Robotech - Southern Cross Adventure

[Sherwood]

"Understood, sir." Deunan turns to look at the rest of the team, and says, "You heard the man. Lets get back to Anton-17." She spares one last look into the room at the body of Antonia, wondering if they would ever know the full story about what happened here.

 

[Psychie]

Spoiler

And thus, we wrap up this part of the story. Everyone has done a great job role playing your characters, and I am having a great time running this bunch! Thank you.

Everyone gets another 1,000 xp. Enjoy.

Back at Anton-17, it is now a full week after the disastrous attack on the base and things are starting to get back to normal for the BSURP. There has been several missions out of the base for the Third Heavy, performing convoy escort and doing some light recon out into the Zone. Lt. Hulsizer is still the acting CO of the base, and so far, there is no word as to when or even if a replacement for Captain Shumer will be showing up.

Reports from Brazilia Base have come in about the death of Antonia. The cause of death is officially listed as cardiac arrest brought on by a drug injection. [I am not a doctor, and I don't play one on tv, so I don't know what drugs will cause a heart attack. You have the name of the drug, I just don't have one for you. ] Thanks to the video that was found, there is solid evidence to link the mysterious woman in the room to the drug injection, making her a murderer.

Using the picture of the woman, the GMP at Brazilia Base begin to hunt through their various databases to try and identify her. Sending the image out to the various local law enforcement agencies in the area, allowing more eyes to search for this woman.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Meanwhile, Ryuko Narukami was in her Ajax's cockpit, looking over a blueprint that someone wanted her to check out.

I understand that the person heard I was good at fighting, but does he/she really need me to approve of this? I'm not the head mechanic. I am just a soldier.

She rolled the paper up before exiting the Ajax's cockpit, then looked up to her machine's head.

I don't think I can even part ways with my machine. We've been through so much together.

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan is currently in the exercise room, working at a weight machine, pumping out reps and working up a sweat. She breathes deeply as the weights move back and forth, setting herself into a smooth rhythm. With one final grunt, Deunan sets the weighs down and grabs her towel, wiping her face. She is aggravated, and nothing seems to help her feel better. The whole situation with the death of Antonia and Capt. Shumer still sits badly with her. But at this point, there is little that she can do about it, since the investigation is being run out of the larger offices of Brazila Base. All she can do is sit and wait in between recon patrols.

 

[Purr]

With the investigation completely out of their hands, Gabi put her mind to things she could change. A week was a lot time to a woman like Gabi, especially being new to Anton-17. As was her approach in life, she tried to make the most of her time.

Gabriela sent letters, gifts, and video to her family . She spent her time either in the mecha hangar, the workout room, her quarters, or out and about on base. She made a point of getting to know Anton-17 and its people, especially Third Heavy Recon. This meant doing a lot of listening. She tried to figure out what the people here needed and she did what she reasonably could to help out, whether that was lending a hand in the mess hall, fixing up someone's busted generator, helping out in the mecha hangar, or just being there listening to someone vent out their anger or grief. She did this because it was, for her, the right thing to do. It was one of the big reasons she joined the military in the first place. To give back.

Gabriela did spend a great deal of time on trying to reinvent or improve the Spartas's EU-11 laser rifle. She felt upgrading the EU-11 was one of the best and possibly fastest ways to help out Third Heavy Recon. Doing so would not only challenge her, but it would probably raise Third Heavy Recon's sagging morale, and if she were really fortunate, perhaps help a little in the war effort as a whole.

Being a laser weapon, the EU-11's payload and range were not the issues - it was the lack of punch. For something that was supposed to be part of a tank, the thing hit like an oversized pea-shooter. Even a single particle beam cannon off of a standard Regult Battle Pods had the EU-11 beat in range and payload while equalling in damage. Furthermore, there were infantry-based weapons (like the 37-pound HLW-6 laser cannon) that outperformed the 250-pound EU-11 in damage while equaling its range. The Logan's own sidearm had bragging rights here too. The only thing the EU-11 had over the little Logan Veritech's own sidearm, the EP-20, was a slight upgrade in accuracy. Otherwise, even the EP-20 gun pod outdid the EU-11 in terms of payload (60 blasts vs. 28 five-round bursts) and recharging time. So... the big question was how to go about making improvements?

