for her. "Now we are going to start teaching how to fight. We will start with the pistols and gradually move up through the weapons. I don't plan on you using the sniper, but I want you to fire it to get used to its sound. Sudden movements can give you away and you need to be used to hearing it so that you won't be afraid."

HE set up several targets and placed the pistol in her hands. HE coached her on how to hold it, to look at the front sight and place it where she wanted. To gently squeeze the trigger, not jerk on it.

M'kira laughs and smiles lightly hugging T'risa at the end of her speech while listening to Poppy with a twinkle in her eyes. "Well I did say I wanted something bigger with armor and more powerful weapons. Isn't T'risa the best? It doesn't get much better then a dreadnought right?"

She smiles warmly at T'risa then at poppy as well before turning her attention to Lt N'mai's speech. "Well that's good news. At least we won't be dealing with the Q'sa's version of Marines. In fact if we are discrete enough we might complete our mission with minimal combat. Either way we are prepared for the worst if they have altered their protocol's."

Elsbeth nodded slowly as the Marshal addressed her concerns.  As she internalized the information, she quietly noted to herself quietly, "Smash and grab - hit the bridge ASAP ... indefinite timeframe ... unknown resistance ... amorphous team composition."  She actually seemed quite fine with the mission parameters - it wasn't anything that she had not encountered before, nor was it like she had any choice in the matter.  The job needed to be done and soon - all of their lives might depend on what they found there.  "Smash and grab.  Recon-style." the marine repeated to herself.

A slight smirk as she readied herself mentally, "Should be fun..."  Her empathic bond emanated a quiet readiness - a centered stillness.

She turned slightly and smiled at Balkiir; she was glad that he would be along on this mission.  He may not be 100%, but his mere presence meant that she had plenty to live for and even more to die for, if necessary.  Not that she intended for her, or him, or any of her companions to die.  Only that she did not fear the prospect with the large Valkiir man by her side.

"I have met no Marshal better, Gunnery Sergeant." Elsbeth agreed simply with a nod to M'kira's assertion - taking the question quite seriously and not at all rhetorically.  Not that she had much experience there, but there seemed to be no reason to mention that (even if it might be obvious).  And the Gunnery Sergeant seemed to  quite enthusiastic; so, that was good.  Even better if she could actually pilot the dreadnought, though Elsbeth suspected that might not be the case.  And it was not as if the ship was in any shape to be flown.  Still, if the Gunnery Sergeant wanted to claim the thing, more power to her.  Elsbeth wouldn't stop her and would do all that she could to help her make and keep that claim.

T'risa nodded her head at the 3rd Lt's comments. "N'mai, may I call you that? The problem with your thinking is that the Q'sa are not the ones calling the shots, neither are the O'maedan Battle witches. She is. I'm not sure how valuable a damaged dreadnought is to her, I imagine a lot will depend on how many more she has access to, but she might destroy it to stop us from getting our hands on anything to do with it....if she hears about us in that area. She's scared of me, that will colour her perception." she paused for a moment. "Still a ship that size that's been here for a long time is bound to have some form of self repair mechanism. It'd be easier to take the damaged one than to try for a pristine one. Well, the intention is to be pragmatic and adaptive to circumstances. I mean, if a bunch of Q'sa and O'maedans can take ove a dreadnought, we should be able to ourselves. Third Lt. N'mai, you're coming with us." T'risa looked the girl up and down. "I'm a little smaller than you, but dress uniform is nothing to go wandering a round a potentially hostile ship in. I'll get you a spare pair of my fatigues. Elsbeth see to getting her some form of armour and a weapon she can use."

Elsbeth nodded curtly to T'risa, "Yes, Marshal," she acknowledged dutifully, "I'll get her properly outfitted immediately after the briefing."  For the next five minutes or so, Elsbeth continued to stare at Lieutentant N'mai, obviously sizing her up physically - and apparently oblivious to any social implications that the continued attention might mean.

Elsbeth knew that she had a set of rigid inserts for the standard issue fatigues, but she suspected that she could cobble together something much more substantial - part of it depended on the Lieutenant's strength and training.  It was a common stereotype within the Corps that Naval personnel were not quite as ... robust... as those, even the lowliest grunt, in the CMC.  So, toting 50 kgs of steel plating might not go over well.  Which was always ironic to Elsbeth, since often those of slighter builds were the ones that needed the enhanced, additional protection that such heavy armor provided.  A real Catch-22, if there ever was one.

As for offensive firepower, she was pretty sure that there were plenty of weapons within the compound for the Lieutenant to choose from: longarms, sidearms; energy or slug; grenades; melee weapons.  It primarily depended on the naval woman's personal proclivities.  Something that tall Marine Sergeant would drill her about later; but if she had to guess (and this was obviously biased by her CMC training again), Elsbeth would assume a sidearm (possibly two) and a cutlass would be N'mai's preference.

Tiny thanks M'kira for her nice gestures and wonders off with Conrad.  Within the next thirty minutes Tiny comms T'risa.  "Uh... excuse me Ma'am.  I just wanted to inform you that I am currently with Conrad doing upgrades to my new body.  We should be ready to go before the mission starts.  Ma'am."

After she comms T'risa, she jerks around as Conrad adjusts sensors and performs upgrades to get Tiny ready for the mission at hand.  Within a few moments, she gets bored waiting for Conrad to make up his mind what he wants to do and she comms Poppy.  "Hey Poppy... I... um need a machine gun or... something.  Do you have any suggestions for me?  Thanks."

"T'risa it's just a thought but I am pretty sure Conrad got some good salvage from those Marduke mecha we took down. We also might have a extra suit of powered armor. If 3rd Lt. N'mai is coming along we should get her in what she knows best."

Looking the officer up and down for a moment she smiles knowing that Elsbeth would take good care of her. Powered armor or no she would still need her combat fatigues. Well for some custom jobs you didn't but they didn't have one of those. "Are you qualified on Powered Armor combat 3rd Lt' N'mai? You qualified with any heavy weapons? Demo charges in case we have to blow a blast door? You engineering skills are going to come in handy. Welcome aboard."

She figured with Powered armor she could take a lot more hits if it came down to it. She also could move a lot faster. If she was qualified for it that is.

   " Oooo guns ad shopping my two favorite things... Poppy got up snagged a piece of apple pie left over from the night before and headed out humming happily. Meeting tiny in the Weapons locker she sized up tiny' new frame with a grin and walked over to the heavy weapons locker and pulled out.
   " Id suggest the 5.56mm mini gunin gun metal blue, with a matching ammo pack Just the style for a young and ambitious cyberoid looking to make a mark in the fashion world. It says I've got style, I've got class, I've got a mini gun....." Poppy made some adjustments to the Harness and thenset it out. She found a 12mm Heavy pitol and a selection of ammo for it." Now set that off with a nice pistol, and a knife and your dressed for an evening out in a creepy old crashed starship full of Kronos Knows what.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Fri 02 Sept 2011.

" I'd be honored to join your team Marshal." N'mai bowed slightly as she spoke. " I am not trained with explosive ordinance or heavy weapon but my damage control training may be of value, as well as my familiartiy with Warships and their construction I hope I can provide some insight into the layout and construction of the craft."
     " I will gladly accept any assistance in preparing for this mission, It will be of great importance to the empire and the Imperial navy. N'mai followed Elspeth watching her with interest as she selected the gear for her assignment, selecting a technical kit and damage control pack from the supply locker and packing it into a backpack and satchel for easy carry. Slug throwers are a bit foreign to me but considering we may be faced with barricaded opponents their penetration may be of value. I will trust your expertise marine, this will be my first combat assignment, I do not look forward to testing my training"

In reply to Victor Grym (msg #145):
 She did her best to listen to Victor, and to learn as fast as she could, but she knew she'd never be as good as he was. That took a lifetime of learning, and a will to be a complete weapon using his whole being, and she didn't think she'd ever be that, or even ever want to be that much of a "soldier". Still, she tried her best to do as he said, learning to blend in, learning how to aim and shoot, how to breathe, or when not to breathe  how to move with the movements of the surroundings and not against it, etc. She also tried to "taste" his mental aura so she could better learn how he did things so she could try to see things like he did.
 "Like this Mr. Victor?" she asked as she tried to hold her breathe as she squeezed off a round.

Once the briefing was over, Elsbeth gave Balkiir's hand an extra squeeze and then made her way to the armory with the naval Lieutenant in tow.  She was in the middle of pulling a couple of pistol magazines and handing them to the naval officer when N'mai mentioned her training.  The tall marine turned and regarded the shorter naval officer, "Exactly what type of weapons are you familiar with Lieutenant?  And how long ago was this training that you speak of?"  Elsbeth continued to pile equipment into the arms of N'mai - figuring that the woman would let her know when to stop, if she knew what was good for her.  Or, if the Lieutenant was willing to try and carry eighty pounds of gear, then more power to her.

Ultimately, N'mai's answer with respect to her training didn't really change much of the equipment being pulled: webbing, packs, holsters, survival gear, and a variety of weapons of differing sizes and calibers  - both longarms and sidearms, grenades and blades.  Not that N'mai would use or carry all of the stuff, but it probably would help Elsbeth get an idea of what the Lieutenant would be comfortable carrying and using, both physically and mentally.  "Do you," the auburn-haired Marine also prompted, "generally carry a preferred personal sidearm, Ma'am?"  Elsbeth did bypass all of the support weapons for the time being, if N'mai claimed to have training with them, then they might be back to test that assertion - but from what she could tell, that was unlikely.

Given the information that this would be N'mai's first true combat mission, Elsbeth figured that they should spend some time on the practice range - for everyone's sake.  Better that the Praetorian knew what to expect from the naval officer - a known quantity (no matter what level of ability N'mai showed) was much better than just another random variable in the equation.  Elsbeth concentrated her thoughts, presuming that T'risa might still have an open link to her.  Marshal, she subvocalized, I am going to take Third Lieutenant N'mai to the practice range to assess her weapons training and aptitudes.  She just informed me that this will be her first real combat mission...

In reply to Maran (msg #164):

When she felt his mind it was like dipping a foot into an ice cold pond. Utterly still, frigid without emotions such as anger, or fear. It was calculating and calm. He smiled a bit as she practiced. She was better than some of the others he had seen in his lifetime, and her willingness to learn was a plus. "Almost. You want to fire between breaths. See." He took his rifle and sighted down range. He inhaled slowly and just as slowly let it out. Once the breadth was gone he gently pulled back on the trigger before slowly inhaling another breadth. "Like that." He said as he set the rifle back down.

Te kick and the report of the rifle was strong and startling on the first shot. It seemed to be trying to push her back along the ground as Maran experience a powerful weapon for the first time. the weapon gave her shoulder a solid thump, and the sight jumped around but it was easy to put the weapon back on it's target since most of it's weight was supported by the folding legs near the front of the rifle.

 She watched Victor closely and watched how he did things. She felt how calm he was, like a deep cold lake in the mountains, with ice around the edges, and snow on the banks. Not a ripple on that lake, on a clear cold but windless day. That's how he felt to her...but not in a bad way. She tried again...

"Owww! It kicked me! I don't think it likes me." She rubbed her shoulder but tried again, trying to breathe in deeply then out slowly before firing, trying to hit the target or at least get close enough to wing it.
This message was last edited by a game moderator at 11:11, Thu 15 Sept 2011.

M'kira smiles Watching Poppy snagging a piece of apple pie and whisking Lt N'mai off to get outfitted. Her eyes twinkle taking T'risa's hand for just a moment to give it a affectionate squeeze. "Looks like Poppy is all excited about combining her two favorite things. Not that I blame her. I love to shop as well! I am ready to go when you are T'risa. I will accompany Poppy, Lt. N'mai and Elsbeth while she gets outfitted. Am I correct in guessing your coming with?" </blue>

T'risa had offered one of her battle fatigues to help. So she wasn't sure if T'risa was going to pursue that or not. It certainly wouldn't take long to get them! Walking with she glances at Elsbeth for a moment. It was nice to get going and she looked forward to seeing the dreadnought!

OOC: I am not entirely sure how T'risa's thought network works. M'kira might not be aware of Elsbeth's intention to get some firing practice. I am guessing that a small group has formed. Poppy to outfit the LT. And Elsbeth because she plans on doing some fire arms practice. As for T'risa up to you. ^_^

" Light arms mostly," N'mai glanced to the heavier weapons." Generally fleet personnel are not trained in infantry weapons unless they are part of the security or naval infantry sections. "
   I have not had any real combat experience other than a single engagement with the BtSI insurgents who infiltrated the training facility I have had occasion to face hostile fire, not an event I care to repeat without good cause. Though I wil not shrink from combat if needed."

   I prefer a plasma weapon by choice,It is standard issue to the Imperial fleet. she took the heavy automatic set out and stripped it efficiently returning it to the holster."Traditionally my family has kept up the tradition of marksmanship, and martial arts. We were a prominent family in the Ground forces before the Valkiir took over the infantry and marine roles in the imperial military.

 Balkiir tidied up the kitchen and galley and set about getting geared up for the expedition walking to the Armory. Nodding slightly to the women he stripped out of his jeans and pull over shirt and pulling on a dark body sleeve and padded under suit.he didn't take any notice of the women as he dressed Elspeth was a marine and the Tau had little taboos against casual nudity, though he wondered if the young woman was as aggressive with men as her matrons.
     Then pulling on the segmented combat armor and web gear latching the overlapping plates of ceramic and polymer armor as Elspeth kitted out the 3rd lieutenant.
   He strapped on his blade, boarding axe, and side arm then slung an assault rifle leaving his squad automatic on the rack and taking a heavy bore assault shotgun and several magazines of slug, explosive and shot ammunition in quantities that might weigh down most men.

In reply to Maran (msg #168):

He watched the round go down rain, taking its target a bit left of center. HE gave a slight chuckle at her comment. "You did go though. The kick you will get used too. Relax your body and let it roll through you. The energy has to go somewhere, don't brace your feet lay them out straight behind you and think of it as a straight line from the gun to your feet and let it pass through you."
He let her take a few more shot and gave her advice on each one til she was consitantly was hitting in the red. HE got up and picked up his gear. "Alright Maran, you have learned everything I can teach you right now. You will learn more in the field, thats where the best training comes from. Lets go get your gear and get ready, the rest of the team will be wondering where we are at."

