Army of the Southern Cross

[Sherwood]

The two cars make their way back to Anton-17 with no further complications. As you check into the motorpool, Moira and Eric get a few sideways looks at the bruises that the two are sporting, but no one makes any comments. By the time that evening roll call comes up, Moira's black eye is quite prominent. She gets a few more looks, but no one is foolish enough to question her about just how the proud Zentraedi warrior just happens to have a shiner, nor do they ask about who was ballsy enough to take a swing at her in the first place.

During the next couple of days, the squad manages to get packed up and ready to make the helicopter ride to Brazilia Base and from there, New Rio. Before you go, Adrian and Moira spend some more time together and that does draw a few knowing smiles as secret well-wishers hope that the two of you manage to find some happiness together, and there are a few snide comments that show their jealousy over the budding relationship between the two.

Finally, time comes for you to head to the airfield for your ride out. You notice that there is a pair of gunships tasked to escort the Supply Sergeant helicopter, showing that there are still a few Malcontents out there causing trouble. They are more of an insurance policy, since there is little in the way of real trouble out this far from the hot spots of the Control Zone.

 

[Orikanyo]

heinrich waves to a couple of people as they leave. "You got the essentials Adrian? I hope you brought protection, I don't want to be seeing any little Hawthornes running around within a year!" the doctor teased as he kept an eye out for any familiar faces out there. "I don't know about you folks, but I'm looking forwards to taking a nice long nap or three on the beach." the doctorlooked over his bag ocne again.

"Everyone have sunscreen? if you turn yourselves into a big red beacon of pain its your own fault."

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"Yeah, yeah, got everything I need like sunscreen, suntan oil, swimming gear, towels, spare clothes, a service pistol and some ammo, one gorgeous woman who's the most dear to me so yeah got everything right here. Also, laugh it up Doc. But I got to say, you just read my mind for the future though I'm aiming for twins and not just any little Hawthornes." Adrian said with a wink before securing his belongings. He didn't know if his service pistol was allowed to be carried at all times especially in a place like New Rio, but better safe than sorry after all.

"You go do your nap Doc, I'll enjoy a nice soak by the sea before lounging around and getting a nice tan. Maybe go food hopping too, actually."

 

[Psychie]

Over the next few days, Moira spends as much time as she can with Adrian in between packing her duffel bag and trying on her new clothes and looking at her reflection in the mirror. With her bag finally packed, she reports in as ready to go. "I have plenty of sunscreen packed with the rest of my gear, and I am looking forward to trying out a new activity: surfing. From the videos I have seen, it appears to be a very athletic and exciting endeavor. It can't be much harder than some of the mecha piloting I have done."

 

[ViciousVip3R]

Marcus joins in on the goodnatured joking at the expense of the new couple in the squad. It serves to fill the monotony of the week before the long awaited vacation, and also serves to bring the team closer together. "You're gonna need a ton of sunscreen if you are sleeping on the beach, I rather go watersking or something exciting like that. I'll save the rest for the nice and comfy bed back at the hotel!"

 

[Sherwood]

The helicopter flight to Brazilia Base is short and uneventful, and you are able to transfer your belongings to a military transport jet for the rest of the flight to your vacation spot. After the transport lands, you are able to shuffle off the tarmac and head into the terminal where you are able to catch a courtesy shuttle to your hotel. As the bus goes through the city, you can see where some of the original city was damaged by the orbital bombardment in the Zentraedi war, and the reconstruction that has taken place since then. What was once an older jewel on the coast has now been reborn in the modern age as a vibrant new city.

The smell of the ocean comes in the bus as you pull up in front of your hotel, and a couple of bellhops come out to assist in getting your bags out with the hope of a nice tip. Checking in, everyone is greeted by the desk staff, and there are even a few people that recognize your team from the various news stories that have aired about you. Thanks to your celebrity status, you find that you have your rooms upgraded to nicer suites, with large balconies looking out over the ocean from up on the fifteenth floor. Compared to your barracks, these rooms are palatial, and the view is amazing.

Even with the time spent in transit, everyone is pretty hyped to check out the sights of the city, so you pass on getting any rest as you dive into your newly acquired civilian attire. It is currently 4pm, and the city awaits. Where do you go from here?

 

[Orikanyo]

Heinrich was more than pleased with the turn out, and was quite happy they didn't need to act as stiff and rigid as they do for the military.. even if they weren't exactly.... Well.. as strict these days. In truth if you make friends with your boss, work doesn't always seem that bad. If of course you prove yourself.

But once they finally came to the hotel, the preferential treatment only continued!

