Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Nexus Earth - Chapter 11.5.024 - Wings of the Osprey

[The Traveler]

OOC and Editor's Notes

Work in progress - Also disregard the avatar and name before you, this IS Osprey posting. Was being hasty and didn't change logins.

2022 Hours
Unknown military base outside the Dalaraan Capitol

Multiple guards stand and patrol outside of the fenced gate of what looks like a stockade. Searchlights pan to and fro. What looked like a moving shadow gets a guard's attention. He goes around a corner to investigate. The sound of an electrical charge and a hit to the gut later and he doesn't return.

Rebecca looks over the guard's armament...

"One MP5... classic... ES-5.7 pistol... and a comlink... not bad." She whispers to herself as she sets the comlink on mute and stomps on it to break it. She grabs the two weapons and moves on.

Three more guards are having a smoke break outside and behind the guard house near her objective. Rebecca sees this as a chance to reduce the numbers... further. She takes the MP5 and sets it to burst-fire and starts walking shots one by one. Blue flashes on their bodies show the simulated rounds hitting their marks. Bringing all three down.

"Tangos down..." She whispers as she carefully moves to the back of the shack where her HVT is being kept. She sees one guard... the more diciplined one... standing at perfect attention watching the front door. "Bloody hell..." Rebecca thinks. "She'd make a good royal guard someday."

She pulls out her ES-5.7 and formulates a plan. She knows the noise of the MP5 is going to draw out the guards quick... she can't dally. "Now or never..."

She quickly spins around the corner and fires 5 shots rapid at the guard, hitting her square in the chest. Seeing her drop her AK-47 was nice... but she was interested in... "Keys... excellent." She says with a smile picking the dropped keys up and moving inside. Watching her corners she keeps looking back and forth until she gets to the room where the HVT is held. Just as she arrives she opens the door there's a shock.

"Well, if it isn't The Osprey come to snatch her prize..." Kelly says, pointing a desert eagle to the back of the head of Captain Ruri...

"No... I'm here to snatch my prize and get her home." Rebecca says.

...to be continued...

[Rebecca Baines]

"So... You gonna stand there?" Ruri says, knowing full well what Kelly has pointed to her head.

"Actually Captain, I intend to walk out of here and not fire a shot in anger."

"What?" Kelly says, gripping her pistol tightly.

"I want you to release the Captain and save yourself any further casualties. I've already killed 5 of your guards. That poor girl at station at the front doors... I know what sort of damage I did. Not a pretty end for a rookie. I saw the rank pins."

"Shut up."

"Rebecca, it's wise you not anger her."

Rebecca holds out her hand to Ruri to calm her. "Again, Kelly, whatever relief you thought you had is not coming. Surrender Ruri to my custody." She says, checking the shots left on her pistol. "Or the Osprey will pluck your eye out in payment for mine."

She levels her glare on Kelly, her protective goggles glinting in what little light was in the room.

"You know... I think I'll shut that little..." As she starts to raise her pistol, Rebecca remembers her marksmanship training and drops to one knee and in a smooth motion shoots twice. Ruri drops to her side knowing a firefight was about to start, but she sees both blasts nail Kelly in the face, seemingly at the same eye Rebecca lost earlier.

Rebecca discharges her energy clip from the reciever and walks over to Kelly, taking all of her clips and her model of pistol. She then takes her knife and cuts Ruri's bonds.

"That could have ended no better." She says with a grin. "Know your enemy, know yourself."

"That was too big a risk Rebecca."

"I know... then again, in a hostage situation, the hostage taker is already in a losing position."

Kelly glares, still stunned from the training bolts.

"Sorry... no hard feelings?" Rebecca muses with a smile as she pulls Ruri up, winking. "Now Captain... RUN."

Ruri runs out, Rebecca right behind, handing off her two batons to Ruri as she sees a open-top SUV. "There's our ride! Let's go!" When Rebecca jumps in, she tells Ruri to get down to the floor and keep her head down as she hotwires the vehicle and bolts out of the motor pool.

"We gotta move fast... if those Armored Spartans get to us we're screwed without SeaTalon."

"Right... Just a question... What would you have done if she had fired on me?"

"Ruri... if that happened she still would have been a dead woman. I just needed her to move her pistol away. Unfortunately if she killed you the mission would have been over right then and there. I wouldn't have taken that risk if I didn't know the opposition."

