Reaper

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

If Maki was seething, she didn't show it. In fact, she drank the toast and set her cup down gently, staying silent while considering her reply. It was true, they were acting as if they were invincible or special. The latter was also true. Any member of the 101st would testify gladly to that fact - no one got in without being excellent, not just good, at something.

If they had stayed for a little longer, they would have thwarted the Coalition attack long enough for more people to get off the Ulysses. If they had taken just another squad of Ferirs or downed another ship, the battle might have been more favorable for the remaining forces. They might also have gotten killed, true, but Maki had been raised on a simple belief - that people only benefited when the needs of the many are put before the needs of the few. It was hard to justify sacrificing so many lives on one man's whim.

"There is one thing you're forgetting, Trapp. We're all stakes that are sticking out. It's why we're here in the first place." Maki reminded her squad leader. Perhaps it was arrogant of her, but she didn't appreciate someone using Tori's death to make the squad feel shitty. "Any idiot can follow orders if you yell loudly enough at them. What makes a soldier is their willingness to stand in the line of fire so others don't have to. So, don't give me that bullshit, Trapp."

She knew somewhere else on the ship, the captain was listening in. Alexis had a bad habit of doing that when she thought her subordinates were going to tear each other's throats out. "I get it. You don't want us to piss off the royal pain in the butt. I'll behave as long as he's around, but don't expect me to jump out the airlock because the man gave an order. After all, we're just disposable weapons to them, right? Point at the enemy and fire? We'll just be replaced with someone new like Tori was after we die. We're expendable to them." She tipped her cup over so it'd fall, as if to demonstrate her point.

"I don't expect praise or medals. I certainly don't think I'm indispensable. What I do expect and think is that every life we can save, we do our utmost to do so. So forgive me if I feel abandoning people to die is distasteful. I'd rather keep my soul and integrity than my job." If anyone doubted her words, they weren't worthy of being called her squadmate. Every person in that room knew well enough that Maki stuck to her guns and beliefs like glue. It wasn't the first time she got in trouble for standing up for her own values, and it wouldn't be the last. What difference would it make if it was some regular officer or a royal dick?

"Nobody is expendable. I'll gladly dishonor Tori's memory to keep others alive. Don't pity the dead, but the living." She muttered softly, not caring what else Trapp had to say on the matter, before leaving the room. She raised her volume so their uninvited guest could hear her parting line. "I'll be in the gym if you need me."

---

At the gym, it was dead quiet. Well, almost. A few people were here to ensure nothing had been damaged, a few were looking around and checking to see if anyone had been missed out in their roll calls, desperate to confirm even one more member of their crew hadn't been left behind. Maki was just there to unwind and channel her anger from the earlier events and the stress of battle.

Even with people asking around if they had seen this or that person, nobody came to ask Maki. Partly because they knew she had hardly left the ship and had been in the battle, but mainly due to the fact that she was giving off a palpable aura that threatened to kill those who drew to near. The loud clang of metal from the salmon ladder she was on drowned out the noise in the background, as she brooded on Trapp's words.

She had to admit he was right on some accounts - the 7th had a reputation that meant they got away with minor misdeanours, but it wasn't as if anyone would stand up for them against a member of the royal family. It certainly hadn't been smart to do so right within earshot of the Imperial Service, not that she would have cared either way. Perhaps a little more consideration for the squad was in order the next time she mouthed off about the royal fuck up.

Still, if there was one thing she was never to agree with, it was abandoning the Ulysses to its fate. Nishizumi, for fuck's sake, don't come back for us! You have the intel! Get it back home! Memories returned to her as the voices of dead ghosts returned to haunt her.

Johnson's KIA! You're the fastest machine still capable of making the trip back! Just GET THE FUCK OUT!

There's no way you guys will-

Fuck that! We're expendable! Just get that intel back to HQ! It'll save more lives than one squad! Now go!

She reached the top of the salmon ladder, doing one chin up and gritting her teeth as she fought to keep the memories out. The began the descent, throwing the bar down to the lower rung and let herself feel the impact. It was nothing compared to her crash landing back at base, and the sound of the metal impacting its purchase was nothing compared to the explosion she heard.

This time she flipped herself up over the bar just to exert herself, the tight tank top now soaked with her sweat and baring her midriff. It was almost sexy if a battle hadn't just occurred. Maki would have flashed a grin and teased the closest person she was familiar with if another memory wasn't surfacing.

I'll be there in a minute, Astelion, just stay alive till then!

She shook her head and let herself go, dropping from the salmon ladder and venting her emotions by smashing an elbow through a training dummy's wooden arm, using the speed from her fall. The move startled a few people but they got the message soon enough and cleared the area. When she was finally alone, she sank down to the floor against a wall, panting and looking up, asking a question to a man she hadn't spoken to in a long time, a man who wasn't there to hear her. "Hey, ojii-san, how many friends did you bury before you were done fighting in the war? I'm already sick of seeing off caskets."

