Cain's eyes widened slightly, "OH, THAT! Your talking about the SDF-01 Main Gun firing?  Yeah, I saw what... ... 'sigh'..."

And Cain's expression changes to one of deep morose and lowered his eyes...

He paused several seconds before continuing on in a much subdued and softer tone, "...my previous wingman 2nd Lt Parker Harvey saw it personally, saved the footage and showed it to me several times. He.. was quite proud of it."

"I know what op reports said about the initial contact.  That the SDF-1 main gun fired at two objects approaching in low earth orbit totally destroying them, before Macross Isle was attacked by the alien battlepods in a swarm. I've heard rumors that some malfunction happened with the SDF-1's gravity lifters when it attempted to take off.  Then shortly latter it performed what can only be a spacefold taking most of Macross Isle with it... along with the UN Spacey's taskforce wet navy ships 'Daedalus', and 'Prometheus'.  And... THE Henry Gloval, of the Global Civil war fame was in command of the SDF-1."

She was keeping silent on many things, she had heard about the Beauty Pageant on the SDF-1, and having spent some time in the RAF, and around the RN, she knew that many various things were done on military vessels, and military bases to maintain or build morale.

There was a long standing tradition to hold a big party, or ball, with many various components including cross dressing, a dance, contests and more upon crossing the equator.  She understood why a ship taking a long journey like that had to have something to focus on.  It didn't even occur to her that they might have an issue with such a generally innocuous thing as a Beauty Contest when the world's navies had done far more extreme things than that on a regular basis, why.. it would be hypocritical!

"They seem to be doing what they can for morale, might even be doing their own sort of Order of Neptune ceremony, I think.  Might be one goes from polywog to shellback when crossing the asteroid belt."


OOC:  For reference, here is a bit on that, real life reference.
https://www.veteransunited.com...heir%20seaworthiness.

The Colonel cocked one eyebrow at the observation.  "Traditionally, don't you need shellbacks to make more shellbacks?  There's only a handful of people in the entire service that have been out past the Asteroid Belt, and I'm not sure any of them were aboard the SDF-1.  And if that was what they were doing, they should have been done long before you found them on Mars..."

He turned back to Vance.  "Civilians aboard?  That fits.  I mean, we were all uncertain about what happened to Macross Island, initially...it wasn't until your squadron recovered the space-fold drive components out past Mars that we even had any evidence that the SDF-1 had survived the battle...and Gloval's not the type to stand on formalities of who's allowed on military vessels when there's a civilian population at stake.  Must be crowded, though, if everyone who went missing from that incident had to cram into the SDF-1.  I mean, there were a lot of back corners to that ship, but that's the entire crew, plus all the civilians, plus the crews of the Prometheus and Daedalus.  I presume they ended up out there, as well...if not, we need to get some diving teams looking for wreckage around what's left of Macross Island, because we never saw a sign of either vessel after that day."

He seemed, for a moment, to be rambling, then stopped and focused on Bixby.  "You can shed more light on that matter, then?"

Bixby scowled ever-so-slightly, then nodded, his eyes flicking over at Vance in minor annoyance.  "Yes, sir.  We intercepted what appear to be civilian broadcasts of local events.  There was even mention of some of the celebrities that were in Macross City for the launch celebration.  Different frequencies than any of the military chatter we picked up...and if it was just for military personnel, they'd have probably stuck with the closed-circuit internal communications systems, rather than doing a general broadcast.  At a guess, sir, I'd reckon they've got a lot of personnel on board who don't have access to the closed-circuit system, so they save it for priority messages.  The stuff we were picking up seemed to be mostly recreational."

So far, the Colonel had taken everything in stride...but Bixby had his doubts about a civilian beauty pageant being swallowed so casually as everything else had been.  He wouldn't lie, if asked directly...but he wasn't going to volunteer the exact nature of the transmissions he'd managed to clean up...

Kelly shrugs slightly.

