"There was a large bird of prey which could be a useful scout in atmosphere," said Henry, "And a fascinating feathered serpent which had quite a lot of potential. I don't know how interested their handlers would be in field service rather than research, though. We can but ask... I've managed, sort of."

Despite getting called the 'warrior professor' Henry knew he was not a fighting man, possibly even more of a liability than an asset.

  The Admiral smiled  at Henry, ..Good, when you get the chance... ask them if they would wish to  test themselevs in the field..please... make sure they understand, that getting   eaten by a large  is one of the manythihngs that could happen in the field, should they not wish to  take the chance, I will fully understand... if they  want to  roll the dice.. we can get them here with one of the  picket  ships.

 Admiral Hennings   looked towards  Shadow,..LC?... You are more then a bit quiet.

 Aye, Sir... Just a bit Tried, we  be good to sleep in my own bed tonight

 BAle   chuckled ,or..Just sleep?

 The  LC smiles a  bit. The rest of the Dinner , is spent  talking  about ships   and   rec decs  and crews. from time to time.  Roy  or  Shadow  or   Henry is asked  by thier people.

 Commander Si comments on Orria  getting better  and better  at  translation of  the Ambassador.

   a bit  after   desert, which was a choice  of Cheesecake  or  a Burian Pudding  , that was....of course..green. but tasted   like  dark chocolate ( shade and Orria  hand  two helpings)

   The Admiral said,..I THank you all for coming..  once  Beth gets  the  Comments  from the other APF leaders, I will announce were  we  are going to sail..

  Catching the Dismissile , Shadow   stands.. ..Shade loooked up with grey eyes  as he snagged   him and Orria another   bowl of  Burian Pudding.

 Commander Si   laughed,..  they can each  take the Bowl with them..I'm sure the Mess  will  do just fine  without the bowls..

 Shade GAve a thumbs up...

 They left..The Admirals     began to filter out...

 Shadow  to shadow's Quarters.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:49, Fri 24 May 2019.

Henry thanked Admiral Hack for inviting them, woke up Mila who had gone to sleep on his feet, and made his way back to his own quarters., feeling that he'd probably eaten a little bit too much Burian pudding.

 <<<<<<<< After Sarah arrives

  The Commander  welcomes them that the door..Please Grab a   drink    at the bar, the dinne r wil be served.. we   will be having a  Dinner  Conferance call  with the   Heads of the other three sections of the   Delta Fleet

  Admiral HAck is    pouring himself  soem Coffee, while  Hennings   stands there with a  tumbler of   brandy.

  ..Is your ship taken CAre of  Now  Captain McKeon?

Sarah greets Commander Si, "Thank you Commander." Moving to the bar and finding herself a glass of wine.

"Yes it is we past all our benchmarks after leaving port, and our new additions seem to be settling in nicely for the time. We took the time between embarking and now to run a few simulations and do crew efficiency evaluations in each section. Overall they did very well, they are a fine crew." She indicates LT Termaine, "Admiral, this is my tactical officer, LT Termaine.  I asked him along to this meeting as my aide, and to give him some experience with command level meetings and conferences."

Given the formal dinner setting Scotty extended his hand, "A pleasure to meet you in person, Admiral. Thank you for allowing me to join you."

  The Admiral  as well as Admiral Hennings   shook his hand,  The Commander  was htere  as she nodded that they met at the door.

   The Chef   appearded at   Hack's shoulder,..Ahh, yest, pelase   bring   out the Food.. I will  send out the COM   once  we have    our  first helpign   served?.. we can  eat while we talk  and   willt the other   3   who command  the   other three  sections.. do not be afraid to add  questions or Coments... either of you...

 his eyes shift from  Sarah to Termaine

 then  he motioned for everyone to take a seat.. I  would  have  My SM and   LC  here  as well, but I am keeping this a bit small after   a recent  incident

 the chocies   were   steak or   Fish.... mashed or  baked  potatoes,  sides  of   Corn  or  fat  Burian Green beans   as ell as  a sald  with a caddy of dressing    on the table.. desert would be   Blue berry pie, or  'apple' pie.

 once here one had   food and drink    Hack oepned the COMs..   voices   addressed them, Hack introduced  the board   as well as Sarah and  her aid... as   people   talked and  ate,  HAck said for all ships to have a sweep on any  people they  picked up from Sol System in the last 2 to 3 months..he went on to explain the   German's  and thier   fate ( more or less) ..

