Epiphany
Proverbs 17:9
Chen certainly enjoys socializing, both with her squad and with the Nova Cats. Making connections is useful, especially if they end up on a joint operation somewhere. And Lieutenant Bellamy is so very friendly!
As the squad spends the next several days together, Chen continues to establish herself as an enthusiastic and positive leader, always focused on the end result but constantly looking for opportunities to praise her team. The alert is no exception as she insists on exceptional response time and then publicly applauds the first squad member who makes it to their Veritech.
The ambiguous nature of what happened to the missing Garfish troopships puts her slightly on edge, and though she's poised and ready for action, it's plain that First Lieutenant Tseng isn't exactly the most patient officer in the UEEF. Knowing the MacArthur is deploying to search for the ships merits an appreciative response from Chen but then she reaches the point of actually drumming her fingers on her seat frame while waiting for a deploy order. ...and when it doesn't come, it's just as well no one can see the effort it takes to rein in her desire to get out into the fray and action. Taking a moment, she instructs her squad to demobilize and report to the briefing room with the other squads.
The prospect of recon work turns her frown around though. Chen's delighted at the prospect of front line investigative work, especially given the impressive sensor abilities (and experience) of select of her team. The CAG's caution is well received and she nods soberly at their instruction to watch carefully and stay in contact. Missile loads provide a bit more of a puzzle, given the unknowns with the assignment. Though the presence of significant numbers of asteroids at least makes missiles with homing capabilities a much more logical choice. And frankly, it probably means minimizing the use of missiles altogether.
After going over their instructions with the squad, Chen adds her own remarks. "This is a long patrol, people. We've been through endurance tests in training but twelve to fourteen hours is nothing to blink at. You'll find yourself tempted to try speeding up our patrol. Resist that temptation and stay in formation. Fatigue will be a factor and I don't want the Storm Dragons first mission to be marked by bumping against an asteroid."
"We can do this, Storm Dragons. We've trained for this, drilled for this, and after the last few days, we know a little bit more about what each of us are capable. After today, we'll be even better. Doublecheck your rations and caffeine pills, whatever will keep you sharp. Legally sharp. We have people to find."
As the squad spends the next several days together, Chen continues to establish herself as an enthusiastic and positive leader, always focused on the end result but constantly looking for opportunities to praise her team. The alert is no exception as she insists on exceptional response time and then publicly applauds the first squad member who makes it to their Veritech.
The ambiguous nature of what happened to the missing Garfish troopships puts her slightly on edge, and though she's poised and ready for action, it's plain that First Lieutenant Tseng isn't exactly the most patient officer in the UEEF. Knowing the MacArthur is deploying to search for the ships merits an appreciative response from Chen but then she reaches the point of actually drumming her fingers on her seat frame while waiting for a deploy order. ...and when it doesn't come, it's just as well no one can see the effort it takes to rein in her desire to get out into the fray and action. Taking a moment, she instructs her squad to demobilize and report to the briefing room with the other squads.
The prospect of recon work turns her frown around though. Chen's delighted at the prospect of front line investigative work, especially given the impressive sensor abilities (and experience) of select of her team. The CAG's caution is well received and she nods soberly at their instruction to watch carefully and stay in contact. Missile loads provide a bit more of a puzzle, given the unknowns with the assignment. Though the presence of significant numbers of asteroids at least makes missiles with homing capabilities a much more logical choice. And frankly, it probably means minimizing the use of missiles altogether.
After going over their instructions with the squad, Chen adds her own remarks. "This is a long patrol, people. We've been through endurance tests in training but twelve to fourteen hours is nothing to blink at. You'll find yourself tempted to try speeding up our patrol. Resist that temptation and stay in formation. Fatigue will be a factor and I don't want the Storm Dragons first mission to be marked by bumping against an asteroid."
"We can do this, Storm Dragons. We've trained for this, drilled for this, and after the last few days, we know a little bit more about what each of us are capable. After today, we'll be even better. Doublecheck your rations and caffeine pills, whatever will keep you sharp. Legally sharp. We have people to find."
Surprise me, Sherwood. I really have no idea what's best for this kind of situation, even though presumably Chen would."