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Post by Narrator on Sept 17, 2014 2:44:55 GMT
March 04th of the year 0088 of the University Century. The Cairo Battle Group made a steady retreat back towards Luna II after Operation Connecting Talons. In their bid to recapture or destroy the stolen nuclear warheads, the Polaris Battle Group intervened shortly after they managed to destroy one of its two cargo holds- leaving many wondering whether their mission was accomplished. For now, there was a mandate to repair the battered fleet before being deployed again.
Luna II was a staging ground and the base of operations for the Earth Federation in outer space. Rumors about the stolen warheads slowly crept to the regular Space Force personnel on base. This was particularly obvious to the new recruits boarding their new home; Side glances, small talk, and whispers of a conspiracy. Consequently, a trivial issue suddenly made itself controversial- extending itself into the heart of Earth Federation command and the assembly. For the Titans, this narrative was maliciously created by the government- intent on capitalizing on the recent controversy of the Bunch 30 Incident. There was nothing more shallow than quick political gain.
But they were not alone. Jamitov Hymem, the acting commander of the Titans, initiated his own machinations to confront the Earth Federation menace known as the General Assembly. At this time, the crew of the Cairo did not know that they were getting involved.
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Post by Daniel Gage on Sept 17, 2014 2:58:13 GMT
After a few hours of rest, Daniel Gage spent the latter half of the day in the gym. Like delirium, the mixed consequences of the previous fight left his head spinning. He needed some clarity before their debriefing, and this was his ideal way of handling it. He borrowed some gloves off the rack and went to the punching bag. His enemies flashed before his eyes after each punch- encouraging him to strike harder and faster. His enemies were flanking him; He swiped to the right and threw a hook. His enemies were in front him; He threw an uppercut right at their face. The Lieutenant's pace gradually increased until it saturated itself at a point of exhaustion. In a single thrust, he delivered the final blow- sending the sizable bag rocking back and forth.
These bastards. Twice they got the jump on them. Twice they forced them into a retreat. There was going to be hell to pay ned time they fought. He was sure of it. The AEUG; this kind of enemy demanded more of him and his comrades every single day. He could only hope that the higher ups were just as willing to commit. Checking his watch, he realized it was about time to get cleaned up and head in for debriefing. The mechanics mentioned that they were getting new suits. The officers mentioned something about new recruits. Lynch might be able to oblige, he thought.
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Post by Victoria Sinclair on Sept 17, 2014 14:40:06 GMT
Victoria sipped at her bottle of water as she prowled the hanger doing what any one with her interests would do, track down the leads about the new mobile suits. She was worried about Gage, he'd been part of the initial group she was set out with along with Neston. Last she saw he'd been working out his frustrations out on the bags. The hope was it was worked out but likely with how things were it wouldn't be 'worked out' until they'd beaten these guys back.
"Maybe these new machines will help." She smirked at the idea and shook her head slightly, here she was pinning her hopes on some unknown machine without even seeing the things. That would be unfair, although truthfully Victoria felt like they could use more pilots. Still tracking down Ennis or even Lynch might lead to some sort of information in that regard. Even so Victoria kept up her personal investigation into the new mobile suits.
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Post by Julian Miller on Sept 18, 2014 0:42:27 GMT
Julian Miller floated his way down one of the many hallways that honeycombed the interior of the Cairo with what could only be described as a scowl on his face. He had been in a bad mood for the last few hours, ever since he had overheard a group of Federation soldiers whispering rumors about some conspiracy involving the Titans and stolen nuclear weapons. He couldn't believe it.
Even though he didn't know all of the details regarding the situation he hardly believed it mattered. At the end of the day what did it matter if the Titans were transporting nuclear weapons? They were a legitimate special force under the authority of the Earth Federation Space Forces. The AEUG, in the meantime, were nothing more than a group of brigands, rebels and terrorists. They had no right infringing on the Federation's monopoly on the use of force meaning that stealing the nuclear weapons made them at fault regardless of whatever semantics sympathizers tried to bring up.
