Alexander Murren stood on the bridge of the Concordia, staring out into the complete blackness of the aether. Fitting, really, that those aboard the Concordia had no idea what lay ahead of them. Was Earth under attack? Was there a revolution? Was the Earth still even there? It had been so long since he had been back, and in all honestly, he never expected to. But such was the need. They could not abandon their home, even if they were making new ones among the starts. The Captain let out a heavy sigh, then checked the small timer displayed on his console. Time until Realspace 1:24:49 Murren tapped his display, checking the list of preparations being made. The strike craft were being prepped for launch, the marines were checking and preparing their gear, all crew on high alert. There was tension in the air, the feeling of uncertainty, knowing that something terrible awaited, but there was no way to avoid it. He did a final check of his crew, watching them check in as little blips on his console, and prayed to God this rookie crew was ready. ------------------------------- The skies above Boston were covered in grey clouds, casting shadows over the quiet ruins of the city. In the bowels of the city lay the ruins of the Subway Station, now being used as safe transportation and housing for the Patriots, a young man came running down the tunnels, trying his best to keep his hat on while dashing madly through the tunnels. Caulder heard the panicked steps, and peeked his head over the makeshift ramparts, his gun in hand, ready to strike. Luckily, it seemed like whomever it was alone. The teenager bolted over the ramparts -- it was Brian. "God damn it, Brian!" Caulder chastised, putting down his weapon. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Brian doubled over, catching his breath. "I was-- scouting-- by the-- by the bay--" Brian panted, "By-- by the Charles!" Caulder furrowed his brow. The old MIT area had been picked clean a decade ago. "What about it?" Caulder approached the kid. "It lit up! Just out of no where, it lit up!" Brian said. "Something's going on!" That wasn't much to go on, but it did warrant an investigation. However, most everyone was already on mission, and there was only support personnel available. "Right," Caulder said, turning to those assembled in their temporary base, "Anyone volunteer to come with me? I don't think we'll need many." He picked up his rifle, looking around the room. "It's MIT, maybe there's something worth getting out there. We should at least see what it is about."
Listening to what Brian told Caulder was interesting to say the very least. MIT lighting up, eh? Some kind of forgotten machinery, or was there something else going on? It would be worth a look, if only to pick over whatever might be left in that place. However, it did mean she'd have to leave her work unsupervised and while they might be her fellow 'Patriots', Ash didn't trust them not to 'borrow' some of her things. It annoyed her to no end, but about the best she could do was 'encourage' them to look elsewhere for tools and parts. Ash sighed as she wiped the excess grease from her hands, there was no help for it. She delftly packed up the faulty clutch assembly she' been working on for one of the few working ATV’s they still had on hand, setting it in the small box she used to transport things when she didn't want to work in what she liked to think of as her 'shop'. The rest were too damaged for field work and had – in all honestly – been relegated to spare parts. She’d have to suggest to Caulder that they start looking further afield for more - if they could be found. It would be dangerous but then since The Accord attacked few things had exactly been like taking a walk in the park. Sometimes there was just no fixing things. Tossing the rag into the box with it, Ash waved at hand at Caulder to get his attention. “I’ll make it easy on you and volunteer for this one,” she remarked rather dryly. “That way you’ll have someone who knows their ass from their elbows if you need something more technical than lobbing a grenade at it.” there was a nervous titter from the group but no one commented. Looking at the rest of them she gave them a smile that was more a bearing of teeth. “Now, I don’t have to tell anyone what will happen if I find out you lot have been touching my equipment while I’m gone, do I?” For emphasis she touched the wrench on her belt. "You don't need to walk to man a gun after all."
