RPG: FTL

[Alex Humva]

OOC
She is, Colonel just told Souper to tag along and lend a psionic hand.

 

Post will have to wait until later tonight, I'm afraid, off to finals. Then I'll get the medbay stuff going.

 

Also I'd think that they were already on the move so eh I think if Nicole stopped suddenly Ashley and Souper would continue on anyways, elevator's clearly visible.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Engineer Alexandra Humva

[Xomeron]

IC:

 

Can had followed after the colonel and the major, mostly silently. His mind was divided, and a significant portion of it was given up to wondering if he should transfer off the ship. This would probably be his last chance to do so. There were two inhibitions that kept him from committing to it. The first was the sense of duty that had been drilled into Can since the academy; the second was at once more complex, more typical, and more pink.

[Shadowhawk]

IC: [ Wulf Kharon ] - UFS Kestrel / Deck 3 / Mess hall

Wulf's brief conversation with Kelezaag was cut abruptly short as the intercoms crackled noisily to life, broadcasting Ojeda's precise, militaristic voice across the entire interior of the Kestrel.

"All crew, this is the Colonel. We are docking with the Brasilia; you're welcome to get some R&R aboard it, but we will go as one large group. Me and the Lt. Colonel will be attending a command meeting, the rest of you, stick with the Majors. Non-command personnel, that includes you too.

...

"Well. That was... unexpected, but I'm not complaining about a change of scenery. Guess we'd better go provide heavy support in case of heated crew rivalries, eh?"

The muscular ex-pirate rose to his feet, expertly lobbing his empty soda bottle cleanly into the mess hall garbage can from a distance of over thirty feet. His voice was offhand, vaguely amused; the sudden wolfish glitter in his eyes was anything but.

"I could use a good brawl. It's been a while."

[Constructelf]

IC Geburah

"I guess this is the stop we have in civilized human space," the Zoltan quipped to himself. Gathering his belongings in a bag, he headed out in the direction of the larger ship. Briskly walking (or floating, however Zoltan move around), he followed the Colenol's orders to the letter and soon located the COs. He was never, EVER going to make the mistake he made at the Space Station ever again. Never. But on off chance he did, or if other trouble cane along, two stun pistols and a plasma pistol were holstered on his vest. It was an old Terran saying: speak softly, and carry a big stick.

 

IC Vincent

"If only our whole crew had such good aim." With minimal mechanical repairs to make that were within his capabilities as a lone agent, Vincent had been attending to his secondary job-janitorial duties-before the Colonel's voice came over the intercom. Shrugging indifferently, he tied up the garbage bag, threw it over his shoulder, and headed in the direction of the Brasilia, hoping that he could find a dumpster in route.

Edited May 7, 2014 by A Magus With Class

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

Through the entire transfer, and re-transfer, of coffee, William had ben largely quiet. He took a sip of his own coffee as Chastain marched out of the room, pausing only long enough to take a sip of his own, aand pretend to look at his watch expectantly. Moments later, his superior re-entered the room, heard his quip, and took back her beverage. He took another sip as she marched back out, waiting to see if she returned.

 

Moments crept by. Then a minute.

 

"Well, she's gone. Apparently, we're permitted to go over for R&R, but I'm not allowed to get excited over the weapons. It's like Christmas, except the presents are all in glass cases with "do not touch" written in big letters. And I have a babysitter." Another pause, another sip as the Major pretended to look Estelle up and down critically.

 

"Well, could be worse. I've been told I'm well behaved. And, as you've probably noticed, the Lt. Colonel's fears are ill-placed. I'm nowhere neaar that charming." A pause. "Great coffee, by the way."

[Eevee]

IC: Estelle

 

"Babysitter? I would've gone for something more like partner in crime." She said with a wink before a loud ding! came from the oven.

 

"They're done!" She announced proudly as she hurried to bring the pastries out of the oven, setting them on a hot plate and letting the sweet aroma fill the mess hall.

 

"So Will," she said as she popped her head out of the kitchen, two Krapfen on a plate. "What do you say we eat these and then to see what trouble we can get into on our fellow federation vessel?"

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"I'm in favor. Maybe I'll get to ogle the Brasilia's weapons at a distance." The Major quipped, taking another sip of his coffee, and reaching out to claim one of the baked goods. "At the very least I can have a chuckle at the lower-ranked officers over there, torn between proper decorum and chuckling at the Kestrel."

[Eevee]

IC: Estelle

 

"Yes... I could use a good laugh." She said with a tired smile, Spot once again nuzzling Will to continue with the petting.

 

"He isn't bothering you, is he?"

[Atton Rand]

IC: Nicole followed her companions into the lift, she took a deep breath as the door closed.

 

It was dark, the rain poured hard. The sounds of explosions could be heard in the distance. The sounds of men and women screaming filled the air. Fire and smoke filled the forests around them. Private Talvert stood at his post, paralyzed with fear. "They're coming," was the report they had heard. All of them knew who that meant.

