Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

The last RPG was "Zeta Gundam: Tales from the Frontlines - The AEUG" which ran from 2006-14.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

-Dervish pilot's quarters-
-Celeste-

"Celeste..?"

Celeste was still in a semi catatonic mode, body feeling quite numb to much anything at this point. She had been sitting in that dark room curled in a ball on her bed for what seemed like an eternity. Over and over like some broken record the vision of Clute's pod crushed..

She tried to shake it once more, like she had in the cockpit, in the mess..and now here. But it stuck like a morbid piece of fly paper to her mind.

As she warped in and out of the disturbing vision she heard commotion going on outside of her door. She recognized the voice of Celene.. but another woman was inquiring about her. It was then that she found the strength, mostly out of curiosity than anything to move do the door wrapped in her blanket. As Celene trudged down the corridor away from the door to leave Proud to view the disheveled Celeste, Celeste herself peered out into the light at the Doc, then poked her head out to find Celene.

In a quiet raspy whisper she called out to her friend..

"Celene.. it's time we had that talk."
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

-Amman-
-Downtown-

"Have a nice day!", the woman at the door said.

"Yeah, you too." Eddie grumbled with a frown at the woman who was old enough to be his mother. He and Jane left the store and walked into the semi-crowded parking lot. They were nearly at Eddie's rented dark blue elecar before Eddie spoke again. "I swear, it's like the want me to stop smoking!" Eddie said with a lopsided grin and opened the trunk.

"They do, Eddie-baby." Jane said with a grin as they worked in the shopping bags around the various things they had from the Dervish which were already in the trunk. "It is bad for you."

"Meh." Eddie said with a wave of his hand as he slammed the trunk and opened Jane's door. "I do a lot more dangerous s*** than that. So do you." Eddie flashed his teeth as he closed her door and walked around the car. She waited until he plopped into the drivers seat before she shook her head, giving her own usual grin. "Hey, it's true!" Eddie said, defending himself, and instantly unhappy with it, causing him to frown. "I mean... crap." He muttered, starting the car.

Jane giggled, but it was lost as Eddie's music came on. The parking lot had been louder when they arrived, so she turned it down to a more reasonable level. "It's okay, sweetie."

"Thanks, mom!" Eddie said in as close as he could to a childs voice, which was just high pitched and made Jane laugh again. "Want to get some lunch?"

"Not right now. Didn't you want to wait for Marvin?" She asked. That had been one of the things they had discussed while shopping.

Eddie sighed. "Yeah... Kid needs to get out and s***, and we're probably the only ones who can get him," Eddie pulled the car out of the parking lot and started heading toward the residential district, "But you're makin' the call. He won't say no to your pretty face."

"Yes, dear." Jane said sweetly, as both grinned.

"Alright then. And away we go!" Eckardy said, turning up his music as he turned onto the main road that would take him back to his, more shared now, apartment. They had some food and stuff that needed to be put away, and aside from Marvin, both had calls to make, one of which was Eddie finding out where Ian had been taken. Next to him, Jane just continued to smile, thinking to herself about some things she needed to do while they were in port. Eddie's birthday was in a few days...

==================================================================

-Mercy Medical Center-

Ian Greydon knew he was alive. That had settled in a few days prior. He knew he had lost his foot, but he had counted himself lucky to be alive in the few hours in which he had been awake. The only people he had recalled talking to were the nurses on the Dervish and Eddie. There were those few moments, some other stuff he vaugely recalled which were probably dreams, and little else since the battle. It all seemed to have happened very quickly, but the events that, to him, seemed to have taken place very quickly together had actually been spread across several days. It was confusing when he had the time to think about it, as he did now.

He was on a gurney, beind wheeled into surgery. He had woken up just after the ambulance arrived. One of the nurses, a girl who looked all of 17, had told him where he was and what was going to be done to deal with his serious injuries, but most of it had gone over his head.

Time seemed to skip again, for the next thing Ian knew, they had a mask over his face, and the now familiar feeling of being knocked out once again washed over Greydon.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Hamburg -
- Infirmary -

Randy stood over the bed of the youngest pilot in his team. Al's condition was stable, but he had been confined to his bed since after the Gate of Zedan. Randy trusted the doctors here, but still thought that weeks in bed couldn't be that good for you. The young pilot was actually asleep, so, not wanting to wake him, Randy merely watched and thought about the actions that had taken them to here.

