Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

The last RPG was "Zeta Gundam: Tales from the Frontlines - The AEUG" which ran from 2006-14.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

- The Dervish -
- Ready Room 2 -

Fritz schlepped the bulky duffel bag out of Jim's room and through the halls over to the area where the teams' ready rooms and showers were located. The noise from the hangar grew louder the closer he got, and he started to wonder if Sager and his crew were already assembling new mobile suits and repairing the ones they had crawled back in. The crates that AE had brought seemed to be full of brand new parts. It seemed unfortunate that they were just going to head right back out and risk getting it all smashed up again. And when the pilots inside them got smashed up it was much harder to put them back together... He stopped outside Team 2's ready room.

Adjusting the bag hanging from his shoulder, he pushed a button on the panel that would sound a chime. He figured Marvin was probably still hanging around at least; the kid hand't left the ship last he had heard. It was a shame how hard everything had been on him. He sighed and took the duffel off to set it on the ground next to his feet. Things had been hard on all of them, and he wasn't sure how long the 4th could continue to function without a real, extended rest. It was starting to look like the end of the war would be the only rest they'd get - they just had to fight their way to it first.

- Celeste's Quarters -

"So that's it, I guess. I know it sounds kind of stupid now, but I think it's our best chance. And the next time might be our last chance," Celeine said, resting her head against the wall as Celeste listened from her protective cocoon of blankets. Angelina didn't say anything, and Celeine started to feel like she had maybe come to talk to her too soon. "I'll let you think about it, okay?" Celeine asked, turning for the door. "Which hospital is it?" Celeste asked, still sounding like she was expending energy just to talk. Celeine turned back and answered, "Fritz told me it's Mercy Medical Center. It's where they take AEUG casualties,". Angelina was quiet again for a few moments, and she wiped her eyes. "I'll go with you."

- Business District -
- Chapman's Bar -

"Uh, Rick Dom?" Sophie muttered, surprised at the doctor's slip of the tongue. She was nice enough to pretend she hadn't noticed any of Dr. M's other strange tics, however. "Ah, sorry my dear," the doctor smiled, "I have a, eh, habit of mixing my words at times. Harmless, of course,". “Well, that's good to hear,” she picked up a menu again and hid behind it for a moment, “Uh, so anybody know what they want to eat with the fries Rem was kind enough to order?”. The doctor nodded enthusiastically, "Now that is a fine idea. Dealing with the stiffs at the local office has made me famished. I think I'll have th--"

"HEEEEEEEY~~!"

Ramon "Hard AE" Sumitani slid through the bar's door like a certain sitcom character from the old calendar, his fingers snapping in the air and his hips thrusting properly thanks to the lunar gravity. "Gather together, hooo~!" he yelled enthusiastically, gyrating his way to the bar where Jacob and Wales were sitting with several spaces between them. It seemed that his mood had improved since his friend Mello's untimely demise during the last battle. He slapped a hand down on the bar to get the bartender's attention and then ordered an appletini. "Say say say! Jacob!" he said when he noticed how grim Markado looked.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- The Hamburg -

Having tired himself out in, and of, the city, and with no real attachment to it, Adam had returned early to the spaceport, flashing his ID to the security personnel as he passed. It felt depressing to be granted leave, only to waste it by returning to the ship, but he was so uncomfortable out there, it felt like there was so much still to do, even with all the AEUG had accomplished since the operation at Dakar. So, feeling fidgety, but not in a bad way, Adam Trask returned to the Hamburg.

Reaching the hanger, he ran into Randy Emington, who appeared from around some large crates of mobile suit parts and, surprised to see his friend, shouted, "Trask!?" and ran over to join him and grabbed Adam's shoulder and asked, "What are you doing back here? I thought you were going to stay in town?"

"Nah, it got boring out there. I'd rather help out here, feel like I'm doing something, you know?"

Randy nodded sagely, his face split in a huge grin, he felt much the same. His smile faded however when Adam asked, "So, how're the Ensigns doing?"

