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Chapter Six: All Hands on Deck

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Mario briefly opens up his helmet's faceplate to wipe at his eyes to clear away the tears of guilt and relief that he's feeling. Mack is normally such a strong, vibrant woman, and to see and hear her like this was almost too much to bear. He takes a moment to compose himself, then sends out the message, "Hey Mack. Good to see you doing well. I - I am sorry, though. It was my fault you were hurt, and if there is anything that I can do to make it up to you, I am your man."
 
Before she talks to Shirley, Toph sends the thought to Professor Stein and Hitomi, "I am just glad to have been able to do something for her. Professor? I am very interested in trying to learn more about Brain Burn and how to treat it, especially with our Traversing powers. If you don't mind, when we get back to the ship, I want to pick your brain to see what I have to master in order to be able to heal people with this sort of injury."

Switching to talk to Mack, she jokes, "Hey boss. I gotta say, if you wanted a easy day of it just lounging in bed, we could have made some arrangements to let you take the day off without you nearly getting brain fried."
 
Elinor was too relieved to hear from Shirley this soon to be making jokes, but her relief and joy were evident in her mental voice. "We're all here and doin' fine, bosslady. I've got the squad for now, and you better believe I'm lookin' out for them just like they're lookin' out for me, and the Prof's watchin' over us too. So don't you worry about us, OK? Just rest up and do what the doctor says. The sooner you're back to yourself, the sooner you'll be back with us, and the happier we'll all be, right?"
 
Sherwood said:
"Hey Mack. Good to see you doing well. I - I am sorry, though. It was my fault you were hurt, and if there is anything that I can do to make it up to you, I am your man."
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"Mmmmy... man..." Shirley tried to reply. Something in her tone felt comfortable and good. She seemed to breathe a little easier.

Psychie said:
"I am just glad to have been able to do something for her. Professor? I am very interested in trying to learn more about Brain Burn and how to treat it, especially with our Traversing powers. If you don't mind, when we get back to the ship, I want to pick your brain to see what I have to master in order to be able to heal people with this sort of injury."
Click to expand...

From the camera above Shirley's bed, Hitomi glanced up and grinned at the thought but otherwise remained silent as she watched Shirley's condition. Professor Stein's face in your mind appeared thoughtful, "I don't know what kind of help I'll be as I lack that power myself, but I can try. Later."

Psychie said:
Switching to talk to Mack, she jokes, "Hey boss. I gotta say, if you wanted a easy day of it just lounging in bed, we could have made some arrangements to let you take the day off without you nearly getting brain fried."
Click to expand...

The statement seemed to confuse Shirley as she let out small sounds filled with uncertainty. "Loun...? Arra...? Uhhh?" Toph's message seemed to fly over Shirley's head. This caused Hitomi to look up into the camera and with a serious gaze, she sternly mouthed a single reminder.

"S-I-M-P-L-E."

Kaerri said:
"We're all here and doin' fine, bosslady. I've got the squad for now, and you better believe I'm lookin' out for them just like they're lookin' out for me, and the Prof's watchin' over us too. So don't you worry about us, OK? Just rest up and do what the doctor says. The sooner you're back to yourself, the sooner you'll be back with us, and the happier we'll all be, right?"
Click to expand...

"Don't... worry..." Shirley groaned. Then she repeated, "Happier" but you could sense the deep frown in her slow, delirium-filled voice. "Not happy... Leanne. I... lost Booty... Lost me... Thought I lost... all of you. Not happy..." By the time she finished these statements, her tone was sounding depressed.

Hitomi turned from her monitoring the many high-tech instruments surrounding Shirley and looked up into the camera again. Tilting her head toward Shirley, she brought her hands up to you and made raising or lifting motions with her graceful hands. She put her fingers to her face, put on a smile, then indicated Shirley again.
 
"You did an oops," Elinor replied carefully. "But we're not lost, and you aren't either, right? Booty would want you to enjoy the life you still have, and us too. Let's focus on what we have, not what we don't."
 
"Enjoy life..." Shirley sounded drowsy, disoriented, and in another world. She had not appeared to move a muscle from your excellent view of the medical camera above her high-tech bed on the Broadsword.

"Cera?"

"I am here, Leader Mack. What is your command?" The Ura-Meltrandi replied. Her calmness and coolness made her every word sound crystal clear.

