Roy looked down at Besserman.  "Well, now...looks like you've got a few things to consider, here.  You've managed to piss off damn near every Blue Max holder on this boat...and if what I think you said is actually the case, by the time word gets around, you're gonna be lucky to leave your quarters without getting your melon thumped."  He glanced at Ariv, thinking for a moment.

"Seems pretty clear we can't assign you to any of the ESN flights, for your own safety...that means you'd have to fly with some of our APF allies...or transfer back to Matterhorn.  And that's outside my pay grade."  He keyed his comm.

"Admiral Hack?  We've got a situation on the Rec Deck that may require your assistance to resolve..."  His impulse was to get rid of Besserman, completely...the man's attitude could turn cancerous.  He didn't think anyone on the Hermes would buy into it...except maybe some of the new SSN people...but the resentment and sullen response of people who HAD to work with him would poison the spirit of the ship.  He didn't have authority to reassign ESN pilots, though, unless they were Marines--and even then, that was a stretch.  And Commander Si, while she could move Besserman anywhere she wanted on the Hermes, was limited as to what she could do beyond that.

He looked at Kat.  "Well, the Admiral's on his way...don't kill Besserman before he gets here, I'd hate for that to have been a wasted comm call."  He looked down at Besserman again, and added, "Don't just sit there looking shell-shocked.  Get back in a chair until the Admiral gets here.."  He didn't offer the man any assistance.

 Besserman  sat down , he looked   almost  frightened  at Garrat.. He looked  across to Justin with the Larg who had  flattened out   as his  rows  for  Jagged teeth showed.


 Gia   snorted,..you are getting off lucky?.. Daddy  is  Coming, and Not Mommy..Mommy can get..... mean.

 Flores     Pulled  Kat Cat   Back a bit  behind Garrat, while she   stood  Closer to   Roy and   Ariv.


  As it  would have it.   Hack  came  onto the   red Dec in  Hermes   gym shorts  and a  sweated up  Hermes  sweat shirt.  a towel around  his Neck.. he did not seem   in a very Good Mood.

 When he  arrived, Will  moved a bit closer  as well, all these folks were out of his paygrade.. but he still had to   make sure nothing   crazy happened to The Admiral.

 Looking at Dana  and another waitress that were   Picking up Mugs, Hack said,..Belay that... we'll take  care of it.. go see to normal people...

 Dana nodded  , they  Moved away quickly.


 .. I saw   Lt Frans. heading to Med Tech  wil  blood  comign out of her Nose?.... I see  Lt Losky with Beer  all over her Unifrom, Losky doesn't waste  beer...  I see the SM and GArrat.. and I see   Kase  with a flattened out   Larry.... I see Gia  and Flores   with a bit  of  a dark look?... and?.. I see Lt Arvi 's tail twitching like she's ready to pounch on a Veek?... I also see you have   a  bruises and a somewhat fresher  Bruise, on the side of your  Head... now.. using  my 'magic ' crystal Ball..and the Fact the SM   has seen fit to  summon me here.. I have to believe you are the focus of this.... before   ..ANYONE..says  another Damn thing... I want to hear from You..LT Besserman... My  family doesn't  treat outsiders  badly..unless they seem to ask for it...can you  tell me...Besserman...did you ask for it?


 Standing up , as soon as  The Admiral  reached them, Besserman   saluted  and said,..Your  LC attacked  me on sight , Admiral Sir... we...have a bit of History..

  Hack hand  a hand on  each  end of the towel around his neck..lets  go   LT... the  war isn't getting any shorter...

 LTs  Frans  and Eckles  brought  me  here, to  meet  other folks....

 from the back round , Eckle's  Voice came,..fuck him..um..Sir...

 Hack Half  truned  and shook his head, then  turned back, staring at Besserman.

 ..well.. these  Cats?.. came over..    Lt Steels  and  some Merc  chick...  Then these  two sat  down.... They started  talkign     and   we got on the subject of  the LC  Kill   Captain Blu... i made a few  statements.. and   Lt Loskey attacked me...

