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Steven and the entirety of Green Squadron heaved a heavy sigh of relief as their scimitars touched down on the flight deck of the Hymn's hangar. After what seemed like a lifetime away, and a lifetime filled with monotonous patrols, a dull environment, and almost dying from a virus, Steven was damn well about to kiss the landing pad. However, he maintained his composuer and kept himself busy through the emotional rush by inspecting the damage that had been done to his scimitar. The only time he had ever seen a fighter in worse shape was when he and Fred had to make a crash landing in a shamshir. The main body and wings were filled with dozens of dozens of hole ranging in size from the diameter of a quarter to being big enough to fit a basketball.
As Steven was distracted, Fred walked over and patted Steven on the back, almost knocking Steven over.
"Well, my friend, we made it through yet another difficult situation that would have surely broken the will of any other squad, but not us! Not good ol' Green Squadron!" Fred began to cheer loudly.
"You always say that, Fred. Besides what about the rest of the squadrons who were out there with us? They didn't break," Steven replied as he regained his balance.
Fred reached out and pulled Steven into a headlock. "Ah, but those poor sods did not have OUR fearless leader! They didn't have you Stevie-boy! You who have overcome hardship and overcoming emotional striff like yours! You who carried my unconcious a** on your BACK through an enemy infested jungle on an alien planet! You who...!" Fred cheered jovially before Steven cut in.
"Calm down there, Fred, and what have I told you about calling me Stevie?" Steven asked with an ear-to-ear grin.
"Hold on there, Captain, I ain't done yet," Fred replied, then he started his cheering again, "You who recovered from a life-threatening illness that woulda killed a lesser man, and then flying in a victorious campaign not a half hour after regaining conciousness! Hell, you were even flying better than half the sods on this ship not a half hour BEFORE conking out!"
"Fred, I'm pretty sure those 'sods' can all hear you," Steven remarked as he started to laugh as well.
"Let them hear! I am just praising the man who has saved my life more times than my alcohol-pickled brain can remember! The Saints as my witness, as soon as all of this mess has blown over and I go to get married, you'd better be my ******** Best Mate!" Fred cheered even louder.
"Hey Fred, I'll tell ya what. Pipe down and I'll have a drink with you to celebrate. Deal?" Steven said through his own laughter.
"It had better be an alcoholic one this time! Coffee don't count!" Fred continued.
"Yup, an alcoholic one!" Steven said, now getting into Fred contagious cheering.
"Then you have got yourself a bloody deal!" Fred almost shouted.
"Okay, we get it, Fred, you have a man-crush on the Captain," Private Thomas, Green Nine, called out from off to the side, "Now stop shouting, you're embarassing us."
"Man-crush?! That is a damned understatement! He's my hero!" Fred boomed, his Irish accent coming full circle. The remainder of the squadron joined in on the laughing.
"Now, where is that lady pilot friend person of yours? I want to meet the woman who courted the Captain," Fred said, now at a regular talking pitch, as he let got of Steven.
"Rhiannon? She is from that other ship that came in for reinforcements. It might be a while before you get to meet her," Steven replied.
"You anxious about seeing her after such a long time, Sir?" Lance Corporal Dan, Green Seven, asked.
"Eh, she is probably some average countryside-girl," Private Aaron, Green Eleven, said sardonically.
"Hey, mind your tongue, Richards. This is the Captain we're talking about," Private Sean, Green Twelve, cut in.
"And besides, as Sean said, this is the Captain we are talking about. He was, like, validictorian at one of the most prestigious naval schools in the Milky Way. He probably has wicked high standards, so she is probably, like, a supermodel or something," Private Martinez, Green Ten, added.
"Don't be stupid, Pablo, this is war. Everybody knows that there are no supermodels in a warzone. It would distract the soldiers and everything," Aaron retaliated.
"She's a pilot, stupido. She sits in a cockpit and wears a flightsuit and helmet. How would that distract during combat?" Pablo came back with his own retaliation.
"Green Squadron! Zip-it!" Steven bellowed, finally feeling the need to break up the bickering, "If the opprotunity even comes up, I will be sure to introduce you to her. Until then, shut up! And Aaron, you'd be surprised at just how wrong you are."
After waiting a few moment to make sure everyone was silent, Steven continued.
"Now get about to checking your fighters, then you're free to go."

Aaron was caught completely off guard by Arcadia. He jolted back a little as a mortified expression covered his face. "Uh, well, Arcadia. When I, uh, said that there wasn't any supermodels on the battlefield I, um, didn't mean that, uh," Aaron stammered as he tried to explain himself.
"Hey Aaron, I think you're gonna need some surgury! I ain't never seen anyone stick their foot THAT far in their mouth!" Sean called out from off to the side. This caused several of the other men around Aaron to also begin laughing.
"Senora Arcadia! I think you could be a supermodel!" Pablo said eagerly.
"cough, Suck up, cough" Private Rob, Green Eight, said off to the side.

