Beth  smiled  with a tired  smile,..yeah..some   home made hermes pizza, and a  drink or two  and I'm going to  bed...

 She looked at Shadow with a  pointed look as he arrived.....to sleep!

 Shadow raised any eyebrow , looked to Zob and shrugged as he  sat down...it will be interesting... he said with out preamble,..so see how the transfers  arrive, do they come in a group...or do they straggle in?

 he  took a bite of pizza  and sighed...Nice to be back, but at least we did our  share  for cleaning  up  Etna, loose ends... hopefully , Elge  forgets  about  social status, and concentrates  more of  vermin killing

  More  folks  entered the rec dec, it was clear it wouldn't be as Crowded .

 Cora  and Ellen   ran over to Shadow's table,LC? I know this isn't the  type of thing to ask?...but..well, there is sort of a bet going on?

 ..alright?

  ...for  SEC?  Are you going to be taking Harry back as a pilot...

 Shadow  gave a snort,Take those  last couple of  slicers of  pizza, so i can order another one...

 the ladies shrugged and  grabbed them, Beth waved  for another   from Dana.

 Shadow  downed his  soda, , picked up  , what was left in the pitcher..he sat the glass   down on the  tray...he poured  , so the glass  was half  full... what do you think of that Glass.. its half  way  full...should i put more in?

 Cora  shrugged  as  she took a bite of pizza,Sure?.. why not,  Fill it up?

 Shadow poured some more, and the glass was almost topped off...what do you think now?

 Ellen shook her head,Its  just about  full?

 Shadow nodded and  poured more in, the soda  run over the  edge and down the  sides, Cora told him..STOP...YOU PUT TOO MUCH IN!

  Shadow  sat the  pitcher  down,  picked up the glass , wiping the   edges   and the Bottom with a napkin...That's right? And what happened?

 Ellen said,you wasted   all that extra soda?

 Shadow took a  deep drink of the glass and Pointed  at Ellen...That's right?  it goes for people as well.... I put in way too much time, others  added thier share, and when  it came to that Last drop...when things were on the edge..She  pushed for the transfer...so she got it...all that 'soda' wasted....I'm not pouring  anymore into that glass...

 I mean? she is  still pretty good  pilot..right?

 she can fly... she shot down bad  guys, but she left  rookies  hanging out in the breeze, Kat could have  died...and  there wasn't even the slightest bit  about..'it  was my fault, i'm sorry'...There are Only Three people  who could force me,  to give her, her wings back... Captain Morris...Captain Si, And Admiral hack

 Cora  was about to say something  when Beth said.....here they come...

  The transfers came in together, they still maintained a bit of  space  between pilots and  Troopers. Dana greeted  then as they took up a long tables and pointed to the LC, and began to take thier orders

  The Angels and  the  pair of humans  sat at the table, most people gave them a wide  Berth.

AZ-EL stopped, she had her  drink in her hand  as she stopped by the table,Why are you here... We can sue the Moon Angels, but the rest of you should have shipped out  with the Paradise  fleet.

 ZI-RE , with arm in sling, looked at her,...You are a Mere LT, we have nothing to discuss with you...

 ..you very well might  have alot  to do with me, discussing  is not  part of the problem, Depending on how  The SM  doles out the troopers?..If you fall under  my Command I will be  your senior   LT on this  ship.... and if you are doled out to the  Burian  group, you will fall under the command of another ..EXPERIANCED.. officer...or?  The SM  might have you all under your own command, in which case, you must understand, that hiding  in your quarters is not considered part of a Jump Off...

 TO-NE looked up from her place at the table,so?  you liked the boots of the humans, and found , that you like the taste?

  AZ-EL stared  at the  SGT,I fought side  by side the  Humans, and the APF as they freed the Moons from  the capitulation, that the Paradise System shamed us  with... i have  since, been on many Jumps off...lost  some of my people, but  we killed 1000's of  empire scum and thier followers....You talk about licking boots, what part of the empire   do you so , enjoy the taste? That you would have these Black Uniform scum on your ships.....TO-NE stood  up, when she did her shoudler Hit Dana's  tray , and  drinks  spilled all over her  and the Fllor..