"I was just comparing it.  The whole Line Crossing Ceremony was a way to raise crew morale on a long voyage on a dangerous cramped ships in the middle of a lot of nothing.  I thought it was a decent analogy, sah."

Vance spoke up.  "We didn't get a very clear look at her, Sir...but the visuals we got indicated that she was significantly larger than the configuration she had when she left Earth.  The telemetry and sensor readings indicated additional structures added that were built of different alloys than the SDF-1...and consistent with the size of the missing vessels.  So, while we can't positively confirm that's where the two ships disappeared to, Sir, evidence strongly indicates that they are, somehow, attached to the SDF-1."

He shrugged, and added, "Considering the best and brightest of the RDF were aboard the SDF-1, I'm sure the engineers could have figured out a way to combine the superstructures.  And, given how long they've been gone from Earth, they've certainly had time to get it done, especially with the resources they had on Macross Island at the time."

For her part, Hanako looks either upset or frustrated about the whole thing.  Those who do not know her might surmise that she feels it is a waste of resources, or that such a thing seems like a frivolous activity.  Of course, anyone who has spoken to her for more than an hour would know that is not it at all.  So, really, what has her feeling this way?

Well, the truth may have surprised some of those gathered in that room, but others would not be surprised at all.

You see, it was two overlapping things.  Firstly, she wished she could have participated in said contest, quite confident in her ability to win.  Secondly, she is upset they never did anything like that on the Ranger, where she would definitely be the victor, as she was clearly the cutest woman on the ship.  She would never come out and say such a thing, of course, as that would be horribly unprofessional, but in her heart, she knew.

After all, her upset pout right then was rather adorable.

The Colonel rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, contemplating the situation...like he was weighing options.  Finally, he gave an almost-imperceptible nod, and spoke.

"Based on all the sensor data we've been able to collate, and our best extrapolations, UEDF Command is certain that the enemy is primarily...almost solely...interested in the SDF-1.  Aside from a scant handful of ships--in comparison to their total numbers--that the enemy left behind watching Earth, they've hardly given us a second glance.  And that's good.  It's given us time to rebuild some of our lost space forces...and to set in motion some other measures which I'm not at liberty to discuss."

He grimaced, and then added, "Command would have my bird for this...at a minimum...but there's a growing sentiment among them that letting the aliens have the SDF-1 would result in them departing without further incident.  While the Ranger's managed to keep up a war of attrition on those few forces, we have, thus far, not been able to field any sort of defense which they would consider a significant threat.  We're trying to catch up to that level of offensive capability...but we're trying to do it in a way that the aliens won't notice.  While one group seems to think if we just lie low, they will go away when and if they get the SDF-1, another group vehemently believes that the only way to ensure peace is to hurt them badly enough for them to think twice about encroaching on our space again.  Right now, they're in a stalemate...neither can gain the upper hand and both are determined that we should not let the populace, in general, know what happened to the SDF-1 or give them any notion of the true size of the alien threat.  And we definitely can't let them know that the aliens seem to be returning to Earth...the ensuing panic would be cataclysmic."  He shook his head, then looked, slowly, at the collected pilots sitting in the room.

"You've all been out there.  You have a clearer concept of their true numbers, and a far better grasp of their offensive capabilities and tactics.  What do you think our chances are, truly?" he asked.  For the moment, at least, his manner shifted subtly and he was no longer a superior debriefing personnel...he was a man hoping for assurance while fairly certain there was none coming.

Cain sighed, then stated; "...the enemy is holding back almost all of its forces.  They exist in vast numbers that we have been unable to accurately ascertain.  Their warships are colossal in size dwarfing even the SDF-01 and its the biggest ship Earth could field!  They clearly want the battle fortress but not destroyed or they could easily mobilize the majority of their forces to accomplish that, so... there MUST be something about or within the Battle Fortress they want intact.  They may only be holding back from attacking Earth because they don't know, as yet, if what they want is still on the Fortress or in our possession planetside."

