The Admiral looked  with a slight  smile,you'll have to be a bit more  specific?  But  we  do have  frame work, that we work along?

  Protocols  tend to change, as  the  situations do...and?  based on the Admiral and/or  The Board.

In reply to done! (msg # 421):

JD smiled Anything that will provide and overview of Procedures and help me from stepping on toes or in nasty surprises.

 Admiral Hack smiled,Those are Broasd strokes to paint, and you only have a tiny brush of Time, you may have to 'Hard Knocks it'...Things are  done a bit differant in the delta  fleet, though there are vessels that still seem to be a bit....stern.... You'll  catch on...or you won't?..either way, we should   have things  figured out by then.

In reply to done! (msg # 423):


Nodding in response to AH's advice. To glean what he could, in any situation he found himself, from whoever would provide, whenever the opportunity presented itself and wherever he was at that moment.

Roy gave Lilit a nod of acknowledgment as they approached.  Inwardly, he felt as if the gesture were too informal...but she was outside his chain of command and as such, a salute wasn't necessarily appropriate, either.

"Warlord," he said, as they got within conversational distance.

  Lilit   gave  Roy a bit of a Smile...I see you were competent  enough to  escort my granmod..... You would think her Father would have  done that.

  ..Father Was....

 Do not make excuses  for  an ESN Offcier...Your  brother is in there make corn pop? what ever that is...we will take for a space, and then , need to get rest for the Send off,
 our ship  will awiat us, then we will return for the  Dress fittings  you, so want.

  ................. Capta Morris   was entering his   quarters , giving a Nod to Roy and Dusk..Rivets was headed to the Lifts

Roy's face hardened at the comment about Shadow...it was at that point that he turned to Dusk.  "It was a pleasure spending time with you," he commented, but his tone of voice had taken on a strained quality.  "If I don't see you before then, I'll see you at the ball."

He took one of her hands in both of his, holding it for a moment, before walking away...pointedly ignoring Lilit the entire time.

(( Meeting  after Cast off. from matterhorn ))

 The  Vid  screens  were set up  The Officers  sat in chairs, like students...they had  Coffee or cold drinks. Across,and down the passage way, the smells of  Lunch for those at the meeting were hard to miss.

  Ms Vassar   clicked  slide shows.....This is the  Mountain... as you can see , our peple have cleaned off  a good deal of the stern, you can see the  damaged  Thrusters, and mach out the flare of the port and starboard side...

 I have to interrupt here?... If that  ship is as big as the tales  say... That might only be part of the stern.. Roles pointed with a  lazar pointer.

 Vassar looked a bit  off balance, but   regrouped.we have been in there, for  roughly a year.... we have  found  supplies that were  still useful, , most of the  things  are still useful...a total of 18 people  have wandered into camp...some young, some older..., who have claimed to be  crew....wrist scans check out...but...there were close to 20,000 colonists as well as  another   15,000 Military  ....The Hanger  Dec,as we understand it, from old   layouts  found on the  net..is 3/4 up the ships length ...up from the stern....we haven't   gotten that close.... we have  found   two lifts that lead down several levels.. we have been using  thsoe to  set up footho;ds, to explore and move forward... The only dead we have  found, was  Creshian and Largran

 ..but why does this  concern us?..... Y9ou have hired Mercenary groups...why do you need   The Fleet Dusk asked...The Admniral smiled  at her, then turned to Vassar, lifting an eyebrow.

 The Might of the  fleet?...ground troops  and aircraft  who are used to  taking out enemy forces

 Captain Si said,and we are relatively free.....Tell me  Ms Vassar..where are the people we are supposed to save ?

 As  of when i left, 1 month ago... there were only two ways into the stern...we cut a hole , when the  ship[ meets the rock... and  , what looks like battler  damage near thethrusters... we  fortified  them with  larg  doors...we have  found  three...'sally ports" that we maintain to  slip out  and gather  food and water... if we  could reach thier supplies or rec dec..they would be in good  shape... as of the last time I comed them...we have 6,000 people, more or less  trapped  in the ship..judging from the bodies  we  found when we arrived,,, the largrans  and   bugs have troed a few times, in the past... I talked to them right before the Ball.. I tried to talk to them after  talkig to your.....LC.... but did not get a response

 Hennings   spoke.....well, its clear  we are goign there... we are already  contacting the  Military bases, who confirm having to go on Bug humts and Lizard huts, they beleive there might be   tunnels or caves, but they haven't  found them  yet...