While he was angry at the Federation troops for questioning the authority and actions of the Titans, he was more upset at the unit that had allowed this situation to come to pass in the first place. Membership in the Titans meant you were supposed to be the best of the best, the cream of the crop. How could they lose to scum like the AEUG? It was mortifying and reflected badly on the organization as a whole. Julian swore to himself that if he ran into one of those responsible he'd give them a peace of his min-
Coming around a corner, Julian nearly ran face first into a brown-haired girl. She was wearing a uniform very similar to his as well as the same rank badges. The near collision caught him off-guard, causing him to recoil backwards and thud up against the opposite wall after floating through the zero-g environment. He was quick to right himself, however, regaining his composure as he feet touched down the ground again.
Giving his fellow LT a slight nod he said,"Sorry about that. I was a little distracted and wasn't paying attention."
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Post by Yazan Gable on Sept 18, 2014 1:31:13 GMT
Jaime took a deep breath as he nestled his Quel into the crash netting. It took far longer than he would have liked to finally get out of his machine. When he finally got out, he was forced to let out a low whistle.
"Holy shit, I did a number on this one." Jaime reached around and scratched his head. The Quel was basically a torso with a set of arms. "Yeah...the Commander was right to call me back. I was being stupid as shit." Jaime caught a look of a death glare from the techs as he strolled off. "Hehe...Commander Ennis said that he would take any and all complaints about the equipment."
Jaime pushed off in the microgravity, eager to work off the stress and the adrenaline still pumping through his veins. He rounded a corner to see Sinclair with...someone else. "Oiiii! Have we got a new FNG to join the ranks?" Jaime playfully nudged the new guy. "Hopefully this one isn't as much as an asshole as Wester."
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Post by James Ennis on Sept 18, 2014 20:57:00 GMT
"Whatever else he might be like that 'asshole' still did his job and managed to follow orders doing it, Ensign Neston," a voice said sharply from behind the young pilot. Sure enough, Ennis had once again pulled off the trick that seemed to come with being the smallest person in his squadron: sneaking up on subordinates when they least desired it.
'Little scary bastard' was the least of the monikers thrust upon him by muttering Ensigns over the years.
"In fact, let's see if you can follow orders, Ensign. Stand at attention! And bloody well stay that way until I say otherwise," Ennis growled out. From behind his CO Jaime would be able to see the mechanics having already scattered in a mild panic after a quiet conversation of their own; it would seem that the Headhunter was on some variety of warpath.
Taking his eyes off of his errant charge Ennis looked at the two Lieutenants, first at Victoria briefly then a longer, scanning look of the newcomer. Some of the thunderclouds cleared from his eyes.
"Sinclair. Reviewed the tapes. You get to paint a 1/3rd kill marker for a frigate on your suit. Congrats and good shooting," he said quietly before focusing again on the newcomer, sifting through his memories. "Miller. 232nd at California, am I right? Don't think we've met personally, but it's hard to lose track of who was at that fight, not many of us left. I apologize for my Ensign, he's not entirely house-trained it would seem."
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Post by Yazan Gable on Sept 18, 2014 21:27:33 GMT
"Eeep!" Jaime let out an extremely undignified noise and practically jumped into the air as his CO snuck up behind him and let out a low, growling rebuke. Jaime recognized the tone as "Don't even think about trying to fuck around with me". Jaime slowly turned, seeing that the techs had scattered, leaving him to his fate. He could feel the blood drain from his face as he caught Ennis' expression.
"Yes sir!" Jaime quickly came to attention, saluting Ennis and trying to stay ramrod still, feeling a sudden cold sweat trickle down his back.
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Post by Victoria Sinclair on Sept 18, 2014 23:46:47 GMT
Victoria's surprise was painted on her face when someone came by the corner and they almost reenacted something that had been happening in the battle far too often. Doing her part Victoria angled away but the man seemed to be overrating as he recoiled backwards. The rather overt reaction sparked a tiny smirk as she tapped down onto the floor again. "I didn't think I had that reaction on men."A chuckle came up next but she waved off his concern. "Don't worry about it, it's perfectly alright it's been a busy few days."