 

Nicole was in the medbay. There were only a few other doctors around. She was prepared to deal with casualties, but not of the sorts they were to face in the coming hours. Nicole was surprised when she was approached by her friend, a tall, raven-haired young soldier. The two of them quickly hugged, and the raven-haired girl smiled.

 

"I don't know if you've heard," the girl said. "We're taking heavy losses. It's only a matter of time now before the Mantis get to us."

 

"I know," replied Nicole. "We'll have to hold them off, then. Won't we, Irina?"

 

Irina smiled, but that faded. "I'm not sure what chance we have." She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small round locket and handing it to Nicole. "If something happens to me, I want you to keep that."

 

Nicole opened the locket, finding two pictures inside, one of herself, and the other of Irina. "Nothing's going to happen," Nicole replied. "You'll be fine."

 

"I hope so," replied Irina. She approached Nicole with some unease, and the two women embraced.They squeezed each other tightly. The two of them began to face each other, their lips about to meet when suddenly they heard a voice from nearby. "Private Narys!"

 

Irina turned to see an officer approach. "Private Narys, why aren't you at your post?"

 

"Sorry," Irina replied. She turned and walked out of the room. Nicole could only stare at the locket as her friend left.

 

OOC: I couldn't find any solid information on Gaia, so I had to guess. Hopefully it doesn't turn out I'm wrong and it was actually a desert planet or something.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Spot? No, he's fine." The Weapons Officer set his mug down to free a hand, using it to pet the dog while he took a bite of one of the Krapfen with the other. A sip of coffee quickly followed, and he smiled slightly. "Those are quite good. Nice work, Walker."

[Eevee]

IC: Estelle

 

"... When we are alone you can call me Estelle." She said softly before nibbling on her Krapfen. "Thank you. I'm glad you like them! You know, they were the first things I learned to bake."

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Devas)

Devas was alone with his thoughts, more and more, these past few years, he’d grown accustomed to such a state. Lately, he had begun to enjoy it. Loneliness, some would hold, bred depression and an increasing sense of isolation. Devas was observing quite the opposite, everything about this ship wore on him, recent actions only giving him proper events proper to rally his dislike around. He found these days, he was happiest and most content when he was alone his memories without the self-serving hypocrisy and degenerate ways so many of his ‘fellow’ crew sported. He had not quite realized how far they had fallen however, that even the ideals to which their government held themselves were considered things to be cast aside if they grew…inconvenient. Rather than see justice served, they fumbled and dithered and took half measures.

There was a saying on Vendar about governments that did such things, though its origin was lost. “It is not the enactment, but the observance of laws, that creates the character of a nation.” A nation could prattle on about freedom, democracy, equality or whatever the latest notion was until it collapsed from lack of oxygen. But if said nation did not hold to true to the ideals it preached, then it, and its values, were effectively worthless. For the nation it would not defend them when it really mattered, but leave them bleeding and dying on the battlefield to save itself. Oh, he knew what the others thought of the ideals of the Imperium. He heard the whispers, saw the private judgment in their eyes when they spied on the symbol he sported. He did not care. For the Imperium had already proven its willingness to die a thousand times over for its ideals, they had proven when it when they had first rose against their captors with nothing but tooth and claw.

So he would stay here, in the engine room. Companionship was a cold, empty thing when those who offered it had stabbed their laws and ideals in the back for mere convenience.

OOC: Unneeded disclaimer, Devas, not me etc etc.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Basilisk

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Well, in fhat case, I suppose it wouldn't strain the bounds of professionalism for you to call me William." He replied, scratching Spot behind the ear while he took another bite. "You seem to have had good practice at these."

 

"So. Ever been on a Capital-class battleship?"

Edited May 8, 2014 by Simon the Digger

[avmatoran]

OOC:
Digger, Elsa, can I join you?

IC:
Gaven wandered into the mess hall, trying to find someone to go onto the ship with when he heard a man ask, "Ever been on a Capital-class battleship?"

 

"If you two are visiting the ship, may I tag along? I'm wanting to get off this ship for a time, I imagine I'll see enough of it soon."

[Eevee]

IC: Major Estelle Walker

 

"Once... I got to your one during training. But... It's been a while." She said with a smile, her cheeks slightly red from his compliment.

 

"Well, the Colonel did say that personal had to stay with us.. So yes, you may tag along with Major Daniels and myself."

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

As they entered the elevator, Ashley started feeling a little nervous. The little medbay they had on the Kestrel was one thing, but Brasilia's medbay had to be hugeeee for a ship of it's size, more like a hospital. Hospitals could be rather intimidating, especially when you were a patient.

[Alex Humva]

OOC

Since I feel like it'd be nice to have a canon version, of at least parts of it.

 

IC [in the not-so-distant past]

 

"Luckiest dudes in the Institute," quipped Pvt. Yrue. "Stationed on Gaia, in its capital? Got the sights, women, and food, what more could you ask for?"

 

"A better paycheck." His companion was reclining back in his chair, eyes closed and trying to sleep. "Maybe a more exciting job."

 

"Radar monitoring isn't so bad, no one ever checks up on us, could bring some locals in here and no one would ever know."