Randy's pained expression was all Adam needed to see. No change. Feeling for the others, Adam shook his head to dispel the melancholy that threatened at the edges. Half the team out. Not good. He nodded to Randy to show he understood and said, "Anyways, I'm gonna check on my Nemo. See what the crews done this time." They parted with mutual waves and headed toward their respective mobile suits.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Jacob had wasted no time since getting into Chapman's. He'd been drinking just as fast as he could. The bitter taste of the beer didn't even register with him as his mind brooded endlessly and pointlessly over the lessons he'd learned since joining this war. The first lesson was that his dreams of honor and glory were incredibly naive and stupid. He could almost laugh at his once cherished idea that pilots were some sort of modern knights riding their noble Mobile Suit steeds into legendary combat. In truth, they were just desperate men and women trapped in complex machines trying with everything they had to just stay alive.

He'd just gotten a fresh beer when a palm slammed down on the bar next to him and someone called his name. He had been too immersed in his own miserable thoughts to notice even the flamboyant entrance of Ramon. It was impossible to ignore the man when he was so close and talking directly to him.

Slowly, Jacob looked over, blinking a couple times to try to clear the ridiculous image from his eyes and see the real Ramon. Then blinking a couple more times when he realized the ridiculous image WAS the real Ramon.

"WhaddaYOUwan'?" he asked, surprised at his own surliness.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman -
- Russell's Steakhouse -


Bernard sat in a booth surrounded by a girl on either side of him. They were sixes but the alcohol made them nine's easily. Plates of expensive beef and lobster tail crowded the table. As he took a bite, the steak's juices ran down his throat causing Bernard to look up and in a brief instant he could almost see past the ceiling and through the lunar walls into the heavens past the stars.
A question from the girls of when he'll be returning brought him back down to the restaurant. She was probably trying to fit him in some schedule. "Who knows?" he chuckled. "When the Titan menace is finally over, I guess." he laughed even more which made the girls giggle. Bernard knew there would always be a threat of some sort; history has proven that. The idea of an elite force formed to combat it didn't bother him. It was the leadership behind it that he had a problem with from the beginning.

A waiter brings over drinks that the girls ordered, on his tab obviously. He had been spending money all day and had nothing to show for it. It didn't bother him since money doesn't last, if he could he would have sent it all to family but with not knowing their location it seemed foolish to save. Bernard also had a feeling that the girls were gonna try and roll him in some alley but he didn't care. If it was his fate then he would face it, he was tired of fighting and running. Grabbing his drink he toasts the girls for their company and salutes the patrons in the next table who give him a puzzled look. He of course was motioning toward the group of dead pilots standing behind them looking on with envy.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

- The Dervish -
- Ready Room 2 -

Fritz stood outside Team 2's room for a few moments, then pressed the call button again. When no response came after a minute or so, he shrugged and picked up the bag. Eddie was no doubt off the ship, which meant he could go looking for Wes or Marvin, and he had a good idea which one would still be hanging around. Sulking would be a better term, but Fritz felt bad about judging the kid. He had seen people react to combat in all sorts of different and strange ways, and as long as he was still capable of flying his suit he could stay as far as the AEUG was concerned. At this point in the war it was all hands on deck.

He crossed a few halls and took a lift back to the area that contained the crew quarters. Not too far from where his wife was waiting, he turned onto a hallway that included Team 2's cabins. He stopped at the door marked [Marvin Hamilton] and let the duffel rest on the floor next to his feet again. Scratching his temple, he reached out and pressed the door's chime button, wondering if he'd get an answer this time or not.

- Captain's Quarters -

Abbey leaned back as he spread papers out across his desk. With the arrival of new and replacement mobile suits, it was time to determine how the active duty roster for pilots would look the next time the fleet went into combat. He had been thinking about it since shortly after the battle at Zedan ended, and figuring out how to distribute the pilots between the ships wasn't as simple as it seemed. He didn't want to leave ships without experienced, combat-tested pilots from within the 4th, but he was also wary of bringing in unknown replacements from outside to handle duties in the Rick Dias teams. That hadn't worked well for them.

He also had to take into consideration how well certain teams performed together, and the condition of ships' morale. It wasn't as easy as taking trained pilots and plugging them into empty slots until there weren't any gaps left. The captain removed his hat and tossed it onto his bed. The get-together of AEUG officers and bigwigs hadn't answered all of his questions, but nevertheless the fleet needed to be ready in less than two days so they could start a long series of meetings, planning sessions and briefings.

