The  Nemesis pilot  was next  and he hurried to  the factory line. The Captain looked at him,..Back again?...  you'er the first returner.. though i have seen two pilots  from the Odin.. here's  your tag.. get along now...

  JUstin gets  his next fighter  and   is waved off the  Dec...

In reply to Justin (msg # 28):

Yes Sir, thank you Sir Justin replies taking the tag he heads along the line reaching the next fighter. Clambers aboard and zipps into the black heading quickly back to the Hermes for the next invalid fighter.

  when he arrives back  at the Hermes  Rivets  gives him the option to take another  aircraft over.. or stand  down.

  if he goes  he takes one  of C flights  fighters.

In reply to Justin (msg # 30):

Return to the Hermes Justin received a comm involving a mission and was obliged decline participation in further Fighter transfers. Bustling from the Hanger deck he headed post haste to the Security Area and the briefing which was underway.

   a long  air  Limo pulled up to the entrance of  Etna's Star. Door men opened the  door  , Hack stepped out in  his  white Unifrom.

   Si winced a bit as she was leped out  by Hack, she had chosen to wear an Angel Silk Dress, but whether it was for the Look, or  to keep belts away from her mending wound.

  An Older fellow in an expensive suit asked,..Excuse me?..Admirla  Hack?  I am the owner of  the   hotel..um...um.. My name is  Bon Siven?   yes.. well  we have  these orders  for  food  and such..and there is a BAnd.. and there is  even more food and drink going to the penthouse of ..one..Kray Shadow?... I mean... there are alot of creds  tied up in this and...

 Si gave him a distasteful look, though it might have been the pain...

 And? You our  wondering if the Fleet Admiral of the ESN..or  The Leading Ace of the war.. can pay you...

 He looked around, his  face growing  , even more  red . he rubbed his chin as he looked at his Vid Board...Um.. well..ahhh.. Yes... sir?

 Hack looked at him , the  fellow  seemed to wilt a bit, until a smile  grew on his face,..The Delta Fleet never  sifts anyone... Mr Siven. YOu will get paid..and you might even get a raise if your service  is even close to that of the White Sands on Fuji!   

 The fellow drew himself up , and was still a good 6 inches  shorter then HAck.we will not be  ...out done..Sir!...

 Hack looked at him, as if  measuring  the speed of a new fighter,..all right?.... then..to start..those  2  penthouses  are  ours, until we leave.... only Media  that we have approved  may come up.... If Hermes SEC doesn't let some  one off the elevator.. they go back down..... keep food and drinks   handy for when we need it... and make sure   those who are coming to Visit  are escorted by  your  workers.. now?.. Shadow   likes to have  his people have fun... and I am entertaining   Admiral Sevente.. so?.. i suggest you  start worrying about that..aye?

 Shoemaker  and  his  three SEC  were already to escort HAck and Si... the rest of the board  was coming seperately. to add to the confusion and fuss.

   The next Limo came  some 10 minutes later.  As the doors  opened, Melia  stepped out with Her   Hermes SEC uniform on. Then Bale, Hennings and Emmie. Shade and Orria, and the Sanri ambassadors  and the Occui ambassadors..

 Some people shouted  Shade's  NAme.  a few little girls called out to Orria..

Roy disembarked from his shuttle with a crowd of others, and made his way to where ge expected taxis, hailing one and requesting a trip to the Lowers, and someplace cheap and good-ish to eat...

  The Taxi a Human, darker skinned buy not  an oil lord.ahhh..Yes... the eating places  are  all about the same..within a Cred  or two?... Unlesss you get to the TAll buildings... those  cost alot more.They won't  stop you from from going in? But you better be able to pay!

 The Best places  are those   about 2 blocks  from the  beach, they try to draw folks in , by being a cred or so cheaper.

 By the Time he was done  talking the  Tax was  almost ready to  dip into the Maw of the stem

  Another Limo, red and Yellow.a bit longer  then the admiral's...pulled up Mann, who was in charge of the   landing ramp SEC , made a show  of COMing Shadow.. as fewminutes later ( long enough for some Media CAMs to pop up.

  Shadow  walked Down the  ramp with  Beth, Frans, Eckles, McCloud ( who wore  dress whites) and Cat. Flores  and KAt, Roles  trailed along, also in dress whites  for the Admiral's  party.

 They   climbed into the Limo as all 4  doors on the  starboard  side  opened. Shadow waving at the  Floating CAMs.

  The   Limo drove off up the docking arm , it was too long to take the short  way  to  the Uppers.. but it would have  straight  shot to the Stem... to fly down to the Lowers, and the Hotel.


 The others  began to gather , inside the door.. waiting for Roy's  COM.

