Episode 16 - R&R [4th]

[Commissar Bright Noa]

John walked into the mess hall of the Dervish. He'd seen some ragtag groups but this took the cake. "So who's the head honcho around here?" John yelled into the crowd of people.

[mcred23]

-The Dervish-
-Mess Hall-

"Ah..." Wes said before going back to his food. He was obviously thinking of something, but Eckardy didn't know the man well enough to figure out what exactly. "Typical of people to stick to what they're familiar with. You guys seem to do that often enough..."

And then MacAlpin entered the mess hall, looking like a total weirdo and drawing mixed reactions from various people. Eddie saw more than one shake of the head and a few disgusted faces.

"Goth get-up..." Curren muttered as he watched.

"Who the f*** would do that on a warship?" Ian said, incredulous.

Eckardy shook his head with a lopsided grin. "And in one fell swoop," Eddie said in his usual goody tone, "Pesudo-Zeke MacAlpin not only further alienated himself from the crew by looking like some moronic high school kid from Von Braun, but, and I'll betcha five gira on this one, that the moron is dressing that way for some retared reason that he'll blow out to the public." He shook his head, before speaking up slightly louder, something of a mock yell, "Emo kids suck!"

MacAlpin had also made himself a center of attention, more than one conversation around the mess hall had toned down and many were watching the pilot, trying to pick up more or less what he was saying to the other table, where pilots from Teams 1 and 3 were. Pan Heyden, who was recently brought over to the Dervish, said something which seemed to get a reaction that drew MacAlpin's attention.

Eckardy couldn't resist. Something looked like it was going to happen, and as semi-usual, MacAlpin was causing it. He swallowed the last bite of his cake and leaned foward, resting his elbows on the table, but before he could yell out something, another man entered the mess hall not far from them and yelled, "So who's the head honcho around here?".

Eddie pointed and yelled out as well, "He's over there, near the table with the ugly lookin' emo kid standin' by it like an ass!", Eckardy's finger stabbed out in the direction of the clearly conspicuous, before turning back to watch what would happen.

[Lans]

- Hamburg -
- MS Bay -

'Lieutenant Junior Grade Randy Emington.' He things about himself when walking toward the middle of the hangar. The Nemo looming after him, addressing him the raw height and size of the mobile suit. 'Doesn't look very scary or tantalizing, 19.. more it's almost 20 meters high. Even with the green...' His mind traveling back toward the green MS, several of them almost got the better of him.

'Zaku green with red mono eye? No, the other one was even worse.' He thought about his past experience with the green and grey Gelgoog. He dismissed the thinking of it, not wanting to remember the full detail of the horror. Even though one might bested his opponent, the very fear of the past experience still carried out into the present.

He was watching around and saw a particular man heading up into the Nemo's cockpit. Thinking that the man might be a pilot or maybe his superior he floated toward the man.

'I might just look at him first rather than a straight introduction, maybe he's in a hurry or something.' With that Randy still with his bag slung behind his back, standing just above the Nemo skirt armor.

(( Wonton Bob, I'm about to say the usual say 'hi', 'who's the leader', and 'where's my room' questions ))

[King Monkey]

Jacob had seen men do far dumber things for women. He cast a quick glance at the woman standing at the door and decided she might be worth it, so he didn't begrudge MacAlpin his choice in attire, though he did question the wisdom of trying to fake such an attitude and lifestyle. It was sure to go wrong sooner or later. Still, maybe it would be later and MacAlpin wouldn't care.

As his gaze swings back to Pan, he glares at Eckardy. The man just couldn't help but taunt MacAlpin and he blamed the leader of Team 2 for the troubles between them as he did Jim. If everyone would just leave Jim alone, he would get in a lot less trouble. Of course, that was ignoring the fact that he and the erstwhile goth had gotten into it at the end of their last mission.

"This is Jim MacAlpin," Jacob says in answer to Pan's question. "He's on Team 1 now, I think. And this is..."

He realizes he doesn't yet know Heyden's name to introduce him in turn. "I'm sorry, all I know is that you have the pink suit. I don't guess you want me introducing you as the Pink Suit Guy. Or the Cotton Candy Crusader," he smiles at the last, hoping Pan will take the joke as intended.

[Wedge14]

"Lt. Jg Pan Heyden." Heyden spoke allowing Macalpin's lil outburst to go by unnoticed. He smirked slightly at the cotton candy joke.

