"You can be her gym partner if you want, but if I'm coming up with something for her, it's going to be to get her in shape." She frowns. "Especially if she wants into the same airframe as Kyou. I'm not going to override her on anything but health, but right now there's no way she could handle it."

"You'd be surprised." you say, and she shrugs.

"Maybe, but I'm not going to run that risk. What's the general staff want?"

You pull up the Email and frown as you read it- as does Mori. "That's unusual." She offers, after you both finish it.

It's a fairly short mail, and is only written to inform you that effective immediately, Sho-sa Tosa is no longer interested in placement with WCT Muninn, and has withdrawn her name from candidacy. It doesn't offer much more than that, other than to note that she's completely withdrawn herself from any placement with any WCT- Japanese or American.

"I wonder what happened?" Mori asks, returning to her own seat and spinning it to face you.

[] Politics? Satsuki pulling strings to reduce the competition?
[] Health reasons?
[] No telling. Let's not worry about it.

>>5003364
>[X] No telling. Let's not worry about it.

>>5003364
>[] No telling. Let's not worry about it.

Smells like "Not my problem"

>>5003364
>[x] Health reasons?

Glad to see ya back Ghost!

Hey gents, there's no food in the house (bizzarely) so I'm going to run and grab some chow. Slightly extended voting period here!

>>5003364
>[X] No telling. Let's not worry about it.

>>5003364
>[X] No telling. Let's not worry about it.

>>5003364
> [X] Ghost found a new Waifu to push?

ok, votes called! sorry about the delay!

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[x] No telling. Let's not worry about it.

You shake your head. "No telling." you say. "Let's not worry about it."

Mori nods. "Well, they didn't put forward an alternate. So it's just between Satsuki and Rockafeller now."

"Which means they'll want a decision sooner, rather than later." You supply, and she nods.

"Almost certainly." She says. The princess is supposed to sit down and meet them with Wendy tomorrow, we maybe should get that moved to this evening."

"Probably." You agree, thinking about it for a little bit. "It'll be a long night if we have to have a decision in the next few days."

"We are being rushed, aren't we?" She asks, then shrugs. "I'm sure the general staff don't see an issue, and if the support elements in the US have signed off on it..."

"Still doesn't make me happy." you say, pulling up the files of the two remaining witches side by side to compare them. Both have strengths, of course, and it's really a question of making sure that either will provide a useful benefit to the team. "We'll have to wait for Kyou and Wendy's impressions, though."

"We should also think of making sure Merlin has a chance to talk to them." Mori points out. "That is, if she's determined to rejoin the team in combat."

You frown. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with her doing that." You say, and the bodyguard laughs.

"Oh? and how do you propose to stop her if that is her plan?" She asks. "Besides, are you really going to be able to tell her no if her presence means even better performance and weapons?"

1/2

You frown. "Kyou-"

"Will happily agree just because she's been eyeing Merlin like she's alone at a singles bar, and the improved performance in the air will just be a happy bonus." She says- a statement, you have to agree, that is mostly, if not entirely, correct. "And it's not as if your navy will breathe a word of dissent if it means the continual flow of designs back to aerospace corporations."

Your frown deepens. "I'm still team lead and the aircraft commander." You point out.

Mori nods. "Of course, of course." She says. "And the safety of your crew and your aircraft are first priority. However, you know as well as I that they can exert considerable pressure."

You're not sure that they would- there were more than a fair few people in the higher echelons of the pentagon and in the white house that were happy when Merlin hung up her wings the first time, just because it meant the chances of her disappearing in a catastrophic test failure drastically decreased. That said, of course, you also know that there's preliminary plans to put a version of your 40mm cannons into production for use as pods on some aircraft, and the trickle down effect is already happening with yellowstone- a production variant of which, called Mjolnir- is being examined for inclusion on the new block III Burke and the Tico replacement.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Mori prompts. "We can go up to her office and talk with her directly, or if you want I can start the Email notifications and you can give the princess or Wendy a call and let them know what's going on."

[] Let's go talk with Merlin. I need to know what's going on.
[] Go ahead and get started with the Emails, I'll give Kyou a call.

