Karl nodded in response to Hack's explanation...that meant a mixed assortment of rounds for the howitzer, which was, ultimately, all he was trying to nail down with the question.  He quirked a smile that he quickly hid when Evert began fussing about her people leaving...but like any other ship in the Delta Fleet, they'd have to stand on their own two feet, to some degree...there was no extra coddling of the Occui (quite the opposite, considering who'd just carried out the suicide mission on Hyria), from what he'd heard the Sanri had not only held their own but on more than a few occasions actually shifted the whole course of ground combat (he hadn't been there to see it, but gossip made the rounds)...

Hack wouldn't spend them recklessly, by any means.  But he wasn't likely to show them any special favors, either.  Not until they'd earned some, at least.

He jotted down a few notes to pass on to the ground crew once the meeting was done, and waited to see if anything further would be discussed.

  Well then... I suppose  we are done here...CAptains, Thank you for your time... see to your repairs, but make sure your people get some shore elave on Everest... Jump off in 36 hours.... on my Mark....

 He watched the  ship's clock it reached 0100... MARK.....I will see those of you who can make it to the send off,  ...Captains...Please offer  the Condolences  of The Baord , Myself and the entire Hermes  family..as you all have your own send offs.

 Evert approached,....Dusk sent me a COM..she is stayign at Shadow's  Quarters with Shade... Might  i have use of the guest quarters?

 ..Of course... your   SECmay use empty quarters in teh Non-com section...i am sure they have had a long day as well...you will have  Hermes SEC in the Passage way, and?..if anyhting  gets  this far?.. two more guns might not make a difference.

 She  nodded her thanks   and  went to speak to her SEC and Shuttle Pilot on the HAnger Dec.

  <<< from hanger  after  moon celebration

As they stood in the  Hall outside The Admiral's Quarters, Hack looked over the board Members ,..I think i will allow  Shade and Orria to stay out of this meeting?... I have  the SGT MAJ keeping the  Cavet Busy, until she arrives  here.. Then  Nil we allow her to  freshen up and find a dress that doesn't look like she  stepped off a deserted Island....

 there were some chuckles,Yhough i feel i can trust her... we will wait until the plans have been launched, before she hears the news from Nivar

 so?.. get cleaned up..and meet in  my quarters in 30 minutes or  so

Sarah arrived exactly 5 minutes early, she'd cleaned up and was wearing a dress uniform that had been tailored to fit her very well and maintain a professional appearance. Dresses weren't for her with her broad shoulders and athletic build, at least in her mind they weren't.  Still the uniform fit well accenting her body type well without becoming too masculine in nature.

Adjusting her uniform out side the door she triggers the chime, to announce that she'd arrived.

 The  Door opens a  seaman Greets   Sarah  , motions to the   shelves for  hats. Then says,Welcome aboard, Commander... Please. make your way to the  Admiral's dining room, there are some finger foods and drinks, until the dinner is  served.


 a female server from the Rec dec  had  a nice  Civie  uniform on and waited to escort Sarach in.... once she was  ready, she was Announced and the Admiral greeted  her, wavig off the salute,..Thank you for  Coming  , Sarah. I think you will find  this...a rather enlighting dinner...

 Si  had  a fetching dress on, he rank still showed on a  necklace that was purchased on the Blue  moon. She smiled  and said,... some say the war  is  a  struggle...but all these dinners  with  allies, is wearing on me.

 Hennings   was close  enough to hear,...ahhh..Commander?... I always  thought it was just Oliver's way to show  our enemies , and allies that his  wife  can have a softer side?

Sarah thanks the seaman using his name and rating, entering the dining area. "Thank you for having me Admiral. I certainly look forward to being enlightened." She smiles at Commander Si's comment "I agree, give me a good fight any day of the week over dinner politics." She says good naturedly, smiling and chuckling softly at Hennings comment, "You mean you can't see the commanders soft when she's in her fighter?" She asks in a slightly teasing manner.