Given her recent experience with the Spartas's Particle Beam Cannon and given her knowledge of particle beam technology in the RDF and Zentraedi forces (mainly the Tomahawk's super-long-range arm-mounted cannons and the Zentraedi's Z-PR heavy-hitting particle beam rifle) while considering the ASC's own XHCPW-6 infantry-support weapon. Each of these three very-different designs were hard-hitting, energy-efficient, and combat-tested. Gabriela went through everything she could find on these models and tried to find a way to make fourth, Spartas-sized rifle similar in design to the EU-11, but with the same range, accuracy, payload, but with more punch. If she could extend the range of the XHCPW-6 out to 4,000 feet, that would definitely do it. Even if it meant swapping out the cannon's knock-down capability for 4,000-foot range.

With this goal in mind, Gabriela spent a great deal of the last week on that project.

 

[Psychie]

As Gabi is spending more time in the mecha hangar, tinkering on the Eu-11's of the Spartas, you get the attention of Lt. Danfield. He watches you for a while, keeping his distance, but soon enough his curiosity gets the better of him and he comes over to see what you are doing. "Trying to get more output from the rifle? Hmmm. I wonder . . . "

He leans over the blueprints and scratches at the stubble on his chin. "I am thinking that adding a high powered energy capacitor could give some extra punch, for at least a few shots. Might have to make a few adjustments to make room for it, but it can be tinkered on. We have some spare parts here that might be usable to make that happen. Care for an assist with it? Unless this is your own baby, that is. I wouldn't want to step on your toes." He gives you a grin, obviously hoping to have something to do with the project coming up.

Purr , Do you still want me to make your rolls for you?

 

[Purr]

Danfield, Gabi thought. This was the same LT that had chewed out Ryuko, Marlon, and Sgt. Conway on her first day here. Now he was offering to lend a hand and provide resources? Gabriela saw this as nothing but a win-win situation - not only might she be able to make this new EU-11 a reality with his assistance, but she could make Third Heavy Recon look good while doing it!

"Oh no, sir," Gabriela gave a sweet little laugh. "This here is not my baby. The only babies this chica is gonna be having will come around after we win this war." Until then, she thought, the Army is my husband. She tied her hair into a ponytail and waved him over. "Let's see what we can make happen here, yeah?"

Psychie

Spoiler: Psychie

Yes, please. Make my rolls for me until I request otherwise. If there is anything Gabi can do to improve her chances, let me know. This is an unexpected opportunity, to work with Lt. Danfield. How cool! =)

 

[D. Rex]

Back at base, things seemed to have calmed down. Good, finally. This was their time to catch, so during the following days he found himself a nice routine. Every morning, he would drop by the hangar and check all the squads mecha for signs of tampering and ask around if anyone had been messing with them. Just to be safe. After a morning inspection. Marlon would lend his hours to helping the engineering staff get everything back up to par. Not just the mecha, but the wall too.

He did, begrudgingly, limit himself so as to not fatigue himself in the case Third Heavy was called on. During downtime, he actually found himself reading. Specifically about the Zentraedi. Sure, one reason was so that he could better taunt the pirate queen if ever he saw her. But even he found that a little petty. But there were other reasons. A couple of his squaddies already knew Zentraedi, and Neo had some Zentraedi in her, so he figured it would be a good way to get closer to his mates. He was confident he could probably speak it with a caveman dialect, but it was a work in progress.

When he wasnt reading, he found himself at the gym, doing his normal routines. His favorite probably being laps around the base, as it gave him time to look about Anton and the mecha, and get the engineering parts of his brain moving.


Today,however, he was in the gym. And low and behold, so was Deunan. It wasnt too hard to she that she had something on her mind. She certainly wasnt seeming very chipper. That was something that wouldn't do.


With a towel over his shoulder, he grabbed his bottle of water and walked over to her. He hadn't used it yet, he figured she could use it more. With a smile, he extended his hand and offered it to her. "Why the long face, Sergeant? Something on your mind?" He asked.

( Sherwood )

 

[Rykon]

After the mission, Alan forced himself to relax a bit and remove some of the barriers he had up. Not that he had secrets with the squad, but barriers with his family. Tom was out of prison, his folks were walking again, and Brandon was a budding car salesman. It felt like an eternity since he first shipped off, still nursing the guilt of a self-judged killer. Even if both his parents could have both died, he eliminated that thug in a moment, a civilian. All of the mess surrounding what was once his home had become a blanket of razors cutting deeper with every passing day he stayed there. Were it not for Wade, Alan wasn't sure he was keen to let that deadbeat addict Brandon get off as good as he had either. This side of his mind always seemed to weigh heavy on him in hindsight. So, much of his hours not spent in training or in the field were spent exchanging messages and photos with Lisa, his youngest sibling who was still struggling to hold down things at home.

