Blueblood IC

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Daiki smiled as he was able to finally contact Herrman...but was a bit saddened by his response.

 

"I cannot say at the moment, Daiki. But I could realistically check this from the bridge. I am in fact headed that way, feel free to join me there... so as long as the Admiral allows either of our presences up there."

 

After the last part of this was said, Daiki simply nodded at the notion. "Sounds like a plan to me Herrman." he said, hearing the young man entering the elevator and beginning to speak once again.

 

"I will be arriving at the living quarters through elevator Sigma. If a rendezvous would be to your liking, I can wait for you there."

 

"Understood. I'll meet you there. Daiki out." he said, as he ended the call, heading to the nearest elevator. "Elevator, to the living quarters, por favor!"

 

Invalid Response...Try again

 

"Really? Again!!" he sighed as he glared at the elevator's closed doors. With a defeated sigh, he tried again. "Elevator up. Living quarters floor." A few moments passed, before the elevator finally came down to him, as he entered it...being whisked away to the living quarters floor. On the way, he opened the notepad portion of the holographic device and looked at the ideas he put down for his Mecha once again. "Absorb Shield...hmm, probably not something I'd use at first. Probably put that in later on..."

[Asriel Dreemurr]

The tactical information which Draegan was receiving while merged with the Gerridon ensured that he was aware when the Silver Bullet activated, and as such he was able to breath a heavy sigh of relief upon realizing that his friend was safely aboard the Mjolnir.  He briefly altered the channels through which he was communicating to send his message directly to Eryn.  The interfacing with his armor symbiote still distorted his voice, but he was fairly certain she would recognize him.

 

"Good to see you made it, my friend," he stated as he locked the Gerridon into place on the Launch Catapult he had since entered, "let's get ready and see if we can't make these bastards pay."  The more common jovial tone to his voice was gone to be replaced ever so briefly by a calm intensity as he waited for the order to engage.  Inside the anticipation was building, all the blood he had seen spilt on the ground around him by these federation dogs, the faces locked permanently into expressions of pure shock and terror as those unaware had been cut down, it all stayed with him and set a fire in his heart.  To those outside, the Gerridon could be seen visibly trembling as the nervous impulses from the Knight within transferred to it.  Draegan did not shake out of fear, but out of anger and anticipation.  He wanted to drive into the heart of the enemy formation and cut down every mech he saw to begin the vengeance which the fallen so desperately deserved.

 

"All troops ready for takeoff!"  The order came over the comms in the Admiral's voice, and this set the Knight trembling ever more intensely for a moment before he calmed himself and became still once more.  The launch of the Mjolnir, the sudden force placed upon him by its acceleration, the joining the rest of the Ninth fleet in formation, and finally the sudden change of course passed without much reaction from him.  However, what did get a reaction from him were the orders coming from the Admiral.  The orders to open fire with ship-based artillery and to drop their mines, those weren't the orders for an engagement that would slake the Knight's thirst for blood.  Sure, in the back of his mind he knew why they weren't engaging the enemy but that didn't change his momentary lapse in reason.  Who could blame anyone who had just seen their comrades slain by cowards for wanting vengeance?  Most infuriating of all was the last order he heard given to the fleet, sounding retreat.  

 

"No no no no NO!"  He cried out in rage, barely comprehensible in his words before he slipped from English and into the strange lilting tongue of his people.  He swore oaths and curses that would have made the more faint-of-heart who could comprehend his speech faint for their vulgarity, and it wasn't until nearly a minute after the Mjolnir had entered Warp that he stopped long enough realize he was broadcasting this over the general communications channels for the ship.  He sat in embarrassed silence for several moments after that, before finally speaking in a level tone and slightly accented English.

 

"I apologize for the outburst, and it will not happen again."  That said, he disconnected from the communications and, after making certain that the Gerridon was properly locked down where it could be swiftly deployed into combat should such become an issue, began the process of reversing the integration so that he could emerge from his unit and actually find his quarters on the ship.  He was hoping that the Admiral would be understanding of his moment of blind rage...which might not have been the best thing to hope for but without that hope he was pretty much boned.

[BANZAI!!!!]

The adrenaline fled Lonn's body and he felt himself settling back into his usual listless state. He always felt empty after experiencing the high of battle, and felt emptier still when he realized that the ship was missing half its crew. A crack of anger broke through him when he remembered the massacre. No, now was not the time to be dwelling on his enemies, rather his crew members would need to be tended to. The attack threw everything off schedule and he found that it was past time for lunch. It fell upon him to organize everyone again, but he wasn't Admiral for nothing.

----------

Eryn began to catch her breath as her eyes cleared.


It had been.... maybe twenty minutes according to the Bullet's onboard clock. No doubt they had left close to a day ago in real time. Eryn cringed at the thought of all the bodies lying in heaps on the green back at the academy, that was if the Federation even bothered with the cleanup. Doubtful with the way they'd butchered the cadets so mercilessly. Her breathing slowed now that her tears had been dry for a couple of minutes, and Eryn was just now regaining her composure. She looked up at her mech's main screen, which was now full of various biometric readouts on her condition, as well as an audio message from Draegan that she must have not noticed while in her state. "How thoughtful of him." She smiled a bit, and it grew wider as she read the various elevated pulse warnings on the Bullet's screen. They were there as a medical precaution for pilots of the machine (which tended to pull a lot of Gs in flight), but Eryn couldn't help but imagine that instead it was her mech asking her if she was okay. She gave it an affirmative nod as she shut down its systems, having never received a launch order. Then she laughed at herself a bit for childishly pretending her machine was sentient.

As she rode the cherry-picker back down to the ground, she looked around at the various machines standing in their cells. She had always loved being around them; their large and imposing forms had impressed her as a young child, and as she grew older she had found their inner workings interesting (plus flying them was, of course, loads of fun). Though she'd never quite gotten to the level of interest shown by other pilots like Daiki, she did have a soft spot for the gigantic weapons. Especially her own. This train of thought was, however, interrupted by another twange of pain coming from her still bleeding arm. She moved her hand off of the wound, realising that she'd been subconsciously covering it. Of course, her palm was now stained with caked on violet blood, and she winced as the wound throbbed again. It must have been a bit more than a glance after all.

Luckily for her, Lucius happened to be walking by a Beowulf across the way from the Silver Bullet, carrying what appeared to be medical supplies toward the end of the hangar which was linked to one of the Mjolnir's medical bays. As Eryn made her way off the cherry picker, her commanding officer noticed her presence, quickly and (almost) painlessly patching her gunshot wound, despite a little bit of moaning from Eryn as he rubbed alcohol to sterilize it. After thanking him, Eryn left the hangar, headed off to find an officer to see if she could be of any use.

----------

The door slid open immediately at his approach and Lonn found himself, for the first time in perhaps years, in the kitchen. It had occurred to him that perhaps for the sake of troop morale, he should treat to something different from the standard fare. Unfortunately, opening up the holographic dialogue box, he found the military recipe selection severely lacking. Only his private machine held anything different, but they lacked sufficient amounts of the more expensive ingredients involved in royal Alfar cuisine to feed the whole crew.

The door opened again as Eryn walked in, then jumped, surprised to see anyone in the kitchen (Having decided to search it just to be thorough), let alone the Admiral. And he was... toying with a food processor of all things. She spoke sheepishly yet solidly as her younger commander turned around to face her. "Admiral, sir? What exactly are you doing there?" Her speech sounded a bit awkward, both due to the fact that she was still a bit shaky from crying and that Lonn, whom she'd barely ever spoken to, was here by himself, and she wasn't quite sure how to address him.

Lonn cocked his head as he tried to remember this girl's name. "Er... yn...?"

She nodded affirmatively, a bit amused by how foreign her name sounded in Lonn's voice. "What are you up to there?" she asked, momentarily forgetting to address him properly.

Lonn looked at her, bemused, and looked back to the cooking machine before him. Then, it struck him that Admirals did not usually cook. "Well, I will be an Admiral who cooks." He stopped as he realized he had spoken his thoughts out loud. "I intend to prepare a feast to allow the crew to revitalize," he said, finally answering her question.