>>5003461
>[X] Go ahead and get started with the Emails, I'll give Kyou a call.

>>5003461
>[x] Go ahead and get started with the Emails, I'll give Kyou a call.

>>5003461
>[x] Go ahead and get started with the Emails, I'll give Kyou a call.

>>5003461
>[] Let's go talk with Merlin. I need to know what's going on.

>>5003461
>[X] Go ahead and get started with the Emails, I'll give Kyou a call.

>>5003461
>[x] Go ahead and get started with the Emails, I'll give Kyou a call.

ok, votes called!

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[x] Go ahead and get started with the Emails, I'll give Kyou a call.

"Go ahead and get started with the emails, I'll give Kyou a call." You say, and Mori nods, swiveling her chair back to her computer screen while you pick up the phone on your desk and punch in Kyou's cell number.

Wendy answers. "Wendy." You say after she greets you, sounding a little out of breath. "There's been a change in things, You and Kyou are going to have to come up to the office and do your interviews with the witches this evening."

"Oh?" She asks. "What's happened?"

"Sho-sa Tosa has been withdrawn as a candidate." You say.

"Ah. I imagine they'll want us to furnish a decision sooner than we'd thought, then?" She asks.

"Mori and I think so, yeah."

"You're most likley quite right." She says. "We're just finishing up in the gym, the princess has another mile on the treadmill to go. Once she's done, we'll be up after a quick shower. I rather imagine she'd prefer not to give the wrong impression to any potential teammates."

"I'm sure." You respond, and Wendy laughs.

"I expect we'll be up in the next half hour?" She says.

"No rush." You tell her, looking over at Mori- she's listening in on your end of things, and nods, agreeing. "I doubt we'll be able to get them both back till after evening chow."

"Ah." Wendy responds. "I imagine we'll be ordering out then? Shall I arrange that then?"

[] Yeah, go ahead. Mori and I won't be back for a little while yet.
[] No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something

>>5003506
>[x] Yeah, go ahead. Mori and I won't be back for a little while yet.

>>5003506
>[X] No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something

>>5003506
>[] No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something

>>5003506
>[] No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something

Mori snookums later?

>>5003506
>[x] No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something

>>5003506
>[x] Yeah, go ahead. Mori and I won't be back for a little while yet.

ok gents, votes called!

>>5003506
>[] No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something

[Flexes Morganly]

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[x] No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something

You pause, thinking for a minute, before shaking your head. "No, Mori and I are mostly done here, I'll make something."

"Ah. What shall I set out, then?" She asks. "We've not had- what was it. Jambalaya? In quite some time."

You laugh. "Is that your way of asking?"

"Well, I imagine I could be rather more convincing in person, but dinner might be rather late." She says. "You and Mori will be collecting miss Wells?"

"Yeah." You respond. "I don't want to cut off her work day too soon though."

Wendy laughs. "Nonsense." She says. "She's up quite late in her room anyway, working away. I would go so far as to say she does most of her work once the rest of us are asleep, and that's why she's always so groggy in the morning. And I suspect that will continue unless someone tells her she's no longer allowed to do that."

"Someone indeed." You say, drily, and she laughs again. "And sure, set out the things for that. You got the good andioulle?"

"I believe so, yes." She says, a little hesitantly. "It was a little difficult to find here."

"It's probably french style, not cajun." You say, then pause. "Won't matter much. We'll be home in a little bit."

"I'll notify lady Kyou." Wendy says. "And I'll set the things out and make sure the kitchen is prepared."

"Thanks Wendy." You say, and hang up.

"We're going back to quarters to eat?" Mori asks as you do.

"Yeah. Made the most sense to me."

She shrugs. "I'm fine either way. Emails sent, no response yet but I'll keep an eye on them. Worst case, one of the AIs can ping me. Want me to go collect Merlin?"

[] Nah, I'll go up. She might try to argue with you
[] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.
[] Yeah, I wanna get back and start getting dinner ready.

Ok gents, I'm going to call it there for the night!