In his work life, Alan appeared to have lost all trust for those not within the Third Heavy. Ryuko was a loud hotshot, but at least nothing she did was a real secret. Gabi, now dubbed Rozy, was competent, engaged, and polite. Once he was used to the two of them by the end of the week, things seemed to settle back into normalcy, leaders or no. Work time in the base was often spent developing monitoring software for each of the mecha as a means of learning how to leverage simple AI. Should his project prove fruitful, he'd have an algorithm that would detect attempts at sabotage while also calculating performance statistics needed to tune the machines to the pilots' habits.

As usual, his recreation time consisted of PT, Software Training, and casual card night. Given all the endurance training and time spent running around the jungles of Brazil, he was starting to lean more on patches than smokes. All the coughing made him start to wonder if he could jeopardize a mission just because of a bad habit he picked up in basic.

 

[Sherwood]

With a towel over his shoulder, he grabbed his bottle of water and walked over to her. He hadn't used it yet, he figured she could use it more. With a smile, he extended his hand and offered it to her. "Why the long face, Sergeant? Something on your mind?" He asked.

With a tired smile, Deunan accepts the bottle from Marlon and takes a long drink before answering him. "Thanks for the drink. I needed that." She thinks for a moment, then lets out a sigh. "I guess I'm just tired of seeing good men and women die in this pointless fighting. If the Malcontents could just see that we are willing to coexist with them, and stop trying to fight us at every turn . . . I guess I'm just feeling a little depressed, thinking about how it looks like Antonia planted the bomb in Ops and then was killed for her efforts."

She then looks up at Marlon and says, "Y'know, the next time we get some off post time at La Fuente, I'll buy you dinner. How's that sound?"

 

[Psychie]

Over the course of the week, Gabi and Max Danfield tear into the supply locker to design a pair of upgraded version of Eu-11. The first version adds a large rechargeable power pack to the exterior of the rifle. If everything is plugged in and working correctly, the upgraded rifle will now have two operational modes: Its standard single shot/burst fire that reaches out to 4,000 feet doing the 1d4x10 damage with high accuracy, and a shorter ranged burst that does more damage of 1d6x10 +10 MD, but only out to a range of 1,500 feet that doesn't have the same bonuses to hit that the standard modes do.

The capacitor has enough juice in it for twenty of the higher powered bursts before it needs to be recharged.

Option two of the modified weapon replaces the Tri-Laser that is used in Tank/Guardian modes with the extra power pack, giving the weapon a larger power generator. This refit will give the Eu-11 the same two modes to fire in, but with the extra power, it increases the range of the standard mode to 6,000 feet, and the high-powered burst is now usable out to 2,500 feet, and its doesn't have the limited number of shots that the rifle-only upgrade does.

It will take a little bit of time to be able to fabricate the prototype weapon, assuming you can decide on which version you wish to build, and if you can get a volunteer tank to work your magic on.

 

[Purr]

With the lieutenant's permission, Gabi takes the offer of options to those that used them in Third Heavy Recon. "Sir," she asked Lt. Danfield, "I think it best to let the soldiers whose lives are depending on this to make the call, you know? I just fly Ajaxs, scout around, and call in airstrikes. What do you say?" Gabriela grinned. Inside, she was very happy they had created not one, but two solutions! Where might these discoveries lead in the future?

 

[D. Rex]

Marlon listened pensively. Thinking over his words before responding. "Yeah. That sort of thing does wear on you after a while. But I wouldn't go as far to say that the fighting is pointless. Even though it can be seen that way when things get hard. But look how far we have come in this war already. And we got to be coming to the final lap. It's not the Zentraedi we are fighting anymore, but a sect of them that dont want to coexist. I'm sure many do see what we want, but it isnt what they want. They want to fight, and that is why we step in. We got a lot of good folk on our side, even the Zentraedi. None of us want to die, but each of us would die fight tooth and nail just so civilians won't die in our place, and that we can bring things one step closer to peace. The fighting will stop, and they will eventually come to see what the others zens have. And even if they don't like that, there is always that the earth is a scrappy place, if there has ever been a more fitting home for a warrior race, its definitely here."

"As for Antonia... I will go as far to say that this sort of look is what they wanted. I dont know much about Antonia, but everything about the ordeal was fishy. We'll find out soon enough. But it's not looking so clear cut that she was a simple malcontent. And ya know, just because the GMP is on the case doesn't we cant keep helping. I think you been earning yourself some star power, and I bet your example would do wonders in helping ease up some uncalled for anxiety around the base. Cause if she was a malcontent, then we cant let her win, and if she was coerced or framed, then it does us right to keep the peace. Either way we know what we need to do. And, that mystery woman will get what's coming. So chin, up, Sergeant, I know there ain't much I can say to take the sting off things, but I will be right here enduring it with you."


