Omegas XXII: Fitting Right In

nstant oatmeal? Instant ??? ::shudder:: ::shudder:: C'mon, real oatmeal isn't too hard to cook. It's worth the effort--ESPECIALLY if you add puh-lenty (and I *mean* puh-lenty!) of maple syrup and cinnamon. Plain? Ick!

I can barely microwave stuff properly.

But even if I could "cook", all I'm saying is that it was instant oatmeal I was raised on. It's what my parents eat. (Shrug) Wanna hold -them- accountable? Be my guest.

::nods:: Agreed. I felt sorry for Anomen too - saying, "No," to him would've been like kicking a puppy dog.

There are plenty of puppy-kickers around here... lots of puppy-kickers who are proud of their hobby.

I don't know... I guess it wasn't so much that I felt for him, just that I felt bad for making my characters into typical "Ice Princesses..."

It also didn't help that one of Falynn's most commonly used spells is called "Arctic Flare..."

Except I'm concerned as to whether Cor (and Moira!) exist in this universe.

I'm not sure if Cor's shuffled off yet, but Moira would be alive, if not necessarily "around." Actually, Imoen's drunken line from Loaded Jester where she says "I can also vomit, fall down, and make dirty calls to your sister when I'm drunk..." was originally intended to have Anomen as the recipient... (making Moira the person getting lewd calls)... but it seemed sillier to have Falynn go "Imoen, you ARE my sister..." so I went with that direction, instead.

I have to admit I have the same problem myself. I can't do romance, because so much of it seems...illogical.

It's more than that, for me... I just... tend not to believe in a lot of the sappy stuff that seems to pass for romance. So even if I did have a couple of characters "hooking up," as it were... I doubt it'd resemble... well... anything remotely "romantic" in nature. (Shrug)

So...are you gonna give us the skinny as to group compositions? Or is that a hook?

Well, I wouldn't mind, I'm just not sure anyone would really care. I worked up a whole order of battle for the entire task force... everything from the primary combat capital ships and their commanders to individual unit rosters for the SpaceOps groups. But it's rather technical in nature, and while I adore that stuff, it just puts other folks to sleep. (Shrug)

It would be fun to see Ano, Falynn, and Mazzy in a group meeting together, with or without Keldorn. ::sighs:: I can't get enough of your Keldorn, you know.

(Chuckle)

Well, there's a mission briefing next chapter... Mazzy didn't grab any speaking lines in that one, but Anomen, Imoen, and Falynn get some banter.

OMG! That wasn't from Unsere Freunde , was it? Peter in Hamburg, Alois from Austria, etc.?

I honestly don't know. My friend didn't tell me the name of the textbook... but if they used "Our Friends" in schools in Kansas, I suppose it could have been from there.

including Kartoffelsalad, and featuring a "Radish" song -- OMG! Who'd've thought that Germans were related to gnomes

"Radish" songs? Yeep.

I could really go for some potato salad, though. It's almost dinner time, and I'm getting hungry.

Blau is die Farbe deines gelben Haares.

Blue is the color of your golden (Literally yellow) hair?

That's what that said, right? Because... yeah... that's a bit... odd...

We all were pretty lucky, nah? Feel bad for Floridians.

Yeah... we've been getting flash flood warnings of late... they've got hurricane issues. Say what you like about the Tri-State area, but natural disasters tend not to make very many appearances around here, and I'm exceedingly grateful for that. I think I'd freak out constantly if I lived near a fault line or in Tornado Alley or something.

And what the blazes is going on w/ the hurricane names, anyways? You'd hope for a more intimidating name for a dangerous storm. Part of the annoyance a few years back was the ignomy of nearly getting washed away/killed by a storm named Floyd. Floyd? Wth?!

Blame the guys at the National Weather Center. They've got a list of random names, and they alternate between boys names and girls names... it's like the same thing with ships, or so I've heard. Go figure.

Looking forward to your newest episode hint-hint.

I suppose I should just put stuff up as soon as it gets done instead of trying to work up a "backlog"... at the moment, I've got up to Ch. 25 done, but I'm drawing a blank on 26. I should probably just put up 23 and worry about 26 later.

Eh, I don't know.

Plumbing is a nice thing.

Indeed, it is.

...

(A scene from Family Guy; the family has just moved down to the boondocks as part of the Witness Protection Program)

Lois: "I'm sure it's not all bad... I say we go out and look around and find something we like about this place..."

Peter: "Good idea. Let me just go to the bathroom, first."

Brian: "I think there's just an outhouse, Peter."

...

Peter (From inside the outhouse): "Lois? How does this work? I think it's just a hole... yeah, it looks like it's just a hole..."

(A bird flies into the side of the outhouse and knocks it over)

Peter: "Oh, GOD! ... Oh, God, it's EVERYWHERE! Ohhhhhh... it's in my racooon wounds!"

Great sig line, btw! Just hope you're not addicted to the radaway.

But even if I could "cook", all I'm saying is that it was instant oatmeal I was raised on. It's what my parents eat. (Shrug) Wanna hold -them- accountable? Be my guest.

Okay; I will. Although, truth be known, my breakfast for 8 years of elm & middle school was Carnation hot chocolate, so...

There are plenty of puppy-kickers around here... lots of puppy-kickers who are proud of their hobby.

Yeah, but...Anomen? The poor galoot!

I don't know... I guess it wasn't so much that I felt for him, just that I felt bad for making my characters into typical "Ice Princesses..."

And like you said, it was a pity there weren't other options. I tried Kelsey, and while he was bug-free (um, I don't mean it that way ), well-designed, and beloved by many, imho he does not appear to be compatible w/ my asst'd female PCs.

Hmm...although that could be a great deal of fun as well. :: ::

It also didn't help that one of Falynn's most commonly used spells is called "Arctic Flare..."

WOW! So you created your own spell? Psych!

"I can also vomit, fall down, and make dirty calls to your sister when I'm drunk..." was originally intended to have Anomen as the recipient... (making Moira the person getting lewd calls)... but it seemed sillier to have Falynn go "Imoen, you ARE my sister..." so I went with that direction, instead.

That would really have pushed his buttons too, wouldn't it?

It's more than that, for me... I just... tend not to believe in a lot of the sappy stuff that seems to pass for romance. So even if I did have a couple of characters "hooking up," as it were... I doubt it'd resemble... well... anything remotely "romantic" in nature. (Shrug)

I'm a spinster w/ feline for a reason, too.

