RP: NSS Alliance MISSION 2, PART 1: Dinner with the Enemy

Rico continued to wander through the corridors of the Alliance, his mind deep in thought. It wasn't often he was so serious about a mission...but with his recent promotion and an very important mission ahead of him, Rico decided a little seriousness to the situation would not hurt matters. He pondered about the choices he could make for the extra marine to bring...there were many things to consider. It would be Soreta, a small group of marines, and himself...

‘Fian...' Rico was honestly impressed with Fian as of late. First the surprise backbone grownth in the simulations, then receiving the promotion with him...he would've been Rico's first choice.

‘...too bad Wazu's got somethin' else for him.'

‘Adrian...' Rico quickly dismissed it as soon as he thought of it. The medic was a good fighter...in power armor at least, but he was really impulsive. Normally Rico would've taken that impulsiveness as a pro rather than a con... but the fact that Rico was still very pissed off at him did not help matters. Plus, Rico knew that Adrian's mouth was almost as big as his own, and this mission would require a lot of shutting up.

‘...NO.'

‘Kokuten...' Rico thought he was a solid fellow. Not the most talkative guy, but he seemed to know what he was doing. Rico then recalled back to the first simulation when he used his AIR to trip Kokuten...as a joke of course. Rico concluded that if nothing else, Kokuten was good for a laugh.

‘heh heh...maybe next time.'

‘John...' He seemed like a dependable soldier, but honestly, Rico had not seen enough of him to consider him for the mission, and he didn't know much about John's personality at all. Rico swept him into the back of the line...if nobody else seemed worthy, Rico might go with the wild card.

‘Benji...' The memories of Rico's drug-induced escapade had already come back to him in full detail. However, he was more or less pushing his last particular meeting with Benji out of his mind, to the point where he decided that it never actually happened. Rico certainly did not want to be reminded of it.

‘...uh...movin' on...'

‘Istvan...' Rico figured Istvan to be a solid marine. He was large, looked fairly tough, and was moderately smart. If anything, Rico didn't want to bring him along, as Istvan might just out-perform him if things got dicey, and Rico wouldn't have that. Plus, if Rico was going to get anywhere with Soreta, Istvan would need to be far, far away...Rico didn't exactly agree with his policy on talking to women.

‘...sorry baby, maybe next time.'

And finally, ‘Gran...' Rico stopped in the hall as he thought about that. Rico had always pinned Gran as a kind of a spineless yes-man. However, he was watching him during the simulation...the guy was smart. He knew how to work those machines, and with whatever Rico lacked in smarts, Gran would compensate. Plus, Gran was quiet... that would make sure that he wouldn't say anything stupid to the Elysians, AND it would leave plenty of room to work his magic on Soreta. A huge bonus point, as far as Rico was concerned. He smiled as more and more things clicked into place in Rico's head...he would give the guy a chance.

When he was in an empty corridor, Rico stopped and spoke out. "Hey Ally,â€

"Gran is currently in the marine quarters." Ally said over the PA system.

"Thanks sweety," Rico said with a grin as he abruptly changed course. "Tell 'im to stay put, Rico needs to talk to him."

"Of course, Rico." Ally responded kindly. She would tell Gran to stay put if he decided to try and leave the marine quarters.

Suku looked at Benji with a smile.
"I kind of gathered Adrian was crazy, and Kokuten seems a little loopy, too. I'm Suku. I work in the med bay with both of them." She looked around a bit before realizing her boss had simply hopped out of the room without her knowledge. "Damnit... where'd he go?"
She sighed and leaned back, still holding Adrian's large metal bass. Suku started messing with the strings, the deep twangs broadcasted loudly throughout the cafe by the instrument's internal speakers.
"Oh, uh, I don't think I caught you name." She looked at Benji inquiringly.

-------

Adrian walked down the hall towards the medbay, his high mostly gone. That kind of sucked, but the stuff was meant for a short, extreme high, not the longer affair most Nepleslian brands supplied to the smoker.
As Adrian neared the door, he saw Wazu messing with the panel on it, apparently hard at work at installing something into it.
Damnit. That fucking Wazu is everywhere. What's he doing now, putting in a sensor to log every time I go in and out? He turned around and started back the way he came, although slightly slower and quieter, hoping the much older man wouldn't notice him.

