Idle Hands
After returning from rescuing Carville from Aberdeen, several members of the assault team were injured and had been implanted by Chryssalids. The surgery to remove the eggs was performed by Fayth in the field, but due to the advanced nature of these “evolved” Chryssalids, Fayth was compelled through an overabundance of caution (and maybe a bit of obsession), to confine the wounded to the sick bay for a few days until she could be certain they were in the clear. Dr. Louis Carbonelle eventually helped create a new medical device called the “hedgehog” which would allow for greater precision in removing Chryssalid ova from a victim, and due to the research required in designing and testing the device, Fayth’s protective compulsion seemed to have been satisfied, and she eventually released them to light duty for the remainder of their recovery time.
In the meantime, AJ was roomed up with Carville, and the two spent many an hour for a few days chatting about various subjects, and possibly even getting to know one another better. For example, AJ learned Carville can speak French! AJ fielded numerous odd discussions with Trevor (such as “who would win in a fight? Sergeant Carville or Brock?”) and was able to spend some bonding time with his boy, whose hero-worship of his father continues unabated. Carville made friends with AJ’s son Trevor, mostly by telling stories about and praising his dad. It also looked like he’d made enemies with Brock, who at one point came into their room to punch Carville and choke him out. His plan was defused by AJ, who threw a bedpan at him (empty) and Fayth, who rushed into the room and jumped on his back and threw a blood-choke on him. Where she learned that maneuver, the world may never know. When the dust settled and Brock came back around a moment later, he was a bit calmer, and was able to explain that he’d seen Fayth’s black eyes and knew the only person she’d been around the previous night was Carville. So he naturally assumed that the guy who’d just proposed to her had punched her lights out after she had risked her life to save him. Brock’s protective streak may definitely get in the way of his ability to use critical thinking skills. Fayth, through the womanly powers of guilt and shame, was able to get Brock to apologize.
Fayth had a meeting with the team and told them about Janice stepping back from her work for a time due to mental health concerns, which segued into something of a PSA for her team; with what they had been through, and with some of them being the recipients of alien cybernetic augments, she warned that the enhancements come at a price. Her best advice was for members of the team to not isolate themselves and do whatever they can to keep their bonds with family and friends strong, and for people to look out for one another; it is not just the augments that might cause concern. As a group, they are being asked to endure stress and trauma on a daily basis which can definitely have a psychological impact on anyone. Fayth also proposed a future mission plan which would involve a facility assault in Olympia, which received broad support from the team. Douglas offered to start using his drones to gather intel for any such activities.
AJ learned from his father that Trevor’s issues with the school bully continue, and the school principal has agreed to have a meeting with AJ and Naomi when he is available. AJ pressed to make sure the bully’s parents were at the meeting as well, and agreed to make the appointment in the near future.
A member of the engineering department was able to apply upgrades to the assault team’s Composite Body Armor, altering the fabric of the coverall that all the armor plates are carried in. This upgrade included the ability to shift colors from a limited palette, and apply some rudimentary camo patterns, as well as the pièce de résistance, several bits of personalized artistic flair applied to each team member’s suit.
Another incident that transpired was AJ and Fayth hearing a commotion in the hangar bay and finding Private Barnacascel beating up Stavro Niccoli, one of the techs there while Alamo scrabbled pitifully on the flight deck, attempting to clamber back onto his unsteady feet after taking a spill. Barnacascel explained that the tech had hit Alamo with a stick or something, causing the damaged drone to fall. The tech explained that Alamo had been getting in his way and interfering with his work. He had tried multiple times to get the drone to buzz off, and it wouldn’t leave him alone, so he used the expedient of a long, metal jack handle to prod the beast away, which caused it to fall; which he didn’t think was possible since it weighs seven and a half tons. Fayth naturally wanted to get all in the man’s grill, but he retorted with “why are they even here? Can’t we find someplace else to keep them where they aren’t in the way?” AJ and Fayth opted to review the tale of the tape, which seemed to make the tech nervous. What Fayth was able to find was that the tech had rather minimized his fault in the whole ordeal, and that Barnacascel had jumped into the fray and attacked Stavro in an effort to keep Thunder at bay. He suspected that if he had not done this, Thunder might have done something much worse in defense of his brother. In light of this, neither AJ or Fayth wanted to throw the book at either man, but they had to let it sink in that certain behaviors would not be tolerated or swept under the rug. Both the Ranger and the tech were assigned two weeks of scut work as punishment, and Fayth asked Dr. Halter (who works closely with the drones now to rehabilitate Alamo) to publish a memo to all base personnel advising them how to safely interact with them and how NOT to interact with them.
As everyone’s recovery drew to a close, Fayth began hearing buzz one day (no pun intended) about “haircut day.” This was nothing new; Spiers regularly had his Rangers form up in the hangar for haircuts to keep them looking presentable and had turned the whole thing into a spectacle and morale-building exercise. What was new was the tension in the air around her that particular day, but Fayth was unable to determine its cause; asking Spiers about the day’s plans revealed nothing. Eventually, she decided to let it be and tried to ignore the weird vibes she was picking up from people until Barney came rushing to her office with the dire warning that Spiers and Carville might get in a fight, and she was needed to intervene! With yet another lusty “What the Fuck?!” Fayth screamed to the hangar to discover that Spiers intended to cut off Carville’s beard as well as his hair, a proposal that Carville was not on board with. The Master Sergeant, upon seeing Fayth arrive, attempted to enlist her to his cause, and got Spiers to agree to let her be the ultimate arbiter of his beard’s fate; if she wanted it to go, he would concede without issue. But if she wanted it to stay, rebuking Spiers, the officer would have to allow Janice to fit him for a suit of armor and go out on a date with her. Carville thought he had this deal in the bag; He knew Fayth liked his beard and he knew that she would also want him to get a suit since he’d almost gotten killed in the last mission. Instead, Fayth’s curiosity trumped her loyalty, and much to the surprise of everyone, she betrayed the fundamental trust of the man who loves her. She consigned his beard to sprinkle onto the tarmac below, and allowed Spiers to shave it off him. Her reasoning was that it was only temporary, and she has always wondered what he’s hiding under that beard she likes so much (which, as it turns out were just a small collection of relatively minor scars). Carville did not take this turn of events in good grace, and onlookers may have left wondering if their relationship will survive the upcoming week or so while his beard grows back.
With their recovery complete, the members of the assault team were gathered by Lillian, where she had a mission to propose to them: a prisoner transport. She wanted to get Fauxglas out of the bunker and moved to Alien Base-02 where he would have less contact with base personnel and where Marie could use the sim to help her conduct interrogations of the clone. The team was not keen on this plan, and did not trust Lillian’s motives or reasoning. They suggested the plan of constructing an alternate containment facility for him, and finally pursuing some kind of trial where Doug could have his day in court and finally either be cleared of any wrongdoing or judged guilty and legally condemned to whatever punishment Lillian might have in mind for him. Preparations were made to contact Harlan Ruger and get that ball rolling. One way or the other, justice would soon be served.