In the barracks of the Concordia, a thirty one year old Colonel, one of the youngest Colonels in the flotilla, walked through the corridors, heading for the ship elevators. Around him, men prepped their gear and armor, and almost no one wasting time. Almost. The Colonel noticed a couple of Marines playing with holo cards, probably a version of poker that he played with the men occasionally. He yelled "Marines! Stow the poker, and get on your asses! We're going in hot, so ready the FUCK UP!". The men quickly rushed like mice to their lockers. He then continued on his walk. The elevator was right up ahead, and as he reached it, the sound of his barely audible in the noise metal-tipped boots on the bulkhead came to a quick end. The doors in front of him slid open, revealing a medium sized standard reinforced titanium room, with a holographic viewer for viewing reports and ship analysis's, as well as deck level. He spoke up for the voice receptors and controllers to hear. "Bridge level, Deck One, Authorization Code Dragon Fencing Badass." There was a slight khsk sound as the elevator began moving, and the Colonel walked up to the holographic screen, and watched it as the reports went by. The Marines were getting ready, the goddamn pilots, fuck those guys, were getting ready and causing problems with the marines, as was usual, and of course, the dickwaffles, the Naval Gunners were looking smug as usual. The mechanics, God bless em, were getting the armament and the ships serviced one last time. He wouldn't have heard the slight and quiet thud of the elevator stopping if it hadn't been followed by the loud ping noise and the female voice saying "Deck 1, Bridge". The Colonel stepped out, and for the first time, the light flared against him, making him very visible. Down in the barracks, it was kind of light, but not too much. Here, there were several lights. It reflected off of his chest, which was ornately decorated by two well earned medals, a purple heart and a silver star, and of course, a small name plate which read "Col. Harrison Churchill". In front of Harrison, or Harris as he'd be called in a civilian environment out of uniform, the Captain of the ship, Captain Alexander Murren stood. He was a man Harrison looked up to, being quite decorated, and for reasons. But standard protocol applied. He snapped to attention, with his boots hitting together as he stood at attention. The metal tips created a click sound, it resounded across the somewhat quiet bridge. His hand went to his head, and he saluted. His voice crackled like thunder "Sir, permission to board, sir!"
Captain Murren shifted from his console, back to the entrance elevator where Harrison stood. Not that he needed to see who was there, Harrison's voice was distinct enough. "Permission granted, Colonel." The Captain returned this attention to console, checking on the ready status of Harrison's men. "I assume," the Captain said, tapping one particular section, "That Corporal Ortiz is fit for duty, despite this injury during the last prep session?" His voice was dry and unconcerned. While his mind might be racing at all the possibilities, the crew needed him to be calm and collected as possible. Everyone needed to be at their best.
Harrison continued to stay in salute form as he stepped onto the Bridge, since the Captain hadn't allowed him ease ((At Ease, Colonel, is how you say it. Just saying)). He said, with confidence in his voice, yet slightly quieter "Sir, Corporal Ortiz is currently recovering from the accident at the live firing excersize. His arm, which underwent reconstructive surgery as you know, has been refitted with a nuclear powered hand replacement, Class Daedalus. The Squad leader in charge of the squad has been demoted to private, after the incident. However, both are ready to serve, and are in tip top shape again."
"Good. We don't have manpower to spare at this moment," after that formality was out of the way, Murren turned to face Harrison. "At ease, Colonel. I didn't call for you, so I assume you're here to discuss something?" The Captain peaked an eyebrow in curiosity, while the counter for re-entry ticked off on the main screen behind him.
Harrison brought his hand down, and promptly put them together behind his back, proper stand-at-ease ways, and split open his legs to stand. His head was looking a bit above, and he did not make eye contact, again due to protocol. His mouth opened to say something, closed as if reconsidering, and then he actually spoke. "Sir, morale is sitting quite high with the marines, although the pilots are being themselves, but its their first engagement, or at least they think so. But I fear they do not grasp the situation as they should. There was....... talk of relativistic entries before we hit the ground. Relativistic bombardment, Sir. I'm not sure, but with all due respect, I would like to suggest that you address these issues, sir! Sir, I apologize if I have stepped over a boundary, sir!"
Leaving Caulder to select the other team members Ash, collected her box and headed for her workshop. It wasn’t far, just situated in al alcove where she could work in relative peace. The dismantled parts of the current ATV she was working on was sorted neatly on makeshift benches ready to be assembled once she’d finished with the clutch assembly. Her ‘bed’ such as it was, was tucked over in the far corner. It made it easier for her to get to her work when the nightmares wouldn’t let her sleep, she didn’t accidently wake anyone up moving around or banging about. It was there she headed to placing the box on the ground and divesting herself of her coveralls and toolbelt revealing her more everyday clothing underneath. Reequipping her belt, she ensured everything was there and pulled out an elastic band which she used to pull her hair back into a ponytail. Next, Ash collected a ratty looking knapsack which she added a few extra tools she might need if there was anything worth salvaging or even repairing at MIT. Her multi-tool was good for small things, but anything bigger and she’d need more specific pieces. Satisfied she had everything she’d need on hand. Ash slung on the knapsack and headed back out looking for Caulder.