[OKAY then... I'll toss out the fact Benji's SUPPOSED to be unconcious...]

Benji grumbled something from where he he was laying his head on his arms. The cool metal felt good against the side of his face and his nose still fuckin hurt. He lifted his head once Suku was done talking. He warily looked her over and then blinked slowly. He looked over at Istivan and then cracked his head on teh table before sitting up straighter. With a deep sigh he whiped his hand off onh is shirt and then stuck it out in Suku's direction. "Benjiman Storm, you can call me Benji or Ben for short, which ever you perfer Suku." he gave her a charming smile, almost forgetting his nose. He shook her hand and tehn let it go and paused to take in a breath upon which he remembered his nose was broken and crusted over with blood.

He turned towards Istivan and looked the marine up and down. He looped an arm over Istivan's shoulders and then smiled a broken grin. "It was purely spontaneous and intentional... Been wantin to do that ever since I seen the man..." he paused and then chuckled softly. "It wasn't that serious... Just an attempt to keep him off the greshin...that reminds me..." He let hs arm slid off of Istivan's shoulder. "Medic np?" He asked and then nodded to himself. "Mind fixing up my nose, seeings as Adrian and Kokuten are ignoring me?"

"Oh yes" Istvan said laconicly to Suko "We can't have such a pretty face marred by so much blood."

The large man then snorts "You look like hell." he said to Benji "I would advise you get some rest, so that you will feel better in the morning, da? After your nose is fixed up. Do you often impact your nose against hard cybernetics?" His eyebrow raises in a very spock-like fashion, but he can't help but grin at the joke, ruining the effect somewhat.

Gran managed to reach his bunk without incident. He sat on the edge for a minute before laying on his back, staring at the bunk above him. He wasn't depressed, he just didn't feel the reason to be around other people at the moment. He had felt strange about the whole Rico incident, after all, Rico had been the first one to welcome him on the ship, besides the ship itself. He REALLY didn't want Rico to get kicked off the ship.

He sighed and pulled his pad computer out of his bag and scratched aimlessly on it. The pad slowly scrolled through pictures, most of them comical edits of serious pictures. He continued to stare at the screen and smirked as he went on. No matter how boring this seemed, it was Gran's favorite way to relax. Before long, Ally's voice interrupted him. Naturally, he flattened the computer to his chest.

"Thank you Ally." He smiled and looked up to the ceiling.

Benji was glad his drugs were keeping his hearbeat slow and steady, otherwise he would have hauled off and broke Istivan's nose right that minute. Anyway he chuckled good naturedly and then sighed. "All I did was kiss him, and no normally I don't go running around getting my nose broken by cybernetics..." He let out a snort through his nostrils and then winced.

"Well I can boastfuly say that I've broken plenty of noses myself in bar fights, but human hands are NOTHING compared to hard metal..." he looked from Istivan to Suku and gave them each a smile. "At least I know I've out at least two people I can depend on..." He aptted the side of his boot and tehn looked over at the female medic. "Yeah, just keep your eyes ob most of the marines... I'm sure if they ahd the chance they'd take you to bed..." With a soft, sad smile, he poked his own chest. "Like Istivan here, I've at least got some sense of chivalry, being raised with my sister and all..."

Suddenly, a hand landed on Benji's shoulder and spun him around, putting him face-to-face with Adrian, who quickly examined his nose.

"Nothing too bad, just a bit of busted cartilage, I think..." He used his thumb to prod Benji's nose a bit.

"Yeah, just some broken cartilage. Get this blood cleaned up, and keep the nostrils spread and it should heal up in a couple weeks. It might have a bit of a bend in it when it heals up, nothing too bad."

He finished his impromptu diagnosis on Benji, he turned to Suku.
"Oi, can I have my bass back, O minion?"
Suku sighed and handed him the instrument.
"Thank you."

With that, he turned and headed for the door, calling over his shoulder,
"Hey, Suku, can you come back down to the medbay in the next hour or so, so me and Kokuten can give you an orientation on it? Might be useful, considering you'll be working there."

