Jug led the Gava in.  Seeing she walked up and asked.  They "Gava need rifle and pistol practice, and place to practice.  You help?" she asked.

 Lyri  nods, Jug?  You go  down to the Football field? there is a Gunner  range under the  stands .. Tell Chief Post  SDEC sent you and your team down.

Roy walked in, spotting Lyri and Will and instantly reading their expressions.  "I see the mission list is making the rounds," he grunted.

"If you've got gripes about it, get them out now.  I don't want anyone pissing and moaning about being left behind when the shuttles are loading..."

  Will waves  at Nifty  who was   sitting By Jax  and they were trading   'Stem' stories.

 Look?  SM?  I know  i got shot and stuff?..But Stefi says  i can go if you want me to go... this    Kid... 'spiffy'..

 /Nifty!..Its  Nifty!

 There is  an odd look from Will and the  Kids , then Back to Roy,..why can He Go?

 Lyri    didn't  say a word, but the parts  were  getting  slammed into he r rifle  a bit harder then they should.

 Shoey    came out  from the abck with  some papers that he handed to  Beth...Comon  , Will..every one gets to go sometimes..everyone has to stay sometimes... this is one of those Sometimes...

 The  two  younger SEC  people looked  at each other   and then to Shoey..Will titled  his  head.

 which ..'sometime'...

 Beth  frowns....boo hoo..i don;'t get to go get killed by organic tin cans... Boo Hoo..i have to stay on the aHanger  Dec  with Beth and  The Admiral... she waved her  hand  at the corner of her Desk,..there's  Tissues..use  them if you need to!

 Jax  looked up at Roy,..Hey SM.. how much trouble  would i get into, if  i gave  Sneak one of  my sidearms?....   She had a rough timelast time she went in the bunker.. some older lady wouldn't give her  a weapon, so she took it..all kinds of 9 hells were raised?.... and? If she volunteers  for the  Hanger  Dec..., be knice if she ha done?

"Thank you, Beth," Roy commented with a grin.  He turned to Will.

"Nifty's not going on a whim, Will.  Yeah, Stefi cleared you for duty...that doesn't mean you're at one hundred percent.  Or are you going to tell me if I walk up and poke you in the chest, it's not going to be tender?" he asked.  "He's also not just another FNG out of boot camp, he was doing his part to protect ESN assets when the ink was still drying on your enlistment papers.  I know, because he saved my ass.  On top of that, I need to see what he can do...I know he's trained as a sniper, I need to find out if I can use him for more than that, and I'm not going to see that if he's on the Hermes and I'm boarding a Verian ship."

He held up his hand, forestalling a response, and continued, "Shoemaker's way past due for a boarding op...he's gotten the short straw and stayed on the Hermes to head up counter-boarding since...probably since Hyria, except in those operations where Hack wasn't worried that we might get boarded and sent everybody.  And I haven't heard a word from him grousing about it.  You think you're better than he is?  That you deserve to go in his place?  Or maybe you think the reason he's been stuck on the ship is because I lack faith in him, so now when you're left on the ship, it's because I lack faith in you?"  He expanded his focus, making it apparent that he was including Lyri in this one.

"If you do, then you're wrong.  There's not a soul in a Security uniform that I lack faith in.  For this operation, I don't need another sniper, and I'd rather give my barely-recovered trooper more time to keep recovering so he's back to full strength that much earlier.  I've got a scrappy newcomer that needs to get his feet wet so I've got a clearer idea of where I can use him in the future.  You're all where you're assigned for damn good reasons...and I get that you want to be guaranteed a spot in the fight.  But I've gotta focus on the long-term, win-the-war picture, and I don't have time to fart around with fragile egos right now.  So suck it up."  His expression was good-natured...but there was an inflexible edge to his voice.

He looked between the two.  "Any further questions on the matter?"

He wasn't expecting any, so he turned to Jax.  "I've got a couple of extra sidearms...she should have one.  She's got more combat experience than most of the people in the bunkers, combined, and it's a damnfool notion to tell her she can't have a weapon because she's too young and inexperienced.  She should have a good combat knife, too.  I'll dig something up for her, you make sure she gets it before we go into action.  If anyone wants to complain about it, we'll give her a job helping Beth sift through intel, then regulations REQUIRE her to have them."  He shot a look at Beth to see her reaction to the idea of working with Sneak.