"Aiie!" Shirley winced and gritted her teeth. A hint of the nastiest pain you had ever felt in your minds came across and for one brief instant, it felt like five knives being jammed into your brains without the protection of your skulls. Hitomi turned back to the machines. She seemed to know right where to find the information she was looking for.

"Focus, Shirley. What is it?" Hitomi turned to someone off-camera and whispered something. Someone in the background moved immediately.

Shirley tried. She sounded so tired. "Cera? You have... to understand. Know... we care... about you, right?" Her breathing increased. Toph could see the camera view of the monitors. Shirley's heart rate and blood pressure were increasing steadily but not rapidly.

"'Care'?" Cera replied.

"You're... more than... a squadmate. You're... our friend."

There was a moment of quiet. Then Cera replied, "Yes. I feel the same."

"Good."

A Samantha unit appeared beside Hitomi carrying something in both hands. Hitomi nodded, took the item, and bared Shirley's thigh. It seemed to be some kind of "space-syringe" without the needle. She administered and returned the item to Samantha who disappeared. Then Hitomi returned to watching everything closely.

Shirley mentally spoke again. She sounded no different. "Guys? All of... you... Want a... favor."

Professor Stein could not help but ask. "What is it?"

"Chessel..." Shirley said. "Chessel... put me... here... Dammit!. I... I want payback."

There was a feeling of mild confusion from Cera. "'Payback?'"

"Vengeance." Once, just once, you saw Shirley on the table grit her teeth. "Blow up... something... something big... theirs. More valuable... the better... Understand?"

You felt a brief but very certain wave of emotion come from Cera. Ura-Meltrandi knew all about vengeance. "Wild Cards?" Cera growled. "Chessel Corporation has dishonored us. Taken our leader from us. Can we... do as Leader Mack requests?"

How do the Wild Cards reply?
 
Mario is quiet for a moment, lost in thought. When he finally speaks, it is with some uncharacteristic venom. "These guys have pissed me off to no end. You remember those unarmed transports that these bastards shot down with no warning? They are probably actively funding the Anti-Unification League, have the crew members from the Broadsword in captivity, and they've made several attempts on the lives of people in this squad! If I have any chance to do so, I'll burn this whole place down around their ears! Let them rue the day that they messed with the Wild Cards! My only regret is that I don't have even more firepower to use in giving the Chessel Corporation a total high explosive enema!"

Having vented, the burly Italian seems calmer, now that he has his intent set out for all to see.
 
Toph shakes her head with a smile. "Savage much, Sergeant? I think that, so long as our primary mission is taken care of first, we should leave the AUL with a smoking crater where this place now stands. Lets make sure that we keep our wits about us and not lose our heads."
 
Inside the polyphonic nexus, where Shirley could not hear Mario's rage, all of you heard Shirley give a little sigh that sounded refreshed at hearing Toph followed by, "Yeah... What... she said." On the camera, you could swear Shirley grinned briefly.
 
Elinor wasn't as angry as Mario, or at least she didn't express it as freely, but she was just as determined as the other two. "Yes ma'am," she added firmly. "We'll take care of it for you, Mack. If we can make it big enough, maybe you can see it from there!"
 
Hitomi turned back to the camera just long enough to give a brief thumbs-up. Shirley was relaxing again. Toph noticed her heart rate was calming (now around 75 beats per minute) and her systolic/diastolic numbers were easing to normality (115 over 75) and slowly falling. Over the polyphonic nexus, you could feel gentle waves of amused sleepiness emanating for it seemed the nexus did not lie. Shirley had but one more thing to say before drifting off to dreamland.

"Toph... give... my man... a break. Thaaaa's... annnn orrrrdurrrr..."

Then Shirley disappeared from the polyphonic nexus. With a thin smile. Hitomi turned to the camera. She was wearing a smile too.

"Nice work, Wild Cards! You managed to not only uplift her spirit but you also give her other things to think, or perhaps even, dream about besides... what she had been thinking about. Hooray for distractions!"

Professor Stein could not resist a fatherly chuckle. "Leave it to you, Wild Cards, to make a lady feel better when she's not even conscious!"
 