Eryn's face brightened at the word "feast". She made her way over to where Lonn was standing, invading his personal space in the nicest way possible as she leaned in to have a look at the cooking machine he was fiddling with. She'd completely forgotten about the status of whom she was speaking to; her face coming ever-so-uncomfortably-close to his as she looked over the meal options he'd began to key in. She turned to speak to him, then retreated a couple of inches when she realised how close she was, but Lonn seemed not to notice or care. She subconsciously decided on a much friendlier tone before she began again. "Well, 'Admiral who cooks', mind if I give you a hand ?" She smiled at him then looked back at the screen, trying to get a feel for what exactly they were working with.

Lonn creased his eyebrows as he realized he really had no clue what he was doing. Bringing himself to admit that he needed help was not something he was used to, but he managed to speak nonetheless. "It would be most appreciated."
Eryn leaned in just a bit farther, almost but not quite coming into contact with Lonn as she punched in a few codes into the machine. She set all but one of the ovens in the system to copy the main stove, which was now set to make curry for however many crew members the biometric scanners observed in the ship. Lonn watched intently as the kitchen came alive. Eryn then made her way to the nearest pantry and refrigerator, setting aside some baking supplies as well as all the tools and ingredients she and Lonn would need to make the curry in the main oven. She turned back to Lonn. "Sooooo," her voice trailed off with the word momentarily. "Do you know what you're doing at all, Admiral Chef?"

Lonn paused and looked at her for a moment. "Of... of course," he said. "Though, I would like to first of all appraise your culinary skills, so if you would demonstrate them for me... ahem, that would be nice." Yes, yes, he managed to conjure up a plausible enough excuse and hopefully, Eryn would buy it.

She couldn't help but giggle at him a little. "You know, its not like I'd make fun of you for being clueless about it or anything. You probably haven't had too many opportunities to learn how to do this yourself, anyway." She paused for a moment, trying to be as warm as possible in case Lonn was actually offended at all by her seeing through him. "Let me teach you the basics. Might come in handy for you someday down the road. Just go wash your hands first and grab a knife so we can cut some of these vegetables. I guess we should make something simple that everyone will be able to eat…." She pondered for but an instant. “How about curry? That’s simple enough, plus you can make it for yourself sometime once you learn how.”

Lonn frowned slightly as his ploy was seen through, but he complied nevertheless, walking over to the sink to wash his hands and grabbing a knife on his way back.

“Don’t cut yourself now, ok?” She said as she too made her way over to the sink, quickly and efficiently washing her hands before she made her way back to the table. She did her best to both keep an eye on Lonn and to form wadds of cookie dough (which she’d taken out along with the curry ingredients) into reasonable shapes to bake in the one oven she’d set to independant.
After a few minutes, Eryn found herself slaving away over the stove, inputting the first portion of the meal for the rest of the machines to copy. Lonn, thinking himself an astute observer, stood back to admire Eryn's work. Of course, it wasn’t long before Eryn required his participation, and he found himself either having tasks delegated to him or attempting to learn from Eryn’s example as the pair made their way through various different varieties of curry, so as to suit the palates of all of the various members of the crew.

A good deal of time had passed when Eryn heard the independent oven’s “ding” and quickly rushed over to it, an excited look on her face. She almost forgot to grab oven mitts on the way, and had to do a double take as she ran past the rack that contained them. After about two minutes of leaving Lonn at the mercy of the main stove, Eryn returned with a wide smile and a tray full of crisp chocolate chip cookies. “I thought we could use a treat while we were working. Have some!”

Lonn turned in surprise. Speechlessly, he extended a hand and quickly snatched one, sniffing at it before taking the first bite and then proceeding to stuff the rest of it into his mouth. He was quite pleased. “We need to get back to work,” he said through a mouth full of chocolatey goodness.

Eryn nodded in agreement. “I’ll just leave the tray on the table over there so we can-” she stopped a moment as she put a bite in her mouth, “-grab some whenever.” She quickly finished her cookie and got back to work at the stove while Lonn stood there for a few moments longer, evidently tempted, before following.

Finally, they were done, and the cookies had long since been decimated, so Lonn brought up the ship's announcement system and called the crew to eat, while the serving bots filed in on command and carried off the fruits of their labor.

----------

Lonn typically took his meals in his own cabin, so it must have came to a surprise when he appeared in the mess hall, and with the maid-bots behind him no less. A delicious aroma wafted across the room, making the air come alive with exotic scents and foreign spices, but standing before his weary men, Lonn’s sombre mood returned. "Soldiers," he began as the mechanical servers distributed the curry. "Eat well and rest up, for this day has been a long one. However, let us first take a moment of silence -for our comrades, who fell to the machinations of the rebels who call themselves the Intergalactic Federation; and for our Crown Princess, who valiantly offered her own life and well-being so we could all share this feast. Live this day in shame, but live it nonetheless. Take this respite and gather your strength and; for when the time comes to seek vengeance, you shall be the hammer of the gods to crush the wicked."

Lonn bowed his head with everyone else as the moment of silence passed. Then, as he did not have a designated seat, he walked over to the table by the front where Eryn sat and seated himself beside her. “Let us enjoy our meal, shall we?” he said, looking to the other residents of the table.

“I hope you all like it!” Eryn added, grinning a little. “We worked really hard, so eat up, ok?” She then shot Lonn a glance. “You too, especially. Wouldn’t want you out of energy when we need you, would we?”

Lonn’s pale cheeks flushed ever so slightly as everyone looked his way in surprise, and he nodded at Eryn’s question before helping himself to curry.

[Astolfo]

It was unusually calm, and as Mithna fidgeted in the seat, she waited to possibly fight. However, Jin dropped in, notifying her of the new situation. "Warp drive has been activated, and battle does not seem imminent." Standing up, Jin opened the cockpit for her, and she climbed down Jin quickly, as she dusted herself off. "Looks like we'll be able to relax for a bit." Stretching, she walked towards the central lounge, to wait for orders, when the intercom came on, and her stomach grumbled in response. The tips of her ears turning a red, she put her hands over her gut. Looking around, she hoped no one had heard that.

Making her way over to the mess hall, she arrived, and scanned the surroundings, before locking onto the location of the Admiral, but noticed the [acronym="I know it's not half and half, but Mithna wouldn't care."]half-blood[/acronym] next to him. Her lip curled, but the expression soon disappeared as she picked up amazing scents. Her mouth curling into a smile, she looked down to see curry and cookies at the table. Walking over to the table as Lonn asked for a moment of silence, she stopped mid-step, and bowed, with her eyes closed. The visions of the bodies that she had seen get torn apart flashed though, and she bit her lip, to avoid physically recoiling.

As the moment of silence passed, she finished walking over to the table, and grimacing at the fact the dirtblood was sitting right besides the royal Admiral, and sat on the other side of Lonn, remaining diplomatic, even if it was a struggle. Receiving a bowl of curry, she breathed in the aroma appreciatively. Taking the first bite, her face visibly lit up. "This is delicious, who made this?" Assuming Lonn did, she peered at him, but she was surprised when Eryn tentatively spoke up. "I helped Lonn make it, I'm glad you like it. Our head chef did a really good job, don't you agree?" She almost choked at the fact that she ate something that mingleblood made, but when she heard that the Admiral had taken part in the creation of it, she halted, her face growing hot. "I-it's delicious, Admiral. You're a very good chef." Ignoring Eryn entirely in her praise, she averted her gaze from the older girl, and returned to devouring the curry, which she certainly didn't mind now. She began to feel irritated as she ate though, and after a while, she began to visibly start fuming. Dropping her spoon with a loud clatter, she stood up and locked onto Eryn's gaze, her eye twitching. She sneered. "Who gave you the right to call our Admiral by his first name? A filthy-blood like you isn't even worth the dirt on his shoes. Learn your place." The fact she was a good three inches or so shorter than the other girl made Mithna really dislike being her current height, having to look up to the other girl, whether or not she liked it, but she didn't back down one bit, daggers shooting out of her eyes.

[Mugendramon]

 

The elevator made its way smoothly, and gave Herrman plenty of time -read, a couple seconds- to relive what had just taken place, and evaluate the best course of action possible.

