where  PCs, NPCS come to be briefed on up coming Missions.

  During the Course of the Next few  hours. Some  Crew Members  were approached  by The  Bridge Officer in charge of security. He handed them a sealed note that said  " Eyes Only".

  within  an Hour  after the messages  were handed out, all of those handed the orders appeared on the 1st deck, about 1000 Yards  from the  Bridge. Most of  the  crew that were invited, had never been above the  12th deck..but here they were. They Filed  In Hack  and  Si were on the stage as screen pulled down behind them..

  Captain Monroe, Head of  the Marines  aboard  the Hermes Pointed to the seats to have everyone settled in quickly. There  was a side bar  for coffee , tea and  soft drinks for  anyone who wished them.

   Please be seated..... The Commander said as he looked to Monroe. The Captain checked over his list and nodded, and sealed the doors. No one  would be permitted in...or  out..until the briefing was finished.

  Nodding to Si, shepassed her hand over   a disk on the screen. There was  an Image of  a Demon Destroyer, This is.. The Demon vessal  "  Horror "...it was taken...by us, when i flew fighters  out of the Olympus...it was of little use to us..we beat the  living hell out of it..and the Demons  who survived trashed  most of  the operating systems... we did get two Demon fighters out of the deal...we  use  them to train  our  Pilots.

  Nodding once more  another  vessel showed up, this a more streamlined  thing. It was  marked  with the Sanri flag,..This is the " Mark of Hope"...one of the first Sanri trade vessels  to  come into our solar system...it  was destroyed,  the Demons  got 90% of  the salvage, we only found  bits  and pieces...however..there  are 14 Sanri on board  the destroyer  we are Hunting. Our Mission, is to Capture  the  destroyer..if possible...and it  would help the Council..to no end...if  we could recover most, if not all the Sanri on board.

  Si switched the screen to  Jupitor. there  was  a red highlight around the southern Hemisphere,..we are going to hunt the thing  in the South...The Olympus  and the Salvage tenders that patorl the area  looking  for metal  and astroids, have  found  nothing on top....Here is  why you all are here.

  Si stepped up to the microphone,  Lt Shadow   and  Ensign Montgomery will head off in opposite directions  to  find traces of  the  ship. Once you find  it...you will report its  co-ordinates and stay out of  sight until we send the fighter wings  to support you.

   clicking  on her  laptop  she said, Ensign  Locad  will pilot  the Boarding Shuttle. Its  is more heavily armored then the  cargo shuttle and carries   twin Lazer guns on a turret on top. You will be taking  the detachment of MArines to breech the hull and board her...or...land in thier  bay, and secure it...

  Which brings us to Captian Monroe. He  will bring 14 of his  best troops  along  with the  two spec opts mebers  we have, Master  sergent  Spenser  and  Chief Lyri Mullins. Spence  and Mullins  will be assigned offically as 'security '..but  thier skills  are why they are  there..we expect heavy  fighting   as you try to find the Sanri...and..take the ship from inside.

 another click and she continues, Ensign Killian will be going as the  Comm person for the marines...Ensign Ermanda is going to try and secure dialogue between the Sanri and  our  team, You may also have to broker surrender terms  for the Demons  if  the fight goes our  way...

    Shadow? Lt. Carole Frans will lead  Flight A   and B to meet up with  you, no matter  who finds  the destroyer...Montgomery? Lt Greg Hones will lead  flight  C  and D to meet you...when they come  there will be the second Boarding schuttle with  MArines to come  in..if...and only if  we have breeched the hull, or secured the bay...we cannot..must not ..let this ship get away. It has been hiding in the Gases of Jupitor for almost a month now...two days  ago in blew  the Tender 431 to atoms...all hands were lost, as was any salvage..but there is  an upside to this....Jutpitor will not let them call home....and  it is the same reason why we cannot  just scan for her..we  find it..track it..and bring it in..or bring it down..is this understood?


  Hack looked over the Room, Folks?  this  is the time  for Questions..from here you will be going...under guard..to get your gear, and be taken to your posts..you will not be permitted to speak with anyone..leave mesages..nothing...You see?  I was the  one  who canceled  the trip to the Olympus...as hard  as it is to believe, there are Demon sympathizers  out there...we suspect the Eastern Bloc to be full of them...so? we  either  sail into the Olympus  with  the destroyer in tow...or confirmed  killed...or  they send tenders  to find  what is left of us...Good Luck..and God speed...Shadow, You and  Monty leave now, the  rest of you will go, once the fighters have launched...