 Ms Vassar... every  arch-tech i have met, things   some artifact is worth more then many people's lives..... I am here to tell you...This  Mission is to rescue your people, then see  about hunting down the   empire types.....when that is over, then your people may try and recover  anything they think is important.. Bale saidfirmly.

 ..but the  work they did and...

 Then try to contact them... tell them  to down load  what they need  on discs..so they can cary out a slouder back or  small duffle....But my people aren't  going to  die for bits of history, from  a race of humans  who left the planet and worked  with the  Empire

again , she looked upset,yes..of  course... The people come first..but the research...

 The research will be recovered if  we aree successful.... if  not...well it won't  matter  much....

Vassar's eyes looked at the offciers..darting from one to another...what aren't you telling me...

 IF...we cannot   find the main base  for the Empire's troops... we have to move on...but we cannot leave  the   ship intact..

 wait?...What!...its not intact..its buried in  a gods be damned mountain

 Indeed.... and whatever is in there, that the Empire wants,  is  going to  be  obliterated, if we cannot   find the main base.

 And Orderly   rang a tiny bell...Admiral?... Ma'sms  and Sirs..Please.. follow me to the mess...Te chef  has out done himself...

 Vassar followed along.. Commander  Miller said..you might have thought Shadow  was a soft touch....but gere arenh't  any fools in the command group...me?..what want to know wwhat is  so damned important, that half of your people stayed  behind

 they walked  down the Passage way to the  Mess, where the smells of   some  Bird -like c thigns  were  steaming, and   arather  large  bit of  beef..

  The   dinner  was being held...The Admiral asked them to set  another Palce of Henry.

  ..now.... for this incursion , we cannot  balcst the 9 hells out of the place,,,,the resources are worth too much to the   Fleet and the APF....there is  enough empire  troops down there, that the   Outposts bag 2 or three a day...... what we will do..is   start with Aircover to   scout the area...Have the Morning star..have over watch until its needed, and drop down out boarding shuttles...if we   find the people, Big Uglies will come in to remove them.

 The shuttles  need to  land close to the mountain..there are creatures down there, that will make Largs  run and hide..

 Hennings said  , after  finishing a mouth full of  steak..out out[pst have recorded..caprtured and killed a few  nasty Preditors .... If there is  soimethig that scares out largs..we shgould  strat  training them!

<- BioTech

Henry turned up, Mila at his heels. He was a little surprised to be shown to a place at table for a formal meal. Mind you, plenty business had been done over formal dinners at the High Table in college, back in Oxford.

   The Admiral stood  and Offered  Henry a Hand, the other hand  moved to the  spot at the table prepared for him...he Nodded to the orderly and Pointed to Mila  away well, the orderly gave a slight bow, and went into the kitchen.

 sorry to throw you into a Meeting meal, henry. But  I'm trying to squeeze as much  things into time blocks as i am able...since we are under way.

 Dusk looked around and  held out a lock slice of steak she  had  cut for Mila.

 Vassar looked a Bit upset that Henry was there...

 We are talking about  a rescue mission for Ms Vassar's  people. a Chinese vessel appeared to have   crash laned , and is stuck in a mountain. On E-1.... they pulled  around ..half thier people?

 He Looked  at Vassar., she nodded.

 The rest is under  siege by Largarns  and Creshians. We are  going to land near the site and   pull the  people out...

 ...and get the research....

 Hennings    took a  sip from his coffee, as  an orderly  asked   Henry what he would prefer  'bird'  or steak..the research is secondary to the people, and  we cannot burn to much time on E-1..we need to strike the  Creshains   while they are stunned..

  Captain Si  looked to Henry...when we are done here, if you wish, we can pack some of this  foo for you to take to your family?...Now please, before debate starts  again, tell us  why you needed to speak to us?

"Steak, please," Henry said to the server.

