[color=8882be]”You have anything to cough up, Percy?”[/color]

[color=d3d3d3]”So who else is gonna go MIA, do you think?”[/color] Percy couldn’t stop himself from asking. He was thinking about it the whole time she was talking. Each mission just sounded like death or a possibility to go ‘missing’.. to him, at least.

[color=8882be]”You, if you keep up this attitude.”[/color]

Percy just gawked at her for a minute. Did she really just say that? Is she really-[color=d3d3d3]”How do you expect me to NOT worry about this? Unlike the [i]rest of you[/i], I have a kid to take care of!”[/color] Percy actually dared to stand up and make a willing spectacle of himself. That’s new.

[color=8882be]”I guess that makes you the weakest, then. Do you have any other objections or are your needless naggings done?”[/color]. The Captain was obviously letting out something herself. What, only she knew.

Percy looked absolutely shocked and enraged that she DARE make him out to be some kind of nagging asshole. [color=d3d3d3]“Do [i]you[/i] have a kid? Is your kid having nightmares every fucking night about the shit that went down in Smith’s Rest? How in the FUCK do you think I feel about this, [i]Commander?[/i]”[/color] The tone he said “commander” in showed that he had absolutely zero respect for the woman behind the title.

[color=8882be]”Probably like a pussy. The only thing you can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again, so why don’t you do that? Why let your emotions get in the way of the goal? You don’t want your kid to get hurt again, right?”[/color], Sophia continued the verbal smackdown.

[color=d3d3d3]”DO YOU EVEN [i]CARE?[/i]”[/color] Percy was on the verge of crying. All of the stress, anger, and resentment that’s been building up for MONTHS is just coming out full swing.

[color=8882be]”Pfft, you care so much about the kid, but it really looks like [i]you[/i] have growing up to do yourself… Hysterical. Go outside and calm down before coming back in. That’s an order!”[/color]

[color=d3d3d3]“You know what? Fuck you. Fuck [i]you[/i]-”[/color] he points to the captain, [color=d3d3d3]“fuck you-”[/color] he points to Jan, [color=d3d3d3]“and you three-”[/color] he looks at the three, trying to find something to say to hurt them too, but failing. [color=d3d3d3]“I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU THREE OUGHTA DO. Just..”[/color] He exclaims wordlessly and storms out of the briefing room, making damn sure to slam the door.

[color=8882be]”...As I said.. the weakest link, right there. Sorry you had to see that, but he really needed some metaphorical slaps in the face. Hell, literal ones too, I suppose.”[/color], Sophia then glanced over at the door and said in a quieter, somewhat hushed tone. [color=8882be]”I personally wouldn’t care if he needed to be left behind. Try do the opposite of that, if I give the order.”[/color]

[color=8882be]”Great first impression, am I right? In any case, none of the OP’s are set to be done for a few days. Use your free time to train and tweak, prep for anything that could come up.”[/color]

[color=8882be]”And knock some sense into that other guy, if you want. I’ll look the other way.””[/color]

[color=8882be]”In any case… Elizabeth.”[/color]. She seemed to pause a few moments, thinking. She quickly stopped herself, continuing. [color=8882be]”A-ahem, Yes, Jackspar. Do you have any questions pertaining to the contracts? Unlike him, that actually pertain to the missions at hand?”[/color]

Eli did her best not to give Percy much attention during his outburst. She wasn’t an expert on dealing with angry people in nonviolent ways, but she figured if they didn’t have fuel, the fire would die out. Truth be told, somewhere there was pity for how he was feeling, but that brought her back to Vera, and right now, in the briefing room as with on the battlefield, she was not the focus. Percy would either have to come to terms with that in regards to Ana, or he’d suffer in the long run. 

When the Captain called her name, she snapped to attention. The first didn’t concern her, and she was somewhat eager to see how the newer members would hold up on their own. Jan she had no real expectations for, and she supposed with Stein the bar was set the same, but the girl’s focus said a bit more than a dossier could. Eli would have to remember to read them over after the briefing. 

[color=6ecff6]”Can we trust the intel we have for the naval mission? Is that the only resistance we should expect to encounter?”[/color] she asked. 

[color=8882be]”Considering the combat zones’ proximity to another nearby naval task force of lesser composition, enemy reinforcements consisting of two older model battlecruisers might show up. Of course, these are being sent to another port for decommissioning, so I highly doubt they’d even be worth mentioning in the after-combat report, in all honesty.”[/color]

Eli nodded, that was good enough. Her only real concern for that mission was the possibility of other NC’s showing up. Truth be told, she didn’t expect it to take long for their squad to decimate some hard-tech ships.  

Her eyes flicked to Stein momentarily again, then back to the Captain. [color=6ecff6]”I also agree that the Fairbanks operation reads more like an ambush than a proper mission. I volunteer to accompany Mister Gent along with the others. Do we have permission to reply with appropriate force in that case?”[/color]

[color=8882be]”Of course, trash the entire facility if it’s really an ambush. If Fairbanks really wants to make an enemy out of us, and by proxy, Volkov, then they’ll damn well have us. That’s horrible to say, considering they started our little operation by giving us NC parts, but if they’re gonna do that, who cares? An enemy’s an enemy.”[/color]

[color=6ecff6]”Yes ma’am.”[/color] Eli agreed wholeheartedly. They owed Fairbanks nothing that would endanger them or the people of New Anchorage, the same went for every last other settlement, company, or band of mercenaries out there. Fairbanks, Volkov, it didn’t matter, an enemy was an enemy. [color=6ecff6]”I have no further questions.”[/color]

[color=8882be]”Good to hear then. I suppose you’re all dismissed, unless you can think up anything else.”[/color] Sophia stopped the projector and waited for everyone that would leave to leave.

Bowing her head, Eli briskly made her way out from the briefing room and back into the facility proper.