Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

The last RPG was "Zeta Gundam: Tales from the Frontlines - The AEUG" which ran from 2006-14.
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Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

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- Leaving Gate of Zedan Space -

- The Dervish -
- Bridge -

Capt. Abbey watched the spectacle at the Gate of Zedan until the Dervish had turned far enough away that it crept out of the view of the bridge windows. He turned to face forward in his seat and steepled his fingers as waited for the new course to be set in. “Sir, I’ve finished another sensor sweep as best I can, and there are no friendly contacts of note,” Jungst said dejectedly as he wrapped up a third scan of the area. It looked like there wouldn’t be any stragglers making their way back to the ships. “Thank you, Mr. Jüngst,” Abbey said cheerlessly with a nod. With the last Axis presence leaving the area and the surviving Titans trying to escape, for once the AEUG was left alone to withdraw on its own time. The other ships including the Radish and Argama were stretched out ahead of the 4th in no particular formation.

Abbey thought about the way the bulk of the Titans were massing up to follow the Dogosse Gier and figured they were headed for Gryps or Luna II based on their general direction of travel. They didn’t have many other choices at this point. “That’s where we’re headed next,” Abbey thought, “With luck we’re entering the endgame,”. But he frowned at that choice of words. “Endgame” implied there weren’t many pieces left on the board, and he could see with his own eyes that that was painfully true. In another month or so the AEUG and Titans would probably beat each other down to nothing if things continued the same way. If they could only capitalize on this…

“Set course for lunar orbit,” Abbey ordered, finally forcing himself to relax a little. He looked over the bridge crew as they reacted with visible relief to the end of the combat operation. “Filmore, you can remove the operation timer,” he said, gesturing at the monitor that was now counting up in green numbers, “And announce that the gravity block will be turned back on in 10 minutes,”. He needed to lay down and rest, but that wouldn’t happen for a while. The captain loosened the helmet of his normal suit and removed it, taking in a breath of the ship’s recycled air. “Mr. Wilson, take us ahead at 70% power. We’ll take it slow back to Luna so we can get some repairs and rest in before we report,” he ordered. “Aye, sir,” Wade responded, slowing the Dervish down slightly as the word went out to the other ships.

Then the captain felt a bit foolish that it took him so long to remember that the entire Titans fleet wasn’t present at the Gate of Zedan. He cleared his throat as he put his hat back on and commanded, “Keep us on yellow alert for the time being, but let the pilots get some rest,”. He mentally reviewed who they had left and sighed at the casualties and damaged mobile suits. “Tell Ltcmdr. Eckardy, Ltjg. Curren and Ltjg. Hamilton to report for general standby in 4 hours. Give them whichever Rick Diases are in fighting shape if we run into trouble,” he said reluctantly. If he could he’d tell them to all stand down and go off duty until they got back to Amman, but that would be dangerous. Aside from Ian’s unfortunate injury, Team 2 was in the best shape by far so they would have to put up with milling around in their ready room first.

Ready room. Abbey sucked in air through his teeth and spoke up again, “Has security finished in Team 1’s ready room?”. Filmore turned from his station and moved his headset aside to answer, “Yes, sir. The sergeant in charge says it was obvious what happened down there… Medics removed Lt. Barrique’s body and the room has been sealed until a properly prepared cleaning team can get to it,”.

- Hangar -

Fritz entered the hallway outside Team 3’s ready room still confused and frustrated. He had managed to totally miss Michiko’s feelings for him… or had he? A few months ago he had dismissed what he thought to be a false impression. It looked like he was completely wrong. A little way down the hall, two MPs stood guard outside Team 1’s room to keep anyone from entering. From the hangar, Jacob Markado’s voice boomed from the loudspeakers mounted in his Rick Dias, “Die. Die. Die all of you. Die!”. He winced at the outpouring of emotion like Wes had, and felt the fingers on his left hand throb again from the punch he landed on one of the lockers. When he looked down to check his hand again, he realized what had made the punch hurt so much - his fingers had been smashed up against his wedding ring when it impacted the metal door. “Damn it…” he muttered, his depressed look darkening as he moved toward the hangar proper, his normal suit’s top half still floating behind him at the waist.

