>>1160048
[2/2]

The three remaining Officers breathe heavily, shaking. You don't blame them. Their job was to guard a hotel, not to fight an Arachnid raid. You walk up to one of them, grabbing his collar. “Is there a Shelter here in the Hotel?”

He blinks, then nods. “Y- yeah! C- come on! I'll show you!” He turns you all around away from the lobby door, then hurries you down one of the Hallways. “Don't worry, your parents should be safe down there!”

-

-

“What do you mean my parents aren't here!?” You shout in the face of a very frightful Security Officer, no more than a teenager you reckon on an internship. “I was told they would be brought to safety too!”

“They- they might have gotten lost!” he says. “It's a big Hotel!” The staff is led into a giant vault, big enough to fit at least a couple of hundred people. More people flood in from out of the streets as well. “Plus, we have other guests to evacuate as well, some are taking the shuttles, some are finding shelter, there's just-”

“Where were they last!?” you yell.

“Twenty-fifth floor!” he says frightfully. You unload the magazine out of your pulse rifle, checking the energy readings. Still good.

Rosalie looks at you, shocked. “You're not going out there alone, are you!?”

> “Depends. Who volunteers?”
> “Yes. Get in the Vault and wait! I'll be right back.”
> Other

>>1160050
> “Depends. Who volunteers?”

>>1160050
>> “Depends. Who volunteers?”

>>1160050
>“Yes. Get in the Vault and wait! I'll be right back.”

>>1160050
> “Yes. Get in the Vault and wait! I'll be right back.”

>>1160050
>> Other
"Any volunteers? The only one of you girls I'll allow to volunteer is Charlie, she's the only one with significant combat experience. Please trust me. Otherwise, anyone else? If not, I'll go on my own."

> “Depends. Who volunteers?”

“Who volunteers?” All the Idols, Azuma, Burkett, Mills, and even Danner, and even several of the security staff raise their hands. “... um. Okay, listen, we can't all go. Okay? It's kind of tricky.”

“You're our Lieutenant,” says Rosalie. “We can't just let you go out there on your own.”

You look at Burkett. “I'll take the girls with me. You can take Mills, Azuma, and Charlie. We'll search the lower levels, you take the top ones. We'll cover more ground that way, alright, Lieutenant?” That is... actually not a bad idea. You nod at that. “Alright. Mills, Azuma, Charlie. Go with the Lieutenant! Rosalie, Stacy, Naka, Olga, you're with me! Danner, you secure the entrance to this Vault, and make sure nothing gets through!”

“Come on!” you say. “We got my parents to save!”

-

-

You, Mills, Charlie, and Azuma have donned armored vests, same that the Security Officers use. It won't stop a plasma shot, but it'll at least make it survivable. Just as long as you're hit square on. You're on the Twenty-fifth floor now, and you see several people trying to grab their bags and hurry out. “Come on, get out! Get out!” yells Azuma. He grabs a woman trying to take her large suitcase with her. “Leave it! Go, go!” The woman cries out, running away.

Charlie says, “We're no match if there's more than five of them at once!”

“We're not here to fight, we're here to get my parents!” you say. The four of you head into a corridor, then see several corpses. You take in the very strong scent of flesh burning and rotting corpses. Ugh. No smell like that in the Galaxy. “Mum! Dad!” you yell. “Where are you!?”

“Keep it down!” whispers Charlie loudly. “You hear that?” You do. Footsteps.

Suddenly, you all turn around to see a pair of Security Officers, raising their guns as well. “You!” you yell. You storm up to them, noticing their fright and panic. “Where are my parents!?”

“Th- they're upstairs! We- we were just trying to get some help!” says one of the Officer. “The Arachnids are storming down each floor, they're whipping us!” Fuck. “They're even killing women and children!”

“You're with me now,” you say. “Get your shit together and follow me.” Your now six man strong team hurries up the stairs to the next floor. The door into the next floor however refuses to budge. One Officer gently pushes you back, then kicks the knob in, forcing it open.

He is immediately shot to pieces by plasma bolts. He falls over, bloodied and swiss-cheesed. “H- Holy fuck!” yells the other Officer. The wall is shot up and drilled through by more plasma fire. “Oh God! Oh God!” You all crouch down, ducking to avoid the fire. You quickly peek in and see three Guards Warriors firing their rifles at you rapidly.

“Three of them!” you say. “Down that hall!”

> “Suppressive fire. I'll flank!”
> “Light them up!”
> This is urban warfare, your pulse rifles are powerful. Make a new entrance.
> Other

>>1160254
>This is urban warfare, your pulse rifles are powerful. Make a new entrance.

>>1160254
> This is urban warfare, your pulse rifles are powerful. Make a new entrance.

>>1160254
>> This is urban warfare, your pulse rifles are powerful. Make a new entrance.

>>1160254
> This is urban warfare, your pulse rifles are powerful. Make a new entrance.

We should listen to Charlie on everything. She's the only one with experience fighting bugs without a Suit

>>1160254
> This is urban warfare, your pulse rifles are powerful. Make a new entrance.

> This is urban warfare, your pulse rifles are powerful. Make a new entrance.

“Azuma, Mills!” The two of them look at you. “Heads up!” They duck down even lower. Just in time to dodge several high velocity pulse rounds smashing the wall next to them into another room. That should provide some adequate cover and concealment on the way to the bugs. They immediately jump over without another word, then hurry into cover behind a couch. You and Charlie jump in, leaving the terrified Officer to stay where he is and cry out in fear. He'll be fine.

A plasma bolt smashes the door down into the luxurious hotel suite that you're in. One of the Guards Warriors pokes his head in, then skitters up onto the ceiling rather than remain at ground level. “Up!” yells Charlie. She fires her MOIW around the Bug rather than near it, smashing apart the ceiling and causing it all to collapse. The bug falls down, stunned for just a few valuable seconds. Azuma and Mills pop out and unload pulse bursts into it, splattering its blood onto the carpets. It dies, letting out a high death rattle. The other two Bugs retreat.

“Get ready to move!!” you order. You pat Mills on the side, a signal for him to move forward. He steps to the door and peeks out.

“Clear!” says Mills. The four of you quickly step out. With all four of you scanning all four directions in the hallway hub, you quickly move down one hallway.

“Mum! Dad!” you yell.

“Sweetie!” You hear a muffled yell. Oh shite in a fucking FUCK your parents! You head to the source of the noise, one of the suits on the right. Mills, Azuma, and Charlie stack up. You knock on the door.

The door is immediately blown open by buckshot. What the fuck! You look inside to see your Mum and Dad hiding behind an overturned table, Dad wielding a shotgun and Mum with a Beretta HighPower pistol. “Mum! Dad!” They blink, looking at you. Wait. “You almost fucking shot me!” you shout at them.

“Who knocks on the door in the middle of a fight!?” yells Dad. You shake your head, pushing the door in and stepping over to them. “Don't worry, we're all fine. Security Officers put us in here when the Bugs stormed in, haven't heard anything excepting screaming and gunfire!”

Mum looks positively terrified. “Can we head to the shelter, Sweetie!?”

[1/2]

>>1160444
[2/2]

“Yeah, yeah, just this way-” You push Mum down, just in time for a plasma bolt to sail over her head. It splashes against the wall, setting it alight. Mum screams, covering her head as everyone starts lighting the walls up with pulse rifle fire. In one of the large holes, you see the familiar multi-eyed optics of one of the Guards Warriors. It screeches at you, before sticking a plasma pistol in and firing at you.

Mills dives in front of you. “Lieutenant, get down-” He's shot in the leg, falling down. Azuma and Charlie light it up swiftly, shooting him to pieces.

“Mills!” you scream. He lays on his back, then shows you his leg. His melted prosthetic leg. Oh thank fucking Christ.

“The Bugs are gonna cut us off!” says Azuma. “We need to go!”

“I- I can't walk!” Mills groans. “Damn it!”

> Carry Mills, let the others go ahead of you.
> “Carry him! I'll cover you!”
> Other

>>1160446
> Carry Mills, let the others go ahead of you.
Does the prosthetic have a quick detach pin or something, shedding the dead weight might help.

>>1160446
> Carry Mills, let the others go ahead of you.

>>1160446
>“Carry him! I'll cover you!”
I don't think having the others go ahead is good because it will let the bugs flank us.

>>1160446
>> Carry Mills, let the others go ahead of you.

This seems familiar.

> Carry Mills, let the others go ahead of you.

You bring your arm around Mills back, under his own arm, then hoist him up. “Go ahead! We'll catch up!” Mum and Dad stay close however, while Azuma, Burkett, and Charlie move ahead to secure the area. Another Guards Warrior pops out of cover in front of you all, but he's quickly lit up by the combined firepower of Dad and the three actually trained troopers. “Keep going!” You all hurry to the stairs where you came up.

You make it to the stairwell, with Azuma and Burkett already descending. Suddenly, the hotel shakes again. A huge piece of stairs suddenly comes down from above. “Look out!” You pull Mills away away, with Charlie diving on top of you two. The debris wipes out the staircase. “Shit!” yells Azuma. “Lieutenant!”

“I'm alright!” You, Charlie, and Mills get back up, and find the gravity of the situation. The entire flight of stairs between the two floors was now completely ruined, with a very sizable gap now between you two.

“Fuck! I knew I should have had this place renovated!” says Dad.

“Sweetie, are you okay!?” asks Mum.

“I'm fine, I'm fine!” you say. “Just uh-...” Okay. Maybe you can jump it? Charlie can jump it, you can jump it. Mills can't. Maybe you and Charlie can just toss him across-

“Lieutenant!” You look down to see Burkett, Rosalie, Stacy, Olga, and Naka coming up the stairs. “Oh Jesus Christ!” yells Rosalie. “Lieutenant! There's a problem!”

“What's the matter!?” you asks.

“The Shelter is full!” says Stacy. “People came in out of the streets looking for Shelter! Security Officers say they can't let anymore people in!” Are they fucking having a laugh!? You were just in there!

“Are the streets safe?” asks Mills.

“Mostly! There are marauding bands of Arachnids, but they tell us there's other Shelters, and evac shuttles as well!” says Stacy. “Mobile Infantry and CDF are already fighting off the Bugs too!”

“I can get us in contact with Captain Ozgen to have the suits delivered to us! But we still need to get you guys down and-” A plasma bolt flies past your face, heating your cheeks and nose up as if you just leant into a fire. It splatters against the wall, bursting it into flame. You, Mills and Charlie duck down! “Lieutenant!”

You look back to see more Guards Warriors firing away at you. Son of a bitch. Azuma holds out his arms. “Lieutenant! Jump, I'll catch you!”

> Jump across first.
> Have Charlie go first.
> Throw Mills first, the wounded first.
> Other

>>1160625
> Throw Mills first, the wounded first.

>YOU'RE NOT DYING ON US AGAIN

>>1160625
>> Throw Mills first, the wounded first.

>>1160625
> Throw Mills first, the wounded first.

>>1160625
>Throw Mills first, the wounded first.

> Throw Mills first, the wounded first.

“The wounded first, Charlie! Help me out here!” Charlie helps you pick up Mills, then two of you quickly shove him across the gap. He yelps in fright before being caught by Azuma, Burkett, and Dad. They cart him to the back of the pack, with Azuma and Burkett holding their arms for the next one. “Okay, Charlie, you go!”

“What about-” Another plasma bolt hits nearby.

“Just go!” Charlie nods, then quickly takes a running jump across. She lands into Azuma and Burkett's arms. Okay. Officers always retreat last, they always drop first. You rub your hands together, taking a deep breath. You can do this. You can-

The hotel shakes again. “Get back!” The stairwell entirely starts collapsing. Everyone backs up into the next flight over while you take cover from the plasma fire. Goddamn it! Of course it's like that! You look down as you see the stairs collapse behind them. Please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop!

It finally stops, three floors down. Mum and Dad poke their heads out. “Sweetie!” screams Mum. “My God!”

“I'll be fine!” you say. Okay. Maybe this is just some weird way of punishing you for not saving Dizzy in the end. Great. Just great. “I'll find another way down!” You look down and see Mills' Rifle. Perfect. You grab that, then hold the two guns at your hips. You stand up and fire both at full auto, spraying it all over the hallway. One of the Bugs is immediately shredded by Pulse Rifle, firing his gun wildly into the air before collapsing back. The others take cover.

Right. You gotta find another way down.

> Find an alternate stairwell.
> The elevator.
> The window.
> Other

>>1160802
>> Find an alternate stairwell.

>>1160802
>Find an alternate stairwell.

>>1160802
>> The elevator.
Time for that scene with an out of control elevator.

>>1160802
> Other
The floor: These things seem pretty good at blowing holes in things, we'll just Underworld our way through the corridor floors a few times until we catch up with the stairs.

>>1160802
> Find an alternate stairwell.

>>1160802
changing my vote here >>1160833 too this >>1160832

>>1160802
I'm changing my original vote here>>1160830
to >>1160832's suggestion, because I'll vote on anything that reminds me of The Fifth Element.

>>1160832
Oh man this.

> Other

You're going to do something stupid. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. You jump into the hallway again, then quickly spin around and fire at the floor. You know for a fact that kinetic bullet spewing guns won't be able to do this. But pulse rifles, being pulse rifles, can. They tear up the floor, shooting wood and dust up everywhere. The bugs stare at you in apparent confusion, before you fall right through the floor. Ha! You land on the next floor down. Yes! Now to-

You hear a creaking sound. Uh oh.

You fall to the next floor. And the next floor. And the next floor.

As you continue stopping and falling and stopping and falling, you can feel yourself get beat up time and again by wood, tiles, and things that you really can't stop to identify. You're pretty sure you just got some nasty bruises but at least no bones are being broken.