Benji stared after Adrian and then blinked. He murmured a delayed "oww..." and then looked over at Suku. With a sigh he got to his feet and wavered. he put a hand on the table to steady himself and then offered his free hand to Suku. "May I walk with you down to the med bay? I guess I'll be needing to fetch my own bandage and clean myself up..." He gave her a small smile and waited for her reply.

He slid his other hand off teh table and pulled out his PDA, he did a quick search through it and then sighed and flashed it towards the medic. "Think you can find one for me?" He asked, showing her the picture of the appropriate bandage for his nose.

Suku took his hand and stood. She looked at the PDA for a moment.
"I've been in the medbay all of ten minutes. I have no idea where you might find one in there. When you're done getting rid of all that blood on your face, come down and myself or Adrian will get you one, alright?"
Suku turned and walked off.

"Okay..." He called after her and then stuffed the PDA back in his pocket. He patted Istivan's shoulder and then walked off. he made his way down to the washroom and looking at his blod crusted self in the mirrior he frowned and set to work cleaning himself up. Once he'd cleaned the blood off his face and arms he went to the room and fetched himself his black clothes and changed into them. He stashed his blood covered uniform out of sight and slid on his trench coat. After making sure his service pistol was still in place on his belt he started off.

He arrived a bit later in the med bay, looking some what more presentable and less like he'd had the crap beaten out of him. He paused at the door and then walked in. "Adrian? Suku?" He asked looking around.

(Mini-JP between Moonman, Davis)

As Rico reached the bulkhead doorway into the marine quarters he puffed out his chest slightly, trying to make his new rank bars stand out as much as possible. He entered, and catching sight of Gran sitting on one of the closer bunks, quickly turned and spoke loudly. "Hey baby, look alive! Soldier 2nd Class Rico Sanroma on deck!" He said boisterously with a proud smile.

Gran's mind went on auto pilot and he quickly stood up bolt straight and saluted. A wide smile grew on his face as he spotted the bars on Rico's shoulder. He kept quiet as he kept his stature.

Rico burst out in a short laugh as he watched Gran finish his salute. "Put yer hand down baby, and plant a seat," Rico said, his face becoming slightly more serious as he pointed at the bunk behind Gran. "We got somethin' to talk about."

Gran nodded as his face became serious along with Rico's. Something about that whole hubbub a bit ago? I thought that got handled... He take his seat on his bunk, standing back up for a second to move his computer out from under himself. He looked back to Rico. "Ok."

Rico took off his beret as he sat on the bunk opposite of him, and ran a hand through his hair. Honestly, a lot of this serious attitude was exaggerated; it was more of a front to get Gran into a more serious, agreeable mood. Rico looked back up at Gran after moment or two. "Alright, I'll get to the point. The Lieutenant's assigned me and a few other marines as the escort for the Diplomat for this upcomin' peace shit at Elysia. And he required me to pick another marine I want to assist me."

Rico paused for a moment to read Gran's face as the words set in before continuing. "And I want you to come along."

A tiny smile played across the edge of Gran's lip as Rico's seriousness seemed so out of place. His hands rubbed together at the mention of the diplomacy mission with the Elysians. His eyes widened a little as Rico invited him on the team. Me? Surely there are more capable marines on this ship... He smiled widely. "Really? Out of everyone else?"

"That's right baby, outta everyone else," Rico said with a smirk. "Ya shouldn't sell yourself so short. Everyone was pretty impressed with your little stunt durin' that second sim," Rico reminded him. He leaned back a bit before continuing. "And you got smarts. I think we'll need that when we get on Elysia...you do the thinkin', I'll do the shootin'. Sound like a plan baby?"

Gran couldn't help but smile as he was reminded of the beautiful sound of eight or so armors plinking on the side of the majestic, albeit virtual, NSS Alliance. "Yeah that was pretty awesome." He said with a smirk. I'll have to ask Ally if she still has that recorded. He gave Rico a thumb's up, corny on purpose. "Alright, I'm game."

"Alright baby! That's what I wanted to hear! Gimme a sec," Rico said with a broad grin before swinging his body around until he was on his stomach, leaning slightly to reach for something under his bed. Rico was glad to see that the technician from earlier had already sent the packages...they were all neatly lined up with the rest of Rico's belongings underneath the bed. After a moment of rummaging, Rico produced the rectangular box and quickly returned to his sitting position across from Gran. As he fiddled with the end of the box he spoke again to Gran, not bothering to look up as he opened the end. "You a drinker baby? Just a swig, somethin' to seal the deal, eh?"