"Sir, do they speak the same language as us? I may be smart, but i can't pick up languages on the fly."

  The  Demons, Like  the Angels are , our  distant ancestors...you should be able  to ..at very least...pidgeon your way through it. My guess is, they  can understand us. As for as the Sanri go...your files  say you have completed the course, and while you wait on the hnager deck, I will have   a note book sent to you...so you may brush up...

Roy leaned back in his seat for a moment, considering the situation.  "What do we know about their close-combat capabilities?  Is it going to be of any value to us to take body armor in with us?"  He paused, and then added, "And do we know if THEY have body armor?  Will standard rounds be effective or do we need to load out with specialized ammo?"

He'd prefer standard rounds...anything that would punch through body armor could, conceivably, penetrate the hull.  Heaven help them if they needed explosive rounds.  Grenades were risky enough, but they weren't really designed for armor penetration...

He listened for the reply, while mentally preparing an inventory list.  Somehow, he got the feeling he was going to end up being either good friends or bitter enemies with the quartermaster group on the ship...

 ...The  Demons..the fighters have harden skin, they will also wear vests  of  sorts. The f ew that we collected  from the last ship, did not  give us much insight. They do not  seem to stop much more then the Neo-kelvar we use as standard  issue. Rivets is already transporting  a pallet of'Springers" to the Landing BAy that  you will lift off from. I suggest half  the men use  Springers, the other half split between Lazer rifles  and standard  issue solid  rounds...

(( Springers are gas propelled rounds, that Punch a small explosive charge into the target  when they hit..the explosion will take  a fistfull size  hole  out  of  a human or animal..and can disable mechs...none have been used on Demons thus far.))

..Hunters  are out, Commnader.

  Hack  smiled  as he headed towards the door,..Good luck people....get to your stations.....  with that, Si  and HAck took the  elevator to the bridge.

Roy shrugged, and nodded.  If the Demons' armor was about as durable as their own, it stood to reason that their weapons would be similarly destructive.  It was possible, of course, that their armor was designed to protect against a specific effect their weapons utilized, rather than simple ballistics, but he could worry himself silly trying to second guess what MIGHT be thrown at them.

It wasn't his preferred style of fighting...but he was well-qualified for close-quarters battle.  SMG with armor piercing rounds, two sidearms, extra ammo...I can carry all that.  Aid kit, in case we get any wounded or rescue any wounded.  Full breaching armor... That would weigh as much as everything else he planned to carry...

Emergency breather, tactical knife...and, what the hell, let's take a kukri, as well.  If they actually did end up in face-to-face combat and firing wasn't an option, he wanted a heavier blade in his hand.

It would be heavy, sure...but if things got exciting, his load would lighten quickly as he expended ammo.  He was planning on going in with a Springer, and just kind of shedding gear as he went...if things were slow enough, he'd collect his empty magazines, but a raging firefight didn't usually spare time to worry about such things.

He walked over to Captain Monroe.  "Sir, I've got a recommended gear list that you might want to look over, and adjust as necessary.  I've never gone up against a Demon, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them."

  The  boys  opening the door  will wear the breeching  armor..no use any one else  being  weighed down...can carry more  ammo that way. I will ahve  two runners in the shuttle  to bring up ammo should we need , or have to change..be real nice  if  Blasters worked, so we didn't have to worry about mags...I want everyone to have at least 2 concussion grandes..I hear Demons  can't stand loud noises..something about  membranes burst or  something like that...like to see if its  true....You ever  work with Chief Lyri before?

Roy shook his head.  "Can't say that I have.  This is my first tour off-planet.  Truth be told, this duty isn't my specialty, but you probably know that already.  But, if it's got a trigger, I'm pretty comfortable with it.  You'll understand, I hope, if I carry a few extra mags on my own...and tuck an extra plate in my tac-vest.  I'm used to being reliant on myself, pretty much, and while I'd like to be optimistic enough to be sure we won't get cut off from our ammo supply with the runners, I'm also cautious enough that I want enough ammo on my person to be able to fight my way back to our ship if it happens."