   Flopping in  the chair behind his Desk, Will nodded in defeat. Alright.... .SM.... man....

shoey grinned,as he chewed his gum,don't worry, i'll bring you a hex  nut or something...

  when Roy asked , if Beth could work with Roy's idea,..don't see why not... we have Orria  out there learning the ropes  its she's a bit younger the Sneak?... If  Sneak volunteers  for the Hanger Dec, she'll be there any way?... we can schedule her in here  once a week on a day off from her  job to help out and learn some stuff.. that wioll put her on the SEC  rolls?

Roy nodded.  "Run the idea past her, Jax.  If she likes it, we'll make it happen.  While I'm pretty sure nobody's going to try and take away her weapons if she says I gave them to her, they definitely will NOT try and take them if she's in Security.  And it might give her a way to develop some skills outside the Rec Deck, unless she wants a career serving food and drinks."  He shrugged.

"That works for some people...but it seems a little sedate for a kid who kept her gang of stemmers together in the face of active hostility from multiple directions.  Still...some people want a quieter life."  Again, he shrugged.  "Her call to make."

Jug and the Gava walked past Roy "Gava go where you want.  now...Gava go practice" they headed back to the field.


====> field and gun range

  Ja x  gave  Nifty a  whacl on the  chest,..Lets  go..you can meet my Girl freind....We'll be on the Rec Dec for a bit, I have  my stuff  ready in the Locker... I'm taking ahrd  Ammon, buy a Pulse sidearm for back up.

 Nifty  smiled,..SM, as soon as we  cmoe abck I'll Draw an SMG or Carbine from the QM... will i be taking my sniper  rifle?

Kax  and Nifty to Rec Dec...>>>>>>>>>>>

Roy shook his head.  "Maybe five percent of what we do in boarding actions happens at a range where a sniper rifle is any real advantage.  That's why I suggested an assault rifle...you get the rate of fire of the SMG, with the accuracy of a rifle up to a reasonable range...a good compromise of the two.  But I don't anticipate being in a long-range engagement with the Verians on their ships...maybe, once we're done, if we end up going down to root out any troops left on Calimite or Uden, but there's too much CQB in a boarding action for me to recommend a sniper rifle.  And I say that as a sniper."

He turned to Lyri as the pair of young Marines left.  "You DO realize that you're just about guaranteed to have to repel boarders at some point, right?" he asked.  "Just so you don't get too down in the dumps about missing out on all the action..."  His voice was filled with gentle teasing.

  Lyri nods, Yeah, yeah.. I get it.....I'll tell you right now?.. if  any   Verians step on the   Dec.. they're getting getting dropped, if they want to  have a truce , they'll have to do it off ship...you guys  wonm the Battel in the Passage way, ebcause  we  suprirsed them..but? if  they would have surprised us..what would have happened..Nope... they step on the  Dec, they be come  Recyclable .

 Beth Grinned.....doe that make them..BIO...degradable!

 Groans  followed as a wad of paper  bounced off he read  from MAria…

 .. Comon!..that was  funny!

  Beth    Got up,..I'm out.. I'm hitting the hanger   Dec  3  hour s before  Jump off,   , me and the crew  get the screens up... sometimes? I wish  The Admiral did  it like the old days , where the   war room was  buried in the middle of the ship....

 Lyri laughed,,that will be the  day. If  The Admiral had his  way he'd be leading the fighters out  and   call the shots  while he torched bad  guys....the  day you see him hiding, is the day   the  war  is Lost..

 Shoey Grinned,..not even then... He'll stand on the Bow of the Hermes  with one of those Poppers and  fire it  at the enemy...

 see you guys tomorrow....

 Will  got up and    walked to the Door,yeah? I better  get some sleep so  I can help  had out  coffee and sandwiches  with  Sneak and the waitresses.

 Larry looked at the    Bulletin Board, then  turned to Roy, thumping his tail.

 beth>> Rec dec>>>

 Will  Officer  Quarters>>>>

Roy looked down at Larry.  "Well, of COURSE you're going.  You didn't get shot in the chest yesterday, that knife wound from Bura should be completely healed by now and you sure as hell didn't have any trouble making laps in the tunnels..."

He chuckled softly, imagining the reaction if the Verians got boarded by a swarm of angry largs.  Even if the Verians had the physical strength to take on a larg, they couldn't match speed with them.  Or, at least, not with Larry...Roy had to keep reminding himself that Larry was a very atypical larg, according to all the Nivarian handlers.