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

I'm going to say the last two posts I made had no confirmed kills so... I'm adding 3

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

<Snipped quote by Reaper>

Pretty sure those chair have the full body harness >.>
Like the ones you might think was a hybrid between those roller coaster seats, parachute straps, and a fighter jet seat. Works better than a bra XD

@Kimiyosis

But, the chafing

Also, editted my post since I didn't realize Howler posted while I was typing mine up xD

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

Yank on her hair like a leash :D

Also, I think Yuu might find a little irritating if her boobs were being thrown about in her face when flying around in her MAS, no?

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

"Wizard, you crazy son of a bitch!" Maki yelled through the comms of her Hellcat as she continued to lay down covering fire for the mad man. Well, against the Ferir's at this range, the most she could really do was slow them down if their pilots had two brain cells to rub together. Though she couldn't quite hide the mad grin crossing her features. Though her tone was more amused than angry.

She would have tried the same thing herself, if she wasn't already low on ammo and lacking in a firepower. Well, that wasn't strictly true - the Hellcat's gun was more than capable of ripping through a frigate and utterly wrecking it, but not within the 10 minutes she had to get back to the Lincoln. Not at the kind of range she needed to pull it off.

There was a grim satisfaction when she saw the Mosquito turn the frigrate into floating scrap. "You are going to get yourself killed one day, you magnificent bastard." She commended him as he raced back just in time to dock before the Lincoln made the jump.

---

"Yeah, yeah, we're pilots, not actors, Trapp. Unless you're trying to go for the whole angry-hate sex thing, in which case keep dreaming." Maki replied privately to the man, though her tone suggested she got the message. Some might have told her to learn her lesson from her time at the academy, but someone had to be the one speak up. Even if she was speaking up against royalty. She docked the Hellcat once the last of the 7th were clear and in the hangar, promptly getting out of the cockpit and handing the reins over to the engineers as they rushed to get the MAS combat ready before the next mission. It wouldn't take them long to remove the pieces of shrapnel embedded in the armour, unlike some of the other machines, which she suspected would have been easier to replace rather than repair.

"Wolves are pack animals, Gerard, this man is no wolf." Maki added to the French man, now that they were out of earshot of the admiral. Her disdain for Ardin was clear - she had no respect for a commander who could coldly write off the lives of thousands without a second thought. Whatever the Lincoln's next mission was, she suspected it wasn't so important that the admiral had to abandon the Ulysses to achieve it. Was he making a calculated decision, or saving his own skin? "Asu wa ame, hito ha dorobou. Rain will come tomorrow, and people are thieves." She quipped another Japanese idiom, this one referring to how unpredictable people and things could be, expressing her distrust of the admiral.

She sighed and removed the top half of her flight suit, winding down after combat and revealing the black standard issue tank top underneath, letting the sweat evaporate. "Not like we can do anything about it now. I'll reserve my anger until we have the tally of those who were left behind." She commented, and sat herself on a crate, waiting for the jump and awaiting Alexis' debriefing. Her instructors, in the beginning weeks of basic training, had commented on something like this - Those who fall behind, get left behind. It wasn't a threat as much as a reminder that in battle, a soldier had to be prepared to pull his own weight, and not to rely on the luxury of having assistance from their team. It was a reminder to always do what you could to survive and win the fight and keep the person next to you alive. It rang hollow now knowing that part of the Lincoln's crew had been left behind for no other reason than being at the wrong place at the wrong time, sheer dumb bad luck. Well, that and one man's ego.

It was then that she noticed Yuu making a beeline towards the paint and noticing the admiral's parked shuttle in the hangar so close to them, Maki could tell immediately what the other Japanese woman was trying to do. She wouldn't... She would. She sighed and gestured at the rest to look in her direction. "I'm not saying I don't want to join in, but someone should stop her, no? The fool might not be able to court martial us, but he might just tell the captain to leave us behind on the next mission just for ruining a paint job."

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

...does Gerard need to commission some leashes?

@Harbringer

Only if they're made of leather :P

Feral

Itzal let out a wry smile as the trials Hagumi had to undergo were described in detail. They weren't exactly a secret, but few seraphim had the skill or power to pull off such feats of magic anyway. A curious part of him wondered how they would test someone like him, whose gifts were hardly common. Though he knew that the Council would never let a shadowkin even attempt the seven wonders. Mistrust of the element of darkness aside, shadow magic was almost exclusively offensive in nature - there was little to no way for one to push the limits of shadow magic without wreaking havoc upon the city.