Finally, you stop falling. You think on the tenth floor somewhere.

Well. At least you escaped that predicament. You pick yourself up, then reach down for your guns.

Your ear twitches. Wait. You duck to the left, dodging a machete blow. A very crazed looking Guards Warrior almost sliced your face off. Thankfully, it seems his gun is gone. But that makes him no less dangerous considering he has a machete and a variety of limbs. You move to duck another slash, but he uses one of his spare limbs to punch you onto your back. Damn it! You crawl back, then see a detached table leg. You're a trooper! You're not gonna go down without a fight! When he reaches up, you lean up and smack him on the chest with the leg. It simply splinters into a lot of tiny pieces. He looks down, apparently confused by that attempt before looking back at you.

…

Well, that was worth a shot. You close your eyes. Just make it quick. Please.

…

He's not making it quick. You open your eyes again, then find him still standing there. His arms are raised over his head with the machete, but he looks straight ahead, as if out into the distance. You hear some soft footsteps behind you.

Turning around, you see somebody step out of the smoke and dust. She steps forward, staring the Arachnid straight in the eye. Lieutenant Helga Baxter. She pulls her trenchcoat to the side, revealing her RADOM Plasma Revolver in a hip holster. She keeps her hand on the grip, stepping past you, continuing to stare the Arachnid in the eye. What the hell.

The Arachnid steps back from Helga, then drops its machete and quickly goes skittering away.

…

She looks down at you. “Lieutenant. We meet again,” she says simply. She offers her hand to you. You take it. No sense refusing help at this rate. She hefts you up nicely onto your feet.

“What the hell was that!?” you whisper, picking your Pulse Rifles back up.

She takes the Revolver out, checking the holographic sight scope on it. “It was afraid. Not much else to say.” What!?

> “What are you doing here?”
> “We need to get out of here, now.”
> “I don't suppose you could help us right now."
> Other

>>1160977
> “What are you doing here?”
> “We need to get out of here, now.”

>>1160977
> “What are you doing here?”
> “I don't suppose you could help us right now."

>>1160977
> “What are you doing here?”
> “I don't suppose you could help us right now."

Well, that mostly worked.

>>1160977
> “What are you doing here?”
> “I don't suppose you could help us right now."

>>1160977
> “I don't suppose you could help us right now."

> “What are you doing here?”
> “I don't suppose you could help us out right now.”

Lieutenant Baxter quickly places the Revolver back into her holster. “I'm here because I know the Idols were staying here. I happened to passing by and I thought I would check in to make sure nothing happened.” Oh, that's nice of her. “But mostly, I need your help, Lieutenant. I need some hench to assist me.” Oh. That's what you were expecting.

“What's the issue?” you ask.

“This Arachnid raid is far too coordinated. And worse off, we did not detect anything besides Guards Warriors. They are committing quite a bit to this assault,” she says. “TAC RECON also reported Skinnies in the raiding party as well. I believe the Arachnids are after something. And I aim to stop them. And you and your girls are going to help me.”

“Is this because we were the closest MI unit nearby?” you ask.

“Yes, mostly.” Baxter suddenly receives a call on her headset. “Jaguar Actual, This is Fairy. Repeat?” You lean in close to hear. Baxter doesn't appear to object.

“This is Jaguar Actual! 2-0 reports Arachnid Guards moving in on central flight terminals in Titan Dockyards! We cannot intercept, more raiders wasting civvies down in the streets! We have to defend them!” Baxter squints for a second, then her eyes widen.

“Copy, Jag. Out.” She looks over at you. “We need to go now.”

“What's going on?” you ask.

“They're after our navigation logs,” says Baxter. “I can explain more later. Follow me.” She starts running for the nearest stairwell.

…

What the hell do Arachnids want with some navigation logs!?

File: 6b733df54c59803cce128a0ca(...).jpg (473 KB, 658x1156)

473 KB JPG

>>1161101
That's it for this astonishingly early late run of Starship Idols. I think I'll actually try again tomorrow at a more reasonable hour. I'll update on twitter. Until then, hope you enjoyed.

Follow at: https://twitter.com/GermanSchteel
Ask at: http://germanschteel.tumblr.com/
Book Tumbles: http://germanschteelbookblog.tumblr.com/

See you next time.

>>1161103
Heh, our parents are reasonably badass people. We've got good genes.

“Sweetie!” You and Lieutenant Baxter manage to make it to ground floor without much fuss. The Idols, along with Azuma, Burkett, and Mills were there as well. The entire lobby was covered in blood, ashes, dust, debris, and people trying to hide out from the Bugs in the street. Mum and Dad run over and quickly take you in the arms, glad to see that you're alive. “Jesus Christ, sweeite!” Mum kisses you on the cheek, holding you tight. “Don't ever scare me like that again, you little shite!”

“I'll be sure not to-” Baxter steps past everyone, to the surprise of the entire group. You all head out into the street with her, and see the scale of the raid. The Shipyard in orbit was now halfway aflame, with the other half occasionally being dotted by little explosions. The Dockyards next to it where also being pockmarked by plasma bursts and explosions from the inside. And of course, you can hear the sounds of gunfire, screaming, and cars running through the street. Occasionally someone runs past, but Baxter doesn't seem to care. “Baxter. What's the word?”

“I need to get up to the Dockyard,” she says. “The Arachnids are trying to steal navigation logs out of our central computers up there.”

“What do the Arachnids want with those logs?” asks Stacy.

Naka gasps. “No, no! I know exactly what she's talking about!” What? “Fleet keeps records of every ship that docks and departs from any orbital dockyard, and any ship as well that gets launched fresh from a shipyard too! We keep records on where they're going, where they've been, how long it took them to get there, how much fuel they used, everything! And we keep them all for reference in case of trouble or someone tries to infiltrate by Trojan horsing their way in using our ships!” That-... what?

Lieutenant Baxter nods. “With all those logs, the Arachnids could glean the location of many vital sites in the Federation, shipyards, Fleet Battlestations, locations of outposts. Not just that, but they'll likely be able to calculate our troop movements too simply based on how long it takes a ship to move from Earth to the other end of the Galaxy towards say Myrmido. We need to stop them and we need to stop them now.”

“Hold on,” says Azuma. “There's still civilians to evacuate. The Lieutenant's parents need to get somewhere safe.”
[1/2]

>>1161841
[2/2]


“I need the Lieutenant and her Idols to come with me now to the Dockyard,” says Baxter. “They are the closest MI unit besides Jaguar that can help me.” She looks at the Idols. “Besides of course the two that aren't actually MI.” Naka and Charlie blink.

“But what about my parents?” you ask. “Isn't there some place safe for them? All the Shelters will have been full up by now, they'd need to take a shuttle off of Titan.” Baxter huffs, frustrated at this. Well fuck you too then, Spook.

“I leave it up to you, Lieutenant,” says Baxter so graciously. “But we need to make it quick. Every second we give the Arachnids is possibly another terabyte of data that they're extracting.”

> “I and the Idols will go with the Lieutenant. Azuma, Burkett, and Mills will escort my parents to a shuttle.”
> “I'm taking my parents to a shuttle. You can wait, Lieutenant.”
> “Fine. Mum, Dad, you two hide some place. We need to help the Lieutenant.”
> Other

>>1161843
>> “I and the Idols will go with the Lieutenant. Azuma, Burkett, and Mills will escort my parents to a shuttle.”

>>1161843

> “I and the Idols will go with the Lieutenant. Azuma, Burkett, and Mills will escort my parents to a shuttle.”

>>1161843
>“I and the Idols will go with the Lieutenant. Azuma, Burkett, and Mills will escort my parents to a shuttle.”

>>1161843
> “I, Burkett, and all the Idols except Naka go with the Lieutenant. Azuma, Naka, and Mills will escort my parents to a shuttle.”
The reason being Naka is a Fleetie with no ground combat training

>>1161843
> “I and the Idols will go with the Lieutenant. Azuma, Burkett, and Mills will escort my parents to a shuttle.”

> “I and the Idols will go with the Lieutenant. Azuma, Burkett, and Mills will escort my parents to a shuttle.”

“Are you sure?” asks Azuma.

“We'll be fine,” says Charlie. “We'll just stay behind the Lieutenant, she'll get us through safe and sound.”

“That's right! Mum, Dad. Trust these three men. They are very experienced troopers, they will keep you safe.” you say.

Mum sighs, then quickly hugs you again. “Be safe, Sweetie! Don't do anything stupid!”

“I expect you back home after this!” says Dad.

You let go of Mum, then kiss her on the cheek goodbye. Quickly, you sling your spare Pulse Rifle, then hurry on down the street. “Come on, follow me. Lieutenant, take the lead.” Lieutenant Baxter nods, then leads you all on.

-

-

A Viking Dropship has managed to find a way past the chaos and has found you. Its searchlights hone in on you in the wee hours of the night on Titan Station as it lands in what was a park filled with people going about their day. Now, it's more or less deserted. Thankfully, you didn't encounter too many Bugs on the way, just stragglers deciding to loot or throw bombs into store windows or houses. Nothing you can't and won't handle. The dropship ramps open up, revealing Corpsman DeSilva in a Hospitaller Suit, wielding an MPAR-C. “Lieutenant! Captain Ozgen instructed me to assist you in operations! We've brought your suits down for you!” Everyone hurries on and grabs their I-Suits. You as well do the same. DeSilva looks over at Lieutenant Baxter, who stands idly by waiting. “Who the hell is the spook?”

Baxter's eye twitches a little. “That's Lieutenant, Corpsman.”

“She's with us,” you say. “We need to get to the Dockyard.”

“Alright,” says Corpsman DeSilva. “Lieutenant. I'll attach myself to your unit for the time being. Goshawk Flight will escort us up to the Docks, then we can begin Ops up there.” You nod, hurrying into your suit. You turn on the systems, then lower down the head yourself. With a quick shrug of the shoulders, you're already linked in and ready. You grab an MPAR off the rack, then charge the weapon. You then look over to Lieutenant Baxter as she watches the ramp be sealed back up in preparation for low orbit.

“Lieutenant, are you not going to take a suit?” you ask.

“I won't need one,” she says. Bold talk. But...

> “Alright then.”
> “Stay behind us.”
> “Be our guest. You're taking point.”
> Other

>>1161977
>> “Alright then.”

>>1161977
> “Alright then.”

>>1161977
> “Alright then.”
"If you're sure, LT. Please let us know if you need covering fire or a wall if you are going to do something."

>>1161977
> Other

Have you operated in combat with a suited-up MI unit before.

If yes, then ask what her protocols are. We need to know how to work with her.

> “Alright then.”

“Alright then,” you say. If she wants to get blasted by plasma, let her. She'll probably be smart enough to stay behind you anyway. The girls all suit up, ready and able.

“Rosalie!” Corpsman DeSilva hands Rosalie a small circular drone. “This is a Snooper! Press down on the back panel behind the camera to turn him on. He'll automatically patrol and scan for targets for you!” Rosalie nods, pocketing the Snooper onto her back.

“Do we get anything?” asks Stacy.

“Nope!” says DeSilva bluntly. Charlie is having some struggles with her suit, twitching a bit. Oh that's right, she's not fully trained. DeSilva walks over, grabbing Charlie on the arm. “You stay with me, Charlie!” Charlie nods, holding her MPAR raggedly.

The Viking Dropship starts its ascent upwards to the Docks. “Overwatch, this is Cloudburst.” The very cool southern cadences of the pilot ring through your radio. “We are approaching the Docks. Taking Bay 6. Goshawk Flight on our 9 and 3 O'Clock. Preparing to deploy Strike team.”

Overwatch responds. “Copy, Cloudburst.” Cloudburst flies into the docking bay, a large octagonal hangar for the front ends of ships. Judging by the loud banging and searing noises outside, there must be bugs shooting the Dropship up.

“Ramp coming down.” The ramps go down, revealing a very chaotic hangar bay filled with CDF personnel, MI troopers, and Bugs fighting with each other. “Go, go, go.” You lead the Idols in on the friendly right flank, getting sidelong shots into the Bugs' flank.

“EAT THIS, BUGS!” screams Olga. She fires her heavy gun and her micromissiles away at the Bugs, shattering apart their lines and forcing them all into heavier cover behind thick containers and random walls. Stacy steps up behind Olga, helping provide suppressive fire to pin the Arachnids to the floor. You, Charlie, DeSilva, and Baxter head up to the closest MI trooper.

“Who the hell are you guys!?” says the Trooper.

“I'm Lieutenant Baxter, this is my escort,” she says.

The trooper nods. “Corporal Locklear, Company C! We've been trying to fight the-” A plasma bomb goes off nearby, splattering you all with ashes. “We're trying to fight the bugs off! They've been scouring the Docks! They already got to the flight computers!” What!?

“Are they still in there!?” asks Baxter.

“Yeah!” says Locklear. “CDF got slaughtered trying to hold it! We shut down the lines and power to the room but we think they're stealing the physical drives and uploading the files to their personal shit!”

“We need to stop them,” says Baxter.

> Cut their retreat paths. Secure every way off the Docks.
> Head to the central terminals now and stop them.
> Other

>>1162089
>> Head to the central terminals now and stop them.

>>1162089
>Split the Squad in half. Troopers and half the squad secure all the exits while the rest of the squad and the LT with the Spook head to stall/purge the bugs in central terminals.

>>1162089
>Head to the central terminals now and stop them.

>>1162089
> Head to the central terminals now and stop them.

> Head to the central terminals now and stop them.