The AEUG was arguably winning the war, but the stress and strain of combat was crashing down on the 4th Squadron’s personnel. He came to a stop at the edge of the entrance to the hangar and watched the tired work already going on. Sager had sent a team to do what they could with his machine, but it needed two new arms and binders among other things. It wouldn’t be useful for anything but parts for a while. At least they wouldn’t have to paint it. Fritz folded his arms as he watched Jacob mill around near his Rick Dias’ berth. Wes Curren entered the hallway headed for Team 2’s ready room, and Fritz gave him a curt nod. “Made it through in one piece?” he asked, still sounding tired and on edge. He had to talk to someone or keep himself busy. Something to keep his mind off of the rest of his team.

Across the hangar, Dr. Merkwürdigliebe suddenly reappeared from wherever it is he goes to, sans normal suit, and landed near Sophie and Rem. “I, eh, took a look at Ltjg. Sato’s equipment pack,” the doctor said to Banner after nodding politely to Sophie. He adjusted the collar of his shirt and continued, “The performance of the new Rick Diasss veapons seems to be a tad disappointing. I will have to contact Mr. Zedan, ah, heh, Gates that is, about the other testbeds he bid on,”. He looked down at the notepad he was carrying and flipped through several pages before stopping on a different model. “The C-Type pack was just a stopgap design, of course. If Mr. Lee and the other Zeonic board members give permission to roll out the, heh… I’m sorry, Anaheim board members. If the other Anaheim board members give permission we can secure use of the new -099 model for Mr. Gates,”.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

"Made it through in one piece?"

Wes looked up when Fritz appeared in front of him. His old C.O. clearly looked as tired as he sounded when he spoke; Fritz appeared distracted by something. And if Wes counted the remaining Rick Dias correctly, Team 1 probably lost half of their squad in the fight. Just the thought made Wes a bit more weary. They never interacted much back when they were teammates, but Curren actually understood how the guy felt.

"It appears so," Wes replied as he rubbed his eyes and slung his helmet over his shoulder. "But in any case, I honestly wish we fared better for obvious reasons. Poor Jacob's just about lost it..."

He paused and nodded back over at the hangar before continuing, "Chances are I'll have to head out again for stand-by duty. I think my Dias is probably the only one that's combat ready at the moment. Hopefully we won't run into anymore problems, though."

Curren hesitated a bit as he considered continuing the chat. There really wasn't much to say in such a somber atmosphere, and he was half-sure that Fritz was in no mood to discuss the status of his team. But he wasn't going to just leave it at an awkward silence.

"So... how is Michiko taking all this?" he asked the safest question he could think of, rather than mention Jim or that Pan's Dias never returned.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- The Balrampur -

In few minutes after they left the sector Keaton found himself comfily resting his back against his chair. The bridge crew were in a more relaxed manner, the tension before slowly faded exchanged with a wave of fatigue. However the mood is high, they’re winning the battle and luckily the Balrampur only lost single personnel.

“Sir, flagship is on yellow alert,” Christopher informed him of the situation update. Karl cleared his throat and ordered the ship to stand down to yellow alert. “Chris, inform the pilots to meet me in briefing room. As for the crew, get as many crew as you can to rest without neglecting the watch and ship's defensive ability. and tell the cook he can prepare the meal ASAP, we’ll move the meal time a little. Don’t you think it’s better to eat first before getting rest?”

His XO grinned and was about to reply when the bridge door opened. Karl heard the unique sound and took a peek at the visitor. “Captain Keaton, I need a launch to visit the Dervish” the female visitor asked unceremoniously. Karl immediately recognized the civilian doctor.

“Dr. Proud, is there anything wrong in our ship that made you chose to venture outside at this time around?” He chuckled a bit, letting out a sign of good mood. Without waiting for answer he gave a suggestion, “I’m sure you got a good reason, let me hear about it. However, unless it is really urgent I can’t secure a launch at this time. I’ll schedule one for you when we stand down from yellow alert.”

The announcement cut in although notably less loud in the bridge. "Attention, all MS pilots please attend the main briefing room."
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

-Rick Archer-

shortly after Rick left the pilot's lounge an announcement rang out over the loudspeakers; one that called him and the other pilots to the briefing room. Rick released the hand grip he had been using and kick over to the other side of the hall.

