Inheritance (Halo Role-Play)

[Dha'ward Krayt]

Kilo Team:

Richard - Spartan-A033
Homeworld: Arcadia
Born: August 23, 2525
Entered Spartan Program: April 2532

Short Bio: Born the same year as the beginning of the Human-Covenant War some would say you were born to fight it. During the attack by the Covenant armada on Arcadia, Richard's family was evacuated but he was split from his parents when boarding a transport off world. He watched as Covenant Wraith tanks blew the transport out of the sky. he eventually ended up in an orphanage until a UNSC officer arrived and asked is he wanted revenge. At age 6 Richard wanted it. he joined the officer and 6 months later found himself on Onyx under Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose to become a Spartan. His original team was split 6 years after training completion after two Spartans were too hurt for duty and the other cracked under stress. Thus began Richard being tossed from one team to the next. He faces a similar situation on Actium.



Marcus "Hannibal"  - Spartan-A172
Homeworld: Jericho VII
Born: April 4, 2520
Entered Spartan Program: Conscripted into the Spartan-III program with Alpha Company
Ranks: Lieutenant

Short Bio: Marc was recruited as a trainee for the Spartan-III program after he was orphaned by a Rebel bombing in 2525    He began his training at Camp Currahee under Lt. Cdr.  Ambrose in 2531.  He went "active" with the rest of the Spartan-III's November of 2536.    He was Insurrection of Mamore where he was eager to get revenge on the Insurrectionist, but he was even more eager to get revenge on the Covenant who had recently glassed his homeplanet Jericho VII.   Marc was present during the The Battle of New Constantinople and along with the rest of SPARTAN-III's of Alpha Company fought well in the battle and were highly distinguished for their actions during the engagement.   He was severely injured during Operation: PROMETHEUS in which most of Alpha Company was killed.   After a two year recovery he rejoined the Human-Covenant war.  He became a decorated marksman and tactical mastermind giving him the nickname "Hannibal" after the great Carthaginian military commander and tactician during Roman times.  



Wolf "Psycho" Fox
Homeworld:Circumstance
Born: December 30 2519
Enlisted in Spartan Program: 2525
Rank: Chief Warrant Officer (grade 2)

Bio:
!!WARNING DO NOT PROCEED WITHOUT CLEARANCE!!
[spoiler]Wolf was born on Circumstance and at the age of six was abducted due to his "Qualifying Aspects" for the Spartan 3 program all thats known as to why Wolf was selected is his family line...All throughout the Spartan III program Wolf was enjoying it, he saw it as a game. Upon completion of the Spartan III program many of Wolf's teammates noticed oddities spring up in Wolf he was prone to fits of laughter even in the most dire of circumstances and fits of rage in a tranquil setting it and speaking to himself in full conversations. Though his teammates thought him crazy he was loyal to them to the end even at the risk of getting captured or shot. Eventually his team was wiped out in an unknown mission, regarding a possible dissenter in a high level potion. Upon return from the mission he was sent to a mental hospital for a short period to ensure that he remained loyal to the UNSC and for a Psych Evaluation[/spoiler]

Psych Eval:
!!WARNING DO NOT PROCEED WITHOUT CLEARANