Half the Gava squad and Jug came into the SEC to begin their shifts. Jug checked the messages and their duty roster for next 12 hours. It showed the option for the training.  She agreed to be there then left for the others to join or not.  Seeing Roy after reading and checking she spoke "Gava squad will be there, Sergent Major.  Do you want us as a group, pairs, together, or in another option?" she asked.

Roy weighed the question.  There were a lot of ways it could be answered, but he quickly narrowed the field to just one.

"It's battlefield training.  Run it in whatever way you think you'd be most likely to group in an actual combat situation.  Unless LC Shadow says otherwise, of course...it is HIS exercise, after all, we're just tagging along to take advantage of the arrangements."

<<<<<< Shadow from OB  dec.

 The  door  hissed open, The LC  entered,  nodding to  those who were there.   reaching for the  SHIP's COM..he announced.

  NOW HEAR THIS.....WE ARE ROUGHLY  14 HOURS OUT FROM  BURA, WE WILL ARRIVE  AT  4:00AM , BURA TIME.... WITHIN TWO HOURS  OF REACHING BURA.. ALL PILOTS, AXCEPT FOR SHUTTLE JOCKS  WILL REPORT TO THE HNAGER DEC, WITH  FLIGHT ARMOR  AND CRASH KIT. ANY SEC CREW WHO  ARE JOINING IN SURVIVAL RUN, SHOULD REPORT AS WELL.... ALL INVOLVED SHOULD GET REST. WE WILL BE
 GOIGN INTO  , WHAT IS CONSIDERED, HOSTILE TERRITORY...WE EXPECT SOME  INJURIES. IF YOU TRAINED WELL, WE DO NOT EXPECT  DEATHS....AGAIN...14  HOURS I WILL MAKE ON REMINDER..PILOTS WHO MISS THE CALL, WILL NOT BE FLYING FOR THE HERMES ..THAT IS  ALL...

  Shadow  looked at the  coffee pot, but decided against it, he did take a doughnut.

 Beth looked up,...you could  just have a  'hunt and chase' with our own people?

 Shadow  tried to talk around his doughnut.we could..yeah?... but i may was well just set up a trackmeet or something..and even then, no one   would  'put out' to get the  exercise  done? This is more  dangerous?  so it  will make them work harder  then a simple competition  , and its  an upgrade over  running the tunnels, in that, they must  over come  the terrain and  any animals... the Bonus is, Running into pockets of  Dusters  or Empire  folks....about  15 minutes after   we enter the  trees, the Burian Rangers  will  sned  some two man teams in to  follow us, incase  we have firefights, or  someone goes  down with an Injury.

 Lyri shakes her  head...there are..what?  3  ships in the whole  fleet that do this?

 Aye.. and those  three ships  have a better recovery rate  then all the others..

 Sam giggled at Lyri and said," I made my firs tunnel run ever on the last one with Beth, I am not running in the woods in that dangerous section of Bura no thank you I will stay with my comms and computers thank you."

 Sam went to work and then the LC came in, he made his announcement. "Bura is beautiful but dangerous as well, I will handle the comms with the Burians and calls for retrievals."

"I'll take it.  I'll have my people near each other but I think groups of 3 to be good.  Bog and Uvuvu in charge of the others" Jug smiled her big tooth grin.  popping off some brown coats might be nice. She moved with other gava to complete their rounds then get some sleep before 4am.

Roy gave Jug a nod, and looked at Lyri.  "I'm surprised, Master Chief, that you'd downplay the value of HIST exercises.  You know performance under REAL fire can differ tremendously from what gets shown on the training range."

He shot Shadow a glance, and added, "Now, granted, the LC's zeal is a little out of the ordinary...but it's not really survival training if there's pretty much no question that everyone is going to survive.  When the threat is real and immediate, and the adrenaline kicks in...THAT is when you see what your people are really made of.  And more importantly, that's when THEY see what they're really made of.  We can swat down the big-talkers in the tunnel runs...but that can just as easily breed blind resentment against us as it can break them down to rebuild better.  When they're out there, in the undergrowth, relying on their training to keep them moving the right direction and never knowing whether or not their next step will bring them face to face with something that's going to try and eat them?  They get humble real fast, assuming they're actually made out of good enough stuff to hold it together and not actually get eaten."

He shrugged.  "Every decent military in Earth's history had some kind of high-risk survival training exercise.  No reason to surrender the tradition just because we left the planet."

