Chapter 1: "Force Majeure"

Arc had, had a front row seat to what had just happened to the two support subs. Still shaken by the massive explosion that he had just barely avoided as he escorted the three subs in case of another attack he hit the comm button. "Sir the sub hit earlier in the battle it looked like it lost control. It kind of caught fire and hit the other one they are both going down. I don't think there is anything we can do. This might be a little heartless but I think we need to get out of here fast. I doubt the EFF will miss something like that." After giving his opinion to Boss Chief, Arc turned and watched the two subs plummet and all he could do was bow his head there was likely little he could do for them.

Londo Bell Ship...
Empyrean Bridge...

One of the ship's mechanics raced to the bridge. He was obviously tired, sweaty and out of breath. Once he was finally able to regain composure, he stood up straight and addressed the dear Capitana.

"C-cca--Captain Romanova! That Petty Officer, Wesley Ford, was seen smoking near the mobile suits while they are being loaded with fuel! He looked scary so we didn't dare approach him! What should we do!" the mechanic asked.

Tatiana sighed. Wesley's been such a pain in the ass today with his rude behavior, but this was the last straw. He called Luciano and gave the Lieutenant an order.

"Lieutenant Luciano, please go and see this Wesley and discipline him. We don't need an accident right now... please," she asked Luciano nicely. "And bring him here afterwards."

Quote :

For Albion: You are directed to talk to Wesley and bring him to the bridge afterwards.

Johann was keeping tabs on the battle, while hearing the one-way exchange of words between his mentor Rap and the Cry-Baby Javier. He was younger than Javier but he was happy he wasn't as vulnerable and weak as Javier. But he reminded Johann of the old him, which greatly enraged the young avenger. He looked at the radar for anymore signals, one disappeared. Clearly Rap with good experience and veteran capabilities destroyed the other GM like it was mere paper.

Quote :

"Bridge, this is Ensign Solano in the forward hangar. Please confirm the situation, was that a Feddie attack? Requesting orders. Be advised, my MS is currently non-functional."

"Ensign Solano, This is the Bridge, Yes that was a Feddie attack, but we have the situation under control, Two suits have been sent out to intercept, But keep tight, we don't know what other feddie shit is out there..." He replied to the anonymous man on the other line.

Meanwhile heard the other man, named Arcturus go sortie out to pick the baby of the group, Johann merely shook his head as the battle had been going smoothly when suddenly, a missile went through Bass 1, followed by a large explosion, and then everybody scrambled to understand what in the hell just happened.


A Cold sweat trickled through Johann's cheeks. Of all things to happen, they were already few in numbers, only to be reduced again? This can't just be right.

"Bass 2! This is Kingfish 1, Give us a sitrep!" Johann grit his teeth and slammed his fist on the side of the console. "I Repeat, Bass 2, This is Kingfish 1. we're waiting on your sitrep"

Only Static came out, and muffled shouting and screaming mixed with it. Bass 2 got hit hard, And so did Bass 3 after Bass 2 accidentally rammed itself to Bass 3. He felt sympathy towards the crew of Bass 2 and 3, but he couldn't do anything, heck none of them would be able to do anything in this depth.

He removed the head-set and looked at the Boss, Before shaking his head implying Bass 2 and 3, are gone and beyond the point of salvation, A flat tone still escaped johann's lips.

"Orders Captain?"

Londo Bell Ship...
Empyrean Bridge...

Grant snorted when he heard about the Petty Officer. But, tired of listening to Capt. Romanova's grating voice, he left the bridge, seeing as his commander had left earlier already. Retiring to his quarters, he sat at the desk inside and uploaded the data from his fight the other day. While he might come off as arrogant to most people, he does it so that they underestimate him, and considering what his suit is, that is a mistake not many live to repeat, if they are foolish enough to try a second time that is. He would usually go over previous battles and see where he could have done better and then he would work on making it happen.

As the battle data streamed across the screen, Ulysses sighed and shook his head. The people who had been fighting with him in the beginning of the assault were wiped out much too quickly. He really didn't like getting saddled with rookies, it forced him to watch their backs as well as his own and that wasn't a wise thing to do on a battlefield. And since he had so many under his command, he wasn't able to stop the zekes from killing them off one by one until he was the last one left.

As he watched the data from the point where his last subordinate fell and the last zeke, he was both slightly proud and disgusted with himself. If he had stunned the Zaku at that moment instead of striking it with his sabers and then his daggers, he could have avoided the attack made by the Dom. He sighed; he still had a long way to go.

Empyrean Bridge...

Quote :

"Lieutenant Luciano, please go and see this Wesley and discipline him. We don't need an accident right now... please," she asked Luciano nicely. "And bring him here afterwards."

Luciano nodded in acknowledge, "Yes Ma'am" and with that said, and a quick salute following it, he left the bridge his fists clenched, that idiot does he not realize the stupidity of his actions!? he raged as he headed for the hanger. His squadron was starting to make him look like a fool, apart from Kirland though as his second-in-command had a good head on him.

