Another scenelet, the deep breath before the plunge. Now if I could stop blocking on the Big Reveal moment in Philly. %P
November 26. 2016
VVS EXFOR Staging Platform, Earth-Luna L2
The space station at L2 was pretty paltry compared to others in the immediate area, a thing of girders, wires and simple canisters. It wasn't designed to be the hub of a huge Fenspace-wide diplomatic and (more than likely) military effort. Still, the EXFOR staging platform was where the ships were, and as General Fnord was prone to say, “Needs must as the devil drives.”
General Fnord now stood on the platform's observation deck and watched as the diplomatic mission down to Earth assembled. Anchored to the platform, the GCU Laika took on supplies while the space shuttle Discovery gently hovered down onto the anchor points on Laika's back. Out past the platform, the Grover's Corners held a respectful distance; the great bulk of the mobile homestead could have crushed the platform if it had gotten too close.
“We do travel in style, don't we?” announced Ben Rhodes, coming up from behind.
Mal gave him a sidelong look. “Seven elephants. And what are you doing here? You should be transferring command over to the Corners.”
“Annika's handling all the moving. I wanted to check my orders one last time... and say 'good luck.'” Ben stuck out his hand. “I know I'm going to need it more than you, but we'll both need it.”
“We make our own luck,” Mal objected, but shook on it anyway. “And your orders haven't changed; talk to Featherston, try to get him to see that he has no friends in the world and that planning a vengeance war plus slaughtering a good chunk of his population won't win him any more, then don't get upset when he refuses.”
“Oh, this will be fun,” Ben grinned savagely. “Of all the Mundanes out there, I'm going to enjoy freaking this one.”
“Ben,” said Mal gravely, “don't take this too lightly. Featherston's the most dangerous guy we've ever tried to make a run on. He's a lot of things, but he's not stupid. If he sees a weakness he can exploit, he'll exploit it.” He said the last thing looking over Ben's shoulder. Ben half-turned, taking a glance back and seeing his wife goofing off with their daughter.
Ben turned to look back at Mal. “You honestly don't think...?” he trailed off, leaving the implication open.
“I don't know. But if he thinks he's found a weakness...” Mal shook his head. “All I'm saying is, be careful, okay?”
And here... we... go!
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"
November 26. 2016
VVS EXFOR Staging Platform, Earth-Luna L2
The space station at L2 was pretty paltry compared to others in the immediate area, a thing of girders, wires and simple canisters. It wasn't designed to be the hub of a huge Fenspace-wide diplomatic and (more than likely) military effort. Still, the EXFOR staging platform was where the ships were, and as General Fnord was prone to say, “Needs must as the devil drives.”
General Fnord now stood on the platform's observation deck and watched as the diplomatic mission down to Earth assembled. Anchored to the platform, the GCU Laika took on supplies while the space shuttle Discovery gently hovered down onto the anchor points on Laika's back. Out past the platform, the Grover's Corners held a respectful distance; the great bulk of the mobile homestead could have crushed the platform if it had gotten too close.
“We do travel in style, don't we?” announced Ben Rhodes, coming up from behind.
Mal gave him a sidelong look. “Seven elephants. And what are you doing here? You should be transferring command over to the Corners.”
“Annika's handling all the moving. I wanted to check my orders one last time... and say 'good luck.'” Ben stuck out his hand. “I know I'm going to need it more than you, but we'll both need it.”
“We make our own luck,” Mal objected, but shook on it anyway. “And your orders haven't changed; talk to Featherston, try to get him to see that he has no friends in the world and that planning a vengeance war plus slaughtering a good chunk of his population won't win him any more, then don't get upset when he refuses.”
“Oh, this will be fun,” Ben grinned savagely. “Of all the Mundanes out there, I'm going to enjoy freaking this one.”
“Ben,” said Mal gravely, “don't take this too lightly. Featherston's the most dangerous guy we've ever tried to make a run on. He's a lot of things, but he's not stupid. If he sees a weakness he can exploit, he'll exploit it.” He said the last thing looking over Ben's shoulder. Ben half-turned, taking a glance back and seeing his wife goofing off with their daughter.
Ben turned to look back at Mal. “You honestly don't think...?” he trailed off, leaving the implication open.
“I don't know. But if he thinks he's found a weakness...” Mal shook his head. “All I'm saying is, be careful, okay?”
And here... we... go!
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"