Re: [Pre-Phase: Mission 3] Ghost on the Silent Line
ON, VSV Astarte
High Orbit Over Mazerin
Bukor 11, 936
17:30, Commonwealth Standard Time
It had been nearly an hour after the final moments of the battle. The brave frame runners had been given a brief reprieve before their debrief to collect their thoughts, and change into more respectable attire. The briefing hall doors remained closed, but all those present outside of those doors or were just arriving knew full well that their Wing Commander and the Captain of the ship were within the room. With all the buzz going on after the battle the mood remained somewhat charged as the battle was still fresh within their minds. As the doors finally opened, the squad members were treated to the somewhat somber atmosphere as the Marranr and Vaygraiv were in their assigned seats at the head of the podium, waiting for the entire wing to file in as the line outside began to become crowded.
For some strange reason that Akjit could not comprehend, he was among the first to go into the briefing room. The Ivouri was dressed for the occasion in a more formal military uniform, but in all honesty, it felt wrong. It was too stiff, formal, fancy and other things. Maybe it was stiff because he didn't use it often, but, this was a more serious moment, so here Akjit was in his dress uniform. He quietly went in and sat in his seat. Or, the seat he thought was his. 'Is it mine? I hope it's mine. What if it's not mine? I'm sure it's mine...I think...' The frame runner nervously gulped as he sat stiffly; he didn't want to offend anyone. This meeting just didn't seem as friendly as the last one. 'Where's Mridula? She's always got something interesting to say.' He sneaked a glance left, then right. Gulp.
Chanda waited with slightly bated breath, wondering what was going on. This was slightly different from normal fight and mission debriefings. The pilot hurried to her assigned seat with the rest of her squadron, hoping it wasn't anything too horrible. Taking her seat quickly, she turned her attention to the waiting men at the front of the room.
As if summoned when Akjit wondered where she was, Mridula stepped into the room, her hands tucked into the pockets of her uniform pants, her thumbs left hanging out and bunching intermittently at the cloth. Her eyes swept over the seating, then up at Serhan and Naveed at the front of the room. She had shown up early enough to get in the front of the line, and as she took a seat near the front, avoiding the rush, she waved at Akjit with a small smile. "Hey," she mouthed to him.
As Zus pushed her way through the open doors into the briefing hall, she turned back to see where Mu'Tasim was, to see if she could go and get him or if it would be wiser to simply save him a seat. Idly, her hands played with the sleeves of her uniform, which had been bothering her; they weren't like the linksuit's conformal sleeves, but they weren't wide enough to really be comfortable. In all honesty, the Eyr Ranr wished the uniform didn't have sleeves, as she'd be much more comfortable if it were just a tank top and shorts. But, pomp and circumstance were as they were, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Ah! Saints prevail! The Dreamers have provided us the guidance to another fine victory this day!" boasted Mu'Tasim, in wonderous spirits, feeling the energy and emotion ebbing off all of the other pilots in the room. Unlike the others, he burst through the door in spirited fashion, likely gaining the eyes and stares of others as the Temple Guard made his resounding entry.
"Muna's blessings to all that are here today to revel in the victory!" Mu'Tasim cheerfully blessed the crowd of soldiers. His eyes scanned around the room for a moment before noticing a blonde headed Eyr Ranr sitting next to an empty seat. He strolled over with the energy brimming within him, and sat down next to the woman, smiling warmly to her as he rested an arm around her.
Zalus walked into the breifing room and took a seat towards the back. His day had been made no better by the battle but he had luckly made it through the battle with minimal damages. He sighed as he crossed his legs and relaxed into the seat. "Well that was something today... I'm not on my game..." Zalus shook his head at himself.
The way Nenetl came skipping into the briefing room, whistling merrily, one would scarcely think she'd just encountered near-death at least twice and gone through the first case of experiencing doubt in her life. Doubt had been experienced and conquered... it would never afflict her again! She was far too awesome. She felt no need to say anything, she just made her way to the furthest back seat she could manage - which happened to be relatively close to where Zalus was, not that she knew or cared who he was. Her expression was overwhelmingly cheerful. Afterglow-cheerful.
The Marranr stood at the podium, patiently awaiting for the arrival of his wing. As they filtered in, he took the time prepare himself for the debriefing. Simply put, he was rather pleased with his subordinates, and needed to hold his tongue enough to avoid breaking into even the faintest of smiles."Well, I'd like to congratulate all of you for your performance this mission." Despite this, the XO's voice showed the telltale signs of his clear appreciation for their efforts, as he spoke with a sort of restrained energy.
"Even in the face of an overwhelming enemy, you've managed to avoid casualties and carry out your mission objective, acting above and beyond what I would ask of inexperienced frame runners such as yourself." He brought up an image of the wrecked battleship and cruiser onto the viewscreen behind him, as well as small samples of footage from the battle itself. "In particular, the most veteran squadrons, our 1st, 4th and 5th... were instrumental in the destruction of the enemy vessels and the prevention of the the nuclear destruction the NVR intended for Mazerin. I could not ask more of our frame runners."
Naveed had been watching the proceeding with a pipe in his mouth, blue grey smoke curling into the air. Thus far Serhan had been doing a bang up job addressing the frame runners. Once it seemed there was an opening, the Vaygraiv took the chance to then address them as well.
"While your efforts were not in vain, Command has made a difficult decision for us all. As a result of this unprecedented attack upon one of our worlds, our time table for departure has been escalated now that the rules of engagement have changed. Over the corresponding weeks, I will be expecting much from you all, to familiarize yourselves with the new frames as we begin our push outwards and into the unknown to track down the NVR." the Captain tapped at the pipe slightly as he emptied it, looking to Serhan then with a little nod signifying he was done speaking.