"Then, what would you have done if you didn't know?"

"Offered myself in trade, given you my weapons and told you to get the hell out."

Ruri thinks about Rebecca's words as she hears the sound of stomping, deep stomping, and the whine of more SUV motors.

"The calvary is here!"

"And so is our ride."

At a cliff she sees SeaTalon, her head poking over the cliff line. "We're going to have to stop at the cliff and jump unto SeaTalon... well actually me... you'll be on my back."

"Wha?"

Rebecca squeals to a stop near the cliff and gets out. She starts to see the two drone battlemechs and three warthogs with fully armored Spartans... seven of them... approaching. "Come on!"

"I'm not too sure about this... waaaaah!"

Rebecca grabs hold of Ruri as best she can as they jump together unto the shoulder of SeaTalon. They run to the head and open a side hatch to the cockpit. The systems come online just as the Drones reach threat range. "Strap in and put your helmet on it's about to get dicy!" She says. Ruri puts on the helmet sitting on her seat and straps in. Rebecca straps in, then puts on her flight helmet with a grin and kicks in her thrusters.

When the SeaTalon clears the cliff, the Spartans fall back. Rebecca gets a lock and fires her rail rifle, disabling each warthog and elimating the spartans one in turn after another, but then the two drone walkers fire their missiles. Most hitting SeaTalon's shields knocking her back, the last two only doing negligible damage in the simulation. SeaTalon pulls out her energy ribbon and in two clean motions as she flys by, goes through the drones in a way that would have cut the drones clean in half.

"That's the problem with drone mecha... disposable."

"Still vicious what you did to those warthogs."

"I know... I'm not a fan of it. But they were hostiles from the base... not my fault they got here after I woke up the kid."

SeaTalon Gains altitude and sees the goal 50 kilometers out on her radar. "Okay we're heading to the SCRT-4 medical ship Nightingale. Hold on tight."

As she starts to bolt foreward her Overboosters go offline. "What..."

Artifacting spreads across the Mecha's mobility systems except for thsoe controlled by SeaTalon. She drops out of the sky and lands hard, feet first on the ground. The Mecha's anti-virus goes into overdrive.

"Damn... Electronic Warfare... Someone must have hacked SeaTalon while I was gone. Or..."

She reads the logs and sees an entry that took place while the SeaTalon was stored on the Macross a day before the test. "We've been comprimised... looks like SeaTalon has to hoof it."

SeaTalon starts running, weapons drawn ready for anything. Then missiles fly in from all locations on screen. She jumps back to avoid most of the fire but her damage continues to increase... and her shields just went down from the virus.

"Dammit..."

Two Atlas class assault battlemechs clear one of the rises, and a Valkarie switches to humanoid mode and lands in front.

"Lieutenant Rathbone... surrender the Captain, and I will spare both your lives. I assure you will be treated well, on my word."

"Head Captain Kai... Sorry... Can't comply." She says, leveling her rail rifle and tachyon rifle and opens fire on the first Atlas, disabling it in a lucky cockpit shot. The second Atlas opens fire with an Alpha strike and SeaTalon leaps back form the missile fire but the lasers hit square on the anti-energy optimised armor. Kai fires off a Salvo of heat-seekers from his Valkarie, knocking SeaTalon back. She slides back from the impact, the hull sensors reading 50% damage and a 25% comprimised hydraulic system and just as she thinks things are about to get ugly, they get interesting.

Two shots from Gauss Rifles hearald the arrival of two Crusader Battlemechs from SeaTalon's flank. They missed, but give Kai's Valkarie a moment of panic.

"Lieutenant! You okay?!?"

It's Ajax. Most likely Grace is with them. "Yeah... Glad you could make it."

"We owe you one." Grace says, grinning on her screen over comms.

"Traitor!" The pilot of the second Atlas says, opening fire with it's lasers. SeaTalon stands firm, leveling it's Tachyon and Rail rifles firing away, but the shots go wide. The targeting systems now under assault from the virus.

"Hold on, SeaTalon... fight it off!" Rebecca says encouraging her digital daughter to hold out.

