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Chapter 24: The Mass De-brief begins.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, as I know that the real military generally does not have a formal dinner for the entire battle group immediately after a major battle.
The British voice was attached to the image of a well-dressed person of average height, but with a regal bearing to him. "Your host will show you to a room for tonight. Please enjoy your stay, and note that there will be a de-briefing tomorrow in this room at 17:00. Attendance is Mandatory." The gentleman's image faded from view. "Another illusion?" Robert asked. Ch'Mee shook his head as he led them to and elevator, and up to the 15th floor. "Nope, taped hologram. The owners are, at the moment, quite busy supervising repairs and prep work for the de-briefing tomorrow." Ch'Mee's voice took on a more serious tone. "This is something that is not common. I don't think there has _ever_ been a mass-debriefing quite like this one. Personally, I think you'll enjoy it as much as the mundanes, of not more." Shannon nodded. "But what about the repair work to the Hillary and the rest of the fleet? We need to have people there in case the Shivans return." Ch'Mee shook his head as they arrived at a door and CH'Mee took out a card key. They appeared to be in a hotel or some sort. "Nope. You are actually our guest of honor, even though you certainly don't act like it. The stop-gap measures to bring the ships back to a 'limp home' capability are being performed by the crews already on board. In addition, a fair number of civilian shipfitters have volunteered to lends a hand with some of the repair efforts, and they have been transported aboard to work on the more critically damaged ships." Robert nodded. "Like the Pacifica?". Ch'Mee shook his head. "The Pacifica is too badly damaged to be repaired. It's been stabilized and will provide power and materials for the remainder of the fleet to get home on."
Ch'Mee turned to exit, but he paused at the door. "You also said that you were worried about the Shivans returning? They won't. I have my assurances from the Trinity themselves that they are no longer a threat. You have a wake up call set for 0700. There will be a breakfast provided in the atrium for you that is served until 0900. Good night." Robert and Shannon were wondering just where they had been dumped when there was a knock on the door to their suite. Shannon opened the door to find Ted, still wearing his spacesuit. "It looks like everyone is being dumped in here as they become either too tired or too injured to work, or if they are not an active part of getting the fleet running. Shame, really." Shannon looked at him. "Ted, just where have we been dumped? This looks like a reasonably nice hotel. I find it hard to believe that we've been dumped at a castle of all places, and that auditorium is huge." "Oh, it's a castle alright." Robert muttered. Ted and Shanon looked at him. He was looking out the window, and true to life, the view was marvelous, and included the other wing of the castle. Robert turned to look back inside. "I think we should get out of these suits, put on something other then a flightsuit, and get some food. I think I saw a resturant down by the atrium. And I think this either is, or was a hotel." Ted nodded and pointed at the back of the door. "Yep, it's an ex-hotel. I remember when this place was operational back 20 years ago. It was a really nice place back them, and the castle added a nice touch as well. In any case, I'm going to get into some cleaner clothes. I'll meet you down in the atrium."
For the next ten minutes Shannon and robert unpacked the duffel they had brought with them, and changed into the last set of clean clothes they had, their civilian clothes. They stuffed their flightsuits and other dirty clohtes back into the duffel. They followed the signs and came to the laundry. There they found a human there who gave them a ticket after getting their room number from them. "I'll have these cleaned by morning." he said, and wished them good night. They Met ted in the atrium, and found that the resturant was indeed there, and it was open. They noticed that there were no priced on the menus, which struck them as odd. WHen they asked the waiter how much their meals would cost, the waiter stated that all the meals tonight were free to all the guests of the place. The dinner was very good, as good as Shannon and Robert remembered having during their training with the Nexus. "This is a very good meal. I wonder.... Hmmmm...." Shannon elbowed him. "C'mon bear, spit it out already. What are you wondering?" Robert started to chuckle. "I'm wondering if the owner of this hotel is also the one that said that his chef would not stop apologizing for the poor quality of the food we had when we were training with the Nexus." Ted Looked at the two as they both started laughing. The waiter came over and asked if anything was wrong. Robert shook his head as he calmed down. "No sir, nothing's wrong. Give my compliments to the chef, though. This meal is excellent." The waiter nodded, and went away. Ted finished his meal, and yawned. "I don't know about you two, but sitting in that fighter was draining. I'm going to hit the sack a bit early, and I think the two of you ought to as well. I think there's going to be a lot in store for tomorrow." With that, he got up and went back upstairs to his room. A short time later Robert and Shannon did the same thing. Robert could'nt help but wonder what the next day would bring, though.
