Robotech - Southern Cross Adventure

[D. Rex]

Marlon explained to her as they headed back. "We never really had to deal with it. We knew each other enough back in basic training that we all hit it off pretty good. I'll go as far to say that we havent really given her any reason to be triggered. At least not that I seen. I think that has a lot to do with her squad. Alan, Alissa, Neo. We have worked pretty well with each other from the start. She may be younger than most of us. But ain't none of us dont respect her. Duenan has done nothing but right by us."

"Even during combat. While I'm sure it helped that we all technically had the same job, point at enemy and shoot, I'd say there is more too it. We value the team and we all strive for the good of the squad. We arent competing for kills or trying show off. As I told Ryuko. A kill one of us makes, is a kill all of us makes. I'm not sure if any of us has ever bothered to count."

"Anyway, Sergeant isn't harded headed or closed minded. We each got our skills and she respects that. And she takes our two cents worth into consideration. And in turn, when she makes a decision, we trust her judgement and work together to make it happen."

"Now, I'm sure that things will switch up a bit now with you and Ryuko. As I have no doubt yall are probably used to different ways of doing things. And I have no doubt she has already accounted for that. But if you want my advice to bet fit in, then it would be to get to know the others, and get used to working in tandem. Expect to back each other without asking, and to be backed up without a worry of pride. All of us want to give our best to the squad, and you'll be held to the same standard. I think, you will fit in just fine." The other one, on the other hand, he wasnt so sure about.



At the sight and questioning of the Lt., Marlon returned the grin, and flashed the okay sign letting him know everything went well. "Yes sir, everything is operating as they should." He said, quite glad that he wasnt holding a grudge for the fight. Especially good considering that Marlon really liked the Lt.

The second news, however, was bittersweet. Marlon indeed was very tired, and pretty hungry. And a mess. But he found it hard to justify stopping working when there was so much left to do. Still the reasoning was beyond valid. As careful as Marlon wanted to be about preventing sabotage of the squad mecha, it would be stupid of him to sabotage things himself because he was tired. "Thank you, Lt. Danfield. And you are right. We will do just that. Thank you again, sir."

With that, he headed off with Rosy. And after making sure everything was locked down properly. A good days work, of he said so himself. He turned to head to get some food.

Then came Gabi's question. "I couldn't tell you, Rosy. But I really hope not. None of us have really rested on our laurels long enough to find out. But given how hard this base got hit, I cant imagine laziness being something that isnt strongly dissuaded right now." Gabi raised a good point. Marlon certainly had no fondness for Ryuko, but her going blue falcon at the expense of the Staff Sergeant was certainly not something he wanted. "We should probably find a way to keep her busy, just in case."

 

[Psychie]

As the hours go by, everyone in the base is being kept busy, but there is still some downtime for everyone to be able to hit the showers and grab some food before someone drops from hunger and lack of rest. Work on the critical structures of the BSURP and the mecha are proceeding around the clock with fresh workers rolling up their sleeves and letting the tired and hungry catch a break.

With grumbling bellies, the various members of the Third Heavy Recon squad make their way to the mess hall. Marlon and Gabi are now a bit cleaner (at least, you smell a lot better than you did) and are ready for food. Alan and Deunan have been working hard mentally, and after so many hours of sifting lines of code, you are both suffering from headaches and are in need of the break. Alissa has finished a long shift in Medical, treating wounded, and Neo has been hard at work in Operations helping to get the new terminals up and running. Even Ryuko is put to work helping out, using her own Vehicle Armorer knowledge to help get all the mecha up and running.

When Neo slides into her seat at the table with the rest of the team, she has a tray of food in one hand and a cup of industrial strength coffee in the other. "Good news, everyone. The early warning sensors are back up and running, and the automated guns on the walls are operational again." She takes a sip of the coffee and makes a face, then reaches for some sugar to try and kill the taste. "At least if the base gets hit again, we'll have some cover while we make it to the mecha and deploy. I don't feel so naked anymore."

Glancing over at the two new members of the squad, the young woman gives you both a friendly wave. "Hey there. I really haven't had much of a chance to say hello, especially with all of us being so crazy busy. I am Neapolitan Kallen, but everyone calls me Neo. Good to have you with the team."

