Episode 18 - The 4th's 3rd Trip To 2nd [4th]

[wonton bob]

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

The laughter that filled the mess came as a bolt of lightening to Bernard. Instantly memories flooded his mind and he was transported back in time. As he looked onto the Hamburg crew, instead he saw men dressed in olive green tropical tunics. The walls of the mess had a rough dark stone surface that had been chiseled years ago. The lights that hung overhead were powered by a generator who's hum could faintly be heard nearby.

Cheers and songs of war echoed throughout the base. Beer which had been rationed now overflow in every mug. Toasts were given to the new Commander who just recently arrived in the Federation's prize possession. As everyone sat around him listening to his stories, word came that a Federation pursuit force was in the area...

“Hey, buddy. Doing okay? CO wanted me to bring you a coffee . Airmen specials he said.” Al conferred as he handed over a cup.

Bernard still stuck in time was unaware that Al approached, instead he saw a young mechanic that he knew long ago.

"Is my Dom Tropen ready? I'm volunteering." Bernard asked Al then suddenly became conscious of his surroundings. Taking the cup Bernard sips a bit, trying to cover his embarrassment he jokes around with Al.

"Hmm. This is a good cup. Our C.O. will make a good wife one day...or a secretary."

[Fritz Ashlyn]

~ 30 Minutes Later
- Side 2 -

- The Dervish -
- Bridge -

After putting distance between themselves and Quebec, the AEUG 4th squadron came to a slow stop near the edge of Side 2. Upon the completion of frantic emergency repairs, and using an ingenious towing system devised by Sager and Dr. Merkwürdigliebe, the Chuikov had been deemed barely travel-worthy and was now tethered to the Hamburg and New Yark. With a little breathing room, Capt. Abbey had ordered the fleet to stop for a quick planning session.

Abbey stood in front of his chair, arms crossed, as he studied the split-screen view on the bridge’s main display. In addition to Captains Dombrowski and Guanche and Chief Polk, a slightly nervous Lt. Stalvern from the Hamburg were all fidgeting as they waited for the meeting to begin. “Gentlemen,” Capt. Abbey said after clearing his throat, “You know how dangerous our situation is,”. Abbey’s peers nodded in gruff agreement. “Nathan, can the Chuikov make it back to Luna?” he asked, cutting straight to the point. Dombrowski shifted in his seat and frowned deeper, “I’ll run out of propellant before we get out of Hatte. You’d be better off asking Christopher and André,”.

The captain’s gaze shifted to the skipper of the New Yark. “Chris, will the New Yark be able to get back to Luna while splitting towing duty with the Hamburg?” he asked, fearing what Capt. Guanche might say. “If our calculations are correct, and the Hamburg can maintain her former speed, then we should be able to make it back to the moon with fuel to spare,” Capt. Guanche reported. Abbey sighed in relief and then remembered that didn’t guarantee the problem was solved. He turned to Lt. Stalvern and asked, “Lieutenant, can the Hamburg continue on like she has since withdrawing from Quebec?”.

Stalvern straightened up, his face reddening slightly. “Uh, yes sir… I…” he stammered, looking down at papers the captain had handed him before leaving the bridge, “We arrived at the same conclusion as Capt. Guanche. If we maintain the same speed and power we used leaving 21st Bunch we should be able to make it back,”. Abbey nodded and then looked to the fifth member of the meeting that had remained silent so far. “Sager, talk to me,” he said, bracing himself for more potential bad news. The head mechanic shook his head and grumbled, “Where do I start? We’re still trying to figure out what happened to Ian’s Rick Dias, and the rest of the fleet’s gear is a mess. Every ship has sustained at least minor combat damage, and the Chuikov is going to need extensive repairs that I can’t even begin to work on out here. Capt. Dombrowski says his tub’ll make it back to Luna, but I’ll believe it when I see it. The sooner we get on the move the better, sir.”

Abbey cursed under his breath and nodded slowly. “Thank you, chief,” he said before turning to address the entire group. “Gentlemen, set course for Amman. We’re going to make it back to Luna or die trying.”