The next morning started at 0630 as Shannon and robert got up and showered. They found that their clothes had been placed on a tray just outside the door, and they were all expertly cleaned and pressed. After dressing, they went down to the atrium and found that there were a large number of people there at a breakfast buffet. Nearly everyone was wearing either jumpers or full on dress uniforms. A fair number of them had what looked like freshly bandaged or healed wounds. Shannon and Robert recognized most of these folks as the pilots, the repair staff, and the people who kept the ships running and fighting. "Hey! Look! It's the heros!" Robert and Shannon wer einstantly looked at by the entire group. Robert tried to defuse the situation. "Folks, I'm not a hero. I only did what I had to do. It is you who are the heros: The folks who keep us pilots flying, the folks who keep our ships in good repair, who keep the crews in good health and well fed. If you want to see the real heroes, look at the mirror and at each other, for we are all heros." In the crowd, someone started to clap, and in the space of under half a minute the entire free space inside the hotel was filled with thunderous applause. Robert thanked the wait staff as they served him after a ten minute wait in line. The rest of the morning and day went ok, and at 16:30 they arrived dressed in their dress uniforms for the de-briefing, and were quickly shown to their table.
To Shannon's right was Robert, and Ted. The her left was Colonel Steuben. Alex was also present at the table. As he was the leader of Alpha Squad, He answered to Stromson, who came up at the last minute, puffing away. "Sorry I'm late folks. I had to make sure the boat was not going to explode, and then I was given this ridiculous outfit to put on, as my stateroom seems to be in a large number of very small pieces." Robert nodded. "I see. At least it fits well. " Stromson nodded. "Yeah, I supposed it does." He glanced at the table and saw the table service. "It looks like they are going to feed us as well, too. I hate formal dinners. So much pomp and glitter for probably average food and several hours wasted. I'd much rather be working on the damage assesements for the Hillary. She's tore up pretty bad, although not as bad as what the Pacifica took." The auditorium grew quiet, as a figure had walked on stage, and cleared his throat.
"Welcome to The Ancestral home of the Order of the Magi. I am James, One of the Three. First, Let me honor you in your victory!" The room burst out with cheering which lasted a full ten minutes. "Second," He continued when the room quieted down," Let me honor your dead for their ultimate sacrifice." The room grew quiet and somber. "And finally, Let me honor The Alliance which we fought so hard to create and maintain, for bearing this bittersweet fruit." He saluted in the traditional Tigerean style, then in the Human style. "While I know that many of you want to go back to your ships and work on rebuilding the Fleet, I would like to take up a small amount of your time to feed you, and to give a very short presentation of thanks by the worlds you have defended these past few months."
The dinner was interesting. A small army of waiters came up and took each tables orders. Like most catered affairs, there was a small menu listed on a placard at the table's center. Not five minutes later, though, the same small army of waiters, each one assisted by a busser, came out with food for each of the tables. Robert leaned over to Shannon and whispered in her ear. "They must be creating this with magic. I shudder to think at the energy expediture." Shannon smiled and whispered back "What else would you expect in the Halls of the Magi?"
(1677 / 1667)
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, as I know that the real military generally does not have a formal dinner for the entire battle group immediately after a major battle.
The British voice was attached to the image of a well-dressed person of average height, but with a regal bearing to him. "Your host will show you to a room for tonight. Please enjoy your stay, and note that there will be a de-briefing tomorrow in this room at 17:00. Attendance is Mandatory." The gentleman's image faded from view. "Another illusion?" Robert asked. Ch'Mee shook his head as he led them to and elevator, and up to the 15th floor. "Nope, taped hologram. The owners are, at the moment, quite busy supervising repairs and prep work for the de-briefing tomorrow." Ch'Mee's voice took on a more serious tone. "This is something that is not common. I don't think there has _ever_ been a mass-debriefing quite like this one. Personally, I think you'll enjoy it as much as the mundanes, of not more." Shannon nodded. "But what about the repair work to the Hillary and the rest of the fleet? We need to have people there in case the Shivans return." Ch'Mee shook his head as they arrived at a door and CH'Mee took out a card key. They appeared to be in a hotel or some sort. "Nope. You are actually our guest of honor, even though you certainly don't act like it. The stop-gap measures to bring the ships back to a 'limp home' capability are being performed by the crews already on board. In addition, a fair number of civilian shipfitters have volunteered to lends a hand with some of the repair efforts, and they have been transported aboard to work on the more critically damaged ships." Robert nodded. "Like the Pacifica?". Ch'Mee shook his head. "The Pacifica is too badly damaged to be repaired. It's been stabilized and will provide power and materials for the remainder of the fleet to get home on."
Ch'Mee turned to exit, but he paused at the door. "You also said that you were worried about the Shivans returning? They won't. I have my assurances from the Trinity themselves that they are no longer a threat. You have a wake up call set for 0700. There will be a breakfast provided in the atrium for you that is served until 0900. Good night." Robert and Shannon were wondering just where they had been dumped when there was a knock on the door to their suite. Shannon opened the door to find Ted, still wearing his spacesuit. "It looks like everyone is being dumped in here as they become either too tired or too injured to work, or if they are not an active part of getting the fleet running. Shame, really." Shannon looked at him. "Ted, just where have we been dumped? This looks like a reasonably nice hotel. I find it hard to believe that we've been dumped at a castle of all places, and that auditorium is huge." "Oh, it's a castle alright." Robert muttered. Ted and Shanon looked at him. He was looking out the window, and true to life, the view was marvelous, and included the other wing of the castle. Robert turned to look back inside. "I think we should get out of these suits, put on something other then a flightsuit, and get some food. I think I saw a resturant down by the atrium. And I think this either is, or was a hotel." Ted nodded and pointed at the back of the door. "Yep, it's an ex-hotel. I remember when this place was operational back 20 years ago. It was a really nice place back them, and the castle added a nice touch as well. In any case, I'm going to get into some cleaner clothes. I'll meet you down in the atrium."
