(Right. A bit of revisions, etc, whole file included in attached docX file)
* * * * * * * *
Muck was not surprised at the office he and Gamlin wound up in, the instructions changing where this meeting would take place from Captain Jenius’ office to MAYOR Jenius’ office has come through while on approach to land back on the central island ship of the colonization fleet; the one Muck had been defending without even realizing the scale he was working at, but he had to admit to himself that the size disparity he had just faced had made the situation brutally clear.
The décor of Milia’s office was, even more than its placement in the building at the city center, clearly that of a leader of civilians over what Muck would have assumed would be a relatively austere office if this meeting was taking place in CAPTAIN Jenius’ turf. Everything about it seemed to be about emphasizing the occupants state of power and privilege, leaving Muck to wonder how it was Milia hadn’t totally destroyed her workspace; it was so unlike the Milia he knew he entertained a brief fantasy of Milia destroying this space at least once a week but ordering it rebuilt just as it was before because ‘that is the way the office of the mayor is SUPPOSED to look’.
Of more concern, though, was the tension clearly evident between Captain (or was it Admiral? In Muck’s experience Captain was the person in command of a single ship. THIS Jenius was in command of a Fleet of transports and escorts!) and Mayor Jenius. Muck had lost track of the number of relationships he’d had to meddle in over the numerous fica he’d found himself in; while there was almost no chance any other person in the room at the moment would remember, even if they ever had been exposed to ‘Quantum Leap’ . Getting his mental train back on track it seemed clear to him that Jenius Maximillian and Jenius Milia really needed a marital intervention to get their relationship back on ‘track’; it would not be the first time that such a seemingly minor thing would turn out to be what was needed to ‘set right that what once went wrong’ . If anything, it seemed like the cosmic entity that had sent him on this quantum quest was MORE interested in these sort of small fixes (that might, or might not, have a multiplicative ‘Butterfly’ effect) than the larger sort that laid despots low, shattered galactic empires, or other such reality defining events. To be honest with himself, Muck really was a lot more comfortable with the smaller changes it had turned out to be the reason he had been in any particular fica leap along his quest.
This thought was secondary to whatever quest Captain and Mayor Jenius were about to conscript him to, but if it got him access to something that would even the size disparity, he was willing.
“Lieutenant Gamlin Kisaki and… guest, reporting as ordered, Sir; Ma’am.”
“At ease Lieutenant, Ranger? Thunders?”
“Thunders in my human form; Star Ranger in the other. Its sort of a… thing where I come from. Not a true secret identity, I suppose, but I do like to keep them separate. Kind of like only responding to one’s call sign while in the cockpit.”
” Just who and what are you, then?”
“I have been Roland, Beowulf, Mary Sue, DJ Croft, Skysaber…[8] and kidding.” Seeing Milia’s look of unamused confusion, Muck changed tactics as he continued on. “I do that a lot. Aside from what you’ve already seen and been told, I’m a wanderer, doing sort of a Quantum Leap from fica to fica trying to find my way home. And maybe helping others along the way.”
“And how is it you propose to help?” interjected Milia.
“Well, that depends on what sort of help you are willing to accept, Madam Mayor. I’d prefer to work WITH the local authorities, but I can do Batman if I have too. More so here, since your Vampires seem to be mecha that leave me feeling a bit… inadequate.”
“That can be arranged. Assuming Lt. Gamlin signs off on your being qualified to pilot a VF-17,” Cap’n Jenius replied. “Since we are starting to move the fleet into the VF-19.”
“And what happens to me, Sir?” Gamlin found himself breaking into the conversation, his fears over-riding his sense of decorum and protocol.
“You remain in command of Diamond Flight. What you might not want to hear is that I am assigning Diamond to point defense of Island 7. That means you will be working directly for Mayor Milia most of the time. Thunders here will be your number 2, assuming he qualifies to your satisfaction. I’ll transfer a third from the pilot pool.”
“But SIR!”
