Henry wriggled into his shorts and then settled down on the sand to play with Orria.

In reply to hunter Ect (msg # 29):

Hunter looks at Sam, smiles steps beside her and gives her a cuddle, "and that is why you have lots of mums and dads who all love you, silly!"

"Yeah?"   Sam looked up at Hunter with a quavering lip,  blinking away the hot tears that had started to form in her questioning eyes, she seemed a little surprised, then smiled sweetly.
She wondered what to say. ...Lots of mums and dads?
She had never thought about it that way...

Hunter "Come on! There is beach waiting for all of us!"
  "Umm, okay...!" Sam blinked some more and then regained her usual sunny smile, and touched his hand.
"Thanks Sgt Hunter."

Walking down to the Beach, Beth points out a spot about 50 or so yards down from the Steps, there are some Odd Looking palm trees there to give a bit of shade, and they are only about another 50 yards  from the water..

 there is a drink stand and a little  'fast food" shop that sells mostly food that is easy to eat, and pre wrapped, just put it in the Gamma wave  and its Hot.

 they also sell icecreams.

  Beth and Lyri take off their beach jackets and rub oil on themselves while Beth dabs some on Orria, while Lyri  gets SAm...

Sam looked puzzled but happy, about to giggle,
"What is this stuff for Ms Lyri? ..So we don't burn? What is going to burn us? Daddy put oil on a naked bird he cooked once..."

 Beth  says, Alright..as ranking Offcier here?.. i order you all to have fun..Kids?.. stay  where we can see you..if you want to go into the water... get an adult to come as well...

 Lyri chuckles as she lays on her towel to catch some rays. Her leg wound barely shows now.

 Kenny looks around at the others to see what everyone is doing.

Sam stalked over to him, adjusted her big "celebrity hat", and grinned eagerly.
"Wanna look for the treasures and stuff washing on the beach you were talking about?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Sat 09 Jan 2016.

   relaxing  and getting into the flow of the 'day off', the   group started  to fit in with the scene.

   Lyri grins, yeah... you  can put  different  types of oil on things you cook...and?... in a way... the Sunlight  can sorta cook us,  Just like a Gamma  wave oven..or some of those   old   electric stoves.... sometimes, when you are camped out ... you might  build a fire  and Cook  what foods you can catch?.... But the oil helps you get a bit of a tan, while  protecting your skin.

  Beth  smiles,..Its more fun to have someone buy food for you.....

 Lyri gives her a look with a downcast head, but raised eyes,..yeah...well..... you can't  count  on that, and you may not   what to deal with  the 'bill'....

  Beth  sits there and waves it off as she watches everyone.

  Orria   looks at  Henry, she  smiles   as he sits  down..she gives    a Bucket to Melia...and the shovel to Henry...then picks up the   car and  tries to push it through the  sand.

 Kenny nods,You bet!... who knows what we  will find!

Hunter settles down beside Melia careful not to alarm Orria, "can I play to" he asks the three of them with a wink at henry and Melia

 Orria  looks around, she   picks up  a small, but fat  plastic  rake... she   reaches  it out   to  Hunter.. her  face a mask of effort as she tries to reach over the Bucket walls  Melia  was making.


 Kenny and    Sam  go  down a few yards  by the water....it is  only a few Moments , that Kenny  spies  something  and  Tells Sam to  get a container ora plastic bag..while she  does  he   crouches  down and sneaks  forward like a commando.

 Shadow   fields  some COM  calls  from  the Admiral about   'the state of the Grotto"

 he   says as is well as  far  as he can tell, But  Roy , Jesse  and Garrat were down there..."

 The Admiral  thanked him and Hung up..The Sun was creeping onto the balcony, so  Shadow  went in  , changed to shorts and    went back out  tossing his shirt on the table with a fresh soda  near by, and let the Sun creep over him.

Naomi was adjusting to the controls, but of course after looking at the blue prints last night it didn't take her long to figure out everything.
She watched as her gunners loaded up, giving an occasional admiration for how the shuttle operated in her command. She was anxious for her turn as she watched the other shuttles get into place.