Well, at least one solution seemed like a natural fit when he looked at the list of active pilots. Teams 1 and 3 had taken serious blows, but the survivors got along well and Fritz' relationship with Celeste in particular seemed like a good way to unite the remnants. He penciled in the two halves of shattered units to make up a new whole as a revitalized Team 1. Finding a way to take up the slack from the loss of their second former Zeon ace would be hard, and so would building an all new Team 3.

- Docks -

"I'll rent us a car. You just wait here," Celeine said, patting Celeste on the hand as she headed to the elecar stand at the dock exit. Angelina just nodded and pulled her jacket closed as if she was trying to disappear. She looked around the docks, taking in the activity still going on where Anaheim Electronics was finally preparing to leave the open hangar of the Dervish, and where the Earth Federation guards at the exit continued to ignore and assist the rebel activity going on inside. She closed her eyes and listened to the noise, hoping she would be able to hear Clute's voice fade in again like she had in open space.

She had shut herself up in her room spending her time with tears in her eyes, trying to hear him and sleeping when she couldn't stay awake any longer. She started when Celeine beeped the cheery sounding horn of the elecar. Her feet scraping the ground, she walked to the stand and climbed into the car. "Mercy Medical isn't too far from here," Celeine said as she pulled onto the street, "...I promise we'll make this work...".

- Chapman's Bar -

Ramon's wide smile faded into more of a surprised look when he got a nice closeup view of Jacob's condition. "WhaddaYOUwan'?" Jacob asked, sounding like he was in no mood to talk. The bartender slid a delicate cocktail glass containing a bright green liquid to Ramon. Hard AE took a sip of his drink and sat it down, appearing to take a moment to appreciate the taste. "You're still sad from the battle, Jacob," Sumitani said, his inflection not quite a question. "It took me a while to cheer up, hey~," he said, nodding solemnly behind his large sunglasses. At the doctor's table, the waiter had stood patiently during Ramon's outburst. "Ah, yes, heh. Just bring me the house special," Dr. M said, nodding appreciatively.

"Mit pilots like him, at least we're always getting unique test data," the doctor said with one of his nervous chuckles.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- chapmans bar -

blinking in surprise from the dramatic entrance made by the new arrival, wales couldn't do much except stare at the sunglasses wearing guy that was behaving like he'd won the lottery jackpot, whoever he was he was certainly very...loud...
taking a moment he looked over at the doctors table, maybe i should've sat there, they have chips.

feeling that the sudden attention this way was a tad too much he slowly edged his way off of the seat and made his way over to the table, one eye never leaving this ramon character.
"Um..hi, i know i'm a complete stranger at the moment, but would you mind if I sat here?" he asked politely, fiddling with the pilots goggles that sat on his forehead.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

-The Dervish-
-Cowboy's Room-

Marvin had showered and changed into simple civilian clothing, blue jeans, a plain yellow t-shirt, and a light grey jacket, and had slumped into his bed. He'd done as he'd planned, which was doze, but had never been able to drift to sleep which, in the back of his mind, was what he really wanted. Every time, he started to think about something, be it people or places or cigarettes, and was wide awake again. Like so many other things, Cowboy had sadly become adjusted to it.

The comm beeped quickly. Marvin sighed and rolled to his feet, wondering who it may be. He shuffled to the door and opened it to see Fritz Ashlyn. Marvin's eyebrows shot up in surprise, as the commander of the Dervish mobile suit unit, whom Marvin had talked to only a handful of times, was one of the last people he expected.

"U-Uh, yes, uh, sir?" Was all he could stammer. Fritz wasn't in uniform, and had a large bag next to his feet, and Marvin had no idea what he needed.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Jacob blinked in increasing confusion at Ramon's drink. It was just weird to see something that color and to see someone drink it. Then again, one look at Ramon was enough to assure him that the man's choice in drinks was perhaps the least weird thing about him.

But Ramon's words were more than just weird. They were ridiculous. They were offensive.

"Still sad from the battle?! Of course I'm still sad from the battle! What kind of lunatic wouldn't be? I lost two squadmates in that battle. More than that, I lost a friend! And I had to watch him get crushed. Crushed! He was helpless and that Titan scum crushed him like a bug. Who creates weapons who can do that? What have we all done? Why would anyone need to be able to kill anyone like that?"