  ZI-RE stood,..you stupid human cow!...


 Shadow   took a deep drink  of his  soda  and smiled a bit darkly......Show time...

   AZ-EL put her glass  down  and  stared at TO-NE, the Table between them, as Shadow  said, in a  cold , clipped voice...Dana?.... go get changed.... send a mop and Bucket here...

 ..You  are  NOT..going to mop this up, because of them!

Shadow  pursed his lips,..NO?...They are...she is.... he pointed at TO-NE

ZI-RE.....you cannot  make  us...

 See?...you're doing it again?.... This  is  not a paradise vessel..this is an ESN..WAR-ship..now ..it might be hard to get  through that  Angel  , rock head?...But you'll all do what we  say here..and abuse of  Rec dec folks..well... i don't like that one  Little bit....

 ..I will Not  Mop!

  AZ-el Moved to the right, the  other  folsk at the table getting ready  to act, Shadow  moved to the Left, passing ZI-RE who damn near trembled in Anger...You are very  Lucky SGT..TO-NE...i am giving you a choice... You may chose  between using the Mop, or Licking   the stuff off the floor...

 AZ-EL  sneered,Everyone  at this table should be good  at that...

 a Civie kid earning creds at the stalls  showed up with the Mop and  Bucket...

 go back to the stalls Kid. I'll wave you over, get another bucket ready....

 the kid  looked to the LC...

 one for  the  drinks...one  for  blood...

 Az-el now rounded   the   end of the Table closest to  TO-NE.. Shadow  rounded the other  End,CO-NO stood, his  eyes  dark as he stepped in Shadow's  way.

There was movement in the Back round, Supe, Tucker, Hodden and  Minnet were walking over.

 a Black fellow  stepped out  from  behind Supe,...excuse me?.... I went this route....I am a SGT of the Iron Guard, Luke Cross?...anyway... you're about to get a beat down, like you never  had  before....Mop the floor, apologize to  Dana, and you won't have to visit Med tech.

 AZ-EL Stopped she looked a TO-NE and said,...well?

 Sit back down  Ace... your whole table just bought themselves a 2nd lap in the tunne;ls...you want to try for three?

Shadow looks at ZI-RE...you're running tomorrow, no matter what...

 ..I am Injured?

 if you do  everything right, on a POD Out...you might not get banged up...but everyone gets  banged up a little... and you still have to be able to run...so..you'er running.. 2 laps at least, we'll see what happens in the next 5 Minutes, how many you run...

Zob casually got up and walked over still holding the bowl of wings and snacking on them his razor sharp teeth stripping them to the bone like nothing and let out a loud burp as he watched to see who was gonna throw hands.

---->>>>> From Med Tech

 Meari walked onto the Rec Dec, just as the altercation between the Angels and Dana went down. Meari walked up towards the table. She was fuming that Vicrock uniforms where being worn on the Hermes, she saw Shadow there so it was allowed but it didnt sit well with her at all.

 Meari comes up to the side of Shadow and says," LC is this a training moment time or do we treat these Angel Cowards and Baby eating traitors the way they should be treated Sir." Meari's eyes where dark grey as it took a lot of willpower not to kill the Vicrock assholes right there, and the LC would pick up on this.  She stood her full height and cracked her knuckles. Meari smiled at Zob as she stood there waiting for the answer.

   Shadow said with  sarcasm dripping....Coaching  moments... we are about to teaach our new transfers, the right, and  wrong  way  to deal with people aboard this  vessel.

  I will solve  this  rather Quickly, LC Shadow..I know  how humans work... SGT ZU-KA Pointed at  Sneak who had  just started  on shift, with Jax  and Nifty walking to the table close to the lifts... both of the young troopers stooped when ZU-Ka  said...

  You there..Human  girl...come here  and Mop this floor  and I will give you 50 Creds...

 Sneak walked over, still trying her  apron around her waist ,50 whole creds!..why SGT... that is a very tempting offer....

  ..Yes.... it is..but it is below a Paradise  Angel to do such things, when we have   humans  willing    To Bow  down...for  the need of creds...

