Stoly made a note of the pilot who spoke, and of the two that looked to her.  That was his very own personal hide they were complaining about having to cover.  And he knew from experience that flying the shuttle was easier than sitting in the back waiting.  This couldn't go unanswered, but the debriefing wasn't the place for it.  He'd think of something.

The commander gave them a clarification of the terms and conditions of the conflict.  Outside of potential prisoner exchanges, this was war to the knife.  Russians knew a thing or two about total war.  Stoly wasn't sure the Americans got it, they had a history of being squeamish about that kind of thing.

  Looking around the  room , Hack  continued,..as you may...or  may not know. Those  who are involved in combat   get  a raise in credits...no cap limit..thanks to the Angels...The whole of the ship  will get  some  bit or  raise..Pilots  will get   some credits  per kills...Boarding  party gets some... he waves his hand  as  if  to dismiss it, then Looks  down at Shadow  and Stevens, However..because of this...I must clarify  a Kill ....

 Using the clicker .the screen came up  with Shadow's  craft diving on the  red  Demon craft...his weapons flashing  and  impacts on the  Red craft easy to see, as  was the  spill of fuel or gases...that were about to  Ignite...when Stevens  finished it off... Shadow..You claimed  7  kills..."  there are murmurs of  surprise  and some of  disbelief... Is that  correct?

  Aye..it is...

  Stevens..You claimed  2...

  ..Aye  sir...

    The   techs  say the Kill should go to Shadow  as it was..........

  Shadow spoke up,  It's Stevens  Kill sir...he finished it off...had he not, and it  was  able to turn about...it would  have  crashed into the Outboard shuttle...he stopped it...end of story...sir...

  Hack looked down on Shadow, a bit displeased he  was interupted...but nodded  at the account.Normally..i do not mess with  Pilot's  claims, unless the gun camaras show they are liars...Shadow..this is  an Important kill...

   Kray  shrugged  his shoulders,..Aye Sir...Stevens  followed me in...as  a wingman should,,,he saw  what was  at stake,,he made sure  the  Boarding party had  a ride home..that was without  us knowing the Sanri  were recovered...its  his  kill sir..I will not  except it...to his credit..he   did not claim it  at first..he did so  on my say so...but its his...I don't  care what Monitor Jockey said...

   Hack nodded  , a pleased smile on his face, as he looked over  at Frans and her two cronies, Right  then ,Lt  Shadow..spoken  like  a Wing  Leader...Stevens?   The  fellow your torched was   The Highest ranking   Ace  of the Demonic  Navy...he had..234 kills...40 or so of them ESN pilots...because  you brought him down...The Sanri and the Angels are awarding you thier Stars of  Achievement..you will also gain a bit of  monthly credits  for that..Congradulations...feel  any differnat Shadow?

  Kray  was  Pounding  Stevens on the shoulder  with a grin  on his face,..No sir... His Kill..I will go to my grave with that...Congrates  Stevens!
This message was last edited by the player at 02:52, Thu 10 Mar 2011.

Roy didn't answer Hack's question.  It wasn't any insubordination, but a look at his face showed a calculating expression.  He'd always felt that the best way to win--with honor--was to treat your enemy better than he'd treat you.  With the Demons, however, that didn't sound like a terribly challenging proposition.

Thinking about what Hack said, there were a few things that happened on the Demon ship that made more sense.  He couldn't help but wonder, however, about what kind of welcome the soon-to-be-traded Demons would get.  If their forces had obliterated surrendering races, it didn't bode well for their healthy 'welcome home'.  The Demons might not even want them back...

His musings were interrupted by Shadow's enthusiastic outburst, pounding one of his fellow pilots on the back.  I'll ask about that later, Roy told himself.  The question of Demon psychology...how they fought and why they fought that way...was something that he'd be spending a lot of time contemplating.  Sniper duty was often reliant on understanding how your enemy operated...knowing which target to hit for best effect...and he intended to develop as deep an understanding as he could of the Demons.  Knowing them would make beating them that much easier...

