Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 2: Of Dire Tides

[Xinnidy]

Quick Lift

Though it was very pleasing for Roxanna to knock Jess down a peg when she could, even she wouldn't feel good as the girl's shocked stated devolved. "It isn't a dream, Captain." After a mission as stressful as the last one, it was really a slap in the face to have the same organization they thought they fended off okay now sending an ultimatum to the world. And how did it ever get this big without anybody catching them? If their vanishing mech was anything to go by, they had some sort of technological breakthrough kept to themselves, which only added more questions.

"Yes, please. Contact the colonies once you are there." Roxanna nodded to the android, that one could at least make themselves useful. Any information they could gather about that message was helpful. She had no idea what else other than that mech Apotheosis had at hand, and that was what worried her the most. It left with one of the scientists. I guess we did fail in the top brass' eyes...

---

Reunion

Roxanna let Jessica walk in first, taking a look around the bridge. "Oh..." Pilots aside, it wasn't that many people... perhaps she expected more out of her call? Nonetheless, she walked in promptly, speaking up once it was clear that pipsqueak was definitely not the one that called the meeting. "Alright... first, I apologize if it feels sudden. I called for a bridge meeting because I wasn't sure how many would come." Since it was a general announcement, the meeting room would prove a bit cramped in the case all of the crew felt like they should have come. Fortunately, that was not the case.

Roxanna set down her tablet at the helmsman's desk, plugging it into the universal jack just beside the console. A few commands later, a video feed was up on every display at the bridge, the video's sound only relaying through the announcement speakers surrounding the bridge. It was the same video Roxanna and some of the others had seen earlier that morning. "The same organization we had to deal with in our mission here now calls for a global surrender." It was an exceedingly brief summary, but it'd do the job. "Considering they were able to hijack open TV channels to give this message, we are bound to take this as a serious threat to the ANF." Roxanna looked once more around the bridge, gauging the reaction of those present. "That said, we are having trouble contacting HQ as of now." Many implications on that, the first and most hopeful was just an overload of communication, and they'd been left for later in priority. "If it continues, we might have to move out to meet the Space Navy fleet instead. Either way, we won't stay in Colony 1 for long, so make sure everybody is aboard the ship, and remain in high alert."

[Juliette]

Juria wandered up to the bridge alongside Astin a bit curious as to what it could entail, the idea that the meeting was probably negative in nature when it was called on such short notice not occurring to her as fast as it should have- or rather, not at all until the video was played. "Nooo! How could they! So mean people making big problems worse more than before still. And after just help for First Colony not long ago, too. So much bad evil in world now." Despite her obvious upset reaction, she took a few deep breaths. No, can't always focus loss! Am still helper! Jess Captain, and Miss XO Roxanna, what am Juria meant to do? How can be of help?"

[Dandragon]

Elaine watched the broadcast for a second time, this time with all the other pilots watching with her. And during the entire time it played, her expression did not change from the anger she clearly had for the terrorists. They endangered, and possibly killed, so many innocent lives, and they thought that their hands were the right ones to rule the entire world, and all the governments it held? Their ideal probably had some stereotypical 'purging the weak' agenda in it somewhere, if not just simply killing everyone who didn't cooperate and follow their guidelines. And it made her burn with a fiery passion to take them all down. After all, there had been one that had escaped, last mission...

"I saw this earlier, too. They got it onto my god damn phone. Probably every other media outlet, too. Wherever they are, they most likely got access to every broadcasting station around the globe, and on all the colonies." She looked down at the tablet that the XO had used. "And if they got that much, then who knows what else those bastards got their hands on..." She was silent for a moment, thinking about the possibilities of how many hackers these 'Apotheosis' goons could have under their belt, or how skilled they all were. I just hope she's not one of them... "These guys might also be the reason why we can't get to HQ. We did make one hell of a stink, so they probably know we're still here. You sure we're not getting jammed by anyone?"

[scorri]

No this doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't they have... Ugh was all of this just a distraction? No that doesn't make sense either. But then... Unless... They wouldn't have sent her up here unless it was important. Not with her skill level. So maybe it was just a convenient timing thing... Still a piece missing but... Ugh.