 

"Meanwhile some freighter would be waiting in orbit... speak of the devil, there's one now." A blip of moderate size had appeared on the screen, broadcasting no ID. "D*** cargo ships, never have their transponders turned on. Unidentified craft, please transmit your identification code."

 

Static came in response.

 

"Unidentified craft, please transmit your identification code."

 

A hissing noise, followed by an ungodly sound from the computer as the screen filled with hundreds of tiny blips. "The royal h***?" The man pulled up a more detailed scan, while Yrue wheeled over and looked at the screen.

 

"Those blips... I'm counting at least five objects five kilometers in length. What sort of ship is that, a Zoltan supercruiser?"

 

"Oh gods." His companion went pale. "The orbital array is picking up their transmissions... it's a Mantis fleet!" The screen went red, filled with noise. "They're jamming the radar!"

 

Yrue seized a phone, pulling it up and looking out the window, into the sky. "Command, command? This is relay Alpha 5 7 9. We have confirmation of a hostile fleet in orbit, Mantis. Orders command?"

 

"Stand-by, confirming." The seconds were a dreadful wait. "Confirmed; get to your unit and begin evacuation procedures."

 

Thunder ripped through the clear blue sky, even as the sun began to darken. Seconds later, crashes could be heard, hundreds, thousands of impacts. One came down right on the building, ripping through the structure and sending a lethal bolt of steel through Yrue's companion. The man himself ducked out of the way, finding himself covered in dust and debris. Coughing, he pushed his way up, pulling out his sidearm, then suddenly petrified by insectoid chittering. Three Mantis were in the structure, and they all picked up his scent. Panicked, his gun dropped, and he made a dash for the window. Throwing himself out of it, Yrue hit the ground hard on his shoulder, but he ignored the pain and started running. All he could do now was run; he quickly realized, though, that there was no where to run. Pods were all over the city. Mantis had begun to swarm. Gaia, Terra's sister in the stars, was being invaded, and he was at ground zero.

 

He really wished he had his gun.

 

[One week later]

 

"Status!" Colonel Wakahisa was cradling a fallen soldier, shooting stray Mantis as they appeared over the hill. "Someone give me the status of that dropship!"

 

"Five minutes, sir!" Someone yelled.

 

"In five minutes they've not going have bones to rescue!" Gritting her teeth, she laid the wounded soldier down carefully, then pulled her assault rifle out, clicking in a new magazine. "How are we on the heavy emplacement?"

 

"I've got a few bursts left Colonel." The major manning the turret was obviously on the edge of life, black nanite goo covering every part of her while her eyes wandered. The fact that she was manning the emplacement said leaps and bounds about their situation. "Not enough to hold off the next wave."

 

"Artillery status?"

 

"Got one fragmentation crystal left sir." The private in charge was staring intently at his tablet. "I'm trying to make it count but... the seismic sensors are estimating at least five thousand this wave."

 

"Seems the Mantis were busy in their hiveship; I hope they had some fun before the fleet arrives to blast them to h***." The Colonel gave a cold smile, looking back to the hill, dust beginning to form. "We've got four minutes thirty seconds folks, and I reckon about a minute of ammunition. When you can see the mist of their breath, you shoot; let's try and make a wall out of their dead carcasses."

 

"We're not going make it, are we sir?" A corporal whispered.

 

"When they get over their festered comrades," the Colonel continued, "we pull out our swords and we begin dicing them. Remember, these are nymphs, their necks haven't grown plating yet. One good slice and they're gone."

 

"Sir I don't wanna be eaten," a disheartened private mumbled.

 

"Well then, private, pull out your sword and cut down every bug that comes your way and maybe they'll increase your pay grade. Now's not the time to start worrying about getting eaten alive, now's the time to start thinking about how comfy that dropship seat is going feel."

 

A few moments later, the Mantis had come over the hill; an endless horde of pale green nymphs, freshly born and extremely hungry. They stormed towards the human encampment, the Colonel kneeling down and looking through the iron sights. "On my mark." Everyone's hands went to the trigger. The Mantis stormed closer. "Just a bit more..." The Mantis had closed thirty minutes. "Easy, easy..." Ten meters. "Fire!"

 

Machine guns and assault rifles rattled off, crystal bullets exploding in auras of light as they tore through line after line of the Mantis, while the artillery piece filed, a fragmentation warhead blasting directly over the horde. Hundreds fell, making the Colonel's comment come true, a wall of bodies beginning to form. Too soon, though, the firing stopped, the ammo running dry. "Swords!" Wakahisa drew her sword, gleaming in the light as it sliced off three nymph heads in one strike. It descended into chaos, Mantis running into the fortifications, soldiers doing their best to fend them off. It was for naught, though; soon enough the Colonel found that she had been pushed against a wall, defending against the hundreds of Mantis swarming for her flesh. Her sword had lost any physical form, becoming a blur as she sliced head after head after head. If not for her implants, her arms would have tired long ago.