 Jax  Bristled, Shadow  merely held his hand up , Jax looked at the LC, who never  returned the look...

 Sneak looked at  Shadow.....LC?....

 ..its your  Call Sneak, deal with as you wish..he has offered you 50   Creds to mop the  floor...

 Nifty whispered harashly,WTF  LC?

 Sneak  walked  closer, ZU-KA  smiled...the smile went away as she said,let me see the creds first... Paradise  Angels  let thier people  die?..50 creds isn't much for your to hold back on...

   The Angel reached into his   tunic , pulling out a wad of creds... peeling off two 20's  and a 5....here it is you young  slattern ..now...mop the floor...

Sneak was   withing  3  Feet, when she took one  hop/skip step  and Kicked the Angel between his  Lets, ..The whole table  jumped at the action as ZU-KA fell face  first onto the wet  Floor.....a snarling Sneak grabbed his   collar  and  rubbed the Angel SGT across the   liqids...   a few of the angels  went  to move  towards her..But  AZ-EL, and Supe's  people on one  end.. and   Shadow with the young troopers  and  Meari  at the  other  end. Prevented  ant  interaction as the Angel  groamned  while  being  slide back and  forth across the floor..after a few  swipes, she took the  creds  from the Angel..she kept  20 and handed  25   to the kid, saying,

 I did my part, this is  for you to finish up....I have tables  waiting on me....

 She  went past  Supe's Folks, Hodden gave her a  high 5...

 ZI-RE looked  coldly at  Shadow, while to other  took in the gathering   of  Hermites...The  Kid , gleefully tucked the  25 creds away and began to  mop around the wounded  Angel...

 ..is this  the kind of welcome you give?

 Shadow and Jax  stared  down at the  angel who was trying to get up.....just about?... everyone comes here with this 'idea'..that they are better then us?  or Know more about the war, or? they are  just dumbasses? Some folks take the 'training' rather  well..others..well... the trainign can be a ...killer.

 Some of us learned the hard way....I tried to warn you...

 alright ....  now..enjoy the rest of your night?..0600...you transfers  will be running  htree laps tomorrow...

 Shadow turned, unconcerned  that his back was to the Agels  as the  two young troopers  Galred at the transfers , before going to thier  table..

 as the people broke up and went to their  tables,AZ-EL said,..Welcome to the ESN...

The Kid looked at the  angels and said,can you guys move him, he keeps smearing up my floor...

 Meari smiled and just looked at the Angels as they where going to join in, she shook her head as her hand went to her Kukri's. When it was all over, Meari shook her head at the new recruits and added," You think everyone is beneath you but you bowed down to the Demons easily enough. You troopers I will be watching you if I think you are not doing your best or if you run I will kill you and other Hermites will as well. We fight together we never leave anyone behind and I must trust the one fighting next to me, right now not many trust you, prove yourselves in combat and be smart you will do well, if you think you are above any of us, and are dumb, you will not make it." Meari smiled and watched Shadow's back as he turned and went to sit down. When Shadow was all set Meari smiled at the table and headed to sit with her cousin Shade.

Roy arrived shortly after the altercation broke out, standing back to watch Sneak deal with the Angel and the rest of the transfer group being effectively held at bay by plenty of Hermes personnel.  He stood back, watching and taking mental notes about which of the transfers was quickest to sit down, which spent more time shooting dirty looks around...basically, beginning a mental catalogue of which ones were going to be the most trouble.

With things settled back down again, more or less, he walked over to Shadow's table.  "Let me guess," he said, while nodding a greeting to the others there.  "My whole "You volunteered so you get to do it our way" speech went in one ear and out the other with about as much impact as a neutrino..."  He rolled his eyes at the scenario that was playing out in his mind.

 Shadow  holds out his  arms and gives his ehad a shake, clearly demonstrative, for the  transfer table...

  ..they are sorting out sub categories now... now? its  ;humans...then Human civies... Sneak scored one for human civies.. It would have been bad, had it not  ended as quickly,  I have to figure AZ-EL...and, for that matter, The Green Angels  on board?  don't have much in the way of sympathy  to Paradise System Angels...