So here's the thing. I work Tuesday, from 1900EST to whenever the hell we get done- could be midnight, could be 05. no idea which it'll be. So probably no more than one update tomorrow, and we'll do most of the rest of the run Wed, with a last few posts thursday.

With that said? I may have to work wed, because I can't work this weekend and they've got me scheduled. If they do actually get the schedule shuffled around, then I'll let you guys know, and we'll sort things out- either starting late wed night, or something.

Otherwise gents, that's gonna be it for now. I'll be around a little here and on the discord to chat or answer questions if there are any, otherwise, till tomorrow, cheers!

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>>5003590
>[X] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.

>>5003596
Thanks for the run boss.

>>5003590
>[x] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.

>>5003596
Thanks for the run Ghost!

>>5003590
>[] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.

>>5003638
supporting

>>5003590
>[] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.

>>5003590
>[x] Nah, I'll go up. She might try to argue with you

>>5003590
>[] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.

>>5003596
thanks for running again Ghost

>>5003590
>[] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.

Alright gents, votes called! I know it's a bit of a late start tonight, we'll probably be running some friday evening as well. I do have a point I'd like us to hit by the end of the thread in mind though!

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[x] Let's both go, people might get ideas if I have to carry her out.

You shake your head, shutting down your computer again after closing everything out. "Let's both go." You tell her, and she nods. "People might get ideas if I have to carry her out."

"Like it's a secret anyway." Mori responds with a laugh. "Or did you think everyone was blind and couldn't see the way she looks at you? Or how she acts?"

You shrug. You knew it was noticeable, of course- you just didn't think it was quite that bad. "Not sure if I'm thankful for witch privilege then or not."

Mori laughs again. "This goes way beyond that, even for the US." She points out. "If she wasn't Merlin Wells, she'd be facing censure. But..."

"She is Merlin Wells." you finish, and the tabbed witch nods.

"Exactly." She says, then shrugs. "Look, they tend to give the supergeniuses whatever they want. Or did you not hear all the stories about Tesla during the martian war?"

You sigh. "Yeah, I know." You say- though Tesla was far more eccentric than anything else, and his demands, while odd, never really included sole control of a multibillion dollar combat asset.

Mori laughs. "Don't act like you've got such a problem with it." She says. "I know better. Let's go."

You shake your head, grabbing your cover and heading out of the office door behind her, taking a second to lock it. The other WCT offices here- there's three- are still empty, though it looks like they're moving things into one of them for now, so you may have a second team on site soon, you think. The rest of the building, though, is busy- there is still a war on, afterall.

"What I'm trying to figure out is what her plan is for a four seat aircraft." Mori says, as the two of you step in the elevator. "I mean, neither Wendy or I is going to give up our rides, and there's no way you'd convince Satsuki to come on as a systems operator aboard a fighter. I don't know Rockafeller as well, but I'm going to guess she's in the same mindset."

You shrug. "She might push to get another."

"I doubt Kyou's going to let that happen." Mori says, getting a glance from you. She laughs and shakes her head. "She said she promised you no more than six, and with us getting one more, that's six. She might accept it if you came to her about it, but other than that?" She shakes her head. "No way."

"Well, we're not just going to fly it with an empty station." You point out, frowning. "But I bet Wendy would leave her fighter if she was asked."

Mori frowns, but nods. "But you're not going to ask her, are you?" She responds.

[] I'm not going to, no, but Merlin might.
[] It'll depend on what's going on with the four place fighter.

>>5005862
>[X] I'm not going to, no, but Merlin might.

>>5005862
>[] I'm not going to, no, but Merlin might.

>>5005862
>[x] It'll depend on what's going on with the four place fighter.

>>5005862
>>Write in. “Merlin has a plan for that fourth seat. I’ve no idea what it is—but she has one. And she’s not going to this much trouble unless she is damn sure we’ll all be on board with that plan. And given that I literally wouldn’t exist but for Merlin justifying my family’s trust in her time and time again—I’m going to trust her here.”

>>5005862
>[] I'm not going to, no, but Merlin might.

The fiuck would a 4-seat fighter even look like? Closest thing I can mentally conjure is the Fullback or EA-6

Ok, votes called!