Snapping out of their thoughts, Astin glared at one of the screens and shook their head. "They're grandstanding. Trying to distract us and make us focus on the message not anything else. Elaine's probably right. If they can broadcast this then they can jam us. This was intentional. Getting us up here and away from everyone..."

They stared at the screen again for a few seconds before realising they had stopped mid sentence. "Err... Right. They were likely pulling us away given the interaction we had with that black robot back at base and the fact that this ship is the best we have. Getting us out of the way... .... They're probably attacking our bases back on earth right now. Or will be soon. They wouldn't have sent something like this out without being ready to capitalize on it."

[Nanami Touko]

Moments to Spare

Jess watched the video in abject horror, the presentation serious to a fault. There was no joke in this, no scheme, no backing threat. It was a straight declaration of war against the rest of the world. Was the colony just the first step? Did they need someone from it to start this. "Wh-What do, we do..." Jess started thinking-- too much. She was already overwhelmed, having just woken up, and now, getting faced with this? She had no idea what to do, her brain starting to rapid fire spill out into her words. "XO keep pinging Earth to see if we can get any contact and Hannah start contacting the other colonies Ensign Calvin please make sure all lines stay open everyone else get into your suits get, g-get, ready f-for, re-entry, hhh..." With worried hands clutching her head after rattling off her orders, Jess curled up in her seat, trying not to panic any further than she already had.

Tristan, as displeased by their Captain's composure as he was, was glad she'd managed to give succinct orders before devolving into a mewling mess, and went about following them; there was no issue in her command, at the moment. The lines were indeed jammed, and they had been all morning, though the rest of the bridge had considered it a colony issue, perhaps due to the attack.

"W-Wait, I'm getting a--" One of the other bridgehands, at navigation, spoke up. "A-A signal..." She quieted down as the map on her screen started to flare up, on the western and eastern coasts of the ANF, quieting the rest of the bridge hands.

If anything was going to make Jess spiral further down, it was that, her eyes freezing as she stared at the screen, not another noise slipping out of her mouth.

Hannah watched the captain with an apparent uncaring demeanor, before addressing the XO.

"I can now establish contact with the other colonies, XO. Shall I make plans to--"

She cut herself off-- it was a morning for shocks, as all communications started to re-establish themselves, alerts coming in. The bridge started to light up, Hannah pausing to touch the side of her head.

Tristan was the first to speak. "Captain, XO, we've been receiving requests for aid all morning! From both Colonies two and five, as well as from Earth! The west coast defenses are holding, but the east has been completely wiped out, Apotheosis forces sweeping across to close their pincer attack..."

He began to quiet down as the weight of everything finally dawned on him, Jess having no response.

Avery has been quiet the whole time, just as shocked as the rest of the bridge, but she'd finally had enough time to formulate a response. It wasn't pretty. "What the fuck!?" It was also quite short. "Alright, y'all figure out where the fuck we're going, an' get yer goddamn asses down to the hangar! Ain't gonna have time to eat breakfast at this rate!" She seemed oddly calm, all things considered, less worried and more upset. Her sleep must've been getting to her.

"I'm gettin' all yer damn bots started up! Right now! Anyone who ain't willin' t'wait, get yer asses along with me!" With a huff and an angry glare, she left the bridge, with one purpose in mind.

And the only other quiet person on the bridge, aside from Jessica, was Christina, who had quietly clung onto Kim's arm, shaking. "They're... Th-They're really doing it... Kim, this... This isn't a dream, is it?" A small quivering of her lip, she squeezed Kim's arm tighter. "This... This is real."

"R-Roxanna!" Jess squeaked out, having broken back into panic, instead of frozen. "Wh-What do we do?"

Edited May 11, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai wordlessly absorbed the images on the screen. All sickeningly familiar images of destruction, chaos for chaos' sake playing out from behind the safe distance of the glass. He should've felt something, should've responded to the sound and fury and scenes of misery, and yet they all blended together in a large slurry of suffering. He clutched at the left side of his head as an aching, throbbing ache had developed there.