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Ryuko looked at Neo, before smiling. "I honestly am glad to be here. I mean, alot of the personnel here have started to follow me around like a fan club or something." She then looked behind herself at the group of base attendants that are just totally drawn to her beauty. She was an angel in physical form.

She then looked at Neo, before asking, "So I was not warned about one of the girls here being a total knockout." Ryuko said leaning in and placing an arm over her shoulder. "Do you have anyone Special in your life by chance?" She asked, smiling.

 

[Rykon]

Alan seemed tense as he drank his black coffee. His protective instinct forced him to speak before he could silence himself. "Aren't you a bit old for that?"

Alan looked up once he had realized what he said and just grumbled. "Aw hell, here we go." He had been able to ignore how beautiful his squad mates were for sometime now in the interest of preventing his distractions from getting someone hurt or killed. That was when there were three, there was now five and already his reflexes seemed keen to place one foot in the grave.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Ryuko glared daggers at Alan. Did he really just call her old?!

"Oh shit! Alan is about to get his ass kicked!" One of the other personnel in the cafeteria said.
"He shouldn't have said that to an angel like Ryuko. Boy she is hot."
"Hey! Aren't you a married man?"
"I can say she is hot can't I?"

Ryuko's glare turned into a closed eyed smile, but it wasn't a friendly smile, more of a warning. "I'll forgive you this time, but call me 'old' again, and that will be the last thing you will say for a while."

 

[Purr]

Upon seeing Neo and her odd features for the first time, Gabriela thought the friendly young woman was either part Zentraedi or her parents had taken some really good drugs when they made her.

Gabriela was about to politely introduce herself to Neo when Ryuko seemed to lose control of her hormones. "Ay Dios mio..." ("Oh my God..."). Gabi watched Ryuko in disbelief and embarassment. To act like that with someone you thought was your superior, especially right in front of your real superior, especially in public, was unbelievable and completely indefensible.

Ryuko seemed to think this was high school. It wasn't. It was a war zone. She seemed to think she had a bunch of mindless fans drooling behind her. They probably weren't. Being soldiers and not civilians, they were all probably either wondering just how easy it was to get into her pants or how quickly she was going to make a fool out of herself. Or both.

Either way, Ridiculous Ryuko had just embarrassed the hell out of Gabi.

For the first time, Gabi scooted away from Ryuko. She seemed to become one with her food as she tried to become as inconspicuous as possible. It would be just her luck if either of the lieutenants were watching this.

 

[Psychie]

When Ryuko slips her arm around Neo, the younger woman's eyes go wide, then her face goes very pink as the question about her relationship status is asked. She sputters a bit, then manages to say, "Uh, I - I don't, I mean, I'm not, I mean, no. I don't have anyone special." Neo looks down at the table, obviously embarrassed.

 

[Rykon]

Alan gave a chuckle in good humor at Ryuko's outburst. "I admit, that was uncalled for. As stunning as Neo and the rest of our lovely squad mates are, they are my friends, my family that I will shield to my dying breath. So if you wanna fight, I can dribble your head like a basketball or plant you in the ground to hold the flag, take your pick." Alan teased with a wide, white-toothed grin, still stifling a laugh at the uproar.

Alan ignored jabs about his own age. He was an adult and he'd already seen more of the world than he'd like. Whether or not that showed on his face seemed irrelevant to him. Seeing Neo's apparent embarrassment, however, did seem to sting. Perhaps it would be wiser to de-escalate the mounting scene. Little late for that now, not like Ryuko's fan club was liable to just leave.

 

[D. Rex]

Marlon frowned at the behavior of the other soldiers. "That's Sergeant McGregor to you. And if you have nothing better to do than eye rape Corporal Narukami then get back to work." He said addressing the gathering. It was a long day, and he really wasnt in a mood to deal with their nonsense right now. Especially since it was looking like they'd just hang here all day if they could.


