Robotech - Tales of the UEEF (Main)

Pyrrah opens the door, curious as to what she is going to find inside. "A stowaway? Who? Ah. Your little friend there. I see. Well, while this is unexpected, Enri will be as safe here as she would be on the ship; perhaps even safer. But, we should send a message up to the Mac to tell them that we have the Garudian here, and to let her parental unit know so she doesn't worry herself sick." She fires off a glare at the tiny figure, trying to look stern. "Young one, you are in a lot of trouble for this stunt. Do you have any idea as to what your parent will do to you once we get back to the ship?"

The young garudian stood defiantly, for a second at least. "My momma said I can go wherever as long as I stay safe! I'man adult now so it's okay! And you said it's safe here right? So here I CAN be!" Grumpy watched the small girl, then looked to Pyrrah as if to say "She kinda got you with your own words there." with a look you could only give if a kid was the one who said it.

Cause if it was an adult, there would be a fight.

And as much as he'd like to see a paraxian wrestle with a angery cat he liked both of them abit to much for that type of shenanigans.

"it'll be fine, usually is." grumpy stood up from his bed and stretched. "Give me a second.." he pulled out his datapad and began typing... With the sound of a message being sent out, the sound of a reply came in rather quickly.

"Hey Enri seemed to have snuck off with us."

"Thanks, keep her fed and safe and I'll deal with her when you get back. And bring me a damn coffee when you do."

grumpy rose an eyebrow. "..Well.. Alright that.. kinda settles that... Expected some yelling actually." he sighed before Enri perked up "See! it's okay!!!" To whic Grumpy only shrugged... he.. really had no idea what garudian society was like.. Did kids really usually have this much freedom?

When your hosts discover that there is an unexpected guest in their midst, they are more amused than upset. After a brief consultation, it is decided that they would allow Enri to stay, so long as she is under her best behavior while she is there.

After everyone has had a chance to clean up and get changed, you come out to find a large table set for the entire household, plus a few extra places for you. Sunanj is at the head of the table, with the seats next to her reserved for the team members. Throughout the meal, the matriarch splits her attention between the various squad members, asking you probing questions about your time in the UEEF. Her mind is very sharp despite her age, and the conversation with her is most invigorating.

Pyrrah is quite happy to be back home, even if it is only for a short time. She remembers how Sunaj was somewhat reluctant to allow her to leave to join up in the UEEF's Veritech force, and is happy to have proven herself in her mother's eyes as having made a good choice. Throughout the meal, she makes sure to introduce Grumpy to her own favorite foods that the cooks have prepared, trying to expand his culinary experience with the local food.

"Mother, thank you so much for opening up your home to my friends. It means a lot to me to be able to show them a bit of our world from somewhere outside the cockpit of a Veritech."

Grumpy had been wringed out of war stories, it seems he was getting measured up again by the content of such missions and incidents. Though he had Alex to back him up on the more wierder moments, especially the jungle thing.

He also seemed to be rather enjoying the food being placed before him by Pyrrah, sure she was going at a record pace but she seemed quite cute with her enthusiasm. Though... he may have miss took one of her sisters for her at one.. maybe two... Points. One of which didn't correct him until thirty minutes afterwards... until she got scolded, since she changed her hair to emulate Pyrrah's ponytail. he added to Pyrrah's words as well. "Yea, I was desperate for the opportunity to see the place but there were bugs to crush.

So... Uhh.. that said... What do you all do for fun around here..?"

Sunanj smiles at Pyrrah's enthusiasm, then turns her attention to Grumpy. "Well, if you are interested in seeing more of Paraxis outside of a cockpit, a simple horseback ride might be best. We have some beautiful riding trails that I think that you will enjoy. Tomorrow, you can look forward to a relaxing ride, followed by a picnic lunch. After that, we will see what else you would like to do."

"That would be wonderful, gotta say i'm already getting the itch to fly again, gonna take some getting used to relaxing again hahaha." He joked, but it was partially true... All he could think about in the back of his mind was "was something going to go wrong? Whats the next mission?"

Was he becoming addicted to his work? Or was he becoming paranoid... Perhaps he should speak to somebody about this...

"I wana ride the horses to!" Shouuts Enri, shaking Grumpy from his thoughts. She was happily swinging her totally adult sized legs off the chair which was even to big from Grumpy. Peace and quiet, something that was just a far away dream for the man... God knows he forgot what it felt like...