>>5005904
So much for the Drake's graceful lines.

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[x] I'm not going to, no, but Merlin might.

You shake your head. "I'm not going to, no, but Merlin might." You say.

"And you'd let her?" Mori asks.

You shrug. "If she asked, she'd have a good reason for it." You point out. "She's not going to go that far without it."

Mori frowns, but nods. "I don't know her as well as you." She says, eventually. "So you think she probably thinks she can get this four seater to fly the same as your current jet?"

"Probably." You say, trying to remember everything you can about it. "Back when the program was running, it couldn't roll or turn as well as a baseline wyvern, but it was faster straight out. The engines in there were massively overpowered for the size of the jet."

"I could have told you that." Mori says. "You already have a pair."

You nod. "It was supposed to replace both the A-6 and EA-6B in carrier service, and also supplement the existing wyverns in all their roles as well." You say. "More of a standoff jet than a dogfighter, though. It handles better at high speeds, keeps more wing area, and it can carry a lot more ords."

"But it's less of a dogfighter?" Mori asks.

"Relative to the baseline Wyvern." You respond, nodding again. "That still makes it better than just about anything else on the planet though."

"So it's a wyvern with a four seat cockpit?" She asks.

You shake your head. "It's a scaled up wyvern." You respond. "It's about twenty percent larger overall, in fleet service a carrier would have only had about a dozen onboard. The biggest changes outside the cockpit are the wings and fuselage length, it's proportionally longer."

"I see." Mori says. "Would you be comfortable making the change to a larger airframe?"

[] Depends on what she's got planned.
[] Probably not. I like where we're at.
[] Probably. She wouldn't be doing this without a plan.

>>5005862
>[x] I'm not going to, no, but Merlin might.

>>5005981
>[] Depends on what she's got planned.

>>5005981
>[x] Probably not. I like where we're at.

>>5005981
>[X] Depends on what she's got planned.

>>5005981
>[] Depends on what she's got planned.

>>5005981
>[x] Probably not. I like where we're at.

>>5005981
>[x] Depends on what she's got planned.

>>5005981
>[] Probably not. I like where we're at.

Lazy catte has found his sunbeam

>[] Depends on what she's got planned.

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Havings shitty shitscribble.

>>5005981
>[] Depends on what she's got planned.

We have entirely too little info right now

>>5005981
>[X] Probably. She wouldn't be doing this without a plan.

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>>5006031
Awesome drawing anon

ok gents, votes called! this'll probably be the last update tonight!

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[x] Depends on what she's got planned.

"Depends on what she's got planned." You respond, noncommittally.

Mori scoffs. "Beyond her wanting in the MIU so she doesn't have to tell you what she wants you to do to her?"

"Yes." You respond, frowning as she laughs.

She's still chuckling as you arrive at Merlin's office door and knock- she tells you to come in immediately. You catch a very brief glimpse of the blue wire-frame 'computer' she can manifest flickering out as she dismisses it- though the wings of her familiar stay out. "How did your meeting go?" She asks, as soon as you're both in.

"Well enough." You say, and Mori nods.

"She wasn't as bad as he was expecting." She supplies. Merlin looks over at you and you shrug- Mori's right.

"That's good. I see the general staff has withdrawn Sho-sa Tosa?"

You nod. "You know anything about that?"

Merlin shakes her head. "Not a thing." She says. "I'm sure it's internal, but they didn't give me any explanation either. I've asked for clarification, but I don't think we'll get one before we've made a decision."

"I can't figure it out either." Mori says. "Maybe she got tapped for an IJN team?"

"With who?" Merlin asks.

Mori shrugs. "No telling."

Merlin shakes her head, then shrugs. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter." She says, then smiles. "So are you done for the day? Are we headed back to the house? Wendy said you were planning on cooking, then she and Kyou were going to come back up to talk with Commander Rockafeller and Chu-sa Tokugawa."

You nod. "We figured they'd want a decision sooner now that Yuki is off the table."