 ... He  called Me   and   Candy, Shadow's  Whores!..

  Besserman laughed,...Candy?..  well.. that sorta  says it all ...

 Flores     took a  step  towards him..  But   Roy and Garrat  flanked her.

 ..I'm goign to ask Plainly.. in Hanger   Dec  speak..... why the fuck would you care, what HAppened to Blu...and  why Insult  two of Shadow's   ..own flight...pilots?

 ...Captain Blu  is....was... My Uncle...

 Hack straightened  as he stared  into the man's  eyes...

  Flores  whispered to herself.....son...of...a  bitch....

 ..no..he is  nephew of  bitch!

 The  Rec dec  got   real quiet.. as the  words   spread over the rec Dec  like the spilled  beer on the table...

 LArry Howled....

As the Admiral didn't speak up in the pause that followed, Roy did.  "Our options are kind of limited, as I see it, Sir.  Besserman's not safe with any of the ESN flights on the Hermes...and his attitude is beyond toxic, he'd be a corrosive influence in any flight if we tried.  Lt. Ariv offered to teach him how to operate as part if a team...but given his admission of family connections, I don't know if that offer still stands.  So..."  Roy gestured in a shrug of frustration.

"He's a poor fit for the Hermes, and if he starts tainting the attitude of any of our other new additions...I'm just not sure he's worth the trouble.  I'm nit even sure if we can safely put him in a fighter anywhere in the Delta Fleet...there's a few hundred people out there that'd gladly have a 'training accident' just because of who he's related to.  So I only see two options, Sir, and both if 'em are outside my jurisdiction."  He grimaced, and explained, "Either we send him back to Matterhorn...or we make him a shuttle pilot for the transport bases.  None of our people will shoot him down if there's a shuttle full of Marines that would be lost doing it."

    Garrat shakes his head, he had palmed one of his boot knives but it was hidden from casual sight. "The man would be a target for people in many parts of the fleet and with asfoolish as he has been acting he'd likely make more enemies.  Best bet for his survival is to teach him some humility so he stops pissing people off then send him to the delta colonies."

  Hack  keeps staring  at a Besserman. The  man  seemed  at once...defiant yet..subdued..

  ..Lets  take this is  steps, Lt Besserman..... first off?..  How is   Blu your   Uncle?

  ..My Father..married his  Sister.. she's  from England?... Victoria  Blu..

  There  was  some Murmurs...

  Hack tried not  to ask, too eagerly... Tell me, Lt  Besserman?... what does she do....by way of trade?

 ..Not sure?..  She  and  Family   shiped off  Earth  about the time I got fast tracked.. they said they  had  Important   Business on  Olympus?... I tried to get transferred there.. but  they weren't taking  any  'Fleet' transfers.... Mother is involved  with    a  Big transport company.. the deal with Aleins  and   such, but they try to keep Human interests  first?

 Flores  , Kat and gia  looked at  HAck.


..when was the last time you spoke to either of them?


 ..not  since they left?... They  kept  my  accound stuffed  with Creds... But father  wanted  me to make it on my  own, so he said  not to mention  Mom, or  Uncle  Jonny..

"Well, there's a new wrinkle in things..." Roy muttered, barely audible.  Looking around the assembled group, it wasn't hard to deduce that they'd all reached the same conclusion.

"Excuse me for just a minute, Admiral..."  Roy said in a clear voice, before turning to walk back over by Larry and Justin...far enough away to not be overheard as he spoke into his comm.

"Beth...can you trace sources of deposits to Besserman's account?  You wouldn't believe what else we just found out about him...call up Blu's personnel files and look at who his family members are..."  His voice was low and urgent, colored with grim anticipation.  If this idea panned out...

Justin stood watching and listening to the events and revelations as they were revealed. Goodness he thought the guy doesn't have a tinkers, whoever sent him here is using him for some type of distraction or other hidden agenda

  Roy  listened to the   COMs   as Beth  fought through..and   finally beat  the   scores of  firealls… and he listened to her   read...