-

-

Jaguar will be handling cutting off escape routes around the area. Meanwhile, you will be taking Lieutenant Baxter and the Idols to the central terminals. The hallways, once well-lit and gleaning clean, are now covered with blood, the corpses of Dock workers and Bugs, even a few Skinnies as well. Of course the Arachnids need the Skinnies help with this. Arachnids are way behind on the whole computing thing compared to the Federation. Skinnies aren’t.

“There, the server room!” yells Baxter. The main server room doors are large, large enough for two suits tall and ten suits wide. The server room is in the center of the entire station, which means many of the hallways lead to it. It appears the security doors leading to the room itself were busted open by plasma bombs. “Get those doors open!” You, Charlie, and Olga move to get at the doors. They slide open rather than hinge in or out. No way to get your fingers in for leverage, damn it! “Rosalie!”

Rosalie looks at the door console next to it. “They fried the console!”

“Damn it!” you yell. Thermal scans on your helmet won’t penetrate the chamber walls either, they’re graded for Starship Hulls.

“Stand back!” yells Olga. You all get back as Olga, Stacy, and Charlie prep their shoulder weapons: two railguns and a micromissile rack. Oh boy, that’s danger close! But they can replace those doors! The rest of you fall back behind them. “Firing!” They blast the wall, shearing the door open with sheer firepower. Eventually, a hole big enough for a single suit is blown open.

You clear away the smoke, taking the lead again as you step inside. The servers are arranged along the walls and in the center in large computer capsules. These servers hold massive amounts of data for the Fleet. And of course somehow the Arachnids figure out a way in to steal data. You turn on thermal scans again, and find ten heat signatures. Bugs and Skinnies. Olga steps in next to you, hefting her gun up.

Around the corner, you find a group of Skinnies and a pair of Guards Warriors pulling drives out and stuffing them into bags. An open hole in the ceiling is evident, with a cable leading down. That must be how they got in. The Skinnies in their envirosuits look at you, yelling out in fright in their native language. The Warriors turn around, wielding Plasma Shard shotguns. They fire at you, shattering one capsule completely and blowing out a huge dent in the wall behind you. Shit!

Baxter steps out, firing her plasma pistol. It completely pastes one of the Warriors. The other Warrior bodyblocks the Skinnies as they move to escape up the cable. “Stop them!” Baxter steps back into cover. The Warrior quickly throws something at you.

It lands between you and Baxter. It’s a cigar like device. A screen on it shows some strange runes.

It beeps loudly every second. The runes start changing with each beep.

…

> “GRENADE!”
> Toss it back at them.
> Dive into cover.
> Other

>>1162253
> Toss it back at them.

> Take you're toys back!

>>1162253
> Other
The only way that there can be peace...
Is through bombs.

Throw it back, then throw a Thirty Second Bomb where they went.

>>1162253
> Toss it back at them.

the take out the bagmen

>>1162253
>Other
Kick it back at them!

>>1162253

Toss it back at them

>>1162253
> Toss it back at them.

>>1162366

Note to the fed mybe reinforce the roof and walls not just the doors
Also y dont we have flamethkwers on these suits?

> Toss it back at them.

Son of a bitch! You grab it back and throw it right back at them as Baxter and the Idols dive into cover. OH FUCK! The bomb convinces the Warrior to duck away, diving underneath one of the capsules. No explosion though. Olga gets back up and immediately fires away. Several of the Skinnies are immediately eviscerated by the heavy fire. One is decapitated as he tries to climb the cable. But the last one manages to escape with a bag of drives. “Son of a bitch!” yells Baxter. The Guards Warrior takes his bomb, trying to apparently reprogram it. Baxter jumps out and blasts him in the nerve case.

“We gotta get that Skinny!” You all huddle around the hole. You say, “Can we get up there?”

“No use,” says Baxter. “Hole’s too small.”

Olga brings up her gun. “Not on my watch!” She fires a burst, turning the ceiling into molten slag and scrap debris.

You pat her on the head. “Good work. On the bounce!” Baxter holds onto your arm, then you all jump up. The Skinny Bagman hands his bag of drives off to another before he’s quickly dispatched. More Skinnies rally in.

> SKINNY SABOTEURS <
> Wearing enviro-suits due to their photosynthetic nature and biological need for constant heat, Saboteurs do not infiltrate. Instead, they act as a force multiplier on Arachnid raids, utilizing their humanoid bodies and individual intellect to cause destruction. <

They fire their constrictor rifles, one of them hits you on the arm. You can feel the armor starting to cave in a bit, but it’s nothing too bad. The constriction goop splats against the walls, crushing the steel and metal on it. Everyone takes cover behind support pillars and against the walls, firing away. “The bagman is getting away!” yells Baxter.

“Fairy, this is Overwatch,” says the Overwatch operator. “We have locked onto that Skinny’s xenograph signature. He’s northbound heading to a shuttle now.”

“Well, shoot it down!” yells Baxter.

“AA defenses are not responding,” says the Operator. “We are losing power in the Dockyards, no Fleet ships can respond at this time due to mass exodus of civilians.” Useless bugger!

> Find the power and cut it. He can’t escape if the doors don’t work!
> Chase after him, now!
> Get back to your shuttle!
> Other

>>1162534
>> Find the power and cut it. He can’t escape if the doors don’t work!

>>1162534
> Chase after him, now!

If we're losing power already, Why the fuck would we cut it now? We can punch through any of these walls and just need to get a Gun shot lined up or a mirco-missle spam down the hallway its in.

>>1162534
>Other
>Split up:
>Those with high-yield weapons and missiles remaining will chase after him, and slag the shuttle as it takes off if necessary.
>Everyone else will get back to the shuttle and be ready to engage in boarding action if the first group fails to stop him from getting airborne.
Cutting the power is probably a bad idea as it'll hamper our attempts to catch him as much as it'll hamper his escape.

>>1162534
> Chase after him, now!

Probably not a good idea to fuck around with power right now. Might shut down something needed.

>>1162534
>Chase after him, now!

>>1162534
> Chase after him, now!

> Chase after him, now!

You make short work of the Skinny Saboteurs and rush down the hallway after that alien. You turn to the right and see him rushing down a hall and around a corner. “That way!” The girls all follow behind you. “Overwatch! Skinny is moving northbound again! How close is he to the shuttle!?”

“One hundred meters and closing, possible ETA two minutes.” Huh, Skinnies can run that distance in under two minutes? That's a heck of a thing. You charge your MPAR again. “Goshawk Flight is moving to intercept as necessary.”

“Got it!” you say. You keep on sprinting. Another Skinny hops out of a corner to try and slow you down, but you simply tackle him out of the way. He's dazed for a second, before Olga elects to simply crush his head beneath her foot. His blood splatters all over the floor, and the back of his head you see is sticking to her boot like gum.

“Oops!” yells Olga. “Sorry!”

“That's not humane at all, Olga!” says Stacy.

“Shut up about humane, they're just aliens!” Rosalie calls out.

You boost forward with your jumpjets, then stop and brake with your right hand, gun ready in the left. Sliding around the corner you find the Shuttle Dock hallway. Inside it are over a dozen Skinnies. “Overwatch, cut power to door in my feed!” The door opens slightly but stops just short of fitting a Skinny through. Perfect. The Skinny bagman bangs on the door, yelling out presumably for help. The other Skinnies raise their weapons at you and fire. Their constrictors splat and bounce off of your armor handily. But too much is gonna crush you.

Good thing you have back up. Rosalie and Stacy fly around the corner immediately, then start firing. The three of you shoot up the Skinnies, painting the walls with their blood and skin. The Skinny bagman bangs on the door furiously to another Skinny trying to force the door open on the other side. That's it! Lieutenant Baxter comes around. “Seize him!” she yells.

You charge forward. The Skinny's eyes widen at your approach, then he takes out a single drive and holds it through the gap. He yells out, allowing the other Skinny to take it. That Skinny runs away into the shuttle doors. Damn it! The former bagman tries to grab a pistol.

Nope. You grab him by the head and smash his face into the door. Lieutenant Baxter looks down at him. “Did you really have to do that!?”

“We don't carry cuffs, Lieutenant,” you say simply. You suddenly feel a shake. The other end of the door hisses as the air starts to escape out. They're launching! “Olga!” Olga charges forward and bashes the door down. “Baxter, stay back! The air is too thin-”

Baxter is already out there firing at the escaping shuttle with her pistol. Some nerve. You all hurry out and fire away at the Shuttle. Some shots dent and gash the knife-like shuttle. But Starship hulls are graded to block asteroids, your little MPARs are like throwing grapefruits. “Goshawk, can you intercept!?”

[1/2]

>>1162776
[2/2]

“Hold on,” says Goshawk Leader. “Locking missiles now!” The Shuttle starts to glow blue, with a white flash in front of it. “Shit, it's gonna jump! Abort, abort!” The TAC Fighters immediately break left. Oh, you're not gonna deal with this! You grab Baxter and duck down. The other girls dive back and into cover.

The Shuttle escapes with a loud bang, almost deafening your ears. Several pieces of the Dockyard nearby are taken with it. Thankfully, you all escaped inside without much fuss. But...

…

“Overwatch.” Baxter gets on her headset, wiping some sweat and blood off of her face. “This is Fairy. I can confirm the Skinnies got away with a single hard drive, model 56Bravo, carrying one hundred terabytes of data.” She takes a deep breath, sighing. “Rest of the drives are secure.”

“Copy, Fairy.”

Olga steps up to you, blinking. “What did they steal?”

> “Hopefully nothing important.”
> “It doesn't concern us.”
> “Something big probably.”
> Other

>>1162783
>“Hopefully nothing important.”
But of course it's something important.

>>1162783
>Something that could destroy the only advantage we have agaisnt them

>>1162783
> “Hopefully nothing important.”

Hopefully 100tb of Federation Issue Pornography Catagory :Other

>>1162783
> "Probably the worst possible thing they could get."

>>1162783
>“Hopefully nothing important.”
>“But with our luck? Something big, probably.”

>>1162783
>Other
>I hope that drive they stole are full of porn flicks cause the IT are bored as fuck

>>1162783
> “Something big probably.”

> “Hopefully nothing important.”

“Hopefully nothing important,” you say. With any luck, it'll be some civilian's porn stash in that one hard drive. Over one hundred terabytes of cartoon girls like Nonon's shows just going at it like rabbits in heat. But, the chances are low. Right now, you were more concerned with your parents safety. You hear a loud explosion downwards, then see several shuttles taking off away from Titan Station. Wait. “Overwatch. What's the report on the evacuation shuttles? Were any shot down?”

“One second, uh.” Overwatch takes a second to process. “We reported three out of the fourty evacuation shuttles were indeed shot down by stolen AA weaponry.” Oh shit. No. You push past Olga and your Idols. Please be alive, please be alive.

-

-

“Burkett!” You were still in your suit, being pursued by your Idols, Corpsman DeSilva, and Lieutenant Baxter. “Burkett!” You find the three boys all sitting on the curb by an evacuation checkpoint. Hundreds of people are trying to push through to get out of dodge, even as the MI mops up the remaining raiders. People just aren't willing to risk it. Burkett hears your calls, then stands up. You see that look on his face.

That's the look of defeat. “Burkett, I'm in my fucking suit right now! If you tell me my parents are dead, you are going to look up at them from the fucking depths of hell you little shite! Where are they!?”

Burkett sighs, then says, “We got separated on the way to the shuttles, Lieutenant. And then- W- we couldn't find them again.” You stare at him, dead in the eye.

Azuma steps in front of Burkett quickly. “It wasn't his fault, we were close to the shuttles. They probably got evacuated, Lieutenant.” You are going to tear someone a new asshole. Right now. “We were under fire! W- we told them to go ahead and that we'd distract them!”

“Lieutenant, they probably got on a shuttle fine.” Burkett takes a deep breath. “I swear to you. I'm sure they're okay.”

> “For your sake, they better be.”
> “Alright. Fine.”
> “I'm going to tear off your cock and shove it up the asshole I'm gonna tear you if it turns out they're dead you mink.”
> Other

>>1163005
> “I'm going to tear off your cock and shove it up the asshole I'm gonna tear you if it turns out they're dead you mink.”


isn't this the guy who left his whole squad to die on a hill? Cause if so fuck him.

>>1163005
Also hey Schteel, Howcome we didn't just gun down the Skinny if we saw him banging on the door? What is the squads suit make up again cause I thought one person had a weapon able to punch through multiplier bodies.

>>1163037
1. Baxter wanted him alive for interrogation.

2. The suit make up is:

- Rosalie: Scout suit.
- Olga: Tanker suit.
- Stacy: Shocktrooper suit.
- Charlie: Shocktrooper suit (unless you want to reassign her to something else).

And technically, ALL MagPulse weapons can punch through multiple bodies. That's just how powerful they are.

>>1163064
The mission was to stop the transfer or risk of data being stolen. Shouldn't we had shot its hand or its shoulder to stop it? I'm not being an ass just confused as to why the LT suddenly was unable to finish the mission effectively

>>1163005
>“Alright. Fine.”
While Burkett is the guy who left his squad to die, Azuma and Mills were also here with our parents, and if they say nothing could have been done, then I'm willing to believe those two.

>>1163005
> “For your sake, they better be.”

>>1163083
You can't just shoot somebody in the hand or the shoulder with an MPAR, they have enough power to penetrate a few inches of solid steel along with packing a small scale explosive. While Corpsman DeSilva is around to heal, it's more likely the Skinny would've been killed outright by the weapons you all had on hand.

The weakest weapon there is Baxter's Plasma Pistol, and plasma has its own issues with lethality.

>>1163005
>“Alright. Fine.”
>“But I'm going to tear off your cock and shove it up the asshole I'm gonna tear you if it turns out they're dead you mink.”