This seemed to have utterly shaken everyone else, they were occupied with scurrying and shouting. Particularly, one voice seemed to pierce at his cochleas in a strange, thick dialect of some sort.

"Perhaps," He found himself saying dully, to whoever would listen amongst the hustle and bustle, "we were intended to react like a group of frightened and angry children and just run into this head first ja? maybe you are all wanting to run into a trap, but maybe we should consider not dying. It doesn't matter to me, dying there or dying here, but maybe is people here who doesn't want to step into the open jaws of thanatos."

He was pretty sure such a reaction would inspire a smack to the face from one of these overtly emotional goons, but he almost welcomed something other than flat nothingness and aching throbbing.

[Balcerzak]

Thorvald and the others in the bridge didn't have to wait for too much longer, before the choice between standing around in awkward ignorance or attempting much more in the way of light-hearted around-the-watercooler banter. Roxanna and Jess soon made their arrival, along with several of the others. The officers looked to be quite the mismatched pair, with there being hardly a greater contrast imaginable than that between the one's formal uniform and other's quite informal sleepwear. If it hadn't been for the air of uncertainty surrounding this whole situation, he would have allowed the comical sight to receive its due laughter, but as things stood all the reaction it garnered was the corners of his lips twitching upwards and an inaudibly light snort leaving through his nose.

There was very little immediate explanation, and Jess's slightly timid deferral to Roxanna left Thorvald wondering a few things privately. The XO smoothly took the reins though, and for the moment those concerns were shelved before the reality of the televised address. It was a bit of an eye-opener, to be honest. It was not necessarily the content that struck him; the notion of a war to end all wars, of one group subjugating the rest 'for their own best interests', was certainly nothing original, existing in various forms both in fact and fiction throughout the ages. The fact that people could still be lured into such a false promise, though, that they had the gall to actually attempt to enact it, that they maybe even believed in it. That something as insane-sounding as what he'd just heard was actually something that was really happening, right here, right now, in reality and not just on the big screen to be enjoyed with butter and popcorn. It was more than a little breathtaking, especially once the pervasive communications blockage the Heion had apparently been under finally dropped, and various reports came flooding in, adding to the atmosphere of fluster and panic.

After the disbelief, came a slow-burning anger. You don't get to grandstand like you have the moral superiority, Apotheosis. Not when your agents in the field are doing what they did to Colony 1, and are apparently currently doing to Colonies 2 and 5, as well as both coasts. A nice dose of gut-wrenching dread then seeped in to flavor the mix, as the realization washed over Thorvald that his family was so very many miles away and there was nothing he could do, no way to reach them in any measure of time to be useful, not even if the ship were to set out immediately on a selfish request like that in the first place. It caused him to freeze up a bit. Hands clenching tight, he closed his eyes and offered a brief prayer for their safety.

Jess's final bout of panic broke him out of his reverie soon enough. As it happened to be, Thorvald hadn't been standing too far away from the captain's chair to begin with, so when her squeaking cry to Roxanna rang out--Jess leaning forward in her chair, imploring her XO for advice, disregarding her hatred and fear of the other woman in the face of the circumstances--he took a couple steps forward and put a reassuring hand on her back. As if to try to remind her she needed to be a pillar of morale for everyone. When the leader falters, everyone is lost.

"My humble suggestion," he offered, tone rising slightly as if asking for permission, though not actually stopping to wait to receive it. "Unless one of those requests coming across the lines is from Admiral Martinson, we treat them all as sources of information only, not of orders." Thorvald didn't feel he had to explain why, not when it had been made clear to them just the other day that certain elements in the ANF had been willing to abandon Colony 1, or worse destroy it themselves. Roxanna's uncle was one who had entrusted them with the mission, believed in them, so by all rights he'd earned the same back. In the immediate aftermath of total communications blackout, trusting blindly in an unknown chain of command wasn't medicine he wanted to swallow.