Yes, it was extra weight...but he was used to packing a gauss rifle and powerpack, and it would take an awful lot of ammunition to be that heavy.  "I'm assuming you've got a demolitions man in your team?  Shaped charges might help us with the breaching of internal bulkheads, if we have to.  And I'd recommend at least one frag grenade, along with the concussion grenades.  Better to have it and not need it..."  It was a holdover from his father's military training...if you thought you might need it, you'd better take it.  That line of logic had kept him alive several times, even before he got into the military.

  The Captain nodded,  Take a few if you like...it may be that that a frag  could be  our best bet against these things...I was in a firefight  with a small team of them on Eros..we both wanted the place for a base..we won..but we had ATVs so we couldn't  tell much...I am sure the bodies  were tested, but thus far, we have not been given the word  on what kills them the best...

  HAck had  wanted  a spec opts team..they let him bring three..You , Lyri and a Halfangel...Chief Hri Nas...Hri NAs is waiting for us on the Olympus. You and  the Chief  will be the ones who supposed to bring  them down from far...Hope you'er  up to it. The  Sergant of the Breech  team ws the same fellow who  breached the domeon  a Astroid 760...if he can do that..a destroyer wall should be easy enough..

A grim smile crossed Roy's features.  "Oh, don't worry.  I'm REAL good at keeping people down at long distance.  That's one of the reasons I'm a little leery about this boarding action...normally, if someone gets that close to me, it means I've really screwed the pooch, somehow.  Just need to get my target range readjusted, is all..."  He chuckled, drily, with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Sounds like we've got a good team, then.  I'll go requisition the gear I need from the quartermaster...maybe I'll see if they can just make some of it regular issue, so I don't have to keep going back.  Though I may need a larger lockbox in the armory, if they do."  He snapped a salute at the Captain.

"See you on the hangar deck, sir."

  The Captain smiled,Carry on  Master Sergent, get what you need...we may not  get another chance like this...

  as they finished  talking  the breach team entered the hanger, a small duel hover  torch in tow. Rivets going over with them how it  works, the man and  woman nodded in thier  heavy breaching  armor, but listened to the Manitanece  Captain

  For  the better part of the Hour, the people assigned to the attack tried to kill time, some paced, played  cards, chatted, checked thier weapons..Then the Commlink came over the  speaker to the Mission hanger..they heard the exchange with Shadow..at first   there were curses, things  thrown, and more then a few hanning head...Until they caught the last part...and the  red lights  came on, and the klaxton blared its warnings...

  MArines gathered thier   weapons and boarded the shuttles... Thesecond  Hanger bayb opened  and Fighters  took off ...two fights heading towards  Kray, two flights  headed towards  Monty.

..Lastly The Shuttles buttoned up, and Launched into the  starry backdrop..they  remained halfway between Kray and Monty as did the  Torpedoe ships...waiting to see where the destroyer  went.

  Commander  HAck, the Two  Sanri and Beth Morrow  stood on the  stage, the screen was pulled  down for showing  slides  and  footage if needed.

 Shadow  was on  of the first to arrive, and was going to sit  in the back, until Hack called out,...best if you sit up front, this time around  Lt Shadow....

 Kray's smile  grew  just a bit, and he moved up to the front  row, as the rest begins to filter in

Roy walked in, glancing around curiously for a moment before taking a spot along the back wall.  He dropped his duffle on the floor and stood with one foot resting on top of it...a simple and effective way of discouraging anyone from fiddling with it.  Probably a needless gesture here, but he wasn't taking any chances.

-->Hangar Bay

Hannah filed in behind some other members of the boarding party and grabbed a nearby seat. Absently she massaged her hands. They needed the relief after the white-knuckled grip she'd had on her equipment for a while there. She hadn't done horribly but she knew she hadn't been stellar either, though she supposed that just meant she had more to learn. No point in getting maudlin over her first time in a firefight.

Besides, moping really wasn't in her nature.

Having settled that in her mind she kept massaging her hands and leaned back, waiting for the debriefing to start.

