Roles and Fleers loked up at Justin, HAck was taking  a sip  of his drink  as he Nodded, What  can I do  for you  Ensign?

In reply to Commander Hack (msg #27):

If you please Sir I seek approval to transmit the following communiqués. he hands the hand held to the commander and waits for a short time to allowing him to scan the contents.

  The Commander nods..They won't  be  cheap son. I hope your  friends  have deep pockets...go ahead  and send them...if  trouble arises  from this,  we won't  do it again, but no reason not  to give it a try.

  He hits his Com,Lilly? En CAse will be arriving shortly, allow him to send his messages...Hack..out..

 there you go ensign, good luck.

In reply to Commander Hack (msg #29):

Thank you Commander. he salutes smartly then heads for the bridge.

.....AFTER ANNOUNCEMENT...

  The Commander  was in the  center of the room, there  were tables  set for Dining,. The LC and Unli were there  as well  The big Vid  screen  was on, with a picture of Earth.

 Guards  stood outside the  Dining  Room, only allowing those who were called.

Only a few minutes after the announcement was made, Roy arrived, in casual-duty attire.  He paused at the doorway, surprised that the room looked to be laid out for a feast or something of the sort...but with an inward shrug, he continued forward.

"Sgt. Spencer, reporting as ordered, Sir," he said, with a perfunctory salute.  He was so accustomed to Hack instantly encouraging him to relax that he didn't stay at attention after the salute...but he did stay at parade rest.

  Shadow  walked in, still in his flight  jacket, he left the security room as  Hannah and Beth still worked on the  info.

  He Nodded to  Roy, as he entered. Lt  Bols, CApt Monroe  and Major Cummings  were there ( the Major in dress Uniform).

   Chief Lyri walked in....off duty garb on...

  The Commander looked at them all and told them to Line Up , Pointing for Shadow to be at the end of the line.

  The Vid Screen  came on, as well as   two camaramen from the Hermes who were about to pipe everything  through the  Ship.  Un-Li and   The LC  stood by  the Commander  as   he  motioned to the screen. Admiral Hennings Looked at the group, he smiled, the camara's rolled.

 ..At ease  people.. We as a people..You as those who are taking the  big steps, are about to embark on the  first ever, Earth Invasion. Though the  Moons we are to take, have Humans  on , there  are also other races as well..and we must end thier threat, while creating one of our own...to that end, as both rewards  for  for recent actions, and to help our  upcoming actions....The  delta Fleet and all her people will be awarded    an Earth Bronze  star, and Angel  Silver star, .

   I have already contacted the other ships, including the  EMS ships and gave out thier  Promotions...so..I saved the best for last....  he smiled  a bit  and nodded to Hack, who stepped up to  Major Cummings...Major? You are  herebye appointed to Colonel, and will be transfered to the ESN Ben Franklin..you will be in charge of  all Groundtroops, and be under the Commander  of Commander HAck.. The Commander gave him his Silver bird.

Captain Monroe..you are here by promoted to Major..you will stay on the Hermes  and  remain in command of the Marines there....  Hack gave him his oak leaf.

  Lt. Bols. You are being Promoted to Captain, you will stay on station on the Hermes as  Major  Monroe's right hand.  Hack handed him his bars.

 Chief  Mullin..you are  being  promoted to  Master Chief. You will remain on Station with the Hermes...  Hack handed her her  new Chevrons  and  Rockers.

  Sgt Spencer....You are being Promoted to Sgt Major of the marine Corps...Space operations...you will also retain any other duties the Commander  sees fit to burden you with...  Hack Smiled at  Roy as he handed his new chevrons and rockers. Hack said to Roywe're going to need a new  3 striper after  the  rest of the dominos  fall...you pick one...

  ...Lt. Shadow....You will be the Wing Commander of the Delta  Fleet during any fleet operations..and...YOu will Now  get ready to carry out   the Duties in which  i called you here for?  Shadow  Nodded and saluted smartly as he Stepped over to the LC.

 LC SI. Though you are Angel born, you are assigned to the ESN, Thus i  have within my rights, to act on my judgements...You are  Hereby promoted to Commander...and remain on station with the Hermes As  XO.  The LC was  more then surprised as she took  the box  from  Shadow that held her silver  Oldleaves. Shadow shook her hand with a grin.

  Kray then  stepped  smartly to   Hack, Commander HAck...you have refused  such things in the past, but the new make up , of the Delta Fleet and her importance, forces this  upon us both...and you should, set an example for your people, by taking this....Commander Hack...you here by promoted to Rear Admiral...thus you will be able to set treaties, laws, and guidelines, and enforce the  same Congradutalions Oliver...you have earned it.  Shadow handed him his  silver star and shook his hand as he Did the LC's.