"We put out the fires closest to us, and do our best with the information we have until HQ fully gets their act straightened out and reaches out to us with someone we can rely on. I'd point us at Colony 2, and radio for Miller to assist Colony 5... unless things look bad enough that we'd need his help on this one as well, in which case we move out together. But then again, I've not been trained in captaining, so that's just this man's opinion," he finished, lifting his hand off of her shoulder, stepping back slightly, and shifting his gaze from one woman to the other, looking now to Roxanna to try to get a read on her take of the situation. "What do you think?"

[Shin]

Tarquin had no real attachment to a particular nation, the video was almost like one of the briefs that were attached to training missions to give them some sense of background flavour. Logically he knew that almost everyone worldwide would be affected by it, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care on an emotional level. He had no other friends, no family, no home to call his own. Even if Apotheosis did cause chaos, his role in life wasn't going to change. He was produced to face any sort of threat to the ANF, and enter combat regardless of his designated opponent. The emotional responses from the others made sense, but it was a collection of emotions that he couldn't share with them. It was probably for the best, being an emotional wreck like Juria or the captain would only be detrimental.

Even the news that distress signals had been sent from multiple locations didn't shake him too much, they were unseen faces that he had little association with. It wasn't exactly apathy towards the situation, but he was detached enough to try and figure things out for himself. Listening carefully to what the others had to say, with both Astin and Thorvald raising two reasonable, but differing, suggestions in how to progress onward. Tarquin's own preference probably was with returning to Earth. The research facility was likely far too west to be involved in the front-lines, but the chances were that it would be targeted if Apotheosis gained more ground.

"Considering the speed of our possible intervention and the consequences of Central Command being attacked, I would strongly recommend returning to Earth with a coordinated plan." Tarquin suggested, stepping forward and agreeing with Nikolai's sentiment to not rush in. "The colonies are far more likely to be captured for their resources than destroyed, they can be reclaimed with more sufficient reinforcements. We need to use the forces we have efficiently, even if it means making difficult decisions."

It could have been perceived as cruel to abandon the colonies, but it simply wasn't possible, or efficient, to try and send aid in all directions. Priorities had to be made, regardless of how unfortunate the consequences would be.

[Phoenix]

Avery was intent on getting the machines ready for this all out war they were heading into, and Brant had half a mind to follow after her. He wasn't eager to get back into the action, especially not with the ANF's chain of command in tatters thanks to the suddenness of the attack and the collapsing line on eastern coast ... however, he didn't have anything to add to the discussion, or even a fully formed opinion. Brant didn't mind where they went next, so long as they did something. It would be nice if Martinson had sent them some orders himself, but if he hadn't yet, it wouldn't do to just sit around waiting for that and that alone. If Colony Two was really the closest hot spot, they might as well head there, first. The closer the field of battle was to them, the more likely they could swing the outcome in the ANF's favor.

"If this comes down to a vote or something," strange in this kind of outfit, "mine's on Colony Two," Brant put in before turning to head after the head engineer.

Megumi hadn't even considered this coming down to something as inefficient as a vote, though Jessica was looking indecisive as hell, and differing opinions on the situation were coming more and more into focus by the second. Personally, the doctor didn't much care where they went, or when. She didn't believe the Heion Riese would be saving people in any impacted cities or other residential areas, so whether her own family on Earth was safe or not was irrelevant. "... no comment," she murmured under her breath.

The doctor did think it might be good to check in on their prisoner soon, though. Abigail probably didn't know anything about Apotheosis' grand scheme, but she might have some more pertinent ideas. At the very least she had a keen enough mind to assemble and maintain a large mercenary company and warrant Apotheosis' attention in the first place. That wasn't trivial, and it was about the only way she could contribute anything useful from a prison cell.

[Ether]

"Yes, real." Seung-Min replied, managing to keep her composure through the showing of the clip and sudden popup of the map. Unlike most here, she had no real attachment to the mainland of America. Her family and other loved ones were in Korea, and while America signified the heart of the ANF, it had always felt like a distant thing from her home. America was all business, really. Still, they couldn't allow Apotheosis to get away with this sort of thing.

