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Nov. 10th, 2006 06:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tigerChapter Ten: The Bear Gets down n dirty.
The party was all that Robert had thought of. The ten people that were here all people that Robert had gotten to know very well in the 6 months that he had been on board. It suddenly occured to him that they were all part of the club as well. This give him pause. He sidled up to Ch'Mee during a free moment, and pulled him aside for a bit. "I have a question for you." Ch'Mee put down him glass and motioned for him to go ahead. "Is this concerning 'you know what', or something else?" Robert nodded. Ch'Mee said, "Well, let us go over here where we can be assured of a moment's privacy. They both walked into a small room ajoining the main room. Ch'Mee closed the door, locked it, and turned on the privacy field. "Speak then."
"How many mundanes onboard are aware of the club?" Ch'Mee thought for a second, absently scratching at his chin in the process. "Out of the 20 members in the club, three are total mundanes. THey are either married to a were, or are vital the club's existance. Example: The ship's security chief knows, and he is a total mundane. But then, he answers directly to Stromson, and he keeps a very tight riegn on the security detail on board. The other two are married to a tigerean and a were." Robert's eyes widened slightly. Ch'Mee continued. "Yes, Tigereans do have inter-racial relationships, dispite what you may have heard about us." Robert asked the next question that was on his mind. "My friends out there, I think I've saw all but two of them at the club meeting yesterday. Are the other two aware of what this room is used for?" Ch'Mee shook his head. "No. They only know that they were invited to a surprise party for you and Shannon, and that this was the room selected. They do not know what this room's true purpose on board is for." Robert nodded in acknowledgement. "We should probably get back out there. I'll bet the group is wondering where we went."
As if by magic, there was a knocking on the door. Robert turned off the P-field, and opened the door. It was Helen. Robert hadn't even seen her in the crowd. "Lieutenant! I didn't see you in the group!" Helen nodded. "That's because I came up about two minutes ago, on Jackson's suggestion. I just wanted to congratulate you on your promotion and getting your wings back. Unfortuntely, I can't stay, as I have to be back down on the hanger bay in ten minutes." Robert nodded. "I understand. Thank you for coming up here." He walked her to the door, and saluted as she left.
The party continued on, but really there was not a whole lot to do. During the party Ted came over to Robert and Shannon and stated that he had moved Hicks out of Robert's cabin, and that Shannon was free to move up there when she had a spare moment. They decided that after the party was a good time, as the party was winding down already. The mundanes had already left to go back on duty, and the Club members were just chatting and making small talk. Shannon made the announcement, and they all agreed that it was ok. Robert and Shannon took the lift down to Deck 7, and proceeded to spend the next two hours packing up Shannon's things and moving. They took a quick break for dinner, and when they came back they moved the bulk of her things into Robert's quarters. This was not wholly without incident. Hick was still upset at being moved, and ran into the couple as they were making a second trip. His attempt at hecking them failed the instant he saw the new rank insignia on the couple's uniform, and resulted in only a failure to salute, which the two didn't even notice. The rest of the move proceeded fine, until later that night after Shannon had unpacked most of her stuff and they had set the privacy field for the evening.
The rest of the evening was spent organzing the room in such a way that both found useful; There were a few changes that Robert had wanted to make originally but did not because he didn't know how Hicks would take them. But this was different, and Shannon had a few ideas of her own in mind for some of the changes. In addition, the fact that only one bed would be used for sleeping gave both of them some additional storage space with both appreciated. Shannon also described to robert how her meditation program worked, and he asked if he could partake in it as well. She agreed, and the two of them spent the last few hours of the night meditating, which Robert found extremely useful as well. It had a calming effect on him and put him to sleep pretty quickly.
Eight hundred hours the next morning found Robert in one of the newly issued flight suits near Slot 6 in the boarding room getting last minute advice on the new lifepod from Shannon. Fortunately, the locations of almost everything was unchanged from the Mark III. Part of the Mark IV 'pod was that it also included a gravity field generator, so that he would not need an exo-frame for it. There was still a plugin for one, though, and for this test he was wearing one of the spare frames that was kept in the boarding room. Robert found that although it fit him, he found it to be somewhat stiff and not fitting as well as his old one. He sighed, took a few experimental steps with it anyhow, and was standing around waiting for Lt. Colonel Jackson to arrive to observe him in his fighter.