- Ready Room 1 -

“I can’t believe there are still Federation units out here willing to attack an AEUG fleet without Titans around to prod them into doing their dirty work,” Fritz muttered as he closed his locker. The rest of the team was either lounging around or preparing to leave the ready room, all of them having changed back into normal uniforms. MacAlpin rolled his eyes and flopped down into one of the free seats. “Probably looking for any excuse to shoot at spacenoids. They don’t need Titans around for that,” he said sarcastically as he ran a hand through his dirty hair. Fritz shook his head and replied, “They must have been outsiders. Colony security is based out of the Side they’re assigned to, and these goons acted as if they didn’t care if they damaged Quebec,”. His vision hovered on Pan for a moment before he turned to Jim. “Don’t judge the entire EFSF because of them. There’s a pretty big segment of the military that’s sympathetic to our cause.”

- Hangar Workroom -

After helping Sager and his crew devise a safe way to tow the Chuikov, Dr. M had promptly returned to his “office” in the hangar with Rem. This time, instead of looking through pages of printed data, he had gone back to his own notes. After a few minutes of silent consideration, he turned to a blank page in his notebook and began to sketch more designs and subsystems. The 4th Advance Squadron had proved to be more useful than he had anticipated.

- Sick Bay -

Dr. Lekarz had just helped Sophie Coggs settle into the bed next to Jack when the gravity was restored throughout the ship. “Oof!” Sophie grunted as she fell back onto her shoulder when her full weight returned. “Ah! Be careful,” the doctor harped as he moved back to her side to help her prop herself up with a pillow. “You don’t have to tell me, doc. Just tell the ship not to make any more sudden moves,” she complained as she rested back with her arm and shoulder out of harm’s way.

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

After hearing about a spontaneous party breaking out in the mess hall, Capt. Loweno couldn’t resist the temptation to leave Stalvern in charge on the bridge while he went to check it out. As soon as he stepped through the doors a laughing crew member shoved a cup of coffee into his hand. “Thanks,” Loweno said with a smile, and the crewman went white as a sheet when he realized the new arrival was the captain. He stood up straight at attention and bellowed, “Captain on deck!!”. Loweno raised his hands to prevent the party from coming to a standstill, almost spilling hot coffee on himself in the process. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! As you were, everyone!”.

[hellbore]

-Hamburg-
-Mess Hall-

As the Captain entered the Mess, Trask was one of those that froze mid-sentence as he waited for the captain's reaction. Seeing that Loweno wanted in, Trask turned back to Emington.

"Say, Emington," he said, "What made you join the AEUG anyway?" He was always interested in the stories of others and most stories about AEUGers were pretty good.

[Lans]

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

- Alfred

"Is my Dom Tropen ready? I'm volunteering." Al couldn't catch the tone and almost dismiss it, thinking that probably Bernard was murmuring about something. But he heard the "Dom Tropen" quite clearly. Those two words are too unique to be missed within earshot. Before Al could think of something, Bernard took a sip on the coffee and said, "Hmm. This is a good cup. Our C.O. will make a good wife one day...or a secretary."

Al couldn't help but to grin, showing his white teeth that haven't been bleached by coffee. The image of his CO wearing an apron while serving coffee and dishes flashed in his head. Still, it wasn’t enough to draw Al from thinking about a particular Principality’s MS.

And then he heard someone shouted at the mess hall entrance. Al stands up and try to look at the direction of the speaker. People murmuring slowly about the captain and the crowd froze into a halt. Before the room turn into a dead silence, Capt. Loweno calmly addressed the situation. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! As you were, everyone!”

Getting the green light, once again the crowd burst into a cheerful situation. Soon, it started to feel even merrier then before that now the captain had joined the ranks. Al sat down in his chair, facing Bernard and give a smile about what just happened. “Ah, you said something earlier? Dom Tropen or something. Have you seen one during OYW?”

He sipped his coffee, tasted the harsh sweet liquor on it and suddenly feeling a bit nostalgic. “You know, I’ve seen one when I was a kid. Not a Dom, it’s one of the green Zaku, probably the latest model. The thing looks like a green giant. The looks of it, man… a real different from our Nemo, more frightening I guess. How bout you, have you seen one of those Zeke’s?