Roy hid a smile at the comment about being able to pay, because he was pretty certain there wasn't a place on Etna that was outside his price range...but it gave him an opening.  "Ummmm...is there a toy store or somethig along the way?" he asked, managing to sound a little nervous.  "Promised my nephew I'd get him a souvenir, when I heard we were heading to the Alpha Quadrant.  I've sent him something from every station we've visited since I joined the Fleet," he continued, faking a tone of pride at the notion of managing such a feat on a lowly soldier's pay.

"I'd hate to screw that up by spending too much on dinner..."  He left the thought dangling...then added, abruptly, "Don't worry...I know I've got enough to cover the fare.  Not gonna stiff you for the ride."

  The Taxi driver  smiled,..none of us worry about being stiffed... it happens..we report it..things don't go well for those who do that... service folks get hit harder then most..so?.. I'm not  worried.

  ..there is a store...new owners.. supposed to be a chain from fuji bought it out..the  Store's name is .."  Space CAse"... they deal with all sorts of things... but you guys and the figures   are the  Hot topic....I found a Shadow Pilot  figure in the trash at the park, its left arm was broken off?.. i took it to that story they paid me twice of what a new one  would cost?...said somethign about a first run?... I didn't care..i just like creds...

"'Space Case', huh?" Roy mused aloud.  "Sounds promising...it's not too close to the Stem, is it?  I've had some bad experiences with Stem residents on some of the other stations..."  Again, true, but misleading...the only time he'd actually taken any noteworthy harm was on Olympus...but he'd made plenty of trouble just about everywhere else they'd visited.

Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Y'know what?  Don't worry about that.  It's a toy store...how dangerous could it be?" he quipped, dismissively.  "Drop me off there, unless you don't mind waiting a few minutes..."

  The   driver  smiled and said,..you know?  if the Fleet wasn't  in , I'd  wait all night if you wanted me to?.... But to tell the truth.. I can make along of creds  the while  your folks are here...lots of ships sending lots of tourists!..means lots of creds

 ..now me?.. I came up here  from Moon City. I heard Olympus is bad... Stem is like a damn war zone?... They say fuji was bad.. but some one was knokcing of  bad guys by the Buschel.... seems like Everets  had some  such things  as well..... If that hapens here?.. I won't be made... but its gonna take  10 transport/bases of marines to make our Stem save... you can drive thropuhg?.. and hit the bars on the  Top mof the stem?.. but the   houses?.. I won't go there for a fare  unless some one  needs  a life and death thing...


 Coming out of The Stem,  they veer  towards the water front.. the  sun is just setting... trunign to street level the  taxi settles in by store that that looks  like a small version of a transport/base.. with the loading ramp the  main doors..

 Reaching into a box  on the  front seat he hands  Roy a buzzer.....press thjat if you need a ride... press the black button if you really need help.. i'll try to help..unless i got a high roller!

 ..the fare is  10 creds.

   The  loud colored  Limo arrives at  Etna's Star.  Shadow and His people began to pour out..cameras Flashed..Vidcams  rolled    The LAdies  did their best to draw eyes ( some without  trying)

 Another Limo Pulled up with the MArkings of the Alpha Fleet.. its  doors opened  and Sevente and his board disembarked. Only  a couple reporters   cared.. all focus was on Shadow and his  group...

 Captain M<Cloud said,.. Skadow  Lad?.. ye think we should  let the Admirla go in before us?

 Shadow grinned,..not today Captain...Not today... the group  flowed into the Hotel and to the  elevator..

 Sevente watched the lights and Cameras follow the bevy of Hermites.. and he was not happy..

Roy offered his wrist to scan for the credits, asking in a conspiratorial tone, "Made?  You got some kind of side gig?"  He chuckled quietly, in apparent appreciation for the man's resourcefulness.

   The guy laughed,..hey?  Let's  face it... Fleet crew and Civies  come in? most aren't   speding Creds on a air car or van..

 he shrugs  after he finishes  scanning  the wrist,..so us TAxi guys can make  douible and Triple what we normally do in a day..

 He  waves   as he heads  back to the Uppers and the Docking arms.

  In side the Space Case looks like most toy stores.

  Racks of   action figures of  every era... ships  Vechilces..models to build.. mazines  of toys and Models of all sorts.

  The Biggest section is, of Course  ,Delta fleet items..there are smaller section  for the Alpha, Beta and Gamma fleet as well. but the Delta Fleet has the lion's share of the  wall space.

   There are sections  for   civie type toys and Models , things to make   your  colony and space stations Like  Tortuga...Troy  and Anzio

  a part of the store  has Baby toys, pet toys..some smaller  pets

  another  section had the old  style BB guns..the cost on them were very high.. the newer kind that shot  hard plastic  sphere  were cheaper.

 2/3s of the  monster store  was product.. with  stairs on each side that lead to a second folor of  items on the walls..  Behind the counter  was a double  door that said ' employees only'..there was a hall way to the right of the counter  that lead to  4 differtant  bathrooms..Human Male..Human female..alien MAle..alien Female..