Jackson arrived shortly, and Jackson double checked the way that Robert had gotten dressed. He pulled the privacy curtain around the boarding pod, and asked Robert to climb aboard, which Robert did uneasily. Jackson noted his uneasiness and smiled. "Relax. It's actually not all that bad one you get used to it." He leaned forward and whispered into Robert's ear. "For what it's worth, I was trained in a Tornado. I almost got stuck leading the Alpha squad onboard, but I wanted to be flying these instead, even though the 'nados handle a lot better." He leaned back and winked at him. Robert grinned, and finished connected the various tubes to the various orfices on his suit. Jackson, satisfied that Robert was connected properly, withdrew the curtain and went over to his own fighter's 'pod and plugged himself in as well. Just before the signal came to close the pod doors, Shannon came up and kissed Robert's helmet. ::Stay safe out there, fuzzball.:: Robert nodded and made a kissing motion through the visor. There was a low BONG noise as the flight controller started the launch sequence for Jackson and Robert. Jackson's fighter went first, his 'pod retracting into the wall about a foot before a heavy panel shut to seal the area. Ten second later, Robert's pod retracted into his fighter. Jackson's fighter was almost in position near a small cargo platform that held an ominous cargo. Robert knew these devices well, as they were training drones, of which the Hillary kept an almost unlimited supply of. They were cheap, simple, and were excellent for training pilots on how to defend against Shivan drones. They were only armed with a signalling laser which the fighter's AI could interpert as a Hit or Miss during training. The fighter's had their usual array of streamer cannons, but for training the AI ran them at a much lower power level.
Jackson's voice crackled over the general frequency. "Bravo One to Bravo six. This exam will test your reflexes and your new ship against a single simulated wave of 75 Shivan drones. In addition, there is a time limit of five minutes for your to either destroy the wave, or fail." This was not part of the scenario that he was been briefed about. "I will act as an observer and will take no action against any of the drones. It's just you and your ship against 75 drones. The simulation will start in 30 seconds. Mark." Robert performed the last second checked with his AI, and readied himself. On the private ship to ship channel Jackson's voice crackled again. "By the way, your new ship has an interesting paint job, and if you pull this off, you are getting a moniker to match. Action out." Robert grunted. "Ok, Gerty, let's do this thing." The ship's AI responded with an all ready. Scant seconds later the radar sounded an alarm as the wave appeared on his screen...
Ten mintues later, Robert's fighter entered the dock quietly, and was brought back up to the dock's boarding level by the automated hanger system. The new ship had handled superbly, and he was suspected that Gertrude had learned a few additional tricks with this hardware that the designers had never thought of. The hanger system was slow, ponderous, and very precise in it's movements. Robert took that time to tap into the monitors that the hanger system used to verify that the ship was attached properly, and had a good look at the brown bear emblem painted on the top of his fighter. He supressed a small laugh that the paint job looked a little too much like his bear form. With a bone shaking CLANG the fighter was locked down to it's position in the boarding area, and the life pod extended from the fighter's cradle to the airlock. Half a minute later the airlock opened and allowed Robert to open the hatch. He already had disconnected himself from the pod's systems, and popped the hatch immediately. The entire squad was there, although the Gang of Three looked at him with an air of grudging respect. Shannon was nowhere to be found. Robert figured that she had duties to attend to, so he thought nothing of it. Jackson had docked a few minutes prior, and was waiting for him. As Robert stepped out of the pod, The Lt. Colonel was standing there. Drawing himself up formally, Robert saluted. Jackson returned the salute and said, "Congratulations, Major Corlo. You passed the live flight with flying colors. You are hereby fit to return to duty." Jackson relaxed for a second and then said, "May you fly with the grace of an eagle, the cunning of a raven, and the tenacity of a bear." He turned and directed him to look at the name being stenciled on the border of the lifepod by on of the techs who was waiting for him to return: It stated 'Major Robert "Bear" Corlo'.