 

All things considered, the Admiral had made the most out of a desperate situation. With the help of Freya (his thoughts stopped for a fraction of a second as her image, holding a gun to her bleeding hand, flashed into his optics), Lonn had performed a near-flawless escape, rescuing over half of the total personnel of the academy; thusly, over half of the Mjolnir's crew was aboard after an emergency takeoff. Herrman ignored the numbers in which the remained of the fleet managed to escape the ambush, but an approximation of over half did not seem like a stretch by his parametres. Now that he considered it, the warp jump must have required an amazing degree of precision to allow a smooth transition so close to a powerful gravity force. The fact that the ship still traveled at full speed, and in one piece, was an amazing feat on its own.

 

His mind moved on to their next possible destination. He placed a hand on the sensitive panel of the elevator, entering the ship's mainframe database through an encrypted entrance.

 

The jump had been performed in a direction with the sole initial purpose of swift escape, from the looks of it. It was set to last about two weeks in regular time... giving the ship and its crew a few hours to prepare for emergence. Furthermore, the destination for the voyage was very much evident. Herrman's eyebrows arched upwards as he examined the file concerning the colony. Skybound habitats, a completely wasted planetside environment. Neutral ground as well, perfect for temporary immunity... but also bound to later recrimination after reports flew from end to end of the galaxy, and the Federation would no doubt disagree with the Merchantile Union providing shelter for an Empire ship. The first few hours posterior to emergence could very well prove crucial for the survival of Lonn and all of his crew. The Union, Herrman knew for a fact, was exceptionally harsh on its neutrality policy.

 

The robot's internal rambling continued until the very millisecond the elevator door had closed behind him. What truly interrupted the stream of thoughts however, was the ringing sound of Lonn's voice through the muffled intercoms in the Living Quarters. While Herrman felt no real need for nourishment, the Admiral had basically given a direct order to all crew members; he was thusly forced to assist. His rendezvous with Daiki would probably happen at the lounge, at any rate.

 

---

 

Herrman made it to the mess hall quickly, as it lay in the same level as the living quarters. Knowing he really had no place sitting anywhere in particular, the robot went ahead and took a seat in the centremost table; chances were the most prominent pilots would be gathering there, provided they'd already left their units.

 

He was proven right soon enough, and to his mild surprise Lonn himself joined the table; apparently responsible for the preparation of the meal now being served. Herrman looked down at it, and could immediately tell there was no way Lonn had had a hand in it. Eryn, on the other hand, had entered the room about at the same time as the Admiral, shying away from prais- oh, nevermind. This made it more than clear that she was the cook behind the food he did not intend to eat at all.

 

A soft, but clearly audible "heh" escaped his mouth as Mithna, the pilot who favored a robot as her partner in battle, praised the inexpert chef, rather than the rat in his hat.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

It took several minutes for Draegan to properly reverse the integration process from the Gerridon, a few drops of his glowing blood dripping onto the floor of the "cherry picker" assembly that had come alongside the neck of his unit.  He took a moment to examine himself for the source, and found a few small puncture wounds where the integrating nerve and muscle tissues had been removed a bit too quickly for its own good.  He sighed, realizing that the next time he would have to be a bit more careful about such things, and activated the cherry picker to take him down to the floor of the hangar.  He was looking forward to making certain that the stash of Kal'dar cuisine he had put in his personal effects to be taken aboard the vessel was placed in his room, there wasn't much worry about it going bad as most of it was inorganic, when he heard an announcement over the intercom that effectively ordered the crew to the mess hall for a meal.

 

"Well, guess I can eat whatever they're serving on board," he muttered to himself as he made his way out of the hangar and towards a lift which would be taking him up to the deck on which the mess hall was located.  In the mean time, he checked one of his pockets for the pack of snacks he had been introduced to recently and found them where he expected them.  Those soft metal capsules containing acids and highly reactive metals often hit the spot that simple organic foods failed to, and also tended to have the a fair number of the inorganic compounds he needed to intake to supplement the lack of such that was present in most of the "normal" food he was served.  "Batteries" he remembered they were called.

 

He arrived on the mess level a few moments after the moment of silence had ended, having been walking from the far end of the hangar to reach the right elevator, and looked about for a moment.  He quickly saw Eryn seated with Admiral Lonn and Mithna at a table and- wait a minute, Admiral Lonn and Eryn?  He did a double-take and sure enough he saw his fellow pilot and the Admiral at the same table...and was just in time to catch that particular comment Mithna.  Hearing that, he put on his game face and strode right on over to their table before saluting.

 

"Sir Draegan, Knight of the Kal'dar, reporting as ordered, Admiral Lonn."  He did hope that using the Admiral's first name would get a rise out of Mithna, and didn't seem to notice one thing.  The dress uniform he was wearing was completely in tatters!  The integration process with Gerridon usually required a specially made pilot's suit for the knight to avoid ripping up his garments, and he clearly had not donned it before entering his unit.  He was certainly showing off far more of that slightly metallic grey skin of his than normal, most of his chest being bare and the waistband to his pants mercifully intact else the rest of the crew might have been scandalized by his arrival in such a state.  He waited patiently until he was put at ease by the Admiral, and proceeded to seat himself at the table as close to directly across from Mithna as he could manage so that he was directly in her line of sight.

 

Once seated, he set the pack of batteries down on the table beside the curry he had been served and began eating the dish a spoonful at a time whilst occasionally popping one of the metallic canisters into his mouth and chewing it up into little pieces before washing it down with a spoonful of the curry's broth.

 

"My compliments to whomever it was that put this dish together," he stated, looking up at his dining companions with a smile on his face.

[Lunar Origins]

 

Adora's arm still ached from the medical procedures that had been performed.  In the last twenty-four hours, she had lost an arm, witnessed a miracle, and shortly after that had her arm pieced together to form something that wasn't completely disgusting looking.  She had given up all conscious movement of that arm and let it trail ever so slightly behind her as she walked.  The feeling that the rest of her arm was there was very... odd.  It was surreal, how it felt.

 

She had been struggling all day to do the keypad signatures as anything requiring her fingerprint on the ship was synced to her left arm's thumbprint and not her right.  Every so often when she had to go through a door with clearance, mainly the ones leading to the bridges, she would have to fetch someone else with a clearance, flash her little badge, and have them open the door for her.  She was well known enough to not have anyone question her access, but she garnered many an odd look from those around her.  She heard murmurs of "What happened to her?" or, "Is she missing an arm?  Oh my god..."  She felt herself shift in place with these comments.  They made her feel like a perverted ghost of her former self.

 

The world was moving too fast from her, it seemed.  Her reactions felt slower.  Having to do everything with her right arm just felt plain wrong.  She found herself just kind of wandering around the halls, meandering here and there.  She forgot what she was doing;  was she supposed to go to the bridge?  What was it that she wanted to do?  Wasn't there a person she needed to speak to?  She shook her head and asked if someone could show her to her quarters.  A young lab technician, familiar to her yet unfamiliar enough so that she forgot her name, came up and touched her shoulder.  "You've had a rough day, Adora.  You missed lunch.  Let's get you in bed."

 

Adora, looking over at the girl's face, saw a distinctly red blush in her cheeks.  This girl was human, but at this point, Adora did not care much and allowed her to lead her to the laboratory quarters.  The girl laid Adora's light frame into her bed and tucked her in.  "You'll be alright, Adora.  Please get some rest so you can come back to the lab.  The research team has been in shambles, having heard what has happened to you."

 

Adora gave a solemn nod to the girl, and she was off.  As the door closed, Adora rolled out of her bed and groggily staggered over to her personal belongings chest, opening it with a lazy swipe of her hand.  She produced a few objects before dragging out a massive hamster cage and producing her pet hamster from it, a gift from her youngest sister, Winter.