- Emington

"Say, Emington. What made you join the AEUG anyway?" Emington looked up to the speaker LtJG Adam just in front of him. Just as everyone else, Randy was petrified for a moment when Loweno popped up at their little party. He was glad when the captain made it clear that he was not against it. Still he made a mental note to explain this properly and make it clear that he’ll take responsibility for this conduct, but that’s tomorrow’s matter.

Randy thought about what Adam had asked for a while, measuring on how much he’ll tell Adam about his past now that he’s in AEUG. “Well..,” he jerked back to his seat rather comfortably before began to talk, “I was one of the many volunteers back then in OYW, enlisted just to settle the score up with the principality. Mind you, I lost my birth place and my entire home before Loum.” Randy sighed and playing his hand to his coffee cup before continue, “We who lived in space also fought the principality but what do we get in the end. 0083 incident and we’re all treated like trash."

"My family can live with discriminations and stupid regulations, but I had enough after hearing more and more blood being shed after some puny mistake. Some people I helped scouts for AEUG personnel, they mentioned MS pilot but I say no. That was before some bastards in their black and red uniform physically harassed some folks in my community. I took the offer and voila here I am, kicking the tyrant butt and trying to make world a better place. So, what's your story Lieutenant?”

(( Emington’s usage of “Lieutenant” is more like a habit and not because of military formality ))

[Wedge14]

-Dervish-
- Ready Room 1 -

Pan was half listening to Jim and Fritz go on about the Titans and the Federation. He was more interested in the giant cup of whiskey he had painstakingly filled and attached a straw into it he had placed in his locker.

He took a big sip from it and interjected, his voice raspier then usual due to the large whiskey intake.

"They might be sympathetic to our cause, but they still won't get off their candy coated butts and give us a hand." He said closing his locker with a clang. Pans locker was still in disrepair from his last episode and just swung back open, much to Pan's dismay.

He frowned, either at the broken locker or their current situation it was rather unclear.

"We should have captured those ships today." He mumbled as he left the room heading toward's the lounge with the intent of getting pretty tanked.

[wonton bob]

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

Staring at his cup, Bernard started to drift back into deep thought. Even the Captain's appearance went unnoticed, only the laughter that followed permeated into his mind. New laughter that will replace the old. Never again will he hear his old comrades enjoy life. This angers him to the point of wishing misery on everyone.

It was Al's chicklet yielding grin that snapped Bernard's train of thought.

“Ah, you said something earlier? Dom Tropen or something. Have you seen one during OYW?” Al asked.

kid, if you only knew..

Bernard debated whether to talk about the past. The last person he spoke to about it was Lt. Barrique. It did help some, but it also brought back painful memories long forgotten.

“You know, I’ve seen one when I was a kid. Not a Dom, it’s one of the green Zaku, probably the latest model. The thing looks like a green giant. The looks of it, man… a real different from our Nemo, more frightening I guess. How bout you, have you seen one of those Zeke’s?" Al's curiosity growing more by the minute.

Bernard had gathered that the kid was too young to have fought in the OYW. Bernard might have been "acting" XO since Norman died but he wasn't given access to any files so Bernard took a guess on Al's age.

"I had my training in a zaku I when I was about your age. What you're describing sounds like a MS-06f Zaku II. Yeah, it was a thick beast, but not the most agile of suits. I almost did a double take the first time I saw a Hizack."

Bernard cracks a half smile as he sips coffee. The liquor having a minor affect in his speech and in memory as he continues his story.

"You asked if I've seen a Dom Tropen during the OYW. Hell, it was the last thing I piloted in 0083." Bernard taps his shoulder -motioning to Al's zeon rank badge and asks a question he's asked many times before.

"That brings back old memories. Where did you get that anyway? Was your pop in the service?"

[hellbore]

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

Listening to Randy's story, Trask saw some similarities with his own. "I'm a One Year War vet as well. It was the Titans actions that got me into the AEUG through some old buddies. After that debacle at Jaburo, I got seconded to Anaheim, then I was assigned to this ship at Von Braun."

Undoing the collar of his uniform, he took another sip of the really quite excellent coffee. He ran a hand through his hair and laid back. The atmosphere was quite relaxing, even with the captain on deck. He could definitely get used to this.