“No BUTS, LIEUTENANT. This is NOT a demotion; but a transfer to where you can do the most good until you have time to transition to the ’19,” Max replied in a tone that to Muck was supposed to cut off any further discussion. “You are being assigned where you can be of the best use. Channel your heritage to show me this is the right decision… OWCH. You wanted to add instructions, Madam Milia?”
“Yes, Captain. I would like to request that the pilots of Diamond Force, since they will be under my command, patrol the colony ships in general and Island 7 in specific because we have had attacks against our population even when enemy mecha have not been present. Perhaps Diamond Force, or perhaps just ‘Muck’ can interdict and stop the non-mecha based attacks?”
“I can only try. Ma’am. I must caution I am only one person, though. Even with Lt. Gamlin and our third pilot, the three of us can only be in so many places at once, Ma’am.”
“Understood. Our situation is dire, though. Anything can only be seen as an improvement.”
“Thunders copies all, then, Madam Mayor. Just trying to head off unrealistic expectations, Ma’am.”
“Gamlin. Thunders. Outside, Please?” Max demanded, so the two pilots, one official, one provisional followed him out of Milia’s office.
“One additional order.” Max stated as the door closed behind the trio. “I have authorized a special unit, called ‘Sound Force,’ under the supervision of Dr. Chiba.”
“Chiba.” Muck murmured. “Short guy, right at the service weight limits? Wired me for sound while out cold?”
“Yes. And the reason I am convinced you are what you claim, Thunders; instead of being held in a maximum-security facility,” Max replied with a glare. “Don’t make me revisit that choice.”
“Sir, Yessir!” Muck acknowledged, even as he snatched the foot closest to Gamlin away before the pilot could kick him in the ankle, before the pair exchanged a quick glare at each other before returning their attention to their erstwhile commanding officer.
From Max’s ‘spock eyebrow’, the captain was clearly NOT AMUSED; but confined his displeasure to a brief clearing of his throat before continuing. “Sound Force is comprised of non-combatant singers of the band Fire Bomber. Pacifists who follow the tau of Minmei. One of whom is the daughter of myself and the mayor. Diamond force WILL protect them, even if it conflicts with other orders.”
“Sir! YES SIR!” Gamlin acknowledged.
“Three bags full, SIR!” Muck followed up, causing Max to facepalm as he left Milia’s outer office.
*My gods.* Max thought to himself. *Were Milia and I that flippant to Hikaru and Misa? Hell. Were we worse? *
(1) This is verbally spelling out L T, = A standard military shorthand for Lieutenant, which can represent, depending on the service, up to the first three ‘common’ officer ranks (0-1 through 0-3) as defined by the United States Military.
(2) ERTS: Emergency response transportation system; aka a plot device meant to explain how Pilots (and Basara Nikki) can get to their fighters, and into combat, so quickly
(3) yes, this is supposed to represent the sort of actual commo traffic that would be going on. Knowing who is who is important.
(4) Three bags full, sir…
(5) In military pilot speak, this means Muck will be right off Gamlin’s right wingtip where Gamlin can easily see Muck, which means even without Gamlin’s VF-17 being so much larger Muck has put himself at a maneuvering disadvantage in order to make Gamlin more comfortable.
(6) Refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Leap for more details. Yes, Muck is jumping from fica to fica, hoping each leap will be the one home… WHICH ‘home’ is open for debate though? The strict definition is what he recalls as his ‘origination’ fica (see the very first scene of ‘Wandering Moon’ at: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6936/1/Tale...ering-Moon ) is not the same as where he wants to wind up as (See the EPILOGE: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6936/14/Tal...ering-Moon) Shameless plug? *Snort* Shameless is the LEAST offensive thing I’ve been called over the years.
(7) Can you say ‘FORSHADOWNING?’ I knew you could!
(8) I swiped this from Bob Schroeck,( http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/) with permission, who apparently recalls it from yet a third person. I have Bob’s permission to use this, but if someone else objects… well… send me a message. I’ll either agree or tell you to pound sand.