  Looking   as the room filled, almost as  if he was ticking off the  roster in his  mind, he called back to the two marines by the door,,,Looks  about  right, step out  and close the door, no one comes in unless they were  in the off-ship  action...no one..understoof?

 The Corpral of the two nodded his head, and they stepped out closing the door, standing in front with thier weapons across thier chest, and the safties off.

    Frist off?   As   i will announcem later...I conrgadulate all here..all on baord the Hermes. This  was the  first Ship to Ship contact, since , well going back to when i was  a fighterpliot. Even then, the  Fighters  and Torpedo craft took out  the Demoic  craft. Now? The ship we have taken as a Prize,  was heavily damaged  by the Sanri warship...no doubt that saved  us alot of causlites...regardless..we won...and...we are bringing in a ship...not to mention, everyone's  sack load of  credits  when the Angels  buy it.

    second? I know   we have  some rough spots  to iron out...but it  will always be that way..the nature of the beast, you might say..Now?  Ensign Beth put together  the Comm loags for me, and along with that, the Gun Camara's logs  that not only confirm Kills, but give  us  a good look out there, when the Computer puts them all together...You might say? there is no place to hide.

 Now?  Escept for me...for the next hour. There is no rank...no service branch..Just you people, and me..I amgoing  to go into the  encounter...i will point out  wrongs and rights...and i may ask questions..THIS.... that last word  came  out strong  and  loud, with steel behind it...  this is the last chance you will have to comment to some one who outranks you...or perhaps, you feel didn't  do thier jobs..I...as Commander..will judge those  charges..once  we leave this room...the only thing  i want to hear, as that the air is cleared..Undestood?

  ..So..before  i begin? Does anyone have anything to say...when i am finished, you will have your chance to argue...counter..whatever you wish to call it..but it will all end in this room.... he looks over the group waiting  for anyone whomight  wish to speak up.

Roy looked around the room.  This was hardly his first 'after action' analysis, although this was doubtless the most unique.  However, one of the quirks of being a specialist of his nature was that he often had the freedom to call into question the wisdom of his superiors...many of them had never seen combat on the scale he did, just a streaming representation of it back in a command bunker somewhere behind the lines.

He was curious to see what Hack had to say, personally, and a lot of the expectant looks he saw, on the faces he could see from the back of the room, told him he wasn't the only one.

  Taking  a seat, near where Spenser  stood, she grined  and whispered..This  is where it  gets good...

 she  shut up though when Hack turned her way, and she began concentrating on chewing her gum.

Stoly slipped into the room.  He had passed off his charges to a couple of naval wonks.  Apparently they had feature roles in the post-game show.  Stoly liked that word “wonk.”  It fit the subject.  And, being an Angliski thing, he could pretend he didn't understand it.  Wonk wasn't in the dictionary, he'd checked just to make sure.

Stoly shoehorned his bulk into a chair and waited of the talking to begin.  Hurry up and wait.  He reminded himself it was rude to sleep through these things.  This would be his first after action debriefing with the Americans.  He'd heard they handled things differently.

  Two of pilots  of Lt. Frans wing  looked at her..she cleared her throat and said,I have  some issues  witht he  Way Lt. Shadow handled  our  engagment, with the  Demon's  fighter  group...according to  our   Training, we were to  return with in Gun Range of the Hermes so we  would get support...

  Hack nodded a moment  and  looked down at Shadow,..Shadow?

  Without  looking  back, he looked up to Commander HAck  and poited at the screen,..when you run the films, you will see the 2 breeching shuttles at the Demon's Hull, the  second  one just arriving, had  we pulled bcak, they would have...or  at very least, could have, split thier  force and taken out the shuttles, while they harrassed us...According to  everything i have read in battle-tech. ground forces need the support  from the air...in this  instance, all we could  do, was make certain that they still had thier rides home...

  Hack nodded once  again and looked towards Frans,Anything else?

  Frans' face  was red  with anger  and  embarassment she held tight to her point,..we lost  three fighters  because of his reckless  attack..even though  i asked him several times to pull back...

  Shadow looked  just a bit  angry himself as he replied,  we lost 3...we accounted  for 20,,not  to mention the  ones that surrendered  after Stevens waxed the wing  leader. I do not like to lose  anyone...even you, frans...but it beat the hell out of the shuttles being lost, or the hermes being attacked out right.

