RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Four] Refuge

Fieke stiffened up inside her power armour and blinked behind her goggles at the response she got from the Juni.


“Miss Merkur is down surface side.” The Abwehran repeated to herself levelly. Breaking into sudden action the OriSec Corporal snapped her helmet down onto her head – ignoring the AI that was sending its best electronic smug smile her way – and hastily saluted Kai. “Excuse me then Sir, I am quite in the wrong place to attend to my duties.”


Turning and taking up a steady pace Fieke had her AI tap into the Star Army communication network and let it skim through all the traffic it could access until it found where in the hotel the Fifth had designated as their armoury. The AI – with a gleeful mutters about how much trouble she was in – plotted the quickest course from her current location to the courtyard.


The OriSec employee only felt a little silly when a few seconds later the Juni's own directions appeared as a carbon copy superimposed over the set her armour's AI had derived.


Heading off immediately Fieke ate her way through hallways and stairways – her armoured form showing surprising displays of dexterity as it weaved its way around anyone she met – until she had reached her destination.


Stopping just as she exited out into the courtyard the Abwehran let herself groan a little bit as her AI eagerly looked around for the other members of the Origin Representative's security detail. When this story got around Fieke decided she wouldn't be surprised if she ended up spending another decade out in the middle of nowhere instead of just a few years.


Shaking those thoughts off the OriSec Corporal once more bee-lined through any obstacles and walked up to her boss. Scrambling for a second to pop her helmet off and fit it in the crook of her elbow Fieke then had to spend a few more seconds fixing her goggles with her free hand.


Finally done and presentable after taking a deep breath Fieke nodded and spoke. “Miss Merkur, Ma'am, I have no excuse for the unauthorized leave I took part in and I apologize for being derelict in my duty.”

Turning to the minkan Neil and catching her ball behind her Freyja said "oh its you well there are two new members in the squad one has a death wish made of arrogance and the other is our new medic he said to talk to him for backups or post battle check-ups he's over there. They're both Nepleslian before you ask. James is the arrogant fool and Brandon is the unfortunate that got hit by collateral from Sif's barrage of counter argument." just as the neko was walking away towards the buffet she turned back and remarked "oh and Nakamura-Juni said we should create armour setups from the available stuff he listed"

after grabbing some food Freyja returned to the table and seeing the response from Starks-hei she walked up to him, tapping him on the shoulder, "we can go looking for the ST whenever your ready I'm pretty new here myself and we only just got leave to come here so I don't think anyone will know yet apart from maybe the Juni, but we can probably find the locations on the network"

"Thanks," said Aya, allowing herself to visibly relax upon Anzu's response. The blue skinned Neko noticed the received message but didn't say anything - however, the brief moment she glanced back up to the other Neko would probably tell her everything that she would have needed to know: Don't worry, I will. She would keep her words in mind, and quietly made a mental note to ensure that if she ever ended up in a command position of some sort that she would be someone her subordinates could admire.

Aya was in the Star Army to make a difference, and if it came to it being a good and fair leader was part of that.

Kai waved at Niel as he walked into the meeting room, a bit late, but luckily Freyja was quick to inform him about what had gone on. It was a leave period and attendance wasn't required, anyway, so Kai didn't worry about the soldier's lateness. When his datapad informed him of Damien's chosen loadout, the Juni looked it over, before nodding to himself and approving it for use, sending the order down to the armorers.

Finishing that, the tall blonde Juni evacuated the table which he was perched upon, and moved over toward Simo-Hei. His impassive gaze looked down upon her, before turning into a sort of displeased one, though, not at her. "Simo-Hei, would you mind having a word with me separate from the others?" the Yamataian asked, motioning out the doors. "It's rather important business and I would rather get it out of the way so you can make preparations."

April turned in her chair, looking from Anzu to Kai, rather confused, but, she remained quiet about it. Despite being third in the line of command, she wasn't privy to all the same details that the Juni was, so she had no idea what it was even about. "Ah hope whatever it is isn't too big a deal..." she muttered, a little worried.

James flustered a bit at Sif's reaction to his statement. Even though he tried, his frustration showed clearly on his face. His fists clenching he had to look down for a moment to keep himself from exploding. Finally regaining himself he looked the small Neko in the eyes, his reply taking on a tone of barely controlled indignity.

"It isn't stupid Short Stack! You....!"

Take in a deep breath, he kept himself from continuing and looked down again. This time getting it under control. he actually let an arrogant smile cross his face as he raised his head to face her again.

"This challenge is how Men have settled things for thousands of years when out in the fields of war. It is a timed honored tradition, one I can see you aren't familiar with. It is a test were the strong and the weak are put onto a level playing field. It takes away any physical advantages and pits two opponents together in a competition of the mind and the soul. Only the best Man emerges victorious. You may act smug now but lets see how you deal with this!"

In a dramatic show, James reached behind him into his field pack and produced two cups that were turned over and resting on two plates. Showing them to Sif in a dramatic flurry, he slammed the two cups with plates on the table, something inside of them making a rattling sound. His voice raising as he resubmitted his challenge to Sif.

"A time tested challenge of wits and skill! Let's see you beat me in the ancient game....of BULLSHIT!!!"

James said the last part with a gleam in his eyes. His smile condescending and confident, as if his victory was already assured.

Rin returned to her seat, placing down a bowl of hakumai and a steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen before her.

"Itadakimasu," said Rin quietly before picking up her chopsticks and partaking of her food. Despite how hungry she was, table manners took precedent and Rin took her utmost care in eating. It was probably the slowest anyone had eaten ramen, but Rin managed to eat the noodles without sending any stray droplets of broth outside of the bowl.

She was implacable, for the expression on the seven inch tall Neko's face could be best described as only annoyed.