- Amman -
- Downtown -

Having finished his coffee and grown bored with his book, Adam had taking to wondering the streets of the lunar city. Having no family here on the moon, had hadn't actually been to a lunar city before joining the AEUG. He was much more familiar with the colony cities of the Sides than these more traditional types. It was kinda odd not looking up and seeing another city above your head.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Dervish, outside Celeste's quarters

Dr. Proud

Before she could even inquire to Celeste, the door opened. Her immediate reaction was that Lt. Angelina should go on suicide watch immediately but she checked herself.
"Celene.. it's time we had that talk."
"Uh, well Im Doctor Proud, And I wanted to make sure you're alright.."
Something struck Ashley at that point and she turned "Wait.. Cleline.." she dredged her memory for what she wanted, "are you Cleline Caro'd, the field reported who went missing months ago? I saw some report about your disappearance not long ago, what in the world are you doing here!? You're not even on my files!" She observed the two fairly wretched looking women intently, wondering if she caught whatever it is that makes the ship stircrazy, "What is going on?"
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

-Celeste's quarters, doorway-

Celeste blinked as Proud appeared before her rather than Celene as she was expecting. It took a moment for her to grab her marbles back before responding.

"Yes, that's Ms. Caro'd. Now if you wouldn't mind we have some.. business to attend to. Unfinished.

Celene.."

Celeste stood in the doorway, slightly hunkered, her eyes slightly sunken and stained with tears. But, behind the outwardly haggard appearance Proud would, if she payed close attention, notice a small fire growing in her eyes. Celeste wasn't shaking anymore..

And there was a good reason why she wasn't..
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

Docks

Sophie Coggs

"I'm really glad you could come, Sophie."

She smiled as Rem said that. There was a bit of humor in the way his attention seemed to flick back and forth. The man clearly took joy in his work, but he wasn't trying to alienate her ether.

"Have any particular place you like to go? The Doc and I have been through most of the joints around here."

"Oh, no. I really don't have a favorite place here." Sophie though about it and then said, "But, I'm sure you're a good judge of what's the best place. You seem to know what's good." She added a smile after say that.

Terrace Manosk

As the elecar cruised around the city, Terrace looked around for anyplace that seemed interesting. He began whistling a tune that had gotten stuck in his head from a commercial for McDaniels. There didn't seem to be a lot going on in the area of town he was in, so he continued to drive on in search of nothing in particular.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman -

- Business District -

"So you're telling me we don't have anything solid to work with yet," Mr. Walton said, shaking his head at the presentation that was being given by one of the AEUG planners and an Anaheim representative. The AEUG officer stepped away from the screen the plans were projected on and explained, "You have to understand, we're trying to account for several possible situations. The main plan hinges on the work the Argama is doing now with Axis, but we also have to be ready for a hostile Axis force complicating matters at different stages of the attack. Our ultimate goal is taking the Gryps 2 laser and holding it long enough to use it against the Titans fleet, as I 've stated, but we can't count on Haman Karn's cooperation for the duration of the operation,". The Anaheim rep nodded and half-shrugged, "Best case scenario is Axis agrees to our requests and we make the best use of the situation,".

From his seat Wong Lee piped up, "I want to make it clear to all combat units taking part in this attack that we're throwing over 95% of the operational fleet at Gryps. This is it - I hate to use the cliche but failure is not an option,". The AEUG officer nodded and clicked the remote in his hand, bringing up a list of participating ships. A murmur went through the room at the exhaustive list of AEUG units and assets that were going to be sent to take on the Titans. It really was everything, Abbey realized. He gave a low whistle as he scanned the rows of ship names. Besides the Argama there were 5 Irish-class ships and... Abbey's eyes skimmed down the list again as he counted... two dozen or so Salamis Kais, give or take. When they would set out from Amman, the 4th Squadron would account for over 10% of the AEUG's entire strength purely by numbers. Abbey knew that meant they would be called on to do heavy lifting alongside the Argama and Radish.

- Dock Entrance -

After letting Sophie and Rem climb into the now-cramped interior of the elecar, Dr. M hopped into the driver's seat and headed away from the stand at a healthy clip. "Since you don't seem to have a preferenz, I know a good place where we can relax a while," the doctor said, winking at Sophie. He looked in the rear view mirror to see how Rem was handling being crammed in the small back seat. "Don't worry, Rem, it's not far," he said with a smile as he came to an abrupt stop at the guardhouse at the dock exit. The EFSF soldier didn't look up from the paper he was reading as his AEUG counterpart waved the elecar through onto the street outside the docks. The doctor accelerated again, and turned onto a side street immediately.

"This place is pretty good. It's clean and you can, ah, get a drink and somethink to eat at least," he said as they continued to snake through the light industrial section of the city. After a speedy ride that may or may not have involved breaking a couple of traffic laws and only one incident of Dr. M fighting his own hand for control of the wheel, the elecar mercifully came to a stop outside a decent looking establishment at the edge of the commercial district. "We're here! I'll, eh, buy the first round."

- Fritz' Apartment -

"Oh, no... Oh, Fritz, I'm sorry!" Elizabeth said, leaning over to let Fritz' head rest on her shoulder, "Jim was so young... And I can't believe Pan...". Fritz closed his eyes and said, "I couldn't stop it. I was too busy, too distracted... I couldn't reach Jim enough to keep him from running for Zeon. I couldn't get him to move past the war...". She leaned back against the couch and shook her head, "Honey, you haven't moved past the war. I don't think anyone that saw the things you did has,". She blinked the tears from her eyes and cooed, "You don't have to think about that. Just stay here with me for a while,".