His eyes were obviously having a hard time focusing and he looked past Ramon to see the table with Dr. M and his companions. Lurching to his feet, he knocked over his bar and aimed an unsteady finger at the table. "Hey! Why did you build Mobile Suits? What's the point? Weren't swords and bows working good enough?"
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Amman
Chapman's Bar

Rem groaned inwardly as Sophie noticed another of Dr. M's slips. It wasn't so bad in the office, where everyone was pretty used to it, and more than half were Zeon besides. But with a pilot, and a former Fed at that... Thinking of Sophie, he recalled himself to the table, realizing he had been quiet for a few minutes now. Rem looked over at the group of pilots beginning to amass at the bar, a little nervously. He had heard rumors about pilot "explosive decompression" phases, and seen the aftermath at another bar a few months back.

"Well, as long as they keep bringing the data back themselves, I've got no complaints." He looked up at the waiter, hovering nonchalantly. "Chicken Cesar salad for me, round of beers for us and another of whatever those pilots are having at the bar, on me."

He turned back to the table. "Not that I don't like ship cafeteria food, but I'm a fresh salad fiend."

Just then, Markado stumbled over, obviously drunk. "Hey! Why did you build Mobile Suits? What's the point? Weren't swords and bows working good enough?" His finger drifted from pointing at Rem to somewhere between peanuts in the bowl on the table.

Rem looked at Sohpie and Dr. M, a little nervously, then back at Jacob. He knew that this wasn't going to end well, no matter what he said. Not that he couldn't sympathize, but even drunk, that was a little unfair. "Tell you what, Jacob...Why don't I help you back to the bar and we can talk all about arms escalation and political maneuvering." He stood up, slowly, trying to be non-threatening. "Look, you didn't even finish your drink. Can't have that, now..." He smiled gently and began walking just past Jacob, hoping the man would follow, hoping he wasn't making a very poor choice. He gestured towards the bar again, trying to get Jacob to turn and hoping Ramon, who seemed still mostly sober, would catch it and help him out.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

- The Dervish -
- Cowboy's Room -

"U-Uh, yes, uh, sir?" Marvin managed, clearly surprised to see who was calling on him. Fritz noticed Marvin had cleaned up a bit, but he still looked tired in general. It was clear to see it was like Cowboy had lost a part of himself. "Am I that scary?" Fritz asked, smiling. He reached down for the duffel bag and picked it up to open it. "I just finished cleaning out Pan and Jim's rooms..." he explained, the smile dimming until it disappeared, "And I thought you and Eddie could use these more than me... I decided to quit before my wife is due,". He unclipped the bag, revealing that the entire bulk of the military style duffel was stuffed with cartons of cigarettes.

He half-shrugged and closed it back up, holding it out for Marvin to take. "There's alcohol too, if you want it. That we can share," he said, a bit of the smile returning. He made a mental note to be sure to spend more time with Team 2. He knew Eddie well enough to consider him a friend, but the rest of the group kept to themselves... The friendly look faded again as he thought about the pilots that didn't come back to Luna with them. All three teams were getting a painful and unwanted makeover.

- Hangar -

"Nice. Now do it a few more times," Sager said, waving away the assembly team that had just finished the major work of putting together the parts of one of the Rick Diases AE had delivered. "And faster!" he added, raising his voice. He looked across the hangar from his vantage point on a catwalk and watched as another crew of men and women began major repair and repainting work on the surviving suits. Fritz' S-model had come in basically reduced to a working torso, and it needed the most intricate overhaul. When they arrived at the docks, he actually felt a little sad that he hadn't had to order more pink paint. It was back to standard red for everyone.

- Chapman's Bar -

Ramon just stared at the bar during Jacob's agitated retort, his sunglasses hiding his expression. The bartender stopped wiping out the glass in his hand and decided to keep an eye on the weird bunch that was filling up the place and making noise. If the kid downing drinks at the bar got violent, he'd kick them all out. Hard AE kept quiet when Markado turned on the engineers at the table. Lt. Mello had kept him out of serious trouble and been his friend for years, and he watched his life get thrown away at the Gate of Zedan by some Titans pilot with an inflated ego. His time with the Titans had been brief, but it still made him regretful. He knew if he survived the war it was the kind of a thing a man 'admitted to' later in life instead of proudly recalling.