As he entered the hanger it was easy to tell where Petty Officer Ford was as some of the deck gang had stayed away from the area, no doubt knowing the Captain would send him, that Luc himself would eventually find or simply because they did not want to get intro trouble with their CO. He walked up and cleared his throat starting at the Petty Officer with folded arms, "Petty Officer Ford, do you mind explaining what you think you doing with that...", he pointed at Wesley's cigarette, "...in a place like a Mobile Suit hanger that stores fuel and ammo that is highly flammable?", he spoke in a clearly authoritative and not at all happy tone.

Albion wrote:

"Petty Officer Ford, do you mind explaining what you think you doing with that...", he pointed at Wesley's cigarette, "...in a place like a Mobile Suit hanger that stores fuel and ammo that is highly flammable?", he spoke in a clearly authoritative and not at all happy tone.

Wesley looked at the officer, his expression was as if he had no care in the world with that the man had just told him. Then he said to him "Right.."

Wesley pulled out another cigarette from his pocket lair it up and began smoking it in front of the senior officer. "Why don't you go piss of you bludger."

Empyrean Hanger

Quote :

"Why don't you go piss of you bludger."

Luciano took the cigarette from the Petty Officer's mouth, dropped it to the ground and rubbed it out on the floor of the Hanger. Before the Petty Officer could react to that he had grabbed hold of the junior officer's uniform at the neck and raised his hand ready to slap the Petty Officer, "Who do you think you are talking to? We're currently involved in an operation and that's how you decide to respond to a superior officer. You're an officer of the Londo Bell taskforce, start acting like one or you know damn fine where the door is", he spoke calm and collect as he started bring his hand down. A small group of techs and pilots alike had stopped to watch now.

The member 'Albion' has done the following action : DICE ROLL

'Normal Melee' :

Result :

Albion wrote:

Luciano took the cigarette from the Petty Officer's mouth, dropped it to the ground and rubbed it out on the floor of the Hanger. Before the Petty Officer could react to that he had grabbed hold of the junior officer's uniform at the neck and raised his hand ready to slap the Petty Officer, "Who do you think you are talking to? We're currently involved in an operation and that's how you decide to respond to a superior officer. You're an officer of the Londo Bell taskforce, start acting like one or you know damn fine where the door is", he spoke still calm and collected but ready to go further if Wesley did not get this through his head. He noticed that he had spoke loud enough to attract the attention of a few bystanders.

The senior officer's hand hit Wesley square in the face. It was a powerful slap and Wesley really felt that one. He didn't like it one bit and on top of that the man completely wasted a good rollie. Wesley looked the senior officer straight in the eye and threw a straight punch at the man's nose.

"Wha's tha' you mongrel? You hit like a girl."

The member 'Wesley97' has done the following action : DICE ROLL

'Normal Melee' :

Result :

Empyrean
MS Hangar

As soon as the fight got messy workers came in and separated the two pilots. They pulled Wesley back and did the same to Luciano. One of the workers noted that Wesley's cheek was all sore like it was hit by a frying pan, while Luciano's nose was full of blood dripping down his mouth and neck. The nurses rushed in and applied a towel on their respective injuries.

The nurse noticed that Luciano's nose slightly deviated to the left. He adjusted the nose a bit, "It'll hurt a bit sir..." he said as he popped back the nasal bone in place.

On Wesley's side they applied ice to his face, it was all red. The nurses and the workers decided to take the two to the Bridge directly to the Captain.

Luciano had felt the full force of the punch from the Petty Officer, not too shabby he had to admit to himself although he had been taken back that someone could be stupid as to hit their superior officer. He had heard a dull noise as Wesley's fist connected and the wet feeling on his top upper lip had meant blood. By the time the nurses had arrived there was a fair amount of it.

Quote :

"It'll hurt a bit sir..." he said as he popped back the nasal bone in place

There was a dull grunt from Luciano, not loud enough for anyone but the nurse to hear. He smiled best he could with a bloodied mouth, "Thank you", he then took the cloth she had given him wiping his mouth and upper lip. After he felt himself being led to the bridge along with Wesley knowing he'd get into trouble for striking the junior officer, even if it was just a slap.

Empyrean, Bridge...

The Empyrean was cruising steadily above the ocean, and it was a welcome sight for Tatiana. Magnusson was gone, sleeping in his room, but Wesley's actions seemed to have negated that. The doors opened once more, and a bloody Luciano and bruised Wesley were brought in by the nurses.

Tatiana's eyebrow raised. She removed her hat, threw it on the floor and stood up. "Lt. Raines and Petty Officer Ford got into a fight Ma'am," said one of the nurses. Tatiana stepped forward.

"Is that true, Ford, Raines? You're both officers! Why fight like drunken Vikings!?" she asked angrily.