>>1163113
Thank you for explaining German.

Anyone else getting an Escape from the Death Star vibe? I think we may have been used by the spooks to create a convincing data theft.

>>1163005
> “Alright. Fine.”

>>1163005


> “For your sake, they better be.”

Well looks like the fed better up there game and change alot of things
And get better station gurds/ guns and how to detect thr bugs.
Hmmm mybe they found a fleety that told them how to get here?

> “Alright. Fine.”

You snort. “Fine.” Burkett is lucky he has Azuma to speak for him. Anybody else you'd just blow past them and give Burkett a smoking so hot he'll be served for dinner in a bushwhacker's hut. Right now though, you need to take it all in. Your parents are missing. The Skinnies made off with a single 100TB drive, Titan Station Shipyard is now in flames, hundreds of people are now dead, and the Idol aftershow was ruined. Hell of a night. “Mills, are you okay?” you ask.

Mills leans back, showing off his still ruined leg. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just gotta wait on a new prosthetic.” Good, good. Good man. You turn around to see your Idols and Lieutenant Baxter.

“I'm sure your parents are fine,” says Rosalie. “Don't worry, Lieutenant.”

“Yeah,” says Olga. “We'll get a call from them tomorrow, I'm sure of it!” If they were fine, they'd have maybe called now. You shake your head at that. Stacy and Charlie don't look very enthusiastic about their chances though, deciding to remain quiet.

Naka walks up, holding a Universal Long-Range Radio-Personal (ULR-P) underneath her arm by strap. She holds up the link to you. “It's Captain Ozgen.” You nod, linking it with your suit.

“Lieutenant, it's Captain Ozgen,” he says. “We got a good luck at things up here, they're not good.”

“Really, I hadn't noticed.”

“That's funny. Listen, we'll send a Dropship out to pick you up. The Prime Minister also wants you to be debriefed with Internal Security as well. Lieutenant Baxter will be coming with you. It's an emergency security meeting with heads of staff, Sky Marshall as well is included.”

“What? Why me? That's for Generals and Admirals. I'm just a Lieutenant.”

“That's what she said. A dropship, callsign Stardust, is on her way now to pick you up.”

Great. A meeting with bigwig higher ups.

You need a fucking drink.

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1.72 MB JPG

>>1163158
Thanks for dropping by here on this surprise run of Starship Idols. We'll be back more for tomorrow for the regularly scheduled parts of it. Hope you all enjoyed.


Follow at: https://twitter.com/GermanSchteel
Ask at: http://germanschteel.tumblr.com/
Book Tumbles: http://germanschteelbookblog.tumblr.com/

See you next time.

>>1163161
Thanks for running Schteel.

>>1163161
Night, boss.

>>1163161
Thanks for running.

>>1163161
Thanks for the fun, boss. I'll have to play catch up on tomorrow's thread.

Stupid work making me do things for money

>>1163161
thanks

also this attack can help us get more people into the fed service fighting

>>1163161
I ...missed it!

Anyway....
dont do it schteel, dont do it!
dont kill the parents!

One of the worst things that you hate about Military Intel is their habit of smoking. Of course, it's not the nicotine based products that you heard people used almost one or two hundred years ago, but the secondhand smoke still burned at your nose and your eyes. And unfortunately, you had to share the conference room with them on board the Jimmy Stewart. Even Lieutenant Baxter, small as she was, was indulging in a cigarette along with many of her compatriots in Military Intelligence. They were all led by a very gaunt and sinister looking man by the name of Major Alexander Bishop from Internal Security. They all wore black trenchcoats with those high peaked caps of theirs and their black uniforms as well. And they all sat back, taking drags of either a cigarette or a very fine cigar.

You shudder. At least it's just you and you alone in the room with them. You'd hate for the Idols, Stacy especially, to start picking up smoking as a habit. On multiple conference calls were the many high ranking Generals and Admirals of the MI and Fleet, and of course Sky Marshall Klive Matthis. None of them looked particularly happy. Why?

Because the Prime Minister was in the middle of relieving Admiral of the Fleets Gelman Beaseley. Admiral Beasely had served Fleet for at least five years, inheriting the role after his predecessor Admiral McAvoy had been killed in a surprise space battle. You had thought of him as relatively competent, if lazy and passive, but at least Fleet hadn't fallen apart under his command. The old man though looked absolutely devastated. “B-... But Madam, I- I don't think you're being fair.”

“Are you questioning me?” asks the Prime Minister.

“The raid and its results were not my fault,” he says. “Perhaps if Titan Station's CDF or the MI had been more responsive-”

“Get out of here, box your stuff, I will promote your superior tomorrow.” Admiral Beaseley could do nothing except stand up out of his chair, salute, then leave.

In over fifty years of service, no Fleet Officer had ever been relieved of their command.

And now here you witnessed the biggest Fleetie of them all being forced to pack his bags and take a trip down washout lane. Not literally of course, he'll still be an Admiral, he'll just not be in charge of the Federal Fleet as a whole. Prime Minister Thach leant back in her seat. “Would anyone else like to question things here?” Nothing. Not even Sky Marshall Matthis had the balls to say anything. “Good. Now. Major Bishop.” Major Bishop tapped some ashes off the end of his cigar into an ashtray. “What did they steal?”

[1/3]

>>1164254
[2/2]

“One hundred terabytes of flight navigation records, mostly in regards to our ship movements, where they're going, and where they came from,” says Major Bishop. “Fortunately, we managed to trace down what exactly was on the drive.” He leans back in his seat, crossing his legs. “I can guarantee you nothing was compromised on that drive. It was simply supply and troop transport movements along with potentially the location of several of our outlying outposts that they discovered.”

“And this is good how?” asks one General.

“We can expect that the outposts and the movement of our forces are not secrets to the Arachnids, considering the coordination of this attack. They used the distraction of the attacks in our Inner Colonies and the Outer Rings along with the particular...” He points to the Fleet Admirals in question. “Gung-ho attitude of our Admirals to their advantage. And in short, they caught us with our pants down, and almost successfully stole something worth stealing.”

“What about Sanctuary?” asks Admiral Villeneuva, one of the familiar faces in the meeting. “Have they found out its location?”

Major Bishop shrugs. “Perhaps.” All the non-Intel Officers immediately start sweating or gossiping in response. They know what'll happen if Sanctuary, the location of the Officer's Academy, home to a large shipyard of its own, home to several Federal Research Depots, home to the Pathfinder training grounds, home to hundreds of millions of colonists, is ever discovered. “But I will need time to figure out what's missing and cross reference that with what we saved. If Sanctuary is on there, we will know though.”

“This attack exposed a very glaring flaw in our Federal Fleet,” says Prime Minister Thach. “We cannot sit back on our asses and wait for the Arachnids to simply huddle together for one big massive battle.”

“But, Prime Minister.” Admiral Villeneuva says, “In every aspect, the Fleet can wipe out the Arachnid Fleet in a matter of moments.”

“Then why haven't you?” asks the Prime Minister. Silence. “I'm tired of playing these games. And I am tired of hoping that you all can do your jobs effectively. Sky Marshall Matthis.” Matthis blinks, looking up at the Prime Minister. “Tomorrow, I want Fleet to adjust to a new doctrine of warfare. Fleet will no longer operate in large fleets. You all are trying to hunt a wolf with a tank. That does not work. Overkill is not going to help us defend against these terror attacks or raids. I will leave it up to Sky Marshall Matthis.”

“Yes,” says the Sky Marshall. “We will attempt to adjust our doctrinal behavior. It will be difficult to do so but I do agree, there needs to be change.”

“And it needs to come now,” says the Prime Minister. The Admirals all look at each other nervously. They are aware their jobs are now on the line. “And by tomorrow, we need a new plan for this war. We will not let this attack on Titan go unnoticed.”
[2/3]

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>>1164257
[3/3]

“Right you are, Admiral,” says one of the Generals, General Fujiyama. “The Mobile Infantry with the assistance of Federal Fleet will organize a counterattack into Arachnid territory.”

“Oh, like what happened at Hesperus?” asks Admiral Villeneuva. “Three thousand MI personnel killed? And the loss of Admiral Welker as well?”

“I must point out that that was not the Infantry's fault,” says General Fujiyama. “Our intel was spotty, in fact I believe Major Bishop at the time was in charge of gathering intelligence for the attack on Hesperus before he was moved to Internal Security. Prime Minister, I will not allow the Infantry to be insulted by these petty arguments, we are ready to move-”

The Prime Minister holds up a hand, silencing him. “A simple counterattack is not going to work.” Still more silence. “In one week, I will convene you all again after the Fleet reforms and Admiral Beasely is replaced. Until then, you all dismissed.” All the Generals over the call shut off their lines. And the Military Intel spooks get up out of their chairs and walk out. “Lieutenant.” You stop, looking to her. “Stay.” You nod, staying in your seat.

With that, it's just you and her after everyone leaves. “Prime Minister?” you ask.

“How are the Idols?” she asks. “I know Charlie cannot be too happy with what is going on now.”

> “They could be better.”
> “They're ready to participate in a counterattack if you need us.”
> “I didn't think you cared, Prime Minister.”
> Other

>>1164260
> “They're ready to participate in a counterattack if you need us. Charlie...really wants to help her home however.”

>>1164260
>> “They could be better.”

>>1164260
>> “They could be better.”

>>1164260
> “They could be better.”
>Other: Charlie really wants to go home to help out her family, if any remain.

>>1164260
>> “They could be better.”

>>1164260
>“They're ready to participate in a counterattack if you need us. Charlie...really wants to help her home however.”

> “They could be better.”

You shrug, sitting back in your seat. “They could be better. Charlie especially.”

“I understand Charlie's want for revenge against the Arachnids for Myrmido. And I can tell by your expression that you really want to say that you're ready to participate in some kind of counteroffensive against the bugs.” Wow. She read you like a book. You nod again, folding your arms. “But listen. What I need from you girls now is to stay in the back, drum up support, and keep on singing.”

“You're going to keep us in the rear?” you ask.

“Yes,” she says. “I want the concerts to go on. And I want more people enlisting. Hell, I see Titan Station as an opportunity to get people to enlist. You can spin it like that, can't you?” She quirks her brow, obviously expecting you to. You nod slowly. “Good. If you and your Idols are needed, I will say so. But for now, you are going to stay in the back, and you are going to like it. You understand, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Madam,” you say.

“Good. Let the girls know. Keep on with the concerts. Dismissed.” Her screen cuts out.

You sigh, standing up. Fucking A. What's Charlie going to say? You shake your head then step out of the room. Ah, recycled air, no more of that secondhand smoke burning at your eyes and nose. Lieutenant Baxter looks to you, nodding as she walks on over. “Lieutenant.” She holds out her hand to you. “I'm afraid this is where we part ways.”

You nod, shaking her hand. “Thanks for your help, Lieutenant.”

“Likewise,” she says. “I'll be keeping an eye on you all. Major Bishop as well sends his regards too. Try not to waste the opportunities we may give you in the future.” She turns away, tipping her cap up, then walks down the hall. And there goes the tiny little Lieutenant Baxter. “Oh.” She steps back, then grabs her Plasma Pistol by the bottom of the barrel. She holds it out to you. “You're going to need a sidearm. You can't just steal Pulse Rifles willy nilly and go ham.”

You smirk, then take it off of her. A RADOM Plasma Pistol, a compact version of the experimental Plasma Rifles RnD is developing. “Thanks,” you say. “Are you sure I can keep it?”

“I can always get another,” she says. “Perks of being a Spook.” She snorts, turning around. “Until next time, Lieutenant.”

With that, she leaves.

> Go find the girls, see how they're doing.
> Get a drink in your room.
> Speak with Captain Ozgen about the situation.
> Other

>>1164452
>> Go find the girls, see how they're doing.

>>1164452
>> Go find the girls, see how they're doing.

>>1164452
>> Go find the girls, see how they're doing.

>>1164452
> Go find the girls, see how they're doing.

> Go find the girls, see how they're doing.

You find the girls all cleaning the blood and guts off of their suits. They dressed down into simple tank tops and shorts, and are wet with spongy water as they hose down the suits. Burkett stands by, his arms folded. He turns around, then lazily yells out. “Officer on deck.” They stop washing and quickly come over and stand at attention.

“As you were.” They relax. At least they're getting some discipline in. “Right, I'm back from the meeting. I just wanted to see how everyone was. Nobody's hurt, right?”

“Nope,” says Naka. “Actually! I just got my certification for...” She holds up an ID Badge. “Fleet Tactical Liaison!” Olga and Rosalie cheer happily, hugging Naka from behind. “Ahaha! They're going to put me through OCS in special case! I'll be an Ensign in no time!”

You smile happily. “That's great, Naka! You'll be good at it, I know it!” Naka grins happily. You look over to Charlie and Stacy, who look less than enthused. “What's up with you lot?”

Charlie says, “So when are we taking back Myrmido?”

“Oh. Well...” All the Idols look at you, curiously. Well...

> “Not now.”
> “We're on rear guard until the Prime Minister says so.”
> “Soon.”
> Other

>>1164629
>> “We're on rear guard until the Prime Minister says so.”

>>1164629
> “We're on rear guard until the Prime Minister says so. Its...not pretty.”

>>1164629
>> “We're on rear guard until the Prime Minister says so.”

>>1164629
>> “We're on rear guard until the Prime Minister says so.”
>> Other
"I will try to pester her whenever possible Charlie, i also feel obligation with Myrmido. Unless you want to try talking to her?"

Sorry for the delay, writing now.

> “We're on rear guard until the Prime Minister says so.”