  Commander Hack asked  some  question to Monroe  about the  detail, he seemed to  be satisfied with  the answers.

    Alright  people, That  about  does it. Once you step out the  door, Your Ranks are in play again. If  anyone has  questions, or needs to talk with me, My door is open, or  you may approach  me on the bridge..hell...if you see  me in the gym...Just don't be afraid to ask... We  will be at the  Olympus  inside of  2 hours...Shore  leave  will br rotated by 2 day intervals...everyone  in here gets  to go on the first shift..enjoy yourself...try not to blow   all your  credits..and remember  Rule s state you must  have  a sidearm  at all times..That is  all...

  As  everyone  Got up to leave, Monroe  calls to  Shadow and  tosses him the burnt salvage  tag...The Pilot grins   and sticks  in in his Jacket pocket.

Hannah stood and headed for the door. The idea that if the battle had gone poorly she could have been used as breeding stock was enough to make her a little nauseated. The fact that any baby she might have had would have just killed her wasn't helping any. And was it just her or did Lt. Frans get way too upset at Shadow? Perhaps the lady doth protest too much.

She grinned at that thought. She'd have to ask Lady the next time she worked on her comm system, though if she was any judge she wouldn't have to work too hard to get Lady talking. Maybe tomorrow.

-->Hermes Sails

Roy stayed deep in thought as people began filing out of the briefing...playing and replaying scenarios, trying to anticipate which results would be most favorable in any given situation and how to get them.

One conclusion came to mind, very strongly...he was not likely to get much sniping practice out here.  The gauss rifle system had been developed especially for sniping in zero-atmosphere environments...but one had to wind up planetside for a shoulder-fired weapon to be much use.  That meant a trip to QM, for an expanded weapon locker, and getting assigned an additional weapons to use, besides his sniper gear.  Probably an assault rifle...the SMG was good for close-quarters work, but after being face-to-face with the Demons, he decided he'd rather have high-velocity rifle rounds, rather than the pistol-loads that were standard for SMG ammo.

The last few people were making their way out the door as he shouldered his bag.  First stop, his quarters...second, QM, to return the SMG and explain his expectation of upcoming action, and see if he could talk the Quartermaster into parting with an assault rifle.  He'd figure out what to do with the rest of his shore-leave after that...

He'd just grabbed his bag and turned for the door when he found his way barred by the Ensign he'd called out on the Demon ship.  Not sure what the man wanted, he let his bag slide back to the floor, and raised his eyebrows slightly, trying to look courteously inquiring, and hoping it didn't come across as mocking.  "You've got something to say, Ensign...err...Mister Ermanda?" he asked, correcting himself with a quick glance at Xero's name-tag.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:49, Sat 12 Mar 2011.

Stoly stood up an left the Mission Room.  The Command seemed happy with the results of the action.  Stoly felt pretty good about it himself.  He'd survived and at least one Demon had not survived him.  And the Demon ship was now theirs.  Pretty good haul...

>>----->> [Off Duty]

"Please, no Mister. Just Xero. Rank doesn't exist, remember? Even if we were outside and i was a general, I'd deserve the same treatment." He pauses for a second, but continues before you can speak. "I'm sorry about what happened on the ship. I didn't mean to go against your code of honor, or whatever you call it. I thought it was the only way, and lives were at stake. You can punch me if you want, just don't make it bad enough that I'd have to report it to the medical crew." He stands motionless, waiting on either a punch or a response.[Since my Psychology score is high, tell me the gist of what Roy's thinking/feeling.]

Roy was, frankly, surprised at the statement.  He'd already put it behind him, and he shrugged.

"Well, a few things...first off, 'Mister' is a general title of respect where I grew up, which is why I used it instead of 'Ensign'.  At the moment, I don't have to recognize you as a superior, or an equal, or an inferior, depending on how you interpret rank structures in the different services...but that doesn't mean you aren't still deserving of a degree of respect.  You didn't get here by raising your hand on a whim--something you've done got you selected, and I recognize that."