Her eyes lit with elation as she observed Ogre's shuttle go into action. Studying the patterns of the oncoming fighters. The shuttles moved a bit better than she expected, well at least from what she could see for the moment.

   Orge's shuttle Flattened Out as he   came  in to the    Lighted area,  the   Shuttle fishtailed a bit as he  kicked the  tail around and   drop down,  the   split gates  were opening. As soon as the  skids   touched, the the    crew inside started  to    set the crates out, took them about 4  minutes  and change, then they were in  and the   Shuttle Lifted off  to fly an over  watch pattern at the LZ.

 All Right  , Spade?..you'er Up


   Stoly shot  out, the  craft   Banked , even more  steeply then Orge  did..perhaps the difference between a Combat pilot  and a  purebred test pilot....

    The Duce  was comi gin with it  nose slightly up, and the  gates  already opening as Soon as the   rear of the skins hit, Stoly  could be heard,Alright!!!..GO GO GO!

 The  troops    hit the    Stem, Stoly never  touched the   rest of the skins  to the Ground, and he shot up into the Air... time..about 2 Minutes

  He  Joined the over watch...

 ..alright Diamond...you'er   up..go save our people!

In reply to beach (msg # 37):

Melia laughs, and starts making a wall with the bucket. "Looks like your digging the moat or putting the road in Dr. Christie," she says to Henry. When Hunter comes over she watches Orria struggle to reach for the rake, then grabs it and hands it to the girl. "Welcome to the engineers." She says to Hunter with a smile, as she starts to pack sand into the bucket to make another tower.

Naomi watched Ogre as he did his best in a slightly choppy manner. She was eager to see what this machine was made of. Her nerves were dancing about, but she breathed steadily to calm them.

As she watched Ogre finish up she got on the COM to her gunners, "Gunners get into position, we are going to make this as smooth as possible. Show them what your made of." She wanted to solely concentrate on her flying. Her gunners needed to be on their top game for this event and she hoped they were good enough for it.

She stretched out her fingers to help keep them from locking up. Her concentration stayed solely on her breathing listening to her airways go in... then out... in.. then out. Once Stoly shot out she watched him perform perfectly with precision as he has always done.

Naomi could hear them in the background, but her breathing and concentration took control. Her body was calmed as it was ready.



Once hearing the call for Stoly Duce Diamond, she punched the acceleration watching the skies for oncoming fire. Tactfully she was able to follow suite where the others have flown to retrieve the troops and the crates by dropping the ramp before hand so there is no delay for time. "Gunners, keep eyes to the sky! Troops with packages Let's GO!"

In reply to beach (msg # 39):

Kenny and Sam go down a few yards by the water....it is  only a few Moments, that Kenny spies something and Tells Sam to get a container or a plastic bag..while she does  he crouches down and sneaks forward like a commando...

Quite excited, her blue eyes flashing and holding her big hat on, Sam madly dashed back to the "base camp" to grab the plastic bags the toys came in, and whatever else looked suitable, she babbled "Kenny founda treasure!!" then dashed back the same way, sand flying up from her little shoes!

     As   Naomie    banke d and   and  began to  sit down, the proctor called out..Oh No!..its the EVOLs......

 the fighters  flew  In, Stoly called out...Orge..you stay  topside and  keep   them Busy, I'll drop  down  closer  to be  the second  line of  Defense

 The troopers  grabbed crates   and   ran two by two into  the Diamond... then the Fighters  Came....

 Orge's   Gunners  were  firing, But Orge didn't  Fly quite  well enough for a defensive posture...His Club  got Tagged  twice... Stoly  Banked   and  circled , trying to give all the Gunner  decent  shots at the Incoming  Fighters.

 The Topper Gunner  was dead On...he waxed the Lead  fighter  all by himself   with a  steady, unhurried    lead of his Gun.. the Surrender lights  went on.