Not the hot, feisty kind of annoyed where a young woman would be furrowing her brow and curling her lip however. It was the kind that was relaxed, resigned to what was happening. And like Sif always was, it was a distant, haughty expression. One that was born out of simply being untouchable - the kind that a person had not because they felt that way, but because they knew they simply were. That it was a goddess given fact of the world, galaxy, universe and everything. Sif didn't even bother rolling her eyes, but the relaxed, drooped eyelids and faint frown said almost everything she needed to say to him. The emphasis being on 'almost' of course.

"In each hotel room, there is a sewing kit - find it for me, and retrieve a thimble," she asked of him, assuming they would drink. "Then we will begin."

Anzu gave a rather casual, sloppy salute as their commander stood and addressed her. "Sure thing, sir." Even in this situation, she was sporting a fanged grin. "Let's get it over with." The Neko turned towards the door he'd indicated, shrugging before heading for the exit. "Later gang. It's been real!" Anzu giggled as she stepped into the hall, one hand giving a little wave behind her. She obviously had some idea of what was coming. It wasn't like she hadn't been in this situation before.

With that, Kai led Anzu out into the hallway, and a few doors down to a glass double-door that led out to a large balcony, where he stopped, looked around, and then nodded, deciding that this was a safe enough place to bear the news. Waiting for Anzu to get comfortable, the Juni scratched his head absently as he looked over his datapad one last time.

"Well, it seems trying to start fisticuffs with a Taii during battle is a bad idea," he began, trying to think of the best way to put it. "I did manage to pull some favors, and keep you out of the brig, so you'll be able to finish your leave period before shipping out. Despite my protests, the Taii seemed it appropriate to send you to another unit, one outside the Fifth fleet. It seemed some others above her wanted to punish you further, but I put in the best word I could. So, that means you have..." Kai checked his datapad for the time, "Roughly eight more hours of vacation before you're sent back up to the fleet to await a shuttle out of here. If you want to say goodbye to anyone, now would be the time."

"Oh, and by the way," he said, suddenly, remembering something. "Not sure if you want this, but it's a service award for taking part in the invasion." Kai handed Anzu the small box, which contained a small ribbon, without any pomp or circumstance. Kai gave Simo Hei a boyish grin, and a lazy salute. "Well, Anzu, it has been a pleasure serving with you, and I hope we get to fight together again some day. but for now, I am no longer your commander, so feel free to ignore anything I tell you from this point on."

************

Karen held up a hand, her back turned to Fieke, and wagged a disapproving finger at the Abwehran. A text speech bubble appeared, as Karen addressed the OriSec officer without looking away from her work.

You should check your messages more often. Luckily the soldiers here are more than happy to do your job for you, since I can actually fix their armors.

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Finishing her task, the thin brunette turned around, red-rimmed glasses framing a frowning face. She placed her hands, covered in grease and holding a wrench, on either side of her hip, and leaned forward, quirking an eyebrow at her subordinate before narrowing her eyes menacingly.

Now, It would be very easy to get you fired, especially since you're supposed to be in charge of my detail. Luckily the rest of the Officers are competent, and you are giving us valuable information, as well as a first-person view of how the Fifth fleet operates, so I'll give you a pass this time. However, if you leave without permission again, I'll have to have you canned. Capisce?

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Anzu followed onto the balcony, taking a moment to look out onto the ravaged city before turning to lean against the railing. She snickered at that first comment. "It's a shame I couldn't get my hands on her..." She nodded as he continued, at least trying to be polite as he talked about doing her favors. "Enough time for another meal and a long nap? That's not too shabby, in a warzone." She giggled, before reaching forward to take the container. The Neko peeked inside before nodding, returning the grin. "Thanks."

It took her a moment to return the salute, as she mulled his words over. "Things didn't go so bad. Until the higher-ups got involved, of course." She tsked at the thought. Anzu then narrowed her eyes at the commander, considering him carefully. "Eh, I guess you weren't so bad, in the long run. You and the cowgirl just need to teach the pipsqueak some manners, that's all." She giggled, moving towards the glass doors leading back inside. "Call me if you're ever running another suicide mission, I guess. I'm sure we'll wind up on the same mudball again soon enough." With that, the petite Neko exited, intending to stash the ribbon with the rest of her gear. She was sure the others had plenty to do to prepare, and didn't need her distracting them. Anzu had a feeling she'd run into some of them again, even if only on Leo or Pisces in passing.

Fieke swallowed heavily – the Abwehran had been a member of OriSec practically since it had started and getting kicked out of because of stupidity would hurt – and gave Karen a swift nod.


The Nightwalker stood there for a moment and then breathed heavily out of her nose. She knew she shouldn't do what she was about to do and that it was what had gotten her in trouble in the first place, but it was something she felt was necessary in the face of her prior conduct.


“Ma'am I would like to spend some time with the other Officers and brief them on my own whereabouts for the past twenty-four hours and then receiving then own reports in kind.” Fieke pressed her lips together and let her posture loosen up. When the OriSec Corporal spoke again her voice was more natural and had less of the forced drill room bark that it had carried before. “If you'd grant your permission though Miss Merkur... after I'm done with my duties here I'd like to ask you if you could help me – ah – officiate my position in Squad XIII for further inclusion in their missions.”


“Things were in a bad way out there ma'am.”

Karen mereley glared at her subordinate for a few moments, before silently going back to work. After more than a few moments of being ignored, it seemed that the deaf Origin Representative had been busy after all, as Fieke's power armor informed her that several orders had been updated, she'd been given permissions for the debriefings, and she had conferred with the Squad's CO as well as the platoon's commander, and secured Fieke a position in the unit's next excursion. However, Fieke wasn't off the hook just yet, as she was also ordered to compile-manually- all the data about the missions she had taken part in, as well as any future ones she may be involved with.