He paused for a moment, considering how best to continue.  Personal honor was a touchy subject.  "As for the situation on the ship...you had two trained snipers in the crew.  Dealing with hostage situations is part of that training, and part of that is the understanding that any time a negotiator promises safe conduct, safe conduct is guaranteed unless and until the hostile does something that warrants intervention.  Like I said, if you wanted the Demon shot, all you had to do was stay out of the way...if I didn't have a shot, Lyri would have.  The moment you stepped forward, you compromised our ability to act, which already had me a bit out of sorts...when you promised safe conduct, you effectively tied my hands, according to my training.  So turning around and telling me to shoot him, at that point, got under my skin...I was already microns away from dropping the hammer on him when you intervened.

"I don't like creating a false impression that we're ready to negotiate.  Knowing what I know now about the Demons, I'm even less enthused by it.  If we're going to negotiate with them, it needs to be in good faith...but I'd prefer that they get the message that taking hostages isn't going to help them, in the first place...that there will be no negotiation, only death, if they try and hold someone else as a shield.  We've got the technology to visit that kind of consequence on them, and I don't like to see the effectiveness of that message clouded by a negotiation that never had any validity in the first place.  That just makes dealing with them in the future more difficult--if they think we'll negotiate, there will be more hostages.  If they don't think we'll negotiate fairly, the threat to those hostages will be greater.  It's nothing personal...aside from the fact that your course of action would make my job that much more difficult, in the future.  If we're lucky, there's no internal surveillance footage so this incident was completely isolated."

He finished his explanation, and shrugged again.  "Like I said...it's nothing personal.  It was...I don't know, call it a 'lack of professional courtesy', I guess.  I know how to drop a target that's hiding behind someone, especially if their human shield...or Sanri shield, I guess, in this case...is smaller than the target.  He wasn't going anywhere, so your actions just...muddied the waters, for lack of a better term.  And I don't like dirty fighting, even if the enemy does.  I'll do it, if I have to...but we didn't have to, there."

Again, he shrugged, and fell silent.  His explanation had appeared totally frank, and without any hostility...just a little frustration that was possibly just as much due to his struggle to find words to explain himself as due to the situation itself.  He gave Xero a level gaze, saying nothing further, and apparently waiting.

  As  those who were summoned find thier  way to the Mission room. They see...two sets of Guards out side the doors.  Two Hermes marines  armed with Pulse rifles and  a Sgt, with Sanri sidearm  and a Stun rod....across from them are Three Olympus Police. They are armed as the MArines, thier Sgt carries stubby machine pistol.

  Filtering in, They see  Commander Hack with Uniform panys on and a workout T-shirt that says 351 on the  front  and Hermes on the back. The LC is dressed in sweats. On the  stage with them are Two Olympus suits and One Olympus Officer..they are dressed casuelly, but the Military man has on  a jacket that has his  rank as Colonel.

  There  are  a few others in the room who are strangers...threes of them wear jackest that have  a shrouded figure  of "death", a scythe over  his  shoulder  and the right hand points  to "you"  The  Jackets have EMS above the  ensigna and "Harvestor" below it.

  As Hermes  folk make thier  way into the room, The Commander  or the LC point  out the section they are to sit in.

Stoly decided to be early to this briefing.  He'd been late to the last one.  And he wasn't babysitting this time so he didn't have an excuse.

Stoly was impressed by the guards out front.  He didn't expect the police.  Stoly hoped this wasn't about the little bit of fun he'd had on shore leave that had gotten out of hand.  After all he hadn't started it.  Stoly went on in.  If it was about those punks, well he'd geta good lawyer and do some brig time.  He'd been in the brig before.

Inside, the Commander and LC looked like they had come right out of the gym.  The LC pointed out a seat for Stoly.  That made him nervous, no one had ever cared where he sat before.  Stoly took his seat and put on his “good soldier” face.  There were no police in here so Stoly felt better about his prospects.  There were a handful of civilians in the room, some Olympus people and a few naemnikyi.  Stoly wondered if he was going to be the dancing bear of this little circus.

