<<<<<<  from Hanger Dec

 Shade  was bleeping up a storm and Showed  Beth the Pic..Beth  gasped   as she watched   Shadow and  Lyri come into the  office...Gods!  Shadow!

  I know.. harry and  Will found some treasures  at the toy store... and they got me  one.

 Shade  showed  Orria  and  The Admiral.. the Admiral  was more then a little shocked,  and  showed it to  Captain Si who sat  down with a hand over her Mouth..

 Shade was  bleeping up a storm.

---> Morris' Shed

Feeling just a little hurt and betrayed, Izzy had gone straight to her quarters and changed out of the skirt and blouse she'd been wearing and into a uniform before heading on to SEC with an unusually quiet Tali following her, with the little drone seemingly sensing her mood.

Forcing a smile on her face she would walk into SEC and head over to where Beth and Orria was, with her waiting until they'd speaking to a clearly excitable Shade before speaking "So I...um...I take it everything is ready for the Admiral's message then?" she said surveying the seemingly complex array of cables and monitors with any offer of help she may of made being seemingly redundant "out of interest, what exactly are you going to do to them once you've hacked their feed? Should I be expecting fireworks?" she asked clearly curious over what was about to happen when things got underway.

In reply to SEC (msg # 502):

Orria nods and sets to work moving carefully, but efficiently. Then Shade came in beeping up a storm a little too fast for Orria to really keep up well.

"She's pretty, is that your mommy? she asks looking closely before Shade moves on to Captain Si.

 Shade  Nodded  rapidly . bleepign to Orria  that it was  and this is an Udenese picture.

.........

 Beth   Blew   the bangs out of her eyes  as she looked at the screens , testing   some keystrokes.....well?  I could   scared them, but then they would know what i can do?... now?..you get me a SIG  for a powerplant, or  soemthign like that, I can do some real damage....but.. there can only be one reason they are calling The Admiral together... and its  not  to surrender..they are going to  try to get  the Fleet to stand  down?..maybe  even abandoned   Uden..who knows..but.. thier  feeds  were designed to lock in to certain areas.. Earth...and a few of the contested planest... once thier  feed  hits our Sig... we lock it  into everywhere ..stations, Colonies...'ships at sea'... I'm thinking your  boss knows this   so , we're gonna tie you in , at the begining of the   link-in... then let the whatever happens..happen... people 'at home' will think its  just  another  News cast..they won't know   we  locked things in..

 she nodded at the last link, and  added,..The Admiral never  hides the truth... people who watch the battles live  see   APF folks  die  , just as  easy  as they  see Empire folks... there was BAck LAsh when the Sol System Navy got its  ass handed to them..., then they saw the Vid  feeds   with  babyfood...so...its  a one  way trip , and no coming aback from it, once this starts..no matter how good  , or bad  we look..the  folks will know the truth... what it wail come down to, is   a Human Admiral, smarter then GE-FI..Qer La Cal..and Adem?.. who ..any one of them.. have lived  as long as the Admiral's whole Blood line..

  Hack entered   and asked.....How soon...

 ..the understanding  is... as  soon as we cast off... I guess they might  want to wait to see if we are  goimg  for Vera?

 Hennings  was at a  desk with a Cup of coffee.....there is a good bet for that...  they might think they have hurt us more  then they thought..or..that Uden is happy with  having Calimite...

 Captain Si patted     shades  shoulder  after giving the pic  back...The Verians  will keep attacking Calimite, just to nail down Uden forces...

 for some reason the looked at Shadow who still had his   Udenese Lady  box in his hand...don't look at me?... I want to flatten the whole planet?... I mean..there has to be good guys there..right?.. but for the most part they are bad guys...and.. if they don't hand over Adem and Evert... they get what they pay for... we eliminte   them.. then we only have the Vampics  near here  to worry about?... I know the Roussiand  are out there..but they make Nivarians look like  super heroes...

   it took a good   hour  for the ships to arrange themselves   but the  Fleet was on its way.

  Beth   looked at the   COM systems and   then to Izzy....stand  so you can get the Admiral and  Admiral hennigns, and Captain Si in your shot..let the people at home see the screens but, not the  wires.......Go ahead  and make you opening.. we'll freeze it and send it our when i open the COMs  to  GE-FI..