 

Time seemed to stop passing for her, locked in a meditative state as she fought her way through, surrounded but working the Mantis' disorganization to her advantage. Many had decided to feast on their dead rather than deal with this stubborn human. Somehow, she worked her way up the stairs, out of the fortification and into the open plains. Above, a dropship had begun to circle, doors opening to reveal a Gatling gun. With a tremendous roar it opened fire, the nymphs standing no chance against the hundred bullets per second that it spewed. Wakahisa took the opportunity to run as far away from the horde as she could, getting out of the field of fire. Finally, after what seemed like hours of unending roar, the dropship touched down, the Colonel making her way into it with some disjointed ease.

 

"Survivors?" The armored paratrooper asked.

 

"One."

 

[Two weeks later]

 

"And so the Lord looked upon creation and said, 'Gee, I wonder if I forgot something. Oh right, I made murderous sapient insects that will one day try to murder humanity. I wonder if I should do something about that.'" By now, the bridge crew of the Berlin had learned to put up with General Talos' quips, and maybe even start deriving the sick sense of humor he got from them. An airman brought him a tablet, which he looked at for a moment before throwing it across the room. "Five million! Five million colonists, dead within the day. Fifty seven million dead in total, barely a hundred thousand escaping. Meanwhile the Mantis just bred out half a billion, using our people as food. What's the status on the fleet barrage?"

 

"Primed and ready for your order, sir."

 

"God rest the souls of the survivors down there. He's got a better place for them than this." The man closed his eyes, thought for a moment, then came back to reality. "Open fire."

 

The combined force of the Sixth Fleet, which had by now encircled the planet in a variety of LPOs, began to rain down on the lush world. Missiles carrying flammable goo, jokingly called space napalm by its users, broke through the atmosphere and began to disperse it across the land, while railgun shots rained down on the major Mantis population centers. Beam weapons cut swaths of land and caught the planet ablaze. It lasted for hours, until the final Mantis lifesign died out.

 

"Report."

 

"Two continents glassed sir. No Mantis detected on the third."

 

"Lifesigns in general?"

 

"Five hundred and thirty humans, three Engi."

 

"Send crews down, see if we can pick them up now." Talos turned and began walking out of the bridge. "Get a bottle of whiskey sent to my office and don't disturb me for the next week."

Edited May 8, 2014 by Engineer Alexandra Humva

[Atton Rand]

IC: Nicole held back as the others began to step into the hospital. She could only stare with a mix of uncertainty and fear as they entered. She tried to go in, but for her it seemed impossible.

 

 

The casualties were mounting higher than anyone had seen before. More and more soldiers were brought in wounded, too many to handle. Private Talvert was still crouched over his fallen comrade, the man whom Nicole had been unable to help after he was dragged in. Orderlies were running around trying to determine which patients were in immediate need of help.

 

Nicole was in the operating room when a new patient was brought in. It was as soon as the patient was put on the table that Nicole recognized her face. "Irina?"

 

"Nicole," the patient replied. She had a large wound in her chest. Her face was bruised and scarred, her eyes barely open.

 

"Come on, Irina, you'll be okay."

 

"Nicole," she said. "I... I... love you."

 

"I love you too, Irina," Nicole replied. "Come on, I'm going to get you out of this."

 

Another doctor, Millbridge, arrived with anesthetics. Nicole examined the wound as soon as Irina was unconscious. "We got a collapsed lung, massive internal bleeding," Dr. Millbridge shouted, standing across the table from Nicole. The two of them were hastily working to contain it. The bodies were coming in. Orderlies were bringing in more wounded soldiers.

 

"Come on," Nicole muttered to herself. By this point Irina had been hooked up to a small tablet held up on a stand. Her life signs were fading. Nicole could only watch as the lines became flat one by one.

 

"Alright," Millbridge said reluctantly. "We're going to have to call this one. Private Irina Narys, died 1800 hours-"

 

"NO!" Nicole shouted. "No, Irina. You can't die on me now. Please! Irina."

 

"Nicole."

 

Nicole began to pound in vein on Irina's chest. "Come on, please! Irina, I love you. Come back! COME BACK!" Her eyes began to swell up with tears. There was no pulse from Irina. She wasn't breathing. Nicole grabbed an oxygen mask and promptly tried to pump it into her mouth without success. "YOU CAN DO THIS, IRINA! STAY WITH ME!"

 

"SHE'S DEAD!" Millbridge shouted, but Nicole was in no position to listen to him. A few more futile efforts were made before Nicole collapsed to her knees and began to cry.

 

"Nicole," Millbridge said, approaching her nervously.

 

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Nicole shouted. She lay down on the floor, continuing to cry.

 

Millbridge wanted to stay for longer, but the casualties were piling up. He ran towards the next wounded patient. Two of the orderlies came along, dragging Nicole to her feet. She fought against them, kicking and screaming as she was pulled out of the hospital. She could only watch as a nurse approached Irina's body, placing a sheet over her before two more orderlies came to remove the body.

 

She never touched another patient during that battle. From that point on nobody could get her anywhere near the emergency room. She barely talked to anyone. All she could do when she was finally put down was open that locket and stare at the picture of Irina within.