[ScornMandark]

Dervish
- Hangar Workroom -

While Dr. M and Chief Polk devised a towing rig for the Chuikov, Rem had holed up with one of the damage data collectors and his workstation in the workroom. Tony had gotten called away to look over the rest of Team 2's suits, so Rem had decided to try to make what headway he could on the code problem. He started by reviewing the existing code, as he had only really looked at the output from the program before, he hadn't been involved in designing the collection algorithms. Fortunately, the code was pretty well commented and he was able to get through the basics of it pretty quickly.

The algorithm was relatively straightforward, really. The various sensors remained in a passive collection mode, wherein the sensors checked ambient against a predetermined baseline. As long as the ambient conditions fell within an approved range of baseline, the sensors didn't send data to the collectors. No need to overwhelm the system with "All is well" data.

When a sensor detected a change outside of norm, it sent a red flag bit to the collector, which goes into recording mode. At the same time, the colelctor sends a red flag bit to the next level up aggregator, which are situated based on physical subassemblies in the MS. The subassembly aggregators then send up a red flag bit while going into recording mode, etc. etc. up to the black box, which time stamps the data collectors and goes into recording mode itself.

Rem tapped his teeth with his pen while he read through the notes and commented lines of code, waving vaguely at Dr. M as he came back into the workroom. He had filled a page in his notebook with notes and a rough software flowchart. It translated roughly into a logic state diagram, with a few constant-running functions in the background. Ok, step one done. He drained his coffee, absently wondering when his coffee had gone cold.

He got up and refilled his cup from the coffee machine in the hangar deck, nodding to Chief Polk and some of the other mechanics who were taking a short break. He didn't notice Tony around, but the hangar was still pretty busy.

"Hey Chief...I was talking with Tony about the damage to Ian's suit, and I think I might be able to help get your damage aggregators a bit more useful. I'm going over the code in the collectors, and I'm hoping to find a communication thread tangle. That'd clear it up quick, but we'll see what turns up. Any suggestions on where to look, or what to look for? We've never really tested these things on large scale, wide-spread damage like what you guys have, so any suggestions would really help me focus in on the problem."

[Lans]

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

- Randy

Emington accompanied Adam in his table for a while. He finished his coffee and his stomach merrily reminded him that he’s already full. No more meal for today he thought. Although he’s sure that a bit of snack wouldn’t hurt. He looked into the crowd and saw Capt. Loweno. Not sure about what’s the skipper is about to do, Randy get up and wave his hand, trying to get the skipper’s attention.

“Empty table over here sir!” He shouted a bit to get pass the noise and chattering.

- Alfred

“Zaku Ms f J? Yeah, that should be it. I’m sure Bernie mentioned..”

He paused and tried to continue, “Oh, I mean he...” Images of yellow haired young man flashed in his head. A certain young man he usually saw in a brown jacket accompanied with a small boy and a nice looking young lady. A childhood memory of a certain friend. A lost friend.

Al knew he’s still in conversation but right now he’s unable to think. It’s not the pain of loosing that hurt him. He already accepted the loss years ago. Yet somehow, something doesn’t feel right. The warm from the coffee cup in his hand took him back from his own thoughts.

He sipped the coffee for a bit. The liquor on it had some impact, his head feels lighter now. Probably it is for the better he thought. It doesn’t ease the pain of whatever feeling he got, but it does take something unpleasant away from his mind.

Before he got time to think, his mouth already blurted away. “You know what? I’ve been in the cockpit of that type! Too bad it blew up along with my friend in it. Damn! The best friend I’ve got when I was a kid and he ended up died in that Zaku." His mouth almost laughed, but he press on and continued, "And he…, he died for nothing… The war ended shortly after he died. No nukes or bomb... Poor man, he should've survive the war.”

[Fritz Ashlyn]

~October 15, U.C. 0087~
~0300 C.U.T.~

- Open Space -

- The Dervish -
- Hangar -

"Hey Chief...I was talking with Tony about the damage to Ian's suit, and I think I might be able to help get your damage aggregators a bit more useful. I'm going over the code in the collectors, and I'm hoping to find a communication thread tangle. That'd clear it up quick, but we'll see what turns up. Any suggestions on where to look, or what to look for? We've never really tested these things on large scale, wide-spread damage like what you guys have, so any suggestions would really help me focus in on the problem."