For the next ten minutes Shannon and robert unpacked the duffel they had brought with them, and changed into the last set of clean clothes they had, their civilian clothes. They stuffed their flightsuits and other dirty clohtes back into the duffel. They followed the signs and came to the laundry. There they found a human there who gave them a ticket after getting their room number from them. "I'll have these cleaned by morning." he said, and wished them good night. They Met ted in the atrium, and found that the resturant was indeed there, and it was open. They noticed that there were no priced on the menus, which struck them as odd. WHen they asked the waiter how much their meals would cost, the waiter stated that all the meals tonight were free to all the guests of the place. The dinner was very good, as good as Shannon and Robert remembered having during their training with the Nexus. "This is a very good meal. I wonder.... Hmmmm...." Shannon elbowed him. "C'mon bear, spit it out already. What are you wondering?" Robert started to chuckle. "I'm wondering if the owner of this hotel is also the one that said that his chef would not stop apologizing for the poor quality of the food we had when we were training with the Nexus." Ted Looked at the two as they both started laughing. The waiter came over and asked if anything was wrong. Robert shook his head as he calmed down. "No sir, nothing's wrong. Give my compliments to the chef, though. This meal is excellent." The waiter nodded, and went away. Ted finished his meal, and yawned. "I don't know about you two, but sitting in that fighter was draining. I'm going to hit the sack a bit early, and I think the two of you ought to as well. I think there's going to be a lot in store for tomorrow." With that, he got up and went back upstairs to his room. A short time later Robert and Shannon did the same thing. Robert could'nt help but wonder what the next day would bring, though.
The next morning started at 0630 as Shannon and robert got up and showered. They found that their clothes had been placed on a tray just outside the door, and they were all expertly cleaned and pressed. After dressing, they went down to the atrium and found that there were a large number of people there at a breakfast buffet. Nearly everyone was wearing either jumpers or full on dress uniforms. A fair number of them had what looked like freshly bandaged or healed wounds. Shannon and Robert recognized most of these folks as the pilots, the repair staff, and the people who kept the ships running and fighting. "Hey! Look! It's the heros!" Robert and Shannon wer einstantly looked at by the entire group. Robert tried to defuse the situation. "Folks, I'm not a hero. I only did what I had to do. It is you who are the heros: The folks who keep us pilots flying, the folks who keep our ships in good repair, who keep the crews in good health and well fed. If you want to see the real heroes, look at the mirror and at each other, for we are all heros." In the crowd, someone started to clap, and in the space of under half a minute the entire free space inside the hotel was filled with thunderous applause. Robert thanked the wait staff as they served him after a ten minute wait in line. The rest of the morning and day went ok, and at 16:30 they arrived dressed in their dress uniforms for the de-briefing, and were quickly shown to their table.
To Shannon's right was Robert, and Ted. The her left was Colonel Steuben. Alex was also present at the table. As he was the leader of Alpha Squad, He answered to Stromson, who came up at the last minute, puffing away. "Sorry I'm late folks. I had to make sure the boat was not going to explode, and then I was given this ridiculous outfit to put on, as my stateroom seems to be in a large number of very small pieces." Robert nodded. "I see. At least it fits well. " Stromson nodded. "Yeah, I supposed it does." He glanced at the table and saw the table service. "It looks like they are going to feed us as well, too. I hate formal dinners. So much pomp and glitter for probably average food and several hours wasted. I'd much rather be working on the damage assesements for the Hillary. She's tore up pretty bad, although not as bad as what the Pacifica took." The auditorium grew quiet, as a figure had walked on stage, and cleared his throat.
"Welcome to The Ancestral home of the Order of the Magi. I am James, One of the Three. First, Let me honor you in your victory!" The room burst out with cheering which lasted a full ten minutes. "Second," He continued when the room quieted down," Let me honor your dead for their ultimate sacrifice." The room grew quiet and somber. "And finally, Let me honor The Alliance which we fought so hard to create and maintain, for bearing this bittersweet fruit." He saluted in the traditional Tigerean style, then in the Human style. "While I know that many of you want to go back to your ships and work on rebuilding the Fleet, I would like to take up a small amount of your time to feed you, and to give a very short presentation of thanks by the worlds you have defended these past few months."
The dinner was interesting. A small army of waiters came up and took each tables orders. Like most catered affairs, there was a small menu listed on a placard at the table's center. Not five minutes later, though, the same small army of waiters, each one assisted by a busser, came out with food for each of the tables. Robert leaned over to Shannon and whispered in her ear. "They must be creating this with magic. I shudder to think at the energy expediture." Shannon smiled and whispered back "What else would you expect in the Halls of the Magi?"
(1677 / 1667)