The briefing room was in the opposite direction of his original destination but not very far away. Rick arrived soon after the announcement and quietly took a seat at the fr end of the front row.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

Eventually, there was nothing more to see. Eventually, there was no more debris destroying Titans, though the fragments continued to careen and spin about empty space.

Still, Jacob stared hard, trying to catch even one more death, even one more act of revenge for Tideland's death. Only when he was absolutely certain that there would be no more did he relax slightly, easing back into the seat that cradled him in his suit.

Slowly, he moved the Rick Dias to its berth, settling it into its proper place. Then, he powered it down completely. He shut off everything from weapons systems and verniers to the panoramic screens in his cockpit and even life support, he had at least a couple hours before he'd have to decide if he was going to cut that system back on. All that was left on was the radio. He needed to be able to hear if there were fresh orders to launch.

He sat in the pure, close, warm darkness of his cockpit, an environment completely primal and tried very hard not to think. Fortunately, he was exhausted and in shock so it wasn't hard. Only occasionally would a flash of thought strike him. Lt. David's wound, Burke's Suit being destroyed, Clute's Rick Dias in the coils of those bizarre weapons and then the crushed cockpit. Each time, he winced, retreating from the image, burrowing deeper into nothingness.

Hopefully, there would be no more trouble. Jacob's suit was perhaps the least damaged with only a small cut on one shoulder, but it would be a Herculean chore to get him out of there.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- The Dervish -
- Hangar -

"It appears so," Wes replied as he rubbed his eyes and slung his helmet over his shoulder. "But in any case, I honestly wish we fared better for obvious reasons. Poor Jacob's just about lost it...". He paused and nodded back over at the hangar before continuing, "Chances are I'll have to head out again for stand-by duty. I think my Dias is probably the only one that's combat ready at the moment. Hopefully we won't run into anymore problems, though,". Fritz crossed his arms and gave a worn-out nod of agreement with Wes' sentiment. He took in the view of the eight Rick Diases that had returned to the ship. Every single one had damage of some sort, and his and Ian's units looked like they were totaled until they could be worked on at Amman. Wes looked to be right about his unit being combat-ready though, as there were only a handful of crew working to refuel his Rick Dias and put it on standby.

There was a moment of silence in the conversation. Fritz thought about how Curren never really got a fair shake in Team 1. There was some sort of unspoken antagonism towards Wes after the operation on Earth - probably had something to do with the AEUG's strange relationship with Karaba and the perceived loss of important pilots at Vandenberg. And Curren never really got along with MacAlpin... Fritz closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't ready to think about Jim. "So... how is Michiko taking all this?" Wes asked, trying to be nice enough to avoid Pan and Jim. Fritz opened his eyes slowly and chuckled mirthlessly, the sound bouncing in the hallway with a hollow echo as he ran a hand through his damp hair. He answered slowly, "She's upset and confused... And I don't think I can support her the way she wants me to,". He shook his head, not satisfied with the way he worded his answer. "Both of us need a while to calm down and figure out where we're at, you know?".
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

-The Dervish-
-Hangar-

Eckardy's doze seemed doomed to failure. Jones had come by with a status report on his and Cowboy's suits, as well as Ian's although it was more of a further list of what was left from the suit. He'd tried drifting off again when the comm system beeped again. Sighing, Eddie reached over and switched on, prompting Jane's face to appear on the screen. "Yes, sweetie?"

The textbook smile again. "Team 2 is to go on standby alert in four hours. The Captain says take whichever suits are ready at that time."

Eddie grinned and rubbed his eyes. "Sure. My suit and Cowboy's should be ready a lot sooner than that. No idea on Wes's. We'll be here." He winked.

"Alright. Any idea where Wes and Marvin are? They didn't respond in their suits." Jane explained.

Eddie frowned as he tried to remember if he had seen Wes. "Cowpoke's in the ready room. I think Wes is around here somewhere. I'll let 'em know," Eddie grinned.

"Thanks, honey." Jane winked back and once again cut the channel, doubtlessly to pass the message on to Cowboy.