"Well well well, looks like Fia did some good work painting our story. Almost feel like celebrities! Oh, think we'll get a movie deal? the script basically writes it'self!" the lieutenant laughed, feeling almost at home in his sandals, sunglasses, shorts and a hawaiian top. "So then? Where should we head first? The beach? Food? I hear some good sea side bars are around here."

 

[Psychie]

Moira heads upstairs to her room and immediately flops down on the bed, relishing in the cushy softness. After a moment, she jumps up to take a quick shower to freshen up, and she slips into her swimsuit with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt over it. Once dressed, she takes a large bag and puts in it some beach supplies, hair ties, sun block, and her pistol (she is still a Zentraedi soldier, after all). With her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she tucks a pair of sunglasses into the front of her shirt and heads downstairs to meet up with the rest of the squad.

With Heinrich's question, she offers up her opinion, "I want to see the beach, and then get some food and drinks in one of the seaside bars. I've had marine and sea-based combat training, but this will be the first time I have had the chance to enjoy the ocean. I'm looking forward to it!"

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

The trip was relaxing. A much needed change from all the fighting they had been doing. The city was beautiful, a vibrant locale with the charm of the old.

In the hotel, it was a strange feeling being at the center of civilian attention. Strange but unwelcome. Upon getting their rooms Adrian secured his stuff, took a quick shower, got dressed up, hid his pistol inside his bomber jacket with a couple of spare ammo to boot, and met up with the rest of the Hussars.

"Let's check out the beach, look for a spot so we can set up for tomorrow. After that let's hit the sea side bars for some authentic Brazilian food and drink. I want to enjoy this vacation as much as I can." He said in response to Heinrich's query.

 

[ViciousVip3R]

Ding. The bell of the elevator jolts Marcus from thought, "You are on the 8th floor, enjoy your stay" announces a pleasant female voice over the intercom. Hefting his bag over his shoulder, Marcus walks to his room, 808. The key inserts smoothly and unlocks the door with a click, revealing a spacious room with a comfy looking bed, coffee table and a TV. Closing the door behind him, Marcus dumps his bag on a chair and flops down on the bed. Let's see what is on TV Marcus flips around until he reaches a news channel, then scans the news ticker at the bottom while the anchor drones on about the weather, which Marcus already knows from checking while en route. After reading over one rotation of the ticker to acclimatize himself with what is going on locally and keeping an eye on news at the front, Marcus shuts off the TV with a click on the remote. "Alright, time to go meet with the team" he says to no one in particular.

Opening his bag, Marcus grabs a muscle shirt and dark brown cargo shorts. The typical tourist attire should help him blend in and get him into the vacationing mindset. Almost as an afterthought, Marcus tucks his gun into a shoulder holster and pulls it on. An extra clip snaps on neatly onto the holster, while another two are tucked comfortably into the pockets of the shorts. If the bar fight had taught him anything, it was to always be careful, you never knew when friend would turn into foe. Lastly, Marcus dons a loose fitting jacket, and a watch. After apprising himself in the mirror, and satisfying himself that the gun silhouette would not be visible through the jacket, Marcus heads down to meet up with the team.

"Yeah, it is still pretty early. Let's hit the beach then go to the bars when we get hungry."

 

[Silanon]

It almost feels wrong to not wear a uniform for once - it's probably been years since she's worn flipflops over combat boots. The attention they got, as well as the rooms, and all those wonders that she saw on the way here; architecture at its finest, people who are not afraid any longer as far as you can tell - it almost feels like a glimpse at the future they're fighting for most of the time. Certainly better than the midst of the jungle, that much is clear - time to see more of it as soon as possible.

As always, she's just a tiny bit late - the second memory card for her camera happened to be on the bottom of her back - but quite obviously in a rather good mood. "I'd say food and drinks will always be there, but the sun happens to vanish at some point - gotta make sure we find the water before it gets too dark to feed the sharks."

 

[Sherwood]

Eric makes his way down to the lobby in a tank top, shorts and sandals; just the perfect thing to show off his physique. He has a large grin on his face, obviously excited to start the vacation. He is in agreement to go to the beach first. "I can't wait to feel the sand in my toes with a tall drink in my hand. Not to mention the scenery!" With a nod over at Moira to indicate that the view he is talking about is the pretty ladies, not the landscape. "This is going to be a blast!"

This particular hotel is one of the many properties located right on the edge of the beach, so you are able to easily walk over to the brilliant white sandy beach and all the fun that it includes. The afternoon heat is kept at bay by a cooling breeze off of the ocean, making it quite pleasant to be outside right now.