 Shadow  watched   from a desk out of  the shot.. Shade  was  in a  chair with his picture

Orria looks over at Beth for any further instructions, if none are coming she slips over to Shade to look at the picture more.

Politely listening as Beth explained the situation, Izzy would offer an appreciative smile in response to be being told that she was being linked in at the start so as to give the impression that it was just as a regular news report from her media company "Thanks Beth, Unsurprisingly my boss kind of wants the exclusive on this" she explained in a matter of fact kind of way.

With the fleet on the move and the time for the broadcast getting ever closer, Izzy would look up at the tiny drone currently hovering overhead "Well you heard the lady, get into position" she instructed before watching as the little drone zipped into position with Izzy taking a moment to smooth her uniform skirt before moving into position herself and signalling for Tali to begin filming "Breaking news from the Delta fleet. This is Ensign Izzy Sakura and we are moments away from receiving a communication from Empress Qer La Kal of the Empire, Adem of Vera and Ge-Fi, leader of the Sol system and Paradise...receiving this call is none other than the illustrious Admiral Hack, along Admiral Hennings and Captain Si. We do not currently know the reasons behind such a call but one can only assume that it must be of grave importance in order to gain the attention of some high ranking people, and now without any further ado we will cut straight to the incoming call from the Empire" Izzy said before cutting off the feed with a quick hand gesture.

Pulling out her vid board she would rapidly type out a series of commands as she absently spoke to Beth "OK you should be receiving my intro any...second...now...along with my sig should I need to send you any further information" she said, moving to one side so as not to interrupt the assembled officers view of the screens. With her intro done all she had to do now was wait.

  Beth had the cold dark stare  as  any  fighter pilot or sniper  when they had a kill locked in.. she absentmindedly said to   Izzy as she hit the keystrokes,well?  the Feed  we   take ahold of, is going through you Media ships  COM senders?... what they do with that feed..is up to them... The 'bad guys have thier own feed, that they will not be able to shut  down,  who knows where   those  feeds are being sent... So.. One feed has your Lead in... the others have...whatever   GE-FI and his  cronies  are sending out...

 ..I should hate to think  what the other  Media  Vessels  would think, if information is held too close to the vest?..Lets  hope  your Editor cares more  about  the  war,,,,then his ratings....

 Orange lights lit up  on all the  screens...Admiral?  Sir?  Its Show  time...

  The Faces  of  Qer La Kal.... GE-FI  and   Adem flared up on the screens in the Middle  screen  Hack could see himself, Split screen with Lilit/

 GE-FI began, his actions were of that, of one who  was acting as prompted... Now Knowing what was about to Happen.

 Admiral Hack.....  he spit the words  and  Beth Grinned...and now?.. no audio can be  shut down, unless i say so...or the  sending  COM tower is destroyed.

 ..GE-FI..I see you and  your  Allies    want to speak with me?... I assume it s about  the Empire's surrender?

 Shadow and  Hennings   laughed.. Si  stared  daggers  at her father.

  I am trying to save Lives her  Admiral... Your Glorious  war might be fine for your heroes.. But the 'little people' in The Black  suffer.

 ..That they do, GE-FI... like those tribute  ships of  people you send to   the Empire  for thier larders  Vessels and birthing  ships?.. how many such ships have sailed from Earth?..I saw you 'great Angel' plan in action when we freed the Paradise system... and  still Paradise , her  self  does not welcome us.. while those of the Red and Blue  Moons have joined the APF...

 Qer La   Kal snapped,..ENOUGH!... we are here.. Because   you intend  to Invade  Vera...who recently  joined the Empire... Adem seeks  our  aid... as a Member of the Empire...

 send your Aid  Qer. We can use the new ships  and scrap you give us...

 GE-FI  pretended..Badly.. to look sad and Helpless...... You do not  understand ..this is not   to safe Vera... it is to save Earth.

 Adem smiled....you are caught   Hack.... as one so young to The Black..you cannot think of the possibilities...

 I see now reason, for you to be so smug..your  spies have to know we cast off   for Vera.. you life  is now counted, in hours...