  There is   a bit of a frown from Lyri.naw.... I like doing this?  if someone gets  hurt, or even dies, it was  just their  time. The who exercise  is to make sure, no one 'hits their  time' when you're doing a  run

 She looks at Shadow,why doesn't the Admiral make every one do this?

 what?.. I'm an 'Admiral Expert ' now? eh said ,  fighting to eat his  doughnut as he talked.

 She gave him a raised  eyebrow, Beth sat back  in her chair  and crossed her  arms , an eyebrow  , rose there as well..

  Looking  around at folks in the SEC, Even Nagy  waited, though he grinned.A sigh  came out, as he swallowed the  currant  bite. Look?  Admiral HAck  runs the fleet , way, way different then the ESN fleets  we  left behind...he runs it  different then the   fleets  the  of the  Carrirstatons?...so? he allows  al the  captains to  do with their  crew what they want, as long as they are ready for the next jump off.

he shrugs...so?  we run here. Look at  those   Bananas? They still can't wrap their heads  around, how  to  train Largs?..not all folks   can train their people like ours....even Cummings? Look at him.. all of those transportbases  have people trained, alot like us...every now and then you  get some  dumbass.. but  we get them here too...

 Like  the guy who was in command of that Transport bas on the  One Eyed JAck's  egg planet..

  yeah...lots of those types... i hope  i run into him on shore leave  somewhere.

"Besides," Roy chimed in, "not everyone on the ship faces these kinds of risks.  I figure the infantry faces danger on a pretty regular basis, so I don't feel any need to make exercises like this compulsory.  But I also know that the people who show up for something like this are serious...they want to prove to themselves that they can cut it in heavy traffic, which is why I prioritize them when it comes time to choose people for combat operations, especially when it's high-risk and I can only take a handful of people in...the people who've stared Danger in the face and waited for it to blink first are the ones I know I can put in damned near any situation and know they won't lose their heads."

He shrugged, and continued, "But ground crews?  They're supposed to focus on fixing planes, not combat survival techniques, and pulling them off the flight line to test their combat reflexes in the jungle would piss Rivets right off. QM personnel are busy keeping track of inventory and requisitions, they don't need to be sent out into the brush to prove anything to anyone.  If they WANT to participate, I'm sure they can request the assignment for the day...but there's a lot of people on this ship whose job is, primarily, to enable us to get out there and fight the war.  Only if the enemy gets around us are any of those people supposed to see combat...and let's face it, if we're in a position where Bridge personnel are shot down on a planet, we're WAY past anything any of us have actually trained for."

He shot a look at Shadow, before adding, "Now, pilots...well, they're a special case.  Because they ARE out there on the front line, in terms of risk, but if all goes well, they'll never have to get face-to-face with the enemy.  HIST exercises are good for them because they know, when stuff does NOT go well, that they've got the fortitude to pull through.  Getting shot down is a major morale buster, and if you're shot down behind enemy lines or out in no-man's-land, you need every bit of morale and confidence you can get, and knowing you can deal with the threat on the ground is a great start in the process of getting back to friendly forces."

  Shadow points to Roy  as he  selects  another doughnut...and there isthe winner... our SEC troopers are also  'marines', regardless  of  which branch the signed up for.... Most , if not all of them would be...could be..SEALs  and Rangers  and all that stuff on earth in the old services...

he  shrugs  as he sips a coffee  after taking a small bite,all the stuff  the  fixed  for  space travel with Gravity, food and, of course, Angel food? allows  us all to be out here without adverse  effects  to our bodies..well..outside of getting blown up...shot..eaten...

  a couple things  come to mind, and not me? because i was trained for this  stuff..I SHOULD..beable to do it. But look  at when the  Red Birds Jumped us  on Aqra? Noone had a clue, and we took losses, and people crashed... Kat ran her  ass off to reach out lines...and  went back up  to knock people down. Eckels crashed and Panicked,  i was   ...um... lucky enough?  to  crash near her   and get her Moving towards  are Lines    he grins,where i needed to  be   helped  By Roy and his gang....But  she should have been dead...right?... once she  got   got rid of the  shock she managed to  make it to our lines...

 and we have   Lizzy and  Nikki running from bad guys and Briss on Roussa... at least three others, including Howe, were brought  back from the front, because they kept thier heads  and ran like the 9 hells  we're after them

 Lyri shakes her head...me and  Captain SI  picked you up in Iran after a week of  running?

 Shadow waved that off...that was  the deluxe  package of  a survival run...

 and  The Green Moon....

 Yeah?  that was a bit scary since i had  no idea where to go, excpet for  the  co-ordinace CAptain Si gave me..hey?  we made some buddies  down there..those   Spider Gators...

 ..Naragrans....

 whatever..they are kind  cool, if they aren't trying to eat you...