"Need check something." Kim noted to Christina, before darting off after Avery, who had left in a huff to get the machines ready to move out. If Christina hadn't bothered to let go of her as she darted off, the poor girl likely would have been dragged along with little notice. Quickly catching up to Avery, Kim put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Avery. Situation like this need firepower. How close project to usable?"

[Nanami Touko]

Opinionated

Jess was still a quivering mess in her chair, not wanting to voice an opinion on where to go, but Tristan was fine to speak up. "We've expended the energy to get to space, it might be best to respond to immediate threats, like Thorvlad has suggested... Still, without orders from command, heading back to Earth could also be a good idea. The Riese is a bastion of firepower that the ANF sorely lacks, with us stuck up here in space. If we aim to chop off the head of the dragon, the rest of it dies with it, or so the saying goes. Stop Apotheosis on earth, and any factions remaining in space--"

"Unless it's a Hydra," Jess managed to squeak out, shivering. "C-Cut off one head, t-two replace, it..."

Tristan grimaced slightly at the comment, knowing that it had some merit. This wasn't just some haphazard attack at random places, surely they had contingency if they were struck back against. Dammit... "We need to decide to do something, Captain... Any option has its risks."

Testing in Progress

Avery was stopped in her stomping by Kim, a bewildered Christina stuck on her arm. "Y'all know I ain't s'posed t'talk about that in front o' the peanut gallery," she almost barked, pointing at the dazed girl. "I guess it can't wait fer no listeners, but... It ain't ready, yet. Still needs more testin'. The T-Link ain't--"

"I-I can help!" Christina seemed in on the conversation at the mention of such a system. "I... I mean, I... If you, if you need T-Link testing, I can help. I was... The TCI's guinea pig for a lot of older system testing." The memories weren't pleasant, but if she could put the experience to work now, that would be worth something.

Avery didn't appreciate the interruption, between her tiredness and the hurried nature of the situation. Still... "Yer a TK? Didn't know we had more o' you on board... It'd be easier iffin we had someone non-combat t'run the system while Kim piloted... Can't really take away another pilot an' have Brant doin' it, but..."

"W-Well, I'm... I'm not a TK, but--"

Avery groaned, "well'n what the fuck?"

Christina flinched. "I-I can use T-Links! But... I'm not, a TK. I don't know why either, so just... Please."

Avery scratched at her head, annoyed and confused. "What the hell... Kim, y'got anythin' on this girl? Who is she anyway? Girlfriend? Clingin' to you like that despite everything. Am I really jus' that tired, 'cause I swear she wasn't on the ship on take off-- aw, shit, yer one o' those captured goons, ain't ya?" Avery sighed, not sure what to do. And now, Brant was heading towards them, complicating her situation.

Christina quickly let Kim go at the comment, staring at the floor, trying to think of what to say, but she didn't really have any proof. They'd have to stuff her into a system for her to give her claim any credit.

[Ether]

Avery's comment confused Kim at first, before she followed the mechanic's pointing finger, and saw Christina was still clung to her arm. She hadn't noticed that the girl hadn't let go when she started to dash, which went to show how focused she had been on catching up to Avery. Well, that made things a bit more... interesting. There was some hope, if the back and forth between the two meant anything, however.

"To honest, not notice still holding arm when start run. She scared by broadcast, held on comfort, suppose. Apology... but not matter now. This Christina... Christina Troy. Coerced work for Apotheosis, capture in first contact. Been around enough... can vouch for trust. I would catch lie by now." Kim elaborated, giving an affirmative nod.

"If say she can monitor T-Link and keep stable, I trust her. If wrong, my ass on the line. T-Link aside, is operational? We not have much time deliberate, can use travel time for last-minute adjust." Seung-Min continued, biting her lip. She could sortie in the Mk.II, but if things were going as poorly as those maps and distress signals would suggest, any additional firepower would be a godsend. 

 

[Phoenix]

Hallway

"Weren't you in a hurry, Avery?" Brant asked as he caught up, "did something happen?" It certainly sounded like it. From what he'd caught on the way over, Christina was looking to help out in some capacity this time. It couldn't be that simple, though, or Avery probably wouldn't have stopped to discuss it in the hallway.