 Ge-Fi  cleared his throat.....you don't understand...Admiral..

 Qer La Kal  had a  Cup of  something hot. perhaps.. Blood , judging  by the small  foot, just barely visible at the bottom of the  screen. we cannot  get there in time  to save  Vera..and  you  damaged   our allies   in that  area as well...

 we're not done yet Qer.... Vampics..Roussians.. they have a bill to pay yet, and I will collect..But..Vera  is first on the list..Going from the Cowards of the APF.. to the lap dogs of the Empire.</Red

 Adam stood  Up  and slammed his   fist on the desk, smashing something.I will rip  your Jaw  off  with my own hands  for those words...

 <Red>..you'll never get a chance... if you planet doesn't hand you and Evert over...no matter what the excuse... Hel is going to get a damn good preview  of what is in store  for them.. This is all on Vera  now?.. They turned thier coat..so?... they'll get a bit of a pass if they turn over Everet and Adem..or , at least thier  bodies.. no excuse.. if Adem and Evert escape?.. the planet pays.. I'm tired  of being the Nice guy..Let the Empire
 see me  as dangerous  as  Qer La Kal...except..I actually fight from time to time, rather then saty nestled in my little throne room ..But...you said yourself  , you are too far away?.. what could you possibly  do to save  Vera?

 Qer's  eyes light up as if she was waiting for this...We cannot... we have some  fleets out, but they have  jobs to do, and they cannot reach Vera in time.... So.... If yor  ships are not out of  the Uden system in 30  hours... we  will invade  earth...

 Ge-Fi  held up his hand  in defeat.. a very  poor  show of  helplessness on his  Face... Adem grinned  a dark grin..

 Hack didn't Even Blink.....Go ahead..enjoy yourselves...

 Ge-Fi's head snapped up....Qer La Kal's  mouth  hung open, her smile   turned to Shock.. Adem titled his head...  Hack   just smiled and shrugged his shoulders  with his arms out.

 Qer La Kal..stammers,..it is your Home world?

 hack nodded.....It was?... GE-FI turned it into a poor man's  version of  Paradise...he settled into a defensive  position..he tried to counter any  thing a did to hurt the Empire..and...we really did hurt the Empire... Not just  by extermination Empire vermin , but , seeing the APF grow strong   with each other.. The Delta fleet could  fall..but the APF will be here, for  eons...

 we can't get to Earth to save her... But Vera..is..right..here.. and  we  can pound it to  boxwood..and there isn't a damn thing you can do  about it?..Now Earth..We have  GE-FI and his great Angel  Motherships  there... you'll have to fight  past them..Won't they GE-Fi?..or  are you going to surrender the people of  Earth to the  Demons?...... and... just for the Record  Qer La Kal?.. if you  try to invade..if  GE-FI and his EDT  cowards   open the door  for you to land.... every  person who is not EDT..from some rednecks  in the Hills to  people in high rises  will fight you... you want earth.. you want that food  supply.. those  baby makers.. So GE-FI?..As  Admiral of the  Delta Fleet..I put  the protection all in your Hands.... If Qer La Cal doesn't   invade.. we know she's  sacred ....  if she does  invade.. I'm hoping you  give a good account of yourself , in defense of
 your 'last  penal colony'...and if you surrender to the Demons?.. I wouldn't  give you a bent  cred for the lives  of  Angels walking around on Earth Because Earthers   will let them know , they are unhappy...

 Qer La Kal ws  still shocked,..you..will let Earth Die?

 we're too far away..Qer.... what?  10 days.. a week if he  push the  redline...GE-FI is right there... they will have to fight..simple as that..if they don't fight.. then those   Vids you  saw, and audios  your  heard  will be known to be true.... and? Paradise...not the Moons... But Paradise  owes  earth big time.... they are seeing this..hearing every  word. We Know the  Blue  Angels who have  joined the APF are loyal to  us?..what about Paradise.. after all those  tribute ships  GE-FI and others  sent to the Empire?... and  us little old APFers  came in and cleaned house?.. one shot..one run...so? If   The Horme world and GE-FI turns their backs on us... we'll know who else to count as enemies.... You Sol System Officers  out there..  the ones ..not ..eating babies?.. time for you to rally.. take over your ships.. Protect the Homeworld...meanwhile.. the Delta  Grinder is heading  for Vera....Now? I'm sure Ge-Fi and  Qer La Kal have to  get together to talk about  how you guys want to package humans for a longer shelf life.... an Adem's got to get his  affairs  in order..me?.. i want to make sure my boarding armor  is ready... because.... and i really love this  quote.....