There is a light hearted chuckle at Enri's outburst from many of the ladies present. "Of course, my dear. You will be able to ride a horse, too. We will have you ride with one of us to help teach you how to control the horse. Remember, they are much bigger than you, and are not used to having a rider so small."

For the rest of the evening, the team is introduced to Paraxian liquor, with the warning to go easy on it; the women all have quite a strong constitution, and are used to the local drinks where you are not. Sunanj orders talk away from business, wishing to allow her guests to relax and not have to think about work (unless you wish to share some more stories). Before long, Enri starts to nod off, and one of the sisters gently picks up the small Garudan and carries her to a bedroom where she curls up to sleep.

Depending on how long everyone else stays up, the morning either comes as a welcome sight or a horrible vision of the burning sun, firing its daggers of hateful light into your hung-over eyes. Either way, after a long hot shower, you start to feel better about the rest of the day. Breakfast is soon served, and once the meal is done, it is time for the ride.

Both Rammi and Bella will be riding with you as guides, and with their help, they get everyone up into the saddle for a relaxing trip.

Grumpy's morning sun came with hellfire.

He took to paraxian later that night, and somewhat into the morning with intention to uphold his honor as a marine! This however was a misstake, as many things involving honor were, for the pain that came with the morning sunrise was among one of the most painful he has had to endure since he came into this world, second only to a couple faint memories of college, but with his body to trained to reasonably ignore whatever hell was happening to his brain, he got up and performed his morning rituals.. Albeit in a rather much larger than imagined shower and faint memories of the evening before washing down the drain...

he watched the spinning pool beneath him... Remembering telling war stories, hearing stories from the family, most of which poking fun at embarrassing things in the past that happened with his new teammate when she was younger. Naturally, it was sibling's job to make their sister's life annoying.

His evening ends hazily, a "One more" to many, being lugged over a shoulder with a faint feeling like something was gropeing his butt and being tossed into a bed.

But after that, was darkness, likely due to the fact he fell asleep...

Hopefully?

Maybe?

But nonetheless, the pain of the morning became replaced with a sudden jump to breakfast, which was delicious of course, he was prety certain that cheesy stuff was something close to humus? the flat bread was damn good, flat bread was always good, addicting in it's light softness.

But when it came time for the horses... He'll admit to being impressed and shocked at their size. they were still sweet hearts and big calm beasts but god damn they were huge. hell he had to be lifted up like a toddler only for Rammi to get behind him... he rid a horse once before but in truth riding this thing was like doing the splits and nearly threatening to rip his poor jeans in two at the crotch. His pants holding themselves together and grumpy more or less holding on to dear life, he was... Still rather impressed.

As young as Pyrrah is, she had never been allowed to drink the hard core stuff before now. Apparently, going off and joining the military and fighting against the Invid was enough to have the older members of the family overlook her young age. She takes full opportunity to sample the various adult oriented beverages in the house, and soon, a very pleasant glow overtakes her, followed soon after by unconsciousness. She wakes up in the morning with a screaming headache, wondering why in the name of the Sacred Goddess anyone would want to do this to themselves willingly.

After a long hot shower, Pyrrah puts on her best big girl face and heads out to the dining room to face the next horror of the morning: trying to eat without getting sick. Somehow, she manages to get some food down, much to the smirking amusement of her sisters. Sometime in the middle of all this, she sees Alex and Grumpy come out to join her at the table. By now, she is feeling a bit better, and is able to hold her head up off of table and greets her fellow squad members, telling herself that it would be a bad thing to throttle the cute little Enri as she comes bouncing in, all fresh and full of energy.

Heading out to the barn where the riding horses are kept puts Pyrrah into a much better mood. She was always fond of the large animals, and is genuinely looking forward to taking one out for a pleasant ride. Her hands go through the familiar motions of grooming her horse, followed by placing the saddle and bridle on the gentle beast. She then turns to help Alex and Grumpy with their horses with Bella and Rammi.

She asks, "So, Enri, who do you wish to ride with? I think it would be best to let Grumpy have his own horse, so lets choose one of the three of us, ok?" She motions to the other Paraxians there to indicate which ones she was referring to.

Enri looks between the three Paraxians before she points to Pyrrah. "Can I ride with you?" She quickly scrambles over to look up at your horse. "Wow. It's big! And you get on them? Cool!"