Though when the feral wolf was brought out, he could not help but cluck his tongue in disapproval. "It's one thing to remind her of the possibility of having to do that to Torva some day, but to simulate it like this." He remembered Zilla dying in his own arms, and the pain it brought back caused a shudder to run through him. No, no one should have to know what it was like to lose a loved one, and it was sick to force them to undergo something like this. It wasn't as if they were training killers or assassins. Though, a pragmatic part of his mind argued, it was far better for someone in a position of power to understand the burden of taking a life before granting them the means to order it upon others.

When the ice princess began her attempt, Itzal had to admit a sense of apprehension. He had seen firsthand what happened to her when she pushed herself too far, and while undoubtedly it was far less pressure to pull off such magic when imminent death in battle wasn't looming overhead, the importance of winning a vote and preventing a war had to be on her mind. "I don't envy her position." He commented to no one, sighing as he pulled his cloak tighter around himself as the temperature of the room dropped drastically. He even summoned a ball of flame around himself and the others to provide some warmth, and while the guards seemed annoyed by the use of magic, it seemed they could hardly fault him for it.

When Hagumi grasped the blade, however, was the real test. The trial was oversimplified, of course. It was hardly about opposite extremes - her blizzard was proof that ice could be just as fierce as a blazing fire. Though it was true that seraphim who specialized in certain branches or elements of magic found themselves quite at odds with opposing schools of magic. Itzal was never going to be able to cast light magic, not in the way light users could.

"Typical." Itzal drawled as Hagumi collapsed upon finishing the Seven Wonders, though a smile graced his features. She had just performed a whole slew of exhausting spells one after another, and fainting at the end of the process was not uncommon. Though it happening to Hagumi was becoming a cliche at this point. He glanced in the direction of the Council, to gauge their responses and awaiting the declaration. At the same time, he began planning for the next step in the short term - finding Vates' assassin.

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

Wes is up for tackling Maki and throwing her into the hangar if someone wants him to.

@SirBeowulf

Only if Wes has no desire to ever have sex again because Maki will castrate him with a spoon if he dares :D

Maki will help Yuu fix said shuttle :D

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

Time for me to Google an eloquent, classy way of saying "Fuck off, Trapp" in Japanese for my next post.

Also, hypothetically speaking, if Ardin were to hit on one of the 7th, and said member were to tell him to go fuck himself, how big of a shit storm would that cause?

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

"Those idiots are way too happy about killing." Maki commented to no one, a feeling of disgust creeping up her throat. Alice, she could understand somewhat. She was walking, programmed weapon. It was in her nature. Yet, there could be no helping how disconcerting it was that the AI would be so eager to end lives. Wes was the kind of man who lived better in war time than in peace. The exact kind of man her father had warned her against. Such people were useful to have at your side in a battle, but they were also dangerous.

When the orders came for her to attack the frigates with Wizard and Rabbit, she was glad for an excuse to stop thinking about it. No use for brooding on the dangers of blood lust in the middle of a battlefield. "Good job taking down the Mark 3, rookie. Now just keep on your head on straight." It was good to see Ariana hadn't needed any hand holding, even if her nerves showed. She could hardly be blamed a very human reaction in the midst of her first battle.

She had linked up with the other two members of the 7th as ordered when the retreat was sounded. "What the fuck?! The Ulysses will fall if we don't mop them up now!" She cried in protest over the comms, her anger apparent. She knew it was the last thing Captain Alexis would have done, which meant those orders came from someone else. The Admiral.

Trust those who sat too far up from the battle to make such cold calculations. There was nothing that couldn't wait for them to spend another thirty minutes cleaning up the rest of the Coalition forces. Maki slammed a fist against her console, cursing under her breath as she turned around and flew back to the Lincoln at top speed in a three man formation with Wizard and Rabbit. The rookie was already back, and Maki lingered at the hangar doors to cover the rest as they flew back.

She stood right above the gates, preventing them from shutting as long as there was an obstruction in the way. She did not trust the admiral to simply order Alexis to abandon the rest of the men fighting outside to their fates. If the man wanted to discipline her for her little act of defiance, he could very well throw her in the brig himself, kicking and screaming. "I've got your asses covered now move it, assholes!" She yelled through the comms, at the same time putting one round through a Ferir's torso where the cockpit would be, unsure if she actually killed the person within. Well, at the very least, she would have dissuaded them from coming after the retreating MAS of the 7th.

Nobody among their squad died today, but Maki could hardly celebrate the fact knowing they were abandoning thousands more on the station to their fate, part of the Lincoln's crew among them. Admiral Ardin had better have excellent bodyguards, because the Lincoln had a tight knit crew and he certainly wasn't winning any favours by condemning part of that family to death. "Baka wa shinanakya naoranai!" She spat, not caring if the admiral could hear her over the comms, not that she cared if he understood her Japanese. Those who knew her well enough would have heard her utter that line before and be well aware of its meaning - Only death will cure a fool.