..............................

  Meanwhile Besserman  Looked at the Admiral,..Admiral?.. If  I may?.. I have to say.. this  isn't my fault... I would not have agreed to the transfer, had  I known Shadow  was  going to be  my damned   commanding Officer!

 ..well?.. be that  as  it  may... you are here  now... and.. we have alien allies  on board this ship... we have  members of the  EMS in the fleet..and there are people  here  you might  be able  to buy and sell, as far  as wealth goes.... But i would take the lowest Civie, before i would take the wealthiest bigot... You may have to undergo an adjustment  training.... or.. you might  find yourself   in  one of the Delta Colonies...

 Kat snarled,..I am thinking, he should  walk there...

 Hack  took a hand off his towel, waving  it  around  before regrabbing it,..you see?... No one here..bought their way in... We  have   well off  people on board, and that's a fact... we have  people who live from ESN paycheck...to ESN  Paycheck...but  not one of them doesn't belong... you know  why?... because those   who do not  belong... do not stay long...
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:14, Tue 16 Oct 2018.

  Larry still  was flattened out   as    Besserman continued to talk. He  voice  was more or less unwavering.  The tone was almost defiant , with out  ...flat out...disrespecting  Admiral Hack.

 The others   around   him were beginning to   fit  bits  and pieces together.

 Kat was Held Back  By Flores    left hand on her  belt... But Flores  seemed  , almost as eager, to attack the man.


  Gai  stood  with her arms  crossed under her breasts, one  foot in front of the other and her  head tilted  as she watched the new pilot.


 Ariv, as a commanding officer of her flight, showed outward calm, but the twitching of her  table told  otherwise.

   Garrat shrugs, "The LGT on te LG1 has a bunch of Largran and fish mechs that neeed a little testing.  I would like to try them in manuovers before they are iether sold or used in delta fleet. We can test Bessermans committment to team work on the ground before putting him in the air.  He does his trials well there, then he might earn the respect he previously paid for to play with the big boys."  Garrat is trying hard not to smile.

During a lull in his comm conversation, Roy looked back over.  "Question for you, lieutenant...and don't give a flippant answer, because how you respond could greatly influence your fate from here on out."  Roy spoke in the crisp, sharp tones that those who'd worked around him much would recognize as carefully contained anger.

"What do you know about the EDT?  Specifically, about their leaders..."  His gaze was fixed on Besserman, reading the man for any sign of dissembling or reluctance to answer.

 Besserman looked  around,..well?  SGT  MAJ... I know about as  much as  anyone?... They were formed to  help protect Earth, when the Angels  first  took over.  They were supposed to  be the  main force  in fighting agianst the Empire, which  is  why there is  so  many  Angels in the  organization...As you Knopw, the  Earth Council demanded to have thier  Own   Space Navy, and  Ge-Fi allowed this...but the ESN  took on a life of its own, and  soon outrstripped  the  EDT in both performance and size..... Later..say?.. 2   years ..maybe  3?  The EVOLs were added to the EDT  mix, so they  could pool resources  nd have  a bigger   ..um..clout, as it were...

 as he finished paraphrasing the text books  he looked at   Flores and  Kase,..Isn't that  right....

 people  turned  and Looked at Flores  and Justin.. Flores   just  said,..go to the  9th hell...

 Larry  wriggles  a bit

Garrat face palms.  but doesn't say anything.

Roy grimaced.  "Son," he began...and one needn't have been familiar with him at all to recognize the dangerous edge in his voice.  He deliberately chose to use the condescending noun of address.

"Either you are THE most self-absorbed and unobservant excuse for a man to be squeezed from a woman's body, or you're lying to me.  You want me to believe that, for the last half-decade, you have not seen a single newscast explaining how the EDT has been colluding with the Empire?"  His voice dropped into a low tone...almost akin to a purr or a growl, and yet, somehow, even more threatening than either.  "You expect me to believe that your entire chain of command has neglected to pass along reports of EDT treachery?  Or have you just been so preoccupied with polishing your brass that you never paid any attention to any of it?"