At the table, Dr. M had a similar quiet reaction to Jacob's pointed questions. During the war a young man not unlike Jacob had vented at the group of designers he was working with after a test pilot's accident. He could hear the junior pilot in his head, yelling at him in Jacob's voice, "We're losing the war and you're wasting time with these stupid new mobile suits! The Trojan Horse and the White Devil is going to come here and kill us all and you're playing with your toys!". And here he was, still playing with toys for a different team in a different war. But the young men and women dying in his toys didn't change.

He removed his glasses and began to nervously clean them with his shirt as Rem tried to lead Jacob back to the bar. "I'm apologize, Sophie. I think perhaps he's right in a way, though," he said, his words and enunciation surprisingly stable and controlled. There was no chuckling hesitation or strange inflection, just resigned words in a mild German accent.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

-The Dervish-
-Cowboy's Room-

"Am I that scary?" The squadron leader asked with a smile as picked up and opened the bag at his feet.

S***, you're only my squadron leader and about five inches taller than me... Marvin thought to himself, but didn't say.

The smile faded rather quickly from Fritz. "I just finished cleaning out Pan and Jim's rooms... And I thought you and Eddie could use these more than me... I decided to quit before my wife is due," showing the bag to contain a massive amount of cigarette cartons.

Marvin's eyes went slightly wide at that, before Fritz closed the bag with a shrug and held it out, "There's alcohol too, if you want it. That we can share," Ashlyn said, a weak smile returning.

Almost tentatively, Marvin reached out and took the bag from Fritz. "U-Um, thank you." Marvin said, still a bit of surprise in his tone. "I-I, er, I don't really drink, so, um, if you want those, uh, that alcohol, you can just take it now," Marvin stammered, as he opened the duffel bag back up and began digging with one hand through the packs of cigarettes to find any bottles that may have been hidden inside.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Jacob continued to glare demandingly at the strange doctor and the young woman sitting with him at the table. He raised an accusing finger and aimed it at Dr. M. but then got distracted by Rem's passing.

Soon, he was back at the bar and he snatched up his beer. "Arms maneuvering and politicascalation are stupid. I don't care about that. I just care about why people built things that are big and killingy.

"Do you know what they did? Do you? Do you know? They squished him! Like a bug! Like this!" He slammed his beer down on the bar, apparently forgetting that he'd been given a bottle instead of a can. There is a loud thunk but no crushing, though after a second the beer inside foams up and overflows.

"Why don't you make the heads unsquishable?" He sunk down slowly, until his head was resting on his crossed arms on the bar. "How come you don't let them not squish people?"
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman -
- Chapman's Bar -

The actions of her fellow pilots wasn't shocking, she'd seen the way they could get after a battle. After friends didn't make it back to the ship. Sophie understood, but she never participated. A drink here and there was good for her, but she never let it control her.

As Rem tried to calm down Jacob and lead him back to the bar, she got the point Jacob was trying to make. But at this point questioning the methods of war and the weapons used wasn't going to accomplish anything. Especially when the Titans were able to fire a colony laser.

"I'm apologize, Sophie. I think perhaps he's right in a way, though."

The Doctor's change in tone caught her off guard. It seemed as though Jacob's words opened an old wound.

"Arms maneuvering and politicascalation are stupid. I don't care about that. I just care about why people built things that are big and killingy. Do you know what they did? Do you? Do you know? They squished him! Like a bug! Like this! Why don't you make the heads unsquishable? How come you don't let them not squish people?"

Catching a lump in her throat Sophie stood up, “Excuse me Doctor, I have to...” She then walked off to the ladies room.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

- The Dervish -
- Cowboy's Room -

"U-Um, thank you. I-I, er, I don't really drink, so, um, if you want those, uh, that alcohol, you can just take it now," Marvin said as he began to go through the duffel bag. Fritz held up a hand and said, "You can keep it all with you. If there's liquor you don't want just put it in your team's room,". He scratched his temple and shrugged with a chuckle, "Split what's there with Eddie. And don't smoke it all at one go or you'll kill yourself even faster. I think Pan was hoarding for the apocalypse or something,". Fritz stood there for another silent moment or two and then offered as he turned to leave, "Well... I'll see you about a day from now if I don't come back aboard before then,".