 as others   chimed in  with  any results they had.. Hack would begin the meeting in Earnest....The information we have on Lady V, is her stronghold is in the damn  Asteroid field ..I have  an Idea  how to deal with  that..but  our  first  stop  is goign to  be Bura..  I want us  to lay in supplies...  Emmie's transport company  is   bringing   goods  from  fuji to trade    at Bura.. as well as  get  Burian foodstuff, wood clothing  from  them... we  also will help them deal with somehting going on at thier North Pole , from there  we  will go to the Hillite system and deal with  Lady V..one way or another.

 another  reason why we  are going there, is somewhat important ..  There  is alot of Burian Troops...  Purebred   small  Green folks.. Green Angels  and   Green have breeds between  the two..  The  APF folks who are helping settle there.. might have some  Volunteers.. but   Bura  wants  in this war... so? The Hermes is   going to  pick up a  Unit  of  Burian  troops to take the place of the  Germans... and? maybe  a few more... I would suggest, if you need people pick some up. let them know Bura  is welcome in the fleet.   As some of you know?  they have  very good  fighter pilots  i have a few  right now? I may take on a couple extra..

 Then he left the floor open  for others  to speak

In reply to Dinner (msg # 277):

Sarah and Scotty both ordered their food and sat back to listen in, at the Admiral's bidding she sent a rapid comtext to LC Harrington back on the Ironwood to check all crew, specifically new crew members against the Admiral's criterion. She trusted her crew with her life, but situations like these one couldn't be too careful. For any warship a single traitor could be catastrophic, on her smaller and more lightly crewed Corvette it was very easy for a traitor to take things from hindering an operation to outright disrupting an operation. She watched for her comm to light up with LC Harrington's results.

She listened to the Admiral's plan, "Entering the asteroid field would greatly diminish the abilities of the Ironwood more so than most due to the navigational nightmare that is the asteroid field, and our reliance on our prototype engines. However our forward armament could be effectively used to blast a path through the field. On the note of the Burian's if we can field a ship for them I have at least two people who I would be willing to recommend for promotion and placement on a larger vessel in either their current roles or expanded ones. That could allow me to take on a few Burian officers to fill their roles." Of course, she was thinking of LC Harrington, and LT Termaine. They'd shown a particular aptitude for leadership, and while she'd hate to lose them she wasn't going to set them back like that, other than that it would open up slots for either possibly a few Burian specialists to come aboard the Ironwood and allow the Alpha Fleet to demonstrate its acceptance of the aid. Still she kept the names to herself, unless asked. There were appropriate times to praise subordinates but this meeting wasn't that.

---

LT Termaine sat quietly taking note of the environment and the conduct of others, until the note of punching a hole in the asteroid field came up. "I'd have to look at it a bit more, but I am confident my gunner crews could punch a hole at least big enough for a corvette and fighters to get through, bigger than that is hugely problematic as we begin to get beyond the ability of the computer to track that many targets, and then eliminate them."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:51, Fri 21 June 2019.

 listening to the  Coments  from the Ironwood's people,  The Admiral  would saw  as he  sipped  some coffee,..the  asteroid  field is  a  roilign mass of  rocks.. there  seems to  be a pattern, we have  yet to crack... but the Viper  Fleet seems to have  set up  flash beacons.. that tell a   craft were to  go to get through.. we had a Pilto?.. Kase?  I think it was.. almost try to enter, but  the cost   for  failure  would have been to high... Tracking ships  entering  hasn't helped..  One  of Fuji's  destroyer s trailed   a Brand  spanking new   EDT   Cap ship into that , mess... the destroyer was  Lost  after the   first hit  crippled it..and   dozens of hits with in the next 30 minutes destroyed it.. the destroyer's shuttle  made it out  with 7  people, all from Med Tech...

 The Commander  looked over the table  with her bluegreen eyes,..as  if  to  taunt us.. the   EDT  sat there in the field , salvaging the  Destroyer , down to the last rivet.. they send  12  Life Pods out towards the  blockade ships.. with   40 some   bodies in..all dead.. we don't know   what hapened to the  rest.. bu rumors of Empire  troops inside the Field  would give  us an idea...

 ..As  I have said, i have  an idea  how to deal with his..but   we'll find out when we get there... the worst it  can   do is  be  another failure...

  Hennings  spoke up We have records  of    ships and fighters  trying to blsst there  way through.. but it   never helped.. there a re Vid Feeds  of  LAdy V laughing..

