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Post by flippmoke on Jun 18, 2010 19:16:23 GMT -5
The mood aboard the Orange Base had been fairly grim as of late and despite the fact that most of it was caused by the fact that they had one of their own in prison which was clearly the fault of Nigel Ferdinand, the mood was affecting him as well. The grim realization that he might just becoming like his mother was dreading Nigel as well, which caused him to become more reclusive spending more time as of late in his room. It just so happened to be just the situation that 2nd Lieutenant Maximilian Reaves was born to use to his advantage. A light rap was heard on Nigel's door in the early hours of the morning that somewhat caught Nigel off guard. He was very used to waking at an early hour and lived off a vigilant amount of coffee, but it was very rare when someone disrupted him at this hour. "Come in," remarked Nigel as he glanced up for a moment to the door while he read the news reports of the day on his computer. Max opened the door quickly after slipping into the room as if he was to trying to avoid someone and quickly made his way to a chair that sat opposite of Nigel, completely forgetting to salute or show any formality of the sort. "Good morning Lieutenant Reaves," commented Nigel with out so much as looking up from the article he was reading. "Sir, I have some news that you will be excited to hear," said Max as a grin slipped across his face. "Oh," muttered Nigel as he continued to read. "It appears your boy, Aurem finally decided to use that ring you gave him," said Max with an almost too chirping tone. "Well god damn it, it was about time that he did that!" commented Nigel suddenly paying attention to what Max was saying, as if he had just heard his own son was to be engaged. "About time my boy finally got the balls to get engaged." "Well sir, they aren't exactly engaged. They already got married," said Max as even he couldn't hold back his own joy about how this was going. "Holy shit, I didn't think the boy had it in him. He totally caught me off guard there," said Nigel as he couldn't help but smile as he rose out of his chair. "Looks like I have a party to plan," said Nigel as he immediately head for the door of the room. "Thank you Reaves, I must get to work on this right away." Nigel shut the door behind him and strode down the hallway with a smile on his face as he left Reaves in the room. "God damn, I didn't even have to suggest that to him," said Max as he sat in the room very content with his work. ~ It didn't take long for Nigel to tell almost everyone on board the ship about the party that was being planned this afternoon in the hanger, and the cook on board was already making a white sheet cake in preparation for the 'wedding' reception that was to take place in the cafeteria just after lunch. Nigel quickly took to getting the aid of Kyle Slater who he had become to respect very much more as of late. He was quickly being viewed much like Aurem was to Nigel as if he was his own son. "A huge fucking banner, that is what we need can you figure out how we can get that?" said Nigel as he sat in the cafeteria on the other side of Kyle Slater. |
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Threid
Full Member
Tachiagare, GANDAMU!
Posts: 385
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Post by Threid on Jun 18, 2010 20:11:29 GMT -5
"A huge fucking banner? I can handle that." Once upon a time, Kyle would have honestly thought he meant a huge banner featuring copulating individuals, but he knew better now. Still, he frowned as he contemplated how a large banner could be constructed out of the materials they had on hand. Then, a simple idea came to him. The one thing that there was too much of in the military was paperwork. Surely, he could get enough papers together to patch together a large banner. Military-grade adhesive, staples, leftover paint from Orange Base, and creative contributions from Karol and Kelly should be able to produce something decent enough for the occasion. Nigel's news of "Aurieta's" engagement had puzzled him, at first. Aurem didn't seem like the kind of guy who would rush things, and word was that they had skipped engagement altogether? Perhaps the whole thing was Arieta's doing? She was more rash than Aurem, but he still gave her credit for being a generally-sensible person, and this was not a sensible course of action, as far as Kyle was concerned. At least, not unless the couple was already present. Kyle wasn't sure what military protocol called for in that type of situation, but it couldn't be an impromptu wedding, could it? The whole thing gave off a bad odor, despite the happiness of the occasion. Even if there was nothing wrong, there would be questions hanging over everyone's heads as they attended the party, and with Aurem's reticence and Arieta's discretion, he doubted he'd be getting answers any time soon. Off in a corner, Lt. Gerard was muttering to himself about protocol while he threw mess-hall tablecloths over a few tables that had been assembled. The layers of protocol that The Beam Team had been heaping on had to be getting to the man by now. Gerard certainly looked agitated as he flicked his wrists to straighten a tablecloth. Karol came up to the