She tried to do as he said, letting the force flow through her body to her feet, but it was hard to get right. By the time he was ready to go, her neck, shoulders and back hurt, and she felt a bruise that felt three inches deep on her shoulder. She smiled though when he said she was doing good, and she saw for herself she was getting closer all the time. Finally when she was hitting in the red, she felt a bit of relief go through her. And when she got up, she groaned silently and tried to rub out the kinks and knots without Victor seeing her. She grabbed her gear and followed him inside, not nearly as energetically as when she'd followed him out!
"Thank you Mr. Grym. I hope I can do better next time. I don't want to disappoint anyone."

She paid Balkiir's activity no mind as she was Valkir. It also wasn't the first time in her career something like that happened and it probably wouldn't be the last. If Lt N'mai was looking for a partner though she might show interest. That probably wouldn't go over well with Elsbeth. Though she trusted both Balkir and Elsbeth to handle it should that happen.

"If we have a extra Tao Ip-71 Plasma pistol or a Tao R6Plasma Rifle we will see about lending you one temporarily for this mission." If possible she saw no reason not to equip the LT with weapons she was most qualified with. Her performance could make a difference.

Elsbeth was actually completely unaware of any sexual innuendo that might have crossed through the Lieutenant's mind as Balkiir got ready in the armory.  She glanced at Balkiir as he changed, his presence was registered, but not overtly acknowledged.

She was more perturbed by N'mai's lack of train beyond plasma pistols.  But, that was to be expected of a naval officer; even the edge to the Lieutenant's comment about the Valkiir edging out her families traditional niche was lost on her.  She merely nodded, while she might have had some experience with attempts to make her and her kind obsolete, it wasn't really part of her genetic make-up to dwell upon that.

The tall marine stood for a moment, hands on her hips, as she contemplated which weapons then.  N'mai had made her choice of sidearm.  Elsbeth held a pilfered plasma rifle in one hand and one of the spare Tae M-37 assault rifles in her other hand.  "Best" she noted off-hand, "to take something with more punch.  Just in case."  She started towards the firing range after giving both longarms to N'mai to carry, "You should try both to see which would be better for you."  She easily shouldered the duffel with the other equipment.

Elsbeth knew that time was running short, but they would get ready in a bit.  She wasn't about to walk around the camp in her powered armour at this point.  There was little reason to do so; and she could get dressed quickly enough.  As she passed Balkiir, Elsbeth stopped briefly and touched her forehead to his.  Then she tapped her closed fists on his shoulders three times in rapid succession, a slight smile playing on her face.  Yes, I know, she thought, almost Game Time.  Then it was back to business and her masque returned, she motioned for N'mai to follow her for some concerted target practice.

T'risa looked around the galley. Her plan was audacious, but it could alter everything in a favourable way. Even if the dreadnought was successfully captured, they wouldn't be able to use it for some time to to come until it was repaired and they'd had a chance to adapt the command and controls to their language and culture. It was an enigma, even although many more of the ships might be out there.

The 3rd Lieutenant seemed to be helpful, but she'd need some guidance out there. she reached out her thoughts to Elsbeth. "Elsbeth, this might be asking a lot, but could you keep an eye out on N'mai. She seems a little too eager and her capital ship experience might be very helpful on board the vessel, so make sure she doesn't get in the way of a bullet."

T'risa closed her eyes, resting for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. When she opened them, she looked deep into M'Kira's eyes. "It's time. Let's get moving"

" All non mission crew exit the ship and clear the launch area. All Mission Crew Secure for departure You have ten minutes." At T'risa's last comment Rhic reached over to the com panel beside the hatch and made the announcement.
   A second signal went to the bridge where Aziza Hit switches and gave orders to her bots. The crows powerful drives hummed to life. warning klaxons sent the ground crew jogging away from the landing area as control surfaces and thrusters began to move and test fire as she prepped the ship for flight.

AS they approached the ship he saw that they were getting ready to depart. "ALright Maran, seems like they are ready to launch. You ready to do this?" HE stopped and looked at her. His rifle slung on his shoulder. "Maran, there are times that come in our life that we make choices that will affect us for a long time. This is one of those times. No one will think any less you you if you decide to stay. Otherwise you got your rifle and I will be right beside you the entire time." He shot her a smile as he got back up.

M'kira gazes back into T'risa's eyes for a long moment smiling at her. Then nods speaking soflty. "Let's go then."

She heads to the appropriate area. IF they were getting dropped off by the crow it would be wherever they usually gather for such things.

Elsbeth had just had N'mai squeeze off a couple of shots with the M-37 when T'risa's request came through.  Yes, Ma'am, she subvocalized, Right away.  And I will keep the Third Lieutenant safe.  Or die trying, Marshal.  She watched the naval officer wince at the recoil of the weapon, but said very little.  The woman had the basics down, true to her word, but was not as strong as the standard CMC marine.  Which was to be expected.

She tapped N'mai on the shoulder and motioned back towards the Crow.  "It is time, Lieutenant." she noted simply and rather deadpan, "We need to prepare ourselves."  With that she quick and efficiently stowed all of the equipment, and carrying the duffel and the two longarms that she had made N'mai carry out to the range, Elsbeth hustled double time with her charge and all the equipment back to the armoury on the Crow.  Once there, Elsbeth made sure that N'mai was properly dressed.  Starting with the fatigues and extra inserts.  But also seeing if she could cobble together anything approximating combat armour - or at least a rigid set of riot gear: a helmet and enough rigid protection for the torso and extremities as possible.

Once the Lieutenant had both protection and two sidearms (one plasma, one slug) with ample ammunition and webbing as well as any tools that N'mai felt she should carry.  She proffered a longarm to the naval officer, though Elsbeth was not sure that she would take it.  It mattered little to the CMC Marine - it was all up to N'mai's personal preferences.

Elsbeth suited up in record time.  Her powered armour suit was already primed and ready for action.  She stripped down quickly and quietly then inserted herself into the body sheath and sensor array and then into the hard suit shell in less than two minutes.  Then it was a simple check for her concussion rod, knife, laser carbine, as well as her marine issue gauss pistol and M-37 assault rifle.  Elsbeth checked the charge status on her HUD's carbine display to ensure it was full, while she squirreled away some extra magazines for both of her slug firing firearms.  She grabbed a mixed bag of 40mm grenades for the underslung launcher on the M-37 and a couple of hand grenades for good measure.  All of them when onto the bandoleer tied to combat belt and webbing that she slung over the hard suit.  She also offered a couple of grenades to N'mai.

She popped her visor open as she assumed a flanking position next to N'mai.  "Are you ready, Ma'am?" she prompted the naval officer, "We should meet the Marshal and the rest of the boarding party in the hold.  I have been ordered to be your shield and to ensure your safety on the dreadnought - as well as make sure that your expertise with capital ships can be brought to bear.  My primary personal goal is to bring us both back alive."  She regarded the Lieutenant for a moment, "In all things technical, I will follow your lead.  However, if the situation turns violent or tactical - I expect you to trust me, to allow you to remain safe.  Are we in accord?"

Leo smiled under his mask.  It was good to watch his friends.  He envied them the closeness that they had and cursed his own past, knowing what it was that caused his issues with relationships.  He sighed audibly as N'mai spoke of family traditions of martial arts.  In his mind it meant that anyone who was familiar with her family would have a stylistic advantage if they were flexible.  Then again, he wasn't going to write her off altogether, humans were a flexible lot and he had picked up some of that from them... not all of it though.

Leo swayed gently to some tune in his head as he moved to finish what little preparations he had to make.  "I favor handfighting.  I'll vanguard."  He flexed then wiggled his fingers as lights traced across his suit.

 She considered his words seriously but the answer was still the same. She'd offered to help if she could, and she would, even though she was nervous, and a bit scared she might let them down. But she squared her shoulders and nodded, looking determined to continue.
 "I'm with you Mr. Grym. I said I'd go help and I meant it. I'll try not to disappoint you or get in anybody's way Sir. All I can promise is to do my bestest. I ain't no warrior but if I can help I will. Besides, guns ain't all there is. Maybe I can help some other way, who knows. Just show me what I got to do to get ready and I'm there!"

"Then let us go, we have out weapons, we will refresh ammo in transport. We will be the first ones to depart the ship and the last ones to get back on." HE moved back towards the ship and found a spot in the hold. He gathered what ammo they would carry and began to distribute it around his combat gear.

 She nodded and grabbed her gear she'd set down while talking to Victor. She followed him aboard and did what he did or what he showed her to do while they got ready to lift off. She could barely sit still, from nerves and excitement. She looked around at the others, but they all seemed rather blase about it. She settled a little deeper into her seat and tried not to look concerned.

  balkiir gave Elspeth a final clap on the shoulder as she read the rules of the game to the Ell Tee. and followed them to the passenger area. he paused to check everyone's buckles and straps making sure they didn't go airborne if Aziza had to do anymore of her aerial dancing.

   " Don't worry kiddo, I was scared the first time too. Balkiir gave Maran a wide brotherly smile." Bet Grym and Rhic were too. If anyone ever tells you they are never afraid they are lying, or crazy. It's natures way of telling us were doing something damn silly." he handed Maran a stick of gum and slipped a medallion out from around his neck.
    Freya, and Syf, and Hildegard They are all here, they look after the young, and the first time warrior, and the ones who fall in battle....lets just stick to the first two today....time enough to be a hero when ya get some years on ya." Balkiir pointed to each of the sigils on the medallion and then put it around Maran's neck." It's kept me safe for years. But I got Elspeth around now, so they can spare some time for you I think.

" Understood Marine I will follow and obey your instructions. N'mai looked for a moment to Balkiir but quickly gave a satisfied nod, as if she had sized hi up in that instant. when her eyes fell on Leo there was an odd shocked look. that left her a little uncertain form a moment.The robes and clothing hid all features but the style was definitely male and O'maeda. Her face relayed her doubts, and her shock. But, she bit off her words and took her armor and stepped away from where Leo was To dress and equip herself.

    I am ready, Please take me to my assigned station. the woman was burdened by gear and weapons but she moved confidently and easily with it, as if it were a natural part of her.

Leo's smile stayed on as he made the mock question, "What?"  He simply yanked the robe off and hung it over the chair revealing his frequently repaired combat suit.  He knew that he was about the size of an athletic human female... with a notable repositioning of the typical curves to his arms and legs where this combat suit clearly defined him as male.

Leo's goggles made no issues with proving he was tracking her as the Lt. moved with trained skill.  "At least it isn't all pomp and circumstance..."

While she waits M'kira slips one arm affectionate around T'risa content to be close to her. They were going into a tense situation and the closeness she found soothing. They had to wait anyway even if it wasn't for long for everyone to gather.

"It won't be long now before we reach the Dreadnought. It's going to be exciting for some of us to stretch our legs. If the bugs really have let their guard down this mission could turn out to be a cake walk. Don't worry we won't let our guard down. It would be nice though since we are breaking in two new team members. Lt.  N'mai and Maran."

In reply to Balkiir Kovul (msg #185):

 She smiled up at Balkiir as he stopped to talk to her. He made her feel a lot easier about being nervous. When he took off the medal and gave it to her, she was deeply touched, and a bit apprehensive.
"Thanks Balkiir, but who will protect you if I have your medal? You ought to keep it just in case!" She grasped the medal, wanting to keep it but worrying about her friend's safety if he gave his lucky medal away.

He smiled and nodded at the large guy. He was right, any sane soldier was shaking in his boots the first time out, he still got the feeling in the pit of his stomach sometimes. Like he was now, he had come to grips with death and seen the other side but today he had Maran to worry about as well and given the choice he would trade his life for hers every time. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Keep it close to your heart. Trust me on this, an old soldier like him would rather see you come back in one piece than have that charm." He settled into a sitting position, his rifle leaning against his shoulder. His thoughts stilled as he settled into the mind frame of the sniper.

  " I have my charm right over there, and there, and there." Balkiir motioned first to Elspeth, and then to the rest of the group. He smiled proudly and confidently as he gently pushed the medallion into her hands.

The tall marine had never considered herself a lucky charm.  She may have been lucky at certain points; she was still alive after all.  But, Elsbeth had to admit to herself that there was a certain amount of pride and comfort that she took in being referred to that way; especially by Balkiir.  Still, she couldn't let the comment just past.

Elsbeth's hands were resting on the hips flanges of her polished and oiled powered armor, the fingers of her left hand tapped the pommel of the large blade that rested there.  Her visor was up and one of her eyebrows was raised as she stood facing the pair - the huge, blue Valkiir and the diminutive waif.  She noted rather deadpan, "Wait, Friend Balkiir,"  Then she ventured with an equally flat tone, "I thought that you told me that this blade was what brought you 'good luck'..."  Only her subconscious, empatheic link to her paramour betrayed her undeniably playful undertones.

Well, that link and the slight smile that crept on to her face after a moment.  Elsbeth added, "However, I suspect that we can use all of the luck that we can muster.  On this mission and beyond."  The tall marine noted simply and more seriously, "The odds may be against us - but, that only means that we must persevere.  We must survive."

" They took turns, I'm a big guy." Balkiir Laughed and settled in next to Elspeth with a grin and a final "It'll be fine" nod to Maran. It' a full time job for one lucky charm to keep me from doing something silly like standing on top of an exploding artillery round."

       

Elsbeth leaned in and tapped helmets with the big blue man.  "I believe the proper term is not 'silly', but 'heroic', Friend Balkiir" she noted simply, dutifully and comfortably.  A mock punch to the shoulder with a gloved, servo'd fist accompanied the quip.

She knew that few could withstand that level of abuse and survive (even if Balkiir didn't quite 'walk away from it'); and Elsbeth was not sure that she could survive such a thing.  Not that uncertainty about survival would stop her from jumping on an artillery shell as required.