He turned to Ryuko. "You are twenty six. The oldest in the squad." He said flatly. Yes, he read her up when looking up who the Ajax's were assigned to. "If you dont want to be ribbed on it, then you are definitely going to get ribbed on it." He was neither amused or intimidated by her antics. "Don't forget yourself, Corporal." He stated, reminding her of her rank. And that Staff Sergeant Duenan was right here! Which is probably for the best or Marlon would have taken the low road.

Really, he didnt see how Alan could maintain such good cheer. But Marlon should at least try to do the same. It's not like anything here was a serious problem. And besides, it's not like they put much importance on age in this squad. Marion was pretty sure he just needed a cigarette. Yeah, that was it.


"By the way, Alan, is smoking allowed in the mess hall?" He asked, if anyone would know it would be him. "Oh yeah, Duenan, the cannon is successfully installed. It works great. Sergeant Rosy here making this speed along quite well. All we have left to do is put the armor on. Cant have it running around naked, after all."

"Ryuko's Ajax is next on our list. It shouldnt take as long."


He finally picked up his fork and poked it into his food. "Defenses online again, that will definitely take some pressure off. What about the hole in the wall and minefield?" He asked of Neo.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Ryuko looked at Marlon, her arm still around Neo, before replying to the fact of the ten year age difference between the two. "So? You can love whoever you want if you really like that person. I learned that from a book on mythology before I signed up into the military."

Hearing her Ajax was the next to be fixed, she had a question to ask. "So like, do you want me to go along to help with repairs on my Ajax or you think you can get it working to my liking?"

 

[D. Rex]

"As far as I'm concerned, if your old enough to kill for a living, your old enough to bang." He said with a shrug."But as Alan said, she has family to get through first."

"And no. I don't. Unless you think you can behave. Your settings are already saved to the system, none of that will be messed with unless I have to initialize the system for some reason. Me and Rosy be only removing and repairing the arms. Limb replacement is fairly standard for mecha."

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

"Just don't forget the armaments. It had a weapon equipped on the right arm."

She then took a drink, only to spit it out. She accidentally grabbed Neo's coffee and not her own.

 

[Rykon]

Alan felt bad about Neo feeling teased or embarrassed. "Oh alright, if that's how it is... Neo, would you like to grab some ice cream and hit the arcade with me next time we're in La Fuente? It'll be awhile at this rate, but I figure we could use a chance to chill after this mess."

As a response to Marlon's question he merely handed him a spare patch and pointed to the no smoking sign.

 

[D. Rex]

Marlon took a forcefully patient sigh. "I wont be forgetting anything. I have all that kind of stuff written. For each of our mecha." He explained.

From Alan, he took the patch with a sigh. He wanted to smoke, not just nicotine. But oh well. He would save it for when he was next in the hangar. "Geeze, it's not like the base itself hasn't been smoking..." he complained. And the food wasnt flammable. He hoped. "Thanks Alan."

 

[Sherwood]

When Neo slides into her seat at the table with the rest of the team, she has a tray of food in one hand and a cup of industrial strength coffee in the other. "Good news, everyone. The early warning sensors are back up and running, and the automated guns on the walls are operational again." She takes a sip of the coffee and makes a face, then reaches for some sugar to try and kill the taste. "At least if the base gets hit again, we'll have some cover while we make it to the mecha and deploy. I don't feel so naked anymore."

"That's good news." Deunan takes a drink of her own battery acid coffee, somewhat used to it by now. "Thanks for your hard work."



Deunan frowns at the byplay, but says nothing for a moment. Then, when she sees how uncomfortable Neo is getting, she places her hands on the table and leans forward and says, "At ease, everyone. Lets not make things awkward on Neo. Ryuko? Please dial it back a bit. Its not up to me whom you are involved with, but I do want to make sure that we all maintain a level of professionalism and not make any of the team uneasy." She reaches across the table to take Neo's hands. "You ok?" Deunan waits for some kind of response before continuing.

Changing the topic, she looks at Marlon and Gabi. "Good work you two, and thanks for getting my rig up and running smooth with the new cannon. Keep up the good work. If the other technicians don't have Ryuko's Ajax fixed up by the time you get back to the mecha hangar, get it repaired up as soon as you can. Then we can worry about the second particle cannon.

