That was the mark of a seasoned campaigner, the feel of too much pressure, a string of failures, and incompetence from the higher command mounted on him. And even among seasoned campaigners, there were as many different ways of dealing with it as there were people. Santos didn't drink more. He drank less when he was under pressure, and he could feel the itch in his throat, for a strong stiff drink.
All these factors were making him sufficiently angry to snap at anyone who provided sufficient reason.
He walked to the hangar, to see if the wings he had wrangled out of Amduat were ready or not. Hangar on Thebes was a busy place, and over-crowded. As he walked, a ship caught his eye. Sloppy repair work, slightly off profile...damn it.
"Who is the bloody incompetent moron who flies this ship?" He roared. Probably half of the hangar heard it.
A few feet away from the offending craft was a pristine Onuris. From Santos' point of view, only a pair of legs could be seen sticking out. But the stylized heart on the wing was the giveaway to who it was. Upon hearing the roar, the figure pushed out from underneath and stood up, shaking his head to get his hair out of whack. Stripping off his goggles, Jeremy Hunter wiped his hands off on a towel and rubbed the back of his head.
"That's Aqua's Santos. It was damaged yesterday and was given a rush job. Aqua was injured during the fight, so she didn't see the sloppy work until today. I was going to help her start to correct it once I got the Nu up." Jeremy sighed, one hand on his side, the other rubbing the back of his neck. "Believe me, I'm going to rip out some hearts when I find those techs. If people can't do their job right, it will just end up killing pilots we can't replace."
Jeremy could feel the strain of the past few months dragging on him. Dark circles were under his eyes, and his usually bright blue eyes were dim. His black outfit was crumpled and looking worse for wear. It was obvious that Jeremy hadn't slept for two days. And now due to some screwup, I get Bolevara looking to brain Aqua while she's going for the replacement parts.
He sighed. "Aqua went for replacement parts ten minutes ago. We'll get her ship up and running, no worries about that. It's just the fact that we're all exhausted and working on caffeine." He motioned to a ice chest set up by his ship filled with caffeinated sodas. A few ships down a similar chest was there. "Sadly, we're running low on caffeine. Wish the damn Arch would just make like Jericho and fall so we can get some damn sleep."
"Keep the damn things functional at all times...in the worst case scenario we can strap an AI in control for some extra firepower."
He looked around and saw the people we was looking for strapping up, getting ready to go. He raised his hands and gave a thumbs up in their direction, then took a seat near Jeremy.
"The Arch would fall a lot sooner if bloody Taweret hadn't blocked my request for additional troops. Now we'll have to do it the hard way. **** never gets easy, huh? "
He lowered his voice slightly for what he was about to say next.
"I have Thebes-sized doubts about whether we'll succeed at all....and I don't like throwing away lives pointlessly."
He hunched his shoulders. Usually Bolevara and Hunter didn't get along much, but both were feeling the pressure of the past few months descending on them, and Santos didn't give a **** anymore. As long as Hunter could shoot a gun, he could help. That's all he needed.
Jeremy dropped onto the wing of the nearest ship, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, worst case scenario. Better to risk an AI then a person. Easier to make an AI." He screws his eyes shut for a moment, then reopens them. "I never even heard of Amduat or Tawaret, and suddenly they have all just appeared and taken command. I'm sorry, but there's something off." Jeremy frowns. "For something like the Arch, committing more troops should be priority." He then lowered his voice as well. "Aye. It's not going to be easy, and I have a feeling, that, even if we did manage to take it, that we won't be able to hold it for long. Not unless we miraculously get help."
Jeremy sighed, cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders. Snaps and pops were heard as his body loosened up from the cramped position he had been in under his Onuris. For him and Bolevara to actually get along meant that things were not going so well. **** really was hitting the fan.
"I can see about getting Seth and the Ghost Eye up to Tohoku. Not like those new directives to avoid highly populated sectors doesn't really mess with the Eye's usual operational zones." Jeremy said. "Not sure what he could do, but..." He shakes his head. "We need more pilots. Have we heard back from the Cells in the Houses at all? Have they found anyone willing to join?"
"Surprisingly...I agree with you. Taweret and Amduat are unknowns and I don't trust them. They haven't made any huge messes so far....hell, we're alive, but the lack of information irritates me."
Bolevara looked around, as the fighter wings launched out of Thebes. The procedure took less than fifteen minutes, after which the Hangar became almost silent.