- The Dervish -
- Celeste's Quarters -

Celeine was leaning towards ignoring the question Dr. Proud asked as she was leaving, but she turned around immediately when she heard Celeste's voice. As Celeine made a beeline for the door to Celeste's quarters, she responded to the doctor, "I'm not missing, I'm right here. And I could write ten books about what these people have gone through fighting against the Titans...". She stopped outside the doorway and looked over Celeste. It was like looking at a picture of herself from just days ago. "Are you sure you're okay? We're back at Amman, you don't have to stay on this ship...".
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

--Ready Room 2--

Wes walked into the room and a wall of smoke. Besides that, he wouldn't have noticed Marvin's presence as he walked in. There wasn't even a peep from him. Wes considered talking to Cowboy, but there wasn't much to say, and the other pilot clearly wasn't in any mood to chat.

As Cowboy tapped his pen in the act of writing, Wes went to his locker and grabbed whatever he needed. He stuffed his things into his duffel bag and headed to the door. But on his way out, he paused and turned to Marvin.

"It might be a good idea to give Ian a visit sometime soon," Wes said, figuring that Eddie probably said the same thing already. "I expect to see you there eventually."

Wes turned to leave without waiting for an answer, knowing well that he probably wasn't going to get one anyway.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

-Amman-
-Eddie's Apartment-

Eddie strolled in the door, pushing it closed with his foot. "Here's the last of it." He carried the last few bags from the car and dropped them on the table that sat in the corner of his living room, where they joined a decent collection of other bags from his and Jane's first trip into the city, as well as the apartment's phone. Both would go back several times, either together or alone, to get the various items they wanted and needed, either at home or on the ship, and other stuff that was simply just purchased for the hell of it. Eddie really didn't need the numerious t-shirts he had, or the junk food he brought on the ship, or the cigarettes, but nobody was stopping him. And Eddie was getting paid decently enough. Aside from what he got from the AEUG, which wasn't too much, and laundered through countless shell companies, he was still listed at the shipping company his father worked for and drew pay from there, so he was well enough off. Jane drew hers from an Anaheim shell, as she had technically been hired there as cover when she joined the AEUG. Such was the ways the AEUG hid how it payed its members what it could, as many had families, and it became highly important.

It took them nearly twenty minutes to get everything put away... sort of. The food was taken care of, but other items, such as the books Eddie had brought back from the Dervish, simply ended up in a pile in the second bedroom, which Eddie used basically as storage. By that point, the sight of a dozen different snacks was getting to them, although Eddie quickly became more vocal, and silly, about it.


"Alright." Jane said, grinning after Eddie claimed he could eat a colony made of cake. "Where should we go?"

Eddie's own grin faded, as if that was the most serious question he'd ever been asked. "Uh... s***. No idea." A sheepish grin followed.

Jane rolled her eyes. "How 'bout we pick up Marvin and figure it out on the way?"

Eddie paused. "Call 'em and tell him we'll pick him up and an hour an a half or something. I want to call and find out where Ian was first. Maybe we can figure out where we want to do by then."

"Sure." Jane said and sat in front of the phone at the table.

"And if we can't think of any place, we can just hit a McDainels."

Jane didn't need to look to see the grin as she dialed the phone.

==================================================================

-The Dervish-
-Ready Room 2-

It surprised Marvin that Wes said anything.

"It might be a good idea to give Ian a visit sometime soon. I expect to see you there eventually." And with that, Curren was gone.

Like you and Ian were friends?, Marvin thought to himself. It struck the young man as horrible hypocrisy on the part of Wes, whom had never really been friendly with the rest of Team 2, Ian included, to even talk about visiting their, he and Eddie's, wounded friend. Team 2 had always been somewhat seperated from the rest of the pilots on the Dervish, which to Marvin was still the new pilots. The original group, the group that, save Eddie and himself, had been wiped out in July, and had been totally different. Life on the ship had been different. All of them had used Team 2's ready room, leaving the others just for sleeping or storage, or letting the mechanics use them, or whatever. They had all been closer. Even Marvin, who had started out as a replacement whom none of them expressed any interest in, and was only known as 'Cowboy' because his team leader gave him the name on a whim, and painted his helmet brown.

But they had ended up closer, which was how Marvin Hamilton remembered it, and always would. From day one, however, Wes had closed himself off from the team. And, intentional or otherwise, he'd always seemed whiney to Marvin. As if he was offended to have been forced into joining Team 2 so Pan Heyden, another pilot Marvin could do without, could take his place.

Marvin snorted. And now Pan was dead, but they still had Wes. Marvin hadn't even blinked upon hearing of the death of Pan, nor of Jim MacAlpin, whom he'd grown to hate thanks to discussions with Greydon and Grunwald. It probably hadn't been justified, but who cared? A vauge part of Marvin's head could almost understand the utterly stupidity that had spewed from MacAlpin, and also understand Wes' anger, or whatever his problem had been, but he didn't have to accept it all. F*** them, he thought, taking a drag from his cigarette.