He scratched his head slightly. "Well, not really a 'drinker' per-say, but I sure wouldn't mind some right about now." He grinned widely, wondering what sort of death-dealing, brain-melting liquor Rico had managed to stash under his bed. His eyes scanned along the plain box, looking for some sort of label or marking, even if he didn't drink like a mad-man, he had still been around plenty of people who did.

The box had no visible markings, and neither did the bottle Rico pulled out. The bottle itself was perhaps about a foot long, with green tinted glass. Rico quickly set the empty box aside, opened the end of the bottle and took a quick drink. As he brought the bottle back down he let out a great heave of air, squinting his eyes hard, always smiling. He laughed shortly before offering the bottle to Gran. "Heh, no worries baby. You'll love it...puts hair on yer chest, then burns it right back off."

Gran took a swig as large as Rico. He quickly pulled the bottle away from his mouth, managing to swallow what was in his mouth. He coughed slightly, not being use to the heavy alcohol. He was sure his throat was peeling off in layers, the way it seemed to scream, almost audibly, at him. His voice was tight and strained, but he was smiling happily. "Geez...*cough*...what is this?"

Rico smiled widely as he retrieved the bottle from Gran's grasp. "Industrial cleanin' alcohol...but not the normal stuff you can find in a damn cupboard. I had some of my boys mix this one especially for me," he explained as he replaced the cap on the bottle, quickly repackaged it and returned it to its place under his bunk. "Normal stuff tastes like shit, but does the trick...but THIS stuff's got it all. You can't tell me that didn't taste anythin' short of incredible," Rico continued, heavily amused as he continued watching Gran's reaction to the drink.

He nodded as a small tear came to his eye, his throat cursing him. He covered his mouth slightly as he coughed a few more times, his voice returning to normal. "That was really good, I might have to become an alcoholic now." He smiled at Rico and chuckled slightly, coughing one more time. "So what'd you put in it?"

Rico chuckled as he stood up and replaced his beret. "Now THAT is somethin' I can't tell ya," he said as he composed himself. "...I'll make ya a deal though. Once we get this mission done, I'll treat ya to another few drinks from it. Then we'll see if you can find out that special ingredient. Sound like a plan baby?"

"Can't argue with that." Gran stood up with a smile and stuck out his hand towards Rico. He hoped with all his might that this mission would go well, even more so now. He didn't want to be the one responsible for bringing war, besides, he really wanted some more of Rico's drink. Then he turned his face to the ground slightly. "Rico? Can I ask one real quick question?"

Rico grabbed Gran's hand in a firm shake. "Shoot."

He looked back up to Rico and paused a bit. "You would never actually hurt a woman like earlier, right?"

"...oh," Rico's smile dropped a bit, and he released Gran's hand. Rico crossed his arms casually, taking a few moments to read into the question. "...no, I wouldn't. Not my style baby. I do love the ladies...but I got my pride, and I got my own set of rules. And I follow 'em."

"I know, I just wanted to hear it from you." Gran smiled. "Hope I didn't step on your toes there." He patted Rico on the shoulder. "Now don't you go all 'gloomy Gus' on me, we still got time before we launch."

Rico brought back his smile once more. "Well, whatever works baby. Now, if you'll excuse me, I still need to go strut my new rank around a bit more," Rico joked with a laugh, and without another word, quickly dodged back out into the corridor.

Gran smiled and waved as Rico jetted off, his voice almost silent. "You deserve it." He closed down his computer and stuffed it in the bottom of his bag. He stretched a little from his slight bed-stay, and decided to take a slow walk back towards the mess hall.

Kokuten, still a little daze from the grass he had smoked earlier, looked up at Benji who had just arrived in the Medbay. His cybernetic eyes fluttered a little bit of static as his nerves caught back on. He heard Benji call for Adrian or Suku.

"Hey man..." Kokuten said, a little dazed. He walked up to the dark looking marine.