"Marvin Hamilton!" Elizabeth said, smiling as she approached the two pilots, "You look like you still need rest,". She sat down the cardboard box she carried under her arm and brushed off the front of her blouse. By now she was over six months pregnant and showing, and she rested a hand on the side of her stomach. Fritz stopped and came back to the doorway to stand with his wife. "The last fight was hard on all of us - Ian..." Fritz began, and Elizabeth's smile turned into a sympathetic look. "Oh, I forgot about his injury... He's in the best possible hands, I promise," she said, touching Marvin on the arm gently.

- Captain's Quarters -

Abbey took a moment to read his notes, and then sighed. Filling in gaps with replacements quickly proved to be only a mediocre solution. Team stability and unfamiliarity with new pilots' experience would potentially cause headaches. It became obvious to the captain that keeping certain key, battle tested pilots from within the 4th Squadron in important positions on all of their ships made sense. At first glance it might look like he was spreading his core group even thinner, but this way made sure none of the ships were starting over completely with pilots that might be green.

Still, the captains of the Salamis Kais might not be totally happy with the idea. In his mind he could already hear André Loweno overreacting to the reorganization. "Doesn't matter..." he said to himself, underlining the last order of names he had come up with. Team Three would soon consist of Archer, Trask, Korbel and Manosk. With a sheet of replacement pilots' names available, now all he really had to do was assign them to the other ships. A vague plan and new pilots. That pretty much summed up a lot of what the AEUG did.

- Bridge -

"Yes, sir. It'll be sent out as soon as possible," Jungst nodded. He hung up the wall phone and moved back to the operator's spot he was manning to wait for the orders to print out. "Here we go..." he said, plucking the printout from the machine to look them over. He chuckled and spoke up to the rest of the skeleton bridge crew, "Hey guys, Capt. Abbey finished the new unit roster for the fleet - guess we're ready for that new plan the brass cooked up,".

- The Hamburg -
- Bridge -

"Ahh..." Loweno said as he read the new orders, making a sound as if it physically hurt him, "Why do they always take my pilots?". He slumped in his chair and fanned himself with the papers. "I don't even get Rick Diases either. You heard it here first, folks: the Hamburg is the fast track to the flagship. I'm captaining a carousel of pilots," he grumbled, shaking his head as he fought back a grin. "Maybe they'll give you a bigger ship since you're proving so... dependable," Lt. Stalvern said, his smile not hidden at all. Loweno blew out breath and retorted, "Yeah, 'dependable'. They'll never give me a ship bigger than this. Too many guns. Too big a crew. I'm already dangerous enough as it is,".

- Chapman's Bar -

Ramon pushed up his sunglasses and leaned back against the bar, still more quiet and still than anyone in the room had ever seen him. He took a sip from his drink as Rem placated Jacob. "Things may only get worse~" he said, his voice still a sing-song even when he wasn't yelling.
The irritated bartender slung his hand towel down onto the bar and leaned forward on both hands to get his point across as he rumbled, "If you all don't quiet down you're gonna have to leave! I'm a friend of you guys' cause as much as the next Lunarian but I can't have this crap in the bar,".

Dr. Merkwürdigliebe nodded politely as Sophie rose from the table. He watched her go and then reached into his jacket for his cigarette case. It was a well made dull chrome tin, and when he flipped it open it revealed a stamped Principality of Zeon emblem with 'August 15, 0069' below it. He looked at it for a moment and sighed as he took a cigarette from the neat rows. He'd have to be careful who he showed that to. His roaming arm cooperated long enough for him to light the cigarette, and he leaned back in the chair as he watched Rem make sure Jacob would stay at the bar. He wondered if the men who helped invent tanks felt the way he did. What about military aircraft? The atomic bomb?
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King Monkey
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

Jacob was slumped over the bar, his arms crossed on it and his face tucked into the crook that they created. "How could it get any worse?" He mumbled into his arms in response to Ramon's words. "That's just stupid."

He straightened up to glare at the man to make sure that he got to hear his opinion of the other man's opinion.

That glare shifted to the bartender when he spoke up. "You can't make me leave! It's a free colony! Shut up!" He lurched at the man, grabbing for him though he was out of range. Not satisfied, he tried to climb up on the bar, but the stool that he used shifted from under him and he went tumbling to the floor.