Elinor's character sheet
Action Points: 4/6
Bonus action point: 1

1. Travel to the port city of Veracruz to Chessel Corporation's machining base. About two miles from the base, there is a heavily-armed outpost ("Outpost 5") with a single large reinforced door.
2. Blow your way into the outpost. Expect opposition from the base's automated defenses in the form of drone aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. The outpost's reinforced door should take around 40 total short-range missiles to destroy. This will gain you access to the underground highway the outpost protects. Once in, opposition from the outpost should cease.
3. Park your aircraft just beyond the destroyed door to the outpost. Professor Stein will stay with the mecha and act as your intelligence officer while you are in the base via the polyphonic nexus. Albert has tangled with Chessel Corporation before and can help you. Hitomi will be feeding him information from the Broadsword's bridge via Captain Piper.
4. Detach your Rifleman Cyclones from the aeronautical veritechs and Traverse with them. The Sams loaded your Cyclone-based armament with the Cyclones. Hitomi says, your traversing with the Cyclones means losing your link with the veritechs, so expect that.
5. Use the Cyclones to drive your way through the outpost's underground highway until you reach the Broadsword's Recovery Team in the main base. And, troops, it's a big, big base. The team is trapped inside of the main section. Your Cyclones are fitted with the means to track down the team via their distress beacons.
6. Once you reach them, find a way to open the main door from the inside to free the team.
7. Escort the team to your veritechs, then once in your veritechs, provide escort the Recovery Team to the Broadsword waiting in the Gulf of Mexico.
Elinor's grin was as audible in her mental voice as it was visible on her face. "Happy to help, sir! But now that's done, I'm thinkin' we oughta be getting back to our main task." She paused a few moments to think back to what their instructions had been, then nodded to herself and inspected her Cyclone's display, looking for the distress beacons of the Broadsword's missing team. She'd forgotten to do so when they arrived, in all the excitement and whatnot, but better late than never.
 
Mario looks over at the LT and says through the Nexus, "I'm set to move out, ma'am. Just say the word." He feels anxious to find the members of the Broadsword's crew, and to follow up on his promise to Mack to cause as much damage as possible to this facility.
 
Toph nods in agreement. "Indeed, let us hurry and get this mission done." She checks her Heads-Up Display for the range and direction to the beacons being transmitted by the captured team.
 
( Captain Hesperus Captain Hesperus Tag! Post when you can, Cap'n! Miss you!)

Gang? Have a big post full of goodies followed by your options into more action! Enjoy!

"Nineteen Eighty" by Joe Satriani off of his latest album, Shapeshifting! =)


The following are inside Professor Stein's polyphonic nexus:
Professor Stein
Toph
Mario
Elinor
Hercules
Cera
MechaKitten/Trouble

Kaerri said:
Elinor's grin was as audible in her mental voice as it was visible on her face. "Happy to help, sir! But now that's done, I'm thinkin' we oughta be getting back to our main task."
Click to expand...

Your Cyclones accurately gave you the precise direction (east) to the distress beacons. They appeared inside your helmets, readily available at any time.

"Quite right, quite right," Professor Stein nodded heartily. "Hitomi, do continue to take care. I think it is clear to say you have your work ahead of you. Wild Cards, should you require her attention, contact me."

"I'm taking off my transceiver down now. Toph? Thank you again! You made our job here with Shirley a lot smoother. Bye!" You no longer felt Hitomi in the polyphonic nexus. The camera-views inside your Cyclone helmets vanished.

"Now, then," Professor Stein spoke with a straight-minded seriousness in his tone. "I hopped in here to update you on my situation and yours, so do pay attention? Mine first. Murphy is en route back to the Broadsword. MechaKitten is now with me. It is time you learned something about everyone's favorite little fish-eater - Trouble has the ability to detect the presence of Traversers. It is indeed through his help that I was able to find Hercules.

Gang, see "24 Hours Ago for Hercules Papadopolis" (Cap'n's prologue) back in September of 2016 for that little adventure! And here we are in 2020! Woo!

"So why did I ask you to deliver him to me? Well, he thinks he's found two more Traversers here in Veracruz. Sam and I are taking both of the unmarked Super Valkyries to get to them before Chessel Corporation capture them. There is also Zeki-Zentraedi activity far above Veracruz."

"What?! Zeki, here?!" Cera cut in, her Ura-Meltrandi blood ready for battle. "We must destroy them!"

"Cera," Professor Stein said slowly and carefully. "Listen to me. That is your programming talking, isn't it? Are you not here to rescue the Broadsword's recovery team?"

There was a pause. "Yes."

