RP: 188604 [Star Wasp] 8:The Briefing Before

As soon as Uso had finished outlining the basics of her plan and asked her audience for questions, it was predictable that the room erupted in a flurry of questions. People asking for clarification on their exact role in the upcoming conflict, using it as an excuse to jockey for status or more resources and taking the desperation of the fight they had on their hands as a signal to negotiate some sort of deal with the country's ruler. He strained his ears to pick up on each of the simultaneous conversations that were unfolding in the auditorium, mostly centered around his boss, and if his implants didn't give him a perfect memory he'd have trouble keeping track of them all. It didn't help that every minute it seemed like some new face he'd never seen before decided to grace them with their presence.

Their was another Nekovalkyrja that must have slipped into the meeting while his attention was focused on Uso, dressed in all the finery that was once a mark of the planet's ruling class, looking like she was about to draw a gun on another stranger. As Marcus Rodia barged into the room, his first impression was that he was loud, brash, and was certainly confident in his own ability. Had to be if he thought that a single ship was going to make that much of a difference in the casualty estimates for such a lopsided scenario. Which wasn't to say that he was about to look a gift horse in the mouth, all though the question of 'where the fuck did this guy come from and why is this the first I'm hearing about another warship in the fleet' did come to mind.

Of course, Uso had given him something much more immediately pressing to worry about. He was being given leadership over the mecha that were at his bosses disposal and being charged with the success of the assault on the carrier. Which effectively meant that if the mission went sideways, it was his head on the chopping block. Of course, he also had his progenitor, a guy with more experience as a soldier then head years to live, and a bunch of nuclear drones ran by a AI backing him up.

What else could he do but allow a shark-like grin to take over his face and respond with. "We won't let you down Uso. ROnin, Alex, Just so you two now...." The display table that Uso had been using flared to life again, showing an exact replica of a second generation Mishhuvurthyar carrier with a indepth look at its interrnals. "This is what we're going to be raiding, so eithe commit it to memory if you have a implant for that or download the schematics onto whatever device you have on you, then transfer it to your mech's interal computer. We don't have long till go time, so make sure your prepped. Before the op begins we're going to go through some simulationsto make sure we're prepared before we pull his off."

Meanwhile, his mindwae buzzed with activity, establishing a link with Corgans own. "Thanks, We can grab a pint if we make it out of here intact. Will you be staying ton one of the ships in case of boarders or are you volouneering to hit one of the Carrier's with us? It'd be nice having you along."

Sammy let out low, contented squeaks with each stroke of Arccos' palm over his fuzzy thorax, drooping his antennae lazily downward. The I'ee examining Lyco were spooked off as Truffleclub crawled closer: Apparently, the Ee'ith didn't share the Ithee's excitement over the shroombot. Squeaking and squealing, they scattered away, flapping their wings and hiding behind other people in the hall, peeking nervously out at Truffleclub.

With the formal stuff concluded Akemi detached from Ash and floated over to the tank spacer to get behind her and rest a hand on each of her shoulders. "Can we take the restraints off this sweet little tank angel? She's been here for a while and I don't see what the big deal is. Couldn't you just take the gun off her arm or take out its ammo? What's wrong with letting her have a gun she can point around?"

With the briefing seeming to have ended Ace got off his perch and left.

Spacecase decided to leave as well not really knowing anyone well enough to start a conversation so he went off to find Sans.

Alex, quite frankly, was unable to understand most of the babble flowing from the mouths of those around him. He saw Daniels and Uso, and decided to walk over to say hello.

It looked like Daniels and Uso were having some sort of serious conversation. Given his experience, however short it was, she seemed to him almost like a different person than the one he knew.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Uso patted Alex on the back, "This is what taking over a planet looks like!" Uso said, laughing a bit as she turned her attention to Alex... then back to Daniels,

"Except this isn't amateur hour like earlier. This is how the Pros do it.

You know that saying the Pen is mightier than the sword? Well they say that because of the legal contracts and backroom deals associated with these kinds of maneuvers. Had I signed that we would have been done for.... Rich, sure, but done for...

... Oh... I hope you didn't sign anything with them without having a lawyer look it over...."

Arccos' epidemic concerns:

Arccos' head swiveled away from the big affectionate Wasp in her lap, turning to look at Akemi. Something she unfortunately had to do an awful lot.