Ajax and Grace scream foreward, stressing their systems to near overheat to dodge incoming fire and unload on the second Atlas until it's no longer a threat. "Ajax... Grace... assist me with that Valkarie and cover my rear as we escape! Don't linger longer than you can and if you must get out of here."

"Right... you're not looking good."

"Seems there's a security issue I overlooked. I don't got time to figure the reason, I gotta fix this."

Rebecca gets into the OS of the Mecha and starts assisting SeaTalon's anti-virus efforts, and manages to patch one vulneribility when she sees Ajax eject, Grace following suit as Kai savages them with burst fire.

"DAMMIT!" Rebecca screeches as she runs right to the Valkarie and slashes it with a beam ribbon and jumps back. The Valkarie goes offline and falls silent.

"Ajax and Grace... they did all that for you." Ruri says.

"I won't forget that... I doubt you won't either, SeaTalon! I've fought losing an eye and long odds to get this far, you can manage to fight this! I believe in you! For Ajax and Grace!" Rebecca says as SeaTalon gets a second wind and fights more of the virus off, learning from Rebecca's programming strokes and getting more impetus from Rebecca's words.

"The thrusters are coming back online... at least we can speed this effort up."

Rebecca takes off again, limping towards shore.

As she does so, the Valkarie screeches to life, unknowingly to SeaTalon from it's virus-induced myopic sensors. It struggles to it's feet, ripping off all the non-functional gear, then switches to flight mode and flies under SeaTalon's crippled radar, augmented by it's still functioning ECM system.

"You think we'll make it across the water to the ship?"

"If we eject out there we're casualties, Ruri, not captured... The weather out there is considered hostile, and we don't know what other enemy assets are waiting for us. We gotta struggle with this as best we can." Rebecca says, doing her best to transfer power to the engines. "And... to make room for the passenger system we're considered without basic emergency equipment."

"Oh..." Ruri says, realizing that was part of the simulation rules. Eject in enemy territory and be considered captured. In no-mans land or near the goal, you're dead from a bad ejection or failure of gear.

As they limp to the Nightingale, Rebecca sees a red blip on the primary helipad of the vessel, just as her weapons go offline again. "Dammit... that was an external command this time.... What in the..."

Kai is standing there in hybrid mode, and aims his remaining arm and gunpod at the primary reactor of the ship "Rebecca! Always finish the kill!" Kai Shouts. "You have been nieve!"

"No Kai! Don't do it! They're unarmed! If you breach that reactor you'll kill everyone in a 50km radius with a tachyon overload pulse!" Rebecca screams. "They're defenseless! A medical ship!!!"

"I cannot let you escape!" Kai shouts, then opens fire. The SeaTalon's screen goes red for a moment before it returns to standard operation. The words "Simulation Terminated, 100% Casualties" appears on screen.

SeaTalon stops 100 meters from the foreward deck. "Ruri... we don't have any radiation shielding and while the mecha survived... we only have... 10 minutes to live before tachyon radiation sickness destroys our brains and claims us both... With all involved... there are 100% casualties within a 50 mile radius."

Rebecca slowly takes her hands off the controls. "What am I missing here... Dammit... Kai might have been right... Computer, activate shunt to the AI black box and initiate ejection."

The cockpit pod ejects out the back of the head of the SeaTalon and the wounded mecha falls into the ocean. The pod lands nearby and activates floats. "Rebecca..." Ruri says, putting a hand on Rebecca's shoulder.

"I know... I was short sighted... Again."

"Obviously, but something else."

"The fact we killed 100,000 innocent Dalaraani civilians in the process? Unacceptible for any reason in my book." She says, scowling at Kai's mecha.

"You know the value of life. That's good. What about Ajax and Grace. What did you think of their sacrifice."

"Unnecessary... I didn't ask them to interfere but they came to my side out of a sense of obligation. Even turning traitor to their own side to do it. That wasn't necessary. I... I wasn't able to assist. I was trying to get SeaTalon stable... Their... their blood, actual or not, was on my hands."

"What about Kelly?"

"A situation that could have goten ugly and fast. I took a gamble. I was all in to the hilt and it paid off. I'm damn well no negotiator."

"What about Kai?"

"Kai... There had to have been something worth killing all that many people just to stop us. I know I didn't finish the job with him. I know that now."