Ohen sat at a table with several other soldiers. He wore a black T-Shirt, under a light, camo jacket, and jeans. Gears whirred and with a small tchhhhh..... a tiny cloud of steam came out of a tiny pore in his mechanical arm. It quickly dissipated, and the dead silence continued. Ohen grinned. He put down his 5 cards, revealing 4 Aces and a King of Diamonds. Instantly all hell broke loose at the table, although some glimpses of "Cheater" and "That's fucking impossible" could be heard. Regardless, Ohen just laughed and scooped up the pile of coins in the middle of the small, 10 U.S $(or your regional equivalent) at most. Suddenly an angry Colonel burst into the scene, yelling at them all. He quickly stuffed whatever money was his in his pocket and ran like hell to the locker marked 36, leaving the others, if any stayed, to face his wrath. He opened it, retrieving his Shotgun, ammo belt, and carbon-fiber vest and putting them on, as well as a visored helmet, resembling that of a SWAT team's equipment. The young soldier looked out the window to the aether, a growing feeling of uneasiness spreading through his body. Now wearing his equipment, and holding his gun, he thought about the mysterious nature of the mission. None of them knew what was coming, what they would find on the other side of the wormhole like blackness. He started to doubt whether he should'v signed up so rashly, the laid back attitude completely gone now. He shook the thoughts away.... Whatever was waiting, he needed to be ready.
"Oh boy, is it really that time already?", a young, feminine voice chirped from within the hangar, bustling with seemingly endless activity as engineers and mechanics performed maintenance and service on various military equipment, making sure they're all in top condition before the Concordia entered realspace. Kristine Adelhyde, the owner of that voice and perhaps one of the youngest (apprentice) mechanics in the crew (a fact she prides herself on), was looking up toward the digital timer above during a lull in her work. Last time she looked, the timer was at about, what, four hours? She just went and helped out the others in checking up a couple APCs, making sure all their parts are in working order. Hey, time flies when you're having fun, right? She thought, unable to stifle a small giggle as she went back to her job before the seniors near her can shout out "GET BACK TO WORK!" or something similar. Deftly and yet carefully, she looked over the innards of the machines, repairing the parts that need repair. As fast as she can work, though, she can't possibly sacrifice accuracy for speed in her line of work, and it'd probably be some time before she was done helping out. At least she had the wisdom to prep her stuff beforehand, though, neatly arranged inside the large bag she brought to the hangar. As she worked, Kris can't help but wonder about what the Earth is like right now. The origin of humanity... She just can't wait to see. Of course, she did remember that the Prodigal flotilla was commissioned because the UEF lost contact with their home planet, but really, what's the worst that can happen?
A subtle humming sound filled the communications chamber as Maria Romano reactivated the ship's long distance communications systems in preparation for realspace. Activity had suddenly surged as they came closer and closer to Realspace, bringing life into the once-silent room. Marines were scrambling to their positions, mechanics were making last-minute preparations, and general information was being relayed through her console. Messages appeared on one of the many screens, quickly disappearing under a wave of new messages. They were mostly diagnostics reports and personal messages between the crew of the ship, with an occasional beeping tone as an error message floated past. Nothing too important, mostly just things for the techs to look at later. Despite the constant buzz of activity, Maria found little to do. Most of the marines on the squad she'd been assigned to had yet to check in and all external communications had ceased shortly after entering slipspace. She hadn't even received proper mission objectives from the captain yet. Now that she thought about it, it was odd that the captain hadn't given her instructions yet. There must have been a communication error somewhere along the line. Reaching over to the console's keyboard, she typed out a quick message, to be delivered directly to the captain's console. "Haven't gotten full mission details yet, captain. Need to know exactly what we’re going to do when we arrive." Obviously, they were going to attempt to establish contact with the main fleet and whatever remained of Earth’s government, but anything after that was unknown to her. Maria sighed and swiveled idly in her chair as she inspected the status of the ship’s communications systems while waiting for the captain to respond. Everything was in order, as usual. Even idle busywork couldn’t distract her from her mixed emotions. On one hand, she had never felt more excited about something in her entire life. To finally see Earth in all its glory, she almost didn't believe that this was happening. She had grown with a love for her race’s home planet and all its splendor, something that the ark ships couldn’t possibly match. On the other hand, anxiety had begun to creep up on her. While she was a competent comms officer, her only experience being a battlefield operator was from the various simulations that were included in her training. Of course, there were also the grim thoughts about Earth and why it had gone dark. A common theme in pre-expedition Earth literature was the destruction of the planet and its beauty after a horrible cataclysm. But that couldn’t possibly be the reason that they had gone dark, could it? A few pings shook those thoughts from her head. Her squad was beginning to check in, . Several monitors on the console sprung to life as the helmet cameras came online. More than half of the squad was still unaccounted for, but it relieved her anxiousness knowing that people were indeed doing things outside of her soundproof closet. If the captain responded to her message before the rest of the marines signed up, she’d be able to give a proper briefing. She stretched and cracked her knuckles as she went back to her console. Communications online. Sensors online. Satellites online. All systems nominal.