 

Tim Tim, he was called.  She smiled and laid back on her bed, letting the tiny rodent run his way around the unfamiliar room, sniffing and exploring before finally climbing onto the bed and onto Adora's belly, now bare due to her undressing.  He ran up to her chin and nibbled at it.  Adora let out a small giggle and tried to pick him up in her arm, but failed, almost dropping him.  She let out a small panicked gasp and readjusted herself to an upright position.  She struggled to keep Tim Tim in place, but the hamster was incredibly docile and went with the whole thing.  She made several attempts to pick him up again, each more careful than the last.  Eventually, she had him in her arm, cupped against her breast, the only way she was able to hold onto him without the threat of dropping.  Tim Tim curiously looked up at Adora from her hand and let out a small squeak; and with that, for the first time in possibly years, Adora began to cry.

 

 

Rose's booming voice filled the hall, weaving yarns about her past adventures - granted, most of them were made-up, but Rose didn't think that this was the time for sadness.  It was mealtime; a time you spent with your comrades around the table, a time for camaraderie.  Her smile was bright and her blush was bright blue;  she was having a genuinely good time celebrating the life of those who had managed to survive the attack.

 

"So, I picked up this one guy - he must have been only a hundred pounds, bless his heart -  and just gave the arrogant kid a good thrashing.  I mean, in retrospect, maybe I should have gone a bit easier, but..."  She trailed off, looked around, and smirked.  Her hearty laugh was followed by the almost-nervous laughs of the younger cadets around her;  a slightly familiar younger, lanky boy edged away from the group, looking defeated.

 

She got up and walked around, asking about a few of the more familiar students - well, now soldiers, it seemed.  Her smile was simply radiant as she walked through the cafeteria, and everywhere she walked people seemed to perk up - whether out of slight fear for their lives, view of her more curvy areas, or her personality, it simply worked.

 

She eventually made her way up to Lonn's table and took her own seat, giving Eryn, her best friend, a friendly nod.  She spoke up.  "Hey, Lonn, it's been a little while. Pretty nice to be able to sit at the table with the person you fight with the most, eh?"  Her eyes flickered to Lonn's side.  She wasn't there.  Thank god.

 

So, a little time passed, without so much as a few scenes happening.  Rose grew thoroughly disinterested as time flew by.  The initial mood settled down and the dining hall took on a much quieter and solemn tone.  She yawned.  Boring.

 

A short girl had spoken up, her ringing voice stinging Rose's ears.  Ugh.  "Learn your place."

 

Realizing that the little girl was speaking to none other than her best friend, Rose stood up and walked over to the girl, spinning her around so that she faced Rose.  Rose towered over her, almost taller by an entire foot.  She bent down.  "Excuse me," she whispered.  "I don't know what kind of f***ing stick you have up your ass, blueblood, but we don't need a single ounce of your petty s*** right now.  You need to sit down, shut up, and eat your f***ing food that this fantastic person was kind enough to make for you or else so help me god I will personally throw you off this f***ing ship at the next given opportunity.  Do you understand?"

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Tobias was pleased with how the last while had gone. Despite the fact that their situation was truly dire, they had managed to scrape through, if not for the sacrifices of others. I can't help but wonder if we could have made it there... perhaps we could have even saved Freya... Tobias pushed the thoughts of his childhood friend out of his mind as he opened his eyes to observe his surroundings: He sat at a table, as many of his comrades joined him. At the head sat Lonn, with Eryn and Mithna on either side. This feels like a dangerous situation... 

 

Sure enough, it was only moments before Mithna had brought up some sort of fault in Eryn, who had done nothing but try to help the crew. That double standard is certainly bothersome. Then again, I suppose I am not one to comment on psychological instability, am I? 

 

"No, not at all." Blinking, he noticed that he said these last words out loud, and various crew members stared at him, including Ismina, who he made eye contact briefly, Does she know..? I was far from careful back there... Donning a grin and stretching his shoulders, he made a hasty excuse. "We definitely would not want the Admiral running out of energy!" Luckily, it seemed that he weak attempt at an excuse for his speech was unnecessary, as Rose stood to confront Mithna. Although Tobias was not often one to be intimidated, the appearance of the dark-skinned Alfar as she stared down at Mithna's dool-like physique was nothing short of terrifying.

 

This seems as good a chance as any to reestablish myself as a fool. Jumping to his feet and running around the edge of the table, he vaulted off of an empty chair, landing squarely between the two raging souls. Yawning, he placed a hand on the the shoulder of each of them. "Does the blood really matter?" Looking to Lonn, he continued, "Blue Blood?" to Eryn, "Purple?" Rose, "Hot? Or perhaps cold?" At his last word word, he glanced down and winked at Mithna. Now I am sounding like Draegan... "The food is good, is it not? And I am sure that Lonn wouldn't mind if we called him by his name. You all are getting worked up over nothing!" He flashed a glance at Ismina. This is going to be a long trip...

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Hmm...drills? Nah...too mainstream..." Daiki said, crossing off one idea for the Mecha updates, as the elevator finally brought him to the living quarters. His eyes never left the holographic screen, as he kept searching through the ideas for his Mecha. He started walking towards the mess hall, as he started to smell the fragrance of some curry broth. Pausing for a short moment, he turned and saw not only Herrman, but Admiral Lonn, Eryn, Rose, Mithna, and Draegan.

 

Daiki's eyes pulled away from his holographic screen and sat down. He did his best not to get involved with the argument at hand...as his stomach was just telling him to eat. Without a moments notice, Daiki began to eat the curry broth. After one bite, he smiled widely as he motioned his hand to Eryn to get her attention. "Eryn! You really outdid yourself this time! This is totally great!!" he said, probably now having those in the argument to stop and look at him...but he didn't honestly care.

 

"Herrman, after I'm done with this, we'll head to the bridge!" he said, as he kept stuffing his face with the curry broth, all whilst still looking through the Mecha update ideas.

[a bad post]

Ismina entered the mess looking no less than frazzled, her last nerve was beginning to wear having to deal with a her panicking subordinates, doing a casualty count for her unit, and other responsibilities. Not to mention the fact that healing Lore had certainly taken a lot out of her. Now all the noise in the mess hall seemed to annoy her.

 

She had to admit the smell of the curry did help a tad bit. Looking like a mad scientist with her hair standing up in all directions dropped herself (almost literally) next to Tobias, and digging into the prepared curry.

 

"No, not at all."  Ismina turned startled by Tobias' odd words, and regarded him with an odd look and she noticed how different he seemed, but the stupid grin he gave, along with his dumb comment, "We definitely would not want the Admiral running out of energy!" made her drop it. That wasn't the only thing that got him off the hook though.

 

A fight seemed to be brewing (really it was a military mess hall of people who already hated each other's guts), and not surprising it was from one of the most volatile members of the group.  

 

Mithna looked ready to claw Eryn's eyes out, though she to suspect this had something to do with more than just racial hatred, and Rose would have none of it considering Eryn herself was to meek to retaliate, and defend herself.

 

The last thing Ismina wanted to deal with right now, and was ready to make a few sharp comments, on how Mithna could learn to be a tad bit more mature considering she was a graduated cadet, and how she wondered how Rose had such big boobs, but managed to have more testosterone than some men she knew. Thankfully Tobias spoke first, and Ismina was given a moment to breath, and cool her thoughts before she simply made the situation worse, and when Tobias finished speaking she spoke her mind.

 

"I believe I speak for all of us when I say it has been a long, hard day," Ismina said fixing both Mithna and Rose with her gaze, "all of our nerves are worn thin, we've all lost comrades, and beating the s*** out of each other is not going to help anyone but the enemy." With that Ismina dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her forehead a little before coming back up again, "oh right I forgot... Eryn... Admiral... thank you for the meal." 

 

With that Ismina returned to her meal, catching Tobias' gaze she smiled briefly at him before mouthing a 'thank you'.

[Cray-Crow]

The crew had been called to a gathering at the galley at Lonn's order. Seeing it as an opportunity to vacate the infirmary, Lore got up from the medical bed and pulled the curtains around her space. She pulled the end of a knot of her patient's garment which allowed it to slip off of her, silently falling into a heap on the floor. Finding her previous attire, a bloodied cadet's uniform blazer with holes where the rounds struck her, Lore put it on seeing as it was the only piece of clothing she had at the moment. Her pole arm had been stowed away in one of the many of the Mjolnir's armory storage; 3rd deck, two rooms from centerline, starboard, if Lore remembered correctly. After brushing her hair back behind her ears, she pulled the pale green curtain and signed out at the infirmary's front desk.