Sager finished off a drink pouch as he listened to Rem’s question. He handed the trash off to one of his crew and shrugged slightly. “I know our little band of thieves has no right to complain considering the circumstances,” he said with a sly smile, “If you want, you can tinker around with Lt. David’s mobile suit. He’s in sick bay, injured. Just try to not take anything important apart that I can’t reassemble in five minutes if we get jumped on the way back to Luna,”. The chief’s vision wandered to Rem’s right, where he noticed Dr. M coaxing Fritz into their workroom. Fritz stopped his mild resistance when he noticed Sager and he mouthed the words “help me” as the doctor shuffled him on into their ‘office’ off the hangar. Sager laughed and asked Rem, “I take it you’re still hunting for pilots to interview? Looks like the doc just landed one,”.

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

Loweno waded into the crowd of reveling crew, trading handshakes and slaps on the back along the way. By the time he noticed Randy waving for him and stepped through the thickest part of the crowd, he aching back and arms felt like he just left a fistfight. He gladly plopped down across from Emington and sat his cup on the table. “Hell of a party, lieutenant,” he chuckled as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

[ScornMandark]

Rem looked around Sager as Fritz gave up and went into the office with Dr. M. He chuckled and tried to deadpan, "It should be ok, we've been working on his bedside manner. It should only hurt a little." He chuckled again and continued. "We've almost got most of the pilots' recollections, and I know the Doc is probably already planning a suite of upgrades base on their input. Nothing like first-hand accounts to really tell ya what to work on."

He glanced over at the Dias that Sager gestured to. The suit seemed like it was in decent enough shape still, which meant that most of the equipment should still be attached. "I'm glad for the assistance, chief. I shouldn't need to do much more than hook into the system and maybe take a few damage collectors offline. I'll be in the cockpit most of the time, but I can clear out as fast as the rest of 'em."

[Wedge14]

Richard Barrique rubbed his temple, a large number of complaints had come from multiple apartments about one single pilot. All of the reports came in at roughly the same time. It was astonishing how quickly Pan had gotten around.

A nurse had reported that he had sexually harassed her.The mechanic team reported numerous times he was too wasteful with resources, and not assisting in repairs in away. His team leader had complained about him showing up to only 2 of his last five shifts. And lastly Heyden had been intoxicated for roughly three days.

Barrique was rather annoyed that they had let Pan get away with this much. If he had been running things Pan would have already been in the brig or worse.

Didn't take long to find Pan either. He was waltzing around the Nurse station. A nurse in each arm, a bottle of whisky in one hand and a cigarette clinging to his fingers. The two nurses didn't look that troubled, with Pan. Something odd about the situation was Barrique recognized one of the nurses as the one who had reported pan.

Barrique broke Pan's godawful singing by clearing his throat very loudly. In a panic the nurses broke from Pan's arms and ran out of the room. It was just Pan and Barrique alone now.

"Lt. Heyden! What in god's name are you doing?"

"What god intended me to do." Pan said with a grin, glancing towards the backside of one the fleeing nurses and placing the cigarette butt between his lips.

"This ain't no pleasure cruise Pan!"

"Not with you scaring all the women folk away, why don't you just screw off, Dick."

"HEYDEN!" Shouted Barrique his temples throbbing. "You've missed your last three shifts."

Pan smirked. "How many flights you take Zeke?" Pan said with a sneer. "Must be nice, to be some dick head Zeon who thinks he can call the shots, cause he can't fly a mobile suit,". Barrique swung his arms knocking a bunch of stuff of a desk and pointing his finger right in Pan's face.

"If it was up to me you'd never fly again. Scum like you doesn't deserve to breathe."

"Then do it you Zeke sonofabitch. I've killed hundreds of your people," Pan then laughed, "Hell I've probably killed more feddies then you have." Pan said with a sadistic look as he stared down the barrel of Barrique's service pistol.

Richard held the gun tightly and steadily in two hands, eye Heyden with disgust.

