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Post by aleksei on May 9, 2010 16:16:38 GMT -5
I love you still, Nacho wrote on a clean sheet of paper. He underlined love and added a heart above the i in still, then he erased the entire phrase all together. It pained him to let his emotions overwhelm his senses, especially as he sat in the captain's seat aboard The Factory with his crew before him. There was not much else to do, but wait for the Tianem Fleet to react, so Nacho took to writing a letter to his lover back on Earth who he had not seen in four months. Richard,
It's been a long time since we last saw each other in Belfast. How are things? Is your mother well? Is therapy helping?
I thought it would be best for me to write to you after our fallout...we didn't end on the best of terms. I know I cannot turn back time, and make up for all the terrible things I said and did, but I want you to know that I still care about you and want to see you after this war is over. I want you to wait for me to come home.
Can we talk when I dock?
Love always,
N.Q.Nacho turned the sheet over and wrote at the top, A view from space..., and drew the fleet that he saw from the bridge hovering in a sea of nothing. 
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Post by aleksei on May 10, 2010 11:39:46 GMT -5
"There's too much of nothing on this," Nacho pointed out to Felipe, the communications officer on deck. Captain Quintal acknowledged that the boy was skilled in gathering information, but his daily reports were too thorough for Nacho to make sense of anything.
"Captain?" Felipe appeared insulted.
"Summary please?" asked Nacho.
As he began to explain, he noticed the Captain carefully folding the report like a piece of origami. Felipe resisted slandering him.
"Captain, we have received confirmation from BOLLOCKS - we will be moving soon. Also, the three GMs and pilots we requested shall be arriving shortly."
With his thumb and index finger, Nacho straightened his moustache and stood up from his chair, "Thank you, boy. Now I must retire. Please behave out here."
Not seconds after the Captain exited did Felipe pick up what use to be his folded report and yell at his crew mates, "I spent all day on this report. It's as if he fucking shits sculpture everywhere he goes!"
Connor, the helmsman, retorted back, "That's the Captain you're talking about, so shut your mouth and get back to work."
"No, this is bullshit," replied Felipe, "Why on Earth did the Supes choose some bohemian jackass to captain a top-of-the-line battleship like this? This must be some big joke."
"You have no clue about what you are talking about, Felipe," continued Connor.
"Yeah?" the communications officer wanted to be proven wrong.
"Captain Quintal was a visionary. He knew all of this was going to happen - the war, deaths and colony drop - and he tried to warn us. Before enrolling in Belfast, he was traveling all of Earth Sphere creating works that showed us how quickly the the universe was militarizing. You remember about seven years ago when the Times was littered with pictures of diamond-encrusted Zeek helmets and rifles covered with pockadots? Yeah, that was him telling us-"
Felipe interrupted, "I don't care how much of a Warhol he is...how does that make him fit for this job?"
Connor smirked, "Idiot, he lived among the Zeeks before the war. He knows the enemy better than any of us or the Supes."
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Post by aleksei on May 19, 2010 18:21:15 GMT -5
The Factory hummed as it cruised into Side 5 territory with the rest of the damaged BOLLOCKS fleet. The bridge's silence amplified the sound of every crackle and slight blast; the Fuji class battleship suffered tremendously during its last engagement with the ZEF. Occasionally, Felipe, the communications officer, interrupted to deliver incoming reports from the other captains that managed to save their ships. He wanted to blame Nacho for all of this, but found it hard it to do so. Indeed, the captain did everything he could possibly to escape the trap laid out by the enemy. Much like Felipe, Nacho was just following orders.
On the other side of the bridge sat Jonas Garvey, a military expert sent from Luna II to advise the novice, ship captain. It frustrated him to see such a desperate situation. He did not know Nacho's history particularly well, but he cared little. What mattered was surely the here and now.
Suddenly, Jonas' eyes darted at the captain and said, "Quintal, you are a damn fool."
"Excuse me?" responded Nacho who was shocked to hear the man speak. He had said nothing until now.
"Why are you following such a reckless fleet?" Jonas asked as he folded his hands together.
"Orders, sir." Nacho knew he outranked Jonas, but military adviser was definitely older and wiser, so he held his tongue.
"These people have giant targets on their backs. It is as if you are asking for this ship to be blown up," Jonas raised his voice.
"What do you recommend, Mr. Garvey?" The captain obliged as Jonas humiliated him in front of his own crew.
Jonas licked his own lips and said, "Quintal, you have earned a level of autonomy that gives you the right to to choose or not choose to perform orders, given that others are sending you -- or rather, us -- to an early grave."
"What are you saying, Mr. Garvey?"
"I am suggesting that we abandon this fleet as soon as we repair. We have much more to give than these suicide missions," rephrased Jonas.
Felipe could not help but listen in on this exchange, scared by the prospect of leaving the one thing that saved them from annihilation days earlier. They were spared from suffering casualties and adventure was certainly on everyone's mind, but he wondered how long it would be before The Factory's luck ran out.
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