"Well, I'm sorry to intrude, but when we got back from shore leave we found that all the Bio-Techs had been summoned away to Fuji and had left immediately, leaving all their work undone and animals unattended. It appears that, unlike me who is a civilian employee of the military, they were on secondment from various commercial concerns which withdrew them suddenly and without warning. It all seems rather sudden and leaving the animals completely on their own is not acceptable! At least the zoo animals are all right, as I've hired someone independently to look after them - but those in Bio-Tech have been left unfed, their other needs not met... and I'm sorry but this will not do!"

Mila trotted over to Dusk, her tail wagging furiously, and accepted the piece of steak delicately from her fingers.

 Captain Si looked  at  Admiral Hack with a raised , delicate  eyebrow.   The Admiral watched the orderly  provide a plate for  henry  with  side  dishes  with in easy reach for him to choose from.

 The Admiral had a look of distaste as he said,If you go back to the maiden Voyage, we have lost  3 sets..counting this one..to the companies that  we hired them from... This last set, it was assumed, would be with us for the long haul...it is also apparent that they were   taken with, little or no time to be ask questions, and the SEC Guards on duty  did not have  cause to hinder thier leaving.

 General Bale  spoke up...as to why they  were   recaled... we have some dark news on that....


 Hennings   was about to take a fork full of Mash Potatoes and stopped as he looked at Bale...

 The Papers , passcodes and   discs all seemed  correct, according to our  scans..it  may have been differant  , had  we made them wait..but   the thoughts  were to let the thing go  , since everyone  was on leave....

 A Provost fighter, from  the Provost Cap ship , challenged  a sloop leaving the   station protected  space... they sent  thier  flight path, and thier  destination as  Fuji, Via Bura?   The Porvost Fighter  reported  it , 'just in case"..the slopp never   came near Bura..and   has since entered into   Sol System space..I believe the people were falt out abuducted.... I gave the SEC who were still on board the  leave to enter  the  quarters of the  4  techs....hardly anything is missing, save  for a small back, or  empty space in a closet , where some  clothing may have hung.They either   thought they were  coming back, or
  were rushed along.... Computers in the quarters have been wiped...We did get one recording that you  chief  Tech made in the lab... seems he opened a general COM record, those who took them, did not think to check that.... This is something  we would have summoned you for..but we thought it best to study the  situation a bit more....at any rate, here is the  record it is short.....

 he  opens  his   COM  and taps something...At first there are some stern Voices heard... Chris  says...who are you!.. no one is allowed in the LAb....You'll have to leave...

 sorry there, but you're being recalled... its  a Fleet emergency, don't you see?..You and her have to go now, the Other two are already on the way to the shuttle...

 No!..I can't just leave..we have  things to take care of..it would be
 irresponsible

 ..Look here.. Your Ticket has been recalled,  My people are to get you back to Fuji..and  i won't let anything stop that....lets Move, Now...
there is a  cry from a woman  and some harsh language....then the   record  stops.

 we i first heard that... i was upset that we weren't informed through proper channels...now, that i have thought on it..and the  flight path of the sloop?....we can only believe they are headed to Olympus  or Earth..The Fact that the entered  Sol System space at thier first opportunity, says they figured we would call on Bura  to intercept them....entering the Sol System, says they are  welcomed there...no one else would enter  right now,

  Hack  stabbed a bit of steak, perhaps a bit harder then he should have,,,we got you the best people , in thier  area of focus, from the  ESN ranks.... They 'cannot be recalled'...they are there for the duration. But all that is, .....is the barn door-horse thing..,

 Bale looks at Henry,is there anything you were working on that might be of import to our  enemies?

 Vassar  looked   disgusted that  they seemed to have forgotten about her.

Henry's face got increasingly grim as he listend to Bale's story.

"It's all too easy with hindsight to say 'I would have done this or that differently', so I won't. As for our work, in general we are studying the flora and fauna of each place we visit but we are always looking out for information that is of use to the 'war effort' - things like vulnerabilities in particular species or substances that are poisonous to them. And of course, materia medica - substances that can be used to treat injuries and illnesses in our own people."

    Admiral Hack took a bit of his  steak, his eyes  shifted as a  plastic container was put on the  floor  near the wall for  Mila  to have some  steak cuttings  and  a pair or  round bones.