Music can be heard from a live band playing on a stand with a few hundred people dancing around in front of it, with a open bar nearby to provide abundant drinks for the party. The music is rocking the beach quite well. Eric heads over to the bar and begins to place orders for drinks for everyone. "First round is on me, guys. Lets get a good buzz on and dance! Woohoo!"

 

[Orikanyo]

"Ah Eric, always the team player." the good doctor strode onto the beach, looked about as relaxed as he could be with his sunglasses on, feeling the warm sands seeping onto his sandals. "the first evening of a long week>' the doctor came up to grab his drink, looking to the others.

"For our first drink, a toast, to us! To the Winged hussars! And to the Captain, who oh so generously allowed us this trip, and stopped busting our balls, atleast for abit of time." with that, he door a deep, deep, okay a little bit too deep of a drink and placed down the empty plastic cup, paying for another pour by himself.

"Now then, I happen to spy beach side barbeque, I'm going to grab something to eat along side my liquor, don't want to make that mistake now." the doctor sniffed the air slightly "Grilled pineapple? there is a god."

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

It was relaxing and it was lively. The music, the atmosphere, the dancing, and the drinking. With a pleasant smile on his face, he approached the offered drinks and took a cup for himself. "на здоро́вье!" Adrian cheered in an instant, raising his cup before taking a sip. As the liquor touched his lips, he paused for a moment before inspecting the content of his cup. "Bloody hell, I'm speaking in Russian now. I'm not even smashed yet...must be a sign of things to come." He mumbled in the end before shrugging as he quickly downed the entire drink. He quickly ordered for another.

Hearing Heinrich's assessment on the barbecue, Adrian whistled in appreciation. "Brilliant, I'm coming with you there. Maybe they got some kebab too. If they do, we're getting one...two platters worth of Grilled Pineapples and as much kebab as we can carry. Day's not gonna end in us not dining on something good."

 

[Psychie]

Moira laughs. "At least I'm not squawking in Zentraedi yet; I don't know how many of you would be able to understand me if I were! Mmm. Eric, I don't know what kind of drink this is, but I like it. I had better be careful with how many of these I have." She takes a sip from her glass and lets out a low whistle. "Wow. That's potent. Too many of these and you'll be carrying me back to my room." Shaking her hips a bit, Moira is enjoying the beat of the music and the grainy feel of the sand under her feet. "If this is what a typical vacation is supposed to involve, I can see why you humans enjoy them so much."

 

[Silanon]

"Get something for me as well, if you don't mind - no need for all of us to stand in the line. Everything's fine, as long as it's warm." A request just before the two can vanish, born of laziness - Fia much rather stays here, eyeing the dancers in well-earnt contentment.

Taking a sip at her own drink, she nods in agreement as her tonge tastes the refreshing sparkling. "Yeah, Eric seems to be the all-or-nothing kind of guy - either water, or pure alcohol. Not that I'd mind, the damn best choice - nothing worse than alcohol-free beer." Another sip, a toast to Eric who bought the drink. "Y'know, Moira, vacations are there to do all the things you always wanted to do at some point - dancing, snowboarding, even hiking if that's on your list. Drinking with friends, staying up all night, getting lost in some ancient ruins; all things you can't do if you only have a couple of hours to spare. They're basically enjoyable by definition - and I'd say we're off to a pretty good start. Anyone wanna dance later on?"

 

[Sherwood]

From the number of buzz cut hairdos, you can tell that you are not the only military people here at the party on the beach. It would seem that everyone is doing their best to shake off the shackles of military discipline and unwind a bit. While you are out of your uniforms, you do not appear to be as well recognized as you were before; or perhaps those that do know who you are, are letting you enjoy your time off and join the party.

With the music thumping and the drinks flowing, Eric begins to show off how uncoordinated he is by trying to dance. He is obviously a better armorer and tank pilot than a dancer, but no one seems to mind. He is far from the only drunken fool trying to shake their stuff on the beach. Both Fia and Moira have their fair share of male attention, with offers of having you join them in a dance or offering to buy you more drinks in the hopes of getting even more friendly with you.

 

[Orikanyo]

The good doctor sighed, of course somebody would pull that little line. "Yes your most generous Lieutenant can get you some food." the man waved it off, before flip flopping his way over to the line. In truth hes a tad bit... Nervous by the large group of people all around him. So many people, he never really liked this type of get together. Small groups at a bar is fine enough, he had his squad there. But this is abit out of his league. But his squad wanted to be here so he can't exactly say no, it'd be a rather dull vacation if they just sat there on the beach.

Looking over to their teammates he noticed something interesting, and elbowed Adrian behind him. "Good luck lovebird." he mentioned the current growing crowd of fans the two ladies were gathering, as he finally got his food.