Merlin nods. "Probably." She agrees. "Good thinking. So what are we going to do tonight after dinner? It's just going to be us in the house, right?"

Mori shoots a sideways glance at you, then grins. "Well, I'll probably need to stay with the princess. I don't like splitting up this way, I'd prefer if either myself or Morgan stayed with her."

Merlin looks a little surprised. "So you three will be coming back here after dinner?" She asks.

Mori nods. "Probably." She says. "I don't see any reason for Morgan to, and since he's going to cook I can let him take it easy the rest of the evening if nothing comes up. Right, Morgan?"

[] Sounds like a plan.
[] Gives me a chance to catch up on some other things, I guess.

And that's going to be it for the evening! I'll post some Friday, probably finish out the thread, and we can sort out some kind of more regular schedule than once a month if the planets and stars align, haha! I'm a little paranoid about this whole interview thing, but I always am, going in, so it is what it is.

But I don't wanna carry on about that at all, so that's it for the evening. As usual, I'll be around some to chat or answer questions or comments if there are any, either here or in the discord. Otherwise, gents, till friday, cheers!

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>>5006138
>[X] Sounds like a plan.

>>5006139
Thanks for the run boss.

>>5006138
>[x] Sounds like a plan.

>>5006139
Thanks for the run Ghost!

>>5006138
>[X] Sounds like a plan.

>>5006138
>[] Sounds like a plan.

>>5006138
>[] Sounds like a plan.

Cheeky Bunny Wingman

>>5006138
[] Sounds like a plan.

>>5006138
>[x] Sounds like a plan.

>>5006138
>[] Sounds like a plan.

Sorry about the break there, gents. I'm going to post one fast update and close out the thread- it's been one heck of a weekend, haha!

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[x] Sounds like a plan.

You shrug. "Sounds like a plan." You say, agreeing. Regardless of the fact that you've been 'taking it easy' the last few weeks, it seems- you know that things can change quickly enough and that you might as well enjoy the chance to lay back and enjoy some extra nap time if you can.

Mori nods, her grin, if anything, getting wider. "Good." She says. "It'll also keep them honest, since I'll be there again. They can't try and tell the princess what she wants to hear."

"You think they would?" You ask, trying to ignore Merlin's excited expression.

"Better to prevent it this way." Mori says.

You nod. "Yeah." You say. "So you'll make sure she judges based on information and not looks?"

Mori laughs. "I'll try." She says. "Though I expect Wendy to do most of that work. The princess seems to appreciate her input."

You nod. Wendy sort of has turned into a sort of advisor- albeit one that's got entirely unlimited access to the princess. It's worked out fairly well so far, because, for all her teasing, Wendy is still fairly well grounded, so long as the subject is serious.

"Well, I won't need to be back for a while." Merlin says, after a second. "I'm done here and I can do anymore work I want to from my room."

Mori nods. "On the big Wyvern?" She asks.

Merlin frowns, but nods. "Considering the navy wants to use our team as a response force for large threats like dreadnoughts and things like that, it makes a lot more sense to use the larger airframe for a few reasons." She says. "Besides, with three wingmates, we won't need to worry about using Muninn to handle fighters, and can focus on carrying a lot more weaponry and fuel."

"But how are we going to crew it?" Mori asks. "Especially if you plan to keep all three of us in our own aircraft."

Merlin frowns. "Well, I have a couple ideas." She admits.

"I'm sure the princess will be interested to hear them" Mori says. "But not now."

Merlin looks at you for a split second for confirmation of Mori's statement before nodding. "I am getting pretty hungry." She says with a smile.

Ok, that's it for the week! I am planning a run this week as well, probably starting Friday. Scheduling has been weird, of course, and will probably continue to be for the forseeable future- I'm going to talk with the manager tomorrow about my availability, haha. I agreed to cover a shift- not just work it forever, and it's been more than long enough that they coulda made a hire!

I probably won't be on any longer this evening, but I'll be up pretty early, and can answer any questions or comments then! Otherwise gents, till friday, cheers!

>>5011055
Thanks for the run Ghost!

>>5011055
thanks for running!

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>>5011055
Thanks for the run boss.