The wall phone station beeped. Marvin didn't want to get it, but he was alone. He got up slowly, had anyone seen him, they would have thought he was in his eighties, and just as slowly walked to the phone. The display was different than normal, and it took Hamilton a moment to relize the call was coming from outside the ship. They were in port, and with the messanger lines and everything, a call could get routed here, which ment... He pressed the button to answer and looked at the screen. "Yeah?"

The view was what he expected, the white wall behind Eddie's living room table, but the face wasn't. "Hello, Marvin." Jane said, in the usual sweet voice in which she relayed orders.

"Uh, hi, Jane." Marvin stumbled, as he always seemed to do.

"We tried calling your room first." She explained quickly. "Me and Eddie are going to go and get something to eat later and we want you to come with us."

Marvin winced slightly. "Well, I'm not really hungry right now."

The smile remained. "Oh, not right now. Maybe in an hour or two. Eddie has some things he needs to do, and we aren't sure where we want to go yet. Any suggestions?"

Marvin glanced away from the screen, but at nothing in particular, and sighed. "Eh, I don't want to spoil anything you two may be doing because of me."

"It's no trouble. We want you to come with us."

Off screen, Marvin heard Eddie distantly yell. "Yeah!" Jane grinned and glanced to her left, doubtlessly at Eddie, who was probably sprawled on his couch watching TV.

Marvin sighed again, but resigned himself. "Alright."

Jane's sweet smile. "Great. We'll call you when we leave here, and pick you up at the dock enterance."

"Alright." Marvin said, subdued. "See ya then." Jane smiled and the screen went blank.

Marvin stood there for a moment, debating whether or not he really wanted to go. He had no real reason not to, and they were sincere, or at least they seemed that way. In his mind, Marvin quickly decided they were. Eddie usually tried to be nice, even if it was in a odd or goofy or insane way, like with the nickname. Maybe it would be nice...

Marvin glanced at his letters. He wanted to finish them, and since he probably wouldn't have to even get changed for an hour or so, he was in his pilot suit at the moment, he might have the time... No, he wouldn't. This wasn't something to be rushed. He could finish that stuff later, at his own pace, when he had nothing else on his mind. Collecting them, Cowboy placed the letters in his locker. He emptied the ashtrays into a trash can, glanced around to make sure everything was as it ought to be, and left the room. He'd take a shower and then get dressed, and then just lay down in his room and doze until he got the call. It all seemed like a decent enough idea, but something still felt odd. Of course, something had felt odd, out of place, for what seemed like months, and nothing could shake it. Marvin stopped and rubbed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and headed toward his room.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Amman

Rem grinned as the good doctor offered the first round. "I don't think that's an offer I can refuse, Doctor. There is a minor stipulation, however...I must be allowed to buy the second!"

As they walked in, Rem stepped ahead to hold the door for Sophie and Dr. M. Inside it was pretty quiet still, this being one of the less heavily traveled establishments. No guarantees which bars the rest of the AEUG crew would end up hitting, but for now it was relatively quiet. He gestured towards one of the empty tables as they walked past the sign reading, "Please Seat Yourself."

"So, the Kanones are the variant you were discussing that replaces the whole thrust block and random binders with the reactor powered shoulder cannons, right?" He didn't quite go as far as pulling out Sophie's chair, but he did wait for her to sit first, fumbling with his jacket to hide it (poorly).

As they were talking, a waiter caught their eye and meandered over.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman -

- Business District -

Abbey could tell the meeting was beginning to wind down. Without news of the results of the new negotiaing the Argama was doing with Haman and Axis, the AEUG was stuck waiting in pre-planning mode. The general idea of the attack had been laid out and the meat of it struck Abbey as sensible, but he felt like too much rode on Axis' cooperation early on in the operation. Regardless of how well Char - pardon, Quattro - and Capt. Bright could bargain with Haman, the 4th Squadron was now scheduled to depart Amman on January 26, 0088 to join the rest of the AEUG fleet headed for Gryps. And this time 'the rest of the fleet' really did mean the rest of the fleet; only a few scattered ships would be left if the AEUG was defeated and wiped out at L3. His decision to give the bulk of the crews a 48-hour pass would give them 5 solid days of briefing and learning before they would have to leave Luna.

He glanced over at Guanche, who was still writing in his notes. The man had started scribbling notes as soon as the meeting started, and he was still steadily writing. How he managed to get so much useful material out of the 90% crap that was said at meetings like this was beyond Carl. Speaking of which, Gates had been strangely quiet for the duration. The man had changed after his ride-along had brought him through Hatte. That would be enough to change anyone. Their sponsor had been nearly catatonic for a few hours after they made their escape. Abbey took a deep breath and tried to get comfortable again despite the hard angles of the chair.