   The other   Commanders of the Delta Squadrons added thie r  advice... some said to ignore the  Asteroid  Field  and   world  on the way to  Everest and getting  new  Blood  from Bura.

 Towards  the  end, The Admiral    wished the Commanders  a good Night.

  as they began thier  deserts  The Admiral turned his attention to  Sarah.....As  we Near  Bura.. we  will see  about having the SM and a few SEC troopers  to go with you... The SM  will HAnd  Pick some Burian  Commandos..

  ...as   Far   promotions  go?  we'll see what happens   after  our   next confrontation.. if you can still, afford  to   promote  your   people, we'll give  get them on the que..

"I'd wager none of the other ships had as light a tonnage as us with as heavy an armament, though the point is well taken." LT Termaine replies to the senior officers.

Sarah nods, "I assume, as per protocol, additional instructions will be forth coming regarding the troops and forces closer in to Bura itself." She takes a bite of the dessert, "I'll have the two files sent to yourself for consideration at your convenience."

   The Admiral  turns  to  fill his Glass  but an  Ordely beat him to it, his  first wine   since he  finished the coffee.

  ..that will be  fine, Sarah. There are  scores   of Officers  who want to move up..at least that many who want to stay where they are... both..must rely on  what thier  service    record is, and   who speaks  for them. I am sure they will get thier  turn, May the gods protect us , should  we need to move them all up..

"Absolutely Admiral, and I take the professional development of my team very seriously. We take time every day to train, drill and prepare my people not only to do their jobs as best as is possible but also to be ready to lead at any level. During drills we regularly shift roles of junior officers or put them in section leadership roles to train and teach them to be ready for whatever promotion or combat throws at them. While I love my command Admiral, if the need ever arises I would also not turn down opportunity provided i could ensure my people were taken care of, after all even within my specific missions it is my belief that my people come first.

  the rest of the  Dinne r went one, with some  old staories   told  By Bale, Hennings  and The Admiral.. Commander Si  smiled a bit  and   added some  msmall stories of her own.

  When the Dinner was over they were  all Given   thier   choice of drink for a Final  Toast   as   The Admiral  and  Commander  walked    Rivets, Morris , Sarah  and  he r  XO to the elevator..

  ..I will talk to   The SM, he will COM you when he's  ready  to take off  for  Bura..... Good tvels , Captain..

 ...................

 In the elevator , Rivets looked to the other  Two.. Morris  seemed to be relaxed,..yer gettin' ta  take  some folks down ahead of the Fleet.. this isn't a dead job...

"I will be waiting the call, and as they say Admiral trust in the gods but keep your powder dry." Sarah replies as they head to the elevator. LT Termaine thanks his way around the room still discussing some of the finer points of heavy artillery targetting and gunnery with Rivets.

After bidding their farewells and stepped into the elevator Sarah sent a comm to all her people to meet at the Shuttle to return to the Ironwood.

--Hanger Deck-->
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Thu 27 June 2019.

  < from Rec Dec..after   party, Glara

 Comign up from the Rec Dec, in  rather good  spirits,  Hack would   wave  everyone is  and Follow.

 Commander  Miller was in rarified air now, ..Sarah and her XO, Rviets  and  Morris  as well as the rest of the board...

 Everyone get a Drink of choice from the bar... you will have    choice  between  Steak and  Long Fish...both from Bura... with  some  Burian  Vegtables, and choice of   rice  or   mashed  ..um..'potatoes'...

 as  folks  sat  down with thier Drinks, small talk arose.. mostly Rivets asking Sarah and her XO  how  they  like thier   ship...because it was getting close to the  time to decide  if  they should make  anymore 'assault' Corvettes

Sarah and LC Harrington find drinks and place their requests for the food they want. They mill about talking around the room.

"It's a damn fine ship that's for sure. The engines are a dream, we can run anything down from a capital ship to one of the fast courier boats, though lose some maneuverability for the speed.

It might be improved by decreasing the engine size slightly to increase the hanger bay size to have room for a second shuttle, and increase the fighter capacity to four. Right now we have extra crew space.

When they redesigned the standard corvette the took most of the space for the engines from the hanger area, leaving the living space alone. As it stands we have room to berth two boarding teams on top of our sec and additional personnel for the added air assets, plus have space for wetworks assets and equipment.  That'd still leave two rooms for guests if we drop the last two to make up for space lost by expanding the hanger.