 

The galley wasn't too far away. Already, many of the surviving Empire soldiers and officers were already amassed, making conversation and enjoying some sort of curry. In the center, Lonn could be seen with many others that Lore recognized, such as Eryn and Rose. Rose was on her feet, appearing to stare down at a much smaller girl. It was Mithna, the child-like, racist, Alfar girl. No doubt she'd put her foot in her mouth and blabbered some ignorant thing, but Lore was too far too discern anything that was said. Lore maneuvered to the center table, greeting any whom recognized her and reassuring them that she was alright despite her wound.

 

"What is the matter? We should be calm, eh take respite, ah?"  Lore looked around the table, seeing Eryn with a forlorn look upon her. Surely, Mithna had said something to hurt her, a notion that caused Lore's brow to furrow in anger. "Little girl should sit eh play nice, if not for rest of crew's sake."

[Mugendramon]

 

Herrman remained impassive as violent words were shot back and forth at the Admiral's table. Under normal circumstances, Herrman would have immediately interceded to ensure the conflict would no longer escalate. In this day in particular, as evidenced by the happenings of the morning to departure, his circuits and priorities were all jumbled up, and the exchange happening at the table seemed absolutely irrelevant in comparison to some of the earlier events -this caused Herrman to mostly disregard it.

 

Daiki's voice after he sat down and directly addressed him however, still engaged the second law and demanded his attention. Shifting in his seat so he could face Daiki himself rather than the table's general direction, he spoke slowly and clearly.

 

"Daiki, we cannot simply go there without permission. However, you are in luck; the Admiral is right there, sitting at this same table. If we have his permission, which I furthermore have to ask you to request, we can go there post-haste.

 

"That aside," he continued; "it strikes me as very strange that you would contact me for a status report. Would it not have been simpler to connect to the bridge without me as an intermediary?"

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

BGM: Otto~ For a Change

 

As Eryn took her first spoonful, she glanced around the table. Other than Lonn and herself, Daiki, Herrman, Tobias, and Mithna had all sat down. Before she could finish her mental list of attendees, Rose appeared out of her peripheral vision and nodded at her. Eryn responded with as smile and heard her friend say something to Lonn about fighting. At first Eryn didn't understand what she meant, but then it clicked in her head and she remembered Rose telling her about being the admiral's sparring partner. She laughed a little to herself as she wondered how someone like Lonn had the finesse and dedication necessary to command a fleet and be skilled enough at martial arts to go toe-to-toe with Rose when he was barely able to handle dicing vegetables with a simple knife. "To each his own, I suppose." was the thought that entered her mind in response as she noted how she herself had no discernible leadership qualities (except of course when it came to delegating tasks to the Admiral in the kitchen, oddly enough), and certainly was unable to handle herself in any sort of physical scuffle. Mithna's voice broke through her train of thought.

 

"This is delicious, who made this?"

 

It was directed at Lonn, but Eryn decided to answer the question for him, since at that moment Lonn had a bite in his mouth. "I helped Lonn make it, I'm glad you like it." She smiled yet again, deciding on a whim to give Lonn the credit for the meal. "Our 'head chef' did a really good job, don't you agree?" Internally, she laughed a bit. Lonn deserved the title of Admiral much, much more than he did any title even closely resembling "head chef", but she figured he could use as much morale as possible, anyway. Losing one's sister must be quite tough on a person, after all, and they were for sure going to need him to be in top form in the coming hours. Then she saw Mithna recoil a bit.

 

"I-it's delicious, Admiral. You're a very good chef."

 

Mithna's tone made it seem as if she was surprised that Lonn knew how to cook, but Eryn could tell by the look on her face, which she'd grown up seeing so many countless times before, that it was something else entirely. The girl was honestly disgusted at the prospect of eating anything that Eryn had a hand in making. Eryn observed as Mithna's face grew yet more sour with each passing second. "Here it comes."

 

"Who gave you the right to call our Admiral by his first name? A filthy-blood like you isn't even worth the dirt on his shoes. Learn your place."

 

Eryn felt the familiar murderous, violent heat build in her chest, which she mechanically, almost automatically, fought down and cooled within seconds. She couldn't stop the faint lavender hue that accompanied her anger from lingering on her face, however, and someone who was paying attention could surely notice the change. Eryn had had this sort of comment directed at her numerous times before, and she knew full well by now that there was no real good in her doing anything about it. She put on her best face and was about to respond when she saw Rose lean in, turn Mithna around, and whisper something that was almost inaudible over the noise of the cafeteria.

 

"Excuse me," she whispered.  "I don't know what kind of f***ing stick you have up your ass, blueblood, but we don't need a single ounce of your petty s*** right now.  You need to sit down, shut up, and eat your f***ing food that this fantastic person was kind enough to make for you or else so help me god I will personally throw you off this f***ing ship at the next given opportunity.  Do you understand?"

 

At that moment, Draegan entered her field of vision and sat down next to Mithna, who's face Eryn was certain was only growing more venomous by the second. The sight of the Kal'dar half-nude and bleeding a little made Eryn just ever-so-vaguely-uncomfortable...... in a couple of ways. He complimented her and Lonn on the food, but Eryn didn't really put any effort into thinking about what he said, instead deciding to  simle nod affirmatively at Draegan and focus on nipping the brewing confrontation in the bud before anything got out of hand (not that she didn't silently adore Rose for sticking up for her).

 

"Don't fret, Rose." Eryn said with an absolutely convincing smile on her face (so much so that anyone who didn't know her as intimately as Rose did would have a hard time believing she was taking any offense at all). "Mithna just means that I should adress Lonn properly, since he's our commanding officer and all." She then faced Mithna directly, and without the slightest hint of the anger or malice that she had moments ago fought down, said. "Don't you think it would be nice for Admiral Lonn if we treated him as a friend for awhile, Mithna?" She turned a very quick glance to Lonn in an attempt to make sure he approved at all of what she was saying. "That way he can relax and not worry about the fleet for a little. He has a lot more on his mind than us pilots, you know. Plus he worked so hard to make sure we all could eat."

 

Satisfied that this was enough for the moment, she took another bite, but was then surprised to hear Tobias speak up. It was typical fare from her wingman, but she still appreciated the effort.

 

"Does the blood really matter? Blue Blood? Purple? Hot? Or perhaps cold? The food is good, is it not? And I am sure that Lonn wouldn't mind if we called him by his name. You all are getting worked up over nothing!"

 

"Exactly." Eryn said in agreement. " I'm sure Lonn just wants to relax like the rest of us." She took yet another bite as she observed Ismina attempt to break up Mithna and Rose, and after swallowing Eryn breathed a small, inconspicuous sigh of relief. It seemed as if everything would calm down now. Daiki, who had been oblivious to the entire situation (What with him being buried in his datapad the entire time), spoke next after at last taking a bite of his meal.

 

"Eryn! You really outdid yourself this time! This is totally great!!"

 

Eryn giggled at him, finding his obliviousness entertaining. "I just helped Lonn make it, Daiki. But I'm glad you like it." She gave him a sweet smile. Daiki then turned to Herrman, who'd simply been sitting and observing, having not touched his meal at all (typical for him, really. He never ate anything Eryn baked for him either), and Eryn's eyes were drawn to Lore, who'd made her way to the table and decided to assist in completely diffusing the situation. Eryn decided her best course of action at that point was to just sit and eat, since she herself was still weary and hungry, and things seemed to be taking care of themselves. She did, however flash Rose a look that told her "Thank you" in a facial expression that only her friend would be able to read. Eryn then glanced back at Lonn, wondering what he thought of all of this, and searched his face for any hint of an answer.

[Raine]

OST - Home

 

               

Lucius was hovering inches above the floor since his revelation. He found renewed purpose in his task and his life. What had been meaningless conflict and sorrowful death was now put into perspective for him. God had approved of him and his colleagues, he felt not just blessed but chosen. ‘That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perished, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory of God’. These words echoed in his head causing the smile stamped onto Lucius’s face. His faith was tested and renewed.