“We're on rear guard until the Prime Minister says so. We'll be doing our concerts and raising support for the war effort that way until she wants us on the frontline again.” Charlie looks absolutely crushed, looking down at the floor. Stacy wraps her arm around her, pulling her close. “I know that's tough, Charlie. But orders are orders. And the orders are to hold the line while the MI and Fleet figure something out.”

Charlie nods, taking a deep breath. “I understand.” You look over at Burkett, who nods as well. He understands as well. “How soon can we hear from them?”

“A week,” you say. Charlie nods again at that, placing her hands on her hips. “But don't let this stop you from training your heart out. We've been bought some time, we are going to make this most of it.”

“Yeah!” says Olga. “Come on, guys. This is a good opportunity to better ourselves!” She points to Rosalie. “Rosalie, you want to get stronger and get better at scouting, right?” Rosalie nods. “And Stacy, you want to be a better Shocktrooper!” Stacy nods as well. “And Naka, you- well, you aren't deploying to ground.” Naka shrugs. “But Charlie as well! Everyone we should be taking the time to train our hearts out until the next concert! And then more training too! Right, Uncle Burkett?”

“I told you,” says Burkett. “Don't call me Uncle.” Wait, when did this start?

“Anyway,” says Olga. “Come on, Domino Squad! Let's dominate!” She raises her fist, grinning.

…

“Come on,” she whines.

“It's hard to be enthusiastic right now, Olga, sorry,” says Charlie. Olga frowns a bit.

Stacy says, “She's right though. We should be taking the time to make ourselves better at actually soldiering. I say we get in our suits, do some practice drills. Hell, the ship even has a shooting range too. Let's get more familiar with our weapons.”

“It's up to the Lieutenant today, I think,” says Burkett. “What do you want to do with them?”

> Range practice.
> Suit maneuvering practice.
> “Up to you, Burkett. You train them.”
> Other

>>1164888
>> Other
Let's try focusing on Out-Of-Suit combat, seeing as how we we're just in one of those situations.

>>1164888
>> Suit maneuvering practice.

>>1164888

> Suit maneuvering practice

For the prince cdf
And out of suot fighting for the girls

>>1164888
> “Up to you, Burkett. You train them.”

>>1164888
> “Up to you, Burkett. You train them.”

>>1164888
> Suit maneuvering practice.

Delayed again, sorry, give me ten-20 minutes.

> Suit maneuvering practice.

-

-

“Left! Right!” The four girls all take the time to do strafing practice with jump jets. “Left!” They boost to the left. Rosalie almost trips and falls over. “Right!” They boost to the right. Rosalie boosts herself onto her side into a bunch of barrels. Burkett walks on over, righting her. “Come on, Rosie! I'm not gonna pull you up every time! Get up! Get up!” Rosalie nods, getting back into formation. “Left!” They boost left again. Charlie seems to have gotten the hang of things it seems.

You fold your arms, watching from afar with Naka. “You know, Lieutenant. I'm glad I get to be an FTL and all...” You look at her, quirking your brow. “But I do feel kind of left out.”

“I'm sure you'll get used to it,” you say. “You'll do great as an FTL, Naka.” Naka smiles a little, nodding. You have to admit, it'll be hard to market Naka as the rear echelon girl compared to the frontline fighters like Stacy, Rosalie, Olga, and Charlie. You turn around when you hear some footsteps, and find Mills stepping towards you on some crutches with a new leg. Corpsman DeSilva helps him along. “Mills! DeSilva!”

“Lieutenant!” Mills smiles, saluting you. “Good to see you.”

“We just fitted his new prosthetic, he'll be good to walk for now,” says DeSilva. “You lot doing suit training?”

“Yeah,” you say. “Did you want to get in on it?”

DeSilva shrugs, shaking her head. “Nah. I'll watch though, someone's bound to get injured.” Rosalie immediately boosts into Olga to prove her point. The two smack their suits and land into a pile of crates. “Like that.”

“C-... Corpsman!” yells Rosalie.

Burkett sighs, holding up his hands. “Freeze!” He motions DeSilva over. The two walk over to see Olga and Rosalie apparently fused together, with their arms and legs interlocked. “... Corpsman, get your suit.”

“Yeah,” says DeSilva nonchalantly.

Burkett walks on over to you. “Rosalie's still having trouble, but I think she'll be good to adjust into her Scout suit given some time.” You've given Rosalie plenty of time though. You sigh in frustration. “But listen. Charlie!” Charlie walks on over. “I think it's time we assign Charlie to a squad role too, either as a Scout or Shocktrooper, or a Tanker.”

“Actually...” Charlie holds up a hand. “While I do like the suits and everything. I would kind of prefer to be in an APLU.”

“A power loader?” asks Burkett. “Why?”

“It's...” Charlie twiddles her fingers. “It's familiar. Plus, I do have some tech skills I guess that could be of use in an APLU. And we used them a lot in the CDF, we modified them into ghetto suits with all kinds of weapon mods and stuff so... yeah. B-... But it's up to the Lieutenant of course.”

> Shocktrooper
> Scout
> Tanker
> Armored Power Loading Unit

>>1165285
> Tanker

you're learning the like rest were.

>>1165285
>> Armored Power Loading Unit
moding here we come
can chang out things for each mission

>>1165285
>> Armored Power Loading Unit

Modularity!

>>1165337
and to add to that cdf charm

>>1165285
>> Armored Power Loading Unit
We can manage that, although, once the PM can convince the Feds to start sending over actual suits, you're probably going to have to switch, in order to show solidarity with the order.

Also, this doesn't mean you're skipping suit maneuvering practice.

I wonder if we can get a large engineering firm to design 'after market' combat upgrades for APLUs.

For now, we should get some techies to look at ghettoing up Charlie's suit right.

>>1165285
> Armored Power Loading Unit

> Armored Power Loading Unit

-

-

The APLU Suit does not have jump jets, does not have any onboard weaponry besides maybe the electric tasers mounted on the hydraulic forks on the hands, and the most armor it has isn't that thick in the first place. But Charlie handles it like a dream. She is able to keep up with the MI girls at a sprint, along with strafing side to side by foot, and she even can force it hop a certain distance. Not too far, but at least she's showing you she can maneuver it. “Given time and effort,” says Burkett. “I think she'll be good use in that suit.”

“Yeah,” you say. Corpsman DeSilva walks over in her Hospitaller suit. “Were the girls okay?” you ask.

“Yep! It happens all the time with trainees, occasionally they crash into each other and they just fuse into one another because they're too scared to move their arms or legs,” she explains. “I'm sure you've seen that before though, Lieutenant.” You did once in training. The poor girls broke both their arms and legs trying to get off of each other.

Naka walks over. “So, our next concert is going to be on the Moon?”

“Yep, I'm sure Nonon is already busy working on a song for you.”

“Nice! Naka grins happily. “I think I already have something in mind too, I'm gonna go find her!” You nod, dismissing her. Naka quickly runs off to go find Nonon.

“Alright, alright!” says Burkett. “Good work. Take a break, hit the showers.” Stacy and Charlie bump their hands, nodding to each other.

Olga grins, walking past Burkett. “Thanks, Uncle Burkett!”

“Yeah, later Uncle Burkett,” says Rosalie.

“I said-” Burkett groans. “Whatever.” He steps into one of the suit ready racks, then disengages the helmet. He pulls himself out. The other girls start dismounting as well. You walk up to Burkett, quirking your brow. “What?”

“What's with the Uncle thing?” you ask.

“I dunno,” he says. “But I wish they'd stop. I haven't done anything Uncle-y to them. Besides it makes me feel old.” He pulls at his I-Suit, muttering a bit. “I don't look that old, do I?”

> “Yes.”
> “Eh. We're old in spirit.”
> “Nah. You'd be handsome if you weren't such an ugly fuck.”
> Other

>>1165615
> “Eh. We're old in spirit.”

There are only fresh faces and old soldiers. The difference is one particular drop

>>1165615
> “Eh. We're old in spirit.”

>>1165615
>> “Eh. We're old in spirit.”
Still cute!

>>1165615
>> “Eh. We're old in spirit.”
"I'm still the cutest. Say otherwise and I'll launch you out the airlock."

>>1165615
>> “Eh. We're old in spirit.”

> “Eh. We're old in spirit.”

You shrug. “We're old in spirit, Burkett.” He nods at that, folding his arms with a heavy sigh. As the girls walk on to get to the showers, you stand there with him. At least the two of you can agree that there's something about Federal service that ages you significantly. And probably not even in a good way. They say that age confers wisdom, and that wisdom comes from experience. But judging from what you've seen of Generals and Admirals who actually rose up through the ranks, that experience and wisdom... simply isn't there. They're old men, physically and mentally. “Burkett, how old are you?”

“27,” he says. “Why?”

You shrug. “Just asking. I'm 23-ish myself.”

“Really?” He snorts. “Could've fooled me.”

“What's that supposed to fucking mean?” you ask.

He shrugs. “You got a bit of a babyface, still got that babyfat I suppose.” Why he- You squint at him.

Mills hobbles up to you two, smiling. “Enjoying ourselves?” The two of you shrug. “Lieutenant. I do come with some bad news.” Oh? “Me and Azuma have spent all day trying to look through the missing persons reports, trying to investigate things.” Oh. Oh no. “I'm sorry, but your parents are missing.” You blink. Burkett as well stands there, awkwardly. “W-... we simply don't know where they are. But I'm sure they'll turn up.”

Burkett nods. “They will,” he says. “Don't worry, Lieutenant.” You punch Burkett on the arm. “Ah!”

“They better,” you growl. Mills looks solemnly at you. “Mills, thanks for the news. And thanks for not saying it in front of the girls. I'd rather they not have something else to worry about. Better to focus on the war.” He nods in agreement. The three of you now stand there in very cold dead silence.

Mum, Dad. Where are you?

File: Rosalie.jpg (129 KB, 850x1202)

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>>1165891
That's it for tonight's Starship Idols. I'm beat, so we'll end it for here tonight. Hope you all enjoyed. If you got questions I'm around.

Follow at: https://twitter.com/GermanSchteel
Ask at: http://germanschteel.tumblr.com/
Book Tumbles: http://germanschteelbookblog.tumblr.com/

See you next time.

Name the best guy.

>>1165895
LT's parents are fucking spies working for the bugs, are't they?

>>1165895
When will you self insert yourself in this quest or are you the spook idol we are waiting for?

>>1165907
Never, ever, ever. There will be no GermanSchteel idol.

>>1165895
Thanks for running Schteel.

>>1165895
OH NO YOU FKCING DIDNT

Thanks for the run yo

[x] Yes for Germanschteel idol

>>1165895
Mills is best guy in general.
Though I'm rooting for Azuma as our husbando, since he has better chemistry with us.

“As you can see here.” Danner, although blind, is walking through the civilian Idol staff through a visual presentation aided by the roadies. “Enlist spiked by at least 5% during our first concert. It spiked again when the images of us at Myrmido were released by another 2%, but...” He points out the very soft slope. “For whatever reason, Enlistment is not spiking despite the attack on domestic territory. We didn't even need Charlie that day, no offense to her, but this is an issue we must figure out and address. Why are people letting this attack go by willy nilly?”

Azuma holds up a hand. “I have a suggestion. Have any of you watched Colonial News lately?” You all stare at him. Nobody in this part of the Galaxy has probably even heard of the Colonists having their own news network. “Well. I got into contact with people there.” He pulls out a PDA, then folds the screen up so everyone can see. “Let's take a look.”

Colonial news. A man and a woman in nice suits debate around a table on the colony of Bocage. The man is lecturing at length. “... and the idea that our Federal Fleet just allowed the Arachnids to simply waltz into our home system -again- let's not forget the debacle that let them invade Mars and torch our facilities there almost a decade or two ago, this is madness! And whose fault is it? The Federation! They're the ones perpetuating this war for far longer than it should've gone for! With the Arcturians, six months, then you have the Frosties that took what only three months? And the Pelenopi, 25 minutes. But the Bugs? Twenty years, almost going into its twenty-first, with no end in sight!”

“There is an end in sight! You're just speaking a whole load of nonsense!” says the woman. “I can't believe the words that are coming out of your mouth! Our Federation sends brave men and women to the front every day to fight for you and you sit here-”

“They've been doing that for twenty years with nothing to show for it-”

“-And you sir are just being rude-”

“The Prime Minister is considering lowering the enlistment age further that is how desperate she is for manpower-”

“What's wrong with children fighting in a war!? Are you serious!? We let children walk to school on their own, what's fighting against the Bugs?!”

Azuma pulls the PDA back. “And let's not forget the stuff going on in the 'unofficial' Starship Idols fan page.” Ah yes, that website.

[1/2][

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>>1168005
[2/2]

Tess6257
I was considering enlisting in the Federal Service but after seeing the Bugs raid Titan Station and kill all those people, my parents are forbidding it.

Fhjws245
Don't be such a pussy! You can enlist! Follow Rosalie's example!

xxxCypherRagexxx
Tess's parents are right though. People get killed in the Federal Service. The Federation doesn't seem to have a clear goal in fighting the Bugs anymore. Do they even know what they're fighting for anymore?

Fhjws245
We're fighting so freeloaders like you can live you fucking pussy

RosalieIsLewdestGirl
I want to be like the girls, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to die either. How are the Bugs still in this after two decades? The Federation likes to tell us how many Bugs they kill on FedNet but that doesn't seem to stop the Bugs. I'm not going to enlist, period.

FruitFighter69
Word. Never gonna put my life down for a war that doesn't make any sense.

TopSteer
Shannon Shujumi is a better singer anyway. She actually writes her own songs.