At the asking of the dinner, Marlon, while not normally taken aback, was well... taken aback. Definitely wasnt what he was expecting to hear when he was coming over here. He certainly wasnt opposed to the idea, though he couldn't quite help what his mind automatically read of the offer. Had to wheel that train back into the station in case he embarrassed himself there. Marlon grinned, and gave nod. "So long as I dont have to call you Sergeant while we are there, then I'll definitely be looking forward to it." Smooth as silk.

Sherwood

 

[Sherwood]

Marlon grinned, and gave nod. "So long as I dont have to call you Sergeant while we are there, then I'll definitely be looking forward to it." Smooth as silk.

With a grin, Deunan gives Marlon a playful punch to the shoulder. "Deal. No rank, no business to be discussed at all. Just the two of us, enjoying the night, some good food, and each other's company. After a bottle of wine, maybe you can convince me to do some dancing, too." She can feel herself blushing a bit, somewhat shocked at her own forward behavior. What the hell. You only live once, and you never know when one of us might buy it in combat. "I don't have any fancy dresses like Ryuko's red one that she wore last week, but I can say that you'll like what you'll see when I'm all dolled up."

 

[Psychie]

With the lieutenant's permission, Gabi takes the offer of options to those that used them in Third Heavy Recon. "Sir," she asked Lt. Danfield, "I think it best to let the soldiers whose lives are depending on this to make the call, you know? I just fly Ajaxs, scout around, and call in airstrikes. What do you say?" Gabriela grinned. Inside, she was very happy they had created not one, but two solutions! Where might these discoveries lead in the future?

Danfield runs his hands through his hair as he looks over the twin designs. "You have a good head on your shoulders, and I like the way you work. Lets find the ground-pounders of your team and show them what we have here, and see what they think." He stands up straight and stretches, and you can hear his spine crackle and pop. "Ungh. I'm going to go to the cafeteria and grab me a cup of coffee. Bring the plans, and you can share what we've come up with once they all get there."

Across the outpost, the members of the Third Heavy Squad are located by a runner, and given the message that Lt. Danfield wants to see everyone in the mess hall.

Rykon D. Rex Sherwood Gundam Watcher 27

 

[D. Rex]

With a grin, Deunan gives Marlon a playful punch to the shoulder. "Deal. No rank, no business to be discussed at all. Just the two of us, enjoying the night, some good food, and each other's company. After a bottle of wine, maybe you can convince me to do some dancing, too." She can feel herself blushing a bit, somewhat shocked at her own forward behavior. What the hell. You only live once, and you never know when one of us might buy it in combat. "I don't have any fancy dresses like Ryuko's red one that she wore last week, but I can say that you'll like what you'll see when I'm all dolled up."

The conductor recieved word from officials that the tracks were clear and gave the thumbs up for the engineers to leave the station.


Marlon couldn't help but chuckle, and to think here he was going to actually invite her to go blow off some steam with something less work related. And it looked like he got completely one upped. "I think that sounds great. It's a date then. And come now, a night isn't complete without some dancing, and it's hard science that wine makes people dance better." He said with a grin. Well now, he cant say that he had ever really expected to see her blush like that. It actually matched her hair pretty well. It made him smile a little wider.

A thought came to him, it was kind of easy to forget that number of them were still pretty young. No reason to give up on that so soon. And this added another reason to not die. A nice dinner and pleasant afternoon with a pretty woman who wanted to gussy up for the occasion, Duenan of all people, how was that not something to look forward to?

"I got no doubt you'll blow me away. And I'd like to think I clean up pretty well myself." Though he fully expected he would spend most of the morning trying to scrub out grease stains. Then came the runner, who had seemingly great timing as he didnt interrupt and arrived right before things ran the risk of getting awkward. He turned to Duenan,"I suppose we shouldnt keep him waiting. Shall we, Sergeant?"

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Ryuko was informed to go to the cafeteria a while later. Before then, she was at the hangar, still thinking about earlier.

She would be the first to show up, seeing LT. Danfield, before taking a seat.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

 

[Sherwood]

After getting word that the LT wants to see them, Darian rises up and tells the runner, "Please let the Lieutenant know that I will be there ASAP. I need to take a quick shower or else I may be accused of trying to funk out the place." With that, she flashes Marlon a parting smile, then hustles off to take a quick rinse off and hastily jumps into a clean uniform.