- Chapman's Bar -

The doctor happily followed Rem and Sophie into the establishment, a cheery little bar connected to a humble restaurant that seemed a bit cleaner than most places in that part of the city. "So, the Kanones are the variant you were discussing that replaces the whole thrust block and random binders with the reactor powered shoulder cannons, right?" Rem asked as he and Dr. M waited for Sophie to taker her seat first. The doctor's right hand roughly grabbed the back of his chair and jerked it away from the table causing a screeching groan as it scratched across the floor. He took hold of his stray wrist and pried his grip loose, sitting down as if nothing strange had happened.

"Eh, ja, the Kanone model is wery advanced compared to the equipment packs we've been, ah, tinkering with. Two over-shoulder beam cannons, each roughly as powerful as the suit's beam pistols," he said, smiling. The waiter gave a slight nodding bow as he approached the table, "What would you like?". The doctor thought about it for a moment and then nodded, "Steinhäger. What would you two like? I'm sure the food here is good if you're hungry,".

- The Dervish -
- Celeste's Quarters -

"I think I know where that pilot Ed Rigney is... And I have an idea for the next time we find Nick," Celeine said, hoping to coax Celeste back into her room and away from Dr. Proud. What she had in mind was dangerous and risky, but something inside told her if they found Nick one more time it would be their last chance to talk to him. Hopefully with that person Ed accounted for he would be more likely to listen, and on top of it she didn't want to leave Celeste and Fritz on their own to try the same failed routine. They would need to figure out what to do differently. And she knew Fritz wouldn't like her idea at all.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Jacob had no desire to leave his room. In fact, he had no desire to see any living person in the crew of the Dervish or any other ship in the fleet, for that matter. He just wanted to stay in his room and be left entirely alone. Unfortunately, he had no desire to listen to the unliving people who were banging around in his room with him.

Clute was the loudest of them, of course and his words played over and over in Jacob's head. "You have to keep fighting." But Jack David and Burke were in there, too. So were Pan Heyden and the man he'd killed. Even Celeste's single eye seemed to glare at him from the walls, judging him and finding him wanting again and again.

Finally, when there just isn't room enough for him in his quarters with all the ghosts an phantoms filling it, he shoved his feet into his boots, snatched up his jacket and all but ran out. The voices were quieter outside, though he could still hear them whispering, judging him and pointing out his faults and failures.

With hands tucked in his pockets and his shoulders slumped, his gaze remained on the floor as he plowed through the ship. Fortunately, the halls were not crowded and only once did he bump into someone. He muttered a hasty apology without looking up and hurried on his way.

Outside, he did not bother renting his own Elecar, instead flagging down a taxi and dropping into the backseat. Of course, it was only then that he realized that he had no idea where he wanted to go.

The driver was getting a bit rude before he made his decision. "Just take me to a bar," Jacob finally replied to his repeated requests for a destination. "I need a drink."

As soon as he said it, it became the truest thing he'd ever said. He desperately needed a drink. All he could think about was a cold beer hitting the back of his throat or the warm feeling of a shot expanding throughout his body.

The driver gave him a significant look that Jacob didn't notice and wouldn't have understood. "Sure thing, pal," he said before navigating his way through the city streets.

Soon enough they arrived at Chapman's Bar. Jacob handed over a few bills without really paying attention, but apparently it was enough as the surly cab driver made no comment.

He barges into the bar the same way he barged off the ship, and once more bumps into someone. Once more he mumbles an apology, though the response is much ruder this time. He ignores it, going straight to the bar.

Again, he gets some rather significant looks that he doesn't notice or understand. It probably has something to do with his rumpled, dirty clothes that he's been living and sleeping in and the fact that he hasn't shaved in a while or showered for that matter. His hair is uncombed and unwashed, there are bags under his eyes and he smells. All in all, he is completely disheveled and the bartender is far from surprised when he orders a shot and a beer at the same time. At the moment, Jacob looks like just the person who would want two drinks at a time.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Chapman's Bar -

As Rem fumbled with his jacket Sophie sat down at the table and listened to the two men speak.

"So, the Kanones are the variant you were discussing that replaces the whole thrust block and random binders with the reactor powered shoulder cannons, right?"

"Eh, ja, the Kanone model is wery advanced compared to the equipment packs we've been, ah, tinkering with. Two over-shoulder beam cannons, each roughly as powerful as the suit's beam pistols."

She flipped through the menu and wasn't sure exactly what to order as the waiter came over. “A pint of whatever the local brew is. I like to try something new in each place I end up.”

Looking up she saw a poster on one side of the bar that seemed to be of a musician. The man on the poster wasn't very young, had a thick mustache and was dressed like the guards that used to protect the Royalty of England, when they still had one. Over the man in bright red letters was the phrase “ROCK ON!” With no clue as to what band it was she turned her attention back to the two men and felt it was a good idea to ask about the Rick Dias upgrade.