 

[Psychie]

When Deunan reaches across the table to Neo and asks how she is doing, the young woman nods. "Uh, yeah. I'm ok. Thank you." The color slowly starts to fade from her cheeks and she gives Deunan a shy smile. She goes back to the topic of the repairs done in Operations. "The work on the computers was simple enough, just time consuming. Lots of repairs done in there to bring the defenses back on line."

 

[Rykon]

Alan smiles as Deunan reigns in the situation. He was fairly cheerful, though he began to notice it made him somewhat careless with his words. In spite of the impulse nature of his offer, however, he did visibly deflate somewhat from not getting a response but now was time to take care of business.

"Glad to hear things are getting back on track in command. We may need you when it comes to tracing a lot of these transmissions. So far things look really sketchy, but it's not really appropriate to go into details here. Suffice to say, there's a couple of leads you'd be an enormous help with."

He scanned his gaze up at the other soldiers in the mess hall, glaring at any gawkers remaining behind after Marlon's chastisement. Outwardly he never presented an intimidating front, however the thought of scrapping with some of the troublesome riff-raff around here was somewhat exciting. These little gits owe us their lives and yet they make time to stir up high school drama in our squad. Even Lieutenant Dan's little outburst started getting under my skin. Perhaps I should take it up with Deunan or Alissa before I lose my temper again... I'd hate to have to leave some poor sap deaf.

 

[Purr]

Throughout the soap opera drama at the table, Gabi thought about what she was seeing as she finished her chow. Ryuko had now, through her own selfishness, succeeded in offending just about everyone in the squad, in front of her CO (and probably justified it all internally). Then she went back to her demands as if she, and not Conway, were the CO. This, for the people who, with a little care and respect, might one day fill the role of the very family Ryuko lost. And here Ryuko was just crapping on them for the attention. Es lo que es ("It is what it is"), she thought. Maybe a few days in the infirmary with her missing a few front teeth would do her some good. Either way, Ryuko wasn't going to embarrass Gabi and the Tactical Corp uniform like that again. Ryuko, Gabi decided, was on her own when she acted like this.

Mentally, Gabi worked on her mecha improvements, only looking up when S.Sgt. Conway addressed her and McKinney. "Thank you, ma'am. Wilco," ("Will comply") she replied to Conway's praise and orders. Then she dove right back into her own thoughts. As much as she wanted to bring out her tablet to work on her design schematics, she instead fell back on her family's tradition of rarely having electronics or similar distractions while at the the dinner table. This, Gabriela felt, was just another way she could show respect to her new military family.

As the nonsense continued, Gabi just stayed out of it and put her mind in a useful place; she allowed her genius-brain to just wander in wonder. Just how could one convert a mini-missile into an SRAD (Short-Range Acoustic Device) for use against Zentraedi foot soldiers? Or maybe convert something like a Pegasus CTWS-L-40 Point Defense Laser for use on an Ajax combined with the variable light system to make the beam nigh-invisible or completely invisible? Could a sniping laser like that be made to take the place of the Ajax's ion cannon or could it be wing-mounted on a hard point? Was it possible to use this design philosophy on particle cannons of a smaller kind? Or perhaps the very ion cannons the Ajax used now? To have two of those would surely wreak havoc against a foe that didn't know where the incoming fire was originating from.

Gabriela was glad she was not at Brazilia Base where there were means to create entire mecha; creating practical military material here at a firebase like Anton-17 would be twice the challenge and therefore twice the satisfaction!

 

[Psychie]

Over the course of the next several hours, everyone has a chance to get some much needed food and rest. When the team rolls out of bed once more, you discover that the night shift work on the mecha has been fruitful, and right now, Ryuko's Ajax is back to full armor and is just getting its fresh coat of red paint on the arms. The only thing left to fix up in the Third Heavy's equipment is the second PPC that needs to be installed. That will leave the team with two of the older projectile cannons in reserve, with a good supply of shells available for the rest of the Spartas Hover Tanks in the team.