table, took a quick look, and said something discretely to Lt. Gerard before walking over to where Kyle stood. "I told him that the tablecloths had to hang over the sides of the table equally on all the sides, or at least on opposite sides. Just made up a section for it in the protocol. I think he's past looking them up now." Kyle stared as Lt. Gerard continued muttering, while meticulously adjusting the tablecloths he had already set. He hoped they weren't taking it too far. Life in the military was too serious to dilute with too much fun and games; it could get people killed. It often did. "Just wait until he starts putting silverware on those tables. It's going to be great!" Karol obviously had no such reservations. "We need a banner. Could you and Kelly make one out of some scratch paper, adhesive, staples and the leftover Orange Base paint?" "Sure. We'll get started right away." He trotted over to the corner where Kelly was making small origami centerpieces for the tables. He yelled over his shoulder as he retreated, "By the way, have you thought of a wedding gift for the happy couple? I know we're on a military vessel, and there's not really any time to buy anything, but something is better than nothing, right?" A gift. Kyle hadn't thought of that. He took stock of his possessions: 2 sets of civilian clothing, writing instruments and paper, a computer, some spare electronics, and a few bits of broken mobile suit that he hadn't been able to salvage for mobile suit repairs. He hoped he was creative. If not, it would be difficult to make something suitable for a freshly-married couple. He idly wondered what the other members of The Beam Team would be getting. ~ Kelly responded to Karol's query regarding a gift, a devious smile on her face. "When I signed up to serve aboard a Federation ship, I thought I would be pretty lonely, so I picked up some... things before joining, just in case." She blushed, and continued, "But since I met you, I never opened most of them. I don't know if Arieta's into that sort of thing, but even if she isn't, it would be funny, don't you think?" Karol's face reddened too. He had just planned on giving the couple a bottle of some nice wine that he had been saving for some occasion. It wasn't too nice, and it wasn't too weird. It was perfectly traditional. He wondered what everyone else on Orange Base would give Aurieta. There would be a few normal wedding gifts like his, but he guessed that the majority of them would be thrown-together and weird, like Kelly's. "I think it'll work. Now, Kyle wants us to make a banner..." |
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Post by flippmoke on Jun 18, 2010 21:01:31 GMT -5
Nigel smiled at the talk of gifts and could tell right away that Kyle had no idea what sort of gift he was going to be giving to Aurem and Arieta on this sort of occasion. It was written all over his face and Nigel quickly thought of something he could do to help them, it was the least he could do for Kyle as he had been so helpful for Nigel in gathering people to make this reception into something special in very short order. "You don't have a gift for them do you?" said Nigel as he sat up from his chair. "Not really. I was hoping I could cook something up with some things I have laying around, but I haven't had any good ideas yet." Kyle looked down at the ground as he thought. "I have a paper on the theoretical behavior of Minovsky particles in plasma that I haven't published. Maybe I could dedicate it to them? Is that a meaningful wedding gift?" Nigel couldn't help but let out a good laugh at that response and could tell that his friend was in need of some help. "Follow me," said Nigel as he motioned Kyle out of the room and they began to walk down the room towards his quarters. "You see wedding gifts are all about the women in the end, something that your mother would find special is typically a good idea," said Nigel as they both walked down the hallway towards Nigel's quarters. "Something my mother would find special... Maybe I could write them a letter? Make a heart-shaped cluster of electronics that can sense your heart rate?" Suddenly, Kyle realized that they were heading toward's Lt. Ferdinand's quarters. "Where are we going? I've still got to help Karol and Kelly with that banner, and synthesize my gift." Nigel couldn't help but smile at Kyle as he thought it was obvious why they were headed down the hall. "We are headed to my room and don't worry about the banner they can take care of it. I have something you can give them as a gift so don't worry," said Nigel as he motioned at the door that was not far ahead of them now. Kyle hadn't pegged Lt. Ferdinand for the thoughtful, generous type. That his commander would help out one of his underlings with something as small as a wedding gift surprised him. It just drove home how people in the military were real people. There were probably people in Zeon who were doing the exact same thing. "Thanks," was all he could manage. Nigel led them into the room and quickly began to shuffle through his locker in the room as he began to speak to Kyle, "Now don't tell anyone that this is from me because I don't want everyone coming to me for gifts, but I think that this would do just perfectly for this sort of situation." Finally