Of course, she would prefer to have Balkiir and herself be unscathed at all times, but when push came to shove - everyone surviving, albeit hurt, was infinitely preferable to having to live with the knowledge that either she or Balkiir could have done more to ensure that the others in the group might have lived for want of their actions.   Seeing the death of the Marshal or any of those that they were sworn to protect was not really a viable option.  Once again, Elsbeth's Nature exerted itself; even her own death to ensure the survival of others was preferable.  Ifni may not have seen fit to allow that to happen previously, but that did not mean that Elsbeth was not prepared for that potential outcome this time or any time going forward.

With the exchange of Good Luck charms complete, Elsbeth gave the assembled a 'thumbs up' to signal her readiness.  She rolled her shoulders to relieve a bit of accumulating tension and then made a deep, measured exhalation as she readied herself, trying to get 'in the Zone'; and to be ready for whatever the coming trials ahead might be.

Laughing M'kira shakes her head slightly. "Let's not go quite that far to test our luck Balkiir. Standing on top of a live artillery round even if it hasn't exploded yet isn't something anyone here will let you do." She claps his shoulder with one hand in a friendly gesture as he goes around making sure everyones buckles are secure.

She had a feeling Elsbeth would bonk him on the head, Maran would stun him, T'risa would probably  use a mental ability, Even victor would probably shoot him in the leg to keep him from doing that. Not that she thought Balkiir would do such a thing ever. Not even if he was drunk out of his mind! Which Balkiir would know of course!

He sat in the seat closest to the ramp. He gave a curt nod as the others joked, his mind was elsewhere. The ice water flowed through his veins, he looked over to Maran. How do I protect her while still doing my job? He wondered. He simply had to hope that he had taught her enough and the rest completed their mission quickly. He pulled his side ARM and made sure round was chambered and the safety off. He never left a safety on, he was the safety and he never knew when he would need a weapon.

He looked at the others, luck, was that what had brought him back from the dead. He doubted but every soldier had his own ritual. For some it was bravado or jokes, his was becoming ice. He remembered what an instructor had said once. "Fear keeps you alive, it keeps you from doing something stupid. A sniper is smarter than his enemy so he should never feel fear."

"Ok, if your sure, I'll wear it. I guess I can use some luck too. If it worked for somebody as big as you, it oughtta work for me. If you didn't use it all up. Maybe it resets when you give it to somebody else? That would be good, cause you sure are a big man!" She laughed slightly, as much from nerves as from a desire to tease the cook.
 She smiled at everyone again and tried not to be too scared. She was sure Sunny and Star and Blue would be proud of her now.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:35, Wed 12 Oct 2011.

T'risa leaned into M'Kira, the quirk at the sides of her lips showing how deeply happy she was to know everyone present. The quirk extended into a smile as the banter continued. She reached up gently squeezing M'Kira's hand for reassurance and comfort. Her mind already racing ahead along avenues of precognition and what might happen in the days ahead.

Leo laughed lightly, "Hell, I'd stand on it with him on my shoulders- though that might just be my overprotective nature.  I say live, love, and do all sorts of other things that'll make your mom furious."  That said, it would likely not long escape that he wore anklets now on the exterior of his suit that had not been there before... probably because he clicked them together intentionally.  His voice and something of an allowed bleed from his mind betrayed his amused and excited emotion more than his laughter had.

" I don't think...." N'mai started to speak and then clamped her mouth shut looking shocked by Leo's statements. N'mai cast a questioning, almost horrified glance to T'risa as she set back biting her tongue.

 The crow lifted and spiraled neatly along it's center before accelerating forward, the maneuver only noticeable on the display panels behind each seat. the false windows giving some relief to the claustrophobic nature of the seating area. the forward panel giving a pilot's eye view of the terrain.
  Hills rose and fell as Aziza hugged the ground to avoid detection and anti aircraft fire. The ride a slow roller coaster up and then down as she dove into a deep ravine and popped out the other side. zigzagging through canyons at speeds well beyond those of a grav-car. speed building as Aziza navigated the miles of desolate rocky landscape without any real difficulty.

   The rocky hills and gulches were shades of brown and gray with occasional splotches of rusty red and ocher, an lonely scrub tree or stand of thorny bush the only signs of life. topping over a half kilometer high escarpment a wide expanse of desert and sage stretching miles in every direction gave a view that few places could match for it's breathtaking impact. A wall of thunderheads rolling across the plains added smears of dark blue, purples and flashes of neon bright lightening to the stunning vista.

She gently returns The squeeze affectionatly looking into T'risa's eyes. Holding hands she was content to relax with T'risa until it was time to get up. They would reach their destination in very little time of that she was certain. The crow is a fast ship and Aziza although she seems to have a few issues and who didn't? Was also a top notch pilot!


M'kira looks over at N'mai shrugs her shoulders helplessly and smiles at the poor woman. Leo definitly would never conform to the standard femal Omaiden idea of what he should be. She might get used to it though after seeing him in action!

  The ship dropped low again the first signs of the battle appearing on the plain below, wrecked battle pods and fighters had been knocked down over a wide area, and several large sections of twisted wreckage lay scorched and twisted o the landscape below.
   The first sight of the grounded dreadnought were impressive. the huge spherical craft looked as if it had suffered more damage from the bombardment than the crash. Huge rents and craters pocked it's surface and in places steam and smoke still rose from the wreckage.
    The craft itself sat in it's own landing footprint. Shards of metal shed around its flanks, but no deep trench to mark where it had hit the ground while moving forward. every sign indicated the craft had simply fallen out of the sky during the three on one engagement with Kronos.

Leo had some more humor in his voice as he offered, "It looks like I hit it more than once... but we just got here..."  He was admiring the damage and while he was familiar with a few things that might have swat things from the air... swatting a ship like this was a whole different level than he was familiar with personally.

It either electronically failed, or was thrown, straight down while maintaining geosync.  Not that he knew this, but he could still be impressed with what happened to the thing.

Elsbeth sat quietly as the rode in the hold on the Crow.  She was situated opposite N'mai and next to Balkiir while they waited for the drop.  The tall marine glanced out the window watching the giant globe get closer and closer.  Given its size, Elsbeth was a little surprised that it had not collapsed under its own weight once it was planet-side - likely a testament to its construction.  But then, Elsbeth's strong suit was not the tech stuff; at least, not beyond the many and sundry high-tech ways to kill other sapients in an up-close and personal way.

So, she kept her conjectures and musings to herself.  It wasn't her place really to speculate on the aerodynamics or the atmospheric stability of a dreadnought.  Elsbeth did give Balkiir's hand a (very) slight squeeze.  Not too tight, especially given the augmented myomar fibers coupled with the servos in her armour.

The displays in her helmet and visor were pushing various diagnostics and facts to her.  There were no alarms yet, but the conjectures on ship size and construction and comparing to known structures were already scrolling to her based on the distant visual observations. Elsbeth glanced at N'mai, prompting, "Third Lieutenant.  Are you all right?"  It was probably a trick of the landing lights, but smaller woman seemed to have a slightly green pallor to her.  She leaned in, looking at the young naval officer with an appraising eye as she ventured, "Are you sure that you can drive that thing?  It looks pretty big..."

 She clung to her harness as the ship went through it's wild ride toward their objective gulping nervously as they finally came down to land with barely a thump. She opened her eyes and looked at everyone else waiting until they unfastened their own seat restraints before she did as well. She hung back to see what they wanted her to do.
 She shook her head slowly as something tickled at her mind, but she couldn't figure out what it was, so maybe she was just all nerves and it wasn't nothin.
 "Hey, we made it! Yay."

    As Leo joked he caught a glance from the young women, a hint of "yeah right" was obvious in her eye before she quickly turned away and tried to hide the fact the low altitude run was making her queasy.

 "Yes,I am well." The Young lieutenant replied after a moment adjusting her harness and pouches." Cesti low level Piloting is quiet, unusual."
        "It's larger than I though, much larger...." The Young woman's eyes showed a hint of doubt, and dread, the size and obvious power of the downed dreadnought giving her pause.
   As the Crow sat down She grabbed her gear and adjusted her sidearm.falling in behind Elspeth and keeping the marine in sight at all times.

As soon as they touched down he hit the release on the restraints and jumped up. He was the first to the hatch and opened it as he motioned to Maran to join him. As the hatch opened he scanned the surrounding terrain. Seeing a hill that would do nicely he pointed it out to her. "We make a break for the hill and we don't stop til we are under cover. You understand me?" HE asked, he waited for a response as he once again checked his weapon. When she was ready he gave a nod and broke from the cover of the ship and raced across the open ground towards hill and the perch he had seen.

 She looked toward the hill Victor pointed out, then looked at the ground between there and the ship, then nodded to Victor. She studied to see if there were any obstacles or pitfalls along the way.
"Got it! I'll be right behind you. Don't fall though or I might trip over you." She teased slightly to try to kill her nerves then waited for him to go ahead of her. When he left the doorway, she was on his heels.

  Blue listened in on the chatter from the crew area, when the ship sat down he jumped out of the side hatch and hit the ground with a thud, all four hooves landing squarely as he galloped to catch up to Maran and gray, he found a gully nearby and jumped down into it letting the banks of the ditch keep him hidden.

"Amazing the destructive power that Chronos has. Dreadnoughts are amazing starships capable of dealing out and taking a massive pounding before being crippled or destroyed."

She glances at Lt. N'mai as it was a legitimate concern Elsbeth had brought up. "Starship pilots usually are qualified with vessels of any size as the controls usually are very similar even if the ship is larger. Granted each step up when your assigned to a larger ship is always a first. However with battle damage that extensive piloting it is a moot point unless it's systems have been repaired sufficiently for it to actually lift off and fly."

She smiles at Maran Rising from her straps eyes twinkling at her excitement. "I am glad your happy Maran. With any luck this mission will go smoothly and we will all be enjoying a well deserved meal soon enough. Victor will take good care of you. Listen to what he has to say he's got a lot of experience share with you."

She gives Victor a brief clap on the arm with a famous Valkir grin. She would be there if he and Maran needed her. "All right folks this is it. Check your gear and weapons one last time. It's time we show those bugs how it's done."

T'risa nodded to Victor and Blue as they left, her look an intense "Keep Maran safe" glare that was easily understood by those leaving the Crow.

"N'mai, do you think the fleet could take on one of these craft?" T'risa was being a touch unkind. Trying to remind the Lt. of her arrogance when she first arrived on the planet. "I've no idea how many more of these are left on planet. I'm guessing that since we've not actually been attacked or noticed there has to be more, otherwise salvage efforts here might be intense."

T'risa motioned to Aziza "Park us out of the way until Victor and Maran report in and tell us what they can see at the site."

"I don't know ma'am. N'mai looked both confused and frightened by the question." I doubt any maneuver group could deal with one of these craft. It would require a full Battle group at least. Even then I fear casualties would be substantial. However, without any escorting craft or secondary capital warships the vessel would be vulnerable to rapid strikes by fast attack craft.

     Your report said that two of these craft escaped, and that Kronos engaged three of them at point blank range?

Leo's eye rolling would be noticed only by the empathic annoyance that he didn't bother hiding.  "How can anyone feel comfortable assessing a situation based on a battle report that doesn't even guarantee the ship was used to its full potential?  If it has the right armaments fast attack crews will be chewed up too.  That's assuming technology that we are aware of... generally a poor factor to limit complex alien ships to."

"I think that question might best be posed after we get a better idea of what these things are actually capable of.  After all, it only takes a mind or two not paying attention to lose a battle... or a war.  The issue would seem to be 'can the fleet take two'."  He held up two fingers to illustrate his point.  "Assuming the enemy hasn't taken them merely to use a tireless, slave, workforce to mass produce them..."

"I tend to believe the reason these ships did not destroy the Kronos was due to inexperience of the crew. I'm gratified to see the structure is more or less intact. If we can't take it, we should learn a lot. I have various suspicions regarding this vessel. I am fairly positive there may be an AI on board. I suspect one of the reasons for poor efficiency is that the AI was not suborned and worked against it's captors. It would be a very positive outcome if we can persuade it to work with us."

Leo sat back and began listening to some music with the brush of his sleeve.  His posture was not unlike a teenage human upset with their parent(s).  He had calculated it for that effect since his expression could not be seen and it was a fairly universal symbol... if somewhat less acceptable generally in O'meada Males.  It was slouching after all and that was not good for display.

Leo sent his thoughts using his own capacity for mental discipline to keep the thoughts from straying far, "Tee, that assumes that the other two either don't have AIs or that they were properly suborned.  I might be able to communicate with the ship given proper location... and through me, you... but I don't like anything that your idea suggests about this technology or our foes."

' K'shai, I was asked to make an initial assessment. Not a detailed combat plan. N'mai replied coolly. "Fleet fast strike squadrons are trained to attack from surprise and are often advised by experienced tactical advisers to optimize their combat effectiveness. In addition, Fast Strike crews are volunteers who know that the loss of a dozen fast strikes will spare the lives of hundreds of crewmen on large vessels."
        N'mai turned her attention to T'risa her tone altered noticeably as she spoke.

        "AI systems are common on larger craft, usually they are non-Promethean AI tasked with coordinating various systems and assisting in fire control and maneuvering in close combat. If the AI was offline or at odds to the crew it would severely impact combat efficiency.

OOC: K'shai = Literally "Fresh fish" term for a Young, inexperienced, or uneducated, man a common term used by women to young men they do not know. typically one who has annoyed them greatly.

Leo laughed and his posture changed almost completely, relying on body language to convey what his mask removed from conversations, "Oh no... you misread me.  I suppose that happens frequently as I do intend it most of the time.  I wasn't commenting on fast strikes with my pose.  I approve of people risking their lives to help others.  If I wasn't so damn good at what I do I'd throw my life away in the service of others too.  Maybe I will yet.  I'll let Rhic figure the odds on that.  I have dreams too though...  I imagine that like my posture, ma'am... you misread a great many things.  I still blame me though."

"It does have somewhat sinister connotations. The AIs from the other ships may have been destroyed to allow easier control. The Q'sa have numbers, not intelligence. I can directly mentally link with intelligent machines myself....it's terrifying and difficult to keep up with and retain the sense of self, but not impossible. I'd be much happier if you could act as our liaison...assuming it's there."