Bottom line, Let's take it to its  simplest form,, Roy  nailed it?... you are stuck behind the bad guys lines? Maybe you're cut off from your unit..or you buddies got killed? or you  POD out  and land  in that  mess? , do you sit  down  and wait to be captured?  Do you hide  and  CAll on COMs  and hope  people can get to you? Or do you run like hell, Fighting along the way...AND... use your COM... The very fact that those who run, know that they can run, with their gear, could be  the difference . Most of the peope don't understand that, until they have to use it.. If they cheated themselevs in the tunnels, they'll pay  for it  out there.

 ..now? its  time  this   LC  heads to his quarters  to get ready for tomorrow.... he looks at Roy,Those  Nivarians  want to train with   our Largs and Mila....I can't see  anything good happening there, Unless they ...REALLY..want to learn from our way?

"LC?  It's not just running.  You teach them not to panick, true.  You teach them to use brain as they run.  A fast body can still be dead body if they not watching and thinking what they do." Jug said after making her patrol lap.  She overheard Shadow talk of others running to safety "Got to think where your safe line is.  just running you might run into enemy you meant to run from.  Or miss a set trap, walk into or off cliff in haste.  If you not thinking as you run"
other Gava with her wandered in

  aye to that, Jug.... in the field. the ebach head  always  has  Blue  smoke...we'll use others colors as well... if you find an enemy group that is too big  you set off Red...if  you are trapped and need  airlifted, or  reinforcements, there is  Yellow..for a place  we took over  and held...Green

 so? when the Big Ugly is finished   dropping folks off, they will  land  at our Target area and send up Blue  smoke... everyone on the survival run has to make their way there

Roy nodded at Jug's comment.  "Probably ninety-five percent of all the exercises any combat forces do as training is just boosting confidence and self-reliance.  I mean, I can count on the fingers of no hands the number of times I've had to run over a trench on a log in actual combat.  But damned if some part of my brain didn't hearken back to those boot-camp confidence courses when I was scrambling around beams and girders on Anzio or Fuji.  I wasn't worried about falling off them, because I already knew I could get across them.  Hell, they even had nice flat surfaces, they weren't round and covered with mud..."

He shrugged.  "People can accomplish some truly amazing things, when they aren't busy second-guessing whether or not they can actually do whatever it is.  When they KNOW, because they did something just like it a few months or a year or even a couple of decades ago, they don't hesitate and question and waver--they just do it.  And in survival situations, hesitating and wavering can get you killed.  In combat situations, they're almost guaranteed to get you killed.  Doing the wrong thing will get you killed faster...but standing there and debating with yourself over whether to do it this way or that way will get you killed just as dead.  You've got to do the right thing, but you've got to be decisive about doing it, or else the war or some massive critter with a taste for humans is gonna decide for you that your next course of action is to become deceased."

He turned to Shadow and grinned.  "Be interesting to see what kind of use they actually get out of their largs...and see if their largs react as well to a little kindness from a stranger as ours have."  Larry's acquisition was hardly the only one that involved a larg turning on its presumed master after someone from the Hermes stepped up for it.

"I may forego the survival run to go browbeat the Nivarians for a little bit.  Fun as it would be to stumble across some Dusters or Demons in the bushes down there, I think I'd have a better time making the Nivarian larg handlers look like morons..."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:19, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

  Shadow  chuckled, old  highschool coch used to say, if you make a mistake...".make a big one".   if your screwed up on defesne, or  were caught  in between  on a play.. you were supposed to  go ahead  and finish  , just as hard  as if you didn't screw up. You'd be surprised how many plays a game are made, because i guy messed up and  he just followed through.

 Rumor  has it, the Nivarians don't want me near thier Largs  and ours..... I'm starting another Rumor... I just may show up  after the survival run, just to stand there and let them see me..., But..that depends on what my flock does  as they  scurry like  baby Quail , through the trees...

  Lyri tilts her  head...Baby Quail?

  Shadow   stepped over his  words without a flinch...sure, there's  hot chicks  runnign down there..right..you're running?  he  grins as he heads out the door.

  Lyri shakes her head,so?  why am  i flattered ?  baby Quail?

Beth Giggled,..the hot chick  part got you..you may be badass  Master chief?,,but you're  still a Lady inside that armor..

Lyri tried to fight  of a blush.

Roy just grinned and shook his head.  Comments about old British slang for women being 'birds' flickered through his mind, but he couldn't really come up with anything that would build much on what had already been said.  Better, instead, to add to Lyri's discomfiture by showing amusement at her reaction.