Nigel found what he was looking for, a notebook with stamped gold leafing on the front of it making out the phrase 'Happily Ever After.' It was something that Nigel had originally been given to him in Europe once news of his marriage had leaked out to the European nobles. He had originally planned to write his memoirs during this war, but it was too hellish for him to ever ink so it had remained empty and he thought it was right to give it up now. "This should do just fine," said Nigel as he handed Kyle the gift. The fancy writing book looked like something his mother might have liked. More likely, she would have scolded her father for wasting money on such a senseless thing, and then gone away by herself to admire it, and perhaps write a few mundane things in it before forgetting she owned it or placing it up as a display piece. Still, it was very thoughtful of Lt. Ferdinand to help him with a gift. Arieta came from a rich family; surely she would appreciate something so nice. "Thanks," he said again. ~ Now that gifts were sorted out, Nigel only had to put the final touches for this event. Max had already agreed to find a reason for Aurem and Arieta to come to the room in a few minutes, so Nigel had to hurry. The cake finally came and the cook was putting a heart on it in icing. The gifts table was already setup in the corner of the room and a small stack of a variety of gifts was waiting in the corner. Most everyone had managed to find their way into a nicer set of clothing, but overall it wasn't much of a party in the traditional sense, but the mood of everyone on board had definitely changed. Even Thorvald had been ordered released from his cell to make it to the party, who was likely already drunk. Nigel had confiscated all of Thorvald's alcohol stash upon his jailing and it was being served for everyone today at the reception. Nigel felt quite smug about it as "Hang that banner a little higher," said Nigel to Kelly as he motioned towards the ceiling a little more. "I really want them to see it when they walk into the room." It was all going as Nigel had hoped and the up beat manner of the entire crew made him feel very accomplished. He felt he really had to thank Lt. Reaves once he found him during the reception to thank him for letting him know this was going on. "Quiet everyone they are on their way," said Kyle Webb as he jogged slowly back to his position as the DJ for the party. Everyone shuffled quickly into position as they waited until the couple arrived. "CONGRATULATIONS!" screamed everyone as Aurem and Arieta turned the corner escorted by Lt. Reaves. "I am so glad you used that ring I gave you Aurem!" announced Nigel so proud of Aurem. (Special thanks to Threid for writing his character parts of this post in the chat prior to my posting as it made this section much easier to read and write) |
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Post by dj1678 on Jun 18, 2010 21:42:03 GMT -5
For most of the day, Max had been 'supervising' Aurem and Arieta making detailed checks and repairs of their mobile suits. Supervising in this case, meant making sure that they did absolutely nothing else, and never went or talked to anyone else without an escort. The escort being Max. Add in the fact that there seemed to be a strangely cheery atmosphere brewing and most of the mechanics that normally did these sort of checks missing lead Aurem to believe something strange was happening. Arieta's occasional confused glances in his direction told Aurem that she thought similarly. Max looked like he was scheming again. Nothing new.
Somewhere in the afternoon, Max announced that their checks were complete and that they should join him for a 'debriefing on their progress.' Pieces were all over the hangar and their mobile suits were in no way complete. Max didn't care. He snapped his fingers and a couple of mechanics came out of their hiding places and began feverishly putting their mobile suits back in order.
As they walked down the hallways toward some of the larger rooms, and in no way toward any of the smaller rooms that would be used for briefings, Arieta finally voiced her concerns.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"Debriefings." He responded over his shoulder, continuing to lead them in obviously the wrong direction.
"You honestly expect us to believe that? The briefing rooms are that way." She pointed off behind her to demonstrate her point.
"Would you believe a scheme that I need your help with then?"
"Yes!" The two said together, their tones making it perfectly clear that they already knew that.
Max didn't acknowledge them, but instead kept leading, eventually opening the doors to a large room.
"CONGRATULATIONS!" screamed everyone as Aurem and Arieta turned the corner escorted by Max.
"I am so glad you used that ring I gave you Aurem!" announced Nigel.
Aurem's face immediately went pale with understanding at Nigel's comment. Arieta just looked stunned and confused. Thinking faster than he ever had in his life during a social situation, Aurem grabbed Arieta by the arm and quickly pulled her just out of the room, shouting over his shoulder, "Sorry sir! The shock seems to have gotten to her, just give me a moment to get her back to her usual self and we'll be back to celebrate with you."
