RP: OIF Halberdine [Episode 0] The Halberdine

Stromm turned his head to the side, hearing the nightwalker behind him refer to him as 'sir'. The grizzly Sergeant growled through his teeth at the woman behind her in what sounded strangely like a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure we're in a real hot situation right now. What with this school-house presentation, and the 'top secret' welcoming speech." Stromm said with sarcasm dripping like acid.

Bit nodded then quickly headed to his room to set down his small bag before immediately turning around and heading straight for the auditorium. He was a bit surprised at how the ship had been set up especially for a military vessel but put it aside as typical for a civilian military ship as he went to the middle of the section less occupied. He slowly and quietly hummed to himself as he went through the systems data of the ship as well as the vehicles assigned them, their state, and their last maintenance checks.

Fieke blushed as Stromm twisted her sincere statement into a joke, but the girl still held her ground and returned the Nepleslian's chuckle with a dark frown. The nightwalker once again vocalized her decision to be vigilant, albeit in a much lower voice than her original statement. “It's happened before.”

Stripping her sword from her waist with a few quick moments Private Amsel leaned forward in her chair, hands resting on the pommel of her weapon as she waited for the presentation to begin.

Bitt would receive information that all of the vehicles on board were brand-new, and had all passed their PDI's with flying colors. There were no problems with the ship either, as it was nearly as fresh as the vehicles it contained. The Ship's AI, a calm, reassuring female voice as Bitt perceived it, asked him how his day was going.

******

Captain Toyomo and Commander Shevi made their way into the Auditorium, and then towards the front, both standing on the stage near a small podium that had been set up for the occasion. They stood silently, waiting for the final elements of the crew to make their way in. Dyna, however, did not stand as still as the Captain, and smiled and waved happily at Stromm, glad to see him so close to the front.

Bitt smiled and told the A.I. he was fine and just checking the status of the ship he was to work on. He in turn asked the A.I. how it was doing and its different capabilities. He appeared to be staring up at the ceiling in thought to others just waiting for the orientation to start. He pondered what Dyna was waving at and followed her vision to Stroom and chuckled lightly as he went back to the ship A.I.

"Eh, save the anxiety for later." replied Stromm to Fieke as he looked back forward toward the stage. He settled right ankle on his knee and got comfortable as he waited for the presentation start. For a few moments, he seemed silent and still as statue as people formed on in, but as the commanding officers came along, he stiffed up and put both feet back on the floor. Though, one thing seem to throw him off.

The Lieutenant Commander was waving in his direction.

Who the hell...? Stromm looked behind him, and looked at Fieke, Ah... They must know one another.

"Hey, Queen Arthur, the commander is waving at you, I suggest obliging her attention." said the sergeant, before settling back in his seat.

Isaac Nolan's teeth were gritted in discomfort and apprehension; his eyes darted edgily through the crowds of personnel drifting around him, glancing over their identical-yet-differentiated uniforms. He shook his own arms, attempting to loosen the sleeves. They suddenly struck him as somewhat chafing.

Having tracked down the location of his assigned quarters, Isaac wound his way through the ship and unceremoniously dumped his possessions on the bed, barely sparing a glance around the bare cabin before leaving to find the auditorium, where, he gathered, there would be some kind of orientation.

His eyebrows raised when he finally entered the auditorium, which clearly lived up to its title. He wondered briefly whether some corporate engineer had sacrificed some vital component of the ship in order to expand the seating capacity and - he spotted the events list near the door - provide a karaoke bar. He smirked at the slight absurdity and made a mental note to check that list again, if only to avoid karaoke night.

He scanned the room. A group of similarly-suited folks were seated near the front, presumably his fellow security staff; he dismissed the notion of meeting them, at least until after this little presentation. He glanced over the other members of staff, coming to a stop on a musclebound Abwheran entirely out of uniform, standing in the back with his arms folded. This seemed to be the best bet.

Isaac strolled over, behind the back row, and leaned against the back wall, hands in his pockets, one leg bent at the knee, foot flat against the wall. He glanced over to the Abwheran, eying him and his plethora of tattoos with a casual interest.