Roy schooled his face carefully as soon as he noticed the Olympus security personnel.  This was twice, in relatively short order, that they'd turned up where he was at (even beat him here, this time).  Nothing in his face indicated any concern or suspicion, however, and he nodded to the Hermes guards as he stepped into the room.

For the scantest moment, a look of annoyance flickered through his eyes when he saw MORE Olympus personnel in the room, but it went no further than that, and he noticed the Colonel's insignia.  His glance fell to the Harvestor personnel, and he looked askance at Commander Hack, but said nothing.

At the Commander's direction, he took a seat.  It was far enough away from Stoly that they couldn't discuss things without being overheard...so he sat back in silence.

 As they approached the Door, Kray saw the  OPs  and the Hermes  security..somene is here  who needs  watched over...or think they do..

  They entered the room, Kray nudged Hannah towards  the seats  that LC was pointing to...He was held  up for a moment One  of the Merc  Pilots who was asking him something about the game.  As HAnnah  sat down, Frans  sat to the Left of her, Miller  to the right and Beth sat behind her,  well now...how  was the  Time  with Shadow..he take to look at new  thrusters  for his fighter? Frans' voice  was sarcastic....how  was the  dancing?.... Beth's voice  was excited.....he didn't  do anything  stupid , did he? Miller  sounded like an older sister...

 As Kray walked over  and saw the seats  around  Hannah filled, the LC pointed to the chair in front of them with a slightly Bemused  smile. Before  Kray Could sit, and other Voice  called out..A merc with  A CAptain's  tunic on, the  same ensigna as the  others,well well CAptain Shadow!...Great to see you!" Kray Turned  and started to  LAugh as the Two men shook hands.

 ..Its  LT. Shadow...not  CAptain... Frans  said  with ice in her voice.

   No thanks  to You and your Father.... he looked at the  other LAdies there..The LC  stepped up to listene, as she seemed  interested  in this Merc.....This Guy here..Always gonna be  Captain to me... Month before gradutaion...Old Kray here was already givin his Bars...we had to Fly   the  Gauntlet..each year  it changes...we all got  one run on the course...then you have to do it  solo...the Instructors  and drones  wait  for you..You have to beat the time, and not get "killed"  and you pass..if you fail..counts 1/4 against yor grad  score...well..someone''s FAther was the guest judge..he deciedes his daughter wasn't good enough at the  Course that was chosen..so he switches the  Course right before  the test...well..CAptain  Shadow  was  mad..not so much for Himself..but  for us guys in his flight...so what does he do?...He breaks into the proctor's  hall...slips the safe..finds out  what course we are to run, and  we  all go  out  that night  and run it in aircars....next morning?  we all pass with  flying colors...Until Frans's told her  dad  what happened...Shadow  was demoted..all the way down to Ensign!...but  ended up a full louie before graduation...I never  forget someone  who's  done me good..nor  do i forget them  that's done me wrong... he slapped   Kray on the back,  Gotta  go back  and sit  with my boys  until this  is done..we're gonna be working together  i hear...

  The Fellow  moved  back to his  Crewmen  and  Kree looked at Ht e LC who have a raised  right  eyebrow and  a small smile,..Breaking and entering ,Mr. Shadow?  Kray  shrugged,..was looking out   for my Men LC...I'd  do it again...

 She nodded,..have a s eat..we  are about to start.....

  He  looked shee[pishly at  Hannah and the  women who had  her  surrounded...then  sat down..The Commander nodded to the back of the room and the doors  closed.

Hannah took the indicated seat and at Frans's tone her eyebrow shot up. She smiled to Beth and Miller then shot a dark look to Frans and leaned back in her seat. "Well, let's see, now... How did the evening go? Well, we had dinner at the best restaurant on the station at the best table - for free. Then he took me shopping and let me go crazy without having to pay a dime. Carte blanche when shopping is fun..." She held up her right hand to admire her lovely little 'ring.' "What was next? Oh, yes, we went dancing at a club and then our personal driver brought us back here for this meeting. In all, a lovely night out." Good lordy, Shadow was already rubbing off on her... but Frans was starting to tick her off.