Well, I wouldn't mind, I'm just not sure anyone would really care. I worked up a whole order of battle for the entire task force... everything from the primary combat capital ships and their commanders to individual unit rosters for the SpaceOps groups. But it's rather technical in nature, and while I adore that stuff, it just puts other folks to sleep. (Shrug)

It would be interesting! Of course, I'd be willing to settle for whatever scraps you'd like to provide...like who's in Ano's group (and who they are, if they're not BG-related).

Well, there's a mission briefing next chapter... Mazzy didn't grab any speaking lines in that one, but Anomen, Imoen, and Falynn get some banter.

I look forward to it.

Yeah... we've been getting flash flood warnings of late... they've got hurricane issues. Say what you like about the Tri-State area, but natural disasters tend not to make very many appearances around here, and I'm exceedingly grateful for that. I think I'd freak out constantly if I lived near a fault line or in Tornado Alley or something.

Agreed! No landslides, or wildfires (except in 1999 ), only mild blizzards, *mostly* temperate temperatures (except last January where we were 40 degrees cooler than Anchorage AK--but cold is better than hot), mild earthquakes, watered-down hurricanes. I love our area. Especially now that my office isn't open to the elements.

I suppose I should just put stuff up as soon as it gets done instead of trying to work up a "backlog"... at the moment, I've got up to Ch. 25 done, but I'm drawing a blank on 26. I should probably just put up 23 and worry about 26 later.

Eh, I don't know.

Do whatever you think is best. In order to make 26 succeed, you might have to modify 23. ::shrugs:: I don't want to pressure you. Whenever you post it will be the right time, and I'm cool with that. But when you do post it, I will be happy.

Take care.

Great sig line, btw! Just hope you're not addicted to the radaway.

Heh heh... it -is- a great line... I love the Fallout games... I actually saw someone else on some other set of boards using it as a sig line, but when I saw it, I remembered how much I laughed at that part in the game. So I decided to use it, myself.

If I remember right, it's shortly after you pick up Myron as an NPC. Man, I hate Myron.

But I did enjoy bumping up my character's science ratings so that I could help puzzle out the cure for Jet and make that little dirtbag SQUIRM.

Although, truth be known, my breakfast for 8 years of elm & middle school was Carnation hot chocolate, so...

I love me that hot chocolate... hot chocolate became my "It's 3:00 A.M. and I'm working on a paper and not getting anywhere; I need a break" drink. Unfortunately, more often than not, the combination of hot and sweet put me to sleep.

I tried Kelsey, and while he was bug-free (um, I don't mean it that way ), well-designed, and beloved by many, imho he does not appear to be compatible w/ my asst'd female PCs.

Not to diss the modmakers, but I was just never terribly impressed by the character. (Shrug) I mean, he wasn't a bad character, but I just couldn't get attached all that much. I guess that partly it was because I tend to have this weird attitude toward modded games in general. It's almost like "This is a mod, this isn't 'canon', and so I can't use it." It means I miss out on good stuff, but I've always been that way. I very rarely play modded games of any kind, and rarely tinker with mod tools any more than I need to tweak something already in the game to my own custom specs. So I'll like tweak a ship in a space game to get more speed or whatever, maybe better shields, but that's about it. (Shrug)

WOW! So you created your own spell? Psych!

I wish. No, I never really played with Infinity Engine tools. It's more that when I was playing Morrowind, the game actually lets you craft your own spells, so I came up with some swanky custom spells... and I was trying to think of names, so I just came up with stuff like "Falynn's Arctic Flare" and "Loran's Electrical Enervation." I never actually used similar spells in the BG games, but I figure if I ever write about the sorceress version of Falynn as opposed to the sci-fi military version, she'll have to have her own stuff like that. After all, her magic isn't "bought," it's inherent, right? So it would make sense that her spells wouldn't necessarily be just like the ones other wizards use, right?

That would really have pushed his buttons too, wouldn't it?

Imoen making dirty calls to Moira? I think Moira might be amused. She'd laugh. Anomen would probably get uppity, though.

I'm a spinster w/ feline for a reason, too.

I'm allergic to cats.

It would be interesting! Of course, I'd be willing to settle for whatever scraps you'd like to provide...like who's in Ano's group (and who they are, if they're not BG-related).

(Sigh) Ok. Separate post. It's rather... hugish... and overly detailed... and, I still say, boring...

I love our area.

YEAH!

I mean, my non New Jersey friends always used to make fun of me because I live in... well... New Jersey... but a friend of mine who's now a grad student at NYU has been living here for about a year now, and he went from one of the Jersey-bashers to... "I love living here!"

Of course, he has a pretty nice (small, but nice) apartment on 9th St. and 2nd Ave. right smack in the East Village, but even so... it didn't take too much for him to realize that NYC has its flaws, but it's one hell of a town.

He still thinks Jersey is a hole, though. I guess he's right.

I had this formatted all nice and neat in Word, but it's a pain to translate that to board format, so... it's gonna be messy. Sorry.

Torillian Confederation Space Navy: 2nd Fleet

Order of Battle: Task Force Artemis (TF-1915 Blue)
Primary Operational Sphere: Vega Sector, Confederation Space
Task Force Commanding Officer: Vice Admiral Quinn Kirtanis

Primary Combat Vessels:

1. TCS Concordia (Flagship; Strike Carrier – Concordia class)
a. Rear Admiral Castor Blaine commanding
2. TCS Exeter (Battleship – Rigel class)
a. Commodore Celina Marniss commanding
3. TCS Agincourt (Cruiser – Marauder class)
a. Captain Arica Veldorn commanding
4. TCS Gallante (Cruiser – Trafalgar class)
a. Captain Armilal Ulraunt commanding
5. TCS Ajax (Destroyer – Masada class)
a. Commander David McAllister commanding
6. TCS Coventry (Destroyer – Masada class)
a. Commander Adrian Reed commanding
7. TCS Sheffield (Destroyer – Masada class)
a. Commander Sar’tina M’kleth commanding
8. TCS Gallipoli (Destroyer – Masada class)
a. Commander Aeron Hearthfire commanding
9. TCS Durendal (Corvette – Tantive class)
a. Lt. Commander Vical Eldaris commanding
10. TCS Arbroath (Corvette – Tantive class)
a. Lt. Commander Hasrin Telquith commanding

Support Vessels:

1. TCS Orsini (Patrol Frigate – Oracle class)
a. Lt. Commander Kelron Izarin commanding)
2. TCS Arrowhawk (Patrol Frigate – Oracle class)
a. Lt. Commander Fenris McCallum commanding)
3. TCS Diligent (Minesweeper – Vanguard class)
a. Lt. Commander Enabrain Tain commanding
4. TCS Maelstrom (Electronic Warfare Vessel – Tantive-B class)
a. Captain Vance Richards commanding
5. TCS Tesla (Fleet Tender – Steamrunner class)
a. Captain Tokara Mosul commanding
6. TCS Reifenheimer (Troop Transport – Iwo Jima class)
a. Captain Bren Derlin commanding
b. Detachment: 2nd Confederation Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Battalion
7. TCS Brimstone (Troop Transport – Iwo Jima class)
a. Captain Victor Davion commanding
b. Detachment: 2nd Confederation Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Battalion
8. TCS Alexa (Troop Transport – Iwo Jima class)
a. Captain Nikolas Harkov commanding
b. Detachment: 2nd Confederation Marine Expeditionary Unit, 3rd Battalion
9. TCS Verdun (Troop Transport – Iwo Jima class)
a. Captain Epona Rhi commanding
b. Detachment: 2nd Confederation Marine Expeditionary Unit, 4th Battalion

Total Marine Combat Strength:
Infantry: 4000
Light Attack Vehicles: 40
Infantry Fighting Vehicles: 48
Main Battle Tanks: 32
Mobile Artillery: 16

Starfighter Complements:
1. TCS Concordia
a. 1 Squadron: Apollo-class Reconnaissance
b. 1 Squadron: Valkyrie-class Light Interception
c. 2 Squadrons: Rapier-class Medium Space Superiority
d. 1 Squadron: Myrmidon-class Medium Space Superiority
e. 2 Squadrons: Sabre-class Heavy Space Superiority configuration
f. 1 Squadron: Sabre-class Light Bomber configuration
g. 2 Squadrons: Vindicator-class Heavy Bomber
2. TCS Agincourt
a. 1 Squadron: Hornet-class Reconnaissance
b. 2 Squadrons: Scimitar-class Medium Space Superiority
3. TCS Gallante
a. 1 Squadron: Valkyrie-class Light Interception
b. 1 Squadron: Rapier-class Medium Space Superiority
c. 1 Squadron: Sabre-class Heavy Space Superiority/Light Bomber

Space Operations Detatchments:
1. TCS Gallante
a. Alpha Red:
i. Major Myn Donos
ii. Captain Mazzy Fentan
iii. Sergeant Joram Starblade
iv. Trooper Ulfgar “Cannonball” Rumnaheim
v. Trooper Enialis “Dazzler” Amakiir
vi. Warrant Officer 1st Class Edwin “Dread Wizard” Odesseiron

b. Omega Black:
i. Major Falynn “Raven” Llyr
ii. 2nd Lieutenant Imoen “Harlequin” Llyr
iii. 1st Lieutenant Jaheira “Vixen” Marael
iv. Lance Corporal Minsc “Castle” Vaonnor
v. Specialist 2nd Class Jan “Ratchet” Jansen
vi. Sergeant Valygar “Spectre” Corthala
vii. Ensign Nalia “Cipher” de’Arnisse

c. Delta Green:
i. Captain Anomen “Squire” Delryn
ii. 2nd Lieutenant Judder Page
iii. Lieutenant J.G. Viconia “Tempest” DeVir
iv. Trooper Adalric Brandl
v. Crewman Lavinia Leagallow
vi. Specialist 1st Class Chelsea “Magik” Elthari

d. Epsilon Blue:
i. 1st Lieutenant Garik Loran
ii. Master Chief Ton Phanan
iii. Trooper Tyria Sarkin
iv. Trooper Shalla Nelprin
v. Trooper Castin Donn
vi. Specialist 1st Class Kell Tainer

e. Sigma White:
i. Sergeant Major Tharviol Amaleth
ii. Lance Corporal Barendd “Havoc” Torunn
iii. Trooper Ederk “Bedlam” Strakeln
iv. Trooper Ian McQuarrie
v. Crewman Alexander Munro

f. Tau Gray:
i. Sergeant Major Robert Foster
ii. Sergeant Drusilla Linarel
iii. Corporal Liana Trask
iv. Lance Corporal Jaden Sykes
v. Specialist 2nd Class Kellen Martell

And that's it... bored to tears yet?

A lot of the names were stolen (Gasp! Unbelievable! ). Epsilon group, for example, consists entirely of characters from the Wraith Squadron series of Star Wars novels... those guys are awesome.

Your daily dose of notemeal: Eat up, kids!

Yay!!!

sorry took so long to post buddy, but real life took a nose dive...and after i had a major freak out and hissy fit this week, my eyes started to ache after too much internet...

1. Ok, so the current Omega roster has six people. We're going up to seven with this chapter.

lucky seven...

3. Re: mission planning... I don't think that section sounds... overly technical, but I could be misreading that, so if it's a problem, I'll try and clear things up. There -is- a bit of... jargon, I guess, and some "tactical" discussion. (Shrug)

of course you can be sure we're going to catch any mistakes..

Falynn looked curiously up at Delta Leader. She set her meal aside and stood up, falling in behind Delta One. “Lead the way, Anomen.”

http://members.lycos...usic/lyrics.htm

If you're in trouble he will save the day
He's brave and he's fearless come what may
Without him the mission would go astray
He's Anomen, Anomen, Anomen Delryn
Fearless in battle, he has a huge grin
He's handsome, trim, without a cleft chin
He even knows the words to Gunga Din,
He's Anomen, Anomen, Anomen Delryn
How does he walk wearing all that tin

“Survivors from the orbital station. They managed to flee in an escape pod which crashed a short distance away from our landing zone. We found them and brought them here. Anyway… Major Falynn Llyr, this is Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse… ConFleet.”

yay!!! i like nally...

Nalia flipped off a crisp salute, the kind only rookies seemed to use. “Major.”

good point about marking the major to snipers...but yeah, she's used to killing at light seconds, instead of up close and personal...

The Navy ensign shrugged. “Nothing much to tell, ma’am. Dominion came out of the jump point kicking. We scrambled fighters, shot back with the station’s guns… didn’t do us all that much good. They overran us in minutes. The crew initiated Cole Protocol, broke for the escape pods and ditched. Most of the pods landed close together… bad idea, if you ask me. I used what little fuel we had to try and scoot us in another direction; figured our chances would be better if we split off from the main group. You know, give them more places to look, make it harder for the orcs to find us?”

why does the cole protocol sounds like an updated version of the tried and true military saying...

when in danger or in doubt,
run in circles, scream and shout!