Yawning and pulling off his helmet, Eckardy floated out of the cockpit and waved to Tony Jones, who came over to Eddie a few moments later. "Ed?"

"Team 2 goes back on standby in four hours. We'll be ready, right?" Eddie asked, the last word turning into a yawn. Jones nodded.

"S***, you guys don't have much to fix. Still, we'll shift some guys back to them and have 'em ready as soon as we can." Jones said, not showing how tired he was at all.

Eddie patted the younger man on the shoulder, who quickly went back to his work while Eckardy headed toward the hallway that led to Team 2's Ready Room. The door opened and Eckardy was surprised to find Wes and Fritz chatting, catching the latter saying "-calm down and figure out where we're at, you know?".

Eddie waved, tiredly. "Well, you're in luck, Fred. Team 2 goes on standby in four hours. Everyone else gets to go, uh, sleep or whatever." Eckardy managed a grin but didn't bother to hide the fact that he was looking foward to sleeping for as much of those four hours as he could.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- Balrampur team -

After he finished stowing his normal suit Terrace had made his way towards he quarters to take a shower. The lingering smell of sweat was getting to him and he really wanted to do something about it.

As he reached the door an announcement came over the PA:"Attention, all MS pilots please attend the main briefing room."

"Ugh," he muttered as he turned to make his way to the briefing room. His shower would have to wait till after the briefing.

He didn't rush so it took him a little longer then usual, but as Terrace stepped into the room he saw that Rick was already there.

"Hey Archer," he wasn't very close to his teammates yet, so he wasn't sure if a first name basis was appropriate yet. Especially since he had gotten separated from them during the battle. "How's it going?"
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

Fritz answered slowly as if he was trying to choose which words to use, "She's upset and confused... And I don't think I can support her the way she wants me to." He shook his head, "Both of us need a while to calm down and figure out where we're at, you know?"

Curren raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded, "We'll all need it, honestly." He only managed to say that much before Eddie arrived at the hall in his usual manner. Along with his usual goofiness he also brought the general feeling of exhaustion.

"Well, you're in luck, Fred. Team 2 goes on standby in four hours. Everyone else gets to go, uh, sleep or whatever," Eckardy said with a grin. Wes couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that his gut feeling was right. The thought made him even more tired. Fortunately, they still had four hours; four more hours to lie awake letting everything sink in.

"Heh... just as I figured," Curren said with a shrug. He couldn't help but rub his eyes again. "Well, even one hour of rest is better than nothing. Just makes four sound even better I suppose."
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

~ The Balrampur ~

Leaving the seals on the cockpit to leave behind for the mechanics to notice, Johnathon climbed out of his Nemo, happy that the landing wasn't too bad with the machine's damaged leg. He checked for himself how big the outside leak was. After some time passed and he made sure the mechanics would fix it, he heard the message.

"Attention, all MS pilots please attend the main briefing room." Johnathon expected some stand-by orders and discussion about Folk to come up. "At least I don't have to travel far", he said to himself. Even though he was fairly close to the room he was heading for, Johnathon still managed to be the last of the trio to enter the room. Terrace's question was heard by Johnathon, who felt that it was nice to have a teammate that would try and communicate with you.

"Hey guys. Thanks back there, whoever helped me," Johnathon quickly spewed from his mouth.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

-Rick Archer-

Rick didn't pay much heed to his teammates' entrance only giving Terrace a quiet "...no problems..." in response to his inquiry. Rick didn't answer when Johnathan thanked him for his 'rescue'; Rick had only been doing his job, nothing more nothing less, so it felt needless to dwell on it.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