She fell silent and listened carefully as Shadow reunited with his friend. It was all too easy to imagine Kray breaking into an office to deliver his own brand of justice for his team. She just returned his smile when he took his seat and fought the urge to lean forward and tweak his ear a little. She'd done that all the time to her brother when he'd called shotgun. Guys just hated that...

  Miller  and Beth gasped  a bit  as Hannah held up  the Ring,..he got you that? Kray you rascal! Miller  said  as she  whacked him on the shoulder..

 Beth shook her head,..wow... was  all she could say

   Frans' mouth opened  and closed and she just huffed  a bit  as she crossed her  arms and looked up at the stage...her lelf  foot  rocking  as she  crossed her legs.

  Shadow's  head bobbled  as his  Quarterback whacked him on the back...Then The Commander  spoke up,..Right Folks...we need to get this out of the  way, so  we can enjoy the rest of our shoreleave...The Good Colonel here...felt  that it  hisduties needed to be taken care of  now...so? To get this over  with..we  can get back to some R&R and get ready for the game...

  He stpped back. the Colonel seemed a bit  displeased by Hack's  tone..the Frenchman began to speak, Well met, my friends... I am here to present  some awards that some of you have been awarded...My orderly will be around to hand them to you...

  As he spoke and gushed about  the Hermes crew and thier duties and heroism in the filed..he named off those who were on the boarding party  and the Pilots  who have made Kills..Stevens, Of Course , was not there as he was being Feted on the Staion..but  the s medals that were being awarded this night, were below what he had recivede for the Dwoning of the Top enemy Ace.

  All the boarding part, including  Stoly have been awarded the Bronze star from Both  the Sanri and ESN..Shadow was given the  SAnri  Bronze  Cross  as Well as  the ESN Bronze Cross for his 7 kills....once all the hardware  was handed out..The frenchman looked over the Hermes  folks and began to make  an offer.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:46, Fri 08 Apr 2011.

Roy caught some of the louder commentary on Frans' little snarking run, and rolled his eyes.  He didn't need to hear what was actually being said to recognize the tone of voice...and he had no use for people like that.  He was debating whether or not to say something when Shadow's friend spoke up in greetings to the pilot.

By the time the little discussion was done, he had even less use for Frans.  Good pilot or not, she was doing a fantastic job of showing herself to be a really lousy human being.  He opted to keep his mouth shut for now...but he definitely had little use for her.  Probably bought her commission, too, he mused, as he looked to the Commander to start the briefing.

  The frenchman Colonel Jean De Louk, The Air  Commander  for the Olympus smiled  and nodded as the  Orderly finished handing out the little boxes. The  he began,..Your  Good Commander  has allowed me the time to make this offer...I will detail this to yuuo...and you will say  yea or no....

  LT. Kray Shadow. We offer , to you..the rank of  wing Commander for the Lower Squadron...your pay will be doubled and you will  recieve the RAnk of Captain, at the end of the month.

    Master Sgt Roy Spenser. You are to be given  the  run of the OlympusSpecial operations  Force...You will train  and have authority  over thier missions...again..Your  Pay will be doubled....

 Antonin Stoly Stolyarev, You will be given the rank of  Master  Sgt. You will be  given charge of the Motorpool and the training  for those who need to use  the Vechicles we have there....your pay will be doubled....

   Ensign Hannah Killain..You are to be  in charge of the  Comm systems and repair  for Olympus  station...You will recieve the  rank of  full LT  and your pay will be doubled......

   as way  of helping you choose...Your  Friends Tester and Xero have  already accepted thier offers...we are sure you will.......

  NO.....was  all Kray said.

  But  Monsieur Shadow..you do not.....

 ..Aye...I do know...and no..I am not going..I signed up for the Hermes....Commander Hack accpeted me...I'm staying here....

  The frenchman looked beside himself...The Commander smiled  as  he Looked over  at Major  Cummings who was not  at all pleased, none of his  'after party' troops  were awarded anything..Cummings   reached into his pocket and handed  Hack some Credit Chips...