“Anyway, I guess I’m just a lousy pilot. Think I clipped a mountain on the way in; threw us into a roll. I tried to recover… couldn’t… we hit pretty hard.” She sighed. “I seem to be mostly ok, I guess… few bumps and bruises, but Aric over there got pretty banged up. The Delta medics got him stable,” she nodded graciously at Delta Leader, “but he could really use a full hospital, and soon.”

bad pilot...

“We’re working on it, Ensign. Triple-A defense is still pretty thick, so any birds we do bring in will have a tough time of it.”

need iron hand suppression, or a huge volley of orbital-to-surface mirv-ed harm missiles...

“It’s just a guess. After we got on the ground, I began tinkering with the pod’s comm systems. Started picking up on a lot of Dominion flash traffic; at first, I was just looking for any indication that they knew where we’d crashed, but I started getting all kinds of encrypted messages; real high level stuff. I figured that there had to be something major in the area.”

yep, she's a traffic analyst...(begin lecture mode)

cryptography is pretty much dead for any high level or even tactical traffic in both our world and obviously for any futuristic setting.

that's because ciphers exist that are proven to be unbreakable (no Magic or Ultra in the future) one time pads that use random numbers are proven to be undecipherable without the actual key...(so scenarios where the gang capture code books are possible)

for tac com traffic, use of very high digit prime numbers as keys make tactical decryption of battle field traffic highly unlikely (considering most battle groups are not likely to carry super computers in the ships) so most modern intelligence is limited to traffic analysis...

trying to figure out if this spot talks a lot because its headquarters for the armored calvary regiment, and thus deserves a bit of artillery or simply someone who's chatty is a peculiarly hard career...and esp would be a big boost to career advancement...(end lecture mode)

I also like her call sign...

http://dictionary.re...h?q=cipher&r=67

so she's going to be a bit mysterious, eh??? course, she's definately not a non entity...

Nalia shrugged. “Well… I kept digging. Most of it was pretty routine, reports from patrols, basic force coordination, that sort of thing. The kicker is that there was just so much of it… anyway… I think I found something interesting.”

“What would that be?”

“The Dominion’s landed a fair-sized chunk of assets on Alcor since their arrival in system, but they’re still stretched kinda thin. The C&C base they’ve set up isn’t heavily defended or fortified. From the transmissions I intercepted, the base is relying mostly on an armor platoon for defense, and it’s not even on station all of the time. Best guess, it’s being used as a Quick Reaction Force, putting out brush fires all over the place.”

that's pretty good, or extremely lucky that dominion orcs are so stupid that they transmit in clear...

“Major? Are you seriously planning on engaging a Dominion armor platoon?” Anomen Delryn asked, almost incredulously. The man was no stranger to lousy odds; he often felt the need to prove himself against such numerical superiority, in fact, but Falynn’s proposition was still a little… daring.

oh dear...to prove himself? that's really going to endear him to his troops...its a wonder he hasn't been fragged yet...

“Risky,” sounded a voice from off to Falynn’s left.

not if you infiltrate close, and use laser designators to guide in lots of smart munitions...lots and lots of smart munitions...that is after all the traditional classic task of a long range recon group...

“If we can get Alpha on direct support and Delta and Epsilon to harass the flanks, then bring the Thirty Corps vehicles into the fray afterwards, we might just stand a chance. It’s a gamble, but I think we can pull it off. I think we ought to try and make a go of it.”

or just pound with spaceborne artillery...a kinetic strike does wonders...oh yeah, that's a dominion specialty...orbital lasers?

Llyr held up a hand to preempt any further argument. “I just want to be perfectly clear that you understand what you’re asking me. I want you to know exactly what you’d be getting into.”

getting mixed up with a bunch of total nutters..

“I think… I think that she is… inexperienced… and that inexperience may be an overall liability to the unit. Her interception of the Dominion transmissions suggests she has extensive knowledge, perhaps we could even call it ‘expertise’, in that field. But as useful as that may be, it may not be useful enough in the situations we will likely encounter.”

yeah, she's a techno nerd...

Falynn nodded, understanding the point being made. “So? Recommendation?”

Another smirk. “We trade Imoen for her.”

“Ok… if this is what you want, then you can come along. Just uh… try not to get us all killed…” said Falynn, only half-jokingly.

standard greeting for any rookie...

“Simple question. What do you -do-? Lynn goes and bosses folks around. I sneak into places and blow stuff up… Jaheira’s the one who reattaches any severed limbs. Jan can build you a starship with a socket wrench and a pile of spare parts. Minsc has the big gun, and Valygar over there does all the brooding. What do -you- do?”

jan: and turnips, even more necessary than the socket wrench...

Despite Imoen’s disclaimer, the question wasn’t all that terribly simple. Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse wasn’t sure she even knew where to begin, so she went with the first thoughts that came to mind. “Wellllll… I speak Dwarven, High Elven, Low Elven, Drow, Orc and Gnoll. I can get by in Ogre and a little bit of Duergar. And I know exactly two phrases in Illithid – first one is ‘Phantastisch fuer einen Party!’ and the second is “Kannst du mein Kasebrot halten? Ich bin von Blitz getroffen!”

how hard is it to speak ogre? just point and grunt...

“First one’s roughly ‘Fantastic for a party!’ Second is ‘Can you hold my cheese-bread? I’ve been struck by lightning.’”

person struck by lightning: extra crispy cheese bread...

The Lieutenant grinned broadly. “I think you’ll fit right in.”

YAY!!! fun!!! sorry about posting so late...

and after i had a major freak out and hissy fit this week, my eyes started to ache after too much internet...

That... sounds like it sucked... are you ok?

No, seriously...

If you're in trouble he will save the day
He's brave and he's fearless come what may
Without him the mission would go astray
He's Anomen, Anomen, Anomen Delryn
Fearless in battle, he has a huge grin
He's handsome, trim, without a cleft chin
He even knows the words to Gunga Din,
He's Anomen, Anomen, Anomen Delryn
How does he walk wearing all that tin

That... was absurd...

But in a good way...

Yeah, I still don't understand how you can just modify songs on the fly like that... especially something like "The Rimmer Song..." It's a shame, though, that I've never actually heard the song or seen the show.

yay!!! i like nally...