"That's right!" Pablo boasted as he puffed out his chest in a show of dominance, "Pretty impressive, huh?" The few pilots of Green Squadron who were close to began laughing anew, and Steven, who was still off to the side with Fred, was very happy to see his squad getting along.

"Doesn't our squad just make ya think of a big, happy family," Fred asked as he looked on with his Captain.
"I was going to suggest a support group, or better yet a high school sports team," Steven added sardonically.
"So, are you anxious to see Rhiannon again, Sir?" said Fred.
"More excited than anxious, I guess," Steven said, his tone getting very flat and nonchalant, "I haven't seen her in years, and I am more just wondering what's going to come of it. I mean, we left on good terms, so the chance of us getting back together is always there. But the reason we broke up in the first place was because we were stationed far away from each other, and as far as I know, things haven't changed."
"Didn't you have a thing for Miss Langdon though?" Dan asked as he suddenly appeared right next to Steven. This caused Steven to jump a little bit.
"I thought I told you to stop sneaking around like that, Dan," Steven said as he straightened himself out, "And no, there isn't anything there, as far as I can tell. And besides, I am her CO, I can't fraternize."
"Isn't Command's offer still good for you to transfer over and become an Officer on the bridge? You could always do that and the rules would be much less strict on the relationship," Dan suggested.
"Become an Officer on the bridge? You trying to get rid of me or something?" Steven gave a bewildered look.
"Bwahaha! Yes, my plans to move up from third-in-command up to second-in-command will soon be set into motion," Dan said with a wonderful impression of an evil scientist.
"Very funny. Anyways, I wouldn't make it on the bridge, it's to high stress for me, nor would I be able to fly a fighter anymore. Plus I hate having to wear those stuffy uniforms, I had my fill of those back at the Academy," Steven said.
"Oh well, at least that means she is still up for grabs, I would hate to have to compete with you, Sir. Wish me luck then," Dan said as he mimicked the casual, cross-armed, distant stare pose of Steven and Fred.
"Don't get yur balls chopped off, Danno," Fred said with a smile.
"Thanks, Fred," Dan replied.
"No problem, buddy," Fred said back.
Steven, choosing to stay silent for now, was thinking to himself about what he would say the next time he saw Rhiannon.

CHAPTER 9: Seperated at Birth

(Note: This chapter is for the Marines ONLY. I hope this chapter to last no more than a month and a Half, and every proceeding chapter to last around a Month or less. This requires a fast pace.)

Two months after the Second battle of Saratar, The Hymn was finally completed. The crews of the sister ships, battle Hymn of the Republic, and Endeavour, Were able to mingle for this time, allowing the two crews to become great friends, and growing a bond that linked two battlegroups together more tightly than most units would have been, the cameradery of being on the two mightiest ships in the Terran navy, mixed with no small amount of pride and mild rivalry, was a sight to see, boosting Morale higher than it had been since the launch of the Hymn herself.

As things would Happen, The Ottyo that had been discovered by the Hymn's crew was able to contact his superiors, and a meeting had been arranged, at some seemingly random coordnates in the middle of an empty void of space, between several star systems, but nowhere near a sun.

******

Evelyn stood on the Bridge, the Ottyo representative next to her. The two could very easily watch the strange patterns formed by Fold travel, as observed by the Hymn's sensors, displayed on the Viewscreens. The Ottyo's usual escort, the intelligence officer known as Cibo Malinowsky, was nowhere to be found, as, by request of the lizard-like Mammalian bird-man-thing, He had been allowed to tag along with a squad of Marines, and she was assigned to make arrangements with the leaders of this group.

"So, Yotruyan. Do you know what it is that we are heading towards? Terrans have no information of what is at these coordinates, but I have a hunch that something important is there." The Gynoid saidAmicably to the Alien creature.

******

"So you're telling me that that weird lizard thing we found on Perennia is going to be coming with us?" Lieutenant Kai Nakamura asked Cibo, a bewlidered look on his face. "I mean, I know we were the ones that found him but, WHY? It's hard enough to fight effectively without something to distract us, and you say you're coming along too? Sometimes I just don't understand High Command..."

The blonde man grumbled, scruffling with his recently-cut hair. No longer nearly to his shoulders, the Captain had opted for a trim, and the stylist had been nice enough to remove the bangs which normally hid the now visible scar across the tall Terran's eye. He seemed to be somewhat annoyed, but knew there was nothing he could do about it and tried to get used to the idea.

"Well, We shall see in about... three minutes, when we arrive at the coordinates." Evelyn returned, calmly, smiling at the creature. "Perhaps they will also give us a better idea of what to feed you, an undernourished representative does not really look too kindly on the UTR. You really should have been more vocal about needing a special diet." the Ship's avatar added, showing some concern for the strange creature, who was her Guest. "Perhaps I should tell you where your escort is, so you may join her again?" she offered.

******

"Just make sure that he knows what he's doing and stays out of our way. I don't mind him helping, but we're a trained unit that's practiced together, and suddenly adding another member of a different species and his intel Entourage could be distractive, if not disastrous." Kai seemed unabated by Cibo's words, and continued to seem put-off.