Out in the hall Arieta had begun to overcome some of her shock, but still looked really confused.
"Ring?" She held up her hand and looked at the promise ring on her finger that Aurem had given her a long time ago. "Lieutenant Ferdinand gave you this? I didn't know you knew him that long ago. Another memory?"
"Erm, no. I believe he actually means this ring." Aurem took the ring from the chain around his neck and gave it to her. Hopefully no one had noticed it missing earlier. "It's not exactly how I wanted it to happen, but I did want to give you that. Just play along with them for now and we can make it official later."
"You aren't going to ask me?" Arieta asked playfully, the light of understanding finally showing in her eyes.
"We both know the question and the answer already... You're going to make me say it anyway aren't you?"
Arieta nodded.
"Willyoumarryme?" Aurem said quickly, obviously a little embarrassed.
A voice from the room called out the door, "Hey you two, no making out in the halls without permission! We have a party in here that needs our two guests of honor!" The voice sounded suspiciously like Max with a mouthful of food already.
"Yep! Now let's go enjoy the party!" Arieta said putting the ring on her finger and dragging Aurem back into the room.
"Cheater..." Aurem said with relief under his breath so that only Arieta could hear.
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Post by flippmoke on Jun 19, 2010 13:20:51 GMT -5
The entire party went a little quiet when Aurem and Arieta fled out of the cafeteria and everyone was a bit confused, but once they entered again a huge roar was heard through out the room.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, we give you the first dance of Mr. And Mrs. Senaiha," announced Kyle Webb as he turned on a love so and the lights dimmed except a few lights over what was a make shift dance floor.
A few cheers followed as they waited for the couple to make it to the dance floor, as Max shook Nigel's hand and said, "Very nice party you put together."
"Thanks," said Nigel with a huge grin on his face quite happy how everything was going.
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Threid
Full Member
Tachiagare, GANDAMU!
Posts: 385
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Post by Threid on Jun 24, 2010 1:07:34 GMT -5
As Kyle suspected, Aurem and Arieta were surprised by their impromptu party. Karol and Kelly were looking on with satisfaction, and Gerard was standing with his arms crossed, and a fatherly-type grin on his face. Kyle just smiled, taking in the moment. It had been a while since he'd smiled, simply because he was happy. He'd been amused plenty since joining the 42nd, but rarely happy.
The emotion was unfamiliar to Kyle as of late, and therefore worthy of analysis. Was he happy because Aurem and Arieta were happy? Was he happy simply because everyone in the large room was also happy? Certainly, that was part of it. People tended to absorb the emotion of those around them, whether they meant to or not - or so Kyle had read; he certainly hadn't felt very frustrated while Gerard floundered under a mountain of procotol, but those were special circumstances, he supposed.
He had reasons to be happy. Gerard was giving a bit of ground where protocol was concerned, his friends were alive, two of them were getting married, and Nora's most recent letter had stated that she was safe in a Federation lab in Asia, far from the front lines. He was making progress as a pilot, and as a person - those were both reasons to be happy, certainly. He was better with people now than he had ever been before, thanks mostly to the odd examples of humanity that The 42nd had placed around him.
All of those were good reasons to be happy, but certainly the happiness of Aurem and Arieta contributed most significantly to his feelings. He'd known the two for a while, and as far as he and most of the crew was concerned, it was about time something like this happened. The two had been practically engaged for months already, and the sudden wedding was surprising, but not shocking.
He could forgive the untimeliness of the celebration. War was never a good time for marriage, but he supposed it was better than never marrying at all - which is what would happen if one of them died. Zeon's TAF was pouring everything they had onto Jaburo, like a petulant child pouring water on an overflowing anthill. Certainly, Jaburo had the potential to shake his happiness. The joy he felt now at Aurieta's marriage would only magnify the grief if one of them died. It was the same with his teammates - the closer he got to them, the more deeply he would feel their deaths. Still, there was comfort in the fact that those who were close to each other often took great pains to defend each other. Companionship and teamwork often went hand-in-hand, and teamwork played an important part in war.
He shook his head softly, replacing the pensive frown on his face with the smile he had worn before. Jaburo had already been discussed - to death, he thought. For now, he would concentrate on the party, on his teammates, and on the happy couple. There would be time to think at-length later, when he wasn't celebrating the marriage of two of his friends.
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