"I thought it was more like pink lemon aid." He said to Jacob before turning to Macalpin.

If this guy was going to be in Pan's team , Pan wouldn't put up with this crap not like he did with Ramon.

"Go take that woman to your quarters get your business done and wash that crap out of your hair Macalpin. No need to embarrass yourself infront of us just for a little tail."

[wonton bob]

- Hamburg -
- Mobile Suit Bay -

Bernard opens his eyes and stares at the cockpit again. He hits the panel with his fist which closes it. It's as far as he's gotten since the Nemo was assigned to him.

one day I'll have to get in that again... what the hell is wrong with me.


As Bernard turns he folds his arms to stop his hands from shaking and spots a younger man observing him. From the pilot style sunglasses this man has, Bernard assumes he's a replacement pilot but better to be sure since there have been reports of civilian engineers about. With a raised brow Bernard questions the visitor.

"Can I help you?"

[ScornMandark]

Dervish
- Hallway -

Rem decided that the best course of action at this point would probably be to speak with the captain. He needed to arrange a meeting with the Captain, probably the XO, and at least the team leaders. If he was going to be on this ship for a while, he needed to make sure that everyone was on the same page. Dr M. probably wasn't going to be much help in administrating; he would undoubtably focus more on the performance. As one of the leading scientists in his field, he had every right to.

He headed down the hallway to the bridge complex, where he arrived outside the heavy blast doors and rang for entry onto the bridge. As a civvie, you had to make sure to observe protocal, AE or not.

Thinking back again on his failure to connect earlier, he considered his options. Ambushing the pilots directly in the mess hall probably hadn't been the best course of action; no, it definitely hadn't been. Considering that not only had the pilots been through hell recently...but they were pilots, and he wasn't. 'Nuff said. Hopefully this would work better.

[Lans]

- Hamburg -
- MS Bay -

"Can I help you?"

Right now Randy is slightly crouched just enough to allow him to see a glimpse of the Nemo's inner cockpit. 'A new Nemo, no wonder the paintwork is flawless.' Randy rested his hand on the MS body and replied, "Um yeah, sorry to bother. I was looking for the leader of the MS team. They told me to report here for my assignment."

Randy notes the man's scar around his neck faster than he manage to notice his rank and qualification badge. 'A MS badge, so he's a pilot. MS pilot with noticeable scar, I wonder if it's from one year war.' Randy dismissed his previous thought and said, "Randy.. Randy Emington. Nice to meet you."

(( I think we don't need to introduce each side as former EFSF and Zeon, I'll play safe and hide his background. I'm happy with AEUG ))

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

(First they shorten my name to Jerry on the WarCraft boards and now you guys too? Life is strange)

As Jeriden watched Al float off he wondered, was it just him or was that grin kind of forced? Almost like a grimace. Jeriden shook his head and went back to the systems checks. He'd just finished and had climbed out of his cockpit when he spotted two other guys over by another Nemo. They didn't look like techs so he decided to go over and say hi to them as well. Maybe tone down the cheer a bit though...

[Commissar Bright Noa]

John walked over to the man standing by the strange man (Fritz). "So, I guess I should introduce myself to you, my name's John, John MacGregor. Looks like you got yourself a motley crew, eh?"

[wonton bob]

- Hamburg -
- Mobile Suit Bay -

"Um yeah, sorry to bother. I was looking for the leader of the MS team. They told me to report here for my assignment. Randy.. Randy Emington. Nice to meet you."

Bernard surprised at Emington's request was more-or-less relieved that the fleet was finally getting back to full strength.

"I'm afraid they gave you some old information. Our CO was reassigned to the Dervish after the battle. As far as I know, me and one other ensign have been assigned here from the Gela. Another ensign should be arriving soon, so that makes you ranking officer. congrats."

Bernard pats Randy on the shoulder as if laying a mountain of responsibility on this young man.

Yup. They keep getting younger and younger.

"Unfortunately our XO was killed in battle so you might want to take a trip to the Dervish to meet Lt. Barrique, our former CO, and get what notes you can from him but first I'd start with the bridge and talk to the Captain. He should have assignments and pilot dossiers for you."

Bernard not showing any emotion looks back at the Nemo. "Don't worry. It might seem like a lot at first but small steps and rely on your people and who knows maybe someone will make the ultimate sacrifice for you."

sorry Traubel..