Balrampur, Bridge

Dr. Proud

“Dr. Proud, is there anything wrong in our ship that made you chose to venture outside at this time around? I’m sure you got a good reason, let me hear about it. However, unless it is really urgent I can’t secure a launch at this time. I’ll schedule one for you when we stand down from yellow alert.”
She could think of perhaps a half a dozen: "Well for starters there was a casualty by gunshot wound," she chose her words carefully "Not exactly a normal way to die in a ship these days, which suggests something more... sinister, and I would like to build a profile in-case of.. a second event." She didnt give the captain a chance to speak as she continued down the preliminary damage assessment and her own notes, "Not to mention that they lost 4 pilots, with one potentially to friendly fire, have another crippled who I can almost guarantee will need counseling and another who I believe has the potential to break down and possibly harm himself or others around him unless he is given an outlet soon."
Though she was glad the battle was won she couldn't share Keaton's good mood with so much death and work yet to do to help the living, delivering her reasons in her usual sweet yet firmhanded professional tone that was generally reserved for patients.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- The Hamburg -
- Pilot Ready Room -


Bernard came out of the shower area with a towel wrapped round his waist and took a seat on the bench near the lockers. His right leg starts to shake almost uncontrollably as he reaches for another towel. The day's events were starting to catch up with him as flashes of the battle and the image of A Baoa Qu breaking apart whirl around in his mind. He barely remembers the base from his Zeon days, it was a brief staging point before heading toward Earth. Feelings of anguish and heartache took control of the weary pilot as he realizes it will be a second time that the body count will rise around that base.
"More lives lost to war...and are we closer to humanity being one...." Bernard buries his face in the towel as he silently breaks down.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- The Hamburg -
- Pilot Ready Room -


Also coming back into the ready room, Adam spotted Bernard right away, though it took him a little longer to realise that something was wrong. Not really being a people person, he was suddenly at a loss of what to do.

Bernard hadn't seemed to notice him yet so maybe it would be best if he just left. Except, just as he made up his mind, and turned to head out, his shoulder slammed into the corner of one of the lockers, making a loud bang in addition to his curse. He looked back, somewhat sheepishly at his team-mate, his sneaking failed miserably.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- The Hamburg -
- Pilot Ready Room -


Emington floated out from the hatch after making sure his suit was completely secured on its berth. Mechanics rushed out to do the initial checking, few of them glanced at the pilot and giving their salute or a thumb up. Randy waved casually, thanked them in general for their appreciation. He had similar appreciation in mind to these technicians and mechanics that worked their ass around the clock to literally fix the mess he created on the suit.

A slight tap on the floor before Randy stopped at the ready room’s door. The door made a distinct swishing sound, he opened his helmet while entering the room. Instantaneously he felt the urge to sit down and rest. "Yo," he said to Adam who was nearby. He spotted Bernard on the far end of the room and gave a thumb up to his comrade. Randy didn't realize about the situation, he was just really tired. He walked pass Adam, opened his locker and grab a bottle of water inside. He gulped several times, knelt down before sitting on the floor while resting his back and head on the bench chair. “Ohhh…,“ he protested slightly to his own fatigue. And then absentmindedly he said casually while still in his protesting tone, “O I hate that rock! I hope this is the last time I see it…”


- The Balrampur -
- Bridge -


Karl chuckled and tried to hide his grin when hearing the doctor's explanation. Clearly he didn't understand the full circumstances Dr. Proud was talking. The Balrampur Captain hadn't have the time to read all the telex messages of what happening on other people's ship, and mostly such issue will fall into internal matter category. As skipper, he got too many critical things to do, especially on combat situation few minutes ago.

"I'm sorry doctor but I couldn't follow completely at what you're saying," then Karl remembered that she mentioned something about gunshot wound; it hinted something utterly wrong happened in the Dervish. “I’d like to hear more about it, but first I need to address my pilots,” he moved away from his chair and straightened up his body. “It may be an impolite request. But perhaps the Doctor would be so kind as to willingly accompany the Captain to the briefing?” Karl smiled a bit.

