As Besserman and Case were leaving, Roy walked up, a folder in hand.  He gave Justin a nod...totally disregarded Besserman, not even giving him the satisfaction of a look of disdain...and knocked on the frame of Morris' open doorway.  "Sorry, Captain...do you have a minute?  There's a situation I need to discuss with you."

Henry sat quietly and listened. It was probably just as well that Kase and Besserman had not conducted their attack at maximum efficiency, they would have done even more irrepairable damage to the fragile alliance he was trying to help build.

  Morris looked  at  Roy  and gestured to the    coffee   , teas  and other drinks,..Certainly...SGT MAJ.. please   get a refreshment  and   speak..  Doctor Christie   is hear on some  task of   the Vampic / ESN  orders?...  what have you got?

Henry sipped his tea and bided his time.

Roy stepped inside, pulling the door closed behind him, and slid the folder across Morris' desk as he sat down.  "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass on the refreshments..."  He'd have been wiser to order the steak meal he had before he'd downed a few glasses of sangria...he wasn't inebriated, but his body wasn't exactly hapoy with him at the moment.

"When the Admiral ordered Besserman to go fly the patrol with Lt. Case, I had Beth pipe their comms into Security.  Besserman's a...person of interest, let's call it...so I had reasons for tracking the whole thing."  He reached across the desk, and flipped open the report...which included a transcript of the radio traffic, with highlighted sections.

"I realize flight operations have their own protocols...especially in the Delta Fleet...but there are a few points of serious concern."  He pointed to one section, explaining, "The mission was clearly under command of Lt. Case...but throughout it, Besserman displyed borderline insubordination or even outright ignored orders."  He flipped a page, and pointed out another highlighted section.  "I realize that we've only just encountered the Vampics, so it's unreasonable to expect Besserman to be able to recognize their ship designs...but his inability to recognize it as NOT an allied vessel is concerning.  We've already had one friendly-fire incident within the Fleet recently, and that was excusable because the Occui failed to flag their location...but Besserman was ready to start shooting when he still thought their target was Nivarian."

He pointed to another section of the transcript...there were long lines of text, headed by 'LT CASE' or 'VAMPIC PILOT'...but the highlighted sections were all very short lines, headed by 'LT BESSERMAN', and all saying the same thing..."(largely unintelligible)".  "Besserman clearly lost his head out there.  He ignored the mission commander, and more importantly, he ignored the directions of a more experienced pilot, who probably got more kills during his short stint in the EVOLs than Besserman has in his whole career.  I can't speak for how these things are handled for the flyboys...but if Besserman was a Marine, he'd be confined to quarters pending a full investigation, if not in the brig.  I can't speak to his skills as a pilot...I'm totally unqualified for that...but regarding his ability to integrate into a fighting unit, the man's a hazard, and we're lucky he only cost us some downtime on two fighters.  Case should, by all rights, be dead right now...because Besserman decided it was more important to score a couple of kills than to counter the fighters moving aggressively to intercept them.  As far as my expertise allows me to pass judgment on this, the man's a liability."

He sighed, and leaned back, and added, "And were it not for extenuating circumstances, I'd recommend sending him to the Delta Colonies as a sewage specialist, since he's so full of it.  But there is a very real reason to keep him in the Delta Fleet...just, not in a cockpit."  He steepled his fingers, weighing how much more he could safely say.

  Morris nodded to Henry,..  You're in the UNit  , Henry.. so  do not be afraid to take an active interest..hummmm?... Just..nothing outside the door  Unless it  is  brought up by someone   who knows...

 He listens to   Roy  as he  studies the sheets.     reading  carefully   what   Roy has Pointed out.      He  sits  Back  and   Opens on Vidboard while the Other  Disc  Goes into  his desk top.....now.. watch..  i suppose   you two , could  call this.. the View behind the curtain.. its  rather  simple  this time around..eh?   Just two gun cams  to watch... but..... and keeping in mind the    COM  chatters..


 Our big mistake, might have  been, Not calling Shadow, or Howe.. or Steele  to take  him out.  But  Kase is a rather  eager lad, always  wanting to take the patrol  and what not?.. so.. we sent him out....