  Hack  Nodded  a bit. Hennings  Chuckled  at Sarah's   Comment. Si's  eyebrow  raised  at  Hennings,..and Old  Destroyer  Captain...making    sport of a fighter pilot?.... Admiral  Hennings? Fighter s  are  Just a bit ..'undergunned' compared to destroyers...but..they are never  .....'undermanned!'


   I am Goign to roll a big set of dice, tonight,Sarah.... and?... if things  are we;ll and good.... then..the mission  will be well...and Good..... If things are not  so....cozy..then there  will be some ehat  put on the upcoming mission...and  we   may just have to shell the 9 hells out of Nivar,

Karl arrived shortly after Sarah, and was shown into the room.  "Admiral.  Commander.  General."  He made his greetings to the top brass, trying to conceal his sense of hurry.  He turned to Sarah.

"Commander," he said with a hint of a grin, and for a moment, his expression showed the harried rush that resulted when someone was in the midst of preparing for a mission when orders arrived to attend a dress dinner.  While his expression looked a little flustered, his uniform was in perfect order.

   Havck leads  them over to the Finger  foods, He pours himself a glass of Brandy.  he   moves  his hand over the selection,...i have collected a few of the best, from the  planets we stopped at. Now  and then Col Cummings will send  me a case of....goods..they find on ships  or in cities as they clean up. I am not a big drinker, by anymeans, but  these  all have some good tastes..and..warm feelings...


 I have sent the SGT Maj  a COM Text to  bring the  Cavet  around.
  he takes  a sip of the  brandy and pops  a cracker in his mouth,...we will , indded..be talkign  about the upcomign actions, in front of her...There is no way we could fake a story, that would  sound good, unless it was the truth... if there is no leak...then we should  know hwere are people will stand, being  on a colony here...If there is a leak..then?  we  will have to bring the hammer down.

In reply to getting  ready to dine (msg # 102):

Sarah nodded in understanding, "as always my ship and people will contribute any way we can." She nods to Karl, "Good to see you again Captain, I trust you've been staying busy?" as Admiral Hack opens his collection she settles on a robust wine similar to the classic reds of Earth, though with a hint on earthy sweetness. Sipping lightly on it she selects a single item off a platter to eat.

Looking at the Admiral, "so this is a gesture of good faith as well as a test of the Cavets commitment?" She asks for clarification.

  The Admiral swallowed , what had the look of a celery stick with some sort of  dip on it...This is a Test.  We have a large planet full of   gold  skinned people, who think that the  Universe is thier own hunting grounds..or...perhaps treasure trove? Sadly, the only way to make the Test work...is for it to be real. With the short timespan, between telling our people what we are going to do...and  when we do it? The Leak will have  to come from The Cavet...If she is  really on board with the  whole APF  thing?  She can sit back and see who our enemies fare, once we get our backs up.....should  shebetray us?..well.. she will see it, first hand.

Karl chuckled quietly at Sarah's question.  "I suppose you could call it that," he said in response, and then listened as Hack explained the plan.

Considering the role he knew he was going to be playing in the upcoming action, the thought of having the Cavet know details was a little unsettling to him.  "We, ahhhh...aren't going to discuss ALL the details in front of her, are we?" he asked.  It would be bad enough to have a potential leak about forces heading down, but giving the Nivarians a chance to know exactly what kind of weapon was intended to be used against them made him nervous.

 Hack checked his COM, out of habit , since a ship's clock was easy to see  on the wall.

 ..No Karl..but  she will know   what we are doing...If someone intercepts the Tunnel  group.... or  there are fighters lying in wait to ambush you and the LC... then we will know

 Topping off his  drink from the selection,...If.. From what Ms Dalton told  us is true... Any Qarl that may have seen or heard her there, may, indeed have  resistance of sorts set up... if not.. they will be taken by surprise... if they are warned... there will be an ambush...and that should not happen...

  For  You, Sarah and  The LC... there should be Interceptors come out  after you, once you enter the Atmo... i'm sure Beth's magic becons can't  get through the  rads in thier   sky, any more then it  could  getting  out....again?  if you are Ambushed... or they have a CAp ship waiting for you...then?.. something went awry....It may not go down in history, as the smartest move ever made... but the hand  will be tipped. We will  kill two birds with one stone, we will cripple the planet's  defenses and will will learn if  we can trust the CAvet...all with limited time spent.