"Actually... it was us... I had the codes to a orbital sattelite capable of a kinetic kill whoever controlled that controlled the high ground in this simulated conflict. If you would have asked when you had the chance..."

"I... Damn..."

"Right. Sometimes it's the things you don't know, Lieutenant." Kai says, hovering next to Rebecca's pod. "It's always the things you don't know. You can't control everything. Nor expect to be in control. You did your best to adapt, but sometimes... there's just so much you can do. I'm sorry that final lesson had to be taught so... graphically."

"I... Thank you... Kai."

"Ruri opens the top hatch and leans on the outer rim of the escape door. It's a nice night. We should rest until Tomorrow evening. I can give you my full assessment then. But now know... you did your best. That is what I wanted. SeaTalon too. She's a real scrapper."

Rebecca nods. "Thank you, and I'm sure SeaTalon does as well. So now what?"

"Think of who you wish to be, what you can offer the SCRT. My decision might rest on what you assess of yourself and what you say there."

"Understood... It's not what the SCRT can do for me... it's what I can do for the SCRT..."

"I think you're on the right track." Ruri says with a accepting smile, a rarity these days. "I doubt I'm going to lose a good officer after all if you keep using that big brain of yours." she says as she takes the keys that Rebecca took and unlocks a cabinet in the cockpit. "You earned a reward! You found those keys and I thought I'd add a little "easter egg". You can use the extra recreational opportunity. these keys locked up your personal effects locker. You should... find the equipment there useful for my next task I ask.."

"Oh... I thought this was R&R... at this rate I hope this is something easy." Rebecca says with a giggle as she looks in the compartment and finds a folded up single-person raft, a pump, life vest, a fishing rod, some rope, a collapsable live catch bucket, and some sleeping supplies. "I heard the fishing was good in this spot, Rebecca, so while I consider things, enjoy yourself for once. Dismissed."

"Thank you Captai... Thank you, Ruri."

Ruri smiles. "You're finally getting it. Oh... the catch is for the crew fish bake in the Macross Mess in a couple days, by the way. So do your best! I'm grading you!" Ruri says as Kai takes her up. "And keep SeaTalon's AI with you!" She says tossing down a datapad. "Fishing is better with a partner." She says with a wink.

"Thank you! Hopefully the fish are biting tonight!" Rebecca says. This form of KP she's more than happy to serve. She climbs out and tosses her raft on the water and starts pumping after getting her life vest on. She sees SCRT-4 retrieval cranes approaching. "Lieutenant, we're here to retrieve your mecha and escape pod, by Ruri's orders she wants your personal effects and the AI black box out before we retrieve your mecha and it's gear. We'll also help get your mooring rope tied to port airlock 7."

Rebecca hops in with the rest of her gear and a live-catch bucket. "Understood. Lieutenant Rathbone out." She says over her helmet communicator.

She hooks up her datapad to the AI black box and activates the voice-modulator on the datapad and opens the mic.

"Are you alright, SeaTalon?"

SeaTalon forms a cute, fully rendered caracature of itself as a mecha and happily smiles. "My data is 100% intact and operating within the black box within standard parameters."

"I... hope I... didn't ask for too much of you."

"Rebecca... you sometimes ask too much of yourself."

"That's what they all say." Rebecca says, casting her first line.

"Then for once, Rebecca, listen."

Rebecca pauses for a moment.

"You know... I and Father... we did this on Lake Mille Lacs once when I was a little girl. It was our private time together. I never had a brother, and I knew what my father talked about when he talked about his work... I think we bonded more than caught anything."

"Perhaps... if I am to understand humanity in general... perhaps we could... 'bond' in this manner?"

Rebecca blinks... "Of course. I'd... I'd be honored."

So for the next 6 hours Rebecca and SeaTalon talked about life, the universe, and everything in between before Rebecca prepares to fall asleep. A bucket full of fish and a reminder to SeaTalon to wake her up.

"I think Ruri's patience with you is semi-transparent now in thickness."

"I'm aware. When she starts joking about... she's getting annoyed."

"I think she needs a vacation from you."

"And she will. After this I don't dare see her unless it's with good news... and perhaps a new idea or two."

"I think she would be happy with you just fitting in again in the crew... you have been sticking out like a sore thumb and some... see you as a loose cannon."