 Besserman looked , more then a little  insulted, but  stood a Bit straighter.....SGT MAJ..SIR... On MAtterhorn,  we  were shown Vids of  EDT fighting On  Moonx in the epsilon Quad...Hwlping Defend the  Carrier Station,  Rainer from Empire attacks.... The EVOLs    were   shown as  helping with teh supply  chain..running down  pirates  and  scouting..perhaps we  did not...'enjoy'  The ESN's brand of  news reporting... but  we did  see a lot of  spit shine put  of a Certain  WC...

  Ge-Fi , Himself.. said  we are to fight the Empire.. and that included the EDT  and EVOL  Units  involved.

 Hack raised   an  eyebrow,..the same leadership.. that  , just about handed Matter horn over to the Empire...are the  people who fed you  this  news?

 ..No  Sir...Admiral Sir.. The  feeds  came from  EArth.. through the   carrier stations  on the other side of the Triangle The Rainer... Taranak, and Olympus  triangle...... for some reason, our feeds  from  Enta  and   even Fuji   came in damaged... Livbe  feeds  of battels  seem to make it in clear  enough... I'm  not a COM Tech..so?  I dunno...um..SIR

In reply to RecDec (msg # 196):

Justin returned the fellows stare, without comment. The mans text book statement was as flawed as the manual it came from. Confirmation of the censoring of Broadcast Feeds and Coverage, of the War, wasn't unexpected. Directing his answer to Flores and himself suggested the newbie had access to details that weren't common knowledge.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:17, Wed 17 Oct 2018.

     Stepping off the  elevator Three Occui  and  a MT.  Venna  takes a deep breath,..Oh!...MY... Hold food.. cook in places they should be cooked!

 ..yes. My Dear.. we wil have our   taste of  it  soon, is hould think. Xyarn?..  You  should Join us, You might  be  interested in  some of the  information we  brought   along.

 The stood there see a Group of  folks around  a table...With Hack dressed in work out   clothing.

 ..is...that a LArg?.... You allow LArgs on the Vessel???

 Finnes   twisted his lips a  bit,..that is..um... the LC's  pet..or ..at least  his ..um..companion?... he..is..um.....sorta.. part of ..the..um.. boarding party  now...

 with an open mouth and wide eyes , Venna said, I should think one or two LArgs  would be a boarding party all by themselves ?

 ..we....only have the one?... though the Nivairans    have  Largs  and Worts  on thier ships, as well as  a coupel transports  of Naragrans..

 Osk nodded,we  saw them ripping through Aqra  Ranks...Damnable scary   beasts... never know when they will 'go off'

Xyran was about as surprised as the others having seen a Larg on the Rec Dec, he then glanced a look at Finnes mouthing the words 'What in the hells?' Xyran then turned to Osk and nodded, "It would... be my pleasure i also have some news for you as well but it can wait until your business is concluded with the Admiral"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:09, Wed 17 Oct 2018.

 Finnes  shrugs,all I know?... The  LC   come s  back from  an Op all neat up, ans wounded LArg with him.....since then.. the  thin  follows  him, Shade.. the SM... and Doc  Henry around.. he also hangs out  with some of the other  Crew..mostly , hoping they buy him a steak..i think?

 ..well Xyran.. we will have to wait until the Admiral is finished  with..um..whatever  that is that   he is doing.

   <<<<<<<<<<  from OB dec.

   the doors  hissed  open, Shadowm Moved to the stall that prepared  Soups  and such, asking for   a container of Mushroom  soup and  some rolls  to go...

 As he Leaned on the Stall he  turned  around, to see the  Crowd  with  Nesserman..and the Admiral?..and a few others..

he saw  Larry  with Justin, his  head and back flattened  out..Roy was Close  By.