 Beth shook her head,I like it better when we get humans...punch a couple out, break an arm..they all fall in line..These Angels   have a higher learning curve.

 Meari smiled and replied to Beth," That just means we might have to kill one spectacularly to help help with the curve, I will volunteer removing those black uniforms LC Sir." Meari sat next to Shade, she nodded to Roy as he showed up and took a seat.

Roy gave a tired-sounding sigh.  "Killing the Vicrock volume steers doesn't help us with the Angel problem, Sergeant, even if it might remove another problem.  Those Paradise parasites would privately thank you for removing the humans among their numbers, while publicly decrying how "Human barbarism" has infected the whole APF."  While he had no love for anyone wearing EDT colors, it was important to stay focused on the problem at hand.

   Sitting back  down as  Shade  glared at the  Paradise Angels...we are in a bit of a tight  spot?... Vicrock, we should  just space them, but the one that left is  the one , most likely to cause problems...we cannot over look, that  Paradise  'suddenly' broke out of  thier system, and  wanted to lead us in the war....recognizing  Vicrock, is a political  boon for the EDT, setting up thier own government.

  its easy to focus on the black uniforms.we can't let the Angels be  neglected ...when you see Captain Si?  you wonder why Paradise  Angels  are such dicks? Then you se GE-FI, and it all makes sense.

Tunnel run will sort  folks out  a bit.

 Larry  strolled past the Angels..giving them a snort as he  sat down between  Shadow's Table, and the  Table  with  Jax and Nifty.

 Meari nodded and replied," Yes you are right we can not neglect those coward Paradise Angels, SM, LC if you assistance during the run tomorrow just let me know I can run with the Paradise trooper and pilots." Meari watched Larry snort at the Angels and took a seat, Meari just glared over at the table of new recruits.

----->>>>>> from Hanger Dec via VIP quarters.

 Sam walked onto the Rec Dec and saw the group of recruits and one was being picked up so their must have been more training. Sam looked at the Vickrock and Paradise Angels with disgust. Sam said as she walked by," Wow I am surprised one of you is not dead yet, maybe you have some promise but you need to realize you are not the greatest race in the Black Paradise Angels." Sam smiled and headed for the LC's table.

 Sam then continued onto see Roy. She will listen for any comments as she got to the table. Sam smiled at Roy and said," Excuse me SM Spencer I guess you missed me on the Hanger Dec, I have new orders from Commodore McKeon, I have been assigned to Hermes SEC too work with Lt. Morrow and be the Liaison with the Burian Fleet SM Spencer." Sam smiled and handed Roy her vid board with all the information on it and Sarah's signature and approval.

  ..Stefi already knows   who the Tunnel runs  work..they'll be some  work for  Med techs  tomorrow...

    Shade  Bleeped  and grinded.

  yeah?  You're right, But Sneak took care of it...be interesting to see what happens when Dana  comes  to  see if they want anything else.

 Sneak  walked by  the table, Tommy Mix, one of the Vicrock   troopers  caled out to her , and she  just waved a hand  and  kept walking.

   The Hiss of the Lift  doors  Opened, a  'rather determined' Admiral Hack stepped off. looking around the   Rec dec, but settling in on Shadow's  table.

 As he  walked  past the Transfers, ZI-RE  stands  Up...Admiral!..I demand your Attention!

 Admiral Hack stops, looking at  ZI-RE like he was crazy.....you..WHAT!

 The  Angel   straightened  to his full height, a good  3 inches  taller the Admiral Hack, but some how....didn't look it.

  Ypour LC  has been Harassing my People..Your SM  does not seem  to care and  that Human Trollup assaulted one of  my people...

 Hack looked  hard  at the LT...there was a long..uncomfortable  silence...Hacks   voice started  slow....

  LT..... Hack looked at the name tag as if to empathize , how little   he cared about the fellow,..ZI-RE.... These  are  not  ..YOUR..people...They are  now....MY..people.  IF...The LC, the  SM.. that young waitress, or  Doc Henry's Dog, sees  fir to  attack you, there must be  some reason...I wager to say, the answer is...flat out  stupidity..