Karl nodded, with a grin.  "Oh, I'm expecting the reaction to be somewhat akin to kicking a hornet's nest...that's why I wanted enough fighters along to keep their interceptors occupied."  He took a bite of one of the finger foods...something he couldn't readily identify...and added, "I just don't want them to know they need to shoot me down before I start shooting them.  If they ignored the fighters and came after the Morningstar, the whole plan would come unraveled."

He paused, looking at the item he was eating.  "What are these?  I don't think I've ever had them before, but this is good...very tasty."

  There is a bit of a Smile as Si says,..that would be Cara stems... they are native to Bura.. the  green ones are akin to a sweet cucumber, while the red ones are more like  a red sweet pepper of earth... they taste very good with the blue dip from Astra...made from their form of Honey and spice.

  I am Certain that the LC will let them know the Fighters  are there.... and I am Hoping Sarah will get them to focus on her  as well...but we'll get into that shortly....

Roy arrived, managing to look only mildly annoyed, with the Cavet following closely behind.  "I feel ridiculously underdressed for the occasion," he commented drily.  "But I didn't really have a chance to stop anywhere to change out of combat gear.  Someone stuck me babysitting..." The last was said with a low voice, and a grimace in Admiral Hack's direction.

He turned back to the Cavet.  "It appears I was a little tardy in getting you here, and dinner looks ready to be served...shall we?"

   They are  led into the bar area, with the  finger foods. Hack  smiles  an understanding  smile,Well..Let us see if  food and  drink can make you feel a bit more comfortable

 Commander Si asks the Cavet if she  wishes to change into  something more formal. But the  Cavet just  laughs,..No Commander, but thank you... I have  grown quite used to wearing  this..style of  clothing... and i am sure the  Males do not mind...

 Si's  right  eyebrow raised,...of  that, we can be sure... Come...help yourself to a drink and some of the smaller food....the servers will  about to set the table.

 Hack led Roy to the ' wine section'  and grabbed  some  cracker thing  with some meat slice on...this  shoudl, prove interesting  if not  now...after we jump off... he pops the cracker into his  mouth as   they watch the Cavet flant her 'almost dress' and try some of the  earth type vegetables  and such..

  On the Table were glasses and  dishes that were far to fancy for  most dining... it is interesting to see the plates were emblazoned with the 351 Hermes insignia , much like the fighter pilots  have on their jackets.

  A Chief in a white coat  cleared his throat,...Ladies  and Gentlemen ...Dinner will now be served....if you will take your seats...

 Hack sat at the head of the table..while Si sat at the toher  end.. The Cavet sat on Hack's right  side..with Roy next..then Emmie..then Hennings...Across the Table  sat BAle, Nilisson..sarah and an Open seat...

 The Servers   had  carts  and  asked the   diners what they wished  , Steak.... Turkey (?) ..or  Fish. There was a salad  as well as  sides  of  Mashed  Potatoes  with gravy depending on the  meat they chose..or rice  with the fish, and a sauce to go with it... there were bowls of Corn  and Green beans as well..

 Cavet?  You Must forgive my wanting to show off...but The food is from out ships' farms.. including the fish that help clean the  water, and that water is used to  irrigate ..The  turkey, however is from Bura...  but  we get them  flown in with the  supply transports  so the Rec Dec...The Pulse, and the Officer's  club can have something  to take the pressure of the ships' chickens!

 The Door Opened  and Shadow  entered, in his flight jacket.  he grabbed a glass of wine from the  table and  Took the seat next to Sarach, on Commander Si's  right.

..sorry I am late... there were a few issues  to take care of, and  i made the mistake of stopping in at the rec dec...