With her hair still wet from her rinse, Deunan heads to the mess hall to see what Danfield wants from the team. "Reporting as ordered, sir. What's the sitch?"

 

[Purr]

"Hola ("Hello"), you guys."

Since Gabriela was the first to know of Lt. Danfield's meetup, she took the plans and had warm food and cold beverages waiting for everyone when they arrived. Perhaps it was part of her Mexican blood to have food at any important gathering, but it was also a lesson from her father whispering in her ear, "Never do business on an empty stomach."

The rest of her squadron probably noticed Gabriela's positive mood; she wore a proud grin as she greeted everyone. Gabi hoped that they were in a section of the mess that didn't have too many prying eyes or ears lest the spy(ies) or clandestine enemies overheard. Whatever the case, she bumped fists with Ryuko and Marlon as they entered (not at the same time, given their current relationship) and took a seat where she could watch the room with her back not far from an exit. While she waited for Lt. Danfield to speak, she poured herself some red Gatorade and snacked on a big red apple to keep herself well-hydrated and focused.

 

[D. Rex]

Marlon, too, went to take a quick shower and get himself into a fresh uniform. He came into the cafeteria a few steps behind Duenan as he had took a quick detour to grab himself a new bottle of water, which he had all but drained by the time he arrived.

"Reporting, Lieutenant Danfield." He announced, looking around.

Gabi was positively beaming, and he happily returned the fist bump with one of his own. "Rosy." He said in cheerfully simple greeting. From the look on her face, and the presence of food, well it looked like there was a good chance that there was some good news to be had. Wasnt often a day seemed to go so well. And he wasnt one to shoot it down.

He did, however, choose to sit at a different end of the table than Ryuko. While he hadn't made any fuss about her, or even complained about her since then. He still didn't like her, but he was holding with what he was told.

The food was a good distraction at least, though he'd wait to here the situation before helping himself, of course.

 

[Rykon]

Alan approached the group, coffee in hand, looking tired from a long session of debugging and tweaking various scripts for his recent software experiment. Everything was progressing, albeit slowly. It would certainly take a few more operations before he had enough data to execute anything substantial, but probing his logic model for sound decisions was something he could validate.

"How's it goin Lieutenant Dan, how can we help?" Alan said casually after slowly sipping coffee to keep himself awake. He looked to the rest of the group, seeing them as somewhat more cheerful had him smiling.

 

[Psychie]

Danfield rolls his eyes at the 'Lieutenant Dan' comment, but lets it drop. "Well, its not what you can do for me, but what Gabriela and I have done for you." He quickly summarizes the past week's work on coming up with a version of the Spartas' Eu-11 that has increased energy output, running down the differences between the two versions that they have come up with.

"There are advantages to each design, but each one has some drawbacks, too. I have my own personal preference, but its not my ass on the line in those hover tanks. We have the parts to make up prototype weapons of either design, but I don't know which version you'd prefer. Working on one rifle at a time, I can have all four done, depending on the version you pick, in about a day."

 

[D. Rex]

Upgrades, huh? That was indeed good news. He looked over to Ga I and gave her the thumbs up. So that was what she had been working on. Color him impressed. Though he felt a bit guilty now that he wasnt there helping them.

Marlon leaned back and did a bit if thinking, "Would the draw from the power of either mod effect recharge rate of the PPC? Namely the generator replacement. I like the Tri-laser, it is nice having a bit of reactionary offense without needing to transform. But with the upcharged EU-11, would the extra power funnel back to the PPC when the gunpod isn't in use?"

"And just out of curiosity, since I ain't seen the math yet. Are the two mods compatible with each other?"

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan listens with interest as the LT goes over the technical specs of the two weapon variants. "Wow. Sir, it sounds like the two of you have been busy this past week." She looks at the blueprints, tapping her finger against her chin. "Well, of the two, I personally prefer option number two. The only time that the tri-laser is usable is in Guardian mode, and when I'm in that configuration, I'm using the main gun."

 

[Rykon]

Alan took a moment to mull over the possibilities. "Well really, the additional accuracy hasn't helped terribly much in the past, nor have we had call to use it at very long distances and not used the main guns. I'd say let's optimize it for Battloid mode with some extra punch, if a little reduced accuracy. That's just my take though. We already have one among our squad that likes getting close, so we may as well see if we can adapt to our new capabilities as a team."