"BUT... if THAT was All they wanted... why have such a large fleet here when smaller elements would do?  THAT in addition to the fact that they have made NO attempts to contact us not even to demand our surrender or release of the Battle fortress to them... even though its clear our race resides on Earth in teeming numbers ~ every encounter with them has been punctuated with immediate unprovoked violence!"

"Sir, I do not believe for one moment that once they have the Fortress that they will 'just go away'.  It is my opinion that once they have the Fortress, if what they are after is NOT on it they will come searching for it on Earth!  But if they find whatever it is they are wanting on the Fortress then they need not fear destroying it by attacking the Earth directly.  We are not a threat to them militarily, but in every encounter they attack without provocation and make no attempt to dialogue; so once they have what they want, likely they mean to use that fleet to wipe humanity out!  Either way... they will eventually be coming for US!  I don't know what kind of enemy one would need to have such an immense fleet to defend against, but the fact that almost 90% of their total forces have been idle says to me.. they don't think WE are a threat.  Their immediate, never changing violence on any ANY encounter, their total lack of ANY attempt to contact us or try to demand our surrender or even negotiate for whatever it is they are after on the fortress says to me we are considered vermin not worth their notice.  They don't seem to be interested in our world for its resources or even our race out of curiosity... but they attack with deadly intent on any encounter."

"Sir, You wipe out vermin once you own the house."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:48, Tue 21 July 2020.

Vance had been considering his answer when Cain spoke up, and he listened carefully, his face expressionless and only his eyes giving any hint of the emotions that the words might be triggering...and those hints were all but impossible to read.

When Cain finished, he spoke up.  "I can't question Lt. Edwards' assessment, sir.  And I think it's fair to say that we may be facing only a portion of their total forces.  They had a whole second task-force join up with their fleet a few months back, and while it's possible, it seems highly unlikely to me that they would have their entire fleet strength committed to attacking-but-not-destroying a single ship. So we have no way of knowing what their true numbers are."

He shrugged, and added, "The one way in which we outstrip them, as far as capability, is our ability to repair damaged craft and send them back into service.  We haven't had too many occasions to see it up close, but it certainly appears as though they are, for all practical purposes, either unwilling or unable to repair damage to their ships, and that may be the only reason we've been able to hold our own and may be a big part of the reason the SDF-1 is still operational and they've called in reinforcements.  But if what we've seen is only a fraction of their total strength...Hell, Colonel, even if what we've seen is half their total strength, they'll blow through any defense we can mount.  And unless any sort of attack we try manages to disable the majority of their fleet in very short order, trying to hurt them enough to make them leave us alone is just going to convince them that the SDF-1 is not the only threat we pose to them."

He raised his hands in a gesture of helplessness.  "Hopefully, between the attrition that the SDF-1 must be inflicting upon them and our own efforts, we can whittle them down to the point where they decide they aren't ready to take us on just yet...buy ourselves some time to upgrade our capabilities and rebuild our forces...but frankly, sir, I don't see a scenario where they just go away and leave us alone with no plans to come back.  Much as I hate to say it, I think our limited successes against them thus far will pretty much guarantee that they see us as something more serious than just a nuisance.  Really, all we can do is try to forestall a massed attack until our offensive capability is on a more equitable footing with theirs...and hope that their lack of repair facilities also means that they are slow in innovating new and better weapons, or by the time we're ready to fight them, they'll be at a whole new level of offensive power."

He shrugged again.  It was a bleak assessment, and his voice showed full recognition of that...but it was the most honest assessment he could give.

The Colonel looked bleak, and nodded, with hopelessness in his eyes.  "Thank you for your honesty.  You are the only people we have who have been 'on the front lines' with the enemy for any appreciable length of time, and as such, your recommendation is likely to carry a lot of weight, depending on who's making the decisions...but I will pass your information along to UEDF Command.  I don't see a clear route for us coming out of this...but we can't just do nothing, and we obviously can't surrender.  Maybe we can get priority given to projects that would improve our odds, at the very least."