To be honest we run fairly lean crew wise. Really at the end of the day if they keep the hull and redesign around the bridge and engines the whole concept could be greatly optimized while keeping the heavy armament in the front."

She explains talking shop, "The fleet would benefit from adding corvette of similar design or capabilities provided their optimized a bit better."

LC Harrington had found a different group and was discussing the finer points of corvette wolfpack tactics and the benefits of having adaptable platforms and patrols comprised of heavy assault corvettes, and pursuit/fast assualt corvettes. "Look I'm just saying you throw together a patrol of 5 corvettes make the squadron flagship the current iteration of corvette, they have a nice mix of both. Toss in two fast assault corvettes, and two heavy assault and you can run anything down and fight your way out of most situations."

   as they  sat down and  began to eat..   Hack  looked at Hennings  as she  said , offhandly...The  Vamps   Gave  us  enough ship  to Protect Bura, until  either  Beta  or Apha  Fleets  can  sand aid ... but  we have  two  Vampic Heavy Crusiers....  we filled the  regular Crusier... but.. we  seem to be  at a lost, for  an  officer  to take  command  ...  they  are currently lining up Burians   and APF  colonists   on Bura  to be   crews  for those ships..but  we need  an Officer  for the Flagship... All the senior  officers  are either staying put , or  filling  spots   for those  killed in the  encounter...

 he lte  it hang as he Looked  at Sarah with a raised  eyebrow, passing     the potatoes  down.

In reply to Admirals mess (msg # 288):

Sarah listened to what Admiral Hack said, and then chose her words carefully, as what she decided would very much determine whether or not she stayed with the fleet. Command of a planetary defense system fleet was a huge step up from her current position as Captain of a corvette. The trade off was she would no longer be on the tip of the spear so to speak, tethered to the planets she was defending.

 "Admiral, I would like to recommend LC Harrington for promotion and put him up for command of one of the destroyers, I would recommend LT Termaine for promotion as well and command of the Ironwood. In alpha fleet we know every part of the effort matters, and while I will miss serving as part of the tip of the spear with the delta fleet, it would be an honor if you'd consider myself for the role of flag Captain of the Burian defense fleet. Additionally I'd like the APF Wing Commanders blessing on transferring LT Mayhew as my wing commander provided he doesn't have any other volunteers or recommendations.

Next to her LT Termaine started a little, he knew she'd recommended him for promotion in his file, but hadn't expected this. Though Sarah hadn't anticipated this situation either. Still it met her objectives of developing those under her as professionals and ensuring they advanced as far as their skills and abilities would take them. Plus given time and success at her job rejoining the fleet wouldn't be impossible. She'd just have to ensure that she trained and prepared the fledgling defense forces and turned them into a force to be reckoned with.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:16, Sun 28 July 2019.

  The Admiral  Looked  at  The Board ,  they seemed  surprised.

   The  Admiral stood   as did the   Captain and the board.Well  Then?.. that   saves   us a bit   of   trouble  ,, Ladies  and  Gentlemen.... In is  my Honor  to present, CAPTAIN  McKeon.. Of  the  BC 100 Cold Stone.... she has   three gun decks  of  5  Cap ship class Heavy  Pulse... if   you want to swap out    for a  few Torpedo Tube, you'll be  able  to do that in orbit., so you can  think on it...

 LT  Termaine.... you may have the  Command of  the Ironwood  as  LC..shoudl you accept  oy..

 ..You may  take the people with you from your ship    and  disperse  them as you see fit... Including  LC  Harrington, who you may  promote  Commander if he  tankes a Destroyer..

 ..I will have  Beth Cut  the orders afte r Send off tomorrow.. we have   about  a little less then a day, before  we  reach Bura.. you will see the  Ships  Bura  has   as  Home defesne.. they are  all captured, I'm afraid.

Sarah nods gratefully, "Thank you Admiral, we will move with all haste to bring the Burian defense fleet online and up to date. If at all possible could you set the orders to arrive delayed so I can make the announcement to the crew and senior officers first."

Next to her Lieutenant (Promotable) Termaine, grinned like a fool and leaned over to her. "Thank you ma'am" Then to the board and the table, "I accept sir. It would be an honor."

   The Admiral  smiled a   'knowledgable  smile'.....Aye,  beth won't get to  it until after  the send off  tomorrow... we  can sent  ' eyes  only'.. and yo  may make yor  announcement.. there are alot of  dominos that will fall on the Iron wood  as you  move people around..The Cold Stone Has   a Prize   Crew on  from a few different vessels, you may retain any you wish?... but your job will  be   2  fold...first and foremost, to protect Bura... They have been loyal from the start..they now  wish to  be  a working part in this  war...2nd.. to get  Burian   forces, both   marine and Navy  up to par  with teh Fleet..