               

Lucius remained in the medical bay, preforming his duties with renewed vigor. Once it became apparent that meal time had approached, Lucius took his leave and became through the ship. The steel labyrinth was still new to his mind as he arrived to the mess hall late. A quick survey of the attendants showed that most of his familiar pilots had arrived and were gathered around a table. He picked up an argument between Eryn and Mithna. The contents of this fight were difficult for Lucius to hear from such a distance.  The conflict resolved itself as others joined the conversation and they seemed content enough. Lucius chuckled and leaned against the doorway watching them for a few seconds, “How wonderful your wisdom in choosing your champions,” he whispered to himself.

 

               

Lucius was interrupted by a large grumble from his stomach which flustered and embarrassed him. He quietly made his way to the serving bar and fashioned himself a plate of curry. He attempted not to disturb his comrades and admiral as he sat at an adjacent table with a good observation of them. He enjoyed that they were bonding, despite whether or not it was an orthodox way to do so. “Ugh,” Lucius frozen with his utensil in his mouth. He withdrew and stared at the plate with wonder in his eyes. His face was stuck in an expression of astonishment and awe... “It’s kind of bland…”

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Daiki, we cannot simply go there without permission. However, you are in luck; the Admiral is right there, sitting at this same table. If we have his permission, which I furthermore have to ask you to request, we can go there post-haste. That aside, it strikes me as very strange that you would contact me for a status report. Would it not have been simpler to connect to the bridge without me as an intermediary?"

 

Daiki heard Herrman say this, as he rubbed the back of his head, shrugging a bit. "Why you? Honestly, I don't really know Herrman. Probably its cause in the academy you did better in the Mecha Wellness & Maintenance exams than I did. I mean out of most of us here...you scored higher than us." he said with a chuckle. "Thought it would be best to get some insight from you."

 

He was about to talk to Lonn, but he heard Eryn instead.

 

"I just helped Lonn make it, Daiki. But I'm glad you like it."

 

"The Admiral?" Daiki asked, as he glanced over at Lonn. Well this was a newsflash to him. Honestly, he had never seen Lonn show any signs of any culinary experience before during the academy. Still the dish impressed him. "Impressive work on the dish L-" Daiki was about to say Lonn's name, but stopped short as he noticed Eryn shake her head slightly, wanting to spare him the whole argument again. "I mean...Admiral."

[Aix]

Lonn ate his curry, pondering using authority to settle the argument and completely tuned out the spiciness in his mouth. Discord amongst his crew members was a definite problem that had persisted throughout the years, despite the system being intended to forge bonds between the soldiers. They should all just ignore the inferiority of the Lesser Races like he did so that they could more peacefully coexist, but he knew not everyone was completely capable of that. Lonn then considered persuading his crew that the Lesser Races were not so lesser after all, but removed that thought from his mind. The natural order of the universe had to be maintained, lest all trace of order fall apart. The conflict soon settled itself and Lonn, relieved, turned back to his plate only to realize that it was almost empty and his tongue was burning. Quickly, he grabbed his drink and downed it in one go before standing up.

 

“I shall take my leave now,” he said as an afterthought as he turned away.

 

 

“Prepare the Catapult,” said Lonn, settling into his chair as the ship reached the end of the fold. As soon as he spoke the computer came up giving him details on the complex calculations being done. The distortions in light around them smoothened out and another immediately began as space and time was again being warped. This time, rather, it was being compressed rather than folded. They had landed at the outer reaches of the Vanar-089 solar system where the colony planet, Root, was located, and were ready for the final spurt towards the planet. It was the sole habitable planet travelling around the red dwarf planet, Rime.

 

Lonn had taken the time to read through what little data they had on it. It was a planet rich in minerals, especially the strong metals used in the construction of mechs and spaceships, but had a thin toxic carbon dioxide atmosphere with the lighter, but even thinner oxygen higher up. They created floating cities above in the oxygen zone and machines to allow for a sufficient breathing environment, however, such colonies are greatly unsustainable and half of the population lived in poverty. To add their troubles, the native species of the planet were little-studied winged biomechanical creatures called the Drekar, and were openly hostile, but fortunately the colonies were located high enough to be out of their sight and reach.

 

There was a slight rumble as they were pushed forth and would arrive within an hour.

 

 

From below, Dane, the loud-mouthed cowboy-wannabe of a mayor’s son, watched from the city of Nayr below as a massive golden craft approached their city, heading towards the skydocks. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON, BABE?”

[Mugendramon]

 

Lonn got up from the table as soon as things got relatively quiet. This seemed, appropriately enough, like his cue to leave.

 

"If you still want to check the inventory of our units, Daiki," Herrman said as he stood up and took with him his untouched bowl; "it would be best that we head off to the hangar rather than the bridge. I can only imagine the bridge as a mess, since we are more than likely approaching the end of the warp tunnel.

 

"I will be taking elevator Beta right next door; you are free to meet me down at the lower decks." Herrman dropped the bowl cautiously, and without a single sound trailed behind Lonn. At the door of the hall, he turned the opposite way. Elevator Beta was already open and in the waiting. Doing exactly as he had announced, he set the construct to drop him off at the hangar directly below.

 

As he descended, he took the time to perform a preliminary check on the units in storage within the Mjolnir. To his mild surprise -which manifested with the slight arching of his eyebrows- there was a good number of Beowulfs and Aves stored. It seemed at first illogical that the ship would be loaded to almost full capacity right when an ambush took place. Almost as though it was entirely expected. But his train of thought soon hit a dead end, with lack of any substantial evidence to back up the hypothesis. He would remember it, but had no immediate reason to suspect beyond a slight, and in his electronic mind quite boggling, hunch. Or the positronic equivalent thereof.

 

Not wanting to draw conclusions, he limited himself to being content that Daiki would find his assigned Beowulf armed to the teeth and several entire squadrons as well.

 

The elevator doors swung open and Herrman stepped out. Now, if Daiki could come down...

[Raine]

 

Lucius wiped over the corners of his mouth with a napkin as stared down the remaining half of his curry. His let his eyes wander, the meal was finishing and it seemed a vast majority had left extremely satisfied. How could they have eaten this? It lacks any resemblance of flavor? Do the Alfar have such differing taste buds? No! The humans are enjoying this too. Whatever nutrition value I’ll gain is being outweighed by sense that nothing but evil emanates from this dish. Lord, why have you forsaken me, in my greatest peril you allow the darkness to take me, he thought.

 

In the end, Lucius failed to overcome his distaste for curry but at least finish the rice. He left the mess hall ashamed of his moment of weakness. The walk down the hall was comforting as the dismissing crowd reassured Lucius in the condition of the fleet. He reached a small console in the hall, Lucius didn’t have long before the ship finished leaving warp. If they got attacked again after exiting, he assured himself that he would be able to play a more vital role. He could not be caught off guard again.

 

A simple log-in input, gave him access to his squad command access. Here, Lucius checked over the bare logs of logistics, requisition forms, and simple stock lists. “They keep everything this low key on ship?” he whispered to himself. Lucius had every intention of checking the mechs and the battle equipment. He would need to bring up the issue of his computer access with Lonn directly in the future. However, as of present, he still needed to ensure that the fleet or at least his squad would be ready in case of another ambush.

 

Lucius made his way to the Elevator Beta. His access might not get him the computer access but it will most certainly get him into the hangar. He pressed the key and realized the elevator was in use. Lucius wondered about this, while the elevator was used primarily for command, it was not impossible to be used for the utility by standard soldiers, the floors were locked individually. After a minute, the elevator he summoned came. Inside, it was only a simple hand swipe that sent him to the hangar.

 

The doors parted and revealed the mass storage of the hangar complete with a full stock of available mechs. Lucius stepped out but caught something in the corner of his eye. No, someone. “Herman?” he remembered. He spotted the iconic blue hair of Herman waiting not far outside the elevator. This caught Lucius’s attention, pilots should no one reason to be down here during down time. “Herman, who sent you down here? Why are you in the hangar bay?” 