  ..Adem... I'm  coming for you..and the 9 hells is coming with me...

 the other  three were dumbfounded, as the  screens went Black.... Beth turned  to Izzy......you wanna  get a  closing..do it  bow,,i can keep the  pathways open for 5 more Minutes

Roy walked in just as the broadcast was starting.  His face settled into an impassive mask as he watched and listened, only his eyes shifting from screen to screen as he tracked the conversation, one hand idly rubbing Larry's head.  The mask of his expression slowly shifted from impassive to grim, as he yet again found himself longing for five seconds with Ge-Fi in the crosshairs of his rifle.

They won't invade...and if they do, he'll fight.  Earth is the only power he has left, he won't just surrender it, unless he's stupid enough to believe that, once they no longer need him as a middle-man, the Demons will put any value on his life...  There was a chance Ge-Fi was actually that stupid...but it was hard to know.  His relations with Earth had been a bizarre combination of very shrewd manipulations and incredibly short-sighted blunders, and it was hard to know which would win out, if push came to shove.

But he was pretty sure that this threat to invade Earth was about as valid as the offer of a peace treaty the Empire had made, years before, which Hack had all but laughed out loud at.  And if they did invade?  So what.  Humanity had expanded far, far beyond the bounds of Earth and it would take far more than the subjugation of a homeworld that had long ago stopped supporting them to stop the Delta Fleet.  If the Demons invaded, there would at least be a valid reason for Earth to no longer be sending assistance.  And it would just add one more world to be visited before the Demons were crushed, completely.

 As    (and if) Izzy  did her  Finish. Hack looked around....Thoughts..

 general Bale   sipped a  coffee..,,grasping at straws?.. verians..I mean... Empire  feels safe  right now... You  gave them a sort of a shove there?... Angels and Demons   don't want to get into a shooting war again..its  one thing  for    the Empire to beat up on the Rest of the Black  with 'Blue Angels ' Helping out'...but to go  face to face with  the Angel Empire?... i do not hink either side  wants that...

 Hennings   was looking over the doughnut  selection,.. they tried to put   us  between a rock and a hard place... If  we   veer off  from Vera? It gives them time to crank out more cap ships and organize thier troops...something hey haven't had to  do...nor  were  even thinking about  doing... not only that? if  we   veer off, They show   the whole of The Black, that we aren't any better then the Angels before us...

 Captain Si's voice was  cold, yet distant,when we came to Earth...it was to save the humans..teach them how to sail the stars, and make them ready for   an  inevitable Empire  invasion. Weak planets get taken over..Demons  colonize  them,  allow those people who support them to 'live thier lives", while using the  rest  to  serve  as so much Livestock... I do not have to recount the horrors  we have seen...none are safe...Older people  used to  feed   Demon livestock... babes  for  'treats '  and Grand  dinners.. children for   most dinners,all other  people  for normal dinners, and of course.. breeding ...  GE-FI..could Give  the Demons the Sol system.. and Pull back to Paradise... that would end  alot of  the Human's that  are in conflict with them.. and the  Carrier stations
 in the Empire Quads  sides of the SOl system... we have yet to visit them, we hear little or no news of them... they might have been taken over... turned   coat..or  are fighting for thier lives.

 Beth snorted,..I like  Earth..right? But when  we  set off to  fight the Demons..we  knew  we might not come back.... either dead..or  because  we ended up  crash landing and starting a colony somewhere?..and..we knew  people  we left behind  might  die  while we  were away...as the EDT and EVOLS  came out of the closet?.. and  80% of Lights out   has to fight on on our  damn planet..we have to assume.. we might  be alive, and those we left behind, might not be..