“Well, that certainly sounds like a good thing,” she said with a smile while looking at Rem, “Can never go wrong with the added fire power. Unless of course it debilitates speed and maneuverability. Will that be an issue with the removal of the binders? Or will this unit only function as support?”
"Kamille, if it wasn't for you...." Jerid's last words

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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Wales crumpled into the taxi's back seat with a sigh of relief, though it had only taken five minutes, the time spent at the check-in desk of the space port felt like a lifetime, the mutterings inside his head about the man's crooked tie and slightly disheveled hair served to frustrate him further, he resorted to counting the number of scratches on the ground tiles to keep himself from yelling at him

"where to?" asked the driver, jolting him to attention, wales fumbled for a minute before replying. "Just a bar, nothing fancy" he lay back into the seat again, content to gaze out the window, soon egough the taxi stopped outside a place, the signpost above it read 'Chapman's bar'

after getting out and paying the fare, wales made his way inside, taking in everything and figuring out what to do next, from what he could see, amidst the patrons only two particular things stood out to him, the two men and a woman of african origin discussing something at a table, and a disheveled looking guy drinking by himself, and neither side looked like they'd apreciate any additional company.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Amman
- Chapman's -

Rem looked at the waiter. "I'll have a Floating Eye and a basket of fries for the table. I don't think we're ready to order quite yet." The waiter nodded and headed for the back room to get things prepped. Rem turned back to Sophie and was gratified to see her smiling still. When he was talking about work stuff, girls either got fed up with him talking about it, or were simply uninterested. Sophie, being a pilot and all, seemed much more keen on MS upgrades.

Go figure.

Rem turned at her question. "I would imagine they would be more support-oriented, although with the cannons being Minovsky based, the added weight is minimal as compared to shell firing analogues. No ammo, no firing mechanisms, just an M-Compresser that's reactor powered. You'll lose a bit of speed and maneuverability from the binders...Well, and fuel. Not a lot of propellant storage on the Dias outside of those." He turned to the Doctor. "Are there additional external propellant tanks being considered? Like the tank on the Sturm Booster from the AGX-04, or the tanks on the MS-14Jg?"

He hated bringing up Zeon suits to Dr. M, as he tended to slip from time to time, but they were good examples of ejectable fuel tanks. EFSF just never seemed to like to idea.

He peripherally noticed more patrons filtering in, although he wasn't paying much attention to them. He was much more focused on the company at the table.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman -

- Business District -

"Well, that was... something," Abbey grunted as he slicked his hair back and put his hat back on. The meeting had ended and now most of the people present were milling around talking to each other, getting in a few minutes of glad-handing and some extra last minute wheeling and dealing. Guanche seemed to have a similar opinion of the presentation as he gathered up his notes. "Yes sir, it was almost productive," he evaluated it after a moment with a hint of a smile. Abbey laughed, "So you're hiding a sense of humor in there,". Gates returned to their side through the small crowd of sponsors with a smile of his own. "I'll ensure that the 4th Squadron is more than ready to leave Amman when the operation starts, Carl. I just worked out a deal with an Anaheim rep to get your mobile suits repaired or replaced before the local office starts with the other AEUG orders. That means new Nemos and new Rick Diases on time - you can thank me later," he explained, already seemingly patting himself on the back for doing his job. He rubbed his hands together and looked around. "Where's Walton?" he asked, looking for his associate.

"Ah, he can find his way out. He's a big boy," he said, waving it off. "Are you gentlemen hungry? All this boring crap helped me work up an appetite," he asked, strolling for the door that would lead back to the hallway that connected the meeting area with the front offices of the building. "Uh, no sir, I think we'll pass. We need to get the preliminary preparation going back at the docks," Abbey explained as they followed into the hall. Gates straightened his tie and nodded, "I understand, Carl. You two go do whatever you need to do," as they passed back into the room with the Federal soldier at the desk and headed for the front of the building. Once they were outside, Gates waved down and got into a nondescript sedan that spirited him away before the two captains realized the car that had brought them to the meeting was nowhere in sight. "I'll drive, sir," Guanche said, fishing in his pocket for a card that would let them take an elecar from the stand a few blocks away.

- Chapman's Bar -

Dr. Merkwürdigliebe of course didn't notice Jacob enter the bar, much less Wales who was a complete stranger. He smiled and nodded as Sophie ordered her drink. “Well, that certainly sounds like a good thing,” she commented about the Kanone Dias, “Can never go wrong with the added fire power. Unless of course it debilitates speed and maneuverability. Will that be an issue with the removal of the binders? Or will this unit only function as support?”. A smile crept onto his face as he listened to Rem's answer. "I would imagine they would be more support-oriented, although with the cannons being Minovsky based, the added weight is minimal as compared to shell firing analogues. No ammo, no firing mechanisms, just an M-Compresser that's reactor powered. You'll lose a bit of speed and maneuverability from the binders...Well, and fuel. Not a lot of propellant storage on the Dias outside of those,". He turned to the Doctor and asked, "Are there additional external propellant tanks being considered? Like the tank on the Sturm Booster from the AGX-04, or the tanks on the MS-14Jg?"