[Aix]

Even the mighty Mjolnir was utterly outclassed in size by the transport ships that filled the docks, but yet, all eyes were on it as it descended. Lonn had sent a message to the city, apparently called Vayr, to notify them of their wish to moor here and they had responded relatively quickly with coordinates towards their loading bay. From the bridge, he had gazed down upon the flying city as they flew over it. It was a junky little town, far smaller than any city Lonn had been to, the data said it had a laughable population of 100000, almost one thousandth of the size of a megalopolis like Central Asgard on Odin. It had a conical shape, with a miniature cathedral-like structure at the top in imitation of the Palace of Valhalla, and Lonn narrowed his eyes at the audacity. Did the leader of this lowly backwater town dare compare himself to the Emperor?

 

A large company of soldiers headed by a group of officials had been sent to greet them and Lonn, used to the soaring standards of the Empire, could only scorn at that their lax dress and expressions. However, he wisely kept his opinions to himself as he stepped out to meet his welcoming committee.

 

"Welcome, Admiral," spoke the grey-haired and most senior envoy with a very low bow. The men behind him followed suit, and Lonn pondered the meaning of these formalities. The colonies of Root held no allegiance to the Empire, it could be inferred that these men wanted something and hoped to appeal to him. Suddenly however, their form and rank was broken as someone was pushing his way through the crowd. A crudely dressed boy, of approximately fifteen years or so, wearing some ridiculous hat leaped before him and pulled out a gun, dauntlessly pointing it at Lonn.

 

"Who are you?!" cried Dane, trying to look as badass and intimidating as possible with his 5'6" frame boosted a few inches by cowboy boots.

[Lunar Origins]

green-eyed jealousy

 

 

~ adora ~

 

Adora's rest was cut rather short.  Tim Tim, being the good hamster that he was, was already in his cage, sleeping.  Her eyes lingered on the peaceful creature, and a small smile cracked in her visage.  She was finally awake, and everything was going to be alright.

 

Her dreams were filled with visions of blood; of that yellow mecha that shot at her and barely missed, taking her arm.  She tried to cry out for help in her dream, but she could never find herself able to;  this recurred multiple times during the course of it, and every time it happened, it only worsened.

 

But now, she was here, alone in her room, finally in a safe state of comfort.  Safe.  The thought of a safe haven made her laugh, and she looked upon her pet.  Oh, how she wished her life could be as simple as his!

 

= =

a little while later, after having obtained a good grasp on the current situation...

==

 

Adora now stood behind her Admiral, Lonn.  She was dressed in very light finery, the only heavy part of her dress being the makeshift covering of where her stump arm was.  Adora was, for all intents and purposes, a very good seamstress, but there had been little time to prepare her own outfits for the blistering heat of this... odd planet.

 

The place seemed very reminiscent of her own home planet, also a warmer desert planet.  Her own planet, however, was climate controlled; this one didn't seem to have the luxury.  She lingered on this thought while the formalities took place, odd enough as they were, until one of the inhabitants stepped out of line and pointed a gun at Admiral Lonn.  Adora's brow furrowed, and an annoyed look crossed her face.

 

The boy looked utterly daft!  He didn't even seem apt enough to hold a gun, and he certainly wasn't tall.  "If you took those archaic boots off," she thought, "then the boy may even be as tall as I am!  An achievement, indeed, among men."

 

Not content with letting a lowly human speak to her Admiral like that, Adora stepped forth.  "Good fellow," she stated in an almost sarcastic diplomatic tone, "That is Admiral Lonn Alfadir you are speaking to, step-brother to your majesty, Princess Freya.  We come in peace, and you should do well to mirror our actions as your elders do.  However, you do seem to be doing what could be considered the exact opposite of that."  She motioned towards the rest of the group - the more 'official' portion, she took it.  They were certainly better dressed than this runt, and much more well behaved.  How civil.  "We seek haven, and we mean no harm. There are many wounded aboard this ship, and I would much rather us not have that number increase."

[Mugendramon]

 

Just as Herrman had expected, Elevator Beta went straight up not a moment after he had stepped out of it. Not wanting to be standing in Daiki's way once he made his way to the Deck, the robot took a single step to his side and leaned against the wall right next to the elevator's cylindrical shaft. The elevator stopped at the dining hall, as perfectly expected, and furthermore came down.

 

Just as the door was about to open, however, the thought occurred to Herrman that not every pilot had his... security clearances. The robot found his own circuitry emanating... frustration? at the fact of not having realized such important information before stepping down the nearest elevator. There was no reason to believe this elevator was restricted in any way... but if it was, then the one coming out would definitely not be Daiki. And with this in mind, the idea of hiding immediately presented itself as very tempting. If he was discovered down here, down an elevator with a higher security clearance than someone "like" him ought to have, suspicion would arise.

 

But then, why would it have to be encoded? Someone else could come out of the elevator sure enough, but it might be pure coincidence. If that was the case, hiding would only make him even more inconspicuous. Not to mention, now that he looked around, there really were no good hiding spots he would be able to make it to before the elevator door -now in the process of opening- had let the person out.

 

Visibly stiffened, Herrman watched the human Valkyrie squad commander step out of the elevator.

 

An amazing human, Herrman told himself almost in the span of a nanosecond; very few pilots ever manage to pilot Valkyries effectively due to their usual reliance on Spiral Power for heightened speed. Yet somehow, running on strategy and talent alone, this human had managed to rise into the elite among speed pilots. It would not have been a stretch to say they would be on realistically even terms, were they both launched simultaneously in the same unit. But now was not the time for pondering, his lips were starting to move and form a first word.

 

So Herrman heard the questions from the pilot. And he had no clearance.

 

"I was not aware specified permission was required to descend into the hangar, sir." Trying his hardest not to stiffen his walk or seem inhibited, Herrman took off the wall and started walking toward a nearby cubicle door. "Daiki -whom I was expecting to come from the same elevator you did, sir- asked for my help in reviewing the ships total contents, in terms of combat units.

 

"At any rate, it should not seem strange for a commanding officer to see pilots filing into battle stations when bordering a potentially hostile situation. After escaping an ambush, even the Admiral himself must be expecting some sort of follow-up. You saw the same things I have seen this day, sir; we are no longer safe within walls. We should be at the ready, should we not?"

[a bad post]

Ismina finished the rest of her curry in relative silence, simply content to enjoy the meal and listen the conversations of her fellow crewmates. She did cast periodic glances at Tobias, while she thought he wasn't looking, hoping to catch that glimmer of intelligence. She had been starting to place 2 & 2 together, while she might have written Tobias off as an idiot from the first time she saw him, her experience with him helping Lore had opened her eyes to the intelligence beneath. In the heat of the moment she hadn't noticed it, but now the more she analyzed the more Ismina was starting to wonder. Why would he keep his knowledge hidden, he could've been ranked much higher than he was had he just not acted like a total moron.

 

Ismina blinked then once or twice realizing she had been staring and quickly dropped her head back down avoiding meeting Tobias' eyes for the rest of the evening. When she finished Ismina considered confronting him about it here and now, but decided there must be a reason for him to conceal his true intellect, and whatever it was she certainly didn't want to press him in front of most of the crew.

 

"Tobias... I'd like to speak with in my quarters..." an announcement interrupted her stating that they would be docking soon in a floating city known as Vayr, "oh... well it seems my assistance may be required. In that case next time there's some down time, I'd like to talk with you..."

 

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When they finally touched down at the docking bay, Ismina noticed the relative smallness of the Mjolnir compared to other ships in the this city of Vayr. She had changed into cooler clothing, as her normal uniform did not deal with heat very well.

 

Not trusting one bit of the people of this planet who had no allegiance to the Empire, Ismina remained behind, pistol in hand, while the Admiral proceeded forward to meet the city elders. While the elders seemed quite civil, one young man pushed through the crowd fuel by testosterone and bravado and decided to point a gun to the Admiral's head in an attempt to... what... Ismina didn't even know what this was about really... he seemed to be wondering who the Admiral was... but... hadn't the elders just... why must they be forced to deal with idiots... did he have a death wish!?