 By this  time, the  troops  had   6 crates  aboard   and Banged on the   walls  for  Naomi top take off..

 The  three fighters  that are Left  split Up  One  went after   Stoly.. the Other  Two  went after Naomi....

 Ogre..get down here... we need the extra guns.....

..but you told me to fly top cover....

 Stoly slammed his   fist on the dash,THINK MAN!.... if this  was  real..would you watch the others  get chewed up???

  When Sam comes  running over.. she sees  Kenny  pouncing On a odd looking shell fish,  it  ha s  big eyes on stalks and  4 claws, it wears an odd looking shell on its    back.

 Kenny  grabbed the shell and the  thing  went nuts  trying to snap his  fingers or  arm, but it was a wee bit too little  to hurt him.

  the others to play with Orria... she seems  content..now and then looking  around with a tiny smile, then goes back to   pushing sand with the car.

 Lyri leavers herself up on her elbows to watch Sam and Kenny

  The  Woman and Man Look at Cat, with new eyes, The   Man chuckles  as he  turns his gaze away,...we should have  went to the other Hotel...maybe they would have been more Careful of who they let in....


 The woman's  face colors, but then her  hackles rise,...it is clear...My dear....  she  says  , her Voice oozing  a sickly sweet tone,...you do not   seem to care about  the ..REAL...people in the Black... it is  people like us... who help  keep you and your....friend in uniform....why... what would happen to you... if  we ..simply said,..no? her   hand made a little wave.

 Rolf  Glowered,we  don't  need yer  bloody creds... Just make sure we know your name..so's we don;'t waste anyone protecting you!

Roy's normally impassive mask turned into a full scowl for just a moment.  "Well, if the decision had been left up to me, Ge-Fi would have met with some tragic accident...or an anonymous bullet...a long time ago. We've got hard evidence that he's been double-dealing us, making his own deals with the Demons...even selling out information on ESN personnel, giving the Demons leverage to turn key individuals.  I trust the evidence I've seen...if I had him in my crosshairs, I'd drop the hammer on that round without a second thought."

He looked at Gresh, and raised his hands in a gesture of mild helplessness.  "I don't set policy and I don't select targets...I've got input, but my suggestions on that one have been ignored or set aside, for whatever reason.  Guess the Admiral is determined to win the war with a blitzkrieg campaign out here, and then go back and clean up the pieces afterwards."  He shrugged, and continued, "Can't think of any reason it wouldn't work...humanity may be based in the Sol System, but we've spread out enough that losing Earth as a resource isn't going to cripple us."

He gave a soft snort of derision.  "Hell, we've made our biggest increases as a Fleet AFTER Ge-Fi interdicted the planet.  Even if he manages to split us down the middle, he's going to lose the attrition war, because he's not only losing people in combat with us, but he's also losing anyone the EDT surrenders to the Demons.  Right now, they've got neutrals and outlying ESN stations they can cull...but eventually, things will polarize to the point where it will be two camps...ESN and EDT...and the EDT will have to choose between sacrificing their own to appease the Demon demands, or risk major losses to get ESN personnel to send.  Either way, they won't be able to sustain it.  Earth is too far from Demon space for the EDT to count on solid reinforcement."

He shrugged.  "Either option is going to cost us...but winning over more allies to further isolate Earth is the less-costly option.  And, in the long run, we'll get our planet back a lot faster if we sail in there with a massive combined fleet of all the various races than we will if we rush back there to try and hang onto our own."  He sighed, adding, "Some things are worth sacrificing for...even when they're hard sacrifices to make.  I can't speak for everyone else in the Fleet, because they've got much stronger ties back to Earth than I do...but if giving up my homeworld means the Demons fall in defeat, then I'll never go back home."  Rather than didactic and firm, his tone was contemplative...and a little bit tired.  But it was apparent that he'd weighed that particular decision several times in his past, and was very comfortable with his decision.