 

OOC: It seems Humva surprised me by writing his more detailed account while I was preparing this one, but hopefully this smaller piece of the action (he didn't cover much of the medical side of the battle) should be a powerful enough read.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Atton Rand

[The Mugbearer]

IC: Andromeda

 

As everybody left Andromeda sitting alone over the cards dropped on the floor, she emulated a deep sigh as a sign of irritation. She was about to explode and fry that doctor Nicole, but their Colonel saved the day by quickly entering, dispersing orders left and right and then quickly leaving the place.

Five minutes later she stood and hovered out of the medbay. Andromeda decided that it would be better to wander around the Kestrel to satisfy her interest in this vessel that itched all this time on the back of her mind. Eventually she got to the door with sings that told her that this is a "mess hall". The door swooshed open before her and blue Zoltan entered the room. She didn't noticed any people yet because she was too busy looking around.

Edited May 8, 2014 by The Mugbearer

[Atton Rand]

IC: Nicole backed into the elevator. Up until now she had managed, working in much smaller environments and mostly with patients who either were not seriously hurt or simply required observation. Here she could see the doctors and nurses moving about. Patients were lying in their beds with various injuries. She even saw a patient being covered in a sheet. She reached for that locket of hers and stared at it, the image of Irina.

 

She was not even sure if anyone would notice her absence. As soon as the slug and the cat-woman had gained some distance, Nicole pushed a button on the lift, and the doors closed in front of her. She breathed a sigh of relief, though she did not know where she would go instead.

[Alex Humva]

IC [Colonel Ojeda]

 

It was a lengthy walk to the conference room elevator, the cadet leading the two command officers through the halls, passing a trolley at one point delivering food to one of the mess halls; two bagels find themselves mysteriously vanished. The elevator ride was long, going to the very top of the vessel, though it arrived soon enough for Ojeda to stash her bagel under her coat. There sat General Paul, three Colonels, and their respective Lieutenant Colonels, the command crew of this titanic vessel. The table was a shallow cresent in shape, allowing them all to direct their attention to the center without being too curved. On the wall behind them, the displays showed the commanding officers of the Washington D.C., Ojeda recognizing the D.C.'s commander at General Wakahisa. Seemed the woman had earned a promotion after the invasion.

 

"Colonel Ojeda, Lieutenant Colonel Chastain." General Paul greeted them, motioning them forward to the crescent while the cadet slinked off. "I have informed General Wakahisa of the situation with the Mantis; she will be deploying a portion of fleet to search the area. I and my command staff are curious, though; your ship is not on our records, though your reputation proceeds you as a Colonel. Nor do you seem to have a fleet assignment. What is the nature of your mission?"

 

"Supply and information run, sir. Zoltan homeworlds."

 

"A well-armed ship for supplies and information."

 

"You never know what you're going find out there, General."

 

"What sort of supplies and information?"

 

"Classified, sir."

 

"Nothing is classified for a three star General, Colonel."

 

"That information has been sealed by the orders of the Terran Council, sir. I have the paperwork to back it up."

 

"Transmit the copies when you have the chance. Something else of concern is your crew; my crew officer will explain."

 

The Colonel in charge spoke up. "I used the time it took for you to get her to do a bit of digging, and the entire situation is... strange. You have alien crew members, with officer commissions? Even for a Federation vessel, you ultimately answer to the Confederacy." He glanced up at Skinter. "For instance, our records show that this man here, Skinter, is a captain, but his pips suggest First Lieutenant. Did he forget his rank in the morning, or has something happened?"

 

"A recent incident led to the command staff unanimously agreeing that Skinter was not fit for his position, and so was demoted."

 

"What was this 'incident'?"

 

"Lt. Skinter improperly handled a slaver situation and was found to be on comm frequencies outside of his rank."

 

"Was anyone killed or injured as a result of this improper handling?"

 

"No sir."

 

"Then I am at a loss to see why Lt. Skinter received a demotion, rather than, say, a month's time scrubbing bulkheads."

 

"I made the decision I felt proper for the ship, sir. In addition, I feel you are being overly confrontational: I would like to know why."

 

"Because I don't like the feeling I get from all of this. You are a Federation vessel with a Confederate/xeno crew, many of whom have large portions of their reports censored. You are flying a ship of which no records besides its commissioning exist, with a false League transponder. Our sensors have also detected a blacked out area in your cargo bay, probably this ever-so-secret cargo of yours. Why would we not be informed of a mission apparently so important they send war heroes and unknowns to complete?"

 

"Perhaps because you're fifty lightyears from Terra, and they don't like to pay the shipping bills involved."

 

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated Colonel. I'll be reviewing your crew closely, and I will send inspectors to look at your cargo."

 

"You can look at the crates all you'd like, I just wouldn't suggest opening them." The Colonel turned to General Paul. "General, is there anything else you'd like?"

 

"No, I think I need to discuss some matters with Wakahisa. Dismissed, except for Lt. Skinter, my crew officer would like to speak with him in private."