"What brings you here?"

Evelyn Fritz hadn't been a very happy woman since her honorable discharge from the Weltraumflotte. In fact, she could hardly stand her own kind.

That was why she had chosen to join Origin, to get away from the tight cities, the enclosed facilities and the sprawling universites of Abwehr. She had never done well with crowds, and now... She only saw slaughter. But now she could help; Origin Security didn't expect to see any major battles, right? And what little action there was she could do her job as a Medic.

She had been surprised at the spaciousness of the Kouken-Class ship. The Halberdine was large for a warship of its size, and it was oddly refreshing to be in the slightly larger corridors. She found her bunk, set her things down, and went directly to the auditorium as her instruction slip demanded. Hopefully she wouldn't trip in the doorw-- Too late.

Evelyn picked herself up from the auditorium floor and quickly found a seat. She dearly hoped nobody had noticed her falling flat on her face.

The Nepleslian was mocking her, and from his earlier comments it probably had to do something with her chosen position, Fieke kept her leaning on her weapon anyway – after all it was comfortable and convenient. Plus, these chairs aren't exactly made with swords in mind, she thought to herself before giving her attention to Stromm.

That in turn drew the nightwalker's attention to the Commander, who was standing with a silly, childish grin on her face, her hand falling from just having finished a vigorous session of waving. Pairing that sight of Dyna with her earlier behavior around the Sergeant all of Fieke's irritation from the Nep's comments was dropped, quickly replaced with amusement.

“Ah – yes, waving at me.” The Abwehran's words were spoken slowly, the first few she had to struggle to keep from degenerating into laughter. “I'll have to apologize to the Commander directly afterwards then, it wouldn't be proper form for me to become a – ah – distraction before the presentation starts.”

Captain Toyomo scanned the room, noticing a number of the crew standing despite there being plenty of seats. One fell on her face, but the captain quietly ignored the fact, and began tapping on the podium instead.

"Attention!" he called, in a commanding voice that spoke of one who was formerly of the military. Once he had said attention, the Captain began: "Welcome, all to the OIF Halberdine. Were are all here today gathered, as a crew for the first time in our entirety, to conduct space trials. Immediately following space trials, we will be embarking on our maiden voyage, which is a simple security mission guarding a small team of Scientists as part of our first contract. I want to remind you all that, even though we are not military, I would hope that you all know how to respect one another and to conduct yourselves with the professionalism befitting a higher class of corporate mercenary. For my two watches of crew, I need you all to be in top form, so that we can impress our clients with our efficiency and cleanliness.

This is a brand-new ship, so that should not be difficult. As you may know, we have no problems, and the ship is already immaculate, so be courteous and keep it that way for as long as possible. I also want you to treat the Security crew as equals. I know they may not seem to work as much as you will be, but they do work harder when they do work. They put themselves in a personal danger you are not exposed to, and they are the very reason our ship was built. In essence, none of you would have such a cushy damn job if it weren't for them. Heh." The captain chuckled a little at himself, and his supposed joke. The ruffled Geshrin stroked his graying beard for a moment, before changing the subject.

"And speaking of the Security personnel, Your Lieutenant Commander has something to say to all of you."

With that, the Captain stepped back from the podium and waited for a moment. When nobody spoke for a while, he looked down and realized that the small girl was glaring at him, apparently having no way of reaching the podium. Embarrassed, the captain went and quickly retrieved a box, which the commander graciously stood atop of.

"Ahem." Dyna began, clearing her throat rather cutely. "As you all know, we are Security guards as well as mercenaries. Unlike most other Mercenaries, whose only duty is to destroy things, kill people, and cause havoc in order to achieve their contracts, we are professionals and I must remind you all that we are to act accordingly." The small girl seemed to be very sure of herself in her body language and the way she was talking spoke of someone with much more experience than her physical appearance would have hinted at.

"I want you to know, that space trials are extremely boring for us security guards, but I need you to keep sharp through it, because we will only be returning to Dawn for a few hours once we're done, before heading off on our contract. this means you will not have time to leave the ship, and thereafter we will immediately be on our mission. Once we arrive at our destination, we are to protect our charge at all costs. Hopefully, it won't cost us anything, but you all better be ready."