 He grinned  down at Roy... but the grin faded a bit  as Hack gave him a glare.. the grin was Gone  when he turned to Look at  Si... the upraised  eye brow and  thin lipped  smile   make him sit back in his chair a bit... Then he nodded to Sarah.. Hello Commander.... leaning out...to see down the Line..  Captain...Genral... Admiral... Cavet..SGT MAJ...Emmie...Admiral.. Commander...

 Si's  smile d grew a bit  as she  shook her  head as the servers  Cut a steak for her..

 Shadow took a thin sliced steak and thanked the  woman as she moved on to Sarah, then watched  the potatoes   being ladled out.

  Hack took a bite of his  steak and Complimented the Chief,...Please   pass along my thanks to the cook... and his team.. well done.. as  always...

 Shadow  nodded,..I like Mine well done  too I.... Hack looked at him, Hennngs  was chuckling through his  bite of steak.....Oh?  You mean they Cooked it  Good..er..um.. well...?... he stage whispered to Sarah,..good..or well?

Emmie  tilted her head, at Shadow  , then looked at Roy.....That is a good question...

In reply to Admiral Hack (msg # 106):

Sarah listened closely to Admiral speak of the test. In her mind it sounded much like a game of Russian roulette with 3 rounds in the chamber. She too shared Karl's concern, "We'll do our part to keep any nosey Cap ships occupied.  As to the fighters, if logic follows as the only Cap ship involved directly in the assault that would make us a prime target for any interceptors." She agrees with Hack.

When Cavet and Roy shows up she schools her features, while not a prude the Cavet's choice of dress was well a bit extreme. She takes her seat and nods to the wild card that is Shadow, "Wing Commander." she says returning the greeting. "Well Done, or Good job." she said with a slight hint of stiffness in her voice at the making light Shadow was doing. This was the part of these social events she disliked, the watching, acting, and judging. She smiles a bit tightly, "Cavet, it is good to see you in a much less... formal setting. I trust that you have been enjoying your new alliance with the ESN?" She asks with out guile or sarcasm.

   Shadow  smiles at Sarah, the fellow  does not seem  to be a schooled in decorum  as he is in flying aircraft...ahh.. yea.. well either way, it  tastes  well..er..good..um.. I like it!

 there is a Jerk of Shadow's  body as   Si kicks him with a pointed  toe of her heels. She Gives her had a quick shake.

 Hennings  nods to  Shadow,..relax LC.. we all know  fighter  pilots  would rather  be at the Pulse or the OC stacking up shot glasses..

 Shadow frowned, at both Si and Hennings...Perhaps, Admiral..or.. perhapos , digging up an escort... his eyes shift  from hennings   to Emmie and back again... Henning's turn to frown.. Emmie  just smiled at everyone as she nibbled.

 The Cavet did not seem to mind that her dress was more suited  for wrapping around yourself, when you steeped out of the shower., She  eagerly  turned to sarah,..this has been  a bit of a change... we are all Nivarians..but...we are Nivarians  who have been exiled.. either  as prisoners..or as those who watch over them... yet the Homeworld  seems to care very little.. With both moons in the hands of the ESN and APF.. trade  could slow to a trickle.....for them. I am lookign at our  Moon to see a boom in business..once people  learn what not to try to eat...and what will try to eat them.

 BAle shakes his head  at Shadow... Hack gives him another  even stare , Then begins,..This is  your  first briefing,,as an APF  member...sadly, the mission  will be against your own people....

 ..oh?.. i am eager to hear... she tried the steak...but really found she loved the mashed  white stuff..with the brown stuff on top...

 ..Frist the removal of that Vessel..or at least the top part...that should  kill most if not all the creatures inside, either by drowning..or  in the vaccum of  space... the  second attack, will be  into the Mountain... SGT Garrat is leading troopers  down inside the Moutnain once more....and? Lastly... LC Shadow and some hand picked fighters are going  to visit your homeworld... they will cause  quite a stir..I am sure...and those great guns  they have  will be like trying to swat a fly with a sledge hammer.

Roy didn't often get filet mignon...and, technically speaking, what they were serving wasn't that, exactly.  But it was the tenderest and juiciest steak he'd had in a long, long time.  "Well-done steak is an abomination," he muttered, with a grin.  He turned to the Cavet, very consciously keeping his eyes up on her face.

