The Man From Jupiter

[Paptimus Scirocco]

Mar 30, 2015 23:08:03 GMT Yazan Gable said:

“I don’t mean to state the obvious, but the sensor coverage is going to work both ways. If I’m half smart, and I’m hiding something, I have all manner of traps and guards ready to get set up the moment that a ship’s silhouette is on my scopes. Do we have a plan to get in that point without being detected other than “Fuck it, we’re going for it?””

"You have posed an interesting question, Ensign Neston. The Cairo is going to stage an ingress on Von Braun while dumping massive amounts of Minovsky particles. You will use that as cover to slip in. Once you're at a sufficiently low altitude, make the slip and they won't detect you. I'm interested in seeing how Anaheim reacts."

There was a nasty grin on his face. This man enjoyed war, and its totality. His hand slapped the projector screen behind him, landing on the supposed factories.

"Your mobile suits have onboard cameras. Use them. We have a rough idea of their locations. You just need to get a better picture for us."

[Julian Miller]

The more this Paptimus Scirocco guy talked the more uneasy Julian felt about this whole proposed mission. Though he understood the logic of trying to get as much information on the AEUG positions as possible before launching a full out assault, he honestly believed that there were better uses for the team's talent. An elite group like the Titans seemed better suited to being the hammer against the anvil, the elite unit to hit the enemy where they were strongest. This kind of Force-Recon seemed too odd to him and he was sure that their 'adviser' wasn't giving them the whole picture.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Julian's scowl only deepened as Scirocco informed them as to what the Cairo would be doing during the mission. Even if the scattering of Minovsky Particles might keep it hidden it would wreak havoc on their own communications and the ship would be without any escort if the AEUG actually managed to find it. What made matters worse was the sinking suspicion that Scirocco fully intended for the Magi to make contact with the enemy. Either this Jovian really thought the AEUG were totally incompetent or he was throwing all of them into the crucible as some kind of twisted test. Either way he didn't like it.

"You keep saying 'you' and 'your'," spoke Julian as he finally decided to break his silence, "I take it that means you won't be joining us on your operation?"

[Yazan Gable]

Mar 31, 2015 2:16:16 GMT Paptimus Scirocco said:

Mar 30, 2015 23:08:03 GMT Yazan Gable said:

"You have posed an interesting question, Ensign Neston. The Cairo is going to stage an ingress on Von Braun while dumping massive amounts of Minovsky particles. You will use that as cover to slip in. Once you're at a sufficiently low altitude, make the slip and they won't detect you. I'm interested in seeing how Anaheim reacts."

There was a nasty grin on his face. This man enjoyed war, and its totality. His hand slapped the projector screen behind him, landing on the supposed factories.

"Your mobile suits have onboard cameras. Use them. We have a rough idea of their locations. You just need to get a better picture for us."

Jaime blinked. To be perfectly honest, of late he wasn't used to getting straight answers on things. As much as he hated to admit it, that made a shocking amount of sense. Miller was deciding to be an asshole, as usual, but Jaime couldn't help but let a smile cross over his lips...and unless he missed his mark, there was a similar one on the merc's face. Jaime wanted to hate the man for not being a real Titan and getting put in over the Commander, but there was something magnetic about the man.

"Does it matter Lieutenant? This is what we trained for isn't it?" Jaime turned back to Mr. Sirocco. "With that many Minovsky particles blasting it's going to play merry hell with their sensors.  I can imagine the panic." Jaime mused. "Even the best trained pilots on guard duty are going to feel the itch to come out of the woodwork. With our signal masked, and combat cams on record..." Jaime grinned. "It's a clever plan. I like it."

[Paptimus Scirocco]

Mar 31, 2015 16:47:08 GMT Julian Miller said:

"I take it that means you won't be joining us on your operation?"

"Your fears are not unfounded, Julian."

He raised a hand in objection to Jaime's defense.

"The fact of the matter is this: If I go down with you in that oversized mobile armor, they'll notice and take pursuit. The Messala is an impressive machine, but not without its drawbacks. If I go down with an ordinary machine, that'll leave the Cairo relatively undefended- and every AEUG unit within a hundred klicks will probably be coming down on this position."

"I'll say this: Let me stay behind and make sure that you have a ship to return to. You watch your vectors and make sure you don't wander off too far. Stay within our line of sight. Use flares if necessary. If the situation changes, I will turn around personally and come get you. Do we have a deal, Lieutenant?"

[Julian Miller]

Julian supposed that what the Jovian said made sense but still didn't like it. The fact that Scirocco seemed confident enough to handle defense of the Cairo himself meant that he either had an enormous amount of confidence in his machine or in his own abilities. Probably both. Either way that meant nothing to Julian other than the fact that this guy had a massive ego.

No, what really bothered him was Jamie's disrespectful attitude and need to lick Scirocco's boots. What made matters worse was the way the mercenary asked for Julian's approval as if he had any real say in the matter. At the end of the day Julian wasn't even in command of a flight team which meant his opinion mattered little. He would be given orders and enact them. That was it.

Rather than replying verbally, Julian just gave a quick nod. That was all Scirocco would need to finish up here.

[Yazan Gable]

Jaime nodded at Sirocco's response. This was kind of nice to be honest.



'Our first mission had us thrown as part of "convoy" that was one unarmed ship and us against a larger group, and multiple ships. Our second sortie had our ship captains unable or unwilling to step just a little closer so they could finish off, you know, the target that was the odds on favorite for the stolen cargo. Which turned out to be the nukes that bombed Jaburo. Our third was just a random clusterfuck. Actually having a plan...actually having a reasonable objective and having a member of the brass actually field our questions and give logical answers about our tactical concerns...I could get used to this.


"Alright, when do we deploy sir?"

Jaime took a look back over at Miller. The man had been kicking up a fuss, and his face looked like he had just swallowed a lemon, but what else was new?

What crawled up his ass and died?

[Katharyn Holcroft]

There was so much about this op - to say nothing of that prettyboy Scirocco - that did not sit right with Katharyn. Predictably, the merc that was supposedly supposed to be helping them achieve their objectives - at least, according to Jamitov - was going to stay behind with his big fucking mobile armor while they went out there on their own. 
On a certain level though, his objections made sense; the deployment of the entire team on this recon run left the Cairo vulnerable to attack - and even one mobile armor might not be enough, she guessed. Unless that thing was as powerful as it was large - likely enough.

'At least he seems to be competent.' she thought. 'And there's an apparently thought-out strategy behind this op. Though there's an old maxim about the survivability of plans...'
She kept her objections to herself.
But she looked straight at the merc, and finally she spoke.
"What's the timeframe on this recon? You said he Cairo's going to be knocking at Von Braun's door, to give us an opening, but how long are we going to have before we have to bug out?"

[James Ennis]

"Until we've gotten what we're there for. Our Jovian friend here has assured me that he can hold the line for as long as is needed," Ennis said, answering Holcroft's question as he walked through the door. The Commander had been lurking just outside while Scirocco gave his briefing, observing the man in question . . . and Ennis's own pilots.

Most seemed to be handling the awkward circumstances well. Jaime struck Ennis as being overly enamored of the Jovian, however. Miller was obviously still a bundle of discontent . . . which might prove dangerous or helpful, depending. 

"The nature of the mission will demand initiative on our parts, of course. If we are engaged as a unit but the enemy loses track of you, break for the factories and collect the data we need. The sooner we acquire it, the sooner we can fall back, which will be more helpful in the long run."