[Nanami Touko]

Hurried Processing

"Uuuuuuuuuugh." This was going to be a headache no matter what. "Guess there ain't no point in this bein' a secret with Apoth forcin' our hands like this. Got myself a small workshop on th' boat. Velite Mk. III bein' worked on. Needs a TK to run it, but th'damn thing ain't been configured properly yet... Sendin' Kim, or you out in it, iffin either o' you took a hit flying it, the feedback would be... Not pretty. Best case, y'all get a massive migraine. Worst case... We're out a TK er two. An' I need time t'configure that sorta stuff fer battle."

She sighed. "Miss pretty blondie here's claimin' she knows how t'work a T-Link. Now, I can get this shit workin' with time an' Kim's patience, but iffin she had someone manually controllin' the thing while she fought, any feedback could be re-directed, worked with, an' tuned in the midst of things... It'd be safe. But then she goes an' says she ain't a TK. So I'm like... How th'fuck you workin' one without bein' a TK?"

"I already t-told you, I--"

"I know damn well what you told me, girl!" Avery snapped Chrissy quiet again, huffing. "Just ain't gonna believe somethin' like that without a real test, an' Iunno how much time we got... Iffin y'all really think this is a good idea, I'll take all a y'all right now, and we'll get this shit workin', but... Only if it's unanimous. I'm wastin' time otherwise."

[Phoenix]

Brant blinked, then it came to him. "Oh, that." Christina could definitely help Kim out with running a T-Link. It was no surprise the girl was leaping at the chance to get her hands on one. She'd also be helping out a friend. Two birds with one stone. "Not sure why I've got any say, but I think it's worth a shot." Brant personally wanted to avoid piloting a mobile suit in a fight this big if possible, at least in atmosphere or in the colonies. The Accensus was much more in keeping with his combat style despite not being the prettiest thing he'd ever flown.

[Ether]

"A lot exposure to T-link, not enough research to say develop limited TK while connect impossible. Have two T-link enable machines on board even without Mk.III, should be easy enough test for reaction." Seung-Min added, squeezing Christina's shoulder in support.

"If T-link is only thing keep machine from launching, willing take risk. Trust Christina, too much stake to keep best card in hand."

 

[Nanami Touko]

Help Potentially Wanted

Avery triple took, between Brant, Kim, and the girl, before shaking her head and dropping her shoulders. "Fine, fine... I... I ain't gonna lie, I really don't like this, but... Yer both right, on some things. This here sitch ain't no place t'be worryin' too much 'bout protocol. Come on! Gotta get her strapped in t'see if this is even gonna work." Avery waved them to follow after her, as Christina realized something she hadn't quite clicked with yet. Too much worry about the current situation.

This means live fire again, d-doesn't it...

[Dandragon]

Colony...2? A certain rush of feelings came flooding back as Elaine, for a moment, stood there silently, eyes wide as she clearly recalled so much of her life on said Colony, and the very incident that lead to that life's end. From the days of living off the streets to the knocking on the door the week after said incident.

"I'd prefer if we go to Colony 2!" She stated with a confidence that surprised even herself. In truth, she didn't even know why she had suggested it. Did she think she would be recognized and welcomed as a hero, like she so desperately wanted? Did she want to get a second chance of protecting the people from terrorists and the menace they brought with them? Or was it something else? Regardless of the reason, she was adamant in her decision, and currently just as adamant in convincing the rest, even if she didn't have the right words for it. "We were able to save this Colony, and we can do the same for the next! Earth has plenty of defences, more pilots than just us! But the Colonies don't have that! We have to help them! ...Please!"

[scorri]

No, dammit. None of this makes sense. I mean it does. Hydra, that's it. Right. Three heads, chop off one, get two more. Can't just say that though. The best place to fight a hydra... Well the best way to fight a hydra is to not. Or to be the hydra. No, don't go there. TKs are gone, but majority seems to want to go to the Colony... No. Ok... Come on Astin. Do it.