With his eyes still fixated on the Nemo, Bernard turns and walks back toward it. "If you would excuse me sir, I have some personal matters to attend to."

[Goose]

-Dervish, Mess Hall-

Jack has spent the last couple of days in Anman getting his health checked. He's seen his psychologist, gotten his meds filled up, and written a few letters to his family. Letters which will inevitably be rejected, but oh well.

He walks into the Mess Hall, hears Eddie's mocking of MacAlpin, and loses his calm. But before he can say anything, Clute stands up.

"Eckredy," says Clute, in his deceptively laid-back tone, "Didn't you hear what the Skipper said before? Didn't you hear what I told MacAlpin after a battle? We're all a unit. We have to be united. That is the only we're gonna win against the Titans."

Clute pauses for a moment, and then says, "If you don't want Curren, I'll take him. Team 3 would be happy to have him with us."

That statement sparks something in Jack, and he hurries over to Clute. "Listen, Clute, I know how we can all make this work. Transfer Celeste to Team 2 or Team 1, that's where she was anyway the last battle, and put Curren in her spot, and he can keep his beam rifle; nobody in 1 uses it but him. She hates us and doesn't trust us, so why should I bother trusting her?

"And YOU, Ecky!" yells Jack. "Quit picking on MacAlpin! He gets out and fights, he's a fellow pilot. Or are you letting your prejudices get in the way of your judgement? You wanna infight, wait till the Titans are all dead!"

"Jack, sit down/. Have you taken your meds?"

"No, Clute."

"Take them. Now," orders Clute, his voice steely, and Jack subsides with a visible effort.

Clute looks at the ceiling and groans. "Why me?" he asks of no one in particular. "Why me?"

[Fritz Ashlyn]

- Amman -

- The Dervish -
- Mess Hall -

What started as a relatively quiet meal for Fritz had turned into a sensory overload within a few scant minutes. Every time he took a bite it seemed like someone new had arrived and spoken to him, and nobody was waiting for a response (or for him to chew and swallow his food, for that matter). MacAlpin arrived with some civilian woman and his choice of clothing immediately garnered a reaction from everyone within 3 or 4 tables, and Clute suddenly and without warning lost his cool and stood up to call out Eddie.

Fritz had to quickly reach over and steady his drink to keep it from spilling as Clute rose from his seat. Before he could react to that, he realized someone he didn’t recognize at all had approached the table and interjected, "So, I guess I should introduce myself to you, my name's John, John MacGregor. Looks like you got yourself a motley crew, eh?". Fritz blew out a breath and set his fork down as Clute and... wait, now Lt. David was here too?, made a ludicrous suggestion of shuffling the MS teams around and...

“Okay... I’m done,” Fritz said suddenly in exasperation, and louder than he intended. He stood up abruptly, stopping to acknowledge MacGregor. “LtCmdr. Ashlyn,” he said brusquely to the newcomer as he picked up his half-eaten tray of food. He sidled through the small semicircle of people at the table and headed towards the trash can nearest the exit. “MacAlpin, ignore them... Well, except maybe Ltjg. Heyden. Please try to stay in uniform once you’re at the docks,” Fritz gently admonished Jim with a sigh, adding, “That goes for you too,” to the girl as he passed them. He didn’t know if she was AEUG or not and he didn’t have it in him at the moment to make a big deal out of bringing some civilian woman onto the Dervish.

He dumped the rest of his food and slid the tray onto a pile as he walked out of the mess hall. “What was that about?” Michiko’s voice trailed behind him. “Suddenly lost my appetite,” Fritz grunted. He didn’t realize she had also left the table. They walked for a while, making small talk until Fritz arrived at his quarters. He stopped outside the door and turned back to Michiko. “I’m off-duty for the night. I’ll be back aboard before 0745 tomorrow. Would you do something for me? Go see Celeine and make sure she’s keeping it together,” Fritz asked as he opened the door to his room. Michiko thought about it for a moment and nodded, “Of course. I’ll be finished with my work in the hangar in an hour or two and then I’ll check on her,”.

- Bridge -

Lt. Barrique shook his head and sighed, "Well, I'll agree with ya there..though the Zeke reviews weren't a nice little night at the show, that’s for sure. But it was their choice or supporting us, and though I can understand their complaining; they should've known full well that taking on a majority of the former EFF would be a major undertaking... I dunno about you, but somehow I feel sorry for them... and their naiveté,”.