Who doesn't? Well, aside from the Yuan-ti she's turned into stir-fry...

good point about marking the major to snipers...but yeah, she's used to killing at light seconds, instead of up close and personal...

Not even that. Nalia's served on a backwater space station. She'd never seen combat before that station got shot out from under her.

why does the cole protocol sounds like an updated version of the tried and true military saying...

when in danger or in doubt,
run in circles, scream and shout!

Maybe it's just you.

The "Cole Protocol" is actually taken from HALO, you know, the video game? The idea is that in order to prevent the Covenant (The bad guys) from finding out the location of Earth, if an Earth ship was retreating from an area with enemies in it, it was not allowed to jump into hyperspace (I think they call it slipspace or something) on a course leading directly to Earth or any other human inhabited world. They had to jump in some random direction, then stop, then change their course to get to wherever they needed to go. Moreover, if an Earth ship was unable to escape and was in danger of being captured, the crew had to erase their computers, physically destroy the computer hardware, delete their computer AIs (who would have had tons of information), and then activate a self destruct. If possible, they could try to make a beeline for the escape pods, but if not, tough luck for them.

bad pilot...

Yeah, well, Aerie does the flying in this one.

need iron hand suppression, or a huge volley of orbital-to-surface mirv-ed harm missiles...

I like that "Projector Thor" idea, or whatever they called it... the one where you'd have tons of like metal rods in orbit, each with a small maneuvering thruster, and you'd just send them down from up high, and shove them through tanks like spears from heaven or something.

cryptography is pretty much dead for any high level or even tactical traffic in both our world and obviously for any futuristic setting.

With one time cipher pads (The phrase that inspired Nalia's callsign) and all that good stuff, yeah, ELINT stuff has become so good, that... well, the technology has almost made itself obsolete. But there's just a lot of... I don't know... subculture regarding it, in the same way that "computer hackers" have this weird draw... anyway, I totally see your point, but, well... for the purposes of this story, I'm cheerfully ignoring it.

(so scenarios where the gang capture code books are possible)

Well, it kinda depends, you know? I mean, even that's of limited usefulness since most high level codes change frequently, anyway...

so she's going to be a bit mysterious, eh?

Mmmmmm... actually, not really, no... I don't think Nalia's really got any secrets. Pretty much what you see is what you get. She doesn't really have any hidden agendas. She's a straightforward, fairly open kind of person. The only things she really hides are the less savory aspects of her family history, like the dungeons beneath the keep. But other than that, she's always seemed very open and honest about things. The callsign is really just a reference to her talent for codebreaking... which, as we've already established is kinda a moot point given current (and certainly futuristic) technological standards, but again, it's more of a play into that whole "spook subculture" than it is anything else.

that's pretty good, or extremely lucky that dominion orcs are so stupid that they transmit in clear...

Little of both?

oh dear...to prove himself? that's really going to endear him to his troops...its a wonder he hasn't been fragged yet...

Nah, I don't think so... this Anomen's had much of the arrogance beaten out of him already... he's not as rash or impulsive or hot-headed as other incarnations of him are.

not if you infiltrate close, and use laser designators to guide in lots of smart munitions...lots and lots of smart munitions...that is after all the traditional classic task of a long range recon group...

Except that given the presence of all those ground-based missile batteries, the fleet up top can't even get into a good firing position to provide orbital bombardment support. I'm aiming towards firmly putting this one down as an infantry on armor assault. I mean, c'mon... 24 of the Confederation's best SpaceOps personnel, versus like 100 Dominion infantry and four tanks? They can hack it!

standard greeting for any rookie...

It's always the first thing on the first sheet of paper in your orientation package.

person struck by lightning: extra crispy cheese bread...

Just scrape off the burnt edges with a butter knife. It'll be all right.

sorry about posting so late...

Don't sweat it, man... sounds like you had a rough week. Commenting on fanfic kinda takes a backseat to maintaining your sanity, I'd say.

and after i had a major freak out and hissy fit this week, my eyes started to ache after too much internet...

That... sounds like it sucked... are you ok?

No, seriously...

relatively so...

If you're in trouble he will save the day
He's brave and he's fearless come what may
Without him the mission would go astray
He's Anomen, Anomen, Anomen Delryn
Fearless in battle, he has a huge grin
He's handsome, trim, without a cleft chin
He even knows the words to Gunga Din,
He's Anomen, Anomen, Anomen Delryn
How does he walk wearing all that tin

That... was absurd...

But in a good way...

Yeah, I still don't understand how you can just modify songs on the fly like that... especially something like "The Rimmer Song..." It's a shame, though, that I've never actually heard the song or seen the show.

its cause i've done it before, to drizzt, when i wrote a drizzt bashing song...

If you're in trouble he won't save the day,
Who believes he's battled demons, despite what he may say,
Without him Toril would have a nice day!
He's Drizzt, Drizzt, Drizzt Do'Urden
His name sounds like somethings a 'hurtin,
Avoid close proximity, he's always a 'furtin,
Pointy ears, hairy nostrils - that's Do'Urden!

He's Drizzt, Drizzt, Bonehead Do'Urden
Less intelligent than a window curtain
He's full of hot air, puncture him to let it all out,
And if you say that to him, he'll just quiver and pout!

To be a hero is his greatest wish
But he can only write "I smell like a fish"
He blames it on the underdark,
But its really due to his brains, made of bark!

He's Drizzt, Drizzt, Smeghead Do'Urden
To his poor party, he's always a burden,
To get the real 411, you should ask Sir Boo,
He gives a bad name to all the Mary Sue's!

I've actually written several drizzt bashes, including my funniest song for him...

Who's the coolest drow that ranges far, just for you and me?
D-R-I-Z-Z-T-D-O-Apostrophy-URDEN ('cause only cool heros have apostrophys!)
Drizzt Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden,
(In a falsetto, Someone sings the Cattie Brie counterpoint.) Cattie Brie, Cattie Brie!
We can throw Wulfgar's Hammer High, High, High, High, High!!
So Come along and join the fun, Drow Ears for you and me,
D-R-I-Z-Z-T-D-O-Apostrophy-URDEN
Drizzt Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden,(Cattie Brie, Cattie Brie!)
Yay Drizzt! Yay Drizzt!

Not even that. Nalia's served on a backwater space station. She'd never seen combat before that station got shot out from under her.

yeah...i mean her father would definately pull strings to get her out of front lines...she wouldn't like it, but its inevitable...hmmm...

could it be her joining these nutters is her way to escape the inevitable paternal political clout???