  Hack  jammed a  Finger into the  Angel's  chest, pushing him back a  step into his chair...and?  LT..you damn well  don't ..'DEMAND'..anything from me...IS...THAT..UNDERSTOOD....

 of..of..Course, Admiral, I thought, in the interest of Angel-Human relations... as soon as he said those worlds, he closed  his  eyes and winced..

 ... Who....between you and  I..knows  more  about  Human-Ange relations?....now..you look at LC  Shadow?.. and how many Angels, of  Moon or green, we have...and ask  the SM how many of those  same Angels he  deals  with...now?  That  waitress?... you best step lightly on the red dec, there  are only a hand ful of people who won't step up to protect  the
 people who work here...and those people aren't much better then you...

 So....LT....sit  down..shut the fuck up..and try to become part of the crew, or...you won't be part of the crew...and LT?.. its a hellva long walk from here to the Paradise system.

   The Admiral doesn't  wait for answers,instead he strides  towards  Shadow's table.

[From Hanger]

Nic stepped off the lift only to find that there were a lot of people staring at the new transfers. One  Angel was as angry as a wet cat(and soaked with something) while talking rather forcefully to Hack. Once that was over, he made his way over to sit at the same table Shadow and the rest were sitting, just finding a spot.

"Glad I missed what ever that pure stupidity was," he said to no one in particular.

  The Admiral   Took a  seat, looking around the table... He looked to Nic.

 Shadow  made a motion to the new pizza  for  both Nic  and The Admiral,..that's the mistake  alot of people make? Not acting on stupidity, allow it  to grow....we try to straighten folks out,sometimes...it  doesn't  take.

Shade Bleeped

 yeah....3  laps? I wager  half  that group end up down  in med tech, one  way or the other.

 Hack took a pizza  and  asked Dana for a beer. He sat his vidboard on the table...The Angel Fleet has slowed down, to have  cruise  speed...they  aren't in any hurry to  enter the Sol System...

   there was a bit of a  scowl from Shadow,I think we should tell our   people on earth to get the 9 hells out of there, and when  we  carve  our  way through   Largran Space, we stop of at the Sol System and pounded it like we did Roussa..

   the thought  crossed  my mind, The APF races would see  we don't play favorites, but ..i sent the Angels there ... they have to  go to war against  GE-FI , and the the birthplace of the EDT... I don't think  ZU-IS  will attack anything.... If he doesn't. i pull the  trigger on my  surprise, and  The Paradise  System will get to feel  what total war is like.

Roy gave a sheepish grin at Sam's introduction, and her offered vid-board.  "I appreciate your dedication to duty...but Captain Morris handles the details on transfers, I talk to you after he does.  In the meantime, welcome aboard...officially, as crew, this time..."  It was obvious, from his manner, that he was fully aware of who Sam was.

He gestured in Beth's direction.  "After you talk to Captain Morris, check in with Lt. Morrow...unless you intend to become part of the groundpounders, you're going to be working with her more than with me."

He glanced over his shoulder at the new transfers as discussion of the tunnel run continued.  "I think, maybe, tomorrow we have the largs run individually, rather than as a pack...let them space out so that the new troops are always within easy range of at least a couple of them at any given time.  Don't make a big deal about it...but if anyone of them tries to make any trouble, having a pair of angry largs tear through their ranks will teach them more, faster, than any one of us could."

He glanced again, and added, "And I'm thinking that, come tomorrow, if things are still on the same footing, Zi-Re and I need to have a boot-to-ass discussion about what I told them on the hangar deck...if they can't get their heads out of their collective ass and accept their position within the crew, they're useless."

Nic nodded in thanks to Shadow and waited till he had Dana's attention for a bottle of water after Hack had ordered. "My parents were or are still living in the northern Greece area," he commented and picked up a piece of pizza to start eating.

He quietly listened to the conversation but didn't add much else to it. Since he wasn't sure where Harry was, the most familiar people were right here at the table he sat at.

Zob finished his wings and stood up and walked over to Jax's table, "Figured i would tell you now so you weren't surprised later, i got you the next gen DT5 and dropped off in your SEC locker so feel free to pick it up whenever you get a chance, also me and you are gonna do some marksman practice coming up here so be ready for that"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:37, Mon 04 Oct 2021.