"Your mission comes first, Cera, as I am sure your dentella can tell you. The Zeki-Zentraedi are not a threat to us nor are they aware of us. Best to keep it that way for the sake of the recovery unit.

Originally posted last year in October, I am reposting them here for everyone's convenience. As told by Colonel Sharp. =)

Here are your mission details, step by step:

1. Travel to the port city of Veracruz to Chessel Corporation's machining base. About two miles from the base, there is a heavily-armed outpost ("Outpost 5") with a single large reinforced door.

2. Blow your way into the outpost. Expect opposition from the base's automated defenses in the form of drone aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. The outpost's reinforced door should take around 40 total short-range missiles to destroy. This will gain you access to the underground highway the outpost protects. Once in, opposition from the outpost should cease.

3. Park your aircraft just beyond the destroyed door to the outpost. Professor Stein will stay with the mecha and act as your intelligence officer while you are in the base via the polyphonic nexus. Albert has tangled with Chessel Corporation before and can help you. Hitomi will be feeding him information from the Broadsword's bridge via Captain Piper.

4. Detach your Rifleman Cyclones from the aeronautical veritechs and Traverse with them. The Sams loaded your Cyclone-based armament with the Cyclones. Hitomi says, your traversing with the Cyclones means losing your link with the veritechs, so expect that.

5. Use the Cyclones to drive your way through the outpost's underground highway until you reach the Broadsword's Recovery Team in the main base. And, troops, it's a big, big base. The team is trapped inside of the main section. Your Cyclones are fitted with the means to track down the team via their distress beacons.

6. Once you reach them, find a way to open the main door from the inside to free the team.

7. Escort the team to your veritechs, then once in your veritechs, provide escort the Recovery Team to the Broadsword waiting in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Wild Cards, I'm not certain that Sam is being entirely upfront with us. I keep wondering since when does a recovery team require 45 Sam and Samantha units? And how in the blazes did they get here without the Broadsword dropping them off?" He sighed. "Understand that this Veracruz base is big and time is still on our side, so leave these two Traversers to me.

"Lastly, down this road you are on, between you and the recovery team, is some kind of 'heavy assault unit.' We don't know precisely what is in it. We just know it is on its way to the landing bay platforms where the recovery team is trapped. The recovery team has welded and barricaded the doors between them and this enemy unit. They will have to blast their way through their own doors to get to the recovery team. This leaves you with two options:

"You can duke it out with Chessel Corporation's heavy assault unit and fight your way to the recovery team,

"Or, Sam believes he may have found a way for you to get to them through the use of an old tunnel route. Perhaps it is a "back door" Chessel used to use in case they needed to get to the landing pads the recovery team are stuck in. You might encounter automated defenses there, but I doubt you'll be doing much riding.

"You don't have any back-up on either route, but again, time is on your side. Which route seems best to you?"

You then heard the unmistakable smooth sound of Cera's Cyclone zipping down the lanes. Moments later, she pulled up neatly next to you and seeing the scorch marks and bits of blasted robotic machinery all over the construction-filled road, the auxiliary specialist gave a derisive snort. "I missed the battle." She sounded genuinely disappointed!
 
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Elinor chuckled, remembering an old movie her dad liked. There was gunplay, sir, and he missed it! one of the characters had said of another in a similar situation. "I'm sure we'll get ya some combat one way or another," she told Cera. "Meantime, I'm not sure I like the sound of this 'heavy assault unit,' not knowin' what that means. Destroying our enemies is all well and good but I'd like to be sure we've got a fair chance of destroying them. Unless someone else knows more about it, I'd prefer the back door, and save our missiles in case the Zeki get in our way on the way home."

Home, she thought, realizing that meant the Broadsword right now. It was an odd thought.
 
Mario shrugs. "One way or another, I'm sure we'll have our hands full of targets. My lot in life as an enlisted man is a simple one: do what I'm told when I'm told to do it. If you wish to have my opinion, I would say that facing off against an unknown assault mecha in the Cyclones is a recipe for disaster. Our level of firepower in these little mecha is impressive, but I don't know we could do too well in a fight against one of the old Destroids, like a Tomahawk, for example. Lets go around and keep our eyes open for trouble in this back door. That being said, ma'am, you are the one giving the orders here. Tell me to fight this mecha and I'll do it."

That being said, Mario is also feeling a bit of excitement at the thought of more Traversers in the area. I wonder, how many of us Traversers are out there? Dozens? Hundreds? More than that? What happens if a pair of Traversers have a kid together? Will the child inherit the parent's ability?
 