Bella and Rammi both help Alex and Grumpy up into the saddle, and give some basic instructions on how to guide the horses. They stick close to the two men to assist them if needed, and everyone sets out at a leisurely pace.

The countryside is lush and green with gentle rolling hills, a drastic change from your normal of stark metal hallways. By midday, everyone is ready for some food. Bella pulls up and slides down from her saddle and leads her horse over to a nearby tree and ties it in place before going to help lift Enri down. While she fires that, Rammi goes to offer assistance to the two men.

Lunch is a simple affair of sandwiches, but it still tastes good and hits the spot. Enri runs around with the boundless energy of youth while the more sedate members of the group sit quietly and talk while you enjoy the peace and quiet of the picnic spot.

Alex sits back after his meal and comments, "Y'know, this is the life! It's about time we have gotten the chance to decompress from all our stress. But as nice as this is, I would probably go crazy before too long. I'd miss the life inside the cockpit of the Valkyrie too much."

Onboard the Fabricator Ship Atlas, we find 2nd Lt. Charlise O'Brien sitting in one of the many mess halls located on the massive ship, eating with one of her fellow trainee pilots, Kevin Renner. The ship is all buzzing about the latest big event to happen: the mutiny of several disgruntled pilots taking charge of one of the Garfish class Troopships and making an escape run for Earth. It was a lucky twist that one of the Fleet's elite squadrons, the Storm Dragons, were passengers on board, and were able to stop the takeover of the ship. There were only three surviving members of the mutineers, and they were subsequently put on trial for their crimes.

Kevin is currently griping about the 'hurry up and wait' mentality of the training schedule, wanting to be a part of one of the active duty teams sooner instead of later. "Hell, if I have to take another look at those damn simulators, I'm gonna scream. I mean, we all need to do our part to stop the Invid, right? That's why I signed up for flight training. Not to sit around on my ass and wondering when I can get my thumb out of my ass."

Anxiety was a scary thing. What it could do to people in such trying times. The recent news of the mutiny being one such example. On one hand, she knew what it felt like to want to flee or otherwise do something she shouldn't, to turn yellow as it were. However, she couldn't bring herself to think of any such reason for such a mutiny to be justified. With the invid invasion, and the problems it had brought, such an act could have caused more loss of life than any that might have been saved from such an escape.

A brief moment of being lost in thought, she jumped a little once she realized Kevin was still talking. Relaxing a little once she realized she didn't miss much. Speaking of anxiety, that is likely what Kevin was feeling to some extent. That was something she could relate to. Such a feeling to join the conflict. To rush off. Everyone here felt that to some extent, right?

"I... I can't really agree." She said with a somewhat mousy tone. "I mean... this is doing our part, isn't it?" Despite believing what she said, she still somehow managed to sound unsure of herself. "It's training, after all. The better we do here, the better we will do on the field. I mean... think of it like this." She said, trying to ease up his frustration,"The better trained we are before we fight the invid, the less of a chance they stand against us. We can show them what humans are really capable of. And... well... if we show up, and don't do a good enough job... or die... then we certainly didn't do what we signed up for."

"We can't help if we aren't prepared..." She said as she poked at her food with a fork, looking down now. Wincing at the thought that she might have accidently antagonized his frustrations, "But hey!" She quickly added,"I bet if you ace every simulator they throw at you, they will send you off first chance they get, right? That should be pretty easy for you."

A voice from behind you makes you jump. "That's a good way to look at it, lieutenant." You look, and you see the lead flight instructor, Capt. Ethan Watts. He gives the two of you a grin. "I was just about to have you paged, but here you are. I have some flight assignments for the two of you, so you can pull your thumbs out of your rear ends and do some real flying." Kevin has the decency to look somewhat embarrassed for that, not knowing that he was overheard by Watts. The Captain hands the two of you a data tablet. "Your shuttle to the MacArthur leaves in four hours, so I'd get a hustle on and pack your bags. Safe flying out there."

Kevin takes the tablet and looks it over. "Holy crap! Ask and I shall receive! Lets see where I'm going. Hmmm. The Diamond Claws. A distinguished team, not too shabby. What about you, O'Brien?"

Looking down, you discover that you have been selected to join the very famous Storm Dragon squad, the same ones that stopped that mutiny. A real elite team.