Roy had his decision about as fast as Kray did, but he at least did the Colonel the courtesy of appearing to consider his offer.  "That IS a handsome offer...but with all due respect, Colonel, I signed on to go out and perform missions, not assign someone else to them.  While I have no doubt that your forces on the station are noteworthy, I'm a working man...meant to be in the trenches, not telling someone else to get down in there.  I have to decline."

He hadn't signed on for the pay in the first place...and if he had, he certainly wouldn't have specialized in sniper training.

 The Frenchman's  mouth  hung  open as he looked  over at Roy,..your  other  two friends..Ze had taken zee offer without  ze blink! Are you mad?

  HAck held out  a hand, his  fingers  motioning to Cummings...who gave  HAck  another few Credits...he looked  disgusted  as he shook his head.

Hannah bit her lip and looked down at her hands. The money would mean her mother could retire. It would also mean leaving the Hermes and Hannah didn't want that. She was just starting to fit in... Mom would understand. She hoped.

"I'm... I'm going to have to respectfully decline as well, sir. Thank you for the offer."

She clenched her hands in her lap and stared down at them. She didn't regret her choice, not really. It just meant that she would stick to the original plan to get her mom out of that damn job. She liked the Hermes and Lady was funny as all get out. She'd be happy here.

  The Commander fought back  a chuckle  as he  held out his  hand once more. The Major's  face  was red as  a beet, handing the Commander another few Credits/

 The LC looked over  at those who spoke. She  gave them the briefest nod of approval and a slight smile.

 Wish they would offer me that! Frans Grumbled  a bit.

 Me too! Kray leaned his head back, looking Upside down at the  ladies,with a grin...Miller   chuckled.

  From where he sat Roy could  hear the Mrec  Captain say,  Told ya...never have to watch your  back  with that one...

  The  Frenchman Looked to Stoly so see what he had to say.

"I am thinking there are no Demonyi that need killing in your motor pool.  I must decline your very kind offer.  I bore easily and many people have found this inconvenient.  It is for the greater good.  You understand, Ne pravda?" Stoly said.  "Unless... you can ship Demonyi in?  Let us say twice a week?"

Roy flashed a winning smile at the Colonel.  "Better make 'em big, nasty ones, too...just to make it kind of a challenge for him."  He hadn't been surprised by Stoly's answer.  Though he hadn't known the Russian long, he just couldn't see the guy as a motorpool sergeant.

In reply to the offer (msg #47):

Hannah bit back a laugh at Shadow's comment to Frans. She didn't dare look at the woman for fear she wouldn't be able to keep from laughing. She did, however, reach out to lightly flick her fingers at the top of Shadow's head, careful not to make contact. Her grandfather had done it once to her and it had hurt like the dickens. A smile escaped and she shook her head at him then settled back into her seat to listen to the conversation as it continued.

  The  frenchman looked  disgusted  He turned  and caught HAck getting  the LAst of his Credits from Cummings.we  will be going  now, Commnader! I hope your  players  are smarted then your crewmen! he stomped out of the  doors, He  and  the OPs outside  signaled  for the  transport and shuttled off to the Station.

  The Commander dismissed all of cummings men and the Major...all that ws left was   a few fighter pilots. The mercs.. Roy Stoly, Hannah. Kray  The Bridge  Grils   and Frans with her two "wingmen".

  He  waved  for the Merc  Captain to  come up to the  stage, First..I wish to thank you for  staying with the Hermes...I have picked well...we lost two of ours  to the Olympus...but  i am hoping that does  notreflect on  the Hermes. Secondly..I wish  you to meet Captain Henry Roles. A Graduate of the Acadamy on earth  and  friend to  Kray...they  worked thier  way up  from the docks  to flying  warships..Because of the size of  our Navy...the AP ( allied Planets) have allowed us to sign Merc units. They will gain coin  of course, as well as  share in prizes..They will be   our partner on the  Sccout  run coming up...

   Glad to meet you all..some of us know one another..othes do not. I am hoping we wil share alot od profit as well travel together...