"Guess I should see if Dr. Christie is going to be taking the largs down as a group, and if so, where he's taking them.  I'm sure it would turn those Nivarians absolutely purple if I showed up with Larry, Freddie, and Tess, and embarrassed them all, because I'm pretty damned sure there's nothing any of those Nivarian packs could do that those three couldn't do better, faster, and with less angst about getting it done..."

——> Officers Quarters

Izzy was still quietly humming to herself as she walked into SEC, with her pausing long enough to say good morning to anyone that was there before taking a seat at her desk and firing up her machine so she could begin to tackle the stack of paperwork that had accumulated in her absence a long with anything else that had arrived in her inbox.

----->>>> from Med Tech

 NA-CE walked into SEC and looked aroud she saw Izzy and said," Hello Izzy how are you today." NA-CE then looked around for Lyri or the SM to officially check in.

 Lyri wasw     going through  some charts, marking things   from what she  saw on her Computer Screen, Nirther Beth or  Roy were there yet

 Shoey was in the back  going through files, with a look on his face that said 'i wish my puter would catch fire"

Izzy had been sat at her desk processing the numerous shore leave related charges for what felt like days when NA-CE walked into the office. So far she had processed around a dozen drunk and disorderly’s, four brawling and one public urination charge with all of them, except the guy that had felt it was a good idea to punch a provost, getting a slap on the wrist ”oh hey NA-CE, I didn’t see you yesterday, how was shore leave? Get up to much?” she asked, glad for the break from her paperwork ”…also what brings you to SEC?” she asked seeming to recall that she was some kind of medic.

 NA-CE smiled and replied," Oh I went back to the faire watched the children's games, it was a lot of fun, I hope you enjoyed your second day as well." NA-CE smiled and giggled and replied to Izzy," Oh I am checking in as a combat Med Tech, I technically are a member of SEC because I go on jump-offs in a combat fashion but I am also a Med Tech so I am under the Lt's command as well, it is a little complicated.

 NA-CE turns to Lyri, " Master Chief I am officially checking in as a Combat Med Tech, Corporal NA-CE." She will let her Angel patches and other markings tell Lyri who she was with the Blue Moon Angels.

”We went horse riding with Maddy and Sam, it was an enjoyable experience though I’m not a natural rider by any stretch” she responded before she pointed out that she was a combat medic and therefore a member of SEC ”ahh makes sense…I think” she giggled before pointing out where Master Chief Lyri was currently sitting before returning to her paperwork.

  Lyri   smiled a slight  smile, she  stopped  markign a chart  and Pointed to the   card   rack.Take an  empty  card, stick your  self witht he  pin  so that card gets your  DNA..., then scan your wrist  for   the Blue 'on duty' scanner..Red is  for when you clock off...

 Shoey gives a short chuckle,..IF...you clock off. I haven't clocked off since   I boarded  at Olympus..

 NA-CE smiled then replied to Izzy," Oh wow that sounds like fun, Bura is a wonderful planet." NA-CE giggled then added." Yeah it is weird being in two worlds, killing bad guys and saving good guys."

 NA-CE listens to Lyri, she takes an empty card pricks herself, then scans her wrist and sees the green on duty. " Thank you very much so what do I do now?"

 Before anyone could answer the vids showed what happened on Earth with the loyalty feast and the rescue by Stoly Sr. NA-CE watched and when it was over she replied," How disgusting I do not see how a Angel could partake in such a disgrace to eat humans. What the hero did was amazing do any of you know him?"

------->>>>>>> From Admiral's quarters

 Sam walked into SEC, she was about to say hello to everyone but the vid started when she walked in. She didnt know the man but she had heard of the name going over files and comms from Earth. " Now that was a huge blow against those assholes, but we need to do more. I think after our next jumpoff the Black will be a very different place."

  Lyri   answered   NA-CE...You're under the direct Command  of    SM Specner. LT  Simmons  can request you  as you are needed.

 for right now, pick  a locker  .  You can put  your armor  there, or  your   quarters. Ther weapons  racks  achieve a variety of weapons, except  some are for the speclists, Like the Heavy weapons, rocket launcher  and grenade  launcher, we add Flame throwers... but they are at QM.

 The MAn who IDed  himself , Sailed  with us from Earth. He was a shuttle  jock.  We have a few People on Earth who  went back to help out, and keep  Lights Out  Going.. His Nephew is the   guy in charge of the  shuttles.

”yes, it was certainly unlike anything I’ve done before but…yeah I’d be willing to give it another go” Izzy replied before leaving NA-CE to speak with Lyri and get settled in, as she meanwhile returned to the world of alcohol fuelled stupidity as she processed the next charge on her list.