"I see you've been paying attention, Mr. Banner. You're a fine engineer," the doctor said, nodding at Rem's thoughtful explanation. His smile grew wider and he leaned closer to his two companions. "But in this case Ms. Coggs' worries are unfounded and your solutions are unneeded," he chuckled, "You see, I helped the design team devise a system to mount and power the, eh, weapons that would not necessitate the removal of the random binder system,". He leaned back and began to explain, "When the preliminary results began to return on our, ah, equipment packs, I realized I could resolve a flaw with the shoulder mounts. With the miniaturization of parts in a beam system combined with the lack of a loading mechanism and, ah, ammunition storage," he said, nodding at Rem's understanding of the cannon system, "I realized the random binder system could be retained and implemented into the newer Rick Dom design,".

His right hand slid across the surface of table until it got to the edge. It gripped the edge of the table hard enough that the doctor's right forearm was trembling slightly. Dr. M continued to speak as if he was oblivious. "To get to the point, Ms. Coggs, the Kanone Dias not only has the random binder system, it is only .07 G slower than the standard model. There is a slight loss in overall maneuverability, but that is because the verniers are moving more mass," he finished, absentmindedly slapping at his right hand with his left like it was a bug that had landed on his arm. It abruptly released it's grip and the leaning table clanked back down to the floor.

- Fritz' Apartment -

"I feel like I need to do it," Fritz said, pulling on a clean shirt, "I think I have to,". Elizabeth leaned against the doorframe of their bedroom and smiled faintly, "Then I'll go with you. You don't have to be alone,". Fritz nodded and ran a hand through his hair and was quiet for a few moments. "Okay. I... We need boxes. Something to carry things out," he said, standing up. He picked up his wallet and slipped his watch on and sighed, "I'll throw out or give away all of it. I doubt there's anything in there I'd want to keep,". As they gathered the rest of their things and headed for the door, Elizabeth suggested, "We can start with Jim's room if it's easier for you,". They walked out to the elecar and were on their way to the docks before Fritz answered. "It doesn't matter. They're both dead,".
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Hamburg -

Bernard comes out of his room humming a tune, the narcotic seems to have assuaged his mood. With both hands tucked in his pockets he strolls down to the lounge, a synthetic hamburger sounds good right about now. Infact, he's hungry enough for a 5- course meal. Instead Bernard makes a beeline to the hanger, deciding to have a night on the town. He's saved enough for months to really send himself off, knowing that the next mission will probably be his last he intends to make sure every minute count.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

- Docks -

Fritz and Elizabeth stood next to the elecar watching as several massive trailer trucks approached the side of the Dervish and waited for the huge hangar doors to open. All four vehicles and the containers they carried had large Anaheim Electronics logos. Fritz sat the empty box he carried atop the car and leaned against the door. "They're not big enough to carry mobile suits, are they?" Elizabeth asked, folding her arms under her chest because of the chilly air. Fritz watched the crew emerge from the ship and answered, "They're probably bringing them in disassembled,". After a few minutes, the first container was taken off its truck and was opened on the launch deck revealing a variety of gray and red Rick Dias parts. Fritz shook his head, "They're getting us ready in a hurry to go back out. I have a bad feeling...".

- The Dervish -
- Bridge -

"The AE crew is helping Chief Polk get the new parts moved inside, sir. They're reporting delivery of 4 Rick Dias units," Drew reported. Loweno rubbed his chin and nodded, "Yeah, I see 'em. Wonder if I can muck around with the paperwork and get some of those sent to the Hamburg... Make sure the parts are all unloaded and inside the ship as soon as possible. Don't want to advertise what we're doing even if this is a 'safe' harbor,". Drew nodded and went back to his work. "Captain," one of the other crew spoke up, but Loweno couldn't remember the fellow's name, "Contacts in town say the meeting Capt. Abbey is at has ended. He should return to the ship within 20 minutes or so,". The temporary captain sighed softly and nodded. "I gotta get one of these for myself," he muttered. Being stuck on a large ship like the Dervish in non-combat conditions was awful.

- Pan's Quarters -

"...Good Lord," Fritz muttered with a mix of astonishment and disgust. Pan Heyden's room was actually cleaner than he thought it would be, but the debris inside wasn't what he expected. There were a couple of piles of dirty clothes, but that was probably true of half the pilots and crew - what was really surprising was the sheer amount of liquor bottles and other items, in particular cigarettes. "Was he stockpiling for some kind of apocalypse?" Elizabeth said with a halfhearted chuckle, sounding like she didn't know whether to laugh or crinkle her nose and leave. "Is that...?" Fritz said, walking over to one of the small containers provided in the room. He flipped the lid open, revealing cartons of cigarettes. "There has to be two dozen cartons in here!" he said, pulling one out and turning it over in his hand. It was a moderately cheap brand, but the sheer number of them was staggering.