"I think I need to go back to the ship," he said quietly a moment later as he managed to drag himself up off the floor.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

-Amman-
-Eddie's Apartment-

"Thank you," Eddie said as he shut off the phone, looking at the piece of paper he had been writing on. He turned to Jane and nodded. "Mercy Medical. Don't know the street name, but I know where it is." Eddie said quietly as he stood from the table and stretched. It had taken Eddie nearly an hour of calls to track down somebody at Anaheim who knew where the 'work accident' cases were taken, only to find they went to several locations. Still more time had been spent hunting down which hospital center Ian Greydon had been taken to, but Eddie finally had managed a name from someone.

Jane, sitting with her feet on the couch, nodded. "We going now?"

Eddie nodded. "Lemme call Cowboy. We'll find some place to eat along the way to the hospital," he said, hopping back into he seat at the table and dialing the phone...

-The Dervish-
-Cowboy's Room-

Ashlyn held up a hand as Marvin started to rifle through the bag. "You can keep it all with you. If there's liquor you don't want just put it in your team's room,". He scratched the side of his head, shrugged and chuckled. "Split what's there with Eddie. And don't smoke it all at one go or you'll kill yourself even faster. I think Pan was hoarding for the apocalypse or something."

There was a moment, where it seemed to Marvin that Fritz was thinking of something to say, before he turned to leave. "Well... I'll see you about a day from now if I don't come back aboard before then."

Before Marvin could say goodbye to Fritz, a voice came from down the hall. "Marvin Hamilton!" Mrs. Ashlyn smiled as she came down the hall. Cowboy had met her a handful of times, but hardly knew the squadron leader's wife. She was obviously pregnant, that much was clear to Marvin, who was searching his brain trying to remember her first name. Something with an 'L' or an 'E'; he wasn't totally sure. She set down a cardboard box and stood next to her husband. "You look like you still need rest."

Fritz had aborted his departure. "The last fight was hard on all of us - Ian..."

Mrs. Ashlyn's smile changed. Marvin couldn't pin it down, but it was either pity or sympathy or something in that area. "Oh, I forgot about his injury..." She said, "He's in the best possible hands, I promise," she said, touching Marvin on the arm gently.

Cowboy blushed slightly as that subject was brought up and gave a small polite, if somewhat obviously forced, smile. "Uh-Well-Uh, thank you, Ma'am." Hamiltion managed with a bob of his head. "That's uh, good to know." He said, not bothering to hide his unease at talking about Ian's injury.

Back in his room, Marvin's comm station started beeping the distinctive noise it made when it got a call from off the ship. Almost relieved for a way out from the Commander and his wife, Marvin nearly turned to dash back in his room, but quickly thought better of it. "Um-I-I-I need to get that. Thank you for this stuff, sir. It was nice seeing you again, ma'am." Marvin said, nodding to each of them in turn, silently hoping they'd let him answer the phone run off. Marvin didn't have the guts to simply walk away on either of them...
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- Amman Spaceport -

- The Dervish -
- Cowboy's Room -

"Uh-Well-Uh, thank you, Ma'am. That's uh, good to know," Marvin said, managing a forced smile and a small nod. Fritz and Elizabeth could both see how much it hurt him to discuss Ian. The phone in Cowboy's quarters began to beep from an outside call, and Mrs. Ashlyn leaned and craned her neck to look past Marvin at the handset. "Um-I-I-I need to get that. Thank you for this stuff, sir. It was nice seeing you again, ma'am," Hamilton said, obviously still trying to be polite. Fritz nodded, "Go ahead, Marvin. We're on our way out anyway,". He quickly added, "And call me Fritz,".

The couple left Marvin to answer the phone, and Fritz picked up the box his wife had set down when she arrived as they began to walk down the hallway. They walked in silence until they arrived at the lift that would take them back to the hangar. "Every time you all come back, it seems like the stress just keeps building up. Your leave isn't doing anything to help. I don't know Marvin that well but I remember the poor kid certainly wasn't like that the last time I saw him," Elizabeth said as they entered the elevator. "No kidding..." Fritz said, shaking his head, "I hope this is the last time we have to go out,". "So do I," she said, taking hold of his free hand.

- The Hamburg -
- Bridge -

Loweno ran a hand through his hair as he listened to the voice coming through the wall handset. "Yeah, well see what you can do for me. We got the new Nemos and they tell me they're sending pilots. But I want you to see if you can dig something up," he said, shaking his head. As a 'Federation officer currently on semi-permanent loan to the AEUG' as he put it, he was used to complying with decisions made by the command staff. And there was nothing wrong with Abbey's idea to move the pilots around, but he felt like he might be able to personally find something to prop up the Hamburg a little better heading out for Gryps 2.