Rebecca nods. "Thanks... sad you're the only person who's told me that."

"You... called me a person."

Rebecca curls up in her waterproof blanket. "These darn things are so uncomfortable..." Rebecca decides to take her life jacket off and straps it on around SeaTalon's black box, setting the data pad where a head would be. "'night. It's auto trigger so if I knock you out you should be safe."

SeaTalon wonders about what just happened, and Rebecca's kindness, before entering sleep mode. "Thank you... and sleep well."

[Justin OOC]

Later, Kai stood to the side as Ruri sat behind her desk. His presence was a consideration and formality, as the outcome affected him little directly, but still Ruri knew he was overall Commander, and as such, such a decision was good to have his opinion on.

"Rebecca, you failed my test."

She paused and watched her former Lieutenant stiffen.

"You were reckless, and you were far too in a hurry."

"Still, you did do what I expected of you. You used your brain, ad a fair share of luck."

"I'm not one given to Luck, but I'd rather have it for me than against me."

"I saw a marked improvement within you, and in light of that I am ruling your training as a success. It made you stronger, in mind, body and spirit. For that I return you to active duty as my Lieutenant, and as the first Combat officer of CRT4."

"I knew what you could do, and you didn't disappoint."

Kai nodded. "When all the tabulations are done, you still came out a shade ahead, simply for pulling off what you did. Well done Lieutenant. A little more attention to detail would be appreciative, but overall you performed better than most that are not captains could."

[Rebecca Baines]

"Attention to detail... yes... but I should address this directly." She says, walking up to Kai. "I would hope that what you did was just to teach me the consequences of failure."

She straightens her uniform. "This may be a simulation, but the mass loss of civilian and non-combatant life is... not something I readily stomach. Simulation or not..."

She sighs. "That wasn't to damn you, Kai. Just a word that if we sacrifice our humanity in war we don't deserve victory."

"Ruri..." Rebecca says with a smile. "You as a HVT performed as you should and didn't put yourself in harm's way... but as a Commander... you really need to delegate more. I'm proud to have been given the duty of training more with this course. But there is more you can give me. I am not just a pilot waiting for a mission. For your sanity and my worth fulfilled, please remember that."

She turns back to Kai. "Outside of my... reservation, Kai... You were bloody brilliant! Shutting down your Valkarie in mid-combat to fool me was sheer genius! A gamble worthy of note... I should remember that next time. That is why I love serving under you. Unpredictable." She says giggling. Then she scratches her head. "Those are my observations. I thought I would just be a test pilot again but if you have faith in my skills as a pilot... Then SCRT-4 has it's shield maiden."

She stands at attention. "Lieutenant Rebecca Shirasu Rathbone, Reporting for Duty. What are your orders, Captains?"

She holds back the smile she really wants to express, but she almost lost it all. She should not take this moment for granted.

[Justin OOC]

"Take the day off, see your sister, and anyone else you care to see, and begin drafting the full regimen for our people tomorrow."

Kai nodded to her. "I wished to show you that point yes. We will not always fight foes with honor, or our scruples."

[Rebecca Baines]

Rebecca nods, pleased, before saluting. "Thank you. Kirumi is probably worried sick. Also if there is any order seperating us from finally putting this aside between I and Francis, I would like to personally apologise to him. There... was some assumptions made and I could have handled this differently."

Ruri nods, with a smile realizing another drama is coming to an end.

She walks out, heading to her quarters. When she enters she sees her new flightsuit laid out on the bed, and her favorite snack in a wrapper sitting on it. With a recorded note on Rebecca's desk.

"I'm sorry, Sister... right now I can't see you... I'm... ashamed for what I did. I... I was picked by Kai and Ruri to place that virus on SeaTalon. I gave them the anti-virus so there should not be an issue but... I just hope it didn't cost you your position in SCRT-4. I'm Currently working on the Drone mecha being sent out to the frontier to monitor Dalaraan solar system space. Kai's orders. Good luck... and I left your package on the bed."

The solid white flight suit with blue vest section and sailor collar with a white backpack, and blue boots and gloves sit on her bed. A fitting outfit for the pilot of the SeaTalon. "Actually... thanks, Kirumi... You Made it... interesting." She says getting dressed. Munching on Pocky. "Now I just gotta see if I can contact Francis."