 Shade  reached  for  the  LAdy Figure box, Shadow gave it to him, he looked   into the box,, he put the picture he had  inside...little  humms  were coming  from him.

 well.. the people  ..WE.. know that are fighting down there..won't  go down easy..and they have been recruiting... The best way to fight   terrorists  is with terror.... Make  those  who think joining the EDT is 'an adventure'...seem like a  bad risk.... hack into vids showing  wasted  EDT people...perhaps  leave bodies in plain sight?... I can't speak for everyone ... But i have lost  alot of Family  since this all started...and i am not stupid enough to believe  my Mom and dad  died  'accidentally'... we have some friends who are down their  running the Lights Out show... They'll make it damn hard for the Empire to   enjoy themselves on earth..We'll get around to helping them if it happens, Just Like Astra..Bura ..Calimite and all the others...We aren't  Earth's protectors.. we graduated from that years ago... we're  the  Demon's boogie men.. and The Whole of the Black is looking to us.. if we leave Uden space now..no matter the coast of staying?...We  will tell the APF, that   they don't mean as much to us as  Earth....
.  He waves to the  screens with one angry hand,...  We tell the Udenese ..or 'blue Verians"... 'hey guys sorry, we have to go home.."..or... do we tell the SAnri and Occui who have fought   with us  since after Jupiter..".. we'll be back...or even worse..can you help us?'...  and the    shaky guys  Like   Nivarians... No.   They time will come when we have to clean out Earth..or? Let Earth worry about its  self... Olypus is there... they could  knock down alot of  Demon cap ship , if they played for the right side... we have MArs..Moon Base... Titan.. half  a dozen other Moons... Pluto?... and  the  Sol System Navy... Its not on us..its on them...if  we lose  Earth , Saving  The Black? it  might be the greatest trade off  , ever...

 Hack Looked to Roy

Roy shrugged.  "Ge-Fi has already lost most of his credibility with the Angel's.  The Moons have joined the APF, Paradise has become largely a non-entity in the war...Earth is his best resource for maintaining power and any sort of credible status as a power-broker of any great degree.  He's not going to just let the Demons walk in and take the planet...he loses what power he's got, there, if he does."

He sighed, pushing away from the wall.  "And even if the Demons attack Earth...even if they actually take Earth...it's a symbolic gesture, at best.  The whole SSN is maybe a quarter the size of the Delta Fleet, and we haven't received any significant aid from Earth since Nilsson managed to sneak the Morningstars out to Mars and then to us.  At full production, Earth can't even begin to keep up with the APF, resource-wise...it's one star system, and the Sanri by themselves can probably produce as many ships as Earth right now."  He shook his head.

"It also does absolutely nothing to eliminate humanity as a threat to the Empire.  We've got carrier stations in four quads, colonies, smaller stations, and large-scale human settlements on a dozen worlds or more, so there's nothing the Demons gain from taking Earth.  They've put themselves in a position where they HAVE TO attack Earth, though, or lose even more credibility as a true force to be reckoned with.  That will tie up Demon resources, because even if Ge-Fi rolls over and opens the front door to invite them in, we all know Earth is not going down without a fight.  Our people there can let us know exactly how many Demon ships are there, which is that many more ships they can't send against us anywhere else."  He held up his hands.  "It's a cold look at it, but there's no strategic reason for us to go defend Earth...and if we go charging back to Earth at full speed, it gives the Demons a specific route to watch and set up ambushes...which is really the only reason I can think of for telling us they're even thinking of doing it.  If they were serious about it, that call should have been Ge-Fi calling us in the middle of a frantic defensive battle, not a scheduled conference call."