"Don't bother. We'll probably have to retreat and regroup anyways, see if we can find another opening. And I only know about Liberty. The propaganda really bloody hurts us there. For all their talk of liberty and free values and **** like that...they're just the same as all the others. Need to push something out of the system? Crank up the media machine. Same bull****, different costumes."
"They conveniently forget we saved their president, lost damn good men, lost Walker for the love of God, and then we, while they sat by and licked their wounds, dove into the Dyson's Sphere with what is akin to half of one of their Assault Carrier wings. And let's not forget some of the Bretonian Armed Forces don't like us. Rika learned that in New London." Jeremy sighs. "That's all I know. Liberty sends out more propaganda against us then the Coalition has ever sent out, and we know more about the Nomads then them. I wouldn't be surprised if Powell has ties to the Guild Core or is infected."
He plucks a soda out of the ice chest and pops it open, drinking deeply. "Thank God we at least have the Xenos on our side - it's nice to have a safe haven that isn't ridden with pirates and such." He wipes some moisture from his mouth. "Their costume closet puts most theaters to shame."
Jeremy glanced around the silenced hanger, the only sound now the footsteps of someone dragging a heavy burden. Aqua came up with the repair parts on a hover-sled, her blue-dyed hair drawn back with a rubber band into a very short ponytail. Waving hello to Santos, she began to correct the sloppy work as Jeremy relocated to a different seat.
"I wish I had learned more from the Arch Storm. But I was only connected briefly." Jeremy frowns. "We have no information from the last time the Arch was breached? No old schematics, nothing?" Jeremy gives a small grin. "How about we go acquire a transport and ram a bunch of nukes into the Arch's docking bay? Seems to be effect for most." Jeremy joked. "But in all seriousness, resistance is heavier then I would have thought since those 113th guys disappeared. Where the hell did they come from?"
"Xenos? They're more crazy than a corsair nude party. No, you don't want to know."
Bolevara actually smiled slightly, at some memory. He sobered up quickly however, his mood going tense again.
"I can live with hate. But they're ****ing themselves in the ass and laughing about the process. The nomads will grow stronger, and then they'll take advantage of Sirius' current state."
He ignored Jeremy's references to the Arch Storm, sensing it was another one of Hunter's oddities. Nodding at Aqua's sudden appearance, he continued.
"Rhienland ships. Das wilde moved shop, it seems. It's like they knew we were coming, and planned for it. Damn them to hell."
He suddenly got up and paced around, clearly agitated. After a few rounds, he snorted and turned towards Hunter.
"What the hell do you Hunters do for stress relief? I know what I do, but I have to fly in a couple of hours so that is really not recommended."
"Stress relief? Hell, each of us have our own unique way. Seth beds with his girl. Rika draws. Ellie...um...something to do with Greek Squiggles and complex polynomials. Me personally, I spend time with Rika or Aqua, depending on who is around. Friendship can be an excellent stress reliever."
Jeremy takes another long drought of soda. "Sex also works, to be frank." He winces as Aqua shoots him a glare. "Hey, I said I was being honest!"
Shaking her head, the woman scoots under the Nephthys and begins to weld a some new plates into the bottom. Jeremy turns back to Santos. "We're diverse really. Not sure if our ways would really help you."
"I thought as much. Well, when in doubt...I'll grab some softer drink. You done here, right?"
He looked Jeremy's Nephthys up and down a little, nodding in approval.
"Looks like a clean job. Grab anyone you care to, and we'll just talk for a bit. J.J should be able to mix a few decent ones."
Jake Jenson (or J.J) was the bartender-cum-pilot for the Thebes. One of them, at any rate. One of the most visited, certainly. Bolevara thought about this notion, and liked it. He waved in Hunter's general direction.
Nodding, Jeremy and Aqua corralled Seth and Alyson Hawke, the Ghost Eye's XO and Seth's current lover. Luckily they had been stopping by Thebes for new orders. The quartet headed to the bar after wasting fifteen minutes looking over the Nu. Stepping into the bar, the four took a booth and saved a spot for Santos.
"When did you and Bolevara get along?" Seth asked.
"When Tohoku decided to be a colossal pain in the ass." Jeremy replied.
That was when Aqua smacked him for his earlier comment, causing Jeremy to rub the side of his face. "Ow."
"Don't say you didn't deserve it."
"I didn't deserve it that hard."
Aqua facepalmed and ordered a vodka on the rocks.
"Actually, make that two vodkas on the rocks."
![[Image: jeremy10.png]](http://i40.servimg.com/u/f40/16/80/35/65/jeremy10.png)