Abbey had told him that based on the figures given at the big meeting, practically the entire AEUG's military strength was being shuffled around and prepared to fight one last big engagement. That meant that getting more men and machines handed over was about as likely as him being given an Argama of his very own, but he felt like it was worth a try. If anyone could do it in the next week it was Maximilian Gates.

- Chapman's Bar -

The bartender stared Jacob down as the inebriated pilot failed to climb the bar. "That's strike two. Now quiet down and back off," he warned harshly, rapping his knuckles on the bar. Ramon held up a hand and walked away from the bar, making his way over to Dr. M's table. He pulled over a chair and sat down next to the doctor from Anaheim, downing the rest of his sickeningly green mixed drink. "We're making ourselves qvite a spektacle of ourselves this afternoon, heh, Mr. Sumitani," the doctor said, taking a drag from his cigarette. The flamboyant former-Titan and strange former-Zeon sat across from each other, both of them much quieter and more still than usual. "Rem, please bring our friend another one of his drinks on your way back," Dr. M asked.
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

after standing there completely dumbfounded as to what was happening, wales immediately snapped to his senses, the first thing he noticed when looking down was Dr. M opening his cigarette tin and that on the inside of the lid the symbol for zeon had been stamped into the metal, where did he get that? he wondered, pushing that out of his head he grabbed a nearby chair now that the potential confrontation was over and sat down at the table occupied by rem, ramon and Dr. M.

"excuse me." he adressed ramon, hoping to get someone's attention this time "pardon my intrusion but i have a couple of questions. first, where can i find the C.O for the Balrampur. and second, what the hell was all that about?"
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

- The Hamburg -
- Hanger -

Adam was shoulder deep into the knee joint of his Nemo when he heard his name being called out from below. Looking down he saw one of the AEUG members who served as an MP waiting pensively at the foot of his Nemo holding a sheaf of paper. Waving his acknowledgement, he extracted his arm carefully, wincing once or twice as he jarred it on some machinery.

After grabbing a cloth to clean himself up, he said to the MP, "You wanted to see me, what's up?"

"New orders, sir" the man said and handed over one of the papers. It was all very official looking, which Adam found vaguely amusing, though it's contents were anything but.

"This is all final, right?"

"Yes sir, as of today"

He was to be transferred to the Dervish's Team Three as XO. It was all so very sudden, he had just settled into his place on the Hamburg for Christsakes. Still, judging from the stack of paper's the MP was holding, he wasn't the only one.

"They want you there as soon as possible, sir. Something about a new mobile suit."

"Yes, yes, thank you," he said finally and gave a distracted salute, "orders received."

"Sir." the MP returned the salute and walked of, obviously looking for another transfer.

Still staring at the orders, Adam was taken by surprise when Randy came and asked, "So? What was that all about?"

"I'm getting transferred to the Dervish."

Randy was dumbfounded. Eventually, he said, "I guess, this is good bye," he held out his hand, and good luck."

"Thank you, lieutenant," Adam said and took the offered hand. We'll catch up after, I'm sure."

See you then, lieutenant."
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Re: Episode 22 - Capitalize [4th]

"You're not the boss of me!" Jacob declared, aiming a finger in the bartender's general direction. His eyes widened and narrowed as he tried to focus on the man. "I'm leaving 'cause I want to leave not 'cause you told me that I have to leave 'cause you're not the boss of me and I don't have to leave if I don't want to!"

His finger shook and he bit his bottom lip as though he were straining physically to get his point across. Then, abruptly, he smiled. "I'm just messin' with you man. I'm leaving."

He stumbled his way to the door, weaving between the tables. His path was convoluted as he tried very hard to figure out the most open way and he ended up bumping against tables and almost falling over a chair.

Outside, he looked around, taking a deep breath and contemplating where to go next. Suddenly, he remembered that he needed to visit the restroom and, taking a couple steps to the left, the turned to face the bar. Fortunately, the plate glass window at the front of Chapman's ended at waist height. The people inside couldn't see exactly what he was doing but the look of sublime relief on his face as he urinated couldn't be mistaken. Somewhere along the line, he started to whistle and got through an impressive amount of the latest #1 pop hit before finishing.
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