The "Cole Protocol" is actually taken from HALO, you know, the video game? The idea is that in order to prevent the Covenant (The bad guys) from finding out the location of Earth, if an Earth ship was retreating from an area with enemies in it, it was not allowed to jump into hyperspace (I think they call it slipspace or something) on a course leading directly to Earth or any other human inhabited world. They had to jump in some random direction, then stop, then change their course to get to wherever they needed to go. Moreover, if an Earth ship was unable to escape and was in danger of being captured, the crew had to erase their computers, physically destroy the computer hardware, delete their computer AIs (who would have had tons of information), and then activate a self destruct. If possible, they could try to make a beeline for the escape pods, but if not, tough luck for them.

the dominion doesn't know the location of earth??? that's a little unlikely, considering that before the war there was a state of tension, but not armed aggression...the time when spies flourish like bacteria...i just can't believe someone didn't sell out...

of course nally is following the book...

I like that "Projector Thor" idea, or whatever they called it... the one where you'd have tons of like metal rods in orbit, each with a small maneuvering thruster, and you'd just send them down from up high, and shove them through tanks like spears from heaven or something.

so you did read footfall, right?

yep, its project thor..which incidentally became the idea that led up to air released submunitions with smart targetting and self forging rounds for anti armor combat...

With one time cipher pads (The phrase that inspired Nalia's callsign) and all that good stuff, yeah, ELINT stuff has become so good, that... well, the technology has almost made itself obsolete. But there's just a lot of... I don't know... subculture regarding it, in the same way that "computer hackers" have this weird draw... anyway, I totally see your point, but, well... for the purposes of this story, I'm cheerfully ignoring it.

i've met very few real hackers..actually, i can be considered one, since i know a awful lot about wan design and networks..

most of the hackers people read about or meet are wanna be idiots who learn basics off some website, and think that just because they've used a virus making toolkit (yes, some scumbuckets have written kits to actually make your own viruses and spyware) that they're hot sh!t...the most impressive computer people i know of are wan engineers, working with design and set up of wide area networks..

one guy was the smartest and most polite guy i've ever met, and the other the most foul mouthed person i've ever known...

Well, it kinda depends, you know? I mean, even that's of limited usefulness since most high level codes change frequently, anyway...

not if the dominion isn't aware that the codebooks have been captured...

Mmmmmm... actually, not really, no... I don't think Nalia's really got any secrets. Pretty much what you see is what you get. She doesn't really have any hidden agendas. She's a straightforward, fairly open kind of person. The only things she really hides are the less savory aspects of her family history, like the dungeons beneath the keep. But other than that, she's always seemed very open and honest about things. The callsign is really just a reference to her talent for codebreaking... which, as we've already established is kinda a moot point given current (and certainly futuristic) technological standards, but again, it's more of a play into that whole "spook subculture" than it is anything else.

oh yeah, the whole spook subculture is very similar, i think to the hacker subculture...most of the people you meet speak the lingo to impress people...the really good ones are quiet, and always listening, and dumb down their own comments to fool people into underestimating them...giving you ideas yet?

Except that given the presence of all those ground-based missile batteries, the fleet up top can't even get into a good firing position to provide orbital bombardment support. I'm aiming towards firmly putting this one down as an infantry on armor assault. I mean, c'mon... 24 of the Confederation's best SpaceOps personnel, versus like 100 Dominion infantry and four tanks? They can hack it!

oh yeah, suck them into a series of prepared ambushes, using lots of command detonated mines...

Standard alliance issue Hypermore Mark IV

The standard issue Hypermore command detonated directional anti-personnel mine is the descendent of the very venerable "claymore" used back in the 20th century. However, there are some significant differences...instead of using a sheet of explosives to propell shrapnel across its kill zone, it is actually a box of 32 self launched submunitions...on activation, each submunition launches from the .5x.5.x.5 meter box, and each submunition is propelled via a small rocket to the target. proximity fuses in the submunition will detonate the high explosive round, ensuring maximum lethality at blast radius. the most fundemental difference between this and the "claymore" is the use of "dial-a-pattern" controls in the launcher. simply by pressing a few buttons, the operator can select the launch pattern, allowing for very long range anti personnel attacks. each bomblet contains over 2000 rounds of 1 mm tungsten tipped flichettes, thus giving the system light anti armor capability as well.

Don't sweat it, man... sounds like you had a rough week. Commenting on fanfic kinda takes a backseat to maintaining your sanity, I'd say.

sanity? what is this sanity thing you're speaking of???

relatively so...

That... isn't very comforting, dude...

I've actually written several drizzt bashes, including my funniest song for him...

Oh.

Huh.

Right.



What can I say? I'm not much for Drizzt-bashing or Elminster bashing or Chosen of Mystra bashing. Seems to be a popular pasttime with some folks around here, but not me. I actually like that bunch.

could it be her joining these nutters is her way to escape the inevitable paternal political clout?

Well, she entered the service because it looked good on her record. Her father expected her to go into politics, and she needed a fancy resume. She still isn't too thrilled with the idea of going into a shooting war, but she feels she could be more productive with a group like the Omegas instead of sitting in an office somewhere.

the dominion doesn't know the location of earth?

Toril? They know where it is, but they might not know where all the other colonies and military bases are, and it's a good idea to keep that under wraps as long as possible...

so you did read footfall, right?

I'm more than halfway through it. Been taking it slow.

Standard alliance issue Hypermore Mark IV

No anti-personnel mines, but we've got plenty of MG-42s and a handful of anti-tank mines. Anti-armor ones would be a bit more on the HE than anti-infantry ones. (Shrug)

Aah yes, indeed we were. The oatmeal I had was when we went to Yawgoog while I was in scouts.

Y'all had oatmeal in Scouts? Huh?! I don't remember eating breakfast; was trying *not* to eat very much, as I didn't care for latrines. Plumbing is a nice thing.

It most certainly is. You really learn to appreciate it after your first experience with a ditch.

I mean, yeech. We wondered why there were golf clubs near the tables. Then one... slop of oatmeal slithered out of one kid's bowl. Then we knew.

Do you think this was a forecursor of the Slimes (and Puddings)?

Hey, could be! Who knows what the hell it was they bred for breakfast?

Then one... slop of oatmeal slithered out of one kid's bowl. Then we knew.

How did the stuff compare to Top-Flite balls... could you get a good drive out of 'em?

Oh we did. Trouble is, we had a difficult time in determining the distance of the drive, trying to find the biggest splotch to measure.