(1815/1667)
The party was all that Robert had thought of. The ten people that were here all people that Robert had gotten to know very well in the 6 months that he had been on board. It suddenly occured to him that they were all part of the club as well. This give him pause. He sidled up to Ch'Mee during a free moment, and pulled him aside for a bit. "I have a question for you." Ch'Mee put down him glass and motioned for him to go ahead. "Is this concerning 'you know what', or something else?" Robert nodded. Ch'Mee said, "Well, let us go over here where we can be assured of a moment's privacy. They both walked into a small room ajoining the main room. Ch'Mee closed the door, locked it, and turned on the privacy field. "Speak then."
"How many mundanes onboard are aware of the club?" Ch'Mee thought for a second, absently scratching at his chin in the process. "Out of the 20 members in the club, three are total mundanes. THey are either married to a were, or are vital the club's existance. Example: The ship's security chief knows, and he is a total mundane. But then, he answers directly to Stromson, and he keeps a very tight riegn on the security detail on board. The other two are married to a tigerean and a were." Robert's eyes widened slightly. Ch'Mee continued. "Yes, Tigereans do have inter-racial relationships, dispite what you may have heard about us." Robert asked the next question that was on his mind. "My friends out there, I think I've saw all but two of them at the club meeting yesterday. Are the other two aware of what this room is used for?" Ch'Mee shook his head. "No. They only know that they were invited to a surprise party for you and Shannon, and that this was the room selected. They do not know what this room's true purpose on board is for." Robert nodded in acknowledgement. "We should probably get back out there. I'll bet the group is wondering where we went."
As if by magic, there was a knocking on the door. Robert turned off the P-field, and opened the door. It was Helen. Robert hadn't even seen her in the crowd. "Lieutenant! I didn't see you in the group!" Helen nodded. "That's because I came up about two minutes ago, on Jackson's suggestion. I just wanted to congratulate you on your promotion and getting your wings back. Unfortuntely, I can't stay, as I have to be back down on the hanger bay in ten minutes." Robert nodded. "I understand. Thank you for coming up here." He walked her to the door, and saluted as she left.
The party continued on, but really there was not a whole lot to do. During the party Ted came over to Robert and Shannon and stated that he had moved Hicks out of Robert's cabin, and that Shannon was free to move up there when she had a spare moment. They decided that after the party was a good time, as the party was winding down already. The mundanes had already left to go back on duty, and the Club members were just chatting and making small talk. Shannon made the announcement, and they all agreed that it was ok. Robert and Shannon took the lift down to Deck 7, and proceeded to spend the next two hours packing up Shannon's things and moving. They took a quick break for dinner, and when they came back they moved the bulk of her things into Robert's quarters. This was not wholly without incident. Hick was still upset at being moved, and ran into the couple as they were making a second trip. His attempt at hecking them failed the instant he saw the new rank insignia on the couple's uniform, and resulted in only a failure to salute, which the two didn't even notice. The rest of the move proceeded fine, until later that night after Shannon had unpacked most of her stuff and they had set the privacy field for the evening.
The rest of the evening was spent organzing the room in such a way that both found useful; There were a few changes that Robert had wanted to make originally but did not because he didn't know how Hicks would take them. But this was different, and Shannon had a few ideas of her own in mind for some of the changes. In addition, the fact that only one bed would be used for sleeping gave both of them some additional storage space with both appreciated. Shannon also described to robert how her meditation program worked, and he asked if he could partake in it as well. She agreed, and the two of them spent the last few hours of the night meditating, which Robert found extremely useful as well. It had a calming effect on him and put him to sleep pretty quickly.
Eight hundred hours the next morning found Robert in one of the newly issued flight suits near Slot 6 in the boarding room getting last minute advice on the new lifepod from Shannon. Fortunately, the locations of almost everything was unchanged from the Mark III. Part of the Mark IV 'pod was that it also included a gravity field generator, so that he would not need an exo-frame for it. There was still a plugin for one, though, and for this test he was wearing one of the spare frames that was kept in the boarding room. Robert found that although it fit him, he found it to be somewhat stiff and not fitting as well as his old one. He sighed, took a few experimental steps with it anyhow, and was standing around waiting for Lt. Colonel Jackson to arrive to observe him in his fighter.