 Sam smiled at Roy and said," Yes SM Spencer I will check in with Captain Morris, and thank you very much." After he gestured towards Beth Sam smiled and replied," Oh yes I would love working with Lt. Morrow SM. No I am not the ground pounding type no disrespect SM." Sam giggles, she nods to everyone at the table and heads off to see Captain Morris  at his shed.

------>>>>>> To Morris's Shed

 Meari watched everyone come Nic the pilot, Sam from the Burian fleet, the Admiral, and then Sam leave. Meari took a slice of pizza and  watched and listened. She nodded to Nic when he spoke.

  Shadow  gives a shrug,Most  of us  family down there... I don't any longer, the  EDT  made sure of that....We're gonna have  to warn our Lights Out people there..if the Angels at least ...make an attempt, GE-FI  will try to get them to attack  thier  bases and  Hidey holes..., You have to wonder how many  Civies got sent  to larder ships already

 Hack finished a Bite of  Pizza,as cold as it may sound, none of that is our problem, Beth can sent a tight beam in warn our people, we can do a damn thing  about the rest  with out  giving the Empire  a chance to counterattack the  areas we have  taken, We'll get to  Earth when we get there....too many  damn Earthers, snuggled up to the Empire, regardless of what they do  with the tribute they get?.. 'normal' folks need to start dropping them, way too much  work for the agents  and , what  troops  that have  taken in...

 Beth?  get rest... after the tunnel run I want you  to contact the team we sent  to listen in on the  Paradise  ships/ We didn't give the Angels ESN transponders. So ,with any luck our  team isn't found out, they have transferred to a Burian  corvette  , to shadow  the   Angel fleet

"It's definitely gonna put Paradise in a 'must take sides' position.  If they don't attack Ge-Fi and/or the SSN, it tips their hand...there's no chance that it could be taken as a mistake, after the number of times that Ge-Fi has publicly declared that he considers the Delta Fleet a rogue operation.  It's a clear for-us-or-against-us proposition."

He glanced over at Nic, giving a slight nod.  "Those who are away from the more populous areas should be safest...they can't afford to start carpet-bombing the whole planet, they'll lose too many resources, so if they try and create a 'friendly fire incident'," and if his mocking tone didn't make it clear that he thought such a thing would be a blatant fraud, the air-quotes he used removed any doubt, "they're going to have to operate on the basis of picking out the the areas suspected of having the densest population of Lights Out and APF supporters in order to inflict the most damage relative to the loss of resource availability."

His voice took on a more sympathetic tone...while he had no family left on Earth--and hadn't been close enough to his family to be concerned about their welfare back when they were still alive--he was sympathetic to those who did, up to a point.  "And there's no practical way to pull our people out...you get enough Lights Out suspects on any ship, and that ship is going to suffer some kind of tragic accident trying to break orbit, or weirdly run into a Demon ship halfway to Mars.  Even trying to condense them down is going to increase their risk...I'm guessing Hunter's domain in Scotland is going to become prime bombing territory.  Their best bet is going to be going as low-profile as they can...they're gonna have to fight like the French and Dutch Resistance did, back in Earth's Second World War...hit hard and fast and disappear before the authorities can mobilize to do anything about them, while leaving just enough evidence behind to start to unnerve the enemy when they realize they can't find the Resistance."

He nodded to Admiral Hack as he added, "Sending the Paradise Fleet to bring in Ge-Fi is actually a pretty sharp propaganda coup, if they ever come to the point of actually shooting at each other.  With the Paradise authorities going in to remove Ge-Fi, he loses his only significant claim to legitimacy...he's been talking up a big storm about how he was sent to prepare and protect Earth, but if the people who sent him show up and tell him it's time to stand down, he's either got to give in, or go rogue.  Neither one looks good to the general public.  The more informed may ask questions about why, or point out the use of military threat against Paradise as a reason, but most people seem to be caught up by the immediacy of WHAT happened, and don't look deep enough to get details about WHY it happened..."