 

Retreating to the elevator, the Colonel exhaled, looking to Chastain with a look that conveyed... impatience of a sort.

 

"Man looked like he hasn't spent a day off of this battleship since he graduated the Academy. Sees something suspicious and thinks he can override the bloody Council to make sure there isn't anything that can offend his ego in those crates."

[Atton Rand]

OOC: I can't believe I'm about to say this, but am I the only one who finds it curious that every character I've seen with the title of "Colonel" is a woman. I get the sense that gender equality is supposed to exist but given how many I've seen so far I almost start to wonder if male colonels even exist in this universe.

 

IC: Nicole leaned nervously against the wall. She had no idea where she was going, just as long as it got her away from the hospital. As soon as the door opened she stepped out, finding herself in a corridor occupied by various men and women, most of them enlisted, while as a medic she was an officer by default. That did not matter to Nicole, having loved a soldier herself, and right now she probably would have addressed either more or less the same way.

 

She did draw attention from the people who were present. At one point she approached one door only to see the female cadet from earlier. Hastily she darted to the side, standing in the corner between the wall and the doorframe and remaining quiet. She saw the cadet walk by, not noticing, followed by the two officers Nicole had initially accompanied into the ship. None of them noticed her watching, probably too busy making their way to something important she wouldn't have wanted to be involved with anyway.

 

The one thing Nicole couldn't help noticing was a bagel cart passing by, and the officers both reaching out and stealing a bagel, without being noticed by the cook driving the cart. She knew this was a silly thing to get worked up over but still wondered if they were in the right to do that.

 

The man moving the cart turned around the corner and entered through the doorframe. He turned towards Nicole with some surprise. "Hello," he said.

 

"Hi," Nicole muttered shyly, trying to be quiet in case the other two officers were still within ear's reach, though she knew they probably were not.

 

"I'm sorry, I don't normally see officers around here. Can I get you anything?

 

"Would it be an inconvenience."

 

"Not at all," replied the man. "We usually have some stuff left over anyway. I have-"

 

At that moment, the man began to look at the food he had in the cart. "Darn it" he muttered.

 

"What's wrong?" Asked Nicole.

 

"I had some fresh bagels in here for everyone. I only had a few and two of them are missing."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"I checked, I started with five. I haven't given any out yet and already it's down to three."

 

Nicole sighed. "It was those officers you just passed."

 

"What?" The man asked.

 

"Those two officers from the Kesler heading towards the command room. They picked them off as they passed by you."

 

"DARN IT!" The man shouted. "We have a very limited supply of these things and I can only get so many to the enlisted aboard. I'm going to file a complaint to my boss about this."

 

With that, the man dropped his cart and ran off. Nicole was tempted to help herself to one of the bagels, but decided to leave them. She continued to walk along the corridor until she was stopped by a young man in a uniform. "Nicole?" He asked. Nicole looked worriedly at him. He seemed familiar but she could not quite place it.

 

"Nicole Sarany, right?"

 

Nicole nodded.

 

"You don't remember me," the man replied. "Private Talvert. I was on Gaia with you."

 

Nicole tried to feign a smile, though she immediately remembered seeing him crying over his comrade's body. "I heard you were on board the Kesler now."

 

"Yeah," Nicole replied.

 

"What's going on with that exactly," Talvert asked. "There's been a lot of talk about this rendezvous. The officers aren't saying anything."

 

"To be honest," Nicole replied. "I don't know anything. I still haven't gotten over Gaia, you know, and I was still in therapy when I was suddenly pulled out and assigned to this ambassador with no explanation. Then I end up a prisoner on a slave ship and manage to escape with the ambassador, only to find myself assigned to some other crew on a mission nobody's explaining to me."

 

"To tell you the truth," Talvert replied. "I don't think any of us will get over Gaia. You know I still remember being out there from time to time, dragging Private Halderson behind me hoping that maybe I could get him some help. That reminds me, I never got a chance to say I'm sorry about Irina."

 

"So is everyone," Nicole muttered. "Everyone's telling me they're sorry about Irina, but what good is sorry. It's not like they were the ones who failed to save her and I'm certainly not hearing this from the Mantis responsible for those wounds. All I get is 'sorry', but sorry isn't going to bring her back."

 

OOC: I took an opportunity from Humva's post to add some mild comic relief, especially since a lot of my recent posts have been really dark.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Atton Rand

[Alex Humva]

OOC
Erm, I just mentioned a male Colonel, the General's crew officer? Like, right there?

[Atton Rand]

OOC

Erm, I just mentioned a male Colonel, the General's crew officer? Like, right there?

 

OOC: Ah yes, so you did. My mistake.

[Xomeron]

IC:

 

Can, having been ordered to stay, of course did so. He hadn't expected his demotion to come up, to be honest; it was universally known among the Planetary Forces that Navy crew never shaved, never washed below their collarlines, slept in their uniforms, and treated the ship's master as an absolute monarch whose declarations are absolute and final. Intellectually Can was aware that the higher-ups had oversight over shipmasters, but Can's experience mostly came from civilian pilots in the Belts, where Captains actually were absolute monarchs of their ships.