The bridge door chimed, and it took Abbey a moment to realize what the noise was. Nobody had bothered asking for entry to the Dervish’s control room since he had taken command of the ship. “I don’t,” Abbey answered Richard, his tone only half serious. He nodded to Jungst who lazily leaned back in his seat and manually opened the bridge door. Abbey managed to contain his reaction to teeth grinding. “Damn it, that’s not what I mea–“ the captain grumbled through his teeth at the operator, but he cut off his rebuke as Rem Banner entered with Dr. Merkwürdigliebe right behind him. The doctor acted as if he had been standing with Rem the entire time, and was carrying a loose stack of papers. “Yes, gentlemen?” Abbey asked respectfully.

- Dock Entrance -

Less than 15 minutes after leaving the mess hall, Fritz stopped at the dock’s security checkpoint on his way home for the night. Dressed in civilian clothes and carrying a small bag, he waved to the EFSF guards at the entrance as he walked out. The local EFSF presence was more than sympathetic to the AEUG, and having Federal soldiers at the gate of the 4th’s docks went a long way to making their activity look that much less suspicious.

[EZero8]

The sudden arrivals of a new transfer along with Jack and Jim apparently made a stir around the mess hall. Before long, a series of things happened so quickly that Wes only caught the little bit about Clute and Jack suggesting he be transferred to Team 3. So he wasn't the only one thinking that...

Not minding much for the rest of the conversation, he kept quiet and went back to chowing down on his burger. He didn't have much to say afterall. And, to be honest, the last thing he should be doing was thinking while eating, especially since he's known to zone out constantly while in deep thought.

"Might even find a bit of burger dropping out of my mouth if I zone out for too long..." he thought with a chuckle.

[ScornMandark]

Rem started slightly at the appearance of Dr. Merkwurdigliebe, but he pressed on and entered the bridge with the Dr. right behind him. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I know we met briefly before, but I think it would be a good idea to make sure we're well acquainted. Considering we're not sure exactly how long we'll be here... As was mentioned before, I am Rem Banner, Anaheim engineer. This is my colleague, Dr. Murkwerdigliebe - one of the most respected minds in the field of Mobile Suit research and development."

"I'm looking forwards to meeting with the rest of the crew and pilots at some point; not necessarily all at once, but we should meet with all of them. I know that your ship has been through hell and back, and everyone on board needs decompression. We would like to see what we can do to help for the next time. We have several upgrades we think could be applied to your suits, but we'll need actual suit test data on some of them before we can call them good to go."

"I'd like to speak with some of the team leaders after things settle back down to discuss volunteer testers. There is a low probability of test failure at this point, and none of the tests will critically endanger the pilots. However, since none of the pilots are official AE test pilots, we would need to take volunteers. We would also need to collect a fair amount of data on the pilots."

Rem realized he was rambling a bit, and stopped to let the officers have a chance to respond. He'd been around the doctor for too long, it was starting to have an effect on him.

[Lans]

- Hamburg -
- MS Bay -

"I'm afraid they gave you some old information. Our CO was reassigned to the Dervish after the battle. As far as I know, me and one other ensign have been assigned here from the Gela. Another ensign should be arriving soon, so that makes you ranking officer. congrats.
Unfortunately our XO was killed in battle so you might want to take a trip to the Dervish to meet Lt. Barrique, our former CO, and get what notes you can from him but first I'd start with the bridge and talk to the Captain. He should have assignments and pilot dossiers for you."

Randy’s ears missed the weight of the burden. It’s his stomach that felt it first time. Just like swallowing a laden stone straight into his stomach. He was unprepared to his position, he always assume someone more experienced will lead the team. ‘The previous battle must’ve changed things.’ He looked at the ceiling thinking the 4th must’ve had more than just a though battle. His mind coming into an abrupt conclusion that the Titans are elites, not to be feared but also not to be underestimated.

"Don't worry. It might seem like a lot at first but small steps and rely on your people and who knows maybe someone will make the ultimate sacrifice for you.
If you would excuse me sir, I have some personal matters to attend to."