Puysegur Trench, Southwest of New Zealand...
Mad-Angler Class Submarine...


Shacking in fear, Arthor pulls out a cigarette and lights it up. Arthor's hand was shacking uncontrollable as he inhaled his first drag. After taking a few more drags, Arthor was able to get his fear under control. Looking down at the sonar, there was still no sign of the enemy.

"This doesn't look good Sir. We should send out a few suits out to try to save them and their suits before it is too late."
Arthor puts out the cigarette as he lowered the speed of the sub.

Quote :

"Is that true, Ford, Raines? You're both officers! Why fight like drunken Vikings!?" she asked angrily.

Wesley stood in attention and ignored the pain his sore cheek was giving him for the meantime. "First off captain. I'd like to thank you for having this audience to give me a chance to explain what happened. Secondly I wish to apologize for acting the way I did. I know it wasn't right but I was only finishing what the lieutenant started. It was the lieutenant who hit me first. I was merely defending my honor as a man."

Empyrean Bridge

Luciano did not need to be a mind-reader to realize that the Captain was
p***ed. Hell, he would be too if the roles were reversed. However he kept his head held high, plus it helped with his little injury, even as the Captain berated him and the Petty Officer. Wesley took the initiative to speak first and basically Luc viewed those words as one word: coward. He left out the crucial parts of the story like any man trying to save his own hide.

With Wesley finished he looked at the Captain, "As ordered Ma'am I went down to the hanger to take care of the situation. After informing the Petty officer of his stupidity of smoking in a hanger area, said officer decided to 'light up' right in front of me and told me to 'piss off'. I will admit that yes I did hit him first for showing clear insubordination and using profanity in front of a superior office. The Petty Officer then stuck me back. That is what happened" he stepped back standing at ease awaiting the Captain's verdict.

James was in deep thought when he saw Lt. Raines walk into the hangar. it looked as though he had caught Petty Officer Ford smoking in the hangar. He talked to Wesley, guessing that he was telling him to put it out. Then he lit up another one and said something to Lt. Raines, probably doing his usual bad-mouthing. The Lieutenant took the cig from his mouth and put it out on the floor, he then picked him up by the collar and slapped him hard across the face. Wesley retaliated by punching Raines square in the face, making his nose bleed profusly. The techs and nurses broke the two of them up before things got ugly. After treating their wounds, they exited the hangar. James couldn't help but worry about the current condition of their team. Most of them acting like insubordinates, no better than the EFF. ("Oh Lieutenant~ they're quite troublesome, aren't they?")

Dust had seen the scrap partially from the cockpit of his jesta, he couldnt help but cheer for the Leiutenant. Suddenly though as soon as it had begun the fight was over and both parties dragged away. This left Dust with nothing to do but go over his suit one more time.

James was a little worried about Lt. Raines and Wesley so just to be sure, he opened the cockpit and got out. "Hey, make sure that no one else gets inside this machine, alright? I'll be right back!" He said to one of the techs. He jumped down from the platform and went off in the direction where the two of them went. He passed one of the ships crew and asked "Hey, have you seen Lt. Raines and Petty Officer Ford come through here?" The man responded "Uuuuuuuuuugh~ yeah, I think they were headed towards the bridge to see Captain Romanova. Looked like the two of them were about to get into a serious brawl, but luckily they were..." James cut him short as he ran off. "Alright, thanks!" He ran off towards the bridge where he found the two of them talking with the Captain. "Hello Captain, is everything alright here?" He asked as he saluted her.

Tatiana was so disappointed with these two soldiers, Wesley and Luc. When James entered the room, she remained silent. Shifting her gaze back at the two, she softly spoke and reminded them of their duties and responsibilities as soldiers.

"You two are, supposed to treat each other like brothers. Wesley, since the Lt. is more senior than you, you should address him with respect, and not cuss or hit him when he is talking to you. Even if he slapped you, you should remain polite..." she told Wesley.

As for Luciano, Tatiana talked to him as well. "Luciano you're a senior officer, but that does not mean you can just slap everyone. I told you to talk to him nicely and take him here, but you resorted to violence first. Bright is a good leader but you must not follow everything that he does. He's a violent man, and you must not pattern yourself after him..." she said, with a disappointed tone.

"Shake hands and put this thing behind you..." she ordered the two.

CHAPTER CONCLUSION

ZEON:
It was a sad day for the Zeon remnants. Two of their submarines, containing some of their valuable mobile suits, were lost to Huck's torpedo attack. Because of that, their forces were reduced to a third of their fighting strength. However, the remaining submarine was able to escape.

EARTH FEDERATION / LONDO BELL

Half an hour later, the Empyrean arrived at the site. They encountered Jim, the survivor of the battle, and all the Empyrean crew found were the remains of two sunken submarines, both of which, exploded violently underwater. Jim was able to make out the location and direction of the last submarine, and from those coordinates, the Empyrean changed its course...

CHAPTER END. THREAD LOCKED