    Garrat sighs looking over the shop.  It's not in his nature to start working before the shop is ready but the Sanri is right.  He had a dead line and it wasn't his shop.  He starts pulling the under skeleton for his suit out of his bag and setting it out for use.  "I'm Garrat, what can I call you guys?"

  gresh sipped his  drink,..That is mostly how  i felt. I remember when the Hermes  saved the Sanri Ambassador  and his mate?...Only the Occui had tried to get them back and it  cost the two  sloops?.. then..of all things? a Ship load of Humans     sails in and saves the day....

 One  of the right hands  come  up pointing to Spencer,..you do  not know, how important that was to the war.... If the Sanri walk away from the AP...so would have the Occui.  there would have been less ships..less troops... it would be a very big question, on if the  ESN could have spread as fast?

 ..This ....Admiral Hack?...he  scares me as much as the Empire.. the Angels..they never   came out this  far  en masse... just a ship or two..nothing more... maybe  catch an Empire  sloop, or destroyer?... They haven't  fought a big battle   since your people were in caves....But this Admiral... he  not only seeks out  big battles...he makes them!

  The  Female Sanri smiled, I am Lagish...i am second daughter to the   ambassador  of   Pentrax... but... he was killed   by a  pirate raid..so i was taken in  by the  3 armed one...

 the Occui was stumping around,..My Name is Nerk.... i have worked  weapon shops  all over  The Black..mostly.. black market ones... gresh hired   me when  we left Olympus.

In reply to garrat (msg # 52):

    Garrat listens but his hands keep working, oddly fast, as if this was something he does for money every day and he's used to meeting deadlines.
    "I am sorry for your loss Lagish, the loss of family is always a trial in life.  I look forward to watching you make a name for yourself that you father would have been proud of."

    "Nerk, your temper and wit I've seen before in master smiths and artisans on other parts of the Galaxy."  Garrat choses a sheet of metal of the right guage and alloy and sets up the plasma cutter.   "I will show you patience if you show me some." Garrat offers him a hand to shake on it.

 Nerk Looks at   Garrat with one squinted eye,...alright?.. we'll see how this  works out...keep in mine...the  big Blue guys the boss... i'm just a hired gun.... or..gun maker...

 Lagish smile s   as she finished up the counter  and starts  cleaning  the guns  that were messed up but  blood and such.

Roy gave a crooked grin, and nodded.  "Yeah, well...some of the earliest Angels that arrived at Earth made mention that it had been intended as kind of a penal colony?  I guess we got the best fighting instincts they had or something..."

He shrugged.  "But humans have been fighting each other since before we knew how to write down anything about the battles.  In fact, left to our own devices, a lot of us will end up picking fights with each other, sometimes over some of the stupidest shit you can imagine."  He chuckled, recalling some of the various fist-fights he'd seen and how they originated.

"But when you give a group of us some outside threat?"  He shook his head slowly, and grinned darkly.  "That's when you really see just how good we are at fighting.  And I don't mean how rapidly we innovate technology, or how smoothly we develop tactics.  I'm talking about just plain old, down-and-dirty, blood-and-guts fighting.  I don't know if you saw the broadcast where I responded to the Demon envoy that wanted to try and start peacetalks with Earth?"

He didn't pause more than a breath or two for an answer, before continuing, "I wasn't kidding when I said that we scare the Demons.  I think we probably scare everybody.  The Demons talk big, and they like to throw a lot of numbers at problems...but they don't adapt well.  And they're so used to everyone running scared that they don't know what to do when they smack a guy in the face and he just spits out the blood and smiles at them, crazy-like.  Everyone else has been like that, too...they lose to the Demons, they get scared, they fall back."