"Akemi, get your hands off her. She's a biological Freespacer without an enviro-suit. Foreign bacteria could make her really sick..." Arccos said sharply, "And the cuffs are basically pageantry. She's mostly industrial grade cybernetics: If she didn't want to be in those handcuffs she wouldn't be in them... I mean, she could snap them and turn you to mush under those treads and no one would do to stop her really..."

Daniels' wheeling and dealing:

"Alex and Jason's deals with the Frontiers office are all verbal agreements, individual operations they may take part in are subject to their own contracts." Daniels explained, replacing his thermos into his briefcase and snapping it shut. "To date neither have signed anything."

Akemi quickly took his hands off the tank Spacer and backed away. "Well if she isn't forced to wear them and she's still doing it is that a sign one or both of you are into bondage?"

While the silly Neko waited to see what reactions he'd get he mentally messaged Vier. "Hey bud, are you gonna fix us up some weapons so us power armor pals can better fight the space baddies?"

Uso's Palace

Corgan looked towards the door and his hand went to his HHG before he even fully registered what had just happened. When the man appeared to be friendly he relaxed and moved his hand away. The man sure knew how to make an entrance. Akemi seemed not to like him, which inadvertently caused Corgan to like him. He also had a pretty good point. If they lost 90 percent of their arsenal how could they hope to defend the planet? With more people coming and going piracy could become a legitimate threat.

He went over the information he could find on the HPAR, using his mindware to connect to the InterNEP. The version he was thinking of was apparently outdated. The newer one had some attachments, even a UMD round launcher. "The HPAR Master Set would probably be the best if she can make it in time for the mission. I'll take my little shuttle to Nepleslia to get my armor upgraded."

Uso's reply drew his attention. "Didn't consider that option, but bolting vehicles to the side is a badass idea. I'll have Lieutenant O'Brien from my crew to round up some guys to come with us to man the guns. They won't have PAs, but maybe we can at least get them some void suits." He knew he was forgetting something. "Oh, almost forgot. Where exactly do I go to get a backup?" Corgan asked.

"Sure, with the gear I'm getting I should be able to keep up with you guys. Mind if I ride on your mech?" He asked Jason.

Akemi's answer came from a speaker near the other Freespacers, this one conveying the cool, clear voice of an older woman. "The question was answered, the restraints are for show. Though she's not an atoning convict who's learning to fight with her feet, it serves the same purpose as a reminder of something."

"I'm surprised you care." Lyco made a blunt expressionless statement towards Arccos. Their tank treads shoved a little away from Akemi, but not violently so. A glance backwards at the boy neko said a lot about their current uncertain predicament. "But there are different ways of forcing somebody to do what you want, aren't there?"

More untrusting glances. She was examining the junkers present. Ever-present on 188604 these days.

Manufacturing. That was what they wanted her for. That was what certain other groups wanted her for too. The only question that really remained was, at what point was the half-metal saboteur more trouble than they were worth? Lyco herself wondered how long she could get away with being so unapologetic, but she just plain didn't agree with the local ruler's de-facto ethos that freindship solves everything.

"As for you, whoever it is on the speaker..." Snapping out of that inner turmoil, they seemed to make a specific point of acting like a dangerous cornered animal. "This entire planet is a reminder. I would have stayed anonymous forever if I really had the choice. As someone isn't even here in VR, I'm sure you can grasp that."

"Just give me a few weeks. I'm making a new body, one you'll no doubt inspect. This one just isn't designed to work with living people."

"Well if the whole place is a reminder and the cuffs are unnecessary can I get some keys?" Akemi asked. "I don't want this little cutie scuffing herself breaking out of them."

"You've got that right," the voice replied to Lyco, amiably. "Though I didn't say who the reminder was for. I'll hold my peace, if you don't need my help."

Apathetic Caring:

"You'd be surprised by how much I care about just about everyone present." Arccos said over to Lycosidae, twiddling one of Sammy's feelers, "Although I'm not about to pass up an opportunity to explain to Akemi just how filthy he really is, either... Still I'll call your bluff on the anonymity thing. You'd have stayed anonymous forever, building up your ability to invade the remaining handful of safe Freespacer enclaves left in existence, would you? You're either lying or paranoid to a dangerous degree, both qualifiers which make you a hazard to leave alone."