"You chickenshit just pull the trigger already." Pan said before his turning head slightly.

It be too easy to cap this guy right here, thought Barrique. As he drew his hand back, he quickly pistol whipped Pan across the left sideburn. Pan rebounded in pain, drawing his own fist back in anger he shouts angrily. Landed a punishing blow right on Barriques jaw. Barrique stumbled backwards accidentally squeezing off a round into the floor. Heyden just growled lunging right after the superior officer left fist flying taking Barrique off the ground and into the floor with a sickening thud, his pistol chattered away. Pan was already ontop of him, his forearm pressed forcibly into Barrique's throat. Barrique looked up gasping for air as two blurry Pan Heyden's hovered above him. Pan took another swing brutally smashing his fist into his superior officer's nose. He was so focused on making an example out of Barrique he didn't hear the squad of MPs enter the room.

"GET OFF HIM!" Shouted one of the soldiers lowering assault rifle in Pan's face.

Pan complied standing up right on Barrique putting his whole body weight into the man's ribs and stepping off. Going to his knees and putting his hand's behind his head. The MPs had no trouble relocating Pan into the brig, while the Ship's Doctor and team of Nurses quickly attended to Barrique.

[EZero8]

Curren was bored, to say the least. Such was the case for many aftermaths for their battles. When the rush comes to an end, all that's left was nothing. It doesn't help either considering he's become the ship's black sheep; disliked by most and ignored by the rest. Selfish as he is to sulk about this, he wore out his welcome with each passing day thanks to his poor attitude. He deserved this.

It is times like these that made him wonder why he was here instead of with Karaba; at least there was something to do on Earth, and a lot more room to stretch out. Up in space, he's been confined in the cramped walls of the Dervish with people he clearly had no relation to.

As Wes continued to complain to himself, he didn't notice the several MP's who rushed by to Pan and Richard's location. Not like he'd care what was happening to other people outside of his own "predicament."

[Fritz Ashlyn]

- Open Space -

- The Dervish -
- Sick Bay -

Barrique winced as Dr. Lekarz prodded and felt his ribs. “Lieutenant, you know I fervently hoped you’d manage to take care of your poor ribcage,” the doctor clucked, his tone friendly. He stood up and gestured for Barrique to pull his shirt down. “Well, you’re lucky. Your ribs are fine, and so is your head. Well, it will be in a few days. You’re going to have a fantastic headache for a day or two,” Lekarz said with a smile. Sophie scratched at the brace her arm had been set up in and interjected, “Who the heck did you piss off, lieutenant?”. Richard stood up to button his jacket and grumbled, “A nobody,”.

- Hallway -

“Feeling sorry for yourself, huh?” MacAlpin crowed from where he was leaning against the wall down the hall Wes Curren was headed. He had been trying to track Pan down, and had managed to follow the path of destruction in much the same manner Lt. Barrique had, but by the time he arrived at the nurse’s station Pan was being hauled away. “I used to be like that all the time,” he continued, pushing off the wall, “I’m starting to feel like this play army we’re in is full of crazies. Maybe they’re not my type. Or yours,”.

- The Brig -

Once the doors slammed shut behind Pan, he was left in a security area that was empty except for two bored MPs who had been guarding several empty cells. “You’re a tough guy, huh? A badass,” one of them taunted Pan, rapping his baton against the door as he talked through the barred window. “Heard you couldn’t hack it in the spacy and the Federation kicked your ass out. I’ve seen guys like you, Heyden. Well you’re on my ship now. If they decide to let you out of here, if you try anything you will be in a world of sh*t,”. His companion guffawed from behind the desk he was manning.

[wonton bob]

- Salamis Kai-class Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

"And he…, he died for nothing… The war ended shortly after he died. No nukes or bomb... Poor man, he should've survive the war.” Al confided.

Bernard almost passed Al's mumblings as some poor kids' fantasy until he remembered the picture of the couple that Al had showed him. Bernard hides the fact that he's a bit annoyed by Al's statement and rises from his seat.

"People kept dying after the war. A lot of people shoulda lived that died..and those that did live well, lets just say they're still picking up the pieces." Bernard grunted.