 ..now?   Kase  lets the fellow take  lead.. which.. was   a best.. very foolish... even you blokes on the   ground, don't let  greenies  tale the   lead   eh?  wot?

 ..now ..this?...  Besserman, either doesn't know how to read  the  screens, or  didn't bother to look... ..right...here... he makes his attack a heart beat after the  other  two Bandits  appear.. yes.... he  does    batter one up..not good  enough for a Kill though.. the second  one took his measure rather  sharply


..in truth..  they would  , most likely have... downed  both of the first two fighters... the second  two would have  had thier lead in shots... Depending on  how they handled it?..   we  might be short a  pilot... Kase   rolls the  dice... goes after the second two.. he does  claim  a Kill ,   and the second one   dishes out  some Punishment of his Own.... when it was   all sorted out..  Kase   collected  2  kills.. Besserrman . none.. but two aircraft  and three  Pilots  escaped  from the field..

 Morris  sat back and sipped  some tea... Your  report , and Mine  will reflect the same  conclusion?  if there would be   anything weighing  against KAse, it would be allowed Besserman to take the lead... and... Not  listening to the Vampic's offer....

 ..on that note?  I will  add  the comment, that i would not have trusted the Vampic either....  I will shortly send the    reports, as well as  yours   to the  Admiral.. witht eh reccomendation  that Besserman is grounded  at  least  for the Moment.. I also will suggest.. The LC, as his   commanding Officer  , has  a chat with him.

"Understood, Captain Morris," said Henry, formally.

He watched the footage with interest.

"That's why I'm here. The Vampic offer is real, but it is likely to spark off a civil war back home. Their cap ship has been deliberately crewed with the, uh, dissident faction, the ones who want to stop the abuse of other sentients, who want to come over to our side."

Henry spoke earnerstly.

  Morris nods,..and?   you know his  from... a Vampic Captive?  We have to measure  her  words, with   the  scale  of what is in it for her, as opposed to the rest of the APF.. should we offer the demons  the same choice  when they know we are  about to thrash them?

  He is scanning     Roy's  report, then hands the folders back  and he sends along  his  report and  Roy's in the same  File  under 'besserman'


  a Civil war on   the Vampic side of space, could prove useful.. should the  main group of   blood drinking  and   humaniod  turning   faction win, they will be weaker, and  we will spend less  time and lives on them.. if the  'new' Vampics   win,  they will be more easily , added to the    APF.. shoudl this wise to join... If not? at elast  they will be a ...less threatening, Neutral?

  Morris   sighs,.... I tend  to shy away from makign friends. Until those friends  prover thier  worth?.. The last people we took at Face Value.. almost Cost  Commander SI her life..  and did Coast   The Admiral  and Her.. thier  son?.....when the Nivarains  turned on us, at the  'peace  conference   at  'the Alamo '.

Roy leaned back from the screen as Henry spoke.  "We know, now, that the offer was made in good faith...the fact that Case and Besserman both made it back alive is proof of that much, at least.  But at the time, we had absolutely no reason to put faith in anything the Vampics said."  He thought for a moment, choosing his words, and added, "And just how do we know this ship is controlled by some dissident faction?  The offer, and its being kept, are only proof of good faith from one Vampic fighter pilot...and honorable behavior from enemy fighter pilots isn't exactly unprecedented."  He looked at Henry, and added, "I may have missed something...we were only listening to comm feeds from Case and Besserman, after all...but how do you know this ship is anything other than what we expected it to be?"  While there was skepticism in his voice, there was also genuine curiosity.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:58, Wed 31 Oct 2018.

Henry rubbed his nose.

"The Vampic who is in my office, Lt. Mortica Blackthorne, is the daughter of First General Radu Blackthorne, of IPF ground forces. General Blackthorne is leader of a faction that seeks change. While drinking blood is a biological necessity, they wish to cease the forcible acquisition of it through capture or turning of other sentients. He stands against another fellow called Forrest, who was behind the assault on Shadow at the party. Mortica has issued a codeword - Chrysalis - which is the signal to the 'Blackthorne faction' that it is the time to make their move. Their intention is to return home and rebel against the powers that be. They're asking to be allowed to leave. Mortica will remain here as liaison, indeed she is ready to enlist with us as a sign of good faith. If Blackthorne is successful, the IPF will request to join us."