The crew started to take a peek and then Karl changed his tone slightly, “that way perhaps I could use your expertise in determining whether my new flight leader is capable in taking over Lt. Folk’s position,” the tone let go a slight grief or sorrow. The Captain of the ship fixed his cap and walked toward the door only stopped next to Dr Proud, “Shall we?” politely he offered his hand like a formal dance party request to the civilian doctor.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

Balrampur, Bridge

Dr. Proud

“Shall we?”
Ashley took the offered hand "I'd be glad to accompany you Captain" she replied though somewhat stiffly. She was far from being spoiled but Ashley was a woman used to getting her way. Now however she had very little control and was far from her powerful Godfather whose name and a smile were often all that was required to be persuasive.
Along the way to the briefing in an empty corridor she tried to apologize for being a bit cool with him. "Sorry, I know you have a lot on you plate and will try to help you out by giving my recommendations about who to pick for a new commander, but I still suspect that someone has been murdered aboard Dervish and I'd feel terrible if something else occurred and I wasn't their to help stop it."
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

Sunlight streamed down on the patio of the cafe that Jacob and his fellow trainees were eating at. It wasn't often that they got a chance to just relax and enjoy a day off. Even on the weekends they were expected to study on their own time. But, no one said being a Mobile Suit pilot would be easy.

Clute was regaling the rest of them with a long, moderately bawdy tale from his youth. Jack held his expression carefully neutral but a smile flitted around his mouth from time to time and Celeste's eyes twinkled with mirth. Jacob couldn't help laughing, trying to keep his composure but failing at every turn.

Something nagged at the edge of Jacob's consciousness, especially when he looked into Celeste's eyes but he was too happy to think about it and somehow he knew that whatever it was would make him unhappy.

The laughter slowly died down and Clute turned to him with a serious, slightly disappointed look on his face. "So what, Kid? You just gonna sit there and suffocate or somethin'?"

Before he could question the man, Jacob snapped awake. He found himself in almost complete darkness. The air surrounding him was hot and stagnant, filled with the smells of his own breath and sweat and fear.

Desperately, he sat up, slapping at controls, trying to get his machine to restart, knowing that if he sat still for too long a Titan would blast him out of space...just like they'd done to Jack and Clute. But the controls were all wrong. There was something wrong with the configuration on his Nemo.

Finally, he managed to hit the button that popped the hatch, as much by accident as by any purpose. A rush of fresh air filled the cockpit and he moved to the opening, holding one hand up to shield his eyes from the bright light outside.

Everything came rushing back, the last battle, the one before, the deaths, the terror. Jacob's shoulders slumped. "Damn you, Clute, you should have let me sleep," he said quietly before pushing off his Mobile Suit with a sigh and heading for his Team's ready room to change out of his sweat soaked Normal Suit.
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- The Balrampur -
- Briefing Room -


Karl smiled when Dr Proud explained again about the dire condition on the Dervish. “Don’t worry doctor, this won’t be long. We need time to prepare the launch. My men are preparing one right now as we speaking. As soon as we’re finish with this, I’ll escort you to the launch.”

He continued in much quieter voice, “Dr, I wanted you to observe LtJG Johnathon on the briefing. Let me know if... mentally he’s able to do the job or not. If not, I need to ask HQ to give me a new officer to assume the job.” He returned to his smile and entered the briefing room.

Captain on d-…”, a crew that followed them tried to announce but Karl waved his hand. “No need, at ease gentlemen.”

The skipper saw three pilots in the room. ‘Few hours ago there are four of them’, he thought regrettably. He proceed to the front row seats and turned one chair around and sit facing closely to the pilots. “I know you’re tired and you deserve some rest, but first I wanted to say that on the behalf of the ship’s crew we thanked you for your efforts.”

He relaxed his posture a bit before continued, “I’m also glad that I’m able to inform you guys that the mission is considered very successful. The Titans asteroid base, The Gate of Zedan cannot be used anymore. Furthermore we crippled their fighting ability so much that we believed now we’re on even ground with our adversaries. The Balrampur MS Team contribution in this campaign will not be forgotten... This led me to my second point.”

He paused for a while, letting his breath to catch up. “Up until now, we haven’t heard or able to locate Lt. Folk your Commanding Officer. But we still have reason to believe that he might survive and catching up with us, or perhaps he landed in another ship amidst the confusion earlier. However, there’s the need to install new leader, therefore for now I appointed Lt.JG Johnathon to temporarily lead the Balrampur MS team as the new CO. Until further notice, he has my trust to hold the job.”