"No. The Colony... Tarquin was right. The Colonies aren't a target that Apotheosis is going to wipe out. Yes there will be losses, but we can recapture them. And worst case... worst case we can survive without them. If Apotheosis is a hydra, we're more like... a bear. The colonies are limbs. If they get cut off, it's terrible, but we can survive. Earth... Earth is our head. If it gets cut off, we don't have two to replace it. And the best way to kill a hydra is by stabbing it through the heart. We need to strike at the heart of Apotheosis like they're striking at our heart now. The West Coast is just barely hanging on. The East Coast is gone. Apotheosis can destroy whatever they want as they make their way across the country. We can't... We can't leave them free to do that."

They took a deep breath, reaching up to hold tight to the small maple leaf pinned to their jacket before continuing. "I hate abandoning the colonies. But we have the Space Fleet up here. Unless we have reason to believe that they have been completely wiped out, we need to trust that they can do their job. Earth is falling apart. Even if the West Coast somehow barely survives, that would only leave us wide open to the EU to step in and finish the job Apotheosis started. We cannot leave our heart open. We need to go back down."

Edited May 11, 2017 by scorri

[Dandragon]

"There are people over there that need our help!" Elaine turned to face Astin, unable to believe what she just heard from them. "They are just terrorizing Colonies and ruining innocent lives of people who wanted to get away from Earth, and you're telling me it's okay if we let them die?!" She had raised her hand in the proverbial direction of Colony 2, despite not knowing where specifically it was relative to the bridge, and grit her teeth clear enough for everyone to see. "Brant is right! If we go down, we sure as hell ain't coming back up in time to save any of them! And I'm not gonna just let terrorist go into Colony 2 and murder innocent civilians, again!" Elaine's face felt hot with anger, which was normal considering she was just yelling at voices too loud to be considered 'indoors'. And it only took a small moment of silence to realize what she had just said in front of several people. Her eyes widened for a second, and she quickly looked away, not wanting to show her face anymore.

[scorri]

"And there aren't people that need our help on Earth? They're doing the same thing to people on Earth as they are on the colonies. Why are the colonies better than those on Earth? There are more people in danger on Earth. If we're talking about saving innocent civilians, shouldn't we focus on the area where we can do the most good? There are other people up here that can potentially save these colonies." Astin was surprisingly calm, staring flatly at the other pilot. Their voice stayed quiet as they continued.

"This can't be personal. I don't know what you mean by again, but you seem to have some sort of personal stake in all of this right now. That's what gets people killed. There is no good option in this situation. No I don't want to let people die. No it's not ok if people die. But people are going to die no matter what we do. Would you rather save a colony and lose the entire ANF?"

[Dandragon]

She was definitely in a pickle now. She couldn't deny that there was something personal about it, but that shouldn't matter. Not in her opinion. Not in her logic. "Don't give me that 'needs of the many, needs of the few' bullshit." She said, through clearly clenched teeth. "Besides, what the hell kind ofWe difference is our group gonna make against someone who's able to fight the entire continent? If the entire army can't take care of them, then we're just gonna get slaugthered! We have a better chance of going to one of the Colonies, and two is the closest!"

[Xinnidy]

Reunion, continued.

All it took was for Roxanna to finish her speech, and things set off as quickly as a fire, dire news coming one after another. "So we have been jammed..." That was no good, that meant Apotheosis had an eye on them, for certain. On top of that, it meant they were far behind on everything that was happening on the world. Roxanna idly played with a lock of her hair as she stood silently contemplating their options. It wasn't pretty, for sure, but somebody had to step up amidst this chaos.

"Captain Gefalscht, we can't separate in three, so we have to make a decision." She begun, taking things slowly would probably be for the best until Jessica could get a clear picture of the matter. "I can only think of the attacks being specific on colonies two and five for the same reason they attacked one: They want to force their way in and take some intel pertaining to the colony's military tech branches." At least, that was likely why they came here to begin with. "Earth... should be self-explanatory."