"Ah the nose." The Cyborg said shortly again. He walked over to the table and pulled out a bandage, and a nose cup. Then he walked back over to Benji.

"Okay, when I put this on... uh, keep it on until we get to Elysia, or the MO says otherwise. The cup will keep your nose from... uh... gettin' hurt... or something." stated Kokuten, "Now... This is uhm... gunna hurt."

CRICK...

Went Benji's nose as Kokuten cracked it back into place.

Ze plan

Fian sat on a metal crate in one corner of the hangar bay alone with a Datapad in one hand an a glass of cold water he stole from the Canteen in the other. He had to formulate a basic plan first before calling the other marines. Elsae had downloaded the latest intel on the Elysians from the military net... And it was not much, most of their military and tech is newly created and hardly saw action, denying the other fractions a chance to gauge their might. However, the report also suggested that the soldiers are well trained and rumor has it that one of their suits are specifically anti-Nepleslian. The Vel Steyr frowned.

But, some new toys have just arrived as well. The specs on the XF-14s made the Vel Steyr whistle a bit. Given a choice he would have flown an aircraft instead of a Power Armor but Nepleslians cant be picky. The superior Nerimian technology could put some fear into the Angels, however the Vel Steyr prefered if there were Nepleslian technology on display: It should be shown to the Elysians who they are dealing with. But if the spit hits the fan, Fian will make sure the extremely fast XF-14s are on site first. He was dissapointed that the XF-14s were drone-based and could not take human passengers, it screwed up his earlier plan.

A few NAM employees came earlier with cratefulls of new gear. Most notably the latest FIRE1 armor. It addresed many holes that the earlier AIR2s and WATER2s could not fill and on top of that, it is so new that half the SAoN probably doesnt know that it exists (and hopefully ALL the Elysians). Being a pessimist when it comes to planning, Fian will need to analyze the armor completely for any possible weaknesses and shortcomings. Perhaps he could ask the NAM employees (a male geshrin and a female nepleslian) that delivered it later for a run down, the woman seems to be arguing with the head engineer.

Fian tapped the datapad a few times with the stylus. If push really comes to shove, the only people the Elysians would be interested in killing would be the diplomatic envoy. It would be kind of hard to provide instantaneous protection when you and your ward is seperated by miles of atmosphere. The XO had told him to minimize Elysian damage but it would be rather impossible in the first few minutes of the conflict. A large security perimeter has to be established to protect the evacuation shuttle's LZ. As an armor contigent begin their decent, the zippier XF-14s can lay waste to say, an area one to half a kilometer radius around the envoy. Immedietly after that the Power Armors would land to secure the perimeter and clear a landing zone.

The whole process above would take about two minutes. Unfortunately it take less than a second to murder the diplomatic team. Assuming they are still alive, the shuttle will begin its decent together with another armor contigent. This group of marines will stay in the air to provide aerial cover and air to ground attacks. From here on the Nepleslian forces can switch over to EMP, suppresing fire and constant artillery barrages to keep the Elysians down without overwhelming casualties. It would be much more effective than going all out to kill, we dont know their military capabilities and an order is an order.

What kind of shuttle is it anyway?! He has not seen one anywhere near the DD4 and the ship manifest does not list one either. Whatever that thing is, Fian doesnt trust it to carry Rico and Soreta out alive. He just feels that its just not going to survive since a shuttle would obviously be the Elysian's pirmary target. Fian is going to ask some of the engineers to load it up with some NAM Power Armors (cant bring the Nerimian assemblers on board) just incase. He trusts that the two (or more) of them know how to pilot these things to escape in the event that the shuttle is facing destruction.

The first marine group will stay planetside while the second airborne group will follow the shuttle's ascent to space. A third held back group, in classic Vel Steyr style will drop from space to the atmosphere. Firstly to cover the retreat of the shuttle and the second group, and then the escape of the first group into space. If something unexpected happens anytime in the plan, Fian would need to count on the availability of the third group to complement any contingency plan.

Then the Alliance will pick them all up and we get the fuck out. And there! All done! Fian tapped the Datapad to send his proposed plan to all the marines involved, the XO and the Captain along with an additional message:"Please also indicate your armor preferences so I may assign you to your groups." The Vel Steyr set the datapad aside and downed the glass in one breath. Now he'll have to inspect the Armors and figthers before the mission. Getting off the box, he walked over to the NAM pair for some assistance in this (But not before giving the woman a good look). They made the suits after all.