Bernard straightens his normal suit without losing eye contact with the exit. " Now if you excuse me, I gotta go see if our Nemos have enough propellant to handle a sortie if we're attacked or else all this cheer will come crashing down once reality hits."

As Bernard walks away he is questioning his reasons for being here.

no supplies and we're having a party. what's going on here? Did I make another mistake in judgment again by signing up with another military force....all I ever wanted to do was impress my family.

[Wedge14]

Pan sneered at the lead mp a small trickle of blood streaming down the left side of his face. Heyden didn't give a damn what these guys thought. But he wondered how the hell they knew too much.

"You're just upset you have to do some work." Pan said grabbing the bars menacingly and blowing a kiss.

"Joe "The Bumble Bee" Ali has 32 fights and he's a millionaire." Pan said with a sick smile. "But I didn't get discharged for fighting...."

Pan pushed off from the bars and sat down right in the middle of his barren cell. He noticed that the Irish cells were a bit smaller then the Salamis cells. Now it had been a few years since he was sitting in one, but he was sure of the dimensions.

Pan rubbed his knuckles, they ached and throbbed, the boost from the adrenaline and the alcohol was starting to dwindle. But the thoughts and sounds of his service in the federation started to come back to him.

Second degree murder 236 counts, 3540 years of jail time Pan weaseled out of. He was lucky because the whole attack in 83 actually never happened. With the whole fiasco never happening, there was no way they could say he shot down those escape pods, and he was let off with a discharge and no pension.

[Lans]

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

- Randy

"Hell of a party, lieutenant," Loweno exclaimed before the skipper chucked and rubbed his own shoulder.

Emington could only grin and said, "All for the crews' good spirit. I just hope that we don’t eat and drink too much for our own good sakes.”

Randy looked around and continued, “Sir, the chef told me that he’ll continue to serve hot food for another half hour. I guess the party would continue for another hour or so. So, in the meantime I think it’s best for us to enjoy the good food.”

- Alfred

From his own seat, Alfred saw Bernard stand up from his seat. The man said, “People kept dying after the war. A lot of people shoulda lived that died..and those that did live well, lets just say they're still picking up the pieces."

What Bernard had said echoed in Al’s head. Al stayed in his seat, playing his finger on the coffee’s cup while Bernard muttered something about checking his Nemo. He saw Bernard going through the crowd and escaped form his vision. Liquor starting to take away his awareness and before long he stared to feel dizzy and fallen asleep.

[Fritz Ashlyn]

~45 Minutes Later~

- Open Space -

- The Dervish -
- The Brig -

When Michiko had interrupted Fritz’ interview with Dr. M to tell him about Pan’s exploits with Barrique, he excused himself and immediately set out for the brig. “Why didn’t you tell me about this when it happened?” Fritz asked, obviously getting angry as the two walked through the ship in the direction of the holding area. Michiko shook her head defensively and said, “I just found out about it when I was in sick bay. Lt. Barrique was leaving and Dr. Lekarz told me,”. They stopped outside the door to the brig, and Fritz held up a hand. “You should let me deal with this alone. Go take a rest and let me worry about Pan,” Fritz said. Michiko crossed her arms but nodded and relented, “Fine. I’ll be in sick bay,”.

Fritz watched her go, regretting his tone, and then took a breath before opening the door to the security area. One of the MPs was talking quietly with Barrique at the front desk as the ship’s XO unbuckled his gun belt and relinquished it. The other guard was still standing next to Pan’s cell door. Fritz strode over and demanded, “Open it,” pointing at the cell. He made sure to keep his voice level and low. The MP gave Fritz an incredulous look and responded, “Sir, Ltjg. Heyden is being held for--”

“I know what he did. Now let him out. He‘s my problem,” Fritz hissed under his breath. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that their conversation had attracted the attention of Barrique and the other guard. To be honest, Fritz was more embarrassed than angry at that particular point, but that would change. “I’m sorry, sir, but--” the MP tried to explain. “So help me God, if you don’t open that door right now I’ll have you put in there with him,” Fritz threatened, his voice rising in volume more than he intended. The MP glanced back at Pan who flashed him an evil grin. “Uh,” the guard stammered for a moment before reaching for the keypad on the door, “Yes sir. He’s all yours,”. The guard made sure he was an inch or two out of kicking distance as the door slid open.