"Alright the intel says it should be through this door." whispered a man. "Where exactly did you get this intel from?" asked Alessandra, getting in position to kick down the door. "Just.. just trust me on this will you." demanded the man as he pointed his pistol towards the door. He gave nod to Alessandra, signaling her to break down the wooden door. The door broke into pieces and Alessandra and the man pointed their guns into the room clearing the area. "Alright, it seems clear. Let's find that tech and get the hell outta here." said the man putting his gun at ease and scour aging around to find what they needed. "I'm a bit surprised that the boss still doesn't know that we're here and don't worry, the tech will be worth it." said Alessandra giving the man an assuring look. They searched around for a while but couldn't find what they needed. All hope of finding it was lost and they were about to give up searching for it but then Alessandra saw a glimmer in the darkness. "I found it!" exclaimed Alessandra, picking up the gem in glory, but there no response from her partner. "Bravo!" she shouted in desperation. She went around the room searching for him, and found his body near an operating table. It was valiant loss, he died for the greater good, (either way he's a minority, we don't need him), as he had helped Alessandra retrieve a very special crystallized candy (for research purposes). Alessandra went back to Resistance HQ, mourning the poor, unnamed, man's loss. Although she had bigger problems, like coming up with a lie to tell some people to justify where she was and why a member of their squad was missing , meaning probably dead.
Relativistic bombardment. So rumors had spread across the fleet. Murren closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. While Harrison and intended to keep it private, the bridge was quiet, and his voice carried. Several operators turned to look to Murren. Luckily, a message popped on his screen. Comms officer Romano was requesting orders. He quickly replied, letting the suspense of the moment grow, so they could fully understand where he stood. Begin using secure comm lines to establish contact with the Earth PDF. Have all units on standby. Situation needs to be observed and assessed. After he sent the message off, Murren looked at the re-entry clock. Time until Realspace 1:13:43 "What the men have heard is correct," Murren began, placing his own arms behind his back, his voice radiating command, "Flotilla command has not ruled out a relativistic bombardment. Indeed, there are those among command that are very eager to test a relativistic bombardment on Earth, if it is indeed under attack. I can see reasoning. Its effective. Nearly unstoppable. It would cause catastrophic damage to any enemy. It would also do catastrophic damage to Earth. You may have never seen the homeworld, Colonel, I know most on-board this vessel have not. I think that lack of connection to it makes the rest of command... distant from it. They don't see it our birthplace, our home. They don't know of its beauty. They don't know of its people." The captain turned to the screen, ticking down the seconds. "What the tactic has in sheer brutality, it lacks in wisdom and foresight. As long as Earth still stands, as long as anyone on its surface still live, I will continue to advise against it. That is our mission. Assess the situation, report back, advise on the efficacy of a relativistic bombardment. Hope, for the sake of the homeworld, that we can tell them otherwise." Murren turned back to Harrison. "Is there anything else you need me to put to bed, Colonel?" ------------------------------------- After a few moments of watching the others mull around, Caulder kicked a rock. "Fine. Ash and I will go it alone. Hold down the base. We should be back in a few hours," Caulder slung his weapon over his shoulder, giving a nod to his companion. "Let's not waste any time." As he moved to go down the tunnels, Caulder spotted Alessandra coming along. "Hey, Alessandra, we're going to MIT, something's going on our there, want to tag along?" After a moment, he noticed something missing. "Wait... Where is Rodger?"
It didn't take her long to find Caulder, he was standing right where she left him. Apparently the others were too chicken-shit to pony up and volunteer , but of those left they were more like herself. Support personel, not very skilled when it came to fighting but she thought at least one or two others might be willing take a look. "Tch." Ash had just about reached Caulder when she heard someone approaching. She glanced over her shoulder to see Alice. Alone. "Hey, Alessandra, we're going to MIT," Caulder called to her. "Something's going on our there, want to tag along?" After a moment, he noticed what Ash already had. "Wait... Where is Rodger?" "Probably lost down whatever rabbit hole our resident adventurer took him down." Ash murmured low enough for only Caulder to hear. "But if he was stupid enough to go along on one of her 'missions' without someone to watch his back, well... it's not the first time someone's gotten lost."