Dyna looked around the audience for now-she was obviously not an orator, and felt that she needed a little boost to her speech. "Any questions?" she asked

Evelyn raised her hand. "How long will the mission last, where are we headed, and are we allowed to know the Scientists' goals? What will we be armed with, and most importantly: How much danger are we in?"

After her questions were finished, she lowered her arm and looked at the floor -- still listening, but unwilling to try and see if what she had said had gained any attention. Being a corporate employee had its perks, though: she could ask almost any question she'd like.

((Oi, that's what I get for not paying attention to what I'm doing.))

Rüd Grülik watched Isaac Nolan as he approached, noticed the man's eyes sizing him up and examining his tattoos like so many before him had done. To the question Rüd gave a small, sly grin to Isaac- mostly to cover up the fact that his conversation with the Freespacer had distracted him from the initial task of changing into uniform.

"Security," he answered quietly, as the Captain had started his first words. The speeches were... expected. The questions were likewise, and he had none of his own to add; all the necessaries had been covered.

"Mmm," Stromm grunted, thumbing to Evelyn, "Little girl blue over there has some good points."

Bit sat there half paying attention since he figured he would hardly be anywhere but his room, the garage, or the mess hall. He was only half paying attention since he was also downloading the manuels for the vehicles the ship had that he already did not have.

Dyna's situation should have been amusing, but her glare and the Captain's act of fetching a box personally somehow turned the whole thing serious. The girl kept her speech short, getting to the point and reminding them all what their job was rather efficiently.

Fieke found herself nodding along, not too worried by the mission and especially not by the space trials, which as the Commander had stated would be boring and uneventful for all the OriSec personnel. When it came time to state if they had any questions, the Abwehran found herself unable to think of any.

Isaac grinned at the tattooed Abwehran's response. This mission could at least be a bit more tolerable with some interesting people to work with; from the introductory speech, it didn't sound as though the mission itself would be all that interesting. He chuckled slightly at the Captain grabbing a box for the Lieutenant Commander to stand on. For all the airs of professionalism, it seemed that the ship had a bit of a chaotic feel to it - Isaac always found it pretty damned funny when people tried to mask the improvisation inherent in everything.

He didn't find anything to add to the Abwehran girl's questions, but waited before continuing his conversation with the tattooed Abwehran - the questions raised some decent points, and he was curious to see the Lieutenant Commander's answers.

Isaac made a mental note to learn peoples' names, mainly in order to distinguish between all these Abwehrans.

Dyna thought for a moment, recalling her own discussions with the clients. "We don't know exactly where we're headed, the clients have till the end of the space trials to finalize their destination with our leadership. We're currently working together to find a location that has the most opportunity for research with the least amount of danger, though, i'm not sure what that is. The security party will be armed with standard armaments, and we will have a group of PA's if the situation gets too bad. At the first sign of real danger, we are to retreat as quickly as possible with the scientists."

"As for their goals, they are trying to research what changes the mishhu have made to themselves since their inception, to figure out weak points in their new design, aside from the usual 'overwhelming firepower' method. The length of our mission should be no more than a few hours, we are to simply protect the scientists as they capture a few samples for testing."

Dyna looked over the crew as she finished answering the questions, a satisfied grin on her girlish face.

"Are you ready for this?" the tiny Yamataian boomed surprisingly loudly, a call to action for the crew.

"Yes ma'am!" Stromm boomed in response, his voice louder, and much much deeper than the girl's on stage. Having to guard a group of scientists was easy work, but doing it against the Mishhu would make it fairly interesting. At any rate, if experience taught him anything, it was either going to be a harsh run, or an unpleasantly easy ride. With civilians in the mix, it would be one extreme or the other.

At any rate, Stromm adjusted himself in his chair, and awaited for the next part.

"Jawoll!" Evelyn shouted in Abwehran.

It sounded like a simple enough job, really.

Bitt jumped slightly at the sudden noise as he was distraced from reading one of the new manuels. He was a little aggrivated but just let himself simmer down knowing that the gung-ho types were always this loud.