"This is a prime example of what I was telling you about the Rec Deck.  There are places there that serve steak...and they do a good job.  But compared to this?  They're serving roofing shingles..."

He noticed that Hack's beginning of the briefing didn't include anything about his team taking a 'back door' approach to the Qarl base...and he wasn't about to point out the omission.  Considering the amount of time he'd spent, early in the Hermes' mission, trying to underscore the risk of the press publicizing the ship's every move long before they actually made it, he felt almost like heaving a sigh of relief at having a secret operation that stayed secret.  So far, at least...

He glanced at the others at the table, wondering how much of what Hack had to say about the upcoming mission omitted their involvement, as well.

Karl carefully kept his expression neutral as he listened to Hack's explanation of the upcoming actions.  He knew, perfectly well, the role he was to play, and thus far it hadn't been mentioned.  He was fine with that.  Ground-attack pilots never got the notoriety of fighter pilots, and he, for one, didn't want it.  As long as the troops he was supporting on the ground thought well of him, that was fame enough.

His eyes flicked over to the Cavet, curious to see what her reaction to all the announced action was.

  Folks  listen to  The Admiral, The Cavet looked at Roy and  smiled,..it is very good..I like it... the closest thing to this are the Grassroamers.. they  have 6 legs, as most  creatures do.. they can grow big in size, and  spend most of the  time in  groups as they walk  over the  planet eating  grasses and small brush...we use them for thier  milk, hides and of course, thier meat... some of our  folk make dagger handles and  such from thier horns...but  it does not  taste, quite like this.

Bale  nods,.. it may be the cook as well...we have people who cook for a living.. they know many tricks to  aid the taste of food.

 when  The Admiral finishes his   beginning statement of the mission, The Cavet   gives a  small chuckle, using a napkin to dab her mouth, she looks down the table at  Shadow  who seem  to be concentrating on the corn. ....   Mr Shadow?  What good   do you think, a handful of  fighters will do on the homeworld?

 he looks up, glances around the  table  as he swallows his  food,..Well, Cavet? It will show your  Home world, that those guns   can't really do al that much.... i mean? if one of us is hit by the  beams, we'll be  gone in a flash....but.. we'll make sure  we let them know we are there...Make no mistake, Cavet..Nivarians are going to die...but it will be for a good cause...

 ...and what cause is that? Mr  Shadow?  The furthering of your  war? she had  stiffened at Shadow's remark.

  There was a chuckle from Kray, he  waved the  fork in his hand about  as he tried to decide what to stab next, then looked down the table at her,..that? is merely an Happy Side effect, Cavet....the good  cause.. is, your people will see that we can strike them... the Valley of the Moons is gone... thier  navy  is  battered, and No match for ours,  only those guns can harm us..and once  your people see, that those   guns will not  stop death from touching them?..Perhaps  they can presuade the council, that dying   to keep thier  rich asses in  palaces, isn't a good thing... he  took another  bite of  Steak.

 ...Shadow comes from the...' you cannot make  an omelette , with out breaking  eggs' ..school of warfare.

  The Cavet Looked at Emmie, she   just says,..I like omelettes ..with Mushrooms!

 The  Cavet Gave her a sidelong  Glance then turned to  Roy with a raised  eyebrow.

Roy sighed.  "Great...diplomacy via metaphor.  Definitely a military operation..." he muttered, mostly to himself.  He cleared his throat as he turned to the Cavet to explain.

"It's an old metaphor on Earth...an omelette is a food-dish, made by stirring up the contents of several eggs, cooking that enough to hold its form, and folding it over with some other ingredients inside.  Relevant here because it addresses the concept of acceptable risk.  In the same way that eggs must be cracked open to get the key ingredient for omelettes, personnel must be put in harm's way to achieve military objectives."