He flipped the dossier shut, and stacked folders more neatly than was perhaps necessary, as if the process gave him some sense of control over a situation that he'd just learned he had no control over, at all.  "You'll understand, of course, when I say that we have to keep this information under wraps.  Morale on Earth is relatively good, right now...we haven't seen an alien incursion since just after that initial attack, and the truth of what happened at Macross Island was compartmentalized, to prevent mass panic.  If the truth of just how tenuous our situation is ever made it to the general public, society would implode.  If the truth of just how hopeless our situation might be made it through the ranks, a lot of our troops would just lay down arms and go home to die with their loved ones, which would only make things worse.  We MUST keep this secret for now.  People will piece together the truth soon enough, I'm sure...there are too many eyes manning too many telescopes for us to hold it in.  But we need to do what we can to keep spirits high and people focused on working for the greater good, rather than trying to grab what they can in what time they may have left."

He could order it all classified, of course...but it seemed important to him that any oath of silence on the subject should be by consent, rather than decree.  "Can I count on your help in this?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 04:47, Fri 31 July 2020.

Hanako lets Cain and Vance say their things.  While she may not be quite as passionate in her opinions as Cain, nor share the same perspective, his conclusions and hers - especially right now - match up rather well.  Vance manages to handle the logical side of the argument as well, leaving her without much to say at all.  The Colonel, for all his dawning dread, keeps her respect by not only believing them, but also immediately suggesting actions that can be taken.

The subject of morale is a big one, and Hanako finds herself wishing (and not for the first time) that they could just... sing the war away somehow.

That would just be silly, she tells herself, how would you even go about doing that?  Although it would be rather wonderful if it worked.

When the Colonel asks for their secrecy, she gives him a gentle smile and replies, "You have my word, sir.  I will do whatever I can to protect humanity."

Vance grimaced at the question.  That meant, in effect, lying to his family when they asked about how things were going...although military censors were filtering what was coming from and going back to Earth pretty thoroughly, at this point, he was sure.  "I'm...not comfortable with that, Colonel...but I see the necessity for it."  He could self-censor, avoid dropping any details about the enemy...he'd been doing it for months, already, not wanting to worry his mom.  He didn't expect many people to ask him for information...but he could sit on what he knew, well enough.

His expression became bleak with the thought that they had come to this point...where concealing the truth about the enemy was more than just an expedience, and he looked around at the rest of the pilots, Hanako having already agreed...

A small shrug.

"I will protect humanity, sir." She doesn't feel the need to explain further.  One does not blatantly say that one will only follow lawful orders.. and that in war sometimes the judgement of the person on the front line matters more than someone detached.  Sometimes.
She bottles it all, and stays terse.

Cain gets an angry and dark expression on his face.

"...and whose 'better interests' does this serve sir?  If YOU were not in the military, and learned of this impending threat would YOU stay in the cities working a usual 9 to 5 like nothing's wrong?  I doubt it, and that would not be a wrong choice either!  What's a 9 to 5 job going to do to protect you or your loved ones when the city's being targeted for mass destruction by alien invaders?"

"It's easy to claim, 'Well it will cause mass panic a breakdown of all society...', we've been there.. it was called the Global Civil War, but its hypocritical to say 'it's for the Public's own good' ~ bullshit, when its mankind, as a whole, that's facing extinction, and only the big-wig, dictator's In-Power who will be allowed to shelter down to protect themselves while the rest of mankind is left unaware to Burn when the cities are laid to waste!"

"You say the soldiers will give up an not fight, I SAY that's a diservice to the men and women I have had the HONOR of serving with in battle!  There is not a one of them, that I know, who would not fight to the damned bitter end to protect earth.. any who would run... Fuck 'em, WE don't need them.. and it would not matter one bit!  People who are gonna run, are gonna run!"