Benji watched Kokuten walked up and talk to him and such. It probably wasn't untill after Koku put his nose back into place that he flinched with a "gah..." But the medic had warned him it'd hurt. He stood still however and allowed Koku to put on the mose cup and bandage before finally pulling back and gently nursing his nose.

"Thanks Kokuten..." He said and then gave an experimental sniff of the air. "You really need to stop smoking..." Was all Benji said before he patted the marine's arm and then walked off. He returned to the room to see Adrian and Gran. with a wave to them he walked over to his bunk, lay down and kicked his boots off. Benji rolled over on his stomach and, careful not to hurt his nose, he fell asleep.

Fian had to strip off the last name on his nametag so that they would not look at him funny. The tall Nepleslian woman was initially hostile at first, but as soon as he expressed an intrest in the NAM Armors she immedietly ligthened up. The timid looking geshrin was harder. He looked at Fian for the longest time before he accepted the Vel Steyr's handshake. Katya (The lady) spoke excitedly about the handling and use of the Power Armors while Eri (The male geshrin) simply mentioned statistics or otherwise kept quiet.

After he had inspected the machinery and expressed his satisfaction, the NAM pair had to leave. As they left, Eri informed Fian that the armors can still be customized and tuned for higher performances. Thanking the both of them, Fian saw them off.

"Was what that Geshrin said true, Elsae?" Fian said under his breath.

"Yes, during the previous flight I had detected numerous safety locks, underclocking and precaution limiters." Elsae whispered. "It is possible to customize and tune the NAM Power Armors but it is discouraged unless further experience has been aquired."

"What happened during the previous flight?" Fian said, flashing a look at the battered AIR2 no.2455.

"It was beyond the unauthorized pilot's ability to handle the control systems of the AIR2." Elsae informed, she paused for a while as though in tought. "I had to intervene to prevent the loss of life... I had to reveal my presence. I apologise for disobeying your parameters."

"Better than to lose you in the crash, Elsae." Fian said, with a smile on his face. "Everyone has a right to live, not matter what they are told. Understand?"

"Yes, master."

The Vel Steyr exited the Power Armor bays and looked around. He had finished what needed to be done and surprisingly he still had much time left, probably because he did not have to sit through the Elysian ettique tutorial. A few messages came through the Datapad from some of the marines indicating their Power Armor selections. One familliar name was not on the list, however.

Rico...

Fian had something urgent to tell him in person. The P2C made his way down the corridor. Hoping that this meeting with his best friend would not be their last.

Ally's voice soothingly chimed in over the PA system, telling the crew that, "The NSS Alliance will leave port in ten minutes. Please make final departure arrangements.â€

The blue-haired Geshrin passed by the officer as she entered the medbay. "I'm here for my physical," she announced.

Oh Boy. "Soreta, over here please. This should be quick and painless. I just need to ask some questions and do some regular examination. If you could take a seat on one of the bunks..."

Soreta did as she was asked. "Medical examinations are never quick and rarely painless."

"Maybe not quick, but we try not to be so painful." Adrian grabbed a data pad from a nearby table and stood in front of Soreta. "Okay, first, have you broken any bones or suffered any major injuries within the last two years?"

"A few broken bones in Funky City, but that's par for the course," replied Soreta.

Adrian smiled a bit, still looking at the datapad. "I believe so. Anything like your arm or leg or anything that may hinder your field performance?"

The diplomat was blunt. "No."

"Alright, good. Do you have any outdoor allergies? Elysia I think has a little more in the way of vegetation than Nepleslia."

"Geshrin don't get allergies." She would've thought a medic would know that.

Suku nodded to Soreta's comment, "That's correct."

Adrian merely grumbled.

---

John let out a tired sigh and tucked his magazine back in his jacket, laying his head back against the cold wall of the supply closet, clicking off the light and closing his eyes. I have a feeling it's going to be a long trip.