She smirked at the Lieutenants dismissal of Leo. "All we have at the moment is theory. Until we get on board and start digging through the mysteries of the craft, it is all speculation." T'risa looked around, hoping one of the resident Steel Steeds had stayed with them.

  "We will know more once we get detailed scans of the dreadnoughts systems for analysis. Isn't it possible that aside from having a crack crew that Chronos simply outclassed them? A technology edge that's big enough can make a amazing difference in survivability in a battle. Not to rule out brilliant tactics and strategies to win the day."

She glances at Lt N'mai though she says nothing as Leo was already on damage control. "If there is a A.I. And we can't salvage the ship maybe we can save the A.I. Unless it's simply to big to take on board the Crow. Unless they somehow cut the A.I. out of the loop it should know everything that happened."

  Star stirred and yawned in T'risa's lap looking up and listening to the conversation. If there are AI on board, I think I can handle them. If they aren't Promethean, If they are i' sure Leo can charm them into behaving."

       But the Skandling are old enemies of the Promethean, and that looks a lot like a Skandling warship but Sun Runner is the expert on Skandling... Those big bug lizard, psycho things you have crawling around here, and that queen you have locked up in the hold.

Elsbeth nodded to Victor and Maran as they disembarked.  A simple gesture that was almost ritualistic for her.  She accompanied it with a short silent prayer to Ifni to protect them; even though she knew that the Fickle Lady required her adherents to make their own Luck as well.

As the Crow took flight once more, Elsbeth glanced at T'risa and asked, "Marshal, will you be guiding us with your mind again?"  She wasn't sure what the protocol was and she still found the idea a bit exciting, obviously she was warming to the concept.  Her link with Balkiir had obviously tempered any trepidations that she might have about such things.

Then the tall marine in powered armor stood and made her way to the exit ramp.  Elsbeth knew that she and Balkiir would be in the front - on the off-chance that there was enemy fire or any other heat at the LZ.  She pulled her trusty laser carbine from its harness over her right shoulder.  The solenoids powered up and the diagnostics activated in her HUD displays, giving her green across the boards.

Her helmet tilted to regard Balkiir next to her and N'mai immediately behind her, giving them and the others array in the hold a thumbs up.  Elsbeth took a deep breath and adjusted her hand position on the customized grips of her carbine.  "Show time..." escaped her lips and the low audible rumble came from her amplified speakers located along her jawline.  And Balkiir could feel a strong sense of anticipation over the link they shared - as well as a deep satisfaction, definitely due in part to her Nature and genetic purpose, and part due to his close proximity.  She felt more than ready to go.

 She crouched near Victor and watched with some trepidation as their ship took off again. Would that be the last time she saw it and her new friends? She prayed not! She was becoming fond of some of them, and getting to know others she had barely met. She feared for them, and for herself and Victor too. She breathed a silent prayer for their safety then looked to Victor to see what he planned to do.

Aziza lands the crow away from victors position leaving the sniper a clear line of fire to cover the wreck and the boarding ramp of the crow itself. The Big ship blocking any fire from beyond the wreck and giving the ground team cover until it reached the wreck itself.

   Rhic Steps to the exit ramp and Motions Elspeth and Balkiir forward bringing his assault rifle to his shoulder and covering them as he fans out. Poppy On their six, M'kira you and Conrad out next."
   " Tiny you and me will bring up rear guard, be ready to cover the if we run into anything bigger than beetle. Watch your step, and keep your eyes open everyone this is the one place we do not want to be caught napping.

  Boulder twenty meter.Balkiir indicated the point he was moving to and motioned Elspeth to follow. He moved out at a jog, weapon up and eyes on the surrounding debris and boulders for any sign of movement. He was moving painfully over the rough terrain but it seemed like he was able to deal with his nagging injury.
    watch the gap in the hull, I'd put a gun team there..... I have your back. He sent a slight surge of confidence and intensity with his words to Elspeth. In his mind there was nothing in the universe that would keep him from keeping that promise.

Leo had an approach that might save the others a bit of effort... after all... if the snipers didn't report anything, the enemy either wasn't there or was really hiding... as far as logic goes.

Leo decided that now was as good a time as any to let himself begin to drift into the thoughts of the future... he wasn't going far... just a few seconds localized on himself.  Then with an eager smile, he began an open jog toward the hulking ship.  His nano-armor hidden by his suit and enhanced reflexes as his defenses he considered himself the safest bait.

"Eyes sharp... I'll probably be shot at if anyone's looking to start a fight."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:58, Thu 13 Oct 2011.

T'risa nodded "As time permits. I'll also act as a communications nexus, and Bright Star can relay to Tiny, Poppy and any other machine intelligence if Leo can't."

T'risa stood up from her seat whispering gratitude to Aziza for ably piloting them so far and dusted off her trenchcoat. "We have a queen skandling in the hold?" She asked Bright Star curiously.

 M'kira glances at John Raising one delicate eyebrow as she usually stays near T'risa to cover her when she isn't piloting her fighter.

"See you inside T'risa unless your coming with my little group." If T'risa was fine with it she Deploys taking cover as soon as possible. Getting shot at was never desirable and to be avoided as much as possible. Cover tended to help with that.

She laughs for a moment when Leo speaks considering his good humor about getting shot at. "We should see about getting you some sort of shield if your going to take the risk of enticing them. I know you like to dodge things but it might soak up a little firepower and you can always toss it when you don't want it. Unless it's energy."

She pays attention when T'risa asks about a queen being onboard. "If there is a queen they are going to fight a lot harder. Nothing like defending the nest to motivate them."

He skidded into the shadow of the hill and waited for Maran. HE gave her a slight nod when she made it to him and then he pointed up near the crest of the hill. A large group of rocks near the crest would make a great spot provide cover and give them an exit strategy if they needed it. HE started making his way up there and found a nice little niche where he could steady his rifle. He helped Maran get into a comfortable position, hidden but at least comfortable enough for the time, before finding one for himself.

He clicked his mic twice to tell the rest they were in position before laying down and beginning to scan the area through his scope. He would adjust for thermal and other settings as he needed but his primary purpose was to get a feel for the area first.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:22, Fri 14 Oct 2011.

 She found a spot where Victor pointed that she could wriggle in to that wasn't too uncomfortable, that hid her but provided at least some limited vision of the land below them, and some to the sides. It wasn't ideal, but all she had to do was remember her parents and all the others at the camp, and how they'd died to make most of the discomfort more endurable. No wiggling or scratching itches would give away her position if she could help it. Her friends and her own life may depend upon it. She gave Victor a silent nod and positioned her weapon where she could try to cover as much of her view as possible.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:42, Sun 16 Oct 2011.

With a tap on her belt, Elsbeth's barrier shield generator was pushed from standby to fully active.  The green diagnostics illuminated the left side of her face as the streamed data onto her HUD.  She noted with satisfaction to herself that everyone looked good.  She did not yet bother to activate her photon shield, know that might cause more confusion with her own team right now than it would with the enemy - besides, being charged with protecting N'mai meant that she needed to be the obvious target and not leave the naval officer the plainly visible target.

Elsbeth hit the ground at a light jog.  She nodded to his instructions and dutifully covered Balkiir's back; overlapping her field of fire to cover his blind spot and the gapping rift in the hull.  Her marine tactical training took over as she started into a bounding overwatch maneuver to ensure efficient and safe coverage by the team of the intervene space to the dreadnought.  Her carbine was held up and at the ready as she scanned the area both through her sights as well as not.  But then everything she saw was filtered through the HUD on her visor; so, one really could not say that Elsbeth was viewing anything with just the naked eye at this point.  She moved efficiently, making sure that she chose waypoints with coverage for her and N'mai - and that afforded Balkiir and the others options for path of the next bound.

She moved at whatever speed Balkiir needed to be remain reasonably comfortable, confident in her ability to cover a lot more space if necessary.  Elsbeth also glanced back over her shoulder once or twice to ensure that Third Lieutenant N'mai was still with her; it would not do to lose the young naval officer before the mission even started.  Still, with everyone together for the moment, Elsbeth knew that she had more than just N'mai's immediate well being to think about.  On the other hand, everyone here had pretty much proven they could take care of themselves.

   Silently the Steel Steed padded up behind Maran and lay down beside her.  No matter what danger, no matter where she went, he'd not leave her side, now they were bonded.  He'd protect her and keep her safe, even if it meant his own destruction.  And if there WERE Skandlings around, she'd need him more than she could possibly know.  He'd been battling their kind for an interminably long time; he knew exactly what they were capable of and what a terrible foe they were.  He'd underestimated them once, centuries ago, and it had cost him dearly.  He'd NEVER allow that to happen again!  It was truly sad, to the ancient A.I, how history's pattern of war and violence seemed to endlessly repeat itself, to the detriment of innocence and youth.
   Although crouched down, his entire sensor suite was active, scanning his surroundings for even a trace of the Skandling menace.  He wouldn't make the same mistake he had before though.  He wouldn't rush off to battle them headlong this time.  He'd stay by Maran to the end, he'd make sure she didn't suffer the same fate as K'va'tiri.  They'd have to make him a smouldering, deactivated scrap pile before he'd ever let the callous reptilians harm Maran, and he wouldn't go down alone!  He wished he had the lexicon with which to explain to Maran just what the Skandlings were, but he knew she'd not change her mind, even if he did.  So he wedged his wolf head up under her free hand and whimpered softly so she'd take comfort in knowing he was there.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:24, Mon 17 Oct 2011.

 She felt Sunny snuggle in beside her with a feeling of relief. She just felt safer with him there. She patted his head briefly then turned her attention back to keeping alert for the enemy, any enemy, so she could help keep her new friends safe. She knew Sunny would help that too, since though he looked and acted like a dog, he was a lot more than that. He was an extremely complex and sophisticated artificial intelligence far older than her own few precious years. He was much wiser than she was and would help protect her and her friends with every positron in his brain and every fiber of his body. She relaxed slightly, the tension in her neck and shoulders easing somewhat to make holding her weapon less of a chore.
"There you are Sunny! I'm glad you're with me!"

Leoulin was making a straight line for the crashed hulk.  He was only slightly impressed by the veriable monstrosity... he of all people knew that it wasn't so much the large ships that you had to be worried about... unless you were considering collisions.  With the others hanging back it might actually be a safer position... after all when you had a veritable gaurantee of death was it worth it to injure and possibly kill one of the smallest of the incoming enemies?  It wasn't tactically or logically sound to shoot at him.

Leo started laughing softly as he thought of this point.

   "I am here, Maran; I have not left you.  You will never lose me, as I've said.  We are bonded, you and me, and that cannot be broken while either of us are functioning.  You face a truly dreadful foe, and you will need me."
   Sun Runner spoke softly, a deep sadness in his voice.  He looked up at her with his dark expressive optic sensors, then folded his ears back and laid his head down beside her and ran a full system diagnostic.  He would need all his skills to aid her against what was to come.  He licked her fingers gently, noting how strange it was to see them curled around a weapon.

 She snuggled closer to Sunny. He was warm and reassuring to her, and she knew he had hidden potential. She didn't know every little secret of the dog's body. She knew there had to be sensors and defenses inside there. It was still hard to remember he wasn't "just" a dog, he acted so much like a typical dog. Either way, she was fond of him and was glad he was at her side.
"We'll be ok Sunny, don't worry."
This message was last edited by a game moderator at 14:20, Tue 18 Oct 2011.

  Leap frogging from cover to cover the group can make it's way to the cover of the Hulk. debris and several Q'sa bodies lay around the gap in the hull, man of the bodies laying in odd angles that seemed extremely unnatural for their bodies.

Elsbeth made the first approach to the actual gap in the hull, as it was her turn.  She glanced up at her visor's proximity display keeping herself between the gap and N'mai's blip as a matter of recourse.  Her carbine was leveled and she stepped carefully though quickly toward the right side of the hole in the hull.

The tall, armored, Praetorian cast furtive glances downward at the twisted bodies of the Q'sa they were passing.  Since Elsbeth figured that T'risa was piggybacking on her sensory output; so, she made sure that she got a good (even if it was quick) survey of the surroundings.  Not that she wasn't already scanning as much as possible to ensure that blind spots were covered and sniper's nests routed out.  She subvocalized to everyone on the mental link though she addressed T'risa in particular, Marshal, are you seeing the bodies?  I believe they are displaying lethal and exacting damage from a massive psychokinetic attack here.

She didn't linger much, continuing on to take cover next to the rift in the hull and to cover Balkiir's bound and the rest of the group's approach to the site.  Elsbeth kept both hands on her laser carbine, but made sure that she shaded N'mai with her left arm and shoulder, as well as making sure that they both had their backs to the hull.  Elsbeth did presume that N'mai was covering her left side quadrant as she was preoccupied covering the gap and others as they approached.

Her armored helmet's searchlights began warming up, just in case the inside of the dreadnought was dark due to lack of power...

Leo took a look at the bodies and tried to figure if it looked like they took one massive hit or a lot of little hits... he was no investigator but he was a fighter, and he had the capability to perform purely psychokinetic assault if need be.  He had no qualms remembering what kind of signs it left.  Things were looking more and more interesting.

"I see the signs. It makes the investigation of the craft more imperative. Bright Star, you're my only resource on the Skandlings. You see the Q'sa, how likely were they to be seen as intruders by the host intelligence? How much access to psychokinetics did the Skandlings have? Leo, you might have to be the first in on this one, due to your unique attributes."

Leo smiled behind his mask and removed a glove from his left hand to show that indeed it had been covered by a thin metal chitin of sorts, elaborate circuitry glowed faintly across it and he pressed his hand almost lovingly against the hulking ship as he moved inside.  It was perhaps the closest to a moment of reverence that any of those assembled had felt or seen from him.

While he was keeping his thoughts to himself... for telepathic purposes, he had been somewhat trained in polity and was entering the home of a friend as far as himself was concerned.  He was meeting an ally that didn't know it was an ally just yet.

  " It does look to be a psychokinetic assault." N'mai replied after a glance. something beyond most telekinetics I have encountered.</blue> She spared only a glance as she stood under cover watching the arc she had selected. her weapon read as was a small sphere in her off hand. the flat green color and shape marking it as a grenade.
   "I'd suspect someone may have been here before us, these Q'sa were defending the  wreckage, and do you notice no intact weapons remain here, I doubt the Q'sa simply fought with their bare hands. "
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:53, Wed 26 Oct 2011.