His grin took on an edge of ferocity.  "We lose, we get pissed off, and we go looking to even the score.  Luckily for us, the craziest of the vengeful types lack the leadership qualities to rally folks around them, so calmer heads end up prevailing, or we'd have blown ourselves up a few dozen times before anyone got to the planet to let us know that there were other races out here.  But even the calm, rational leaders among us still have that edge of crazy in them.  Hack talks meaner than he walks, most of the time...but he's fought the Demons.  He's lost a lot of people to them.  And every so often, those losses add up to a heap of pain and anger that he's going to re-direct at whoever's causing the most pain around him at the moment.  The Battle of the Black?  If the Demons had left the colony ships alone, if the EVOLs hadn't sold out the medical transports, that battle might never have happened.  Hack wanted to get rid of the Demon forces in that region, yes...but we went looking for the nest ships, because that's where all the captured colonists had been taken.  The rest of the battle was buying time for us to take apart the Avians and get our people back...but, again, by the time we found them, Hack had a full mad on...pissed as hell and ready to burn anyone who got in his way to ash...and he had a crew full of people who felt the same way."

Roy nodded, and settled into a seat.  "Delta Quadrant's been sorted...we know who's with us, and who's against us...and those who are against us aren't strong enough, anymore, to do much damage here.  But people are getting hurt somewhere else...and some of them are our people.  So Hack's going to go do to those hurting them what he's done here in the Delta Quadrant.  And that's probably a good thing for Earth, because if we went back there right now to deal with Ge-Fi, there's enough pent-up anger in the human part of the Delta Fleet that I could see some really catastrophic collateral damage coming out of that fight."  He got a thoughtful look on his face, and added, "Yep...better to let Olympus starve itself lean...Earth, too...and come back with a massive force that won't have to rely on desperate actions by angry crazy humans to win the war there.  Show up with enough force, and a surrender from the Demons, and Ge-Fi is going to have to choose between sustaining his bloated ego, and dying in battle, or admitting that he's become worse than redundant, and withdrawing."

He snorted again.  "Not that leaving Earth would help him that much.  Between what we've found on him, acting against the ESN and Earth in general, and what the Angels have on him with regards to the treaties around the moons, he better hope that an awful lot of us die in battle...because if we make it back, there's gonna be hell to pay, for him."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 19:31, Sun 10 Jan 2016.

Hunter smiles feeling for the first time in he does not know how long relaxed and content.
"Hmm who would like an ice cream" he asks looking at the stall

"Orria have you had ice cream?"

In reply to garrat (msg # 54):

"Oh, I'm keeping that in mind.  But no matter what he says latter, I'm going to get more done if we're working well today."  Garrat gets out his pad and transfers the schematics for the armor to the plasma cutter program.

With the shovel, Henry makes an embankment with a road on top for Orria's car... then gets slightly distracted by the shellfish. He visibly tears himself away to get back to construction.

    While Listening to  Roy, Gresh relaxes a bit.   the  Left had takes  up his  glass  , the upper  right hand goes behind his head  as he leans   back, the lower right hand  Motions  as he talks, what is  important, is the death of the Empire. That means the end of the demons. Find them, where ever they are....and end them.

 Astra  had, what amounted to a human city... it was blown to the 9 hells   when a ship entered thier shields.... But the ship exploded  and the Shield became a Death Chamber...

 He looks from  Jesse to   Roy,..you were there?...Yes?  What most people do not  know... wouldn't know, unless they checked the bodies, that only half of those  people, maybe less..were humans..the rest were Engineered from Crossbreeds  and tests.  All the Empire  races  are Getting close to 'human like  Crossbreeds...but...most aren't  really human in looks...

  reaching over    for a briefcase he  take out a special vidboard, and  tapes out some Images  to show to  Jesse and Roy.....the  Avains,  have  protruding lips.. and big wide eyes.... The LArgrans have  raised  skin  and  a longer, narrow  face...The Bugs..well the best they can get is a humoid  bodt but they can seem to get rid of the insect faces... The Demons  have large, human looking  people, but they tend , not to have  hair..still? Crossbreeding , the crossbreeds, they came up with some pretty good looking Humans.. then next image showed  humans , that, looked   larger, and more rugged looking, even the females  seemed..'rough'.

There  best ones  were  in that city, they were going to seed them into earth after they spend a few years in the 'human' city on Astra. learning how to be humans.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:15, Sun 10 Jan 2016.