"But to make the majority of mankind face extinction without EVEN giving them a chance to try to hunker down or get to some safety out of the cities perhaps ~ Is just DAMN EVIL ASSHOLE WRONG!!!  Will there be panic? Yeah. Will there be looting? YUP! Will it be an end to the Big-wig's political society ~ DAMNED Straight it will be and good riddance, damned opportunistic dictator bastards BUT... but... Will some of mankind survive? YOU BET YOUR ASS there will BE!"

Then Cain folds his arms getting his most stubborn and uncooperative expression... brooding in silence for a few seconds.

Then softly sighs, "...If its an ORDER Sir, I will comply.. UNDER PROTEST, cause someone has too... but my mom's a soldier, my sister is a little soldier who will one day have her time... and I'm a solider.. better than.. the ASSHOLE whose name I own.  We should be BETTER than the political snakes in charge Sir... we're soldiers NOT Politicians.. don't forget that!"

He goes silent... satisfied with saying his peace.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:07, Fri 07 Aug 2020.

The Colonel looked at Cain for several seconds.  If he was at all riled by the outburst, he hid it masterfully.  "You know, that's exactly the kind of answer your father would have given.  Did whatever he thought was best, and to hell with how it screwed over anyone else.  He'd be damned proud of you right now, I think."

He shrugged, and began packing up his materials.  "Like I said, I'm not going to issue any orders about it.  I trust most of you to do what's best, and I know the rest of you are going to do what you think is best, regardless of what I say.  Your information will be passed on to High Command, and they'll decide how to proceed.  Thank you for your time...I know showing up was a matter of duty, but it's still appreciated, nonetheless."

He put away the last dossier, and closed his case, looking up at them for a moment.  "I hope my assessment is wrong...I truly do.  In the meantime, it appears you have several hours to enjoy whatever the Moon Base has to offer before the Ranger arrives to retrieve you.  Make the most of it.  God knows when you'll get another break."  He took a deep breath, letting it out as a slow sigh of something between relief and resignation.

"You're dismissed."

Vance sat in shock for a moment.  Cain had never made it a secret how he felt about his father, and being compared to him in such a way was something Hardy would have never even considered doing.  Granted, he'd never known Cain's father, but still...

By the time he'd recovered from the shock, they'd been dismissed.  For a moment, he blinked in surprise.  The debrief hadn't been what he'd been expecting, either, and to have it end so abruptly...  He'd been a fighter pilot too long to be left sitting in shock, however.  When he didn't know what to do, he had orders or directives to fall back on.  A little numbly, he got to his feet and saluted the Colonel, confusion still visible on his features, then turned and walked to the door.

He paused when he opened it, looking back.  It was impossible to tell if he was looking to see if his pilots were following him, or if he was looking back for one last clue from the Colonel, as he stood there holding the door open.

Cain sat there and his expression turned to a mask of UTTER Fury at the Colonel's words...

But, suddenly something occurred to him and his rage faded... then he laughed loud and hard!

"hmmhm... ha-heh-HAhAHaHAHA!"

Then he stood and saluted the Colonel, and turned to leave, facing Hardy his grin was... sardonic.

Addressing Hardy, "He's wrong. He doesn't know my dad at all, cause Captain Thomas Riley Edwards doesn't give a rat-FUCK about anybody but Himself.. never thinks about how his actions affect others ~ he'd agree with the Colonel.  But I was also not ordered to remain silent.  Think I'll see if I can call my mother... if I can get through to her at Alaska base, IF she is not on duty, no guarantee certainly.  Jus' wanna hear her voice ~ one. last. time."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:20, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

Like Vance, Hanako had also not been expecting anything like what they had for the debrief.  She absolutely had her own thoughts on what she wanted to do now that the debriefing was over, and she was never one to be shy about such things.  She also gave a quick salute back after standing, then followed the others out the door.

"You should absolutely call your mother now that we are close enough to do so, if for no other reason than to let her know you are okay.  As for myself, I think a shower, a hot meal, and sleep are in order.  We have been without both for far too long today," she said, smiling up at everyone.