* * * * * * * *
Muck was not surprised at the office he and Gamlin wound up in, the instructions changing where this meeting would take place from Captain Jenius’ office to MAYOR Jenius’ office has come through while on approach to land back on the central island ship of the colonization fleet; the one Muck had been defending without even realizing the scale he was working at, but he had to admit to himself that the size disparity he had just faced had made the situation brutally clear.
The décor of Milia’s office was, even more than its placement in the building at the city center, clearly that of a leader of civilians over what Muck would have assumed would be a relatively austere office if this meeting was taking place in CAPTAIN Jenius’ turf. Everything about it seemed to be about emphasizing the occupants state of power and privilege, leaving Muck to wonder how it was Milia hadn’t totally destroyed her workspace; it was so unlike the Milia he knew he entertained a brief fantasy of Milia destroying this space at least once a week but ordering it rebuilt just as it was before because ‘that is the way the office of the mayor is SUPPOSED to look’.
Of more concern, though, was the tension clearly evident between Captain (or was it Admiral? In Muck’s experience Captain was the person in command of a single ship. THIS Jenius was in command of a Fleet of transports and escorts!) and Mayor Jenius. Muck had lost track of the number of relationships he’d had to meddle in over the numerous fica he’d found himself in; while there was almost no chance any other person in the room at the moment would remember, even if they ever had been exposed to ‘Quantum Leap’ . Getting his mental train back on track it seemed clear to him that Jenius Maximillian and Jenius Milia really needed a marital intervention to get their relationship back on ‘track’; it would not be the first time that such a seemingly minor thing would turn out to be what was needed to ‘set right that what once went wrong’ . If anything, it seemed like the cosmic entity that had sent him on this quantum quest was MORE interested in these sort of small fixes (that might, or might not, have a multiplicative ‘Butterfly’ effect) than the larger sort that laid despots low, shattered galactic empires, or other such reality defining events. To be honest with himself, Muck really was a lot more comfortable with the smaller changes it had turned out to be the reason he had been in any particular fica leap along his quest.
This thought was secondary to whatever quest Captain and Mayor Jenius were about to conscript him to, but if it got him access to something that would even the size disparity, he was willing.
“Lieutenant Gamlin Kisaki and… guest, reporting as ordered, Sir; Ma’am.”
“At ease Lieutenant, Ranger? Thunders?”
“Thunders in my human form; Star Ranger in the other. Its sort of a… thing where I come from. Not a true secret identity, I suppose, but I do like to keep them separate. Kind of like only responding to one’s call sign while in the cockpit.”
” Just who and what are you, then?”
“I have been Roland, Beowulf, Mary Sue, DJ Croft, Skysaber…[8] and kidding.” Seeing Milia’s look of unamused confusion, Muck changed tactics as he continued on. “I do that a lot. Aside from what you’ve already seen and been told, I’m a wanderer, doing sort of a Quantum Leap from fica to fica trying to find my way home. And maybe helping others along the way.”
“And how is it you propose to help?” interjected Milia.
“Well, that depends on what sort of help you are willing to accept, Madam Mayor. I’d prefer to work WITH the local authorities, but I can do Batman if I have too. More so here, since your Vampires seem to be mecha that leave me feeling a bit… inadequate.”
“That can be arranged. Assuming Lt. Gamlin signs off on your being qualified to pilot a VF-17,” Cap’n Jenius replied. “Since we are starting to move the fleet into the VF-19.”
“And what happens to me, Sir?” Gamlin found himself breaking into the conversation, his fears over-riding his sense of decorum and protocol.
“You remain in command of Diamond Flight. What you might not want to hear is that I am assigning Diamond to point defense of Island 7. That means you will be working directly for Mayor Milia most of the time. Thunders here will be your number 2, assuming he qualifies to your satisfaction. I’ll transfer a third from the pilot pool.”
“But SIR!”
“No BUTS, LIEUTENANT. This is NOT a demotion; but a transfer to where you can do the most good until you have time to transition to the ’19,” Max replied in a tone that to Muck was supposed to cut off any further discussion. “You are being assigned where you can be of the best use. Channel your heritage to show me this is the right decision… OWCH. You wanted to add instructions, Madam Milia?”