Henry spoke calmly and confidently, no room for doubt.

  Morris    pursed his Lips a bit , his eyes shifted to  Roy, then to  Henry.

  ..I say, Henry...  We know this right now? The Vampic  Vessel tried to  , bloody well, sneak away?   It was  only the fact that  Besserman and Kase  stumbled  on them  searching the  debris of a  lost vessel?

 His head  Goes back and  forth, then he sips  a bit more tea,..The  two pilots  we have names for.. did.. react with  some honor...But    I have  done the same  thing  on earth, allowing  an enemy who was out  of the fight  to escape..... those   Vampics  did  wscape.. and   were headed towards their Damaged Vessel..... meanwhile  , as we  speak, the  35  prisoners  we sent off with a message,, should be  well into Deep Space.. the intent on our part , of not standing  by  and  allowing Vampic  to harvest Humans  and   APF  citizens..should be  well made...

 .. I  will  say , without  a shadow  of a  doubt, if the demons  tried to do this.. we  would ignore them flat out.

 he   leans  Back  and  runs  a hand through his  hair  and it   eases back into  place, the 'high tight' sides , very regulation. There is a sigh,..a civil  war on thier homeworld  would be a boon to us, as they  can kill off  alot more of themselves then  we can from out here...  I will not Bother  The Admiral with this now?... Our policy will continue..if there are Vampic out tehre  that wish to surrender.. they will have to make it known..not  skulk arounf  like a thief in the night..

..we send  peopel out, to skulk  about.. and you know what they do ..when we send them...be   bloody stupid of us  to think anyone else  would do less...

 ..you will have to tell your Vampic, that  the  seek and destroy order will not be dropped, unless The Admiral  resinds it?...If  she is  smart, she will use  he  COM to   call out  any  Vampics  hiding, to  Openly, turn themselves in...

 he shakes his head  as he   taps the  desk with one hand,..its  a sad  state of affairs, Henry?... But she is now living what  other  races  live through, when Empire  folks attack, or   The Vampic  raid a vessel.. Is   quite reasonable  for her to wish to.. he waves  a had  ,..save her people from death and destruction....it is odd, how..it waited until they  got thier  bleedin'... he smiled   at the word,..arses kicked...

looking back and  forth between  the two men he says,..roll this around, inside your heads?  see where it lands?..What would  have Happened, if Shadow died? It would  have been a bloody big coup , don't you think?... What Happens  If Forrest wasn't  Gunned down..and..what if  we did not learn about  those    children, being sent to teh  Anzio, to be given to the Vampic?.. would there  be such a rush... to  'stop feeding  of Humanoids?'....  I feel bloody Horrible when I think of the Gava..... barely more the  sentient ..but  used  by  Aqra and the Empire  for food  stuff?.. The Bleedin' Vampics  must have used them for Juice boxes...

 ..The  Admiral  might   change to a  " hail first, fire second "  protocol  but the  first Vampic  that  Hides behind it and cause harm to an ESN member, will doom the whole bloody race..

 He throws up his hands,..that's  it ... I will not Bother  the Admiral with it , until he  returns to duty..they are flat out..not important  enough to worry about....any further    Vampic  that die in the meantime, is  just  a bit of bad luck for them...or maybe , its  is just  Karma?

Henry took a breath, then bit his lip. There was quite a lot he wanted to say about such a self-righteous approach... but would it have the desired effect. Probably not.

"The ship was leaving because of the Chrysalis directive. That's what they were told to do."

     Morris  nodded,..then?  It appears , everyone  should be pleased.. They got away  with a bit of a spanking.. The ESN chased them away..  and   Now the VAmpics have become the hunted... bit of a different role for them, I dare  say.... we  will have tpo deploy more  buoys  out that way.. see what we  can monitor .  Right now?  The Fate of the Vampic  are in thier own Hands.. if they were  smart.. they would  try and Contact the Admiral Officially?... it they were smarter, they would   Contact Hyria.. I am most certain the  could describe  what could happen, If the Admiral turns  his full attention on them

Henry nodded.