    The Hotel people  were  moving  as if there was an Invasion.

   In the Admiral's Penthouse  were long  tables   along the west wall with  food  of many worlds. Ice scuptures of Mythic creatures  stood over  large  found  bowls of  Punch and flavoered  water that was pumping through clear glass pipes.

 a dance  area  was clear with a string band  made up of  aliens  from all the APF  world. playing tunes they have heard around The Black.

 Guests  were being checked at the Elevator Wagstaff..checked  again  by Shoemaker  who would salute  and Grin  at the  guests as he took their  discs  to check.

 ...Sigvensa  double checked  people  comeing into  Shadow's  Penthouse, but  was waving  crew through when she saw them

 Thomas Looked nervous, being sent  down as a  guard for the  big shots, and his eyes  were constantly moving.

 After Shadow's horde  came through.. he stood out side the pent house chatting with MAira  and Beth  when Sevente   his board and 'must have' guests came in..only  to be stopped  by Waggstaff who made a Point on knocking  Sevente's DSEC SGT back a step and shook his  head until the ASAGT  gave him his   Disc.

  Hack stepped up watching the Gowns  and  Dress uniforms and Tuxes  flowing through the elevator, only to be clogged up  by one determined Hermes SEC trooper.

 ..You will forgive  my SEC, Admiral Sevente.... But i refrain from Telling the  best SEC in  The Black..thier job...

 Seeing the Admiral Hacks' spread and   band, but saw own Angel Silk dresses  and Dress uniforms.... Morris had  a Good  uniform, Sam Bowne  belt, holster  and  knees high boots polished..but not his dress togs.  Rivets  had  his Best..non-dress Unifrom...

 Oliver... My Friend.... he came over, first saluting, then taking Hack's hand in both of his,..it is nice to see you...but i was under the impression this was a formal,party?

 ..we just came out of   some  fighting... some of the fighting.we were in dress unifroms...I gave my people the choice... the food  will taste the same.. the company  just as nice..aye?

  Sevente Looked over  at Shadow..off duty  uniform, flight  jacket, Calf high boots Hermes  Ball cap.....your LC.. he seems  not  well veresed in Etiquette ..his  crowd  walked ahead of My people?

 Hack gave  Sevente a shrug,..he's a fighter pilot..and a popular one..and he knows it... he uses his fame, as it were, to  help his friends have fun as well... I am sure if you asked him right now, why he went ahead of you?.. he would say 'i saw there first'

 Sevente  gave a  twisted  frown and nodded his head, ..i should get to know this  man.. si ?

 There wil be a party in there long  after the last of  you leave mine... i asked them to stop over ...in between their  running around... so you'll see him tonight.. The fleet will be here for at least a week..

   Garrat came portside Wearing his usual charcoal camo pants, black muscle shirt under an open fronted grey button up shirt.  The shirt was baggy and hid his milled side arms.  He wore his armored boots with the two throwing knives.

   In his pack he had his mcguyver kit, extra rations, water, blankets, medkit, spare cloths...and of course his cuddly Cuthulu doll.  What's a Viking Space Marine without his teddy bear?

   He thinks back to the hover bike he saw on the ground unit's ship and wonders if he can get one for times like these.

   Garrat hails a cab to a tolerable pub in the lowers where he awaits the signal to approach the toy store.

   Hemsly  was sitting  at a small snack shop about a block away from  'Space Case'. he was drinking a tall coffee while eating ( his third)  doughnut.. he looked to be   playing something on his vidboard but was watching the area through  hacked  SEC cams.


  Lyri  hand a bag of popcorn..large  kernel , from Astra, as she seemed to  be  watching the night sky over the  water.

   Seeing Hemsly as he drives by Garrat asks the caby to stop, pays him with an average tip and Joins Hemsly.

   "Hello, enjoying your leave?"

  Garrat gets 12  Creds  taken from his  chip. Hemsly looks up.

  well?  Bloody 9 'ells ... 'ave a seat... i'm lookin'  at some stuff ta  do 'ere. Bloody good  coffee though..

  Lights  have  come on in the streets, Music  can be heard  from many places , as bands  play in small parks,   there are two beach parties going on.. the streets are getting more  crowed by the moment..as  if the   see of Delta Fleet people were a flood..

 this scene  would be   repeated  on the two planets as  Some folks  preferred to walk on a planet, rather then  inside a Carrier/station

In reply to Garrat (msg # 49):

Garrat perks up, "Really?"  He takes a seat and orders a coffee "The Asgard found that there are two things grown on earth that just don't compare anywhere in the known universe.  Those are coffee and chocolate.  It would be interesting to know if that has changed."

Arriving at the Uppers Justin dropped off the damaged Fighter, picked up a replacement, then relocated to a bay assigned to visiting Active Pilots. Making his way to the Hotel to drop off his gear and move from there to the Toy Shop and meets up with the others as planned.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Sun 27 Aug 2017.