Istvan's wanderings took him to the medical room. He needed a exam anyways. It had been a long time since his last one, and there were orders.... He knocked at the door to see if it was occupied

Istvan grumbled, then began pounding on what he believed was the door, to see if there was anyone inside at all. Unfortunately, it was not a door he was pounding...it was the corridor wall. And he pounded a bit too hard, which he quickly realized as he felt something snap in his left hand. "MOTHERFUCKER!" Istvan blinked in slight disbelief. Something was wrong with the med-bay door, and his head hurt. It took him a while to figure it out. He was pounding on an airlock. Shit! The pills must have worn off.... He starts trying to get to Med-bay, but his burning head, flaming hand, and general inability to think well when he was coming down from a high had him quickly running through the halls at random.

Adrian heard the scream and didn't even look up. "Suku, please take some tranquilizers and subdue P3C Istvan."

Suku growled, but grabbed a needle and ran out the door after the crazed Nepleslian man.

Istvan was moving fairly fast, but he wasn't ducking or swerving much. He was just running through the halls screaming. He had forgotten why, but his hand and head HURT!

Suku made a mad dive on to the crazed Nepleslians ankle, and she attempted to put a death grip on it.

Istvan kept running, barely noticing the little Genshrin grabbing to his ankle, his mass and, at this point, his lack of focus, let his drag the poor Genshrin along.

The thin Geshrin beat up and down on the ground as the train that was the drugged Nepleslian quickly moved. I'm going to drug this bastard until he goes into a coma! The Geshrin flailed her arm to Istvan's leg and the sent the needle in his calf.

It was unfortunate that Istvan weighed so much... He kept dragging the poor Genshin for a fair distance before the meds finally took effect, with him slowing down gradually, and then falling over almost comically.

"Dammit!" Suku flustered as she stumbled to stand, her knees burned with the friction from the ground.

---

"Alright Soreta. If you could lift you shirt, I need to take your heart rate and check your breathing." Adrian pulled a small metal object trailed with wires from the datapad.

"You can do that perfectly well with me fully clothed; even Nepleslian medical equipment isn't that primitive." Then, Soreta cruelly smiled. "Or do you simply want to see a woman naked for once in your life?"

YOU FUCKING HEAR THAT, JET? I FUCKING TOLD YOU SHE WAS AN EVIL BITCH! Adrian closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He knew the evil would break out. "Whatever, screw it. You're clear enough. Just don't blame me when your heart seizes up in the middle of something important." Adrian turned and threw the data pad onto one of the medical beds. "Kokuten, handle the rest of the patients. I need something to drink."

"Yessir." Kokuten made a light salute to Adrian. He then turned to Soreta and gave a bow, "Have a good day."

Soreta grinned as she left the medbay, shaking her head. I'm surprised he has that quality...he doesn't make a good medic, to be sure.

Adrian walked down the hall, passing the unconscious Nepleslian and panting, battered Geshrin. He raised an eyebrow. "Suku..." He closed his mouth, shook his head and walked away towards the lounge.

---

Istvan was still conscious, barely, his mass too much for the dosage supplied. "What.... happened?" he mutters "Pills... need my pills... need Big-K."

The Geshrin was already dragging the Nepleslian back to the Med Bay. "You need to be sterilized, that's what you need." Grunted Matsobuki.

Istvan seemed somewhat distant, not at all like he was in the mess hall "hmmm? I already got birth control implants. I don't need to be sterilized..." His voice was heavily tinged with a Russian accent now, though not enough to prevent understanding.

Suku panted as she dragged the heavy Marine back in to the Med Bay. "Here... you... go..." She panted.

Istvan groaned, his head pounding out a steady tempo, unable to understand why everything was sideways "This is... med bay. Do you have big K? I need big K..."

"God damn, Suku, go relax on one of the beds, I'll take care of the Marine." Kokuten said, seeing Suku nod and walk over to one of the beds. He picked up Istvan under the arm and dragged him onto one of the other beds. "You don't need Big K, you've Super Silo'd, I warned you of that when I first met you!" exclaimed the Medic.

Istvan moaned "I don't know what you mean. I'm only addicted. Nothing wrong with being addicted... My hand hurts..." His hand was bleeding sluggishly; he may have shattered a couple of the bones in it.