Spoiler: OOC

There has been some discussion on modifying the tanks a bit; do you wish to try installing a second main gun into one of the tanks to give it a double barreled attack capability? If so, which tank will get it?

Now that everyone is refreshed and ready to go once more, several items of interest do come to light. First off, the hover cycle that Antonia took out to La Fuente is missing. The GPS tracking signal in it shows that it is still there, currently parked outside a local hotel. Second, the computer searches have come up with a list of several hundred encrypted computer emails that were sent out to an IP address that appears to be a mobile point located inside the Zentraedi Control Zone, using a number of assets in the region to transmit the coded messages back and forth.

Comparing this to Antonia's personal computer, there is a one-to-one correlation on the signals and a list of corrupted email files. It is now looking like Antonia is the one that sent those messages using her own laptop. It is going to take a bit of time to reconstruct the messages to see if there is anything recoverable, but at least you have another piece of the forensic trail.

 

[Sherwood]

When the data shows that Antonia's hover cycle is still located in the town, Deunan calls for the team to assemble in the briefing room. Quickly going over what was discovered, she says, "I am wanting to head into La Fuente to investigate Antonia's hover cycle, and to see if there are records of her staying at this hotel. I don't expect that we will need to roll into town in mecha, so a staff car and a couple of cycles of our own will do. We will go in with our MDC buddy armor and weapons, along with some sun batons and some lightweight weapons that won't vaporize her if she is still there and is resisting us taking her into custody. Gear up, people. Any questions? I want to hover in thirty."

 

[Rykon]

"Any chance we can get that K9 I mentioned to track her scent? Given the evidence, I suspect she'll have dumped the vehicle to join her co-conspirators somewhere in the city. Assuming, of course, that she's still there at all and not in the control zone. If by some odd miracle she's innocently hanging out in the hotel, which given her profile seems unlikely, we'll merely be over-prepared."

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Ryuko would be the next to ask. "If she is still there, perhaps a military team or a K-9 unit would be too much. It might be better if I went. Besides, I'm good at finding people. I have a face that people don't refuse to help."

 

[Purr]

Gabriela shook her head to Alan's suggestion. "She's on a hoverbike on a trail that old in a city? What dog and handler are gonna be able to track that?"

She raised her hand. "Ma'am? I recommend we go in with our regular fighting gear in addition to tasers, flashbangs, and stun batons. Unless you got any guarantees that this Sgt. Antonia is working alone with polite company, you know?"

Gabi could not pass up the opportunity to tease the one person she did know in the briefing room. It was good to see Ryuko contributing. Smiling and chuckling Gabi told her, "You got the face, amiga ("female friend"), but everybody knows you're broke in the Charm Department. Who's gonna listen to you?" Having dished out the love, she was hoping to get teased back. She felt if one were going to dish it out, you had to be willing to take it.

 

[Rykon]

Alan obviously disagreed with Rosy's assertion, but he merely shrugged and dropped it. Any time he spent arguing was time the trail got colder. He was confident in his own tracking capability, but it wasn't worth it if he didn't have the backing of the unit.

"Going in breach ready is wise. We already have plenty of evidence to prove there is definitively something wrong with her role here that needs answers. Let's also keep in mind the original members of the Third Heavy all have bounties. So let's move quickly and decisively. Do we have an entry and extraction on the premise the bike was last detected?"

 

[Purr]

Gabriela shook her head to Alan's suggestion. "She's on a hoverbike on a trail that old in a city? What dog and handler are gonna be able to track that?"

Alan obviously disagreed with Rosy's assertion, but he merely shrugged and dropped it.

Gabriela saw Alan's reaction and immediately knew she had miscommunicated. She tried to repair it. She held her hands open to him. "Hey, I'm not trying to shoot down your idea, Alan; I'm asking how effective it will be. See, I have no experience with MWDs ("Military Working Dogs"). Will a bomb-dog really be able to track a trail that cold?

"I'm thinking if this ASC Sgt. Antonia is clever enough to hide her trail electronically, I don't want us walking into an ambush and endangering a K-9 and handler too, you know? But I get the feeling you're better at this kind of thing than I am. So if you think it's a good idea, let's do it."