 

Realizing that he was about to be questioned, Can began reviewing what had happened to him during the slaver raid. One moment stuck out to him; Devas was a member of the Navy, but had attempted to give an order to Harken, who at the time was an enlisted member of Special Forces, but was under Can's command and thus was in the Planetary Forces chain of command, which Devas had no authority over. That had been an illegal order. It was probably too late now, but that realization should have struck Can long beforehand.

 

IC:

 

Zhanar had spent most of his time since the battle with the slavers on his computer, calculating his assets and going over the markets between the ship and their probable destination. Once he had finished, he floated onto the bridge and spoke in his odd Zoltan buzz to Daniels.

 

"Ship-Commander. Request permission to access low-level military channels for purposes of financial investment to provide for journey ahead. Non-combat channels, trade oriented. Request one-fourth of cargo-bay volume for storing of goods."

[Atton Rand]

IC: "You mind if I ask what brought you down here?" Talvert asked Nicole as they walked down the corridor. The hall was narrow, but the population seemed sparse. There was a weird sort of comfort and a feeling of safety here. "Was there an emergency in this area or something?"

 

"No," replied Nicole. "I had a patient who was going through something weird. It was one of those strange people, the ones who get animal parts grafted on them for whatever reason."

 

"Never did understand those," Talvert replied. "The cat ears are annoying."

 

"I know, right? Anyway, she was apparently going through something weird. One of the slugs on board claimed she had a man running around in her brain."

 

"How is that possible?" Talvert asked.

 

"Some convoluted experiment that is apparently too confidential for me to know," Nicole replied. "I was supposed to bring her up to the medbay here hoping that maybe they'd have better technology to deal with her."

 

"And you're not helping her now?"

 

"I think there's enough they can deal with her alone," Nicole replied. She paused, stopping in her place momentarily before she turned toward the soldier. "Alright, I handed her over to the other doctors, or at least I assume they're looking at her now. I couldn't bring myself to step into the hospital. I've been able to handle taking care of smaller injuries, bandaging up a cut or bruise or diagnosing a problem, but nothing more than that and certainly not on the scale of the hospital you have aboard here."

 

"That's alright," replied Talvert. "You did what you could. Now why don't you relax a bit. Come on, I'll take you to the mess hall."

[avmatoran]

IC:
"Thank you, Major Walker," Gaven said as he sat down on a chair, waiting for them to go aboard the Brasilia.

[Eevee]

IC: Estelle

 

"If you would like some German baked goods, I left them to cool on the counter." She said to Gaven, taking a sip of coffee. "Oh and there is coffee too."

Edited May 9, 2014 by Queen Elsa of Arendelle

[Atton Rand]

IC: Nicole followed Talvert into the mess hall. The place was small and packed tight, but only a few others were present. Unfortunately, the food had been delayed since the person delivering it had left to complain* "You're sure your crew won't object to you being here?" He asked.

 

"They said we could have R&R," Nicole replied. "Besides, my orders were just to get that pilot to the hospital. They never said anything about what was to happen when I got there."

 

"Fair enough," replied Talvert. "I just don't know how they'd react to an officer mingling with an enlisted man."

 

"I'm sure they'll understand," Nicole replied, taking a seat at one of the tables.

 

OOC: I don't know if this is going to go anywhere, but I thought it might be amusing if a top-secret important meeting was interrupted by the cook trying to court-martial some officers for stealing bagels.

 

I suppose Nicole is open for interaction right now if anyone can find their way to the enlisted mess hall on this ship.

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

Well, they'd arrived at the medbay...if you could call it that, it was more of a hospital really. It had to be big for a ship of it's size. There were so many people moving around, going wherever they needed to be, that Ashley wasn't sure who they were supposed to go see. She turned to look at Nicole...only to find that she had apparently disappeared on them.

 

"..."

 

"She's not a very good doctor is she?" If all she was going to do was just escort them here then really they hadn't needed her.

[avmatoran]

IC:
"... not going to even question the name," Gaven said as he picked up the (OOC: What exactly are they? I'm assuming a kind of bread?) bread and took a bite. "Rather soft for my tastes, but then again, most is. Other than that, not bad. Nice job," Gaven complimented. "Not a big coffee person, though."

[Zhangku]

IC: Souper Saladd, Agreeing Slug Chef

 

"Quite" said Souper as the slug shrugged. She'd been mostly unhelpful for anything mental, although that might not really be her specialty, but for a ship like the Kestrel, she should be able to multitask, instead of having only one focus. Perhaps she had gotten through based purely on her doctoral degree or something like that, but other than that, she seemed more like a glorified EMT given the recent injuries. She hadn't done any real diagnosis, the machines did that these days, so perhaps she was more akin to a battlefield medic? Who knew with these things.

 

Turning to her again, xhe stroked the hair behind Ashley's ears, "Are you feeling okay? The voice bothering you at all?"