Your daily dose of notemeal: Eat up, kids!

Do I have to?

1. Ok, so the current Omega roster has six people. We're going up to seven with this chapter.

Say hello to Nalia!

3. Re: mission planning... I don't think that section sounds... overly technical, but I could be misreading that, so if it's a problem, I'll try and clear things up. There -is- a bit of... jargon, I guess, and some "tactical" discussion. (Shrug)

Fine by me.

4. Also, I finally managed to come up with a whole unit roster for the other supporting units (Alpha, Delta, etc.). I did it mainly for my own purposes so that I can keep track of what's going on. It'd probably bore any other human being to tears, though, so I suppose I should just pretend I never mentioned it.

It is interesting, especially how many of those crewers I can id. That does make me worry some.

“Sorry to bother you, Major, but I think there’s someone over here that you should meet.”

Falynn looked curiously up at Delta Leader. She set her meal aside and stood up, falling in behind Delta One. “Lead the way, Anomen.”

Could it be.. Nalia?

“Hang tight, Aric. The evac transports will be here soon; you’re gonna be okay…”

“What happened?” Falynn whispered to her escort.

“Survivors from the orbital station. They managed to flee in an escape pod which crashed a short distance away from our landing zone. We found them and brought them here. Anyway… Major Falynn Llyr, this is Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse… ConFleet.”

It is!

Nalia flipped off a crisp salute, the kind only rookies seemed to use. “Major.”

*snigger*

Bran: "The shipboard fleeters who never went in rolled in the mud, they do like their salutes. Course, not that it matters if you mark an officer aboard a Constantine class cruiser. Not too many snipers there.

The Navy ensign shrugged. “Nothing much to tell, ma’am. Dominion came out of the jump point kicking. We scrambled fighters, shot back with the station’s guns… didn’t do us all that much good. They overran us in minutes. The crew initiated Cole Protocol, broke for the escape pods and ditched. Most of the pods landed close together… bad idea, if you ask me. I used what little fuel we had to try and scoot us in another direction; figured our chances would be better if we split off from the main group. You know, give them more places to look, make it harder for the orcs to find us?”

Falynn nodded for Nalia to continue.

“Anyway, I guess I’m just a lousy pilot. Think I clipped a mountain on the way in; threw us into a roll. I tried to recover… couldn’t… we hit pretty hard.” She sighed. “I seem to be mostly ok, I guess… few bumps and bruises, but Aric over there got pretty banged up. The Delta medics got him stable,” she nodded graciously at Delta Leader, “but he could really use a full hospital, and soon.”

Bran: "Good planning, unfortunate execution. Course, piloting an escape pod in atmospheric conditions isn't exactly easy."

“We’re working on it, Ensign. Triple-A defense is still pretty thick, so any birds we do bring in will have a tough time of it.”

And I suppose the big boys are still busy fighting the orc fleet to really give teh Triple A the pounding it so richly deserves.

“That’s… about what I figured...” Nalia trailed off, and looked away momentarily, then turned her gaze back. “You’re… going after that Dominion C&C base around here, aren’t you?” she asked, looking the major straight in the eye.

Falynn didn’t respond.

Smart cookie.

“It’s just a guess. After we got on the ground, I began tinkering with the pod’s comm systems. Started picking up on a lot of Dominion flash traffic; at first, I was just looking for any indication that they knew where we’d crashed, but I started getting all kinds of encrypted messages; real high level stuff. I figured that there had to be something major in the area.”

“Go on…”

Nalia shrugged. “Well… I kept digging. Most of it was pretty routine, reports from patrols, basic force coordination, that sort of thing. The kicker is that there was just so much of it… anyway… I think I found something interesting.”

SHe must have her hands on some good equipment to be doing decrpyt.

“What would that be?”

“The Dominion’s landed a fair-sized chunk of assets on Alcor since their arrival in system, but they’re still stretched kinda thin. The C&C base they’ve set up isn’t heavily defended or fortified. From the transmissions I intercepted, the base is relying mostly on an armor platoon for defense, and it’s not even on station all of the time. Best guess, it’s being used as a Quick Reaction Force, putting out brush fires all over the place.”

And the Omegas and freinds are good at starting brush fires. Smokey the Bear is very pissed.

“Composition?”

“Probably about four heavy tanks, maybe a company of dismounted infantry…”

Yikes.

Falynn scratched the back of her neck. “Sounds like the group we ran into on our patrol a couple of hours back. If they’re still in the area…”

“Major? Are you seriously planning on engaging a Dominion armor platoon?” Anomen Delryn asked, almost incredulously. The man was no stranger to lousy odds; he often felt the need to prove himself against such numerical superiority, in fact, but Falynn’s proposition was still a little… daring.

But is it Bold and Daring? Bonus points for IDing the ref.

“If we can isolate and eliminate them, it’ll give us a clear shot to that C&C base.”

“Risky,” sounded a voice from off to Falynn’s left.

“You know our motto, Jaheira. Audaces fortuna juvat.”

Lieutenant Marael rolled her eyes. “ ‘Fortune favors the bold.’ I’m aware.”

But Fortune is such a fickle mistress.

“If we can get Alpha on direct support and Delta and Epsilon to harass the flanks, then bring the Thirty Corps vehicles into the fray afterwards, we might just stand a chance. It’s a gamble, but I think we can pull it off. I think we ought to try and make a go of it.”

Course, air support would be welcome.

Bran: "I'd lend you my Minsc and his Lilarcor, but I kinda need him right now, ya know?"

“Um… one more thing, Major?”

“What’s up, Ensign?”

“I’d… uh… I’d like to come with you, if I could.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Nalia sighed. “It’s just… the Dominion’s… here… in Confed space… and… and I want to do something about it. I know I’m not a combat trooper, but there has to be something I can do besides sit around behind a security detail and wait for the Fleet to come pick me up.”

“Well, I understand that, but this isn’t exactly going to be a picnic...”

“I know, but…”

Llyr held up a hand to preempt any further argument. “I just want to be perfectly clear that you understand what you’re asking me. I want you to know exactly what you’d be getting into.”

“I’d like to try.”

First: Do or do not, there is no try.

Second: That's our Nalia, always willing to put it in. Gotta love that girl. Maybe a bit inexperienced, but her heart is in the right place.

Falynn and Jaheira traded glances.

“Excuse us…” Falynn said to the navy officer. She turned and walked off a short distance, Jaheira following behind. “Well? What do you think?” one asked the other, once they were safely out of earshot.