 ..Oh?  Lt  Shadow?...we are short an LC....be a good  lad  and  take up that positon...won't you?  Kray turned, his mouth 0pened  wide, Commander  Si Giggled  and Un-li  walked over to  Shadow and handed him his box with the  Goldoak leaf. She threw in a Hug as well, as  Shadow looked to the screen,...don't worry Shadow, Admiral Hack will make sure you keep flying, that oak leaf doesn't weight much...

  Admiral Hennings looked into the Monitors and said, Delta Fleet....it will take  24 hours  for the transports  to catch up with you....so...I want all stop sounded, on  the Fleet....your orders are to celebrate for the next 24 hours....Good  job....good  luck...Hennings  out...
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:24, Tue 28 Aug 2012.

  The Doors opened   to the Officer's club, and  the  food folks brought  in the  serving  bowls and such and began setting the tables  with teh food. One table was set up for  the "promoted folks"  Name tags in front of where they were to sit, including dates.

  someone took the Liberty  of having Lyri and  Roy sit together..there was a spot  next to the for  Kray and Hannah and so on down the table  witht he  New Admiral at the head of the Table, and   Commnader Si to his right, and Unli to his left.

   People  hearded them to thier  seats Pormising anyone missing was already notified....

  Kray sat down at the Table and Looked at the Oakleaves...LC?...Me?..this is  a very bad  idea....

Roy overheard Shadow's comment, and snorted.  "Don't know what you're complaining about...I hate these hybrid ranks...I'm half-officer, now..."  He grinned, mischief in his eyes, and looked over at Lyri.

"Well, Master Chief, wanna help me pick the poor dogface that gets saddled with some new stripes?" he asked.  He had a few likely prospects in mind...

He glanced over at Hack, before he sat down.  "Admiral, sir?  I have one request on the night.  If he was here, I know he'd be at this table with us...I think we should be drinking a toast to Ensign Stolyarev.  And he'd be downright offended if we toasted him with anything besides vodka..."

  ..why of course...LT....Stolarev now. Please bring a shot of  the best Russian Vodaka for all at this table....

 the   Waiter bowed, ..already down...Admiral

  a few moments later the waiters finsshed pouring the shots and placed one in front of each of those at the   special table.  Hack stoo  and  nooded for everyone else to stand,  SGT Major? would if you please?  all turned to   Roy to hear the toast.

Roy blinked a couple of times in surprise.  He'd expected little more than raising a glass to Stoly...being asked to actually articulate a toast came as a minor shock.  But he was quick to think on his feet...

"Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to raise a glass in honor of one of Hermes' most dedicated pilots.  He never got the recognition and acclaim that often fall to the fighter pilots, but I know of nobody who would question his courage and his skill.  And even though he isn't here with us, he's still giving us the very best that he can--as evidenced by the wonderfully capable assault shuttles he got built for us.  He'd probably kick me in the shin under the table for saying this much, but he's not here to stop me..."  He grinned, an odd mixture of amusement and wistfulness in his expression.

"Please join me in a drink, in honor of former-Ensign-now-Lieutenant Stolyarev.  If our wishes have wings, let them find their way back to Earth and bring him back out here to the front lines, where his heart would have him be.  Good fortunes, Stoly...hope we'll see you soon."  He raised the shot glass, holding it up as the room followed the action, and then drank it down in a single gulp, grimacing at the burn of the vodka in his throat.

  Kray lifted his glass and downed it...his face showed, it has been a long time between drinks like this...but this was a special time.

  He looked at the empty seat by him and frowned a bit, then sat down as everyone else   did....the  waiters  had  Carts  of  Steak, seafood ,and Pasta..

  Shadow asked  for PAsta and salad...and   Birch beer.

 So? are you guys going to be able to sneak around with all those extra  stripes on your  shoulders?

  Lyri grinned,..i work out....  she was taking  a Steak and finally settled on mashed potatoes.

Roy grinned.  "From what I've been told, sneaking doesn't get really difficult until they start making you wear your rank on your neck instead of your shoulder..."  He looked torn for a moment, and ended up taking a plate of steak AND pasta.

   well? I never  was slowed  down by my bars.... he grinned  as  he  popped in a forkful of  pasta.

  ...something tells me  this invasion isn't going to be as easy as it sounds....I mean...once  we take out thier air power? What are they gonna have?....

Roy shrugged.  "Depends on which world you're talking about.  The one with no surface life?  Probably won't have much air power to deal with...dead worlds make for good hiding places.  But that means that we're gonna have to get in there and dig every last one of them out, unless we opt for some really brutal tactics like flooding the caverns with aerosolized acids that will eliminate them whether they're resisting or not."  His voice had lost much of the humor that had been present earlier, and his eyes were dark and brooding as he contemplated the prospect.