To her surprise though, Jamie showed up and called out Lieutenant FNG out. A smile could not be surprised at that and she glanced at the lieutenant in question to gauge his reaction before turning back to deliver the bombshell. Of course the commander seemed to have his timing down and arrived to snap into Jamie right on time. She nodded towards James as he briefly looked towards her and then told her about the approved kill mark. " Thank you sir, I'll need to find the right color." She remarked dryly and looked at the new ensign statue before shaking her head slightly.
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Post by Julian Miller on Sept 19, 2014 2:36:46 GMT
Any potential awkwardness that could've occurred as a result of his near collision with the unknown woman quickly vanished due to her response. It put a smile on Julian's usually deadpan face. He wasn't used to such remarks, especially in the military and honestly he wondered if this girl, however she was, was actually flirting with him. Was it just how her personality was or was there something more going on?
Thinking up a clever response in return, Julian was cut off by the untimely appearance of another Titan. While the level of familiarity that the man seemed to exude would've upset him regardless, the fact that he was only an Ensign really grated on Julian's nerves. 'FNG'? Did this idiot have any idea who he was talking to? The fact that he would refer to a veteran like himself in such a way was not only an insult to himself but also to all of those who had fought and died at his side, at least in Julian's mind.
Preparing to chew out the Ensign and perhaps deliver a bit of discipline to him as well, he was once again interrupted as another joined the small group that seemed to be rapidly forming in the hallway. Any sign of irritation quickly vanished from Julian's face as he recognized the marks of a Lieutenant Commander. Military discipline dictated that a superior officer be recognized for their rank and Julian was quick to follow such regulations, giving the Lieutenant Commander a crisp salute even if the others didn't until they were prompted.
Quickly Julian realized that all three of the pilots in front of him were part of the same unit. More than that, talk of kill marks indicated that they were none other than the unit responsible for the recent operation that had resulted in the failure that Julian had been so upset about. How incredibly awkward. For now, however, he would keep his thoughts to himself and keep them hidden from his face.
Surprised by the familiarity and recognition that the Lieutenant Commander confronted him with, Julian quickly replied, "You honor me and those who fought beside me, sir. Lieutenant Julian Miller, recently transferred to the Luna II garrison. We who fought at California aren't usually as recognized as those who fought at Odessa or the taking of Konpeitoh Island. I'm glad the heroes of that battle aren't forgotten, sir."
He purposely chose to ignore mention of the Ensign. Honestly he didn't want to get involved. For all intents and purposes the man was already on his shit-list as it was. He'd just leave any sort of disciplinary action to his superior officers, hoping that they wouldn't just let this sort of attitude slide. The Titans needed to prove themselves better if they were going to prove themselves as better than the rabble that was the AEUG.
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Post by Katharyn Holcroft on Sept 20, 2014 2:12:08 GMT
Though she was more or less used to operating in zero-G, Katharyn still wasn't quite as comfortable in space as she was on Earth - though she had to admit that combat in zero-G was a lot more interesting - more like flying an aircraft, she guessed, than like plodding around on the ground.
She had docked her relatively intact GM QUEL and, with great reluctance, returned her pistol to its place in the ship's armory. She was on her way elsewhere when she happened upon a group of people among which she recognized Commander Ennis, Lieutenant Sinclair, and Ensign Neston.
However, she instantly zero'd in on the one face she didn't recognize - a Lieutenant who looked to be maybe slightly younger than Commander Ennis, and as she neared she heard him introduce himself, and mention that he had fought in California... She stopped, stood at attention, at saluted.
"Lieutenant Miller." she said by way of greeting. "Ensign Katharyn Holcroft. An honor, sir - I believe I've heard you saw action in my hometown as well."
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Post by Daniel Gage on Sept 20, 2014 6:42:45 GMT
A firm hand clapped Jaime over the shoulder. The imposing lieutenant wore a towel around his neck. He had finished his workout. They were going to need a new punching bag. Gage had a rough idea as to what happened. He summarized it in his head. They couldn't go on fighting engagements like this. Neston wasn't an exception.