  If Val  would have been there,  they could not  have taken her, as she is  a military asset...oner would  wonder if they would have left empty handed... dragged her out   in some fashion...or .......made sure she could not have alerted  anyone

 Bale   added,That being said?... we  have sent  COMs through the fleet to make sure  that 'company' doesn't remove any more people.. we have  reports of a few ships who lost tier Bio-techs...

 Hennings   waved a fork,Lights out agents  are, as we speak, raiding the  Companies  HQs on Fuji, Etna  and  Everest..Bren  is   sending out feelers from Anzio....

 Lilit says,None of this  gets  those people back?

Captain  Si shook her head,No..it does not. Sometimes the enemy wins..its  not a taste i like to have in my mouth... so the next step is to make certain it does not happen again..

Dusk asks,..is there a way to get the people  back?

 It is highly doubtful..we would have to send a  single vessel, amybe two, or go into the Sol System with the Might of the Fleet..neither  one guarantees the return of the  people, and the  2nd options  may lead to the  Empire  Forces behind us, sweepign into the Beta and Gamma   quad... we cannot afford that.

Mila wagged her tail at the staffer putting down the container for her, then nosed around in it to see what they'd given her.

She didn't like it when Her Human was upset, but this time there seemed to be some upsides. She enjoyed the scraps then settled down for a good gnaw on the bones.

  The Admiral received a COM text<. excused  himself and answered the COM text.In  40 minutes or so, I am going to the Hanger Dec to Talk with the LC, and perhaps the SM if i can find  them....

 You all May finsih your dinner and have drinks  if you Wish...

 Ms Vassar  said,May i accompany you....

 I don't think that is  wise. It would look i am condoning this   rescue Mission...... we did not send those people down there... they aren't  Colonists, but there is colonists near them...that's the only reasoned   we don't send a drop ship to blow the  thing to the  9 hells.

 Roles cleared his throat,I should thing that option should still be on the table...

 Ms  Vassar  stood , Nodding with a bit of a smile...I understand  your stance, Admiral hack...Thank you for the  time  and the food...

the Men stood  as she walked out, then reseated...she's thinking..all the  time... i can almost see the gears working...

Dusk shook her head,..she is not a verian?

 Lilit  smiled a tiny smile,..it is a figure of speech humans  use...i do not know why...

 Captain SI asked henry,would you care to  take a meal or two home  for your  family?

Henry stood with the rest.

"Yes, thank you, Captain Si - they'd appreciate that. It's just Val and Can there at the moment. Val will be rushing around looking after all the animals that have been neglected, Can was busy with his pet fish which the techs had promised to look after for him."

He went over to the servers to arrange for a heated box of food to take back for his wife and son.

   Captain Si  smiled    as shestood  with henry  as the  servers  fixed generous containers of  each food and side..

  she waved  a had   and the Boxes,If you do not   eat them all, you can save them for left overs, or Mila, or even some of the other animals...well. Except The largs, I do not think we had  enough food at the start, of the dinner for largs!...  she  laughed.

  With the Boxes  ready, and Orderly  went with  Henry. The Admiral  stood,  putting 0n his ball cap,I will walk with you as well,  we'll both be getting off the  same  place...

Turning to the   dinning table, he bowed,Ladies, gentlemen, thank you for joining me... I hope this  upcoming  venture  proves short and sweet..

Henry, Hack, the orderly  and Mila  walked  down the Halls. another  orderly came out  with a 'chicken sandwich; and  soda  for the guards  by the Mess...the guards by the Admirals',  and  both sets of guards ob either side of the elevator. After the orderlies  gave the two guards on   'the LC's" side of the  elevator, they left  and   the other  4 went  down to the Hanger Dec  level.

 Hack snorted in thought and said to Henry,..nothing ever  seems to be easy...does it...

 >>>>>>Hack, Henry Ect  to Hanger  dec level

"No, Admiral, it does not. But you can count on us to have your back whenever required," Henry said seriously.