" Odd, they are on the outside of the ship not on the inside. Balkiir knelt and examined the bodies." No projectile or energy weapon wounds."
       " One 'teek' this powerful in a squad is pretty impressive. Either the attackers were all TKs or there was only one person who did this, which is down right worrisome."

"If their gravity generators went out of control even for a split second it could do some nasty damage. Any chance that might have something to do with the bodies? Just a thought." She realized it wasn't likely though it was possible if gravity went mad it could do some interesting things.

"If just one person did this we are going to have to shoot to kill. Before he, she or it realizes we are there. I seriously doubt we will get a second chance. If we can tap into a data line and check the security video we might get lucky and get a look at whatever did this. Before we meet it. If it's up and running despite the battle damage."

Remaining alert M'kira is ready to protect her companions. Particularly T'risa her trigger finger getting itchy. She didn't like dealing with powerful espers unlike most people you couldn't disarm them without doing something drastic.

Leo sighed, "People... If they are Teeks, then they probably have some Teep too.  Thinking mean thoughts is only going to get us hurt if they are this strong.  So far all we really have as evidence is they are the enemy of my enemy.  We have no origin or destination, we barely have evidence that the ship is involved at all.  You act like your from species that haven't had a contact with other species or unusual abilities... damn.  It's an unknown... so?  Be on guard."  That said, he was armed... but he was intending it as light source more than weapon.

"If they are friendly, awesome, if not... we'll have to be creative... but defending ourselves is different than actively planning to kill people that don't have a real corned hash with us... wait... the human saying is beef..."

She glances at Leo speaking softly willing to hear what he had to say and let him take the risks he felt were worth it. "So far most of the things we have encountered on this planet have tried to kill us. I get where your coming from I was considering how to deal with it. I didn't think about it implying as the only way to deal with it. I suggest contact be made with a automated drone and not us in case it's hostile."

 She watched what was happening below with mixed feelings. She was worried abut her friends, and worried about what they'd find. As they explored the wreckage images and reactions started to trickle through from those below who were leaking emotions. Her stomach roiled and twisted, and an itchy feeling came into her head, like bugs crawling inside. She tried hard to push the feelings away and to concentrate on guarding her friends, but she still had a desire to gag. Sweat broke out on her forehead so she had to wipe it from her eyes.
"Phew..."

T'risa strode forward towards the entry point. "No rest for the wicked. Seriously, we could stand here all day trying to decide how to get in and approach the TKer, or we could just go in and see what's going on. We've wasted enough time as is."

Leo smirked, "Been inside, little miss spider with your mental web."  Leo moved forward amid any debris.  He was expecting quite a bit in all honesty.  "I'm going to see about messaging my Promethean contact in just a bit... maybe I'll pick up something interesting on that bandwidth.  For now, I'll try to ensure that there is a path large enough for those of you who are armored to make it around comfortably."

  The rip in the hull was jagged and irregular, the scorching and melted metal along it's edges suggested it had been made by a beam weapon during the battle. . It passed though several meters of Hull and equipment, and entered into a large chamber beyond. Dangling cables, sharp edges and dripping chemicals made the entry tricky and potentially hazardous.
    Once past the outer hull the ships interior is pitch black, the deck is slightly canted to one side from the odd angle of the landing making footing a little unsure. The cargo hold that the gap in the hull leads into is filled with bulk containers. many of which have bee ruptured or exploded by the weapon impact filling the room with a chocking stench of burned food, and rotten fruit.


Climb check DC 12
Or
REF save DC 14

Failure indicates 1d6 damage from exposed edges or spilled chemicals.

I will assume everyone has access  small high power LED lights mounted on protective goggles.( so you can use them hands free. Rhic has also issued shoulder mounted audio/video recorders to document the recovery, each camera has a high power multi-spectrum light. both camera and lights track your head direction so they see what you see, to a limited degree.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:24, Wed 02 Nov 2011.

Leo true to all his talk ducked, spun, weaved, cartwheeled, and from time time rolled as if he were in a reasonably quality martial arts holo-vid shoot as a stuntman.  "Hey come on it's safe!" he offered back to the others in a some what teasing tone as he paused momentarily on his erratic path.

 " Show off." Poppy muttered as she dug into her pack and came out with a length of rope." Lucky I always keep some rope around, Keeps the guys from running away." she grinned mischievously as she tied off one end and tied the other around her waist.
  She scampered up the narrow opening not nearly as acrobatic as Leo but much more quickly her internal gyros, and myomer fibers giving her a grip and balance few organics could match. ' we have really got to go dancing when we get back." She gave Leo a peck on the mask as she landed next to him with a cocky grin.

T'risa while looking uncomfortable trying to make her way through the wreckage manages to do so with few problems. Not even a scratch for her troubles. Once inside she began looking for any symbols or markings that might be familiar to help in the translation process.


13:22, Today: T'risa K'mahda rolled 15 using 1d20+5. Reflex save

Taking advantage of Poppy's rope M'kira makes her way down as well with graceful ease. She smiles watching poppy give Leoulin a peck on the check. "Careful Leoulin might blush under that mask he's become so popular of late."

Giggling for a moment she keeps a careful watch to make sure that T'risa is safe. Weapon ready as soon as she hits the ground she was ready to move out.

Reflex save=22

 N'mai looked up askance as Leo made his way up the tangle of debris. Her jaw dropped slightly at how nimbly the young man moved. She moved cautiously using the rope for support. She made it to the upper edge and then a section of piping burst spraying her with scalding steam sending her tumbling back down the shaft. Leaving her battered and Bleeding from a deep gash on her cheek that cut to the bone.

Elsbeth moved after most of the others had filtered in.  She waved N'mai forward.  The Marine decided to forego the rope, figuring that having her two hands free (well, actually still holding her carbine) was more important.  Besides, her armor augmented her strength, while the built in jump jets gave her plenty of extra umph in her step.  The tall Praetorian timed her move a couple of seconds after N'mai made her break for the rope.  She was attempting to coordinate cover for the young lady and wanted to be inside the hull at pretty much the same time.

Of course, Ifni had other plans.  While, Elsbeth pushed off from the ground launching herself through the hole in the hull with a perfectly executed flip, she could see in her peripheral vision the third Lieutenant having problems with her footing.  As she landed at the lip of the hole, Elsbeth's left hand lashed out trying to grab onto the any of the tumbling limbs of N'mai.  But, all she succeeded in doing was grabbing air.

Elsbeth grimaced as she once again was unable to prevent the injury of someone under her protection.  Her gazed lingered for a moment on the prone figure of Lieutenant N'mai.  A solitary, muttered Tae expletive escaped her tightened lips.  Her eyes darted to Balkiir's position checking to see if the large blue Valkiir could get there in time.

He watched as the others entered the down craft. A part of him longed to go with them, but the soldier in him knew better. He keyed his mic and spoke in a muted whisper. "Good luck, Marshal. You are leaving our line of sight so you will be on your own from this point on. Good hunting and we will keep your backsides covered as much as we can. Will at least be able to give you an advanced warning if any hostiles approach your position."

  Balkiir was about to start up the shaft when he felt a surge of alarm and guilt from Elspeth, he glanced up in time to see N'mai heading ass over teakettle back down the opening. He met the Young officer as she came to a halt. He was trying rying to catch her, but was worried if slamming into a fully armored marine carrying his own weight in gear would be any better than slamming into the ground.
   Once he was sure she was still breathing he helped her to her feet examined the wound and sprayed some skin sealant over it. with typical marine efficiency, which usually meant it hurt like hell.
    The Lieutenant is alive and combat effective, She's just gonna look a little better for the boys, come shore leave. Balkiir reported with a slight chuckle and a friendly pat on the shoulder to the smaller woman." Be sure to teall them yu were on a Q'sa dreadnought when you got it.... But ya might want to fudge on how many Live Q'sa there were....them blue boys eat up scars....aint that right Leo?" He couldn't help but send Leo a barb knowing his reaction to O'maeda women.

  N'ai heard herself let out a panicked yelp as the world spun about her and eacy painful impact drew another grunt. Landing at the feet of a man was worse than landing five paces to the left on a bed of broken armor plating with all of it jagged edges.
   he endured the rough handling from he marine attributing it to his Valkiir upbringing, and grimaced as he poked and prodded her face then sprayed it with stinging anti-septic and sealant.
  " I do not need advice of true men from.... she caught herself in the middle of her reply spying the broad smile on the Valkiir's face as he needled her, his good natured humor was a bit rough but none worse than the females of his faction.thank your Sergeant. I'd rather come by my battle scars in less embarrassing ways."
   Without waiting for more encouragement she started back up the shaft and took care to avoid putting her hands on anything that looked the least bit unstable.

Taking a moment to Lend Balkiir a hand She smiles at N'mai seeing that she was all right. "Not the first tumble any of us have taken. It's good that your all right. Balkiir what do you think about harnesses? A little less risk if we can lower or pull people up. Even if they fall if the rope is secured properly it won't be far."

The idea had merit considering what just happened. Had that metal caught her four or five inches lower it might have opened up her throat. There wasn't much you could do if the main artery was cut. "Let's move out."

She grins at Balkiir for a moment as she moves on watching T'risa's six protectively. No one was getting a shot at her if she could help it.

   The storage bay is packed with crates from dozens of sources,Q'sa, Najuhlim, Omaeda, Tae, and a few from various non aligned groups. in total the scatted container seem to have stores and supplies for a large garrison of Q'sa, many of the canisters hold large packs of dried fruit stored in vacuum pouches and marked as "long term safe" a few containers also contain standard issue military rations from non-alligned human groups. complete with "Export surplus" markings on the cases.
  as T'risa surveys the scattered cargo, Leo spots a nearby a canister blown open by the explosion. It is filled with simple, generic jumpsuits, and shoes for humans, looking more like prison garb than uniforms. to his fashion sensitive eyes it stands out among the scattered alien goods.

A harness is a good idea. Balkiir put a hand on N'mais shoulder just a light touch to let her know he wanted her to stop." With Aziza outside Your the only trained star ship expert in the group, no insult but I would rather not take any chances.
   Balkiir too a clip from his web gear and secured it to the end of the climbing rope and secured it onto the D-rings on N'mai's armor. Ignoring any protest or angry looks, He was used to those from his sisters on more than one occasion.

    Alright someone get on that rope and make sure we don't break the Empires property

Leo laughed out loud after a moment of mental silence passed... he was in a turbulent memory... smoke, screaming, plasma, a man with almost an exact copy of Leo's current face... but somehow larger as if seen from smaller eyes... and a theater full of the dead and dying save six armored figures that approached the stage with menace.  His father began to sway as light dragged from his finger tips.  The smoke curled in the boy's vision... "Leoulin... feel the rythm of the world... dance once more with your father."

His laughter however broke that memory before it went further.  "Any injury survived is a testament to your durability... but she is right friend.  I am not the best one to give advice... My father told me every woman has her dance... if you perform for her, then she will be happy with you.  Many among my people are sarabande though few would turn away a habanera if they have us alone.  Never would one accept one publicly.  You Valkiir all have the same dance... one that many warriors relate to.  I am... unseemly in my manner while not on family business."

"Whoever was here was either transporting to, or merely transporting people with terrible fashion sense," he offered holding up one of the jumpsuits.  He kicked some of the shoes, "If it was a prison break, then they probably ran off into the woods and hills keeping weapons for themselves.  Human teeks are notoriously shortwinded by comparison to such as I.  I'd be more than willing to discuss female mentalities when there weren't so many around.  they tend to get aggitated when men prove they know something."

"It's a shame we have no medic nearby. Hold on a moment. I'm going to have a look around the ship and see if I can see anything worthwhile." T'risa closed her eyes using her ESP to explore a few nearby rooms to see if anything further could be garnered prior to moving into them. "I can try psychometry on one or two of the objects near here and see if I can get anything on our TKer and whether they might be inside or outside. Elsbeth, was there a TKer in the Marine group dropped here?"

"Sergeant Grym, we're all under your and maran's watchful eye. You can talk to me using your mind. I suggest you leave using radio unless you have to. It can be triangulated whereas it's much more difficult with telepathy. As a side note....be careful. There may be some Tae escaped prisoners nearby....I wonder if they may be further marine survivors from the group Elsbeth belongs to....we suspect the Tker might be in the group."

She walked over to the injured 3rd Lieutenant. "Can you heal yourself? I'm not 100% sure I can heal someone else. I've only had occasion to heal myself"

Even before Balkiir had clipped N'mai in and made his request for a pulley and winch, Elsbeth had stepped up to the edge and taken a grasp of the line with her left hand.  Her laser carbine was still held in her right hand.  The tall bioengineered Tae pulled the line and levered it over her armoured shoulder, allowing the line to travel along one of the reticulated grooves almost like a pulley.  She strategically placed her left leg and foot to take up the slack and began to hoist the Third Lieutenant up with the line.  Elsbeth knew that her augmented strength would be more than enough to allow her to pull the young woman.  Likely she could even pull up Balkiir and all of his gear without too much effort.

When T'risa question about a telekinetic on the CMC's 359th roster came up, Elsbeth stopped mid pull.  Her brow furrowed for a moment, and then she shook her head.  Her helmet amplified voice noted, "No, Ma'am.  I am unaware of any telekinetics on the 359th's roster.  Sergeant Major Nerius was a telepath, if I remember correctly.  But, she was pretty low grade."  Elsbeth started to pull on the rope again, as she added as disclaimer and a bit of an afterthought, "Of course, I could be wrong.  And there would be no way for me to know if there had been any latents amongst my fellow marines."

Once, N'mai was at the opening, Elsbeth stowed her carbine for a moment and then offered her right hand to the Third Lieutenant.  Her visor popped open for a brief moment.  "Please, forgive me." she noted quietly and simply, her voice unamplified, as she pulled N'mai in through the rent in the dreadnought's hull.  Her lips were pursed and the eyes dark under the furrowed brow.  And then the visor slipped closed again and Elsbeth noted over her helmet's speakers as she grabbed her carbine in her right hand again.  "I do have a CMC issue medkit, if you require it.  Two, in fact." she noted off-hand.