He held up a finger as he continued, raising another as he brought up each new point.  "Nivar's navy has been ineffectual.  The ships around the homeworld withdrew from engaging the Delta Fleet, but the reinforcements that were supposed to chase the Delta Fleet away were completely neutralized by a scant handful of Delta Fleet ships.  So, no appreciable threat.  Unless the interceptors on Nivar are significantly better planes and pilots than what we've seen on either moon, they're more of a nuisance than a threat...can't afford to ignore them, but they're not going to stop the Hermes planes.  Minimal threat, there.  And while the planetary guns are proven effective against a large ship, it's another matter altogether to sight on and track a smaller and far more nimble fighter.  So, there's a chance we could lose a fighter or two to a lucky shot...but practically no chance of significant losses to our forces. "

Even as he said that, he cringed, inwardly.  It was true, and sound military logic...but 'significant losses' was one of those catchphrases used by barely-competent officers to sell a plan that involved needless risk...and usually ended up in significant losses.  Without dwelling further on that point, he continued.

"In exchange for what looks to be a pretty low-risk operation, on paper, we stand to gain a fair bit.  Nivar's ruling council seems pretty reliant on the promise of Nivar as an invulnerable planet...when the citizens start having the wreckage of their own interceptors start raining from the sky, and military targets getting shot up, that image will take a pretty big hit, and it might be enough to either shift the council's position, or else make them lose so much credibility that they can't maintan power.  We could always stand off at a safe distance and just rain down heavy artillery, but the fact that you surrendered revealed that the council doesn't have an iron grip on authority...your society isn't as regimented as the Hyrians."

He shrugged again, and turned back to his meal.  "So, for the price of a mildly risky flight incursion that will only endanger a handful of APF pilots, we get a shot at rattling Nivar so badly that we get the surrender we asked for in the first place.  I don't see where we really stand to lose a lot, short of some incredibly foul luck.  And Shadow never seems to fall prey to bad luck, even when someone suicide-crashes into his plane."

  At the mention of the  crash, Shadow shook his head... I wish i could have saved that pilot.. i would have liked to beat him to  death.... it nis one thing to diver into a ship to 'take them with you"...its  quite another, to use the ruse of being damaged  and Attack a pilot  who  thought to help another flier...

  I won't forget that...and the nivarians  better not.

   The Cavet  takes a turn, now  and again, in telling Tales of the Green Moon..with The Naragrans... and  the  Harrsen.. she   laughs a bit, on how  some folks say, not all  females  abducted  by them are unhappy, but it is a grim joke, when  it is added that the Harrsen are flesh eaters... and like, so many other races.. Humans  would not likely survive   the births.

 Nivarian woman have been known to survive.. but the  whelps  are smaller then pure bred Harrsen.. and  are thus, considered inferior .

 She tells a tale about Naragrans attacking  the first Nivairans to try to reach the top of the Mountain.......some consider this an act of war... others  say it was because of the killing and eating of  smaller naragrans ... she  adds,..the very fact, your pilot made...firends ..with them..is either a cause  for us to question your  IQ's.... or  Question the    Naragans!

 There were some    smiles...but Shadow  just stabbed  his steak a bit harder at the  statement.

 ...would the Green Moon Nivarians.. be aiding in any of the fights  we have?...

 The Cavet turned  and shrugged... ( which caused a few male eyes  to divert, and rapidly   look elsewhere.)... I do not know the exact numbers.. i am sure i will know when i get back to the Capitol?.... But i am going to guess.. we  may only have  about  30,000  Nivarians left?.....not  enough to help invade our home world?,..and to be truthful? They sent us  here.. so? the 9 hells with them.... We will get a working agreement with , whomever your Military  commander is?... according to the  Numbers... you will have  some100,000  troops and   20 to 30 thousand colonists ?    Sheer numbers   have made us a minority, but  they will need to learn the ways of the Moon... if they mistreat the Moon.... it  could be  a bad thing, for your peoples..

 Hennings speaks up,..the people who volunteered to come here..are looking, not only for a new life..but to  give our people other places to go...and?  Occui, Sanri.. and  Burians..both the green Angels and the smaller Burians....so there will be   quite a mix