Randy straightens up his position, saying, “Yeah, sure. Thanks for the info, appreciate that.” With that he jump down from the Nemo leaving the man with his MS behind. He saw another figure approaching the Nemo, probably some crew. Randy has many thoughts to consider now he was assigned as team leader. ‘I got to meet with the Captain. And after that… yeah my room and.. eat, I haven’t eat and it’s already past lunch time. Just grab some sandwiches and then meet up with the Capt, that should be ok for now.’ With that he walked his way, trying to remember the ship's mess hall position.


(( @Wonton Bob: Honestly I was forgot about who's the ranking officer in the Hamburg. Thanks for remind me of that. ))

[Ascension]

"Hoo boy... Can't go anywhere without making a scene. I guess I'm just that popular! Well, I suppose I'll take your advice for the moment, Pan... I'll see you folks later."

Jim turned and left the mess hall with the woman who will probably never be appearing again, and who will be left nameless for this reason. They appeared to be deep in conversation, but it was too faint for anyone without super-hearing to hear, and I doubt anyone present had super-hearing.

[King Monkey]

Now it's Jacob's turn to rise. "No!" he yelps, staring down at Lt. David in shock. He realizes what a spectacle he's making out of himself and sits down slowly, blushing the whole time.

"I mean...Lt. Angelina only went off last time because it was a special mission," he says earnestly to the two superior officers in his squad. "She doesn't hate us. You shouldn't say things like that." The last part comes out more a mumble than anything else and seems directed at the table.

"We're the only team that didn't get shuffled around. I'm sure that Captain Abby and Lt. Commander Ashlyn had a reason for that. It's to keep us together so we can stay a team.

"Besides, I thought you liked using the beam rifle as designated marksman," he says to Jack.

[mcred23]

-The Dervish-
-Mess Hall

Eckardy took the barrage of comments with his usual grin, and finished the last of his food. Half of them seemed out of place, like what the hell did Wes have to do with any of that, and Eddie knew Jack David was some kind of crazy.

When it was all said and done, he stood up, grinning as usual. "Ya know what, f*** it," He said, his tone reasonable with the usual touch of goofyness. "I could b**** and debate and aruge with you all for weeks." He took his now empty tray and dumped it. "I'm not gonna do that s***. You don't like my picking on MacAlpin, and I honestly don't care. I don't like people pretending to be something they aren't, or thinking they know s*** when they don't." At that comment, his tone took on a very, very serious edge, accompanied by his grin fading. "It's what got this ship damn near destroyed, and nearly every pilot killed before any of you joined it. I don't want to see that happen again, but know it might."

As soon as those words were out of his mouth, Eddie's grin and usual tone returned to his face. "So f*** it. I've said all I want to. I'm not gonna argue any more. I'm still gonna bust his chops if he keeps given' me the opportunity and reason to do it. F*** it." His grin grew as he held his arms over his head and gave a pair of thumbs up to the crew. "Have a nice day everybody!".

As he headed toward the door, Ian shook his head at his team leader. "I think you probably just alienated a bunch of people."

Eddie still grinned, but didn't slow his walk. "Think I'm gonna dwell on that crap? I won't loose any sleep over it." And with that, he was out the door. The doors closed and his smiled dissolved, I've got enough to loose sleep over, he thought. His grin shot back to his face as he spotted Marvin coming down the hall way. "How's it hangin', Cowboy?", he asked in passing.

"Fine." Marvin said with a shrug.

"Good." Eckardy said and turned a corner, taking him toward the ready room he usually hung out in.

Marvin entered the mess hall to see a few riled up faces, some people standing. Something had happened. Ian Greydon and Wes Curren were spotted instantly and Marvin approached them. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked as he sat down across from his two teammates.

Ian shook his head and grinned weakly. "Stuff."

Marvin nodded, "Right." He turned to Wes, "So, have you begged to get transferred out yet?", He said with a weak grin.

[Wedge14]

Heyden grinned to himself as people bickered away with each other. He found it somewhat amusing. The place seemed like a powdered keg. So far the pilot's of the dervish had done little to impress him. A bunch of whiners mixed in with a few wannabe tough guys.The man had managed to eat his mountain of burgers while his teammates bickered on senselessly over the most foolish of things. He envied Fritz and Michiko for sneaking out relatively unseen.



The older pilot reached into his pocket and removed a cigarette which he quickly lit and stuck into his mouth. Taking a long slow drag he finally exhaled.

"I don't think noones honored me with such rampant stupidity before." He said to noone in really in mind.