Harrison stiffened at the idea. As much as he thought well of his superiors, the idea of launching an asteroid ten miles a second, which would be the equivalent of ….. several expensive H-bombs, on Earth, their homeworld was beyond disturbing. He knew the history, the names of Earth, the cultures, everything about humanity he possible could, and he had it in a special part of his heart, like every human should have. But somehow, the reasoning was sound, as much as he hated the fact. Hostiles were probably not something the rookies onboard here could handle, most likely. Harrison was conflicted. On one hand, he valued his own men more than anyone else, but on the other, there was Earth itself, and probably a huge amount of people. But then the small fact he’d been ignoring jumped up like a mouse onto his shoulder. Possibly, Earth was just fine. They didn’t TRULY know. Perhaps it was all that fiction reading he’d been doing on the holo-Kindles that had affected his thoughts. He replied to the Captain, saying “No, sir. I just wished to confirm that, sir.” He then continued to stand there, waiting to be dismissed. Military protocol could be inefficient in peacetime, really. ((Yeah, you cannot leave the presence of a higher ranked officer without some thing like “You’re dismissed.” Its annoying, sometimes))
As Alice was making her way to the HQ she saw Caulder and Ash standing near the entrance with Caulder having his gun on his shoulder meaning they probably were going on a mission. As Alice walked towards them, Cauldre asked if she wants to join them on their trip to MIT. She was gonna say yes but then Caulder asked the rather obvious, "Wait... Where is Rodger?" It's what she had feared. "Umm, I think I saw him going into a warehouse somwhere, alone." she spoke nervously as she hid the gem in her pocket. "I would love to join you though, mabye we'll find him then?" smiled Alice facing the exit.
Ash resisted the urge to snort in disbelief when she heard Alice's reply, but didn't comment aloud. Yeah, he went into a warehouse alone... riiiiight. The woman might be older but she really had to learn how to lie better, and what was she fiddling with in her pocket anyway? The movement was subtle, a quick slip of the hand, but Ash watched people, it was one of the best ways of detecting if a person was lying or trying to hide something. Admittedly there were people who could hide themselves very well, but Alice didn't appear to be one of them, she was a little nervous and her excuse was piss poor for her partners absence. It was undoubtedly cynical and rather pessimistic of her to think so but Ash as already writing off the soldier as a dead man. Instead of commenting Ash just smiled. "I'm certain he'll turn up eventually," she assured her fellow Patriot. "Which warehouse did he go into? We can probably take a short detour or something and see if we can't round up poor Rodger and bring him along with us." It was mean of her to ask but Ash couldn't help herself. How far would Alice drag out her tale before the truth caught up with her? Of course it could all be true, but Ash would believe it when she saw it.
Caulder narrowed his eyes, this wasn't the first time someone had gone "missing" on one of her little missions and never returned. "We'd best find him, Alice," Caulder said, beginning to walk again, "There are less of us every day. We can't be reckless with our lives. But first, we need to find out what the hell is going on over at MIT." His boot tramped against the ruins of the subway, echoing through the tunnels. They would be able to take the old rail lines almost to MIT itself, but it would take them some time. ---------------------- "Good," Murren said with a nod, "Please do what you can to quell the rumors. No relativistic bombardment has been ordered at this time. We don't know what we are stepping into. Once we are able to assess the situation, I will relay more orders from there. See to your marines, Colonel Harrison. Dismissed." Murren returned his attention to his command console, watching the seconds tick away until they emerged from one unknown to another.
"Aye, Captain, sir!" Harrison said, and he saluted. Then, he spun around on his heels, and walked out, putting his hands to attention as he walked. He knew that the Captain was well aware of his actions and would take the best course of action that they could take. He put his trust in his superiors. He waltzed back into titanium elevator, and said "Deck Four, Barracks." The elevator doors closed, and it slid down quietly.
Alice tried her best to think of some answer and quickly, but before else could utter a word Caulder suggested they should go to MIT first, then later on find Rodger. "Yeah that sounds good" said Alice nodding quickly to Caulder's idea,"besides, most of the warehouses are empty around here, I'm pretty sure he'll come back safe and sound." She smiled as she said it. "Actually, I need to grab so e stuff from my lab, how bout you guys go ahead a I'll catch up later?" Asked Alice but she waited for no response and quickly ran off to her lab. It wasn't the cleanest of places but it had everything she needed to keep her occupied, but it was a complete dump nevertheless. She scourged around the mess trying to find something, after a few minutes she finally found it. It was thick glass beaker that had a claw sitting inside it and a hole in the middle of it. She took the gem out of her pocket and put it inside the glass beaker and connected it to the claw. It was a perfect fit and if it was what she expected it to be, then she would have found a new source of fuel.