Barrique was just voluntarily entering his cell as Pan’s was opening. “Pan, get out here. We’re going back to the ready room,” Fritz commanded.

- Nurse’s Station -

Jim had decided to stick around at the scene of the altercation to make time with the nurses who returned after the fight was broken up. He eyed the bullet hole in the deck where the lieutenant‘s sidearm had gone off as one of the nurses told him about the whole thing. “Oh, it was so loud! I was scared silly,” she giggled, putting her hands over her ears. “So what the heck made them go at it like that?” Jim asked, leaning against their curved desk. The other nurse shook her head and explained, “Well Lt. Barrique came down here because of Pan. The lieutenant tried to make him stop and then Pan got mad and started all ‘Zeon this’ and ‘Zeke that’,”.

The other nurse nodded and made a face, “He was really nasty about it too. We watched and listened to them from inside the doctor’s examination room,”. Jim stood up straight. “Wait, wait, wait. What did Pan say about Zeon?”. The first nurse shrank back and shrugged, “I dunno. I mean, we got out when they started getting nasty,”. Jim frowned and headed for the door.

- The Hamburg -
- Mess Hall -

Loweno stood up from the table he had shared with Randy and a few other crewmen and shared a last laugh with the group that remained in the mess hall. “Sorry, gentlemen, but I’ve been away from my post long enough. I’m afraid if I leave Stalvern in charge too long he’ll develop a personality,” he joked as he finished off his last cup of coffee.

[Sume Gai]

(that's right Hell has frozen over and I'm posting in here)
-Chuikov--
-Archer's Quarters-

his day was over and it had certainly been a long one; after the attack he had been ordered to help set up the jerry-rigged towing cables that now pulled the crippled Chuikov along with the rest of the 4th fleet. His exhausted body was ready for sleep but his mind remained awake even as he disrobed and got in his bed.

His mind began wondering, eventually settling on rummaging through memories to pass the time. The usual suspects started the procession on the backs of his eyelids: His family crammed with many others on a small transport vessel trying to escape the ever escalating One Year War, hearing from his tearful mother of how his father had thrown himself out of an airlock; The men who met him at work one day to come identify his mother's body or what was left of it. Soon however the fuzzy, yet familiar, steam of memories resolved into something clearer and more recent.

A simple apartment in Vaun Brown City, the place he had, ever since the end of the war that stole his parents from him, called home. It was only about a week after he was dismissed from his job at Anihiem; next to the door a packed suitcase sat as though waiting for it's bearer to take it on a journey. A few feet away in the immaculately clean Kitchen stood Rick and in front of him was a girl of about 16 who shared the same emerald eyes and ebony hair, unmistakeably his younger sister. The girl bore a fierce expression that one would likely call contempt as she glared at her brother.

"You're doing it again, dammit; just running away. Fine, go, I don't care you've been nothing but a hindrance anyway. You just think of yourself, never even consider what I might want. And you can barely do that; you are only following the wishes of our coward of a father"

This was hardly unusual treatment to Rick who remained quiet and impassive as she scowled at him and continued her vicious tirade.

"I don't care if you don't come back, in fact don't even bother me again if you do survive. I'll manage just fine on my own! I HATE YOU!"

The girl seeming to have no regret for her words stomped away into the recesses of the apartment slamming a door between the two. Rick however turned and headed to the door picking up the suitcase as he left; this was the last he had seen of his sister till this very day.

[Wedge14]

-Pan Heyden-

Pan actually had the gusto to come out of the brig in a cocky swagger. Pan pretty much only had about a dozen facial expressions, and right now he was sporting the confident grin of arrogance, which was only marred by the dry blood that was smeared across his face.

Pan knew he was probably deeper into the hole, now that Fritz had a hold of him. But really the fight wasn't his fault, Barrique was a pushy idiot, and he struck first. Guy actually deserved the beating he deserved.

Pan made eye contact with Fritz, surprisingly not even trying to intimidate the guard. "You guys didn't even give me enough time to put up the new drapes."