*ACTION* A call to arms

Jay stormed into the briefing room, managing a Doctor Keto-esque slam of the door as he did so.

He was visibly trembling, he was totally overrun with emotion inside, anger, and sadness in equal measure and both were threatening to overwhelm him at any moment, shattering what little composure he had left.

Losing his wife was bad enough, losing his unborn child worse still but to also lose his sister in the same day was more than most people could handle and Jay was struggling to contain his emotion.

He knew he had to try to put on a brave face, yes, he'd suffered a huge personal loss today, but so had most members of the crew. He was their leader, and they were looking to him to steer them through this.

He realised that he had had been stood at the head of the briefing table, his fists clenched, pressing into the wood and his head lowered now for a full five minutes and was yet to say anything, so he reluctantly lifted his head, and gazed around at his trusted crew with bloodshot eyes.

HE spoke, his voice cracking as he did so.

"As you are all no doubt aware, we have been the target of a major Hymenoptera attack."

He paused as he stood to full height. "Doctor Keto has told me that we have had over 300 casualties, with another 500 injured, many seriously. The ship is seriously damaged, but thankfully, the wormhole drive is still operational so we're not dead in the water"

"I'm sure most you will have heard Queen Brittanny's speech, rallying her people to stand up and fight, and that is exactly what I'm here to ask you. The Space Corp have decided that we are to take no action, no retaliation whatsoever for fear of a war".

There were murmerings around the room, Jay couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Well I say TO SMEG WITH THAT! As always, the Hymenoptera have cast the first stone, and as always, the Space Corp want to fall back. They've destroyed our worlds, killed our families, our friends, and we've fallen back. They are relentless, and will not stop until every single of one of us is dead, the line has to be drawn somewhere and I'm drawing it here.

"What I am going to ask of you all is to join me, in striking the Hymenoptera in the heart of their hive, we know where they're homeworld is, we visited a few years ago before the anti-noptera crisis; I intend to mobilise everything we've got against them but the Space Corp says no. So to hell with the Space Corp. If you decide not to join me, well I won't think any less of you and you can leave the ship, I'll take the Blue Dwarf in alone if I have to. Anyone who does join me will be disobeying direct orders from command, but I promise each of you that I'll note in my log that you were following my orders. I ask you all to consider what the hive has taken from us over the years, consider what we'll continue to lose if we allow them to go unpunished for their war-crimes. We can't allow them to get away with this anymore.

One way or another, the Blue Dwarf, along with the other attacked ships who are capable will be leaving Deep Space 69, and heading for the bug's homeworld at 0900 hours tomorrow.

So, who's with me?"

<tag - who's with Jay? If you want off the ship, now is the time to speak up!>