"We need to make this work. Once an overture is made, it should be listened to, not dismissed out of hand."

 Morris  nodded ,Agreed,, but i will not lose  my hand,  by offing it to an alligator...  You  Go,  take care of the Vampic, I will contact the Admiral when he returns to duty... until then.. If Vampics  are sighted  they will be hunted down.

  he stood   as Henry  made to leave,..Henry?  I won't  sugar coat this. Vampics  are bad hats, and this Overture  is only  because they are threatened...  we have goten along, quite well , without Vampics   in the fold, so I do not   feel  the need   to overly  concern myself  for them.

 ..SGT  MAj, when the Admiral returns, we  shall aslo look into the KAse-Besserman  mess.. and I will call in the LC.. i would suggest You..or  an SEC  prescence  of  some  sort is  there.

"They are sentient. If they want to deal, we should at least hear them," said Henry as he got up to go.

"If you sight any, ask if they are for Forrest or Blackthorne. If they say Blackthorne, say 'Chrysalis' to them. If they say Forrest or open fire, have at them by all means."

Roy nodded, then looked at Henry.  "I understand your position, Doctor Christie...but keep in mind, the Nivarians git us down on the planet, claiming they wanted to negotiate a truce...and then damn near wiped out our entire delegation.  The only reason we had anyone get away clean is because we were expecting betrayal.  The only reason Nivar isn't reliving their version of the Stone Age is because there was a Nivarian faction that came forward and surrendered to us, so we had someone we at least semi-trusted to put in charge."  He spoke in an even tone, no judgment implied...just laying out facts.

"Right now, we have the word of a single Vampic that there is even any semblance of a dissident faction.  We have no evidence that the individual she claims as her father even exists, much less holds any form of significant power.  We have no way to confirm this 'Chrysalis' directive is what she explained it to be.  It could just as easily be an order to fully mobilize their fleet as a coccoon for their homeworld.  If they're as eager to cooperate as you've been told, it would have been a lot smarter for that ship to have come in, surrender lights on, and confirm her story than for them to sneak off into the Black."

He shrugged, and added, "I'm all for building new alliances...but we've gone the blind-faith route before.  That's how we found out Ge-Fi was making deals with the Demons.  It's how we found out the Verians couldn't be trusted.  Lilit had to come, in person, to make a good-faith gesture before the Admiral trusted the Blue Verians.  The only time blind faith hadn't stabbed us in the back is the Skith...and we still don't know a whole helluva lot about them, beyond the fact that they hate the Qarl.  They may just be so focused on the Qarl that they haven't gotten around to us, yet...we don't know.  So, we're going to need more than the unconfirmed statements of a single Vampic, and the actions of a single fighter pilot, before we can afford to let our guard down.  If her story's real, her allies should meet with us under truce conditions and give us some proof.  One person doesn't mean a full-blown rebellion.  We've had a Largran in our ranks, and we know they're still fighting us.  Hell, we've had a Demon in our ranks, and they're still fighting us.  A single Vampic just isn't a reliable enough source to risk the safety of the whole Fleet, especially this close to a region of space about which we know so little.  She wants us to believe her, she's got to provide some proof that there's actually a faction out there worth supporting...and some way for us to distinguish them from hostile Vampics.  When...and if...she can make that happen, we can afford to start thinking in terms of not shooting first and asking questions later."

He stood up.  "One last point, Captain Morris, regarding Besserman.  His aunt is Lady V...right now, he's the closest thing to a lead we have on her...which is why I feel we need to keep him within the fleet, even if we stick him with spit-shining boots for Colonel Cummings.  We don't want that information spread around, of course...but it does need to be a factor in how we decide to deal with him."  He nodded, adding, "Thank you, Sir...Doctor..." then turned crisply and left.

  As  Roy and Henry went to leave, The Admiral  made his ship wide announcement.

 a COM  call came to  Moirris's  Offcie COM...Washington?.. Assemble  all those  who  are able to  Muster  in front of the  2nd Hanger  Bay Doors... and I want  2... "T" ropes

  "T" Ropes ..Sir?