Beside him, Mila added a quiet "Yip" as if agreeing with him.

  well...if this 'rscue' doesn't  turn into a massive Cluster... you might get some time to go down and  check out E-1. or att least around the  ourposts and such. It's still pretty wild  down there...  Admiral Van Ross  is goign to  put a destoryer or two  to keep watcyh over  E-  and E-2... The  Empire  can't waste a   squadron to even  try to land on either planet.. APF  has   E-2..Earth Colonies or should i say ESN Colomies  have E-1 , with free passage  for  both, to either..I'l contact  you if the chance to do some  filed work  arises...we are taking this much time  off my schdule, another day  shouldn't matter.... Give My Best to Val and Can...
 he Gave   Mila   a healthy   fur  rub 0n both sides of her  head , then stepped out towards the Hanger dec..

Mila squirmed and rubbed against the Admiral, licking his hands and wagging her tail furiously.

Then she trotted off with Her Human back to His place.

-> Christie's office.

(( after  E-1..when  Brass left after  Party ))

   Roy and   Dusk arrived  at the  Admiral's   quarters. There was a  sit down dinner, ,  Captain Si  stood   and   motioned for them to take seats  as  orderlies     setvplates  and glasses for  steak or  fish from Nivar.

 The Admiral Smiled  at them..Sorry to Pull The Captain and Yourself from the party. But we are disccussing  our direction.

 Hennings  ( with Emmie  next to him)...we missed a chance to  destroy, or, all but  wipe out those   battered  fleets  of   the Creshians  and Largrans.. The ships   that made it back to  their systems, or their  rally points, will begin to  rebuild...

 Bake   cleared his throat,  Commander Miller  looked to him as he began to speak.... what intel we have  says Hel is   pressuring   the  bugs and lizards to put  more  effort into , distracting us. Vampra   has started to raid  Everest   space,  both, on the Everest-Fuji
 and Everest -Etna  corridors

 Lilit  added,....Uden  is   sweeping  Roussa space...there have been encounters  with  Roussian loyalists, and  EDT mercs and  many  pirates  with Letters of Marque.... My Commanders  on Vera  hane  set up  a defensive   screen  with , what Verian  vessels  were still  Combat worthy ..  we have  some Calimate  ships   with them..Calimate is  trying to turn out more..but they have been hampered for  centuries  by Vera... They are still provinding Marines  to  any and all vessels  that need them.

  Captain  Si sits back down as she adds, because of the attacks  on Matter Horn and  Enta space, we are having the  Station's  fleet  form up defensive screens  and  send out   'seek and destroy' task forces..... any ships  we destroy  will be grabbed for  scrap...those  captured  will be added to , whatever  station  captured them... Fuji   is working overtime  on new Cap ships.. There are two  ready to come off the  line..one will got to Nivar, one to Bura.

  Hack  motions  for them to eat and drink...we are looking  at a trip to Vampra.. i feel they need some....education,.. of what siding with the  Empire means.

Roy grinned a little crookedly at Admiral Hennings.  "It might actually be a good thing that they got a bunch of battered ships back.  They're going to have to divert resources to repairing them, or else they're going to have to take the time to strip them down and use them as resources to build replacements.  It's like the shift in ammunition types during the latter half of the 20th Century, back on Earth...prevailing military doctrine had been that it was the intended function to try and kill enemy soldiers with every shot...until someone realized that if you wounded them, instead of killing them, you rendered one additional soldier useless on the battlefield because someone had to treat the wounded guy, or clear him from the combat zone, so armies moved away from using larger calibers, except as specialty weapons, going to smaller rounds that were lighter...soldiers could carry more ammo, a battle could be won by overwhelming the enemy with wounded troops, instead of dead.  Right now, the Creshians and Largrans have to decide whether to keep working on the new ships they had under construction, or stop and repair the old ones.  They also have to decide whether to break up the crews of those new ships to replenish crew complements of the damaged ones."

He snorted softly, adding, "Yeah, we may have to fight them twice...but with a bunch of green crewmembers aboard, or significant portions of their crew who aren't accustomed to working together, the odds that they'll survive a second battle get slender in a big hurry."

He looked over at Admiral Hack.  "Any word on whether that rebellion within the Vampic aristocracy ever made it past sending out a rallying cry?"  He sounded skeptical of the chances...but if it had happened, Vampic forces would be in a far more compromised status when the fleet arrived.