“Yes, Captain. I would like to request that the pilots of Diamond Force, since they will be under my command, patrol the colony ships in general and Island 7 in specific because we have had attacks against our population even when enemy mecha have not been present. Perhaps Diamond Force, or perhaps just ‘Muck’ can interdict and stop the non-mecha based attacks?”
“I can only try. Ma’am. I must caution I am only one person, though. Even with Lt. Gamlin and our third pilot, the three of us can only be in so many places at once, Ma’am.”
“Understood. Our situation is dire, though. Anything can only be seen as an improvement.”
“Thunders copies all, then, Madam Mayor. Just trying to head off unrealistic expectations, Ma’am.”
“Gamlin. Thunders. Outside, Please?” Max demanded, so the two pilots, one official, one provisional followed him out of Milia’s office.
“One additional order.” Max stated as the door closed behind the trio. “I have authorized a special unit, called ‘Sound Force,’ under the supervision of Dr. Chiba.”
“Chiba.” Muck murmured. “Short guy, right at the service weight limits? Wired me for sound while out cold?”
“Yes. And the reason I am convinced you are what you claim, Thunders; instead of being held in a maximum-security facility,” Max replied with a glare. “Don’t make me revisit that choice.”
“Sir, Yessir!” Muck acknowledged, even as he snatched the foot closest to Gamlin away before the pilot could kick him in the ankle, before the pair exchanged a quick glare at each other before returning their attention to their erstwhile commanding officer.
From Max’s ‘spock eyebrow’, the captain was clearly NOT AMUSED; but confined his displeasure to a brief clearing of his throat before continuing. “Sound Force is comprised of non-combatant singers of the band Fire Bomber. Pacifists who follow the tau of Minmei. One of whom is the daughter of myself and the mayor. Diamond force WILL protect them, even if it conflicts with other orders.”
“Sir! YES SIR!” Gamlin acknowledged.
“Three bags full, SIR!” Muck followed up, causing Max to facepalm as he left Milia’s outer office.
*My gods.* Max thought to himself. *Were Milia and I that flippant to Hikaru and Misa? Hell. Were we worse? *
(1) This is verbally spelling out L T, = A standard military shorthand for Lieutenant, which can represent, depending on the service, up to the first three ‘common’ officer ranks (0-1 through 0-3) as defined by the United States Military.
(2) ERTS: Emergency response transportation system; aka a plot device meant to explain how Pilots (and Basara Nikki) can get to their fighters, and into combat, so quickly
(3) yes, this is supposed to represent the sort of actual commo traffic that would be going on. Knowing who is who is important.
(4) Three bags full, sir…
(5) In military pilot speak, this means Muck will be right off Gamlin’s right wingtip where Gamlin can easily see Muck, which means even without Gamlin’s VF-17 being so much larger Muck has put himself at a maneuvering disadvantage in order to make Gamlin more comfortable.
(6) Refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Leap for more details. Yes, Muck is jumping from fica to fica, hoping each leap will be the one home… WHICH ‘home’ is open for debate though? The strict definition is what he recalls as his ‘origination’ fica (see the very first scene of ‘Wandering Moon’ at: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6936/1/Tale...ering-Moon ) is not the same as where he wants to wind up as (See the EPILOGE: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6936/14/Tal...ering-Moon) Shameless plug? *Snort* Shameless is the LEAST offensive thing I’ve been called over the years.
(7) Can you say ‘FORSHADOWNING?’ I knew you could!
(8) I swiped this from Bob Schroeck,( http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/) with permission, who apparently recalls it from yet a third person. I have Bob’s permission to use this, but if someone else objects… well… send me a message. I’ll either agree or tell you to pound sand.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to rock the sky?
Thats' every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry!
NO QUARTER!
No Quarter by Echo's Children
Thats' every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry!
NO QUARTER!
No Quarter by Echo's Children