“Any question? If not I wanted you to get some meal, I hate to say this but we're still on yellow alert. I need one pilot to standby around the clock, the rest can rest. Johnathon will determine the method whether it going to be 4 or 8 hours shift, it's up him."
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wonton bob
Posts: 706
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:07 pm
Location: Von Braun

Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- The Hamburg -
- Pilot Ready Room -


Upon hearing Adam's clatter with the lockers, Bernard quickly wipes away his tears. Looking forward at nothing in particular he simply waits as Randy steps in and goes to his locker. Doesn't anybody ever f@@king knock anymore? Bernard brooded.

“O I hate that rock! I hope this is the last time I see it…”

Bernard stands to gather his clothes and speaks out loud in an irritated tone. "I wish it were that easy...I've been seeing things like that replay in my mind for years...and now that poor young kid has a lifetime to relive his nightmare."

With that, Bernard walks out of the ready room with his clothes under his arm and goes directly to his quarters. His eyes fixed on the door ignoring both teammates.
"War is some crazy sh**" - alexander the great
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Fritz Ashlyn
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Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:32 am
Location: Texas Gulf Coast
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Re: Episode 21 - No Rest for the Weary [4th]

- L2 Space -

- The Dervish -
- Bridge -

"Captain," Wade turned in his seat after finishing up their plotted course, "We'll be in lunar orbit late on the 20th if we continue at our current speed,". Abbey nodded and responded, "That's fine, Wade. We've got some field repairs and resting to do before we get back to Amman. I wish I could let everyone go off duty until we get back, but there's so much to do,". Filmore slipped his headset off and commented with a smile, "'Least we're not the Titans,". After a few chuckles and words of agreement from the other crew, he added, "AND they've got about a week's travel ahead of them just to get back to Gryps,". Abbey smiled at how well the bridge crew were holding up. He knew for sure the same wasn't true for everyone else on the ship. Rest alone wasn't enough to heal the wounds the 4th had suffered in their effort to break the Gate of Zedan. Each one of them would have to cope in their own way.

- Hangar -

"We'll all need it, honestly," Wes said. Fritz knew that was God's honest truth. However he felt about what had just happened and the state of Team 1 must have been amplified for Michiko considering how it had played out. He didn't really respond to Wes, partially out of fatigue. He managed a nod in response to Eddie's wave as Eckardy landed near him and Wes. "Well, you're in luck, Fred. Team 2 goes on standby in four hours. Everyone else gets to go, uh, sleep or whatever," Eddie explained with a bedraggled grin. "Heh... just as I figured," Curren said with a shrug; he rubbed his eyes and continued, "Well, even one hour of rest is better than nothing. Just makes four sound even better I suppose,". Fritz said only, "Yeah," quietly as his vision dropped to the deck. He had to decide what to do next, and at that moment dragging himself to his quarters to collapse for a while felt like all he was capable of. Not wanting to waste the men from Team 2's downtime, he cleared his throat quietly and turned to head back up the hallway. "I'll see you guys later," he said in a subdued tone, not sure if it was loud enough for them to hear.

In the main hangar area, Sager Polk floated down from a wide catwalk and landed in the center of the work space. "Five minutes till the gravity blocks are back on," he yelled for the benefit of the mechanics and everyone present, "Don't get yourself hurt not paying attention to the time. Secure your work areas,". He gave Jacob Markado a friendly pat on the shoulder as the young pilot floated past. "Glad you're okay, kid," he said, his face sobering up as he thought about Clute Tideland's fate, "You take it easy,". He let Jacob continue on his way to Team 3's ready room and went back to work organizing the repair crews.

- Hallway -

A couple of lift rides later, Fritz floated out into the main hallway of the gravity block where his quarters were located along with much of the rest of the crew's living spaces. He was still contemplating how to deal with his new situation when he bumped into someone and looked up from his introspection to apologize. "I'm sorry," he said, blushing slightly at his tired clumsiness - then he realized who he had just gently collided with. "Celeine!" he said, stopping himself aginst the wall. Celeine Caro'd, wrapped in one of her bed's blankets and looking unhappy and quite disheveled, frowned at him with a dirty look. "I decide to come out and you're the first person I run into?" she complained halfheartedly. Celeine pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders and sighed, "You look almost as bad as I do,". Fritz rubbed his cheek sheepishly and said, "It's nice to see you too,".
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