He was aware that he'd said more than all the others...but he usually did in these circumstances.  So, he kept going.  "If we delay, it gives Adem time to mobilize loyalists and dig in, or run away.  And for as useless as the Verians have turned out to be as allies, they're far more technologically innovative than the Demons.  If Adem gets away with some R&D people and gets to a Vampic or Demon base with some decent manufacturing capability, there's no knowing what we may end up facing.  Vera and Calimite are potential resource powerhouses, that's why the Empire wanted them in the first place...we have every reason to want them in APF hands.  Verian tech and manufacturing, in APF hands?  I'm willing to gamble on Earth's ability to hold its own for a while on that.  We clean up Vera...if the Demons actually follow through and attack Earth, we can go clean house after we're done here...or, better, send half the Fleet to Earth and take the other half the Fleet to attack somewhere else...let the Demons commit to trying to ambush our 'rescue' and then kick the piss out of 'em somewhere else.  Remind them that we cost them several task forces and fleets when we were just a handful of ships, and now we're a full-on, gods-be-damned navy...and that while they've been losing allies and resources and manufacturing capacity, we've been gaining.  They're never going to beat us with numbers...and we've already beaten them, repeatedly and resoundingly, with tactics."

He shrugged.  "Go to Vera.  Finish what we started.  They've got nothing to stop us.  Then hammer the Vampics while they're back on their heels from their losses at Calimite."

Izzy had watched and listened with great interest as Admiral Hack had called the Demon's bluff, or at least what she really hoped was a bluff, forcing Ge-Fi to either step up and defend Earth or risk losing control of the planet entirely as it openly revolted against him. Either way Izzy was more than a little worried for her mother who was currently living in LA, whom she'd introduced her girlfriend to only a few hours previously.

It was as her mind was disappearing that particular rabbit hole that Beth would tell her that if she wanted to do a closing piece then it was now or never "Huh?...Oh yes...off course" she said trying to return to the present before signalling for Tali to focus upon her once again "As you have all just heard, the unstoppable force of the Delta fleet, despite the efforts of those we have just seen, will continue to bear upon Vera, leaving it to GE-FI to make good on his word and protect the Sol system from the threatened Demon invasion, assuming of course that they have the stones to do so...It is time to see the true colours of enemy and...Ally? alike...And with the Demons on the way it is time that the people of Earth realised that they can no longer stand on the side lines and that they too must step up and defend all that they know and love or risk being crushed beneath the heel of the Imperial jack boot...This is Ensign Izzy Sakura signing off" Izzy spoke before cutting off the feed and sending it to Beth so that she could insert it into the rest of the broadcast.

With her work finished, for the time being at least, Izzy would listen as the possibility of a Demon invasion of Earth was discussed, with the general consensus seeming to be that there was no Tactical advantage to saving Earth "But...it's home..." Izzy said, a startled look coming to her face as she realised that she'd spoken that particular thought aloud "...I know they haven't treated us well but Earth is still our home planet, many of the crew have family back there, and although it wouldn't look good abandoning the Udenese but what kind of a message will it send to the rest of galaxy if can't even defend our homeworld? I'm not saying we should drop everything and rush to it's aid but we shouldn't just write it off either"

  Walking over to the Coffee , The Admiral  fixes himself  a cup of coffee, takes a  slow  slip, before  turning to look at the others..His  green  eyes  studied  everyone.. even Larry  who thumped his tail a couple times.

 Hack  looked at  Izzy,Saddly, that's what  they want... Ge-FI.. bring the   fleet in..or even part of the fleet in..maybe the Sol System navy helps and takes out some of our  ships.. GE-FI  send  all the ESN  folks to the  Empire  for  tribute..and  the   Empire says..'good , as long as you know who is boss"....and there  will be  people  who side  witht eh  Demons, even more, thinking its thier only way to survive... We can't let that happen... if that was Occua?  or Sanri?.. would   we up end  the whole  campaign...  No?..nor  would they allow us to.. EArth was   bait..trying to save   Adem's ass...., but now...  i rasied the table stakes... GE-FI has to go all in, or fold.. Qer La Kall was  to send ships, or figure out a  way to lose face... meanwhile, we flatten Vera. and put out the fires   we can put out.

  ..I would be  lying, if  i didn't say  my first thought  was to send 'help'..but we  can't.  he walked a  few  steps   and turned  around..ESN..is a name we keep..because  its  what everyone knows  us  by... you grab some alien walking  by and  ask them who 'ESN' is... they say  " the Delta Fleet"..and that  included  the   Carrierstations  under our  control.. there are a few more out there.. ..but  we have Fuji, Etna, Everest and  Matterhorn..and  right now. Matterhorn's   aircraft factories    are  on line again.... one out of   every three  fighters they make , stay home.. the  other two are being sent  to the fleet.. and that's just the one station... as   Roy pointed out.. our allies  are pumping  more, then just bodies into this war.