Jackson arrived shortly, and Jackson double checked the way that Robert had gotten dressed. He pulled the privacy curtain around the boarding pod, and asked Robert to climb aboard, which Robert did uneasily. Jackson noted his uneasiness and smiled. "Relax. It's actually not all that bad one you get used to it." He leaned forward and whispered into Robert's ear. "For what it's worth, I was trained in a Tornado. I almost got stuck leading the Alpha squad onboard, but I wanted to be flying these instead, even though the 'nados handle a lot better." He leaned back and winked at him. Robert grinned, and finished connected the various tubes to the various orfices on his suit. Jackson, satisfied that Robert was connected properly, withdrew the curtain and went over to his own fighter's 'pod and plugged himself in as well. Just before the signal came to close the pod doors, Shannon came up and kissed Robert's helmet. ::Stay safe out there, fuzzball.:: Robert nodded and made a kissing motion through the visor. There was a low BONG noise as the flight controller started the launch sequence for Jackson and Robert. Jackson's fighter went first, his 'pod retracting into the wall about a foot before a heavy panel shut to seal the area. Ten second later, Robert's pod retracted into his fighter. Jackson's fighter was almost in position near a small cargo platform that held an ominous cargo. Robert knew these devices well, as they were training drones, of which the Hillary kept an almost unlimited supply of. They were cheap, simple, and were excellent for training pilots on how to defend against Shivan drones. They were only armed with a signalling laser which the fighter's AI could interpert as a Hit or Miss during training. The fighter's had their usual array of streamer cannons, but for training the AI ran them at a much lower power level.
Jackson's voice crackled over the general frequency. "Bravo One to Bravo six. This exam will test your reflexes and your new ship against a single simulated wave of 75 Shivan drones. In addition, there is a time limit of five minutes for your to either destroy the wave, or fail." This was not part of the scenario that he was been briefed about. "I will act as an observer and will take no action against any of the drones. It's just you and your ship against 75 drones. The simulation will start in 30 seconds. Mark." Robert performed the last second checked with his AI, and readied himself. On the private ship to ship channel Jackson's voice crackled again. "By the way, your new ship has an interesting paint job, and if you pull this off, you are getting a moniker to match. Action out." Robert grunted. "Ok, Gerty, let's do this thing." The ship's AI responded with an all ready. Scant seconds later the radar sounded an alarm as the wave appeared on his screen...
Ten mintues later, Robert's fighter entered the dock quietly, and was brought back up to the dock's boarding level by the automated hanger system. The new ship had handled superbly, and he was suspected that Gertrude had learned a few additional tricks with this hardware that the designers had never thought of. The hanger system was slow, ponderous, and very precise in it's movements. Robert took that time to tap into the monitors that the hanger system used to verify that the ship was attached properly, and had a good look at the brown bear emblem painted on the top of his fighter. He supressed a small laugh that the paint job looked a little too much like his bear form. With a bone shaking CLANG the fighter was locked down to it's position in the boarding area, and the life pod extended from the fighter's cradle to the airlock. Half a minute later the airlock opened and allowed Robert to open the hatch. He already had disconnected himself from the pod's systems, and popped the hatch immediately. The entire squad was there, although the Gang of Three looked at him with an air of grudging respect. Shannon was nowhere to be found. Robert figured that she had duties to attend to, so he thought nothing of it. Jackson had docked a few minutes prior, and was waiting for him. As Robert stepped out of the pod, The Lt. Colonel was standing there. Drawing himself up formally, Robert saluted. Jackson returned the salute and said, "Congratulations, Major Corlo. You passed the live flight with flying colors. You are hereby fit to return to duty." Jackson relaxed for a second and then said, "May you fly with the grace of an eagle, the cunning of a raven, and the tenacity of a bear." He turned and directed him to look at the name being stenciled on the border of the lifepod by on of the techs who was waiting for him to return: It stated 'Major Robert "Bear" Corlo'.
(1815/1667)