Xalphox
I want to fuck Olga and make her give birth to my rape baby.

xxxCypherRagexxx
what the fuck


…

“How?” you ask. “People have just witnessed a direct attack on their home system, and seen hundreds of people die at the hands of the Bugs and the Skinnies. And they're now suddenly afraid of them!?” How is this even fucking possible!? When Buenos Aires got wiped off the face of the map, enlisting was cool, enlisting was heroic and patriotic! But when Titan Station gets hit, suddenly people are losing their nerve to fight? This doesn't make any sense!

“Lieutenant, if you remember Mars, this isn't the first time the Federation has let an attack on the Core System happen,” says Danner. “Raids are a fact of life now. They're not the big mobilizer of people that they were and should be now. I'm afraid that this war has gone on for so long that... it's just routine now. People getting killed in Arachnid raids at best may get some people enlisting to avenge some fallen friend or family or get some patriots enlisting but... people are just apathetic to it all now. And that's not to mention the Colonies very forward opinion of the Federation.”

“So you're telling me that there's nothing we can do,” you say.

…

Danner says, “Lieutenant, it's up to you to decide the approach we take. I'm genuinely stumped at this point.”

> “Everyone but Danner, Azuma, and Mills, get out. We need to think.”
> “I need a drink.”
> “The path we take is to get people to enlist. That does not change.”
> Other

>>1168011
>> “Everyone but Danner, Azuma, and Mills, get out. We need to think.”
>> “I need a drink.”
"something reealy light"

>>1168011
>> “Everyone but Danner, Azuma, and Mills, get out. We need to think.”

>>1168011

> “Everyone but Danner, Azuma, and Mills, get out. We need to think.”

>>1168011
>> “Everyone but Danner, Azuma, and Mills, get out. We need to think.”

> “Everyone but Danner, Azuma, and Mills, get out. We need to think.”

With everyone out of the room, you all keep sitting down. Mills places down a glass of water for you to drink, which you do quickly and with gusto. You slam the empty glass down, glaring at the three of them. “So we're fucked then. Nobody cares about the war anymore even though it's knocking on our door and breaking our windows in.”

“Not necessarily,” says Danner. “I mean, the way things are, we don't really know what the Federation is fighting for. The Bugs aren't that different from us aside from being socialist.”

“Socialism is a really big difference, Danner,” says Azuma. Hmph, socialism. Human history has proven time and time again that socialism doesn't work. The reason it works for the Arachnids is because they're evolved for it. They have specific castes that are biologically ingrained into their system. Humanity is a species of individuals, who build things by merit and through hard work. But you spend ten, maybe fifteen years being a child learning how the world works, sometimes you fail and you never contribute to society at all. But a human need not contribute to society to better himself. One can be completely selfish and still succeed.

But Arachnids? Their entire life is devoted to the species. From the day they're born to the day they die, every minute and every second of their thinking is devoted to the question “how does this better my people?” At least, that's how the xenobiologists put it. You sigh, folding your arms. You hate to say it, but humanity could stand to learn something from the Bugs.

“Well.” Danner shrugs. “We can't match the Bugs in enlistment. Let's not try that. What we can do is try and make this war a good war. A splendid little war.”

“You're asking we lie to people,” you say.

Danner stares at you, then says, “Propaganda doesn't lie, it tells the truth from a certain point of view. And the point of view we need is one of heroism, of hope, and patriotism. What the Federation needs is one really big victory against the Bugs. Something that will convince people that we can win the war, and win it in good time, and without a high price to pay. That's what we need.”

“But we don't have that, and the Bugs aren't going to give that to us,” says Azuma.

“Correct,” says Danner. “So it's up to us to make people that it's coming. Lieutenant, my advice genuinely would be to play up the war as a good war. Something that can be enjoyed, something that can you get together with your friends, hell-” He snaps his fingers. “I can pull strings with the recruiting offices, introduce bonuses for people who enlist with friends or family.”

“That's cheating,” says Mills. “Recruiter's jobs don't involve lying to people about the war.”

“It's up to the Lieutenant,” says Danner. “What do you think?”

> “It's our job to sell the war, but I will not lie.”
> “Let's go with Danner's idea. It's the best idea we have so far.”
> Other

>>1168095
> “Let's go with Danner's idea. It's the best idea we have so far.”

>>1168095
>> “It's our job to sell the war, but I will not lie.”

>>1168095
>> “It's our job to sell the war, but I will not lie.”

>>1168095
>It's our job to sell war but I will not lie to people.
>How bout we approach it from a different angle? Instead of broadcasting it as the good war we do the opposite. We emphasize the urgency of the war show people the amount of death and debastation the bugs brought to the colony and that if they don't fight it will be a matter of time before they're the ones that end up like that. As much as possible we need to demonize the bugs and make the people hate them again.

> “It's our job to sell the war, but I will not lie.”

“It's our job to sell the war, Danner. I will not lie to people about it,” you say. “Mister Ruszczyk did not lie to me when it came to enlisting in Federal Service. I'm sure all of your H&M teachers didn't either. We shouldn't start now. What makes the MI great is that we know the risks and we are willing to take them. I won't bribe, brainwash, blackmail, or bully people into enlisting. That's not right.”

Danner is quiet for a few seconds, then sighs heavily. “Very well, Lieutenant. I suppose right now we'll keep the current course. Our next stop is the moon. Did anyone else have any suggestions?” Everyone shakes their heads. “Lieutenant, I'll be working on getting us a venue on the Moon. If I were you, I'd get some rest or something. It could be a long week before the Prime Minister figures out what to do.” Right, right.

You really need a bigger braintrust than just your adjutant, your stage tech, and your MWI guy. You shake your head at it as everyone stands up and starts walking out of the room. Azuma however grabs your shoulder as you stand up. “You alright, Lieutenant?”

“I'm fine,” you say. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, it's just-... I know your parents are missing and all.” Gee. Really. Hadn't noticed. “I just wanted to make sure you're doing alright. I know your relationship with them wasn't the best.”

“It's fine.” The two of you step out into the hallway. Mills stands there, waiting for your word. You motion for him to fuck off out of here, and he does so loyally and quietly. “They'll turn up. I am assured they will turn up. They are the heads of the Galactic Fruit Company after all. The Company ought to look out for their head of staff. Not to mention my Dad's a much tougher man than you realize. He once beat a man almost to death just for grabbing my breast on a mag-lev. The police didn't come to arrest that pervert, they came to save him from my Dad by arresting the pervert.”

“Right, right.” Azuma folds his arms, looking down. “Well. Regardless, if you need to talk. I'm always around, Lieutenant.”

You roll your eyes. “Please.”

“Seriously. I won't lecture you, I'll listen,” he says. “If you want to talk that is.”

> “If you give me a case of scotch and some time, then you'll hear everything.”
> “Buzz off. I'm fine.”
> “Thanks for the offer.”
> Other

>>1168205
>> “If you give me a case of scotch and some time, then you'll hear everything.”

>>1168205
> “If you give me a case of scotch and some time, then you'll hear everything.”

>>1168205
> “Buzz off. I'm fine.”

>>1168205
> “If you give me a case of scotch and some time, then you'll hear everything.”

>>1168205
>“Thanks for the offer.”

> “If you give me a case of scotch and some time, then you'll hear everything.”

“If you give me a case of scotch and some time then you'll basically hear everything, including some things you don't want to hear,” you say. He stares at you, confused. “Azuma, I've led an interesting life. There's a lot to say, let's put it that way. And honestly, I would rather I concern myself with the girls than to concern myself with... myself.” You fold your arms, sighing. “Besides, it's not like my parents died or anything.” Oh no, if they died, you'd be devastated. Absolutely devastated. “Thanks for the concern anyway, but you're no shrink, Azu-”

He places a flask at your chest. “... the fuck is this?” you ask.

“Scotch,” he says. “Come on. We can talk.”

…

-

-

It wasn't just one flask of scotch, it was several bottles of it. He remained quite sober, drinking only water as the two of you sat in the rather empty canteen. You caught an hour of it where nobody was eating, so you have some time to yourselves. You lean on your hand as your arm rests on the cold metal table. You've stripped off your jacket and rolled up the sleeves on your blazer. Azuma simply sits there, listening. “... and then-... you remember what happened to Andrews?”

“Hung himself,” he says. “I think he felt just as guilty as you did that he couldn't save Diz.”

“And Thames?” you ask.

“Also dead. Stayed in the service. Got schwacked by a sniper,” Azuma says simply. “It's a shame what happened to most of us, the guys that went into caves with you.” The most you talked about right now was the squad that went into the caves with you to catch that Queen. It was you, Dune, Azuma, DeWindt, Simms, Chow, Thames, Andrews, and Dizzy. Of that squad, only you, Dune, and Azuma were alive. Andrews hung himself. Chow, Thames, and Simms were killed by Arachnids. DeWindt had the idea to go career, become a CO, but he was killed in his first action as a Third Lieutenant.

And the two men that you saved? Their names were Cal Gage and Tim Bradford. They're also dead.

Despite having a medal to show for your killing the Queen, in the end most of it really didn't matter. You caught the Queen, sure. But it didn't end the war. You saved those men, but they died anyway. Dizzy died to save the entire squad, but out of the entire squad only three survive now.

Feels like a waste. You suppose that's what war is these days. You remember the H&M lessons, the ones with Mister Ruszczyk. He'd talk at length about the “good wars”, the ones where there is a clear good guy and a clear bad guy. And in those wars, there was no question that the war had to be fought. You can't exactly just talk Hitler out of kicking doors in and sending the Jews to Auschwitz. Nor could you talk the Confederate States of America out of releasing the slaves. Or talk the British into letting America become their own nation. Or talk Genghis Khan or the Romans into stopping their wars of conquest.

But something got lost.

[1/2]

>>1168205


> “If you give me a case of scotch and some time, then you'll hear everything.”

>>1168322
[2/2]

“This is still a good war we fight, right Azuma?” He looks up, surprised at the question.

“I like to think it is,” he says.

You roll your eyes. “Is it or isn't it?” He's quiet for a minute. He leans back and takes a deep breath. “Look ya manky fuck, answer the fucking question.”

“I don't know what to say,” you say. “Happy?”

You rest your head on your arms, frowning heavily.

This isn't a good kind of drunk.

“Do you think it's a good war?” he asks.

> “It is.”
> “It has to be.”
> “I want it to be.”
> Other

>>1168325
>“It is.”
The Arachnids aren't going to hand over good, habitable planets when their population can expand at will. There is no reason for them to not continue until the threat to their civilization is eliminated.

>>1168325
> “It is.”
> “It has to be.”
> “I want it to be.”
>" I need another one, More scotch please. "

>>1168325

> “It has to be.”
For everyone couse the bugs are not going to stop but its hard after so long and the people loseing the fire they once had

>>1168325
This >>1168333

>>1168333
Agreed.

> “It is.”
> “It has to be.”
> “I want it to be.”

“It is. It has to be. I want to be, damn it!” You gently thump your fist on the table, grumbling. There's so many things that maek you want to say, “this is a terrible war, we shouldn't be fighting, maybe the Bugs are actually reasonable”. But no, nothing is ever going to make you say that. “Get me another scotch.” He nods, uncapping another bottle for you. Ah, excellent. Strange that he'd suddenly reverse his position on your drinking but... meh, it's drinks. You take a large gulp of the scotch.

“You miss Dizzy, I know,” he says.

You shake your head, letting the alcohol burn down your throat. “Course I do. Dizzy and me were close. I loved him. You'd be torn up too like me if it were Saki down there-”

“Don't.” He shakes his head, glaring at you. “Saki is not going to enlist if I have anything to say about it.”

“You-... that is-” You slam the scotch bottle on the table, glaring at him. “You are precisely the problem we're facing! Wh- why can't Saki enlist!? She's dedicated! She's a hard worker! We've mostly replaced with real professionals in costumes and makeup and shite like that but she still works hard, the girls love her too!”

“If you had a sister, you'd understand,” he says.

“Azuma.” You lean forward, squinting at him in the eye. “I've had to command an entire company. I think I can understand not wanting to put people at risk.” Azuma grunts, clearly putting his tongue in cheek and biting down to keep himself from saying more. “Honestly. H-...” You blink. “Azuma. How are you so well-put?”

He tilts his head. “What?”

“You managed to get back into the civilian life, you got yourself a girlfriend and for some reason broke up with her, very nice girl, and- and-” You glare at him. “Why? How do you do it? Why aren't you like me? I feel- I feel broken sometimes. Like there are things missing and I lose track of so many things and you-... you're just you! You're literally the same person I know from the service.”

Azuma shrugs. “You haven't seen me in bed then.”

“Is this some really weak pass at me,” you say bluntly. “Because I already know the size of your fucking penis and let me tell you, you're not anything special ya dunce.”

He huffs, a light blush on his face. “Look. I get nightmares, sometimes I hear a pop from like a car backfiring or something and that puts me on edge for hours. I'm just better at hiding it than you are, Lieutenant. I don't drown myself in drinks or drugs like a lot of people who come out of the service.”

“Right.” You snort, shaking your head.

…

You rest your head on the table. “I'm tired.”

“So am I,” he says softly. You can feel his hand gently stroke at your hair a bit. What the fuck? You look at him. And he quickly snaps his hand back, looking away in embarrassment.

> “Don't do that again.”
> “You're such a tease.”
> “More drink, please.”
> Other

>>1168448
>" If you're gonna stroke my hair, Do it fucking right the first god damn time. Even Civilians can do it better then you. "

>>1168448
>> “You're such a tease.”

>>1168448
> “You're such a tease.”

>>1168448
> “You're such a tease.”

also give him shit for thinking he can take someones right to do there part in the fed when he knows we need more people

>>1168448
>“You're such a tease.”
Also this >>1168483

> “You're such a tease.”