"No invasion is ever easy.  And invading where the enemy holds every inch of real estate?  You're read about the Allied body count at Normandy, back in the Twentieth Century, right?  In terms of percentages, they got off light...but when you look at actual numbers, as opposed to 'percent of the total invading force', it was pretty horrific."  He shook his head.

"No, I don't think this invasion will be as easy as it sounds.  And it doesn't sound at all easy, to me, which makes that prospect even more daunting."

well? All i have to say is this...go there..wipe  what ever  we have to wipe

Roy nodded.  "If it's to be The Charge of the Light Brigade, then let's make sure we live up to the precedent.  In the meantime..."  He sighed, deeply, and picked up his fork and knife.

"Let's deal with the mission at hand, shall we?" he said, and the mischief was glimmering in his eye once again.  He set to slicing his steak, obviously delighted with the way the juices flowed from it as he cut into it.

  With a nod  and  a smile, a slight frown as he   took another look at the empty seat next to him. But the Pilot clearly enjoyed his pasta.

  After  a  few Moments of   people eating  and the Buzz of Conversation  around them, Kray  asks,...you know?..unless some of the Mercs have been out this  far? I have no clue  where the heck is Alba is.

Roy thought for half a second, and shrugged.  "Prior to shipping out on Hermes the first trip out, I didn't even know where Olympus was...I used to consider myself pretty good at geography, but this interplanetary and interstellar stuff has my at a loss.  I just know it's out there...somewhere..." he said, with a vague gesture of his hand.  He turned to look at Lyri, who, he had discovered, was an astonishing vault of surprising details.  Maybe she could clarify things for the pair.

  she  smile s just a bit  as she swallows her steak..she reaches  for  the salt, Pepper, and Occi Seasoning...she says....The Salt is  Fuji....the  Pepper is Olympus..the Occi seasoning is Alba...  she places the Occi shaker  two plates-worth away from both the other shakers.....out past there? its  all unkown..except maybe to out allies...

Roy grimaced.  "And they're not exactly going to great lengths to inform us about what lies beyond our immediate environs, are they?" he observed.  Lyri's answer was as good as he could expect to get at a dinner table...anyone else would probably have tried to explain it in terms of stellar locations, and that would only have confused Roy, since he didn't know where most of these other stars they kept talking about were located, either.

But he had a lot of experience in learning the lay of the land by exploring it himself.  The distances were greater, and the 'land' was far more inhospitable if you got caught away from your home base...but the basic prospect held up.

  Kray took a mouth ful of salad, with french dressing...he wiped  his  mouth a bit with a napkin, and Pointed to the Occi shaker...he waited until he finished and said,...so...if i am out in a Hammer....all i need to do...is triangulate  from Olympus and Fuji?....or would it be better  to home in on Tortuga?..and go from there?

 Lyri shook her head,..you got me on that one..I can plot a course on a star Map...but  flying by sight...heck..if you are off   one mile back here? you'll ne  off 1000's by the time you reach them.

 well into thier meal Un-Li  comes over to the Group,...well...Look at all of you...  she smiled   a bit  as she swirled a Glass of  some  glowing  blue  wine in a glass.

  Her  left hand  sets on Kray's  left shoulder....all these  people , climbing up the ladder? What will our  enemies do now?

  Kray looks at the hand  on his shoulder and frowns, but takes  a deep drink of his birchbeer.

  Lyri, is clearly uncomfortable with Un-li there,..I would say our  enemies should be worried.....all of them..... she takes a drink of a beer she has  ordered.

Roy shrugged, and grinned wolfishly.  "If their past action is any indicator, I'm guessing what our enemies do now is the same thing they've been doing all along...grossly underestimating us.  Not that I'm eager for all of them to change their tactics, but you'd think they would start learning something after getting put in their place a time or two by such impertinent upstarts..."

His grin didn't change, but he met Unli's eyes with his own, and his eyes hardened as he finished the thought.  His manner was painstakingly civil...but it wasn't hard to detect his dislike for the Angel and her mannerisms.

  Un-Li smiled, her beautiful smile, condesending.well...Master SGT of The MArines..Space Operations. What will happen to  ESN, when the  ...enemies understand them?

  ..I'm thinking, ESN rules the Universe...at least the parft of it we want...  Kray says, then takes another fork full of  mini shells.

 ..what do you think..Master  Cheif...MAster SGT? her  hand Moved  along Kray's  shoulder..the  Pilot looked  down the table towards  Hack, who was busy talking to  some  of the others.

 Lyri shifted a bit, uncomfortable with Un-li's   words and actions.