 

Ismina was thankful that Adora was at least ready to work with diplomacy, while Ismina probably would've just blown his brains out, so until the order came from the Admiral the boy's brains were safe in his head. The boy seemed intent on using intimidation tactics, so Ismina thought why not use the same tactics right back.

 

"Oh, Admiral, I heard yelling is there a problem?" Ismina stepped from the ship onto the docking platform an innocent tone in her voice, though she made sure the gun in her hand was clearly visible, "o-oh dear... well it seems we have an issue." Ismina pretended have been completely unaware of the situation, even raising her left hand to her mouth, all the while making the gun she held in her hand plainly obvious.

[Raine]

 

Herrman. Truth be told, Lucius did not know much about his comrade in arms. Herrman always played his cards close to his chest; he was never very open with his fellow recruits. The fact that he was human put Lucius at ease especially since Herrman had always quite respectable and formal with others. That isn’t to say Lucius did not have his suspicions, his mannerisms are similar to his own when dealing with superiors, even his tone was at times hollow with sincerity. He couldn’t help but wonder what Herrman’s true aspirations.

 

He listened to his words, “Daiki?” Lucius was befuddled that Daiki would take such interest in any mech besides his own; he had a question or two for him if he arrived. Lucius did not think Herrman was lying, he had no reason to at this point and his story seemed plausible enough. Stop being so mistrusting, he thought to himself, they have already survived with you and passed God’s trial.

 

Herrman spoke with logic and wisdom, it was reasonable to ensure that the ship was combat ready at all times. This is why he came down originally. Herrman’s excuse was perfectly valid, Lucius tried his best to overcome his natural mistrust. “Very good, Herrman. It seems you have a good head on your shoulders.” Lucius broke eye contact with his pilot and watched over the multitude of mechs. “That said, we are subordinates of the Admiral and human ones at that. I suggest that you plan your actions more carefully next time you take your own initiative,” Lucius spoke solemnly, “Even with the equality of the fleet, it is not a place for humans to tread lightly.”

 

Lucius shifted himself over to a mainframe that monitored the condition of the hanger and swiped in a few keystrokes. “You can rest assured that our combat preparation could not be better, the hangar took surprisingly little damage from the assault and we've stocked enough for a full campaign.” He turned to Herrman, “You are not specifically assigned to my squadron so I cannot order you but should you wish you can remain here. The Admiral should be on the planet surface by now, you and I have no reason to disembark on such a place.” Lucius left the computer, “The current on-board status is caution and should allow for quick mobilization so you can rest at ease”. Lucius made a good distance between him and his subordinate before leaning over the metal bar, “Don’t be so formal since I’m not your direct superior, we are both God’s chosen now, Herrman” Lucius grasped his hands together and closed his eyes, he didn’t wish to fight again but his cause was holy now and his vengeance rightous. He silently prayed beside Herrman in the vastness of the hangar. 

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Draegan was quickly left alone at the table as he was the only one to sit and savor his food for any amount of time.  He was rather surprised to find that no one, not even Eryn whom he considered to be perhaps his only actual friend, had so much as said a word to him.  Equal parts relieved, because he wasn't told of any disciplinary actions being taken for his earlier episode of shouting in his people's language, and upset, because he'd actually been hoping to strike up a conversation, for the interest the others had shown in their own little sub-groups, he eventually rose to his feet.  He left behind a bowl emptied of curry and the small plastic bag that had held his favorite little treat on the table before he set about the process of making his way down to the hangar.

 

He would have gone on as well, if one of the Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) among the personnel hadn't pointed out the issue with his uniform to him.  A tad embarrassed by his lapse in decorum, the Kal'dar thanked the lower-ranked individual and made his way off to his quarters aboard the ship.  A small general-access terminal along the wall gave him the location of his quarters, and it was in that direction that he went.  Down one of the many nondescript hallways, or at least as nondescript as they could be aboard the flying gemstone that was the Mjolnir, he found a door which simply had the number denoting its location following the letter noting which deck it was that they were on.  The door was opened and Draegan stepped into...

 

A perfectly military nondescript room with exactly enough room for a normal-sized Alfar or Human to live and rest in, meaning that it actually felt a bit cramped for the male who was a good bit taller than just about everyone else on board.  A sigh escaped his lips, but he found some relief when he noticed that the personal refrigerator inside contained all of the little samples of his people's cuisine that he had arranged to be brought aboard.  Not that it needed refrigeration, but still the fact that a little piece of home was with him for a while was something of a comfort.

 

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Some time later....

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As the Admiral's shore party was assembled and the Mjolnir itself was being prepared for landing, the Kal'dar knight found himself in the hangar and no longer in his torn apart dress uniform.  Instead, he was clad in the skin-tight pseudoarmor which made up the Empire's Mecha Pilot Uniform (MPU).  The Gerridon was still in the Launch Catapult where he had left it and, thankfully, his current attire was sufficiently modified that the process of interfacing would not render him almost entirely naked.  Not that such was an immediate concern, as he and a fair number of the other pilots were simply on standby awaiting any sort of order which would require their attention.  He didn't expect to see much action, as far away from Federation space as they were, and so he was currently laying back against the armored neck of the Gerridon while his legs stretched out across the cherry-picker type lift which held him aloft.  His eyes were shut, and he seemed to be asleep while he took a few moments to gather his thoughts and meditate on the events surrounding their retreat from Academy 9. 

[Astolfo]

Mithna's eye twitched when a practically naked Draegan sat next to her. Ignoring him, she opened her mouth to continue, when some girl - Lily? Rose? Ah yes, Rose - strode over, looming over the much shorter girl. She didn't budge a bit however, as the flower girl ranted at her. [i][color=#008080]She's an Alfar too, her behavior's disgusting. Why the hell does an Alfar, and near royalty at that, support some dirtblood?[/color][/i] Looking up straight into Rose's eyes with a look that could kill, her lip curled. Just then, Tobias spoke up, acting like an idiot as usual. At how the boy acted as if the blood didn't matter, she rolled her eyes. When he winked at her though, she paused, unsure of how to react. Daiki proceeding to walk in moments later, and then praise the curry, she sighed. It would be pointless to keep on fighting now, and it would be perhaps even detrimental, and incur the wrath of her beloved Admiral. At Ismina's short speech, that settled the deal - she respected the blond haired girl a great deal as well - and she sat down, breathing in deeply. Lore's words tempted her to rise again, but she quelled it this time.

Eryn spoke up again, about how they should treat the Admiral as a friend. As she nodded involuntarily, agreeing, she glanced over to Admiral Lonn briefly. [color=#008080]"L-L-Lo-"[/color] Turning slightly blue, at considering the thought of Lonn being her friend, she stuttered. When the Admiral turned curiously though, she squeaked. [color=#008080]"N-nothing!"[/color] Her cheeks turning a deeper shade of blue, she quickly stood up, making her way back, barely noticing Lonn leave as well. She sat in the hangar, and rubbed her cheeks. [color=#008080][i]Can't show weakness. Must be strong. Go back to normal, cheeks, please.[/i][/color] She was embarrassed to have acted as she did, showing her feelings on her face. She still didn't regret the incident with Eryn though.

As the ship docked on what seemed to be a cloud city, she walked out, not noticing either Lucius or Herrman who were in the hangars as well. As she walked out, standing behind Lonn, she looked across this entire city, taking in all the knowledge, but frowning, at how simple and crude it was. Noticing the imitation of the Palace as well, her lips curled. She already began to dislike this place. When Adora spoke, Dane did seem cowed by the title of Admiral, but he creased his eyebrows. This guy wasn't too much older than he was, and he was an Admiral. Dane coughed, pushing away his insecurities. "Lonn, ah I see, well," he said, ignorantly deciding to omit Lonn's title out of disrespect. With the recent events as well, this was the last straw. Pulling out a high-tech laser blaster, she aimed it onto the fool's chest, which was guided by a flare which appeared directly above the heart. [color=#008080]"Your attitude is quite, how should I say it… Foolish. I suggest you change it. Now, preferably."[/color] Tapping her gun, she regarded the boy with a disdainful look.