You pout furiously at him. “You are such a tease, Azuma.” He grunts, leaning on the table again. “Still. You think you can just take someone's right to do their part when we're trying to demand other people do theirs for the war? As if.”

Azuma grumbles, sighing. “Look. Lieutenant.” You look at him, quirking your brow. “You know. When I talk to guys or gals who come back from the war. There's always this look in their eyes. You know the one.” The thousand yard stare. “That look that makes them seem like they're just gazing off in the distance, looking for Bugs in the wire or something. It's always so empty, so... dead.” You frown a little. “Lieutenant, it would break my heart if I let Saki, a very nice and happy girl with lots of aspirations in her life go to war. And she comes back with that same look. That would break me. I don't want to see that happen to my sister.” Again he reaches over, caressing your hair a bit. “And I certainly don't want to see that happen again to you. There's so much outside of the service, outside of war. And we can't appreciate it because the war is all we know anymore. I just want you to be able to enjoy that.”

You sit up again, then lean forward, looking him in those cool eyes of his. “I can. But not now. There's still the war to win.”

“Yeah.” He sighs. “There is.” He leans forward as well, looking you in your eyes as well. “But maybe you can forget the war just for a minute or so. I bet you were a pretty nice girl before you joined the service.” Oh, as if. He smiles a little.

Wait. “Are you implying I'm not a nice girl now?”

“W-...” He sighs. “Would you-” You snicker a little. “I-... you're a nice girl now, Lieutenant.”

You lean close. “How nice am I?”

“Well...” He looks down as you keep leaning in towards him. “Y-... you're just um, uh.”

…

You both turn your heads to see Corpsman DeSilva at the coffee machine, staring at you two. “Oh. Don't mind me, continue.” She takes a sip of her coffee, trying to suppress a smirk. Azuma rubs the back of his head, red in the face.

> “Get the fuck out of here.”
> “I should head back to my room anyway. Good night the lot of you.”
> Other

>>1168595
> Other
Continue.

>>1168595
> Other
You know, DeSilva, I picked most of my girls when I was shitfaced on scotch. Figure I should warn you before I finish this bottle and requisition you for the band.

Speaking of, found anyone willing to join?

>>1168595
backing this >>1168602

>>1168595
Supporting >>1168611

File: Fina.png (368 KB, 638x360)

368 KB PNG

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Fuck it. We'll roll for this.

1. Lewdtenant
2. Ignore boy, acquire purest love with Corpsman.

> Other

You snicker, dropping your head on the table. Azuma takes a deep breath, relieved. “You know, DeSilva.” You point at her, smiling. I pick up a lot of girls for the Idols when I was plastered like a statue. So I should warn you before I finish this bottle, I might accidentally recruit you for the Idols.” Corpsman Fina DeSilva stares at you, bemused. “Though, speaking of which, did you find anybody who might be willing to join the group?”

Corpsman DeSilva smiles, walking up to you two. “Well, I mean... I don't consider myself singer material, Lieutenant.” Fair enough, but Rosalie can't sing and she's an Idol. DeSilva puts herself down too much. “Honestly.” She sits down next to you. “The only guy in the FHC here on the ship who really thinks highly of the Idols program is Gary.”

“Gary seems nice,” says Azuma.

“He really is, he's a sweetheart, very naive though,” says DeSilva. “Lieutenant, Captain Ozgen is all-too happy to attach me to your group for ground missions, let's be frank about that. But-... I'm not Idol material. I can direct you to some people on the ship who are though.”

You look over at Azuma. “Is it in budget?”

“Well, not now,” says Azuma. “We're using the money now to rent crews and venues. Once we get a bit more disposable cash though, sure.”

“Who are we talking about?” you ask.

“Well, there's the pilots who like to gather around for karaoke. They're um... they're an interesting bunch,” says DeSilva.

> “Let's go meet them.”
> “DeSilva, I'd rather you be an Idol, if we're going to see each other frequently.”
> Other

>>1168743
> “Let's go meet them.”

>>1168743
>> “Let's go meet them.”
And we'll find them singing Danger Zone

>>1168743
>> “Let's go meet them.”
"Carry me to them, servants!"

>>1168743
>> “Let's go meet them.”

>>1168743
>“Let's go meet them.”

Perhaps useful as backup vocals for wider harmony.

>>1168743
>> “Let's go meet them.”
but dont think your out of the woods about beening an idol

>>1168743
>Other
Sure, I'll meet them. When I'm sober.

> “Let's go meet them.”

-

-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_6x3EW3FC0

“Take my breath away!” The Pilot's barracks is alive with all of the girls singing into microphones, with the words being projected on screen for them. They are every bit the image of pilots you thought, lazy, undisciplined, barely wearing uniforms or just dressed in their skivvies, with non-regulation hair lengths or sunglasses. The MI troops would be solemn or a bit more quiet after a combat operation. Pilots, not so. “TAAAAKE MY BREATH AWAAAAAY!” They are...

Dreadful. Ugh. You, Azuma, and DeSilva walk in. DeSilva smiles bemusedly. “Everyone, everyone!” DeSilva calls the pilots. They all look over, tipping down their sunglasses, smiling a bit. Some immediately gossip when they see Azuma. “Hey, what's up?”

“Fifi! Come join us!” says the one with the brown hair with fiery red highlights.

“Yeah!” says the redhead with lightning bolt tattoos running along her arms.

“Not now, not now,” says Fina. Fifi? She walks up to them, then motions you closer. “Guys, this is the Lieutenant, she's the Producer for the Starship Idols.” They all look at you in surprise and awe. “She's uh... looking for an Idol to recruit.”

“Neato!” says the brunette. She offers her hand. “I'm Ratzass.” She points to the redhead. “That's Shock Jock.”

“Callsigns I'm guessing,” you say.

“Yep!” says Ratzass. She takes a sniff of you, then grins. “You smell like you've been drinking, Lieutenant!” Well, maybe. Definitely. “We can open some beers for you, we can do some karaoke too!”

“Guys, guys...” You all look over to the corner to see another girl, a diminutive yet chesty blonde wearing some dark aviators. She dusts back her blonde hair, looking to you all. “Are you really just going to let a groundpounder and her boyfriend just waltz in here and be buddy buddy?”

Ratzass grins, then leans towards you. “That's Ice Blonde. Don't worry about her, she's just pissed the Wizard of Oz put her down on the Vikings as punishment for insubordination.” Ice Blonde gives Ratzass a very mean two-finger salute in response.

Shock Jock looks at Azuma up and down, as do several of the pilots. “So, what's your name, sweetheart?”

“Uh, Keiji Azuma,” he says simply.

“Like my tattoos?” Shock Jock presents the lightning bolt tattoos running up her arms. Azuma nods, smiling politely. “Would you like to see the other tattoos?” The girls all giggle and snicker at Azuma's embarrassment.

Ratzass smiles at you. “So, you need a Fleet Pilot Idol or something? We all can sing pretty well!” She gives you the finger guns. “Bang bang, baby! Hell, we could be our Idol group!”

> “Er. How about we start with drinks first.”
> “Sure. Any volunteers?”
> “On second thought, I should go. You can keep Azuma though.”
> Other

>>1168916
>“Er. How about we start with drinks first.”

>>1168916
>> “Er. How about we start with drinks first.”

>>1168916
>> “Er. How about we start with drinks first.”
Ask if any of their maintenance crew has a homemade still, for a bit of local flavor.

>>1168916
>> “Sure. Any volunteers?”

>>1168916
> “Er. How about we start with drinks first.”

>>1168916
do a song

>>1168916

> “Er. How about we start with drinks first.”
> “Sure. Any volunteers?”

Surely one of you Chair-forces can sing good.

>>1168916
>> “Sure. Any volunteers?”
,ak it inot a comp

> “Er. How about we start with drinks first.”

You smile. “Well, hey. How about we start with drinks first? Maybe one of your maintenance teams has something with a bit of local flavor.”

Ratzass wraps her arm around you, whirling her finger a bit. “Oh, I don't know if you'd be able to handle some of our homemade liquor, Lieutenant. We try not to advertise it because Captain Ozgen is a bit of a stickler for the rules sometimes buuuuut... maybe we can make an exception for you. If you're man enough.”

You snort. “How tough can it be?”

> ONE DRINK OF PILOT FUEL LATER <

“Aaaahhhh babbal- hey!” You stumble around, whirling your jacket over your head while the pilots all horse around and jump about like it's a grand old party. Even Ice Blonde and DeSilva are smacking each other with pillows, laughing it up. “Oh, thishi is some good stuff, Ratzass, whaddya put in this fooking thing!?” you yell to Ratzass.

Ratzass snickers. “Th- there's a lot of alcohol and uh... a lot of alcohol ahahaha!” She waves it off. Meanwhile, you see Azuma simply sitting on one of the beds awkwardly, trying not to watch as several of the pilots strip down to their skivvies or even to their birthday suits. Something about being a pilot means breeding a nice body. And even Azuma can appreciate such things, even if he doesn't outwardly show it.

“Azuma, come on, have a drink!” yells Fina. “You fecking mook!”

“I'm fine, thanks...” He turns his head to see a pair of pilots dreamily staring into his eyes. “Uh, listen. I should let you all negotiate and stuff like that, I'm sure it'll take all night.”

“Pussy!” you yell to him as he makes a hasty exit from the room. “Now, I needa fooking Idoru for my group and I think... I think y'all would be an aamzing addition!” you shout. They all cheer. “Come on, you all are just grand and aaahhhh!” You flop back onto a bed. “What are we gonna do on the bed, Ratzass?”

“Ahaha-” Shock Jock hiccups. “Hey, Leftenant! You wanna see my tattoos!?” She starts pulling down her panties to reveal the tramp stamp above her buttocks. It's a TAC Fighter silhouette from above, pointing down to her buttocks. The words “MISSILE LOCK” was printed above it. “That one was for a bet! I can show you the ones on me back too!”

Ratzass wriggles her fingers at you, hungrily. “Forget that! Let's see if the Lieutenant has any tattoos!” All the Fleet Pilots grin madly, advancing on you with hungry eyes. Your jovial attitude is only dented by this in a way.

Fleet Pilots. Work hard. Play hard.

File: __akiyama_mio_hirasawa_ui(...).jpg (766 KB, 709x1004)

766 KB JPG

>>1169141
That's it for tonight's Starship Idols. We'll pick it up around the right time tomorrow to close things out before LGA2 hopefully.

Follow at: https://twitter.com/GermanSchteel
Ask at: http://germanschteel.tumblr.com/
Book Tumbles: http://germanschteelbookblog.tumblr.com/

See you next time.

>>1169145
thanks

>>1169145
Thanks for running.

>>1169145
Thanks for running Schteel.

>>1169141
Did you really complain abouit yurifags once? I find it hard to believe.

Oh fuck your head feels like it's going to explode. You hold your head, sipping the coffee after a very interesting night with all the Fleet pilots. Unlike your heavy hangover however, the Fleet Pilots however don't seem to be in the same boat In fact, they all dress up into their flight suits, pull on their flight vests, gloves, and start walking to the hangar. A voice blares out over the intercoms, further sending little needles and spikes into your brain. “Attention, Goshawk Flight to the launch bay. Patrol duty.” You walk alongside the pilots, grumbling as you sip your coffee.

If there's ever a reason to quit drinking, it'll be because of the thing you drank last night. Corpsman DeSilva is next to you as well, an ice pack on her head. “Gee, Lieutenant,” says Ratzass as she walks up to you. “You look positively dreadful.”

“Good morning to you too, fuckface,” you say.

She smirks, looking at you past those dark aviator sunglasses of hers. “What, couldn't handle the pilot fuel? I tell ya something, you do the work we do, everything is gonna taste pretty mild in comparison.”

“Yeah,” says Shock Jock. “It might not look like it, Lieutenant, but the work of a Fleet Pilot is much harder than it looks. We don't just party every night.” Ratzass quirks her brow, to which Shock Jock says, “Well, maybe we do sometimes when things are slow. But the point is, our branch is the elite of the elite! The very best that Fleet has to offer! And it's all because the Federation refuses to trust drones to do our work.”

“Good thing too,” says Ratzass. “Could you imagine letting drones do the work in war?” All the girls laugh at that. “Fuck me! I could never hold it together during H&M when the teacher is describing the goons of those past old nations using fucking drones to do their fighting for them!”

“As if!” Shock Jock snickers at that. You have to admit, the talk of using automated drones and robots in war is just patently ridiculous. Wars should be fought by the people, not by some dime a dozen cheap plastic metal junk.

You all step into the hangar, the large launch bay filled with everything from Viking Dropships, to the nimble Red-Tail Trans-Atmospheric Combat (TAC) Fighter and even a couple of Huscarl ducted fan transports. In support of that are the Mitsubishi C-6 Roc, one of the heaviest transports in the Federal service which can carry two whole companies of MI troopers and their suits, or be converted in less than half hour to function as a heavy VTOL atmospheric gunship. And beyond that is the scouty Merlin, the single seater unarmed scout craft. And much more than you can't specifically recognize as well.

>>1170363
[2/2]

“So...” You rub your head a bit, looking between the two of them. “Would any of you, now that we're sober and we can talk about this, be interested in becoming an Idol?” you ask. They look at each other, blinking. Now they seem a little skeptical.

“Well.” Ratzass and Shock Jock stop as the girls move on to their crafts. “Much as we'd like to, Lieutenant. And we really would love to... we can't.”

“Why not?” you ask.

“Captain Ozgen says no,” says Shock Jock. Fuck. Ozgen. Why? “Before you lay into him, we do genuinely love the Wizard of Oz, he's a great guy. But Ozzie doesn't want valuable Fleet Pilots being wasted on what's essentially a rear echelon unit. He wants his best ready to go at a moment's notice, at least that's what he told us.”