Almost everybody seemed eager to chime in and 'cast a vote', that wasn't really any input Roxanna asked for, but considering how shaken pipsqueak was, it was bound to happen. Understanding it didn't stop Roxanna from scowling at Elaine's and Astin's argument. "That's enough! There are enough arguments to assist one of Colony 2 or the ANF's Earth Navy HQ, you both made a point, but we should try and contact back now that we have signal. Depending on how things have evolved, this arguing could be a moot point." Done snapping, Roxanna turned back to Jessica, despite her previous preconceptions, even she was conflicted over the choice for her own reasons, and hoped to hear something from the captain. "In the case they still need help, it'll be up to you, Captain. Atmospheric entrance takes about the same time as reaching Colony 2, but it does expend more energy, and we might have to avoid doing it multiple times the same day..."

[Balcerzak]

Tarquin had motioned for a swift return to earth, while Brant had opted for saving the colonies, before quickly taking off after Kim and Avery. Ensign Calvin was a neutral voice of reason, and the captain herself was still a bit of a quivering wreck--despite his attempts at bolstering her, unfortunately. Elaine, oh of course, as soon as she cast in her lot, Thorvald remembered what she'd mentioned previously, as they'd made their way through the tunnels infiltrating Colony 1, sharing her past experience from Colony 2. With that sort of connection, it shouldn't have been any sort of surprise which direction she'd be leaning. Astin swiftly weighed in against her, and the situation was quickly devolving into an unproductive free-for-all. If there was anyone to blame for this, it was himself really, for giving the appearance that this was a decision they actually had some influence on, through his attempt to settle Jess down from her overwrought state.

The argument that the Space Fleet was still available was not a terrible point, but given that it hadn't been trusted for the mission on Colony 1, and assuming that the current raids on Colonies 2 and 5 were similar, was it really something that could be relied upon? The fact that the East Coast was already overrun, and with the added pressure the West's collapse was surely imminent, what would be the point of showing up late to a conquered castle, so to speak? Thorvald was torn.

Roxanna broke off the rising tensions between Elaine and Astin, nipping it as close to the bud as possible. It was a firm, sensible regrounding the crew in the fact that they were letting their speculations fly freer than a kite in a stiff March breeze, and that the communications officers needed more time to sift through the backlogged messages. Whether that was enough to set the issue to rest, or to get Jess back in the program, or anything else was anybody's guess.

One thing she did say caught Thorvald's attention, though, and he couldn't help but asking. "Wait, it would be the same time taken either way? Didn't we take almost three hours getting up here? Though... I guess the earth does rotate, so maybe we're closer overhead than we were on take off or...?" His lack of expertise in the matters of all things related to space was fairly clearly betraying itself, but it was almost too much to take. Maybe they could make a difference on the ground! Dare he hope? And if that were true, could he justify reversing his initial inclination?

[Shin]

It was almost impressive to see Roxy take control of the situation, she carried herself with a manner that Tarquin wouldn't have expected from her - trying to belittle the captain was far more her style. Although perhaps Jess' inaction was an indirect way of doing so, it was hard to tell what Roxy was thinking. If anything it was preferable to the argument between Astin and Elaine, although it was less of an argument and more Elaine being told to calm down. He really didn't care if she had any personal ties to the colony, even if it were a logical move to assist them, the reasoning she presented didn't reflect it at all. He would have been disappointed if it hadn't been so predictable. As much as he'd have loved to berate her for it, he lacked the motivation and vastly preferred not risking being assaulted in the near future.

"The safety checks required and the energy needed to achieve escape velocity are likely to have contributed to the lengthy ascent time. An urgent descent would be significantly shorter." Tarquin replied, deciding to omit the more technical aspects of the mechanics behind it - he needed to remember not everyone present had the same knowledge base as himself. "The captain has the final say in our initial destination, and I am certain that she will have taken the relative risks and benefits into consideration."

He hadn't been entirely sure why he'd said that about Jess, perhaps it was some sort of feeling of pity or sympathy - being put on the spot and trying to explain a choice reminded him of the debriefing from last mission. Caring about the thoughts and feelings of others had never really been on his agenda, when did thoughts like these start to cross his mind?