Grumpy had... Fun, hell this was the most he has laughed in weeks! Even his horse, who's name was Nahmeday was a joy to ride even if she was abit big for him. he couldn't help but stroke the neck of the gigantic beast while he could, so warm and full of life, it was rare he actually got to ride something that wasn't a war machine, hell he wondered if in the future his own valkyrie, which eh will stand by for the rest of his days no matter how many guns the admiralty point at his head, would ever get an AI or something with a bit of a personality...

Though he wondered... Just how would one even begin that sorta thing...?

...

They descended upon the picnic as he began thinking about the plans developing in his mind, sure having a mecha with personality is good but... Had to be a reason to have it at all... Hmm.,.. Maybe he'll just think on it later...

With sandwich in mouth, his head descended back down from the clouds back to earth... Err... The planet.

He then sneezed, his ear also itched, and he got this weird feeling somebody was talking about them. "Bah, you live inside one for too long already Alex, god knows we'll be stuffed back into one soon enough, the next emergency will come our way and we'll be forced to shove our faces directly into whatever trouble is coming and save the day...

I'd call myself out on being overconfident if that wasn't our daily damn lives... Maybe if I say it, it won't happen and the rest of our carreer will be smooth sailing?"

The voice of the of the Captain having sneaked up behind her put her body in a difficult position. As her heart didn't know if it wanted to stop or jump into her throat and make her choke to death on it. Thankfully, since it couldn't make up its mind, she remained in the world of the living. "Sir!" She squeaked out, and immediately straightened out her posture and put her fork down.

Flight assignment? Already? Unlike Renner, she did not know if she was in such a hurry to join the conflict. Not because she was afraid of fighting, more along the lines that she wasn't sure she was good enough yet.

However, despite such reservations, she did not hesitate in taking the datapad. When Kevin spoke, she paused and smiled at him, "It's very fitting. Make them proud."

At his inquiry, she looked down at her own. She adjusted her glasses and and made sure they weren't dirty. For a moment she thought it read 'Storm Dragons'.

It did. It did read 'Storm Dragons'. Her face went a shade paler. The esteemed Storm Dragons. As in THE Storm Dragons. What could possibly have possessed somebody to send her there? There must have been some mistake.

"It says, Storm Dragons... Captain, surely this can't be right." Charlise said, looking up at the Captain making sure this wasn't some sort of prank.

On Paraxis

Alex lets out a laugh at Grumpy's words. "I guess I'm just used to the climate controlled halls of the ship to be completely comfortable with life planetside. But that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a break from it now and then." He pauses as a sudden idea strikes him. "Say, you know what I would love to do if it is possible on this trip? I would like to go swimming in a real lake or ocean under open, sunny skies." He looks at the trio of women hopefully.

Rammi laughs. "Yes, that can be arranged. Lake Roqana is not that far from us; we can easily make a day trip out of that."

He smiles. "Great! I'm glad that I thought ahead and packed a swimsuit."

Enri looks somewhat pouty. "I don't like swimming. It mats up my fur and takes forever to dry."

Bella says, "I'm sure we can find something to keep you entertained while the others hit the waters."


On the Atlas

The Captain shakes his head. "No mistake there, Lieutenant. Your test scores are at the top of the charts, and you have a very inventive flying style that makes you a good fit for them. Like I said, you have a few hours to go and get your gear packed up and read for transfer to the MacArthur. Just remember your training and do your best, and you won't disappoint. I have other assignments to hand out, so if there are no questions, I need to be on my way."

Once he is out of earshot, Kevin reaches out and grabs your tablet. "Waitaminute! Did I hear you right? How did you rate the Storm Dragons? Don't get me wrong; you are a good pilot, but these guys are one of the best squads out there. You either did better than I thought, or someone has it out for you and stuck you there to get you wasted." He chuckles. "Just kidding. You are a good pilot, so do me a favor, ok? When you learn some fancy maneuvers, keep good ol' Kevin in mind and teach them to me! C'mon, lets go get our duffel bags packed up."

Pyrrah is loving the entire time. When the idea comes up of going swimming, she shrugs. "Eh, I've never been too big on that, but what the hell, I'll come along and make sure Enri doesn't get bored while you are in the water." With that, she reaches out for another sandwich and takes a big bite.

Charlise remained in a bit of a stunned silence once the Captain confirmed her assignment. She eked out a simple, "Yes sir." Before Kevin grabbed the datapad from her. It left her fingers with little resistence.