“You don’t want to know what I think.”

Lynn sighed. “Yes, Jaheira, I do.”

“I think… I think that she is… inexperienced… and that inexperience may be an overall liability to the unit. Her interception of the Dominion transmissions suggests she has extensive knowledge, perhaps we could even call it ‘expertise’, in that field. But as useful as that may be, it may not be useful enough in the situations we will likely encounter.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”

Jaheira smirked in amusement. “But, she seems committed… she wants to do something… anything. I cannot fault her for that.”

“I can’t, either.”

“If she’s lucky, she’ll live through the next few days… and if she wishes to continue living, she -will- need combat experience. It’s possible she might be safer with us, even if we aren’t necessarily safer with -her- along.”

An excellent analysis.

Falynn nodded, understanding the point being made. “So? Recommendation?”

Another smirk. “We trade Imoen for her.”

Score! I love it!

Imoen: "Hey!"

Lynn rolled her eyes and managed a small grin. “No.”

“Had to try.”

Oh yeah.

“All right… I guess that settles that.” The two Confed officers headed back over to where Nalia was once again hovering protectively over her wounded comrade. The young ensign looked up as the other two approached, clearly looking expectant.

“Ok… if this is what you want, then you can come along. Just uh… try not to get us all killed…” said Falynn, only half-jokingly.

Always important.

“So?” Imoen began, “What do -you- do?”

“I beg your pardon, Lieutenant?”

“Simple question. What do you -do-? Lynn goes and bosses folks around. I sneak into places and blow stuff up… Jaheira’s the one who reattaches any severed limbs. Jan can build you a starship with a socket wrench and a pile of spare parts. Minsc has the big gun, and Valygar over there does all the brooding. What do -you- do?”

A good question, and I can sense just a bit of a wise arse response coming.

Despite Imoen’s disclaimer, the question wasn’t all that terribly simple. Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse wasn’t sure she even knew where to begin, so she went with the first thoughts that came to mind. “Wellllll… I speak Dwarven, High Elven, Low Elven, Drow, Orc and Gnoll. I can get by in Ogre and a little bit of Duergar. And I know exactly two phrases in Illithid – first one is ‘Phantastisch fuer einen Party!’ and the second is “Kannst du mein Kasebrot halten? Ich bin von Blitz getroffen!”

Imoen’s brow creased. “Translation?”

“First one’s roughly ‘Fantastic for a party!’ Second is ‘Can you hold my cheese-bread? I’ve been struck by lightning.’”

Bwahahahahaahahahahaha!

The Lieutenant grinned broadly. “I think you’ll fit right in.”

The madness continues!

Great stuff, can't wait to see how these spec forces types punks a group of regular infantry.

VH

Despite Imoen’s disclaimer, the question wasn’t all that terribly simple. Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse wasn’t sure she even knew where to begin, so she went with the first thoughts that came to mind. “Wellllll… I speak Dwarven, High Elven, Low Elven, Drow, Orc and Gnoll. I can get by in Ogre and a little bit of Duergar. And I know exactly two phrases in Illithid – first one is ‘Phantastisch fuer einen Party!’ and the second is “Kannst du mein Kasebrot halten? Ich bin von Blitz getroffen!”

Imoen’s brow creased. “Translation?”

“First one’s roughly ‘Fantastic for a party!’ Second is ‘Can you hold my cheese-bread? I’ve been struck by lightning.’”

Bwahahahahaahahahahaha!

Well, I actually found a good use for the second expression, while I was in Switzerland.



No, I wasn't struck by lightning... but it just made for a good joke. Of course, it made the waitress drop a tray as she heard me saying it, sitting in the hotel restaurant...

Do I have to?

Hey, look who's back... how was Alaska? (I betcha Boston was better, though, right?)

And no, you don't have to eat the notemeal... you'll just have to deal with your arms turning into weak little sticks from the lack of nutrition...

It is interesting, especially how many of those crewers I can id. That does make me worry some.

Yeah... it probably should... though to be fair, a lot of the names are just that... names... I didn't really intend for them to sound like their namesakes... like Epsilon Team... not nearly as cool as the -real- Wraith Squadron.

Bran: "The shipboard fleeters who never went in rolled in the mud, they do like their salutes. Course, not that it matters if you mark an officer aboard a Constantine class cruiser. Not too many snipers there.

It's worse. Nalia's Dad, the Senator? Was a Marine before he was a Senator.

Bran: "Good planning, unfortunate execution. Course, piloting an escape pod in atmospheric conditions isn't exactly easy."

Especially when you're not a pilot... even Garrick would have had trouble with that one... escape pods aren't exactly built for comfort, speed, or handling... in fact, you're really just lucky they get built at all.

And I suppose the big boys are still busy fighting the orc fleet to really give teh Triple A the pounding it so richly deserves.

'fraid so. No Deus Ex Gallante... or Deus Ex Task Force Artemis, as the case may be, this time...

And the Omegas and freinds are good at starting brush fires. Smokey the Bear is very pissed.

Indeed. I was telling Blue that Sparky should watch himself with the random fire-starting. Smokey might get annoyed and steal his pants or something.

But is it Bold and Daring? Bonus points for IDing the ref.

Sorry... me no know...

But Fortune is such a fickle mistress.

"They call you Lady Luck, but there is room for doubt. At times you have a very unlady-like waaaaaaaay of running out. You're on this date with me, the pickings have been lush; and yet, before this evening is over, you might give me the brush. You might forget your manners, you might refuse to staaaaaaaaay and soooooo the best that I can do... is pray. Luck be a lady tonight... Luck be a lady tonight... Luck, if you've ever been a lady to begin with, Luck be a lady tonight..."

Gotta love that girl. Maybe a bit inexperienced, but her heart is in the right place.

Let's hope it stays there... as opposed to getting blasted out her back by a Gauss round...

A good question, and I can sense just a bit of a wise arse response coming.

Oh come on... it's not like the Omegas have a reputation for being sass-mouths... and...

Oh yeah...

Great stuff, can't wait to see how these spec forces types punks a group of regular infantry.

Heh heh. Already written.

Well, I actually found a good use for the second expression, while I was in Switzerland.

Ooooh, hey, you're back, too!

No, I wasn't struck by lightning... but it just made for a good joke. Of course, it made the waitress drop a tray as she heard me saying it, sitting in the hotel restaurant...

Heh heh. Niiiiiice.