She continued to stand on rope duty to expidite the climb of M'kira, Balkiir, and anyone else in the group still down on the ground.

_{" You can't protect me from my own carelessness Marine."} N'mai replied with a soft mental note." It seems the infi thought I needed a lesson in humility."She replied aloud with a nonchalance that seemed forced.I believe your Valkiir has dealt with the immediate need,let's continue."
This message was last updated by the player at 11:42, Sat 05 Nov 2011.

Witht eh rope and harness the rest of the team can make a tricky but secure ascent although Balkiir, and M'kira have a rough time due to the enclosed spaces and protruding hazards. When everyone is at the top of the opening they can spread out into a less vulnerable cluster and begin to explore the interior beyond the cargo bay.
   T'risa's ESP reveals that to either side are storage chamber of a similar side, stacked high with tumbled containers. most contain nothing of interest although one damage container seems to contain a collection of robot components, and odd constructs that resemble giant robotic children's toys.

T'risa led the group towards the next cargo section containing the robot parts. She had no idea what they meant, but between Conrad, Tiny and Poppy, she was sure they would be able to figure out what the parts were there to do and any kind of information was better than none. Much of the enemies grand plan was still hidden from her.

"Let's head towards this cargo section, I want your opinions on some of the items uncovered."

She nodded at T'risa request to hold position while she gathers intel with her abilities. Watching Balkir and Elsbeth work together made her smile. They did it well and she was happy to note that the Lt. was handling it well. "I am ready to proceed when you are T'risa."

Moving cautiously with T'risa she remains alert for any sign of enemy presence. She was interested in the cargo as well. It might or might not be yet another piece of the puzzle. "Do we want Aziza to send in any drones for a little salvage from the areas we have already been in while we look around?"

" Right here Oh lady of commanding nature, who I obey instantly in a proper military, fashion when she barks her lady like orders!" Poppy gave a sloppy salute and a wide grin as she was called for pulling tiny behind her.Items to be examined, oooooo anything good, maybe  a nice new butt for poppy and a set of legs for me. These are a bit skinny for my taste. But a nice soft rump would be just the thing to start poppy off. something smart, nicely shaped that isn't too slutty...ya know she's just a kid so we cant have anyone thinking she's too easy."
    Poppy paused looking embarrassed. as she realized she was going off on a completely immaterial tear in the middle of an op. "Sorry, right here what did you want me to look at?

Elsbeth began to nod to N'mai, when the Lieutenant's quip about Balkiir's role in her life registered.  One could almost see her brow furrowing, despite the presence of her visor.  Of course, Balkiir could sense her momentary confusion - not at the actual situation (which it could be said that N'mai had accurately assessed, at least from a certain point of view), but merely at the Lieutenant's chosen verbiage.

She stopped in her tracks for a moment and turned to look directly at N'mai.  "M-my Valkiir?!?" she stammered, her voice tinny over her helmet's speakers and the words were accompanied by a tilt of the head.  The thought had never really occurred to her - a Praetorian was bred to be a protector, a defender and a companion; they might be said to be owned by their charges - owing them their life to protect them.  But never the reverse.  And Elsbeth would never have thought to try and own Balkiir...

She shook her head, the helmet moving to and fro.  Perhaps to clear some cobwebs, or perhaps to deny the assertion.  Who knows?  "Balkiir is a free Tau." she intoned respectfully and simply, "No one owns him, Third Lieutenant.  Least of all me."  The tall colonial marine's helmet turned towards the direction of Balkiir for a moment.  Then Elsbeth turned and motioned for she and N'mai to continue on their way, following the others through the cargo hold.

Leo laughed warmly again as he poked through the cargo area with some detachment to the mess, "Children's toys?  Perhaps robotic friends... This seems more like a junk hauler.  But I think the Leiutenant was speaking of the plural possessive as if to indicate he belonged to all of us, or more accurately our group.  The semantics might be lost somewhere and possibly stand for further scrutiny as we do have more than one of my distant cousins among our number."

Leo looked to the aforementioned Balkiir, "What was that line...?  Methinks she doth protest too much.  Whatever Omaedan girl professes her love for me is likely to get a silent but sharp reprimand from her mother.  We just don't do it that way.  Besides... with my genetics my mother will probably never allow me to marry.  For the stability and future generations of the Empire.  My brother is already a father a few times over but only gets to visit the kids while he isn't performing his manly duties for the empire, or the family.  My dad is going to be in his end years of such duties soon.  He might even marry one of our moms when forced to settle down."

She couldn't help it after one delicate eyebrow shoots up for a moment M'kira bursts out giggling. She had heard of dressing or wearing makeup that made one appear well what poppy said. However a body part was a first! She quickly gets it under control as they were on a mission. Even so her eyes twinkle merrily. "It's ok Poppy you wouldn't be you if you didn't have interesting little conversations like that. I have never heard of someone's butt making them look slutty. I have to envy that ability though you can get a whole new look just by shopping. For us biological's  we have to get cosmetic surgery."

Even for the brief chat she's constantly alert in case anything should happen. Her eyes and weapon always ready and tracking for a target. Hearing Elsbeth stammer She looks at the Marine with a touch of sympathy when she figures out what it's about. "Just a culture thing Elsbeth don't let it bother you. She means your boyfriend though in a different way then you perceive it." Listening to Leoulin talking about Omaedan life so matter of factly was probably a interesting education for Elsbeth. She just smiles glancing at the marine for a moment while walking along. "We do lead interesting and complex lives. Omaedan society can be very competitive as well. Which can be a problem sometimes if they become interested in what is perceived as your male. Not that Balkir won't speak up for himself as he is Valkir." She didn't disagree with Leoulin in any way. M'kira was simply tossing in her two cents for the moment.

T'risa pointed Poppy towards the cargo container that contained the robotic parts. "If you could have a quick look and tell me the nature of what they might be trying to build with them. I have some suspicions, but I don't want to prejudice your thought processes. Please go check it out."

T'risa sighed an exasperated sigh as Leo once again managed to turn everything into how oppressed he was. "It is a common thing, Elsbeth. To refer to objects, things, people and more that hold a personal significance as belonging to them. If you think about it, you might refer to the rifle and armour as yours, yet they are not. They are paid for and property of someone else. In the same manner, people can be referred to in a similar manner. The comment was meant only to display the fact that the blossoming relationship between you and Balkiir has been recognised by everyone here."

T'risa folded her arms across her chest, feeling it necessary to give everyone a mild reprimand. "Now that we are in the middle of a crashed dreadnought with many potential threats to us, most unknown, this is not really the place for a discussion on the inequities and vagaries of society. Save it for the dinner table. Focus on why we are here. Leo, could you please move ahead and lead us towards further in to the ship?"

 " Some of this is just junk parts, labor bodies, survey drones...." Poppy picked up and arm and examined it.the pale pink skin and bits of glitter made it look like it belonged to a child's toy.This is not junk though, triple strength myomers, fiber optic tactile network, even a thermal sheath to simulate a human heat pattern. this  is high end work... and the ident numbers are non standard, it's O'sahdii standard but the sequences are all wrong.... not to mention there is enough dirt and crud packed into it to grow a garden in...it looks like someone dug this stuff out of the ground. and there's this.... She pulled a tag off of one of the larger bodies. holding it up to revel it was an tracking tag identical to the ones on the samples in the archeology lab.

  Star hopped up to the edge of the container and began to nose through the parts, her tail twitching as she sniffed at some of the parts. She radiated intense curiosity then her head darted back and her ears flattened in alarm as she spotted something in among the debris.
   " It's steed tech, there are Steed components in here." She glanced up at T'risa and then back at the dismantled robots.' Not all of us were designed to look like animals, some were... well toys for children when we first awakened. there are parts from at least half a dozen of us in this container...but no cores, the cores have all been pulled from the body."

 She listened as best she could mentally, since she wasn't practiced in doing that very well yet. Still, she kept her eyes alert and her ears up for anything strange around her and below her in case danger presented itself. When she "heard" that there was steed parts down there, she had to wonder what had happened to the cores, if they'd been destroyed, or worse, if whoever the ship belonged to had taken the cores to modify for some evil purposes. If that were so, she feared what that might mean for those below.
 ~Be careful everyone!~

Elsbeth nodded to the T'risa.  "Yes, Marshal.  I understand." she stated simply, being properly chastened.  As per her orders, Elsbeth took a deep breath and resumed her guard duty on the perimeter as others in the group investigated the crates.

She forced herself to focus, holding her laser carbine at the ready.  The armoured marine continued to scan her assigned quadrant through the sights of her longarm.  She knew that she was no help with respect to the identification of parts in the cargo hold.  Not that she was expected to - Elsbeth understood her role and took it seriously.  She glanced at N'mai to ensure that she was reading her proximity displays correctly and the swept the area with her eyes again.  Alert and ready, that was where she figured that she needed to be right now; so, that is what she was.

   Having seen Maran's puzzlement flash across her young face, Sun Runner looked up at Maran and licked her hand gently.  He didn't like this place at all, it smelled way too much like a trap for his liking.
  "Maran, what is happening?  What did they find?  It is, in all probability, nothing pleasant.  This place reeks of Skandlings and their servants!  They shouldn't be underestimated, no matter what.  Their treachery is legendary and it extends to all of their brood, including the Q'sa!  They are extremely dangerous: paranoid, xenophobic, and completely amoral.  If there is another species, in all the known continuum, that values life less, I've yet to encounter them."
   The old Steel Steed was doing everything he could to mitigate his emotive sub routines overactive responses, but they seemed to create new pathways faster than he could shut them down.  The 'feelings' associated to past experiences with the Skandling race were threatening to override his cerebral cortex' basic reasoning circuitry and that could be disastrous.  He found himself growling and barring his teeth as he rescanned millions of zetta bytes of data contained in his core memory.  With a considerable expenditure of energy, he commanded his matrix to focus on the data alone, temporarily restricting the power supply to his emotional response program.  This was about keeping the organics safe.  That was his prime directive.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Mon 14 Nov 2011.

 Balkiir move to the cargo bay entrance covering the hallway for Leo. He put his hand on Elspeths shoulder as he passed her giving her a supportive smile and slight squeeze although in truth he might as well have been patting the side of an armored vehicle. There was little chance she'd feel the gesture physically but he made it anyway. He just wanted her to know she was doing fine in his mind.
   Instinct tended to cause him to let the women sort out their own affairs and establish their own balance. If he saw it was getting out of hand he'd speak up but right now it was T'risa's command and he wasn't going to undermine her.
    He set kneeling aiming his weapon down the hallway his HUD lighting the scene in layers of false color as thermal, UV and motion tracking sensors fed data into it.
 " Set...Leo your up." He motioned the smaller man forward, through T'risa he sent a thought to Maran.~Little sister your friend's have any data on these old ships?~

~I don't know about ships, I will ask.~
 "Sunny, do you know about those ships? Anything at all? Are they likely to have changed much from your time?"
 "They've found some... steed parts inside but no cores. Could they have used the cores somehow, changed them against their wills? I pray not! I don't want to think of what they might be trying to use them for. Could they be forced to pilot the ship?"
 She kept her eyes peeled but glanced a quick glance to Sun Runner to try to reassure him that all was well. She didn't dare take her hand off her weapon in case she had to shoot fast, or she would have hugged him close.

T'risa frowned "Can you use the spare parts? Perhaps we could regenerate your old bodies with these....or given the cores were removed, we could perhaps generate a new body for however many of the cores we find. In any case. We need to leave them now and perhaps focus on the road ahead. I suggest that it may even be possible a Steel Steed may now be in charge of this vessel."

"So your saying that someone is smuggling these parts off the planet. Probably stole some from the original archeologists or dug it up themselves. Advanced tech is priceless which might explain some of the factions we have seen mucking around on this planet."

Between Penny's observations and Birghtstars it certainly helped to implicate certain reasons for at least some of the things they had seen. "Might want to take some of this stuff. Never know when you or tiny might take a nasty hit poppy." If they did or not was up to them.

Listening to T'risa she nods. "Certainly would be a good thing to rescue the cores if we can. No telling if they are even on this ship. If there is any power might be able to do a data search eventually."

   Searching his extensive archives took precious time, but Sun Runner was certain he had a schematic of this particular dreadnought class in his memory.  After several unsuccessful files had been scanned, he finally found what he was looking for and quickly accessed it to determine if it was the correct blueprint.  It was as near as his proximity scans could discern; the configurations matched.
  "Maran, tell T'risa I have found a detailed schematic of this vessel, I will download it to Bright Sta..."  Sun Runner halted in mid sentence, trying to analyze what his tachyon transmitters were receiving.  He had initiated a search for Bright Star's unique network signal when he immediately encountered a strong frequency, one he had never encountered before...MARAN'S!  As extraordinary as it seemed, Maran was among the very rare human telepaths capable of interfacing directly with machines, and therefore Sun Runner and other Steeds.  This revelation took Sun Runner several nano seconds to process before he was certain.
   "Maran, are you aware you are a psi-tech?  I can send this blueprint directly to you!  This is truly...er...unexpected.  Transmitting to you now so you may share with T'risa."

 She listened with only half an ear at first to Sunny's ramblings before what he said sank in, then she nearly dropped her gun as she turned an amazed eye to the dog. Her mouth hung open and it took her a moment to close it again.
 "What do you mean, psy-tech? What is that? Oh, I know I can kinda talk to T'ris..." Her words came to an abrupt halt as the images and schematics flashed into her head almost faster than her brain could access, and a sharp pain filled her head as the unused pathways were blasted wide open then beamed outward toward T'risa and Bright Star. Image after searing image flew faster than thought from Sun Runner to Maran to T'risa and Bright Star until they stopped. With a sharp cry, a loud gasp and a soft exhalation, Maran collapsed onto her gun and her mind went blank as her instinctive shields went up. But the damage was already done.

Leo nodded and placing his hands behind his head decided to just stroll through the doors.  Afterall, anyone would likely be expecting someone to move swiftly through and lead too much, then they might see his unthreatening posture... or if they tried to get a second shot in, he would be able to react to their first shot at least.