Her face went another shade paler with each of his previous points. Yes, she knew he was teasing, but those were quite along the line of her thoughts too. Yes, she was good. But good wasn't ELITE. Still, the Captain was right. To remember her training and do her best. She was trained for this, after all, even if assigning to the Storm Dragons was unexpected, that should not stop her from providing what it is that was expected of her.

After a bit of building back up, the color returned to her face and she nodded at Kevin's words. "I'll do my best." She said, finally smiling. "I'll be sure to bring you back some worthwhile skills. I am sure I will learn a lot from them. Yeah, let's go get ready."

Grumpy stood up almost within a blink of an eye "That sounds like a perfect plan, good thinking Alex!" naturally, his mind was not entirely pure, or at all in truth, hell to even think of it in such a way was confusing and leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.

"Should swim with your squad though Pyrrah! It's a brilliant team building exercise!"

Pyrrah laughs. "You just want to see me in my swimsuit, that's all, you pervy male!" She takes another bite of her sandwich, thinking about the human biology classes she had to take in the beginning of her training. She now knew all the details on human reproduction, and had to admit that she was somewhat curious. But not quite enough to explore that aspect of the male physiology.

"Whaaaa? I am nothing but honest in my intentions." he had, in no way, planned to bring his camera. "As a squad we must do our best to bond and learn more about one another. Nothing wrong with that right?"

Alex gives Grumpy a playful slap on the shoulder. "Yes, we'll go with the line that we are encouraging Pyrrah to get in the water just for the team building, and not any other reason. The fact that she's a hottie makes no difference in this, right?" He grins at the Paraxian pilot and Grumpy. Of course, Enri is confused, but the adults around her reassure her that it wasn't anything to worry about.

After another hour, everyone is ready to load back onto the horses and return to the ranch. By the time the ride is over, all three of you are sore from the activity of riding, using muscles that you are not used to using. Everyone is sore, hot and tired, and is ready to go get cleaned up and into some fresh clothes.

As Grumpy settles into a hot bath for a nice, long soak, it is very relaxing, almost to the point that you don't hear the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing, followed by the slosh of the water as someone climbs into the tub with you. It takes a moment to realize that sitting across from you is Rammi, and she is most definitely not dressed for company!



On the Atlas, Lt. O'Brien makes her way to her room to start packing, and two of the other ladies on the deck poke their heads into the door. One says, "Hey, Charlise! We have heard a rumor that you are one of the pilots that have gotten their squad assignment! Bobbi in 5a and Melinda in 6b are both heading over to one of the Command Cruisers later today."

"Yeah, I heard that they are both going to the MacArthur, and if you are packing for a move, you must be going to catch the same shuttle. What team did you get?" Both ladies look at you anxiously as they wait for your reply.

It was nice relaxing in the bath, the hot waters that filled the larger pool were extremely relaxing... Hell he was practically melting in the heat... His mind was soothed and brought to a slow pace that the hazy world seemed like a dream... A fantastic fanciful dream.,...

Nothing could ruin this moment...

Hell he could swear he heard something, but the waters lulled his sensibilities to a dull point, nothing in this world matter... Nor even off it.

It was him and the waters... and his new friend across the soft laps of the water...

...

..........

................

His face suddenly turned red as could be, his legs crossed. "Wellgoodeveningdidn'texpectanyvisitors!" his response came out at a break neck pace, his eyes skyward trying to calm himself from the moment.

Four seemed like a long time, but she had a feeling it was going to go by fast. As such, she had begun immediately upon returning to her room. Making sure everything was packed neatly and precisely, and that she had everything. She didn't want her first impression with an elite squad to think she was scatterbrained or undisciplined. A squad as highly regarded as the Storm Dragons surely had to be model soldiers, disciplined, sharp, and sophisticated. She needed to make sure she was on her best behavior. It was a horrifying thought if she met them and their Captain immediately regarded her as a dirty and unrefined grunt. Not that grunts were bad! Or dirty! She had a great amount of respect for what they do! Goodness... she was thinking way too hard on this. Being defensive even in the isolation of her own thoughts.

As she was making sure everything was sorted and folded properly, she heard her name be called out by the door. And it was a welcome distraction from her own thoughts.

Bobbi and Melinda too? How many others, she wondered. Maybe they were fleshing out squads for a large mobilization. "Uh, yes. Yes I am. Kevin is also going. He is being assigned to the Diamond Claws. " She answered.

When the question arrived of who she going to be assigned to, she hesitated. "Um... the Storm Dragons..." She said, her voice growing quieter as it trailed off.