Toph chuckles. "Mario, you are hardly without a voice here. We are still presumed dead by the ASC, and even if we were not, the Wild Cards are nowhere near the model of the traditional military unit. As far as I am concerned, you are free to voice your thoughts and lend us your own wisdom. As tankers in the ATAC, you and Hercules have a very different sense of how things are done compared to Elinor, Mack, and myself, and we are still trying to learn the mindset of Cera. Too much specialization is a sure way to lose a fight when the enemy is more adaptable than you are." She offers up a wide smile to the burly Italian and the huge Greek. "We need these different viewpoints to keep us on our toes. Now that we have that behind us, I agree with Mario. Lets bypass this massive assault mecha and go the longer way around if we can. We have time to explore what is going on and try and find out what the Sams have not told us yet."
 
Psychie said:
"Too much specialization is a sure way to lose a fight when the enemy is more adaptable than you are."
Click to expand...

"Yes!" Cera agreed with a proud grin. "We Ura-Meltrandi aspire to be that very enemy. But this Chessel Corporation... Professor Stein? You believe them connected to this Anti-Unification League? This... human faction that hates all non-humans?"

"That is correct, Cera. I am willing to bet quite a lot that this base in Veracruz we have found is the work of the AUL. Chessel Corporation alone never involved themselves in military-style outposts like this. This was created with help. For all of Chessel Corporation's ventures into cybersecurity and mechanical inventions, I have it on good authority that it is the AUL that pulls their strings. The AUL has made great achievements in the realm of robotics, some of which you have just defeated. That is to their credit.

"But they would rather work alongside robots than any living creature who does not hold true to their fanatical beliefs. The AUL would rather shoot to death a talented engineer that simply prefers to work alongside aliens than to let him be." He made a sound like a big cat growling. "That is why I strongly feel the AUL are the most unethical group of technologists humanity has ever had to endure."

"Hmph," Cera frowned, her distaste visibly clear. "And what will you do if these two new Traversers turn out to be AUL?"

Professor Stein pondered that deep thought. This was a possibility he had not recently considered. "I would probably do as I have always have - try to talk them out of it."

"Has that ever worked?"

"Not once in all these years. Just my bringing it up has brought them to hasty violence."

"So they destroy all living creatures that do not hold their beliefs." Cera adjusted her helmet a little and mused. "One cannot help but wonder what would happen were they to discover that the 45 Sams and Samanthas now in their closed-off landing bay are indeed suits without people inside. It would become a situation of the AUL's robots against the Broadsword's."

"Agreed, my dear auxiliary specialist. Thankfully, we have the living elements - all of you. For if the Zeki-Zentraedi were to find this recovery team, they would seek to destroy them. But if the AUL found them, they would attempt to assimilate them. Keep that in mind, my dear Wild Cards. I have provided you the coordinates to the tunnel entrance Sam discovered. Use them well!

"Now, if you would excuse me, I have to put forth all my attention and land this Super Valkyrie without crashing into that battered Valkyrie beneath us or any other obstacle in this sun-rusted junkyard we are landing in. Farewell for now!" Professor Stein went silent but stayed inside his polyphonic nexus.

"Dentella?" Cera turned to Elinor, her hands on her handlebars. "What order shall we ride in? I am feeling irritated not to have taken part in battle and I am eager to destroy those between us and these members of Broadsword's inactive crew."
 
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Mario sends out, "I would suggest that Herc or myself take point, with the other in the role of Tail End Charlie. The two of us have the most experience with ground vehicles, and that way we will be covered from an attack from either the front or the rear, and Cera can take position up at the front."
 
"Why don't --" Elinor broke off as Mario chimed in, then nodded. "Good point, and I like it. Take the lead, Mario, and Cera with or beside him as space allows. I'll be behind you, with Toph beside or behind me, an' Herc guard our rears."
 
Mario says, "You got it, LT. Do you want us to hoof it, or shift into cycle mode?"
 
"Cycle," Elinor replied decisively. "Sooner we get there, the better." She grinned at him. "Besides, it's more fun."
 
Mario flashes a thumbs-up and a grin, then gives the command for the Cyclone to shift back into its cycle mode. Straddling the cycle, he revs the engine and sends out, "Lets roll!" With that, he sets out once everyone has their own mecha ready to go.
 
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