"Truffleclub, and the woman on the speaker are both engineers as good as you. Maybe better. We don't need you at all, and there's a lot to say about just shooting you and recycling your base materials into something useful." Arccos finally turned and looked at Lycosidae, "But you deserve a chance. Maybe not a chance to turn around and shoot everyone here, but one to do whatever you like with your time and whatever resources you can wrangle from the planet. Make new bodies, or tank friends. Whatever."

"I'm not going to tell you what to do or how to do it. Everyone here will fairly compensate you for anything done to help them. If they try and take advantage of your situation I'll shoot them. Once I'm satisfied you're not simply going to leech off my resources and stab us in the collective backs, I'll set you up your colony of one and protect your privacy from there."

"I'd never scrap you for your parts buddy," Akemi said quickly. "Arccos is just a meanie. The adorable whole is far greater than their sum. You can always ask me for help, an attentive ear or a shoulder to cry on. I'd give you a hug of reassurance but apparently I might contaminate you."

"Thank you." The voice was directed towards the speaker. Lycosidae respected a person who could state their case but keep their distance. No doubt they were just another person trying to keep down a job. "At least if it reminds you of something, then I'm being taken seriously."

Their reaction to Arccos was a little more turbulent. They seemed to take a bit of offense over the whole 'leech off my resources' part, but soon closed their eyes and cooled down their emotions again. Despite the seeming calm, however, there was the groaning sound of metal being strained, before the cuffs reached their shearing limit and snapped in the Type Two's hands.

"By the looks of things, you'll be picking fights with the locksmiths soon enough, and they'll certainly kill me if I leave this planet anyways." Calm, controlled agitation, hands held before them. It was the look of someone who had made a life out of disobeying their superiors. and would take any small victory they could muster. "But just remember that I never asked for a chance, or to be part of this."

Glancing at Truffleclub, who was themselves still examining the I'ee, was a little strange. Almost like a small, muted look of recognition. They immediately diverted their attention back to Akemi in order to cover it up.

"Your support is noted, but I don't need help from anyone." Looking at their gun arm confirmed it was deactivated. Maybe they were just trying to avoid looking at him, too, through. "As for contamination, I doubt I will get away from it on this dirtball. Setting up shop near the Lament's original crash site seems like my best bet in terms of resources, through. Stop by some time, and maybe I'll repay you for those good words. Or don't."

"Hey I'ee people, would one or two of you come over here and give this chick a hug?" Akemi said pointing down at Lycosidae. "If you'd come over here too Truffleclub that'd be nice." Once the Neko had seen her give them all a look he naturally had to help get her acquainted.

Arccos gittin' gud:

As Lycosidae snapped her manacles and went for acting disobedient, Arccos' face twisted into a rather inordinately pleased smile. Like a mother who'd tricked her teenage daughter into cleaning their room. It was plausible that that was the exact reaction Arccos had been hoping to achieve the whole time, and all she did was just to beam a pure aura of pride towards Lycosidae.

"Hmhm. If the Locksmiths come they'll have bigger things to worry about than you, don't worry." Arccos chuckled, turning her attention back to Sammy, "Akemi, do something useful and barter some immuno boosters for her. She can't help herself if she's dead."

Simple Wasp Pleasures

Throughout the exchange between Akemi, Arccos and Lyco, Sammy sat snugly in the sheriff's lap, squeaking sleepily as she lavished him with affection. His slender antennae wriggled when she held them, stroking her fingers affectionately. The other I'ee seemed too distracted by other things to pay Akemi any attention; one of them bravely crawling closer to the kneeling Truffleclub and squeaking up at them inquisitively.

Lyco honestly looked a little disappointed, either wanting Arccos to be more upset, or perhaps realizing that the immuno-boosters really would be vital to staying alive here. Before they could offer a word of protest, through, Truffleclub physically picked them up around the waist. It was a hug fit for a car, never mind the petite angry tank person.

Uncomfortable silence. The large automata was just looking downwards, waiting for the love maneuver to take effect. Lycosidae dangled with arms out, looking angry but not putting up a fight.

"...Cat Boy..." Large eyebrows, twitching. "I want you to think long and hard about why this doesn't work."

"Cloudee doesn't like, but will help, always." The machine sat cross-legged, disgruntled rebel in their lap. A free hand was offered to the curious I'ee, attempting to pet them with one weighty finger. "If anything is learned, you can be having hate anytime. Hate easy, is. But in this time, we are time for other things, is..."