 He Noted  garrat  by the table, and    Occui with a Med Tech   near by.

Roy turned away from Besserman for a moment, listening to his comm...he said something in response, then turned back to Hack.  "Beth is back-tracing the deposits...she should be able to get us at least a little information...."

He turned back to Besserman.  "So, these news reports you saw on Matterhorn...were they on any of the station's official news services?  Or were you all limited to rogue transmissions?"  He snorted softly and added, "You didn't find it the least bit suspicious that all this news was coming from a base that Ge-Fi and Ambassador Frans basically handed over to the Demons?"  He tempered the scorn in his voice and continued, "Or did those news transmissions lead you to believe that Olympus was still any sort of bulwark for protecting Earth?  Because it isn't...colony ships leaving Olympus are routinely getting rerouted into Empire space, by Empire forces."

  Besserman pointed at  a couple Vid screens  that a woman  smiling and Talking..behind her  was a Vid of. what looked to be, A Alpha Fleet vessel  holding off on an Roussian Vessel while   boarding shuttles  Landed on the   Hanger Dec  and  spine of the hull.

 ..now?.. see there?... we didn't see things  like that...We  saw Vids  from Epsilan and Zeta  Quads , as they fight the  Empire..and some other..weird   vessels... Ge-fi warned us that fleet transmissions might  have tainted  information.. and   Ambassdor  Frans just  laughs  at what comes in..

 ...and?... what were you thinking  when MAtterhorn started  having  the   parasite shuttle   land?

 ..if  i may, Sir? Its hard to believe  vids of the Delta Fleet layign waste to the Empire, while  you're  fighting in tunnels on your own station....

 ..and..what happened when   the broadcasts  came in... as  we  entered into  The Battle of The Field?

 it seems we were cut off from any further, Earth Transmissions..at least, those sanctioned  by Ambassador Frans...news  started to come in From Earth itself..and  we Got  Fuji feeds...and Feeds from Etna

 Hack frowned...

 Beth COMed back....alright.. this is  the best i have  so  far is that the Creds  are being put  into his  account, from odd  sources..mostly small Business  scattered  around the whole damn Black. Now..  as far back as I can go..has to be the main  Account  for the Viper Fleet..it is in what they call a Fortress account... any feeds  that come through are 'washed' in a dedicated   terminal.. if you want  any creds  taken out... you have to do  it in person... the  standard procedure ..would be   a  person come in... gets a chit  from the tellers for how much they want out of thier  account... then they have to  go to a Business  use that chit..or at least a number  from it..to send it to  ..whomever...If..at any time  the  sending station is  hit... They don't use it  again...and  siphon off  any creds left there...our Hits on Etna and Anzio..must have been on people  either getting, giving..or both.. so?.. we  were more or less knocking over apple carts, from the orchard..

Roy grimaced.  It wasn't the news he'd been hoping for...but it was about what he'd expected.  "Good work, Beth...see if you can identify any kind of pattern...anything that might give us suggestions of where to look."  He paused, and got an upleasant smile.

"If Colt, or anyone else who came aboard with her, are currently on the ship, tell them I want them on the Rec Deck, five minutes ago..."  He looked at Besserman and added, "We need a few facts laid out for our new transfer, and it would be best to hear it from those who knew, first-hand, what was happening."

it  didn't  take long for Colt  to arrive, she was  hanging out at the  Pulse.

 One of the SSN  troopers.Leslie Scarlett.. Now in SEC  colors  as a Private  also showed up, they  Both looked at  each other, the   Roy.

 Hack   , still held on tom the ends of the towel, being  quite  patient .

  Shadow  stood near the stall watchign with interest as well...

Roy turned to the two.  "Ladies, this flyer is under the belief that the EVOLs, EDT, and SSN are working for the same goals as the ESN.  Could you enlighten him about some of the practices required of the SSN command officers?"  His voice expressed his distaste as he spoke.