"Woohoo!" he actually thought this was fun.  His suit moved quietly but it was looking like he wasn't going to be nearly as paranoid as most military personel would think he should.

  Images begin to flow into T'risa's mind; deck plans, diagrams technical specifications for the Dreadnought class star ship fill her memory the sheer volume is stunning. It takes a few moments for her mind to digest the information and make sense of the overload of data streaming to her from Maran's mind even for a seasoned Psionic it is a bit overwhelming. The transmission ends abruptly with an echo of pain, then darkness.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:43, Fri 18 Nov 2011.

M'kira slowly advances letting Leoulin lead the way with his own unique style. She was aware something was going  on in their telepathic net, however she had other things to focus on. If they needed to know the details would likely be shared soon enough.

   Sun Runner crouched down and licked Maran's face.  He hadn't realized that she was so completely new to her abilities.  A quick scan of her vital functions indicated she was stable, though her heart rate and blood pressure were definitely elevated above her normal rates.  He was relieved he could detect no serious abnormalities.  Her mental and emotional state, however, was not so easy to deduce.
   "Maran?  Are you well?  How are you feeling?  I was unaware that you'd had no experience at all with your natural psy-tech abilities.  If my error resulted in any injury to you I do apologize.  I will reduce my data stream transmission speed in the future, and only send what you indicate you can comfortably receive.  I hope T'risa was not similarly affected."
   He watched her with concern, hoping she would be okay.  He pulled out water canteen and offered it to her encouragingly.

The tall, armoured Marine didn't give any outward acknowledgement of Balkiir's touch.  She was only aware of it from the proximity reports and the empathic link that they shared.  But that was more than enough to give her a feeling of comfort that she readily acknowledged over the bond that they shared.  Elsbeth was not sure if T'risa or the others could also make sense of those emotional cues, but there was very little that Elsbeth could do about it.  Besides the Marshal and Balkiir had both said that it was nothing to be ashamed of.  So, she pushed any worries aside to focus on the mission at hand.

Elsbeth kept pace with Leoulin, M'kira and Balkiir forming the vanguard as they moved down the hall.  She was more than satisfied with letting the lithe O'meadan male take the lead, despite his unorthodox style (at least, it was not standard CMC protocol); she had plenty to keep her occupied since she had Lt. N'mai in tow.  Her helmet and visor continued to scan back and forth over the area with her laser carbine at the ready.  Only once or twice did she glance back to make sure that N'mai was with her.

T'risa bowed over in shock at the large amounts of information entering her brain. "Sun Runner. Stop what you're doing. You may think at the speed of light. We do not. It's a much slower organic process for us. Maran's only just beginning to learn. You might have done some permanent damage. I'm an experienced telepath and it was overwhelming for me. Bright Star, you and I have worked on this kind of thing, link with Sun Runner so he can see how limited we are."

Her mind spinning with floor plans and schematics, T'risa decided to see if the information was useful. And set a course for the computer centre of the ship.

 She moaned softly as she tried to open her eyes, and searing light blinded her briefly. Her head felt like it was splintered into a million shards, and everything seemed too loud, too bright, too everything. She slitted her eyes as they teared and tried to move. That's when she felt Sunny lick her face then something cold was pushed under her hand. Instinctively she closed her hand on it and realized it was her canteen. Wincing and trying to breathe through the pain, she took the canteen and pried it open, then took several slow sips. Finally she felt like she could move her head without fainting again.
 She did her best to look around for danger, knowing she had let her friends down by not watching while her head exploded. She blinked to clear the tears away and gave the area a sweep, but everything looked strangely over-bright still. She grimaced and kept trying to clear her vision.
 "What the heck did you do to me Sunny? Where's my first aid kit? Maybe it's got headache pills in it. My head feels split into a million pieces!"

  The data from the map is unusual, it seems highty detailed in keyareas and les detailed in others. As if someone had mapped a route through the ship at some point. And from the notes on key defense points and predicted and actual resistence it seems it was a hostile incursion.
   The route to the core is not stright forward or easy, there are several choke points and internal security doors that will need to be bypassed and cut through. Without power the ships internal guns were most likely off line but a few might have back up power still fuctioning. Moving carefully it woul take an hour to reach the core, if no unexpected damage or resistence interferes.
  In the hallway outside the bodies of several Q'sa warriors lay sprawled out, riddled with gunfire and one embedded in a bank of electronics looking as if he had been hit by a bus. Once again no weapons are evident among the bodies. a heavy labor unit is also wrecked, scored by weapons fire and blast damage. It is spattered with blood from multiple Q'sa and still has a warrior in a death grip, its body reduced to a pulp by multi-ton lifitng claws.

---

Outside Maran recovers quickly although, she feels an odd buzz in the back of her head. As if someone is breating on the back of her neck or tickling her ear. She has a hazy image of a small narrow passage. The sound of something moving around in the shadows byond the grating at the end of the tunnel makes her jump in fear. She also feels a gnawing hunger, and thirst that she can't shake, she finds herself gulping down water desperately.

  "I am aware of the limitations of organic cerebral functionality, T'risa Ma'am.  I do not need tutoring from Bright Star in how to interface with my bonded human, I've been working with organics since before she was commissioned. I miscalculated; it has been...an inordinate amount of time since I've needed to link to an organic.  My repeated and thorough bio-scans confirm, however, that she has not been damaged more than superficially. I shall modulate my data transmission speeds to accommodate her lack of experience in the future.  You will find the information worth the difficulty, I believe.  My apologies for any discomfort."
   Sun Runner turned his attention to Maran, ignoring for the moment, any further non-critical communication, until he had determined that Maran was okay.  He sat on his haunches and cocked his head, whimpering sadly, audio flaps down, mimicking a sad canine expression automatically.
   "Maran, how are you feeling?" he asked gently.

 "Somethings wrong! There's someone...something hiding from...from...the Q'sa. They are suffering from hunger and thirst! Soooooo thirsty! Someone give them water!" She gulped water in a futile attempt to ease the unending thirst as her overloaded brain broadcast the echo in her head.

~FEAR HUNGER FEAR THIRSTY SO THIRSTY! SCARED! GONNA DIE ALONE HERE DIE OF THIRST~

~That's sun runner for ooops sorry I'm an idiot.~ Star sighed as she listened to Sun Runners tirade. when Maran began broadcasting her impressions Star cocked her head to one side her ears twitching.~I think Maran is picking up on someone, if it's another person like her she'll pick them up even if we can't especially with her pathways blown open by a sudden surge like that.~

M'kira puts a supporting and comforting hand on T'risa's arm as the information bombards her. "Sounds like you just got a massive data stream. Maran sounds like she's ok and picking up someone else's emotions and perhaps even thoughts. If we got a survivor on the ship hiding form the Q'sa they might be friendly or at least have intel we can use."

She looks to T'risa figuring she could help Maran out. That or maybe find this person now that she knows they are there. "Maran you can tune out Metal thoughts and emotions you don't want. You need to remain calm and focus on what you need or want. T'risa can probably guide you better then I can. If your up to it can you tell us where this person is? T'risa might be able to find them now as well."

   Balkiir Moved to join Elspeth as she advanced motioning Poppy and Rhic to take up over watch on the main group.  Definitely a fire fight here."  He put his finger in the scored pockmarks in the hallway and picked up shattered projectile fragments from the deck. "Small caliber firearms, and light duty plasma weapons from the look of it..only Q'sa bodies though.  Either someone hit these guys while they were still disorganized, or big boy soaked up the fire for the rest of the group that was fighting here."  Balkiir examined the labor unit and shook his head.  "Remind me to be nicer to that loading bot back on the ship."
This message was last edited by a game editor at 16:43, Mon 28 Nov 2011.

T'risa winced sharply as she felt the thirst, fear and hunger from Maran. "MARAN! Control your thoughts! When we get back, I'll need to teach you more. It's not acceptable to let this bleed through." T'risa was beginning to suspect having an untrained telepath here was not the wisest of ideas. "Block it. Allow it to pass over you. you are the eye of the storm. you can see it all around you, can taste it if you need to, can take the measure of it, but it doesn't reach through you, it goes around. Look to the source, feel for the hungry and fearful one. Touch the storm and let your thoughts calm it. Think peace, welcoming, togetherness." T'risa reached for her commlink. "Sergeant Grym, keep an eye out. There's someone close to you and Maran that's dangerous though not necessarily hostile."

T'risa moved to sit on the floor. "It looks positive. A robot fighting Q'sa. If they had full control of the ship, the robot would be helping Q'sa. Bright Star, would it be possible for one you to take over a dreadnought like this? What would you need to do it? Can you communicate with the entity in control of the ship? Did the schematics we just receive arrive from a force that previously tried to board one of these vessels?"

Leo turned to face T'risa, "Tee... can you subnet Maran's mind and my own?  I might be able to drop into a trance and dream for her.  If I can, then I might be able to suppress some if not all of what she is getting from the other person, maybe even get more useful information about them.  If they are shorted together, I may be able to help both of them.  I've got enough discipline to where I might even be able to catch up after I get the initial calming done, without breaking the link.  What do you think?"  He would have to acknowledge that she was a more powerful telepath, but he felt that she was under a lot of strain.  At the least he could help her out a bit.  That is what the Dreaming was for, to help the mentally overstressed women find a bit more peace.

"If not I will Dream for you and you can then, perhaps, help these other troubled minds," and that said it wouldn't take him long to reach his practiced meditative state when she agreed to try.

 Maran tried desperately to shut everybody down, to push them out. She was used to being alone, right? She didn't need anybody to tell her what to do, hadn't she survived alone by herself for all that time? She could do it again if she had to. Maybe she'd be better off alone again... Tears ran down her cheeks as she fought to remove herself from the stream of thoughts coming from all sides. Finally she grabbed at Sunny's fur and looked at him with begging eyes.
"Just make it all stop Sunny! Please, can you do that? For a little while just make it stop?"

" Oh without a doubt, the map is a combat log." Star replied after a second." The file tag has a signature I don't know and even ol' scruffy butt isn't old enough to go back to the day when the Skandlings used these old boats... they built these monsters before they ran into the Steeds and our human friends.... after that they had to build smaller faster ships or war steeds and human commandos would swarm them."
  " We managed to hijack more than one of their ships, before they altered their systems to block out steeds. That was before my time, but those old stories were popular in movies."

   Sun Runner ignoring everything else.  His concerns that other Steeds could be on board, what Blue Steel should be doing, asking Bright Star to scan...nothing else mattered but his bonded human.  She needed him, and he would help her if he could.
   "Maran, listen to me carefully.  Concentrate on the sound of my vocalizer and look into my optical sensors.   You are here now, with me, and no where else.  You hear nothing else, you see nothing else, just me.  The feel of my synthetic fur, the warmth of my robotic form, the gentle tone of my voice, the bright spark of sentience in my sensors...that is all you know.  It is your world now, and there is only you and I.  Now, find that place where we are ONE, the place where there is no corporeal form, where there is only understanding and peace.  We are safe here, we are alive, and we are at peace.  Nothing else matters..."
   He spoke gently, soothingly, using his old technique to calm her.  If she concentrated only on where they were, she would automatically ignore the rest.  He would do this as long as it took to bring her peace, for all that mattered to the ancient Steed was Maran's happiness and well being.

T'risa nodded at Leo's suggestion. "Maran, Leo can help you, if you are willing to let him. He can guide your thoughts and allow you to rest. This is a gift he's willing to give you. I will be present, as a conduit between you and him. It will help you, I guarantee it. The steeds minds are difficult as they think so fast and are of such deep scope it can be hard to keep yourself seperate. Leo and I can let you return gracefully. If you are willing."

T'risa eyes rested on Leo's, she spoke out loud, soft, but concenred. "Be careful with her. This will be her first dream. She's still very young. Don't lead her anywhere she's not ready to experience."

T'risa started breathing heavily trying to recapture her centre as she continued talking to Bright Star. "It's interesting. Not detailed in many parts. With the map we can decide which route might be best, computer centre or the bridge. I'd be more inclined to go for the computer centre. There's more information there we can use. A long journey to the computer centre and with multiple layers of defences. This will not be easy....but then again we anticipated that. I'd not have thought a Skandling vessel would attack mobs of Q'sa....so...my conclusion is a steed somehow got involved. Star, Conrad, can you take a look at the robot and see if there are any hints as to what took it over?"

" Let me have a peek. Star trotted to the downed machine and peered into he drivers cab. She studded it for a minute her ears twitching as lights lit up and then blinked out on the controls. " It''s been modified to house a steed core...really lousy job but it worked. well until someone shot the chassis full of holes.
  I can pick up traces of a steed code in the buffers and subsystems. It's an old one. Poppy and her friends have different signatures and are missing a few subroutines we have. So I'm guessing they dug it up like they did us....and someone who had some rough skills survived the crash and cobbled it a chassis together to escape from this ship would be my guess."

 She heard Sunny's words and tried to go with his soothing presence, tried to separate from the other out there, tried to pry her own memories from their mind...then she heard Leo and his soothing presence like warm sunshine in her mind, and between them both she started to relax, to let it all go, to try to center herself where she knew she WAS and not over there where the other also reeled in shock and confusion... She clung to Sunny physically until Leo took her down

Elsbeth's helmet moved up and down slightly as she nodded to Balkiir as he gave his post-mortem assessment of what had happened.  "Somebody won." she noted flatly through her tinny, amplified helmet speakers.  She motioned towards the wrecked chassis of the cargo bot and mused, "There were enough survivors to remove any disabled or wounded - they took the driver from the modified cockpit."

"Plus, whoever they are took all of the weapons - probably scavenging.  Same as us." Elsbeth added.  She started to edge herself and N'mai to the wreckage of cargo bot.  Her helmet turned to slight to regard Balkiir for a moment, noting simply, "I will remind you when we get back to the Crow, Friend Balkiir"  She took up a guarding position near Bright Star to make sure that he was allowed enough time to investigate the area.  Elsbeth's laser carbine was held at the ready propped against her shoulder.