He shook his head, looking up after where Will departed.  "He keeps bitching about handing out sandwiches...I'm trying to decide whether I want to MAKE him do that, just so he appreciates the difference between being a sentry and being a server, or if I want to stuff him in boarding armor and make him stand guard duty on the hull outside the hangar, just so there's absolutely no mistaking that he will NOT be handing out sandwiches to anyone..."

He glanced over to Lyri.  "Lucky for me, tomorrow he's your problem..."

  Larry  thumped  faster... and  looked up at roy.

  great...thanks... maybe  i'll pour the coffee  for him!

 then she  shakes her head with a bit of a smile,So? Shadow  goes  down..Larry tried to eat him..misses, gets  smashed off  a wall or some damn thing... then.. the guards  are going to kill him..and  the nut ball kills the guards.. shoots Larry up with   Blue stuff... then lets him go?... then?  LArry saves him from getting shot... then eats the guy who  was going to take  us to get a bounty..and Now? He's  a Crewman?.... Lets hope Shadow doesn't end  up finding  some  Lizardchicken farm, and we  end up with Attack Capons!

  Larry looked  and   Lyri  and Blurbled.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:38, Wed 15 Jan 2020.

Roy chuckled.  "Well, I'm sure there was a little more to it than that...Shadow didn't exactly give a coherent description of his thought process.  But, being Shadow, it's an assumption that he HAS a coherent thought process..."

He shrugged, and added, "Y'know...if they're as effective, dedicated, and smart as Larry?  I don't give half a shit what else Shadow has 'follow him home'.  There's people on this crew who've got years of combat service under their belts who can't follow orders as well as he can, and I don't have to ride herd on him to make it happen."  He laughed, and added, "Besides, can you imagine the EDT absolutely shitting themselves getting attacked by some Largran/Avian hybrid?  Because that's what they'd most likely assume happened if they ran into any sort of lizard-chicken..."

<from after part Uden))

  Beth arrived  first, she   looked at  Lippen and Rolfe..,..Go..you guys b are relieved, go have   fun, next shift will be here some  anyway.,.

 the  took grinned,..Thanks  LT! Lippen said   as she  replaced her  rifle in the  rack and her   chest protector, they were gone in a flash as    Beth when to  the  anti-Cryp machi8nes she used, checking relays to where she wanted them to go  and  , put the  log  back in the machine.. starting to attack the 2nd log entry.

  Will entered  the   SEC about  5 minutes  after the other Two left... he started to make a Cup of  coffee.

  what are  you doing, i thought you'd  be working yhour   way back for ....sack time...

 Will shook his head,anyone   on this Boat ever  help you out?

 Beth snorted,..lotsd of folks , lots of times...

 you ever  forget that?

 from where i came  from?  no way man... some one helps you...you remember it..

 That  Reporter.....

 her eyes narrowed,..don't start...not one of  my favs  right now... she was  tapping  away..not  and then a Bell or a buzz on her computers,if what she did  in the  Tower in Bura wasn';t enough. comign into my house  and acting like she did...

   Will nodded  and the Coffee started to perkwhat do you need help with?

 ..this  stuff..I might have to call Shade  down..its  a bit thicker then i thought, wanted  him to have  as much  fun as he can though. Grab thost stack of   reorts  from Lyri's  desk, see whatreferances to the Verians  , Vampics  and Roussians   pop up...Highlight then   and  put them in a seperate pile.

 Coffee was ready , he fixed  a cup for himself and Beth, then settled  down to   'speed read' and  high light.

 Lilly came in with a Milkshake,..Um.. The Admiral  Sent  me to help  you with some Book..

 Beth pointed to  Dixies Diary,there is some odd  handwriting  every  so many paragraphs....It stands out. make s me  wonder it  it is the message, or to draw  our eyes  away from the message  in the regular paragraphs?

 Lilly  sat  down  and opened the book, she  grabbed  a  tablet and a  Pen  an d  began to read..it  was  long befor e she  was scribbling thing s   down, crossing some things out..circuling others.

 Will looked up and watched. it was like  watching a machine

   Will worked  hard  at the  papers, finding some stuff  and discarding  pages that didn't have relevance.

 he was getting  tired  as he sat back and went to get another Cup of  coffee.

  BAck of the Coffee, Call... go get rest, you're on the  Honor Guard tomorrow?