Kelly stands and puts her cover back on, then tucks her helmet under her left arm, quietly following her commander.

That was a lot to absorb on both sides.  She knew this group were considered wild cards, but some of that.. wow.

Her face shows signs of thought as she walks, and she nearly bumps into Vance when he looked back.

She abstractly says "Sorry Sah." in a distracted voice.  Polite, distant.

In reply to 1st Lt. Hanako Moriya (msg # 98):

Cain shrugs, "Yeah... a shame really.  I always thought the military's sworn duty was the protection of the civilian's WE SERVE.  But I guess we'll find out after sifting through the rubble of our world after all this is done?  My little sis deserves better... so does everyone else."

"I know mom will not abandon her post... she's a real trooper, even though she's only a communications officer. But hey certainly up in Alaska Base she should be mostly ok?  Its mostly an underground base... as rumor tells.  Wonder if that's the Big Wigs plan? Hide in a bigger hole?" 'shrug'

Cain seems emotionally drained, walking with hands in pockets...

"Hey how about we have a 'Last Meal' together?  I mean after everyone has y'know does what they want to do today... say around 19:00?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:29, Sun 11 Oct 2020.

Vance shrugged.  "I think it's a little early to declare it a 'last meal'," he responded.  "I mean, yeah...the situation's bleak, doesn't look like there's any way out of it...but they aren't attacking Earth yet, and aren't going to be there for a few weeks yet, at current pace.  Let's wait til there's a corpse before we have a funeral," he said.  He didn't sound overly enthusiastic...just...resigned, to whatever Fate was going to bring.

"But a meal sounds good.  I mean, they've GOTTA have better food here than on the Ranger, and even if they don't, we've been cooped up in our cockpits for too damned long and living on whatever we can squeeze out of a ration tube.  Steak, or halibut...hell, even some decent steamed vegetables sounds really good right now."

He clapped Cain on the shoulder.  "Tell who you think you've gotta tell, if you think it's going to help.  But do it after dinner, okay?  Pretty sure the aliens will give us at least THAT much time in peace..."

Cain laughed, "I said last meal together... you think we're just going to be sitting around until the aliens show up? We're going to be working our assess off training the greenie pilots for the next few weeks; we'll be lucky if we get to have alone time in the Can with how much each of us will be working to get all these rookies up to snuff!  An I ain't dead until I buy that bright spot in the sky, and even then don't bet on it!!"

Vance chuckled.  "Worrying about rookies is Lt. Khan's problem right now...the Captain decided a long time ago that he'd rather have a training squadron of rookie pilots than compromise the effectiveness of all the squadrons by scattering new pilots around."

He shrugged, continuing to talk as they walked.  "But you're probably right about us getting busier as the aliens get closer to Earth.  Still...we're gonna be flying as a squadron, which should mean down time as a squadron.  So I still say it's premature to call it a last meal."  He laughed softly, and added with a broad grin, "Now...call it a last DECENT meal?"  He raised a hand in a vague surrendering gesture.

"I can't argue with that..."

"Ya need to eat to keep your energy up, regardless.  Never think of anything as a last, just... maybe a last for now."

She shrugs as they head for the Officer's mess.  Nods to Vance's comments.

"A last Decent meal in a while, Leftenant Hardy, that indeed.  And we should be enjoyin' it, eh?"

Her British accent is warm and fuzzy, in a way approachable.


"I am not supposin' tha' some bangers and mash be out o the question, eh?"  She says, purposely twisting her normal accent to sound more.. 'common', or eccentric.

Hanako has been mostly walking along side everyone else rather casually, her steps quicker than theirs so she can keep up.  She has always enjoyed listening to everyone banter, but sometimes their multicultural backgrounds catch her off guard.  After all, they almost all learned a different dialect of English, and she wasn't a native speaker, so on occasion, she is unable to figure out things from context.

Looking up at Kelley, she tilts her head to the side with a quizzical expression.  "What is 'bangers and mash'?"