"Although I don't really have much choice, I want my Squad's input. on this." The Tall Marine turned from the Cibo and towards CIU 215, getting their attention and asking them "Hey, what do you guys think of Command adding the new Alien dude to our squad?"

Yotruyan gave a chirpy "Chirroo." much like what a small finch would. The slight grin got a little larger. "Look bad? Oh no. It's a common enough occurrence with soldiers such as myself. There was nothing you could have done, even if I were to eat proper food." he spoke, claw pointing towards his armored chest. Over the black skeleton was an XXL Terran chest plate, painted to resemble the rest of the skeletal suit. From shoulder to hip was a bandoleer holding the cells for the Sugar, it being slung over his back alongside the MCR. "After regrowing two thirds of my intestinal track, the absorptive qualities of the lining began to ebb away. It is only a temporary measure, until soldiers such as myself get them restored or replaced. As for Cibo..."

Yotruyan looked up in thought and shuffled through the many different sensors and monitoring devices. Since coming aboard the Hymn, he had been getting more and more proficient in net-surfing as well, even though he was not authorized by his own government. 'And Evelyn may do so at a much faster pace than my own. Plus, she most likely used these to come to a conclusion on my condition. Very astute. She's special.' There. She was talking to Lieutenant Kai, one of the Terrans who found him. "I hope you don't mind me in 'here' one last time. Chances are, my superiors are going to throw a fit after I tell them I've been diving into a non-organic network without authorization. At the least, I'm taking precautions, unlike those poor, poor fools. Ah. There she is. I'm glad she is talking with someone. She worries me from time to time, but seems to be in a better mood as of late." On his way 'out' he gave Evelyn the feeling of a feather stroking her shoulder, as though he brushed by her on the way out. He was getting better. "Thank you, and farewell, mistress." He folded up the feathers on his head, and donned the smooth skull helmet. It sealed, and black feathers silently unfurled from the back in place of his natural ones, like dark flower petals unfurling. The two largest ones stood up and briefly formed a 'V' for victory.

****

"No offense Lieutenant, sir, but last time, he really, really hogged most of the Drath attention." 'Damned attention whore.' "And, do not make me remind you, he skinned a Moonie." She gave the blond officer a cheery smile. "I think he's going to do it again, and I don't think the Draths will be looking at little me or little you when he's standing on top of a cliff with a head and spine in his hand, roaring. Hmm. I think it's about time he did th...Ahh-Choo!" Cibo turned an sneezed away from Kai, rubbing her nose to get rid of the irritatingly ticklish sensation. Her icy blue eyes locked with Kai's again with a deadly glare. She spoke happily, "Geeze. Someone must be talking about me!" Her expression changed suddenly back into the previous happy-go-lucky from before; she went on, speaking cheerfully of the morbid and gory details of why Killy wouldn't be a problem.

As per usual, Lieutenant Hendlow was standing on the side of the room opposite CIU 215's commanding officer, and smiling. There were going to be a couple new faces. They had the medic who'd joined up shortly after the last battle, Marcellus; then this intel officer, Malinowsky, and the... Ottyo? Sounded right in his head, but Garrett was wishing he could remember a name.

"Lighten up, Lieutenant. You've seen what that beast of a soldier can do. He skins them alive on the battlefield. Pretty ******** sick, if you ask me, but he seems intent on putting none but Drathonians under the knife. With that sort of obsession, I don't imagine we'll have anything to worry about. His irrepressible desire to murder every single lizard in the most horrible fashion possible will keep 'im true. Hell, he might even do most of the work for us. I'm with Sehene on this: he's an asset, not a liability.

"In all honesty, the only thing I'm worried about is the possibility of recurring nightmares from watching him do his thing." His arms were folded over his chest the entire time, and as he said this he rolled his shoulders, effectively hiding a slight shudder. To others it probably looked like a slightly unusual shrug; nothing really noteworthy.

In another time and place, Arcadia grinned, glad Pablo hadn't balked in the face of an inquisitive woman. He stood by what he said. That much she could appreciate. "And for stalwart defense against great pressure, the Terran Navy would like to award you with this." She grabbed Pablo by the chin to tilt it aside and leaned forward to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

And then she was off to take that shower she so desperately needed without word. She liked to keep the boys guessing, and they'd definitely be up in arms over what she'd just done, but to her it meant nothing more than another silly ploy. There was only one man that she was even slightly interested in, but he was uninterested and pursuing a past successful relation. Thus was the love life of a Pilot on the Hymn. In the meantime, she contemplated the ironies of the statement "attempting to rekindle a past successful relationship."

A month after that time and place, Arcadia found herself in the mess, nursing a cup of coffee in one hand and holding up a LitTablet in the other. She was currently reading Foundation, an age-old sci-fi piece by the Grand Master himself: Isaac Asimov. Things were much quieter, and had given her the time for rest and relaxation she desired. However, a month of inactivity on the Hymn was a bit much for her. She was considering going for a swim soon, to relieve some pent up tension in her muscles.