  Hennings  nods  as he stabs a  bit of steak,..They have   archers  down there... The  shafts they use  run the gambit from  a wood that grows there.. to  a light   steel that they fabricate.. the shafts  alone  can cause  Demons much harm.. the  arrow  heads , of cours e , can be worse.... we are going to  pick up a unit of Burians  to fill  the empty section we have  for assault teams.. we  already have some on board who have been teaching   archery ... they are quite pleased  with the Aqra Tech we  uncovered  of the Aqra  hunting bows.. the flexible   metal  and the expanding  arrow  heads  will serve  a deadly purpose in thier hands.

  The Captain turned to Termaine,..you will have to adjust, on the fly... we have some   work to do for the Burians  before the fleet settles  down for a day or two of shore leave....... we may need the Ironwood  for  fast access..

Sarah nodded, "I think for tonight I will stay here. In the morning after the send off I will make the announcement. I have full faith in our newly minted LC's planning and execution abilities to run and insertion operation without myself or Commander Harrington's oversight. Once the announcement is made I'll set to work establishing my presence on the Cold Stone, and evaluating the current repair needs of the taskforce.  I look forward to putting to use any and all capabilities the Burians and colonists can bring us. Some times it is the unconventional or even low tech tools that give us the biggest edge.

  <<<<<<<<<<  After Send Off after Glara

   The three  Captains  walked  down the Passage   with  Shadow  and the others trailing.

   The entered the  Admiral's   Mess .    Captain Si   stepped over and Gave MAris a Hug., Hennings  and   Bale greeted him as well. Commander  Miller     came in Leaving the Chair  for Holly.

  ..so..As I was Informed by your... "LC"...  it appears  these  Unifroms  aren't  for me?

 Shadow   Burst out   in a LAugh, by silenced himself  at Commander  Si's  shifting eyes.

 Hennings    smiled  a bit soberly,..'Fraid  not... we  don't  do that  in the Delta Fleet... As Fuji is Home Base  for the Fleet, I thought you would know that...

  Please, Sit.... You too  Shadow.. you can at elast have a Cup of  Coffee  with us, before you change  and go to the Rec Dec.

 ..Aye Sir, Of Course, Sir.

  People begin   to sit  Down, Shadow sat at the end near the door,

   Talk started about the Action,   The Admiral  told   some bits of   the boarding action..

 Shadow  made  some sweeping   comments   about the Air   war.

  ..I notcied  Shadow has a Sword  now?....  It was formally taken away from him at Graduation....

 Shadow    just smirked at him

 ..The LC  was awarded his  Blade  after the Battle of the Line.. should have had it much sooner, by  we   fail to   focus on little things like that

 Maris  was on his  3rd glass of wine,.... Always   'earning back things  you lose... don't  ya  Shadow.... Good Offieer s don't lose  things....

  ..Better  Officers  know they have a chance  to close things    out here...but come anyway...maybe   i'll feel differant when  i'm 7 or 8 hundred years old , and become an instructor..

   Maris looked at hi with Glassy Eyes.. his pilots  looked  at Shadow like he was a demon... Careful LC..... I've  been know to settle  differences  outside  the norm...

  ..Good Luck  , with that Captain.... My sword  isn't  an Ornament

 ..Yes..Yes..Quite.,.now..  may  I ask why you  traveled  all this   Way, Jack?

  My Little Girl's Birthday is tomorrow... figured   I'd  celebrate with her  here, since  you seemed fit to spirit her away..... and?..  after the Party... Take her Back to Fuji...

   Captain Si  looked to Hack, who looked to Shadow....Shadow  Just gave his half  smile.

   The Captain reached inside her Tunic  to pull out her   COM.. she  opened it  saying  simply,..Captain  Si..... Yes...he is  here... Having a ..Conversation of  sorts...

 her    slightly  canted   eyes shifted  from  Shadow, who leaned back in his  chair,  fluffing up his  'cocky look'..she smiled... he did this   a lot... draw more anger  that he is ablein other ways.

 Maris  was  wavering.. the  trip  and the  extra  wine he had before he even tried to  eat.. wasn't helping the CAptain..not  at all...


 ..I am afraid  it may take  a bit.....