 Commander HAck  nodded as frans sat back down. Shadow shook his head  but  said nothing esle.

  He motions to the 2 Sanri behind them,  Lady Linne...and he  MAte  Linee have given the boarding parties thier  compliments, on  jobs  well done. from thier  report . out of the 14 missing Sanri. there were only 8 left...two of them are here  now. and Catain Monroe  said you saw the  body of another..that  means  there are 5  unaccounted for..we  can only  hope  the Major   finds  them.

  Lady Linee steps up to  the  podium, she says in fairly good  english..thick with the  Musical tones of the Sanri..On behalf  of  my Mate, and myself. I thank you for our  rescue. Our  fate, would  have not be  a good one, had  we been taken  back to  the Demon's  home system.. I have  made it  a point, that  those  involved  will recieve a token From the Sanri as our thanks.

  Commander Hack steps up with a  slight Bow  to Lady  Linee, as both the Sanri  are led  away to thier  quarters, and some much needed rest

  ..thus  far..we have  heard no comments  from the Captured demons. We have folks talking with them now, thus far, those  who have spoken have commented on fair treatment..that is  a good  thing...but let me lay this out on the table. Had the positons been reversed...only the  women would have survived the  take over...and they would not be the lucky ones...

     I have   techs  combing the  Demon craft now..they will give  us  some idea of what kind of  ship's  guns they use. even  food that they eat, though we know that we are on the menu, if they get the chance....We have two of thier fighters on board...once the techs   go over them, the pilots  will take turns learning to fly them, so you can gauge thier responses in battle. Now? Does  anyone from the broading parties have anything?

Roy squared his shoulders and stood upright, more or less at attention.  "Sir, are we to take your comment regarding the Demons' treatment of prisoners as an admonition against offering quarter to the enemy?"  His distaste for the idea was evident in his tone, though his face betrayed nothing.

  Commander Hack  looked  at  Spenser, there  was a slight  smile on his  face  as he said,  Master Sgt Spenser....there  are  5 races i know of...Human, Sanri, Angels, Demons, and Occis...of the 5...only  one race  will eat thier  foes...Now...there  are other races  , I  am sure..have  herd many  a rumor as a Pilot, stopping  at  Boader plantes and  moons...But..The Demons are rather  heartless..perhaps...a better word  is souless...They Use  females of  foes to breed with..the offspring that come forth..normally Kill the  mother  at birth...IF...the offspring tests out..it lives to continue in the Demonic  cycle..if not?  it becomes  a delicacy for some high positioned Demon...They  are Omnivores..but relish the taste of thier foes' blood...

  He looks down  for  a moment then a quick glace  at the  doorway the Sanri had left from,  Taking the priosners  was a good  investment. We  can trade  them  for any of  our  people, or allied  captives   the demons have...even now, The Olympus  is  sending out a space wide  notice  of the prisoners  we have  and  that they will be offered for trade...There  are very few humans that  have  fought  face to face with demons, and have come out on the high side. We  did well... but let me read this to you... he  looks around the room, To you all...It is from the Sanri to the Angels. It came  from  the Occis's  planet Kori..this  was  sent  about  a day before  my squadron met up with the demon  destroyer...it  says....'...to all allied  Races, and planets of the  Sanri  home system...It is will deep regret and  fear, that i say, The demonic  home worlds  have declared total war on  all races not subject to them...the  planets that have foolishly surrendered, that  The demons   do not respect as warriors...are  now being turned into  demon nurseries  and  food sources.  The Occsi, The  Sanri  and the Angels have signed  a delcaration of total war, against the Demons  and her allied systems

  He looks up  from the  web-book  and shakes his head,..now then Master Sgt..to answer you question? If  they surrender...if  lives of our people and our allies  might  be  saved  by taking them..then yes...we offer  surrender...To be honest..i do not understand  why the ship struck its  colors...perhaps, the beating it took from the  Sanri, was enough to soften them up for us... But  we  could   be bringing home  some  captives because of this...So..in the end? it  will come  down to each  encounter...and how you feel...you  should handle it. Does that help answer the Question>  Master  Sgt  Spenser?