 ..Yes.. I'm  Tired  and I am Angry..so we're goign to nip this in the Bud....one  way ot the other.

 Morris Looked at  Herny and Roy,..Looks  like  we're gpnna have a show.. wot?  See you two there?

  Morris  COMed  Rivets to  go to the QM for   T ropes

> to Hanger Bay.>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"OK. I shall talk to Mortica, see what can be worked out..."

Henry was just going when the Admiral's voice was heard.

"Yes, I'll come," he said to Morris. He hadn't a clue what that was about, or even what a "T" rope was. Only one way to find out.

<=== HANGAR DEC

Stopping at the shed she could see the man on post outside.  "Is Capt. Morris in?" she asked. "I'd like to talk with him"

   Before  the  Guard  could  answer , a voice  came from inside the   Shed.

  ..Some on it...  Fresh  Coffee in the machihne..  Hot  water in the  pot  if  you perfer  Tea...

 Morris kooed as though he  recently arrived  himself, sipping on a Tea  and   nibbling on a pastry  from the stack  on the counter.

Nikki entered and came to attention.  It was obvious she was doing a bit of PT as she saluted, putting her arm down when it was returned. "Tea...Please.  Never was one for coffee much.  I wanted to talk to you about possibly learning to be a fighter pilot.  Now I am happy with being a shuttle pilot, please do not get me wrong" she began as tea was poured.  "It is just that I have been thinking that it might be beneficial for both the Hermes and for myself to know how to fly and operate one"

  Morris , Motioned  for her to go to the   Machines and Fixed what she Liked...There is Milk  in the fridge... sugar  and  Honey on teh counter.., Grab a tart  if you wish?

  His  fingers   Moved  rapidly over the  keys, and when he Got  to Nikki's  File  he saw back with  his tea and sipped  abit  as he scrolled through what he wanted. Welll.. you  have  flight training, that helps... Now the  Difference  here is   between  driving an Air truck, or a sports Car.... What  we ....could....do....

 he  spoke as  he   scanned   some information from instructors.......is have You hit teh   SIMS.. work your  way   up through Handling    the various  fighters.... then... send you through  some   solo Missions.. and lastly team up with   volunteer Pilots   on SIMs   sorties?...  we'll eval all that, and..when we  have clear space... See if the LC or one of the Flight leaders is willing to take you up and   watch you  handle   real fighters?

 he sat back  and sipped  his tea  some more.what does that sound  like?

She poured the water into the cup and placed the orange flavored loose-leaf teabag in to steep as Morris typed.  "I know the fighters will handle differently from the shuttles.  I am confident I can adjust to the change though" as she moved and sat on the stool "I believe we have a nearly full compliment, but have another pilot who can play catchall I figure would be a good thing" she smiled at him finally removing the teabag.  "Love coming here...this brand of tea is wonderful." she said as he checked her credentials.  She was about half done sipping the tea when Morris explained about going through SIMS.  "Sounds perfect.  It would also allow more flexibility than I hoped" she smiled and brought the tea up in a toast like salute.  "If anything I can gain knowledge on how they move and fly.  If I am in a shuttle I'll be better able to gauge where and when to move should they need it." knowing that she was one of the more bolder shuttle pilots.  At least she has never crashed....by accident at least.  "Do  need a registration at the SIMS?" As with any military operations there were things limited to higher ups, need to knows, or those involved with.  All others not permitted.

 Morris   nodded  as she  complimented the tea...I like  to have reminders of home...

 ..Now? Ouside of The Commander... Chief Oric  is the god of the SIMs...  He can Make  the LC retake  a  SIM Flight  Test if he  feels the need.

 ..If...when.. you are ready to start.. he  will give you the Text bookd  and   Vid  discs.. there   will be the   'flight math'  you need  for   figuring   flight  vectors.... A lot of   pilots  hold onto the 'tone' of  your   target  screen?.. but the good ones...  can  fire without it...You'll  have to  hit  the books, and the Sims