"Don't overdo it, kid."
The lieutenant turned to face the newcomer. It's a little late to bring reinforcements. Gage sized him up. He didn't look green, at least. There was no handshake. No salute. There was only a slight nod.
"I'm Lieutenant Daniel Gage."
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Post by James Ennis on Sept 20, 2014 14:51:31 GMT
Ennis returned Miller's salute, then stood back as the majority of his pilots veritably swamped the man. Buried somewhere under the frown he had been wearing since he showed up there was a smirk; an outsider showed up and the squadron immediately faced him as a team. Aside from Jaime metaphorically chewing on his boots, that could be a good thing going forward.
"James Ennis. And as you can tell, Lieutenant, you've wandered into the 15th Tactical's territory," he said, gesturing around at the group of pilots. "I'll leave you all to get caught up on the latest gossip, duty calls."
The officer nodded to the group, picked up the duffel bag he'd put down before scaring the shit out of Jaime, and started to walk away. He was halfway down the corridor, just enough for everyone to wonder about Jaime still standing there, before he turned around.
"Neston! On me, double time!" he barked, the voice of the man who'd trained the young Ensign reemerging before he turned back to his path.
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Post by Yazan Gable on Sept 20, 2014 18:45:55 GMT
Jaime nervously gave Gage a look out of the corner of his eyes as his wing clapped a hand on his back, the eyes of the furious Ennis still on them both. Jaime didn't dare to speak right now
Commander Ennis' attention quickly swung over to the new guy before turning to leave, and for a moment Jaime was sure that he had been forgotten.
I guess not then.
"Yessir!" Jaime piped up, double timing it to join Ennis, "What can I do for you sir?
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Post by Victoria Sinclair on Sept 21, 2014 3:19:54 GMT
Victoria nodded and watched as the team quickly grouped up around and was surprised to see Gage himself show up. Still Jamie was getting quite the ride as he was bounced around. But the commander looked like he was done with Jamie and nodded. "I do love some gossip sir."She watched the commander leave and turned back to the man of the hour before Jame's voice rang out and called for Jamie. Turning back she watched the ensign run off to the commander.
Clearing her throat Victoria turned back to Miller and nodded. "Well everyone has introduced themselves, but I'm Lieutenant Sinclair glad to meet you."
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Post by Julian Miller on Sept 21, 2014 18:27:51 GMT
Julian had been the victim of a form of social whiplash as a chance encounter in a hallway suddenly turned into a small group meeting. He hadn't expected running into the entirety of the 15th Tactical, the very same people he had been thinking of confronting on their recent bout of failures. Now that he had actually met them, however, he felt completely disarmed. He hadn't been expecting people like this.
Watching the team's commander and the Ensign who needed to be reminded of proper military conduct disappeared down the hallway out of the corner of his eye, he thought to himself 'So this is the Horus Team'. Reminding himself he was still in a conversation with some members of the group, he quickly returned his attention to them. There was no need on his part to be rude.
Taking a more relaxed posture, he crossed his arms over his chest saying, "Good to meet you all as well. You'll have to forgive me, Ensign Holcroft, but I don't know where you're from. I'm guessing North America, seeing as thats where I saw most of my action on Earth, right? Anyway, I hadn't realized I'd walked onto your team's 'turf'. Forgive my intrusion, I'll just be on my way."
Turing in preparation to head back the way he had come, he couldn't help but think his baseless judgement of the team was dead wrong. Rather than a bunch of deadbeats they all seemed nice enough and still had a sense of youthful vigor and levity among them that had yet to be sucked out by the realities of the battlefield. It had been a long time since he'd experienced anything like that. In many ways they reminded him of his old team, the men and women he had fought through the One Year War and up to Operation Stardust with. The sense of nostalgia even managed to bring a smile to his face Still, thinking of them brought a sobering reminder of what had happened and caused what happiness he had been feeling to fade. He wasn't going to let himself get that close to his fellow soldiers again. Not after all of that.
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