[Snelly]

IC: Ashley

 

Woaahhhhhh.... The unexpected stroke behind her ears felt really nice, she somehow resisted the urge to start purring in order to answer Souper's question.

 

"Yeah, I'm feeling okay...it's still a bit strange to have all these extra memories, but I'm getting used to it." She paused, looking like she was thinking intently for a moment. "Dorian has been completely silent since we came on this ship...it's almost like he isn't there anymore."

[Eevee]

OOC: for reference, these are Krapfen: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_(doughnut)

 

IC: Estelle

 

"Thank you. I've been baking them my whole life." She replied, watching him a bit curiously at his words. At least he wasn't a kiss *** and swooning over the baked goods because she was a high ranking officer on the ship.

[Zhangku]

IC: Souper Saladd

 

Nodding in agreement and understanding, the slug increased the amount of scratching in order to elicit the best possible response from her, since it seemed that Ashley was barely stopping herself from making a verbal response to their actions. Despite this, however, Souper was still very worried. The slug had already noted the agent's absence, so perhaps he really WAS gone, at least for now. Perhaps the location of where they were was the reason for the sudden change, did the Agent know where they were warping ahead of time, or did the process of warping suddenly yank the agent out of her mind? Who would know? Either way, Ashley's safety was the highest priority, "That's good to hear. Perhaps he is gone for good."

[avmatoran]

OOC:
I imagine when you're a rock, you tend to like your food crunchy and crispy.

 

IC
"Hm. So you've had lots of practice baking them? Okay. Do you think, next time you make a batch, you could try to get some really crunchy?" Gaven asked politely.

[Atton Rand]

"She's not a very good doctor is she?" If all she was going to do was just escort them here then really they hadn't needed her.

 

OOC: You think Nicole's bad? Maybe I ought to get Avmatoran to tell you all about Standard Agent Trigger, but the short version was he spent most of his time being a 4+ figure* and insulting everyone around him and then tried to ditch his partners during one of the most crucial moments in the RPG. It got to the point where his sidekick Montoya became incredibly popular just because he was a foil to Trigger.

 

IC: "It's probably for the better anyway," Nicole said, now holding a bottle of beer. Talvert was across from her with his own bottle. "I don't think they'll miss me."

 

"Why? What happened."

 

"Well, I was taking care of this other person, a Vendarian,"

 

"Ah yes," Talvert said. "Very hard to work with."

 

"I was starting to get through to her when suddenly we went into a massive jump. Meanwhile the patient with the man in her head that I told you about. She's across the room playing some card game; poker, cribbage, Texes Hold 'Em, Crazy Eights, I don't know. They were having fun and then I got orders to take her to the airlock to get her to the hospital. When I told her they were all too distracted."

 

"I can see why that might be frustrating."

 

"That's just it," Nicole replied. "I got angry, the sort of feeling I haven't had in a long time, and I ended up yanking the cards out of my own patient's hand and scattering them around."

 

"What?"

 

"I don't know," Nicole replied. "I was just angry. I lost control over myself."

 

 

OOC:

 

*Since certain words can't be used on the forum, and the RPG was LEGO-based, we made a running joke out of coming up with phrases that would sound like curses to LEGO people. "4+ Figure" is a derogatory term derived from an infamous series of themes known for their oversized and uncustomizable minifigures. Other psuedo-cusswords we came up with include the use of "Megabloks" and "Znap".

Edited May 9, 2014 by Atton Rand

[Eevee]

OOC: Just to let you know, she wasn't angry or anything!

 

IC: Estelle

 

"Sorry... That's just not how you bake them. I could make you some other type of pastries. I'll find some that are meant to be crunchy." She said with a smile.

[The Mugbearer]

IC: Andromeda

She, at last, looked at those who were present. Three humans, a rockman and a mantis. At the sight of Kelezaag Andromeda felt sick inside so she hurried to hover towards Estelle and Gaven.
I wonder if this mantis the one who shot me with an acid, she thought to herself while landing on the floor and making a few rather awkward steps.
"Mind if join you, Major? It seems I have nothing else to do: medbay is empty anyway," she looked at Gaven and gave him a polite smile. "I see you made it rockman? Was your raid on captain Geiste's quarters successful?"

[avmatoran]

OOC:
Knew that, just explaining my line of thought.

 

Psst. Atton. Lemme tell you something I was told. Characters do not necessarily reflect their writers. Ashley just knows Nicole abandoned her, she doesn't know she was freaking out. That's just the limited character perspective, not the near-omniscient writer's perspective.

 

And yes, he's right. Trigger was absolutely horrible, one of those guys that really isn't even that fun to hate.

 

IC:
"Ah, that's fine. That would be nice, thank you," Gaven said, smiling back.

 

"I see you made it rockman? Was your raid on captain Geiste's quarters successful?" Andromeda asked Gaven.

 

"It was, thank you. I managed to retrieve my personal effects, including my Crystal rifle, a noble weapon I would rather have not left in the hands of slavers. And thank you for your part in freeing us, I never got to thank you earlier," Gaven said.