"Super Silo is when you take too much of a stimulant, eventually your body will think it can handle loads more than what the stim can do. Soon, you won't be able to hold yourself up." Kokuten said, placing the marine on the bed. "Dammit man, you're fucked up." The Medic ran over to the cabinet and pulled out a bandage, a cast, and a cloth. "Okay, let's work with this arm," grunted the Medic, grasping the arm with the broken hand.

Istvan blinked, staring detachedly at his hand "I can't think strait. I need big K. I haven't been off of it since I joined up... makes everything more clear.... I was pounding on an airlock door. And now I'm here...."

"Shush." Kokuten washed off the blood and applied the cast. "Big K is a nasty drug, man. It isn't distributed any more, the shit you've been taking is the cheap, ineffective kind, sold on unofficial markets." The Medic then rapped the bandages around the Marines hand. "You're staying in here until we clear that shit out of your system."

Istvan scowled, "No. I'm worse without it. I'm like how I was before. I need it..." his thoughts are looping, and he seems confused as he speaks. He is having a great deal of trouble pronouncing every word, and is speaking slowly to make sure they get our right

"That's the addiction speaking, man." Kokuten began to strap down Istvan. "Can't you see? Your body is telling you, that you need it. We're going to fix that." Kokuten grunted, strapping the Marine down.

Adrian found himself back in the same storage are as earlier, only this time with a datapad and glass of absinthe as opposed to a bass. He tapped through several screens, looking at the Marine and crew medical records. He took a large sip of absinthe and searched for Soreta's file. He clicked his tongue when it didn't show. He dropped the pad at his side and drank some more of the strong drink. Dammit, even when I'm trying to help, shit just goes wrong. The man gulped down the rest of his drink and stood. Adrian quickly made his way back to the medbay. "Ah. Kokuten. What's up with Isty?

Istvan moaned, distressed. "No... I need it. Really do. You don't know what I was like. I don't want to go back to that," he sounded distressed, very distressed.

"He's jacked up, and now he's strapped down." Kokuten said, tightening the straps enough for Istvan to be able to twist his wrists.

"Ah. Stimulant overdose? What was he using?" Adrian walked around in front of the man, looking down at Istvan with a mixture of concern, amusement, and pity. The big man made some blubbering noises. It was hard to recognize, but in the end it was obvious. Istvan was crying. "I need my big K.... I need it... please!"

"K-12's, the cheap kind too." Kokuten said, looking down at the Marine. "We might need to keep him on sedatives to keep him from going whacko, right sir?"

"Oh hell yeah. I'd suggest enough to keep him under for at least two hours. I'll be writing a recommendation to the Wazu and the captain to keep him off active duty." Adrian walked to one of the drawers and pulled out a long syringe. He then grabbed a small bottle of clear fluid and filled the syringe with it.

"Sorry Yuttreburg, but you're not seeing the some K-12's or the surface of Elysia, any time soon." He looked down at the strapped down Marine.

Istvan stared. "No... my stuff was good! Swear! I know how to get it pure!"

"Kokuten, please hold him still while I inject him. These are weak, so he doesn't die from the ones Suku put in him." Adrian stood over Istvan and squirted a slight amount of the sedative, evening the dose.

The Medic put his metal arms on Istvan, and put his arms in a lock.

Adrian reached down and pushed the needle into Istvan's jugular. "Istvan, if you move now, your jugular will tear, your blood will spray everywhere, and you'll probably die before we can save you." Adrian then began pushing the sedative into Istvan's veins.

Istvan doesn't struggle. Just speaks, slightly laconically. "I'm telling you. My pills were not bad! In the locker. Under the gun-mags!"

"We'll figure out when we check, night Yuttreburg." Kokuten held him down.

It took the big man surprisingly long to loose consciousness. He started to sing "...daisy daisy..." as he faded, the words eventually turning into mumbles, then silence

Adrian finished pumping the sedative and pulled out the needle. He dumped the empty syringe in a bio-hazard box. He walked over to Suku, who had fallen asleep out of exhaustion, and gently shook her awake. "Hey, go to P3C's foot locker, and find his pill container. I want to get a good look at them."

Suku nodded her head lightly as she walked off to search the P3C's footlocker.