Elizabeth walked over to the unmade bed and sat down the cardboard box she carried. When she brushed past it, a whisky bottle full of cigarette butts and other assorted trash rolled out from underneath. Fritz put the smokes down and opened the closet, and Liese hesitantly opened the drawer next to the bed. She turned around when she heard Fritz make a noise that almost sounded like a sob. Fritz stepped back from the closet and rubbed his forehead, laughing tiredly. Inside below the few items of civilian clothing was yet another cache of smokes and booze next to a large stack of pornography that seemed to be more than any one man would ever need. "Oh God," Elizabeth muttered, rolling her eyes and blushing slightly just from the cover of the top magazine. "A few minutes ago in the hallway I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," Fritz said, "But this is ridiculous,".
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

- The Dervish -
- Bridge -

"Welcome back, Carl! Learn anything interesting?" Loweno chuckled as he gave Capt. Abbey a salute that was slightly snappier than his usual fare. Abbey removed his hat and nodded, "Actually, yes and no,". He slicked his hair back and replaced his hat, making sure it was on straight before he answered, "It looks like that 48-hour pass is all the rest we're getting, André. We'll need 5 days for planning and briefings and then it's a week of travel time,". Loweno clucked and cursed under his breath. "A week of travel? Does that mean..." he asked, suddenly working out the possible distances in his head. Abbey nodded, "Gryps. We're going all in,". Loweno brightened up and smacked a fist into his palm, "So we're really doing it? Great!". Abbey folded his arms and said, "I wish I shared your enthusiasm,".

- Jim's Quarters -

Fritz turned Jim's journal over in his hands as Liese gathered up things from the closet behind him. He wanted so badly to know what had been going on in the kid's head before he... But he didn't think it was right to read his personal writing. He shook his head and placed the small book in the box of things that were going to be disposed of. "He didn't really have much here," Elizabeth said, putting the last of Jim's clothes into a container. "I don't either. I don't think any of us do," Fritz said. "Well you have what, a week's worth of clothes in the closet at home? You're not exactly the fashion expert to measure everyone else against," she teased. Fritz scratched his chin and shrugged, "Well, Eddie likes my green suit,". He gave a slightly embarassed smile as Liese laughed at that, and tried to change the subject, "I'm going to go give Marvin and Eddie their birthday and Christmas presents,". He picked up a bulky duffel bag and headed for the door. "Just leave the stuff boxed up in the hallway that is going to be destroyed... Everything else you can leave here until I get back, and then we can leave," he said, and Liese nodded.

- Celeste's Quarters -

The conversation had been mostly one-way, with Celeste still obviously shaken by Clute's death. Celeine felt a mixture of pity for Celeste and embarassment for herself when she realized how similar her own behavior had been less than a week ago. "So as I was saying, I found out where that Titans pilot was moved to. If we can answer Nick the next time we find him I think we can move past his fixation on Edward Rigney. And this time I have a different plan."
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Chapman's Bar -

"I would imagine they would be more support-oriented, although with the cannons being Minovsky based, the added weight is minimal as compared to shell firing analogues. No ammo, no firing mechanisms, just an M-Compresser that's reactor powered. You'll lose a bit of speed and maneuverability from the binders...Well, and fuel. Not a lot of propellant storage on the Dias outside of those." He turned to the Doctor. "Are there additional external propellant tanks being considered? Like the tank on the Sturm Booster from the AGX-04, or the tanks on the MS-14Jg?"

Sophie was impressed with what Rem was able to rattle off the top of his head about the new mobile suit. But, she also figured in his line of work he was required to know.

"I see you've been paying attention, Mr. Banner. You're a fine engineer, But in this case Ms. Coggs' worries are unfounded and your solutions are unneeded. You see, I helped the design team devise a system to mount and power the, eh, weapons that would not necessitate the removal of the random binder system. When the preliminary results began to return on our, ah, equipment packs, I realized I could resolve a flaw with the shoulder mounts. With the miniaturization of parts in a beam system combined with the lack of a loading mechanism and, ah, ammunition storage, I realized the random binder system could be retained and implemented into the newer Rick Dom design."

"Uh, Rick Dom?" everything the Dr. said was good news, since it meant the new Rick Dias wouldn't be hindered by the new 'Kannon' module, but she was taken aback when he said the name of an old Zeon model. And as his arm gripped the table in a death grip she glanced at Rem.

"To get to the point, Ms. Coggs, the Kanone Dias not only has the random binder system, it is only .07 G slower than the standard model. There is a slight loss in overall maneuverability, but that is because the verniers are moving more mass."

She simply smiled at the Dr. as he was able to get his hand to released the table. Had this been going on the whole time and she simply hadn't noticed.

“Well, that's good to hear,” she picked up a menu again and hid behind it for a moment, “Uh, so anybody know what they want to eat with the fries Rem was kind enough to order?”
"Kamille, if it wasn't for you...." Jerid's last words

"You bastard... You don't get it! I'm... I'm special! I'm famous! I'm the king of mock battles!" Patrick
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