  The ESN  now..is  us.,... Sol System is trying to develop thier own navy, and we saw how that first 'fleet' turned out.

 another sip of his coffee...every single   being in the Delta Fleet..everyone..from me..all the way dow to..what's the little one's name?.. gregor? Are the ESN..and   thus , we are victims of this war.. we can't act just for our  race, or our  homeworld.... we have to act as the FAce of the APF... as many have said... the point of the spear....So... We go to Vera... and we have to be as cold and ruthless as possible...don't be distracted   if Vera  has  verians  fighting Verians...that's not our Problem..Adem.. and  Evert have be killed or taken..if not.. the Planet has to suffer... Think of  it as eons of payback, for all the things they did  to all the races  over the eons.. It is ..perhaps..a ahrd thing to do? But.. It is something   I can live with.. and I am hoping  you all will, as well

 Shade held up Lady's  box... he bleeped .

 ..he says  he's ready.. so am I

 larry thumped his  tail

"There's an old saying..."The fastest way out is through."  The Demons tried a variation on this, years ago...a couple of times.  The first time, an envoy went to meet with them and the Demon envoy tore the man's heart out of his chest and ate it in front of the cameras.  I don't trust anything the Demons offer when they start talking about saving lives."  He turned to face Izzy.

"If the Demons actually meant to attack Earth, they'd never tell us in advance.  It's not just bad tactics, it's counter to the way they've done anything in this war.  If they do, I suspect it's going to be just enough of a show of force for Earth media to claim it was an attack, rather than just a raid or something, hoping to lure us back.  They get us back in the Sol System, and we're at our most isolated.  The nearest carrier station is Olympus...run by Demon sympathizers and in Demon hands in all but name only.  Ge-Fi has declared himself in charge of Earth's defense...but he's been collaborating with the Demons for so long that they already hold Earth, for all intents and purposes.  They have nothing to gain by attacking the planet, itself...it's a waste of resources that they know they're going to need later.  And they also risk losing control of the Sol System Navy...which isn't much, but they took a lot of brutal losses in very short order...and even when you're geared up for full production, it takes a long time to build capital ships, so the Demon Navy may, itself, not be much better than the SSN."  He shrugged.  "They're already getting their tribute, they've got the sons-of-bitches running the SSN eating human babies in fealty oaths, and I'm sure Ge-Fi is diverting every resource he can hide to them already.  Actually attacking Earth puts all of that at risk, because then we just might have to come back and clean house...and I'm pretty sure the Demons don't think they can beat us in a straight-up fight, or they'd have been at Calimite to finish us off.  So, attacking Earth means losing ships they can't afford to lose, losing their tribute payments, losing their loyalist organization on Earth, and losing whatever else Ge-Fi is giving them, to conquer a planet they're already exploiting with a minimum of effort."

He snorted softly, a grim smile on his face.  "Now, even for a Demon, that makes no damned sense.  So I'm pretty sure Earth is under no greater risk than they were a week ago."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:14, Wed 25 Mar 2020.

  Shadow  nods  in agreement,they'll pick out a few   cities... bomb them.. maybe  send in  some Demon troops  with EDT , just so Earthers  see   Empire races and start the panic... then 2  things  will happen... earth folks  will fight back... and demon lovers  will  join the EDT..both will say they are fighting for Earth.. and through it all, GE-FI is gonna have to  do some thing...But?.... I don't care..The few people i know   back there   have been fighting the Empire  for a long time... and thsoe i don't knwo.. I can only hope  they fight as well...Now?..I want a Milkshake!  Lets go Shade...

 a small Bleep.

 yeah You can carry the  box...

 Shadow >>>>>  Rec dec

Orria looked over at Beth, "Ms. Beth do you need any more help?" She asked glancing at Shadow and Shade headed to the door, torn between her desire and responsibility to help Beth and well her desire and responsibility to go with Shade.