 Will rubbed his Face  and Nodded,I'll stay here  tonight.. I sleep in  Room #2, get my dress uniform tomorrow...

 Beth stopped typing and looked at him.He waved it off,..Nothing to worry about,  Sometimes you  think you';re more important  than you are..he shrugs,..then you learn   your  place...

 Beth frowned again as the   tried   trooper  went into  questioning room #2.

  Making a bit of Progress on   Log  page  2, she  watched  Lilly who had a dozen or more pages  scattered in front of her, Pen movign    from one to another   while she ran  a finger   across the 'odd  writing.

 Lilly? are you really pulling out that much information?

 oh my!, Yes!..this is fascinating .. there is a  'rolling key' in these  funny   letters?  and they tell you which paragraph..either above or below  to reference ..that's why they are on differant pages ...Um... if you  read the regular   writing it seems  like..um...disjoined  musings?, but  that's because  they need that to separate  the   words  , or pairings of  words... the  'funny writing'.. it mostly makes no sense. almost like , very bad poems . But  their real  reason, is to tell you which paragraphs  to pull the information.

 here?, once you find the    number, and the rhythm of the 'rolling' its  easy to  pull the information..but  a big pain to get it all written down...Most likely read it  aloud, and  could get a  feel of  what  she needed to look for?

 Beth looked  at one of the  'finished' pages,..all the gods be damned!  The  Admiral, The SM  and   Shadow will be  very interested  in this.

 Lilly smiled,one mor epage  to go....

<- Hanger Dec

Henry wandered in to say that he'd picked up a book with some information about the genetic heritage of the Verians, if anyone was interested.

  Maria  was there , she smiled at Henry and said,The Bigwheels  are on the   football field for a Dinner... they are breaking up and doing thier meet and greets   right now?... You could take it to The Admiral?.. or  leave it..or?  study it, since that's  your filed...kinda...

Henry smiled.

"Thanks, Maria. Would you be so kind as to make a note that I have it. If anyone wants to follow up, I can bore them three ways to Sunday on it... of course, I've already studied it before mentioning it!"

  You Bet , Doc Henry..a couple of the  Fleet commanders  are staying on board  to watching the Tunnel run, seems to be a thing of interest around the  fleet.,. some other  ships have started to do it on thier own.,.. the Commanders  might make it part of training.

 she add  coyly  as she gives him a sly glance,..I bet  some of those people on the  field , would love to meet our  Warrior Prof...

Henry grinned.

"Then maybe I'd better not disappoint. Mila could do with a run-around too."

-> the field.

  (( before  Uden Ball))

  walking into thje  SEC,, Jax  got his Unifrom out , hanging it on the outside. He double   checked it , and   shined his Boots  for the  3rd  time.

 Opening an  Empty Locker , Shadow   Hung up Roll's  Uniform...Ok  Buddy... about  an Hour  before  we have to get on the shuttles... You   start to get ready.. Jax will help you... I'll go up  and  get  my stuff on...

 what am  I  going to do with  Gregor?..he  can either stay her in one of the  Cells.. or  we'll have to put him in your  House?... I don't think he's  going to the Lab with out Larry... he's too little  , the   other  LArgs  might try to pick one him, without LArry around....if  we  keep him in here, there will be some SEC folks here to feed him and  talk to him and stuff.

 >larry is Going  down?

  Yeah..his a trooper, and people  want to see him..... every one gets to go  down.. Nagy here  and the others  get to go  a bit Later. we'll see  about getting  the largs on the planet.

  Handing   Roll a  donut  and a  carton of  chocolate Milk.. shadow   sits  down behind a desk and begins to    work on the     computer with his own  doughnut in his mouth  and a Coffee  next to him.

<<<< after shore Leave  1st battle of Uden

...........

  Orria    enters  the SEC, it is Busy Covering the  the window of  the far  questioning  room are    5    screens..one of them is  'live' showing some one talking  on a News  Vid..  the  far left was labeled  UDEN... the next, to the right  , was labeled  EARTH.. next one was  Labeled  APF.. and the  one way to the Right  was Labled    HEL

  Beth was   linking her     keyboards  as she told Orria.....get to the  screens.. 'Y' hook ups..  with  another  why hook up, so  all the screens   are linked..almost like our  War Room screens.....The faster the better..be they have to be right!

 some of the  troopers  were moving desks   or hooking  up CAMs.. they had   stern faces as  they went about thier  Jobs,