Then she addressed T'risa mentally, since that seemed the most expedient method to publicly broadcast information to the others, Ma'am, seems likely it was an ambush and that there were survivors.  They are armed at this point with Q'sa scavenged weapons.  Are we to treat them as potential hostiles or friendlies?  Elsbeth never presumed that the 'enemy of my enemy' was a friend.  It had not always proved true in her past experience - and her job was to keep herself, her charge and her other teammates alive.  So, she felt compelled to ask.

T'risa nodded "Ok everyone, we have a valid question here. Seemingly, a group of prisoners, including some of the old Steel Steeds or close derivatives thereof have managed to stage some form of breakout. They are no doubt desperate and fearful. We will treat them as friendly until such time as events prove otherwise. Don't shoot unless fired upon. Try for non lethal actions at first. It should be noted they all have considerable numbers of firearms at this juncture and we wish to avoid any potential complications. We have enough people to fight already without adding more. Their numbers are unknown, but conceivably they might prove to bolster our numbers against the Q'sa and Her considerably." T'risa looked around at everyone in the ship. "Now...let's get moving. We've spent too long here as it is."

M'kira patiently stays out of the way letting those that could help Maran do so. not having telepathy and such there was little she could do other then offer support. She felt confident the others would take good care of Maran.

When T'risa decides it's time to move on she nods slightly smiling at her friends. "Ready. Let's get this taken care of." Weapon ready she wondered if they might have some allies soon. If nothing else they should have interesting information.

  studying the map and it's notes a route to the computer core, engineering core and command deck are possible. the computer core is near the center of the ship and within a heavily shielded area. isolated by several heavy doors and a wall of signal baffling material to protect it from EMP pulses and remote access.
   the rout avoids some of the heavily damaged area and seems to be the fastest route. However it does pass through the ships security and detention areas which have their own internal defenses.

   Gently Sun Runner licked Maran's hand, hoping what Leo was doing would help.  She did appear peaceful now, and bio scans indicated her neural activity and heart rate were more stable.  The old Steed sent the command to allow him to manually control his transmission speeds going forward.  He'd not make that same error again.  It went against the very essence of his programming to bring injury to his bonded organic.
   "Sleep well, Maran, and heal.  I forget sometimes how fragile your species can be at times, because there is so much strength in you.  You will learn to use your gift, and your ability will grow exponentially, if my projections are accurate.  Nothing is more important to me, than you."  Watching her now, she reminded him so very much of his lost K'va Tiri...  He turned his focus to other matters.  He contacted Bright Star:
   "Bright Star, can you scan for signs of other Steed on board?  Our signatures are unique, but there is too much interfering with my sensors here.  Have you noticed a hatch or other point of entry that might allow Blue Steel to gain access to the ship?  He could retrieve the Steed tech and other salvage you have uncovered so far.  It is imperative that any of our technology be removed from Q'sa control.  Their Skandling masters understand too much about us as it is."

 And she slept, after having vowed to watch over her friends, she was asleep at her post.

 Is she dreaming?

As Maran slept a dream unfolded. She saw herelf laying on the hillside with Sunrunner. Then she saw streams of numbers and blurs of light she did not mormally see.
   A second of time later her thoughts turned to her freinds and she saw T'risa towering over her as she paused to lick at some bit of debris sticking to her fur. she felt the presence of Leo in her dream a powerful yet gentle presence hat stripped away the panic and fear and allowed her mind to sift through the impressions streaming into her mind from her freinds.

M'kira proceeds cautiously making her way to their destination. With any luck they would somehow manage a friendly contact. She stays close to T'risa alert for any signs of trouble.

Yes, Ma'am. the bio-engineered Colonial Marine responded to T'risa reply with respect to treating any non-Q'sa as potentially friendly.  She wasn't quite sure what expect with respect to who they might meet.  The modifications to the chassis implied something non-human and from the other chatter it might some sort of artificial intelligence.  Which could take almost any shape.  Another 'Yes, Ma'am' followed the mental order to move out.

Elsbeth tapped lightly on the chassis next to Bright Star to get her attention.  She motioned to her that time was short and that they were proceeding, even though she was pretty sure that Star was part of the telepathic network that T'risa had established and therefore was aware of the order to move out.

As she passed Balkiir, Elsbeth tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up.  Then she fell into the forward formation, with N'mai in tow, covering her required fields of fire with her laser carbine and taking a bound or a lead as (or if) necessary.

 She was puzzled by the dream...T'risa had fur? Still it was all very interesting. She turned to Sunny and smiled at him. Even through numbers fell like rain around them, it was dry and sunny and cool too on this hilltop. She reached out to try to capture some of the numbers in her hand. She wondered if they would feel wet like rain and what they would taste like if she could cup some in her hands and drink them like water. She laughed at that silly notion! Dreams were always so fun and fantastic!
 "Sunny! Do you see the numbers? What are they? What do they mean?"
 She looked around for Leo then looked up at T'risa to see if she still had fur, and what she was doing now.
"Hi T'risa! You sure are big! Please don't step on us!"

  " Hey Balkiir toss me a "pop-tart" Rhic called quietly as he brushed off a section of the wall. As soon as Balkiir responded he affixed a flat dull green object, the size and shape of a meal bar, to the wall and pulled a safety tab out of one corner.
  " I've set them to command detonate and video feed. If anything comes up behind us we can see it, and shred them if they look a little buggy."

T'risa smiled. "Good thinking Rhic...I get the strangest feeling we're going to need them...which isn't a good thing. Let's go to the computer core. It takes us near the detention area on the ship, so we can find out who might have been held prisoner here. The bad point is that there are automated defences, so slow and sure." T'risa eyebrows furrowed <i>"The dream is a dream Maran, a reflection of what is. The things you consider important and that are bright in your world. Dreams are normally a peaceful and tranquil way to rest troubled thoughts. Don't worry. I'm probably big as Leo is reaching you through me."

 Her face turned down then and she sighed. She guessed it wasn't really a real dream then, just something her mind was told to do. She flopped back an stared up at the numbers drifting down from the sky then put her arm over her face so she couldn't see them anymore. They were just something they told her mind to see anyway, and weren't anything special.

   "Hmmm," From his vantage point Blue''s ears perked up as he turned his head to one side slightly" Marshall To the left of you there is a large Buss box with six bullet holes in it...I think somehow maran is bridging the gap between our network and yours. Allowing her to see through the eyes of Myself Sun Runner and Bright Star....who realy should stop licking her paws and find that entrance Sun asked for."

   "If you proceed alongyour current course I think there is a slight energy surge It's not a cybernetic signiture but It seems to be modulated....perhaps a functioning processor node.. Or at least according to Star's 'ears' there should be."

Leo took a seat out of the way for a bit as he entered a meditative state, it was easy for him... one of the things his father had taught him along with dance and rythm.  He hoped this worked like it was supposed to.  He'd never dreamed for someone that wasn't paying his family very well for the experience... but then, a child was a welcome change of pace.  The need to sort things out should be minimal and it was okay for Leo to relax a little as their minds connected.

Leo stepped through the light haze of numbers in Maran's dreaming, "Oh, there you are.  I think most of this is actually your mind right now.  Each object here is your 'truth'.  Odd, but denying it makes things in here go haywire, so just relax and we'll work on sorting it out.  In the mean time we can walk to any place you or I can imagine.  We could stop the numbers or shut off the rather odd image of T'Risa... but I don't like editing people's truth.  I can make it harder for them to sort out later."  That said he brushed his feet in the grass and watch numbers slide across the surface of things as if they were droplets.  "Are the numbers the only thing really foreign to you?  Look around a bit.  Do you mind if I add a jaunty theme?"

  "I was skeptical that this ship would prove to be of any real value. It's incredibly simple in concept, and incredibly complex in execution. I've never seen a hull configuration like this. N'mai comments as the group made their way deeper into the hull. The entire skeleton is a series of nested "Bucky balls". the outer layers collapse on impact or damage and the interconnecting structures are designed to deflect kinetic impacts over a wide are. Multiple armor shells to protect vital systems. redundant power distribution systems, Low impedance fiber optic control pathways.
     This ship can absorb an unbelievable amount of damage and engage targets anywhere within it's sphere of contact....fire in every direction with equal effectiveness." Her face grew dark and grave, she stumbled over a door sill and looked perturbed as if she were considering something more fearful than close combat.
  "If the enemy has more of these I have to reconsider my threat estimate, and the power of Kronos, this ship could engage one of our Dreadnoughts, take critical damage and simply rotate an undamaged sector of it's weapons and armor to face it....
     We would loose any three dreadnoughts we sent against it. Our only hope is to copy some of the structural details, and reverse engineer their weapons capabilities... or pray to the godess, that Kronos decides to show up at every engagement with this type of craft."

"I'm hoping we can steal one or more of them. I suggest you upload as much of this to the Fleet and suggest they send a courier with this info to her Imperial Highness. More people need to know about this. I can only reach my contacts enough that they know there is a lot of danger here, it's hard to impress them with that. I wonder if that's why they chose to send your group. What's present here is a galaxy wide threat, focussed on this planet...but perhaps only for a moment. The question is....do you understand the technology to be able to repair it?" T'risa raised an eyebrow. "Leo....that's interesting. We might have a potential visitor left behind. Can I suggest you be the one to greet it? Let's keep moving till we find the signal. I also suggest you leave Maran where she is... she's in peace and harmonising our contact with the Steeds."

It's the design that is unique.It's disturbing but I find myself admiring their engineering skill. It is as if they proceeded along an entirely different ideology in their structure engineering.....it almost reminds me of.... other exotic materials fleet has recovered." N'mai looked around the ship scanning several items with her tech scanner and making notes. The technology is no more advanced than Current Imperial Zai'na Class Dreadnoughts but the applications are extraordinary. Some of the structural components seem to be semi-organic with a conventional carbon crystal lattice structure at the core. and it's all bonded to Carbon, and ferrous zed in ways I thought were impossible. it may take years to fully understand some of the structural features but repairing them should not be any more difficult than a conventional warship.

Elsbeth stood watch next to N'mai as the young woman wandered about a bit, taking her readings and making her stream of consciousness commentary about the dreadnought's design.  Praetorians were never really known for their intellectual capacity.  And even though Elsbeth was smarter than the average Praetorian, and perhaps even the average Tae Joe on the street - most of the tech stuff was over her head.  Still, she could do some calculations in her head.  Especially one related to almost purely physical dynamics, such as mechanical matters.

As for fixing things, Elsbeth wasn't sure that they had the raw materials necessary.  But then she had seen Conrad and Aziza do wonders with what little they had already.  So, she was definitely not the authority on what could or could not be salvaged; Elsbeth had decided long ago to let the bigger tech head figure out all of what could be done with any available resources.

Her helmet tilted to one side when Elsbeth thought that she caught a bit too much admiration in N'mai's musings - perhaps a little refocusing the Third Lieutenant's attention was in order.  "Lieutenant," she prompted matter-of-factly, "given the versatile emplacements and the impact diffusing structure, what do you think would be required to literally swat one of these out of the sky?"

"Sounds like this is a very nasty and efficent version of a dreadnought. Why didn't our people think of it first?" She was being slightly lighthearted to improve the mood. Though she was also serious recognizing what a significant threat these dreadnaughts could be if a true intersteller war erupted.

Listening to T'risa and N'mai chat she grins. "Well that's good news assuming we can get proper repair crews on sight. Then get this dreadnaught into space before more of them show up. <blue> "Chronos probably has similar ideas. He isn't about to let himself or the A'I's he fights for become obsolete."

Elsbeths question was probably on everyones mind that might have to deal with them. "Likely a lot of concentrated fire in one spot so they don't get a chance to rotate. Long as you know where to shoot it's probably the best bet. That or developing a new weapon capable of making all the armor useless. What do you think N'mai? I think Elsbeth wants specifics." Course N'mai could field the question too. She would be interested in hearing what the woman had to say.

In reply to Leoulin (msg #322):

 "A jaunty theme? You mean like music? Ok, I guess."
 She sat up and looked around, trying to see if anything looked new or different, or even if it was familiar to her, but besides the rain and Sunny, and Leo, everything had a slightly out-of-focus misty quality to it. She raised her hand up again and the "rain" started to feel wet, though it was still looking like numbers, though now they became smaller and smaller, and felt warm as well as wet. Flowers bloomed around the grassy hilltop and the sun shone way off in the distance, so there was a slight hint of a rainbow trying to form.
 "I guess I wanted rain. It's been so long since I saw rain! This planet isn't exactly a tropical rain forest is it? It's more like a desert with rocks and dust and shrubs. I see Sunny. He's not really a dog you know. He's an old old steed, but I had to put him into a dog, see? It's all I could find. A dog body for him and a cat body for Star. They used to be horses just like Blue."
 Behind her, down the hill, the hazy blue slowly turned into an ocean, with a beach, the waves washing up and down across the sand as children played. Then out in the distance, a huge object appeared, massive and brooding and grey like a storm cloud, only it wasn't. The children on the shore stopped and pointed, then they started running toward the forest near the hills as smaller grey objects came from the huge object and started shooting at the city up the shoreline.
 She gasped and turned to look toward the scene, because it wasn't like anything she'd ever heard of or imagined! As she watched with her mouth open, a big blue horse ran out of the forest and stopped by one boy who jumped aboard, then they herded the other children toward a blue space shuttle at the edge of the forest. Once all the kids were aboard, the ship rose up and left the area with a burst of speed.
 She turned around and looked at Leo in confusion. What was that all about?
 "Did YOU do that?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:39, Tue 13 Dec 2011.

  " In operational condition, and with a fully trained crew one of these warships would be difficult to destroy. I'd say impossible but we are standing here. So it is possible." she reached into a panel and with little effort tore out a fiber optic cable and crumbled it as if it were talc.
  This ship is ancient, A strong impact could cause many of these conduits to fail. So I would say a single dreadnought would easily over come it in combat in it's current condition, unless it was manned by an exceptional crew."

  "Once repaired and properly manned a precision shot to a vulnerable location would be the most likely means of disabling it. But it would require exceptional knowledge of it's systems and layout to properly target it's weak points. Or a Battle witch to guide the attacks."