“And it is what I will continue to say to them,” says Captain Ozgen as he steps in. Shock Jock and Ratzass stand at attention, as does Corpsman DeSilva. “Lieutenant, I respect what you do with the Idols. But I can't in good conscious let you take my elite pilots from the frontline. I need them on call 24/7 in case there is trouble. And as much as I overlook their particular ways of letting off steam...” Shock Jock and Ratzass puff their cheeks out, looking away. “They are much more disciplined and elite than your Idols are to start with.”

You squint at Ozgen. “So you let me have Naka but not the pilots?”

“Naka is a technician and aspiring FTL I can replace easily, I can't replace Pilots,” he says simply. “Simple as that.”

> “There has to be a way.”
> “Can I at least have these girls on call when I need them?”
> “Well, alright then.”
> Other

>>1170365
>> “Can I at least have these girls on call when I need them?”

>>1170365
> “Can I at least have these girls on call when I need them?”

>>1170365
>> “Can I at least have these girls on call when I need them?”

> “Can I at least have these girls on call when I need them?”

“Can I at least have the girls on call when I need them?” you ask. “It'd be nice having some angels on my girls' shoulders after all, watching out for them.”

Captain Ozgen quirks his brow, looking at Ratzass and Shock Jock. They still remain at attention. He looks back to you. “I can agree to it, Lieutenant. Just try not to do anything silly with them. For your own safety. I can barely control my pilots as is. I don't need them suddenly getting a fan club.” They suppress smirks as Captain Ozgen says, “Until next time, Lieutenant. I'm on the bridge if you need me.” With that, he takes his leave.

“Pheeeew.” Ratzass smirks a bit, folding her arms. “Lucked out, Lieutenant.”

“Yeah,” says Shock Jock. “Normally the Wizard is a bit more er... abrasive when it comes to sharing his stuff.”

“Comes with the territory of Fleet I suppose,” you say. “What with all of you thinking you're the superior branch.”

“Pfft, we're not?” Ratzass remarks. She bumps fists with Shock Jock. “We gotta go on patrol. Be seeing you around, Lieutenant!” They mockingly salute you, then go off to their fighter craft, swaggering their hips and dancing along a bit with some pomp and circumstances. Fleet Pilots, what a bunch of cocky little girls.

Though you did notice something. “Where's the uh... where's Ice Blonde?”

DeSilva points down to the Vikings. Ice Blonde is taking a very tactical nap next to her Viking as her flight crew go through the diagnostics of it. Oh. “Pilots are pretty valuable these days, Lieutenant. So we can't really shove them aside when they do bad things. You just gotta find a shit detail for them to work in that still involves being useful.” And that detail of course is being a Viking pilot. Vikings are cool, but they are long past their prime.

> Go visit the girls. Burkett should be training them up now.
> See if you can find any more of that pilot fuel.
> Visit Captain Ozgen on the bridge.
> Other

>>1170549
> Go visit the girls. Burkett should be training them up now.

>>1170549
>> Go visit the girls. Burkett should be training them up now.

> Go visit the girls. Burkett should be training them up now.

-

-

You left Corpsman DeSilva and went off to the Suit Bay where things seemed to be going well. Charlie was marching along with the APLU alongside your suited Idols. They marched forward, back, left, and right. Then they strafed left, right, then they jumped forward, jumped back. You fold your arms, watching them. Even Rosalie has gotten quite better at this. “Alright!” says Burkett. “Forward now, double quick!” They sprint forward, starting towards the other end of the bay. “Charge!”

They give out a war cry, boosting forward with all their might, before slamming their feet to the ground and braking hard. Rosalie brakes using the wall. She falls back, dazed. “Alright! Good, good. Rosalie, you're fine, get up.” Rosalie groans, pushing herself off the wall. “Remember, don't overthink the suit functions, let the suit do the work, you just do what you do.” He sees you now. “Five minute break, the lot of you.”

“Ha!” Olga flexes her arms, grinning as she looks at Stacy. “Can you believe me? I feel great!”

“Great,” says Charlie as she sweats in her APLU. “At least somebody enjoys this.”

“Don't be so harsh on Olga,” says Rosalie as she steps next to Charlie. “She's just enthusiastic.”

“I wasn't being harsh,” says Charlie quickly. “Jeez.”

Burkett steps up to them. “Don't be so overconfident the lot of you. The bugs are quite the beasts. You may wear a suit, but that doesn't give you an advantage, it just equalizes things. Bugs think three-dimensionally from birth, they got exoskeletons thicker than your bones, and each one doesn't know death, ego, or fear. They're a bunch of little fuckfaces so don't get a big head.”

“Well, the Bugs can't be that bad, right?” says Olga.

“Trust me,” says Charlie. “They are. You've only fought them maybe twice. I've had to fight them everyday.”

“Charlie is right,” says Burkett. “But anyway, I won't rain on your parade. Just don't get too overconfident out there just because you scored some kills on raiders. The real war will come when you make your first drop. You all have been on a training drop, right?” They all nod, except for Charlie obviously. “Real combat drop is nothing like the training.”

Stacy says, “You know, Uncle Burkett.” Burkett glares at Stacy. “I was actually looking up your records. Apparently you won a medal just like the Lieutenant.” Olga and Rosalie blink, looking at him in awe. “Apparently you held onto a hill against the Bugs singlehanded. Is that true?”

“Well-” He looks at you, obviously stunned at the question.

> “Be honest.”
> Let him talk.
> “No, it isn't.”
> Other

>>1170720
>> Let him talk.

>>1170720
>> Let him talk.

>>1170720
>Let him talk
>No, it isn't
>Other
>After Burkett said things follow up how when one of your comrades got surrounded while you got luckily extracted out of the danger bug zone only to be orbital bombardment by the fleeties.
We don't want to know Burkett's past "exploits" but just support him that solidifies his "hero" status.

>>1170720
> Let him talk.

> Let him talk.

He looks back at the girls, shrugging. “It's uh... not something I like to talk about honestly. It's really nothing special. Lots of people hold hills, lots of them better than me, I just got lucky as all.” Hm. Interesting response. “But anyway, what I did shouldn't really be of your concern. What you should worry about right now is you and your teammates. Alright?”

“Alright,” says Stacy. She looks skeptical of Burkett's answer, but doesn't pry.

“Right. Take a cool down. Then hit the showers, alright?” Everyone starts walking around the bay to cooldown from their exercise. Burkett walks over to you, his stride obviously a bit stiff. “I uh... hope that answer wasn't-”

“It was fine,” you say. “I don't expect immediate progress in regards to the skeletons in your closet, Burkett. I do expect honesty however when they do truly ask what happened on that hill. I barely tolerate cowards. I won't tolerate a liar.” Burkett nods grimly, looking away from you. As the girls discuss things to themselves out of earshot, you do have to ask. “How did it come to that in the hill anyway? Were you just scared?”

He blinks, biting his lip. “Lieutenant, I'm sure you probably know, I'm sure everyone knows. Sometimes when you're fighting, you just have a moment of clarity.” Clarity. “It's a little thing in the back of your head where survival instinct trumps everything, camaraderie, the war, citizenship, everything. I know it makes me a coward, looking back on it though. What I'd give to have those men back.”

You and him are quiet for a few moments. What else is there to say? Finally, the girls come back around then start dismounting their suits. Burkett says to you as he walks over to his rack, “Well, Lieutenant. The girls are making excellent progress. They'll be killers in no time.” He smiles a little.

“Yeah!” Olga pumps her fist, unzipping her I-Suit and letting her bra-covered chest become bare to the open air. “Aaahhh... that feels good!” The other girls start stripping out of their I-Suits into their underwear as well.

“Lieutenant!” Nonon calls over to you. She smiles a bit, walking up to you. “I just got started on Naka's song.”

“Hey, Nonon,” says Rosalie. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah!” says Nonon. “Totally! I didn't piss my pants in fright during Titan Station, no sir.” She shakes her head vigorously at that.

> “Hey, everyone gets scared, Nonon. Don't lie.”
> “Okay, if you insist.”
> “What kind of stuff have you written?”
> Other

>>1170946
>Other
>Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!
Then
>Hey, everyone gets scared, Nonon. Don't lie.

>>1170946
>"Sure. We trust you, Nonon."
>Just look silently at her, just barely long enough for her to start feeling awkward and wonder if she should be saying something in response, then-
>"So, what kind of stuff have you written?"

>>1170946
> “What kind of stuff have you written?”

>>1170946
>> “Hey, everyone gets scared, Nonon. Don't lie.”

> “What kind of stuff have you written?”

You smirk, looking at her. “Really.” She looks away, pursing her lips a bit. You motion for the girls to go on without you all. Burkett leads the girls out to the showers, just leaving you and Nonon for now. “So, what kind of stuff have you written?”

“Well, I think Naka-san, I'd do something peppy and cheery. Naka's like an eye in the sky, your AWACS, she's a guardian angel. I think that should be reflected in the lyrics too. I don't have anything concrete, but what I do have is an idea. An idea for sort of a fast song, something a bit more cheerful than Charlie's. Then, once we move back to Earth, we can settle back on READY, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you say. “That's a fine plan, Nonon. But seriously, how much did you piss yourself.”

“I did not piss myself!” she says. “Ugh, jokes are backfiring on me now.” You smirk a bit. “Anyway. I hear we're going to be landing on the Moon soon.”

“Yeah,” you say. “We just have to pass patrol flights. The Moon isn't exactly the Outer Rings, security is going to be tight. Especially after what happened on Titan.” Nonon nods at that, a bit grim in expression.

“By the way, Lieutenant.” You look at her, hm? “I hear your parents are missing. I'm so sorry.”

“It's fine, unless you were the ones that made them go away, you're not to blame.” Non shrugs at that. “We'll just have to see if they turn up. If they don't... that's that.” Nonon nods, patting your arm. “Anyway, thanks for telling me about the song, Nonon. I hope you'll have it ready by tomorrow?”

“Sure!” she says. “Don't worry! I'm on the case! Faraday is gonna help me with it too, goodness that man can carry a tune.” You smile. Ah, Faraday. “Anyway. That's all I needed to come talk to you about.” You nod to her, and she starts walking away. “Except...” She stops, turning to you. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Oh?” You turn to her. “What's up?”

“Is uh... something going on between you and Keiji-kun?” You blink. Oh, Azuma! “I happen to know he is attracted to you, Lieutenant but um...” Nonon folds her arms, actually looking a little worried. “See, I don't want to get in between you two and all. I don't even know if you even care I uh... I probably shouldn't have even told you about this. He really does admire you, you know and um... yeah.”

> “I'm not ready for another relationship right now, not yet.”
> “We'll see.”
> “Hey, if you still like him, that's fine. I won't pry.”
> Other

>>1171383
> “We'll see.”

>>1171383
>I'm not ready for another relationship right no, not yet. Not until the war is won"
>"But hey, if you still like him, that's fine. I won't pry."
Lieutenant is pure PURE! Dizzy is our only husbando or make a tag team with Nonon to have a harem with Zumzum and tease him the rest of his life.

>>1171383
> “We'll see.”

>>1171468
Support

> “We'll see.”

“We'll see,” you say. “Personally I'm not really ready for another relationship.” And besides, as cute as Azuma can be, something about it feels wrong. He was your subordinate after all, fraternization with subordinates is verboten. You kept your relationship with Dizzy on the down-low, and more or less it was practically grandfathered in from High School as well. Plus, there's one little niggle that really keeps you from actually finding yourself romantically attracted to Azuma. You can't quite put your finger on it, but... it's like the two of you disagree. You want to keep the war alive in your heart and make it a good war. Azuma seems like he's given up on it.

Well, that's all for later anyway.

Nonon shrugs. “Well, if you feel ready. Keiji-kun is actually a really nice guy. He may have his faults but, I think you two would be cute together.” You smile back at her.

“Bold talk,” you say.

-

-

“We are approaching Luna,” says someone over the intercom. “All hands prepare for docking.”

Your five girls all press their faces against the glass of the window, looking out to the bustling space metropolis that was Apollo City. A floating ring was built around the moon, housing the Core System's premier Fleet Academy, known simply as -the- Fleet Academy (though officially it's known as Yuri Gagarin Federal Fleet Academy). Not just the Academy, but also the planetary defense system that guarded the Earth. It was equipped with railgun turrets, smart missiles, laser cannons, everything. And on the moon's surface was Apollo City, home to several dozen million people. Its biodomes were clear as day like bubbles on a kitchen counter.

“Wow,” says Olga. “Apollo City!”

“It's huge!” says Stacy.

“It was the first space colony,” says Rosalie. “Of course it's huge.” And in fact Apollo City happens to be the site of one of the most ferocious battles not with the Arachnids but with other humans. You can still see the nuclear craters on the surface outside of Apollo City's outskirts. Nobody is actually entirely sure what the hell happened other than that some miners got really pissed off and decided to try and declare the Moon independent. The Federation at the time decided they wouldn't have that.

And of course, the Federation won.

“I can't wait!” says Naka. “Everyone's going to love me!” She hugs herself, grinning madly. “Ehehe! This is going to be great! My own concert! With my people!” She spins around, laughing happily.

> “Don't get too cocky, Naka.”
> “Naka's right, girls. It'll be great!”
> Other

>>1171815
>> “Naka's right, girls. It'll be great!”
Have you been practicing that platform stuff we've been talking about?

>>1171815
> “Naka's right, girls. It'll be great!”

>>1171815
> Naka's right
Also, preempt any jokes about Yuri Academy.