Akjit returned her wave and quiet hello with a small smile and wave of his own to Mridula. People kept coming into the room, and it wasn't until Mu'Tasim that the tension shattered. He was like a pneumatic hammer against stone when it came to that. The Ivouri appreciated that aspect of the other Frame Runner. Now relaxed, he now openly looked around at the various faces that came in, Zus among them. She didn't seem to like the uniform either. 'But where's that one pilot? That, uh, Nenetl?' With genuine concern for the pilot he and Mu'Tasim saved together, he continued to look for this Nenetl; he didn't even know what this Frame Runner looked like and scanned the name tags.
And then she came skipping in, whistling a merry tune and bubbly with happiness. Akjit exhaled with relief. 'At least someone here is happy.' he thought. His mind flashed back to the cracked pod, the bright, brilliant Prajna slipping out and into the void. He shook his head.
The bosses were speaking. And then were done. Words. They were powerful things, but the thing that bugged him the most was the mention of 'nuclear destruction'. That puzzled him. Why? From a moral standpoint, it was just plain wrong, wrong wrong! On the other hand, the point of view his parents tried to teach him, it wasn't exactly profitable. They would say that there was always a reason behind something, good or bad. So, why did they try and do it?
"Why did they do it?" he asked himself aloud.
Chanda beamed a little as the commanders spoke, but hung on their every word. So we're going farther into unknown space? Oi...I really hope we're ready for this. she thought, stretching a little in her seat. Why would the NVR hide their base so far away from the system center? Doesn't that make most military incursions pricy resource wise?
Mridula sat on the edge of her seat, her elbows resting on her knees and her fingers steepled in front of her face. She was grateful for the praise - she was proud of the First, as she watched over them, but wished there had been at least a few words directed to the noncombat personnel. She quickly had more important things to worry about, though, as the Vaygraiv explained that they would shortly be moving out. This was already the furthest she had ever been from home; the thought of going out even further didn't exactly fill her with joy. There was a small spark of adventurous excitement in there, however.
Zus smiled at Mu'tasim as he joyously sat down next to her, cuddling into the proferred arm. "You're awfully boisterous today, My dream" the Eyr Ranr commented, feeling her love's excitement through his touch. She listened to what the marranr and the Vaygraiv congratulate them for their good job, then notify them that they were to chase the NVR. While Zus was not at all opposed to chasing down and destroying the NVR, she was a bit apprehensive about venturing into the middle of nowhere to fight an enemy that would probably be better defended and dug-in. "I'm unsure about our new assignemnt..." she commented, looking up to her love for some kind of sign or response.
Mu'Tasim smiled warmly at Zus, giving her a short nod, before the brass began to explain the intentions of the Astarte in the next few days. Despite knowing their mission took them into the heart of the threat, it made him even more fiery towards the ideal. Through the touch-empathy, Zus could feel this, his zeal coming forth. He stood for a moment, his stand proud, and his eyes glittering still with the spirit of victory.
"We have been given an excellent oppurtunity!" Mu'Tasim preached forth, holding his hands out wide. "Today, we've learned that we've the ability to ward off the attacks and petty assaults of our enemy! This is a clear sign, a clear sign of the victories ahead. Fate, Destiny, and the Dreamers are with us, my friends, and by the stern guidance of Ruh and the wisdom of our superiors, I believe that we've only just begun to forge our names on the anvils of history!" The Temple Guard said piously, before giving a comfirming nod, and sitting back into his seat. He looked to Zus, his piously-powered excitement flowing back to her as he comforted an arm around her.
"I believe we've nothing to be afraid of." Mu'Tasim grinned to his love.
The Marranr praised the efforts of Bahram Wing, which of course Nenetl heard as praising the efforts of Vaybalri Zeltzin. Hearing what you want to hear from superiors could be a valuable skill sometimes. It could also be dangerous, but that wasn't likely the case here. Of greater interest to Nenetl was the announcement of where they were going next. She had a distinct feeling that, were she anybody less awesome, this would be a suicidal mission to die alone in the empty blackness of space. It was fortunate for the entire wing that she was along to bail them out of trouble. Just like she'd done this time. Nenetl nodded along as Naveed spoke, her attention not wavering much from him, regardless of any other distractions that may have come.
"Regardless, the Astarte has taken some damage, and we lost one of our MASC specialists during the battle, so we will remain in orbit over Mazerin for another two days while repairs are initiated. You will not be allowed to go on shoreleave, but I suggest taking the time to contact your families and other loved ones before we exit the home system." Serhan continued, the bitterness of his words sticking to the tip of his tongue. Although he appreciated the gusto and bravado some of his crew brought to the affair, he couldn't help but think that it may lead the less seasoned troops to disaster, allowing them a reprieve from reality before they'd had a chance to harden themselves to it.
But his ways were not those of the Temple Guard. He was a soldier.
"Fly with eyes on your wings, and caution in your minds." The XO said with a stern visage, releasing his hands from the podium after a long stare and stepping off to allow the captain to have last words before the debriefing was concluded.
The Captain took the stand then as Serhan stepped down. The older Sund Wakir cleared his throat slightly, looking at the assembled wing.
"I cannot refute my Executive Officer's words for they are simple truths that we will all have to deal with in our own ways. While it pains me to disallow shoreleave, everyone is free to spend as much time as allowable on our communications lines to their families and friends before we depart. I will however add one more simple truth to the pile however. Remember, all those faces of your family and friends as you go out into the unknown, for they're the ones you will be protecting along with the countless millions of lives within the homesystem. It is for them that you fight. Remember this as you are on the frontlines, as you train for it maybe that just one of you, or all of you are what make the difference in this conflict."
The Vaygraiv turned away from the podium, stepping down and as he did so, the assembled wing could clearly hear. "Dismissed."
END