Stepping his way over he had two hot dogs in hand. "I guess I do owe you for all the wonderful news work you've done Fia, A hotdog is a good start right?" the faint joke came to mind about him giving her a weiner... But he imagined it'd be in poor taste... Atleast until he had three more beers.

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

With that nudge from the doc, Adrian narrowed his eyes at the crowd of would-be admirers. He was seldomly the jealous type but compounded with the booze in his system made him a bit more receptive to things he normally wouldn't in public.

After grabbing a couple of kebabs, he was surprised that the folks on the grill had them, he deposited the food at their area before he made his way to the crowd; especially to Moira.

Making his way, all the while gently pushing a couple of people away like the way that game of assassins did, he quickly, gently but possessively wrapped an arm around her. He gently pulled her closer, "моя любовь, my love, my dear, my one and only, would you care to dance with your tipsy lovebird tonight?" He asked before planting a quick kiss on her cheek, all the while he smiled a toothy smile.

 

[Psychie]

Moira lets Adrian kiss her with a satisfied smile, not at all aware of any potential jealousy that he might be experiencing. "Mmmmm ok. Just to warn you, I'm not the greatest dancer out there. It was never a big part of my training." She giggles at the thought of a bunch of Zentraedi trying to learn how to dance, using the old Destroids as partners. The drinks must be getting to me already if I'm entertaining thoughts like that! Moira lets Adrian pull her away from the other admirers with a laugh, heading into the middle of the crowd of chaotic dancers.

Moving to the beat, she lets herself get pulled in close to her dance partner, eyes partly closed in the afternoon sunlight.

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

Adrian smiles as he held her close and swayed to the beat with her. The thumping of the music, the organized chaos that is the dance floor blanketing, and the afternoon light making it all the more surreal than normal. He wondered that if dancing were to be a part of her training, she would be one hell of a fighter for incorporating the grace of dance and the ferocity of her race. "If we have the time, we could visit a nice place that hosts social dances...if they still exist in a city like New Rio that is. It will be an experience though since there are so many dances you can choose from. But most of all, I feel like an old soul that just wants to Tango or Swing with someone once again...like I just want to share a moment of my childhood with my special lady." He chuckled at the end.

To prove a point, he playfully gave her a twirl before embracing her, all the while mumbling the melody of an old dance song with a grin on his face.

 

[Orikanyo]

"...Guys... right here." the doctor wove to the two, before sighing. "Could you tone it down for the folks who don't currently have a star struck romance?' the man chewed on shit hotdog for a moment before eyeing the crowd, wodnering if they were to get recognized at all during their stay.

Not much use for being a war hero if you don't get recognized in one's civie life.. though, thats generally not why you should become one.

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"Come on Doc, just let us enjoy the moment. With all the fighting we've been in lately, a moment like this is worth the entire riches of Earth. Also, it's day one for our vacation so we need to start strong and finish stronger. But if the lady wishes to tone things down, then I will comply." Adrian finished with a small mock bow before winking.

"Besides, look at the big guy over there. Drunk but having fun. So loosen up doc, have a nice chat with a local or better yet join us here on the dance floor. We're on vacation after all." He said with a grin and a quick thumbs up.

 

[Sherwood]

Eric is busy chatting up a pretty girl that has caught his eye, and the crowd of anxious men that were trying to get Moira's attention seem to understand that she has chosen her partner for the evening and they move on to other possible conquests. Fia still has several suitors around her, trying to get her company for the evening.

Some of the ladies in the crowd are beginning to notice the other men of the squad, giving Gingrich and Marcus some hope of getting a companion to join you for dinner and possibly dessert later on. As was said in the movie Top Gun, this is a target rich environment.

As time goes by, and the sun goes down, the growls of hunger begin to take hold, and if you don't get some real food soon, you will run out of energy.

 

[ViciousVip3R]

Marcus feels no rush to start on the festivities until later on, after all, they had just arrived from a warzone, what was wrong with relaxing a little bit? He nods his thanks to Eric for the drinks. “This is some strong stuff, eh? Just the way I like it.” He watches the men desperate for a hookup circle around the girls like hungry vultures, with a look of amusement on his face. “I don't think they have a chance, girls can smell desperation, and it drives them away like the plague!” he says with a small chuckle. Turning to Fia, he replies to her general offer for a dance. “I’ll take you up on your offer later, but first let’s get some real food, I’m starved!” He stands up to grab his jacket, “Let’s go find a good seafood restaurant, we are by the ocean after all, might as well take advantage of it. So, who’s up for a little adventure?”