  Beth Smiled  at Orria,.No?..Go ahead..... we just hot to tear down  the  screens and stuff..i have enough  help here, then we have to   get the screens  ready for the Hanger Dec, for the Admiral's   war room ... Go have some  fun..

Despite what Roy and Admiral Hack said about the invasion of Earth being a bluff and that it was neither in GE-FI or the Demon's interest for them to do so, Izzy would still look decidedly unsure and just a little nervous about the situation "I suppose that makes sense...well...if there's nothing else I'll leave you all to it" she said deciding that she might be able to make a start at moving some of her stuff across to Lizzy's before calling it a night. It was with this thought in mind that Izzy would pause to speak to Roy "oh Sergeant Major, I'm not sure if you'd be interested but I've got an old drone of mine that I'd be willing to let SEC have, it's a little battered and doesn't have the same level of intelligence and functionality as Tali does but I thought you might be able to make use of it doing recon stuff, either way if you're interested let me know and I'll drop it off here" she said in the hope that it would be one less thing she'd have to try and squeeze into Lizzy's quarters "...also if it's not too late I'd like a spot on one of the shuttles when the next jump off happens" she quickly added, having already made the mistake of not asking and not wanting to repeat it, after all there was only so much she could do from the hangar dec.

 Comm text Message to Izzy:


Lizzy sent a message to Izzy. " Hey sweetie, everything okay I am on the Rec Dec meeting some of the new people, let me know when your done and I will meet you wherever you want my love, again sorry I love you."

Roy nodded.  "We haven't even figured out what the shuttles will be doing yet, much less who's going to be on them...should be easy enough to save you a seat.  But I expect you to carry a weapon...you don't have to jump into combat, but if we end up down there in an ambush, I need someone who will shoot back...as valuable as good press may be, I'm not going to sacrifice a seat for someone who can't add to our defensive capability, at least."  There was no animosity in his tone or body language...but there was also every indicator that this point was not open for negotiation.  "If you're not checked out on a rifle, we've got a few hours to take care of that."

It would appear that this time around that Izzy was way too early, with Roy not even knowing what the shuttles would be doing let alone who would be on them. With him then going on to state that he expected her to carry a rifle if she was to come with them "I have a carbine, my marksmanship scores weren't the greatest but I got a passing grade for the US army" Izzy said hoping that he would be happy enough to accept that, though having already spoken to him about her previous combat experience on Bura he would know that she'd only ever provided covering fire whilst serving with them.

   Comm Text message to Izzy,"  I hope you don't think I am being over nosy, just wanted to let you know the Rec Dec was boring without you and I am in OUR Quarters now, you know the code just come in when you can my love."

Roy nodded acceptance.  "You have a preference on which shuttle?  If we follow our standard pattern, one will have mostly ESN personnel, and the other two will have allied forces that are also stationed on the Hermes...Felrites, Angels, Gava..."  He scowled a little bit and added, "But I am seriously considering shaking things up a little.  Trying to get our forces accustomed to working with ALL APF forces, not just one or two that they feel most comfortable being around..."  He lapsed into silent thought for a moment, before remembering he'd asked a question, and looking at Izzy with an eyebrow raised.

Izzy would briefly consider the question of which shuttle to join before replying "I think I'll go for one with ESN troops on it, I kind of need to get to know them better...also if they see that I'm not going to go out of my way to make them look bad then maybe I won't get as many dirty looks" she said way of an explanation behind her choice.

With Lizzy sending her yet another message Izzy would give an exasperated sigh as she tried to figure out how somebody with as much self confidence as Lizzy could be so needy "I best leave you to Sergeant Major, if I don't go and see my girlfriend too I fear she'll send out a search party" she fondly said before slowly starting to head for the door, calling over her shoulder as she went "let me know if you want that old drone of mine, it seems a shame to throw it away"

---> Officers Quarters

  COMs  went off.. Beth said to  Scarlet ,..make sure  the screens and keyboards  are  ready to take down to the Hanger Dec... we'll move them  down after   Lunch tomorrow,  we shouldn't be in the  way  by then

 She got up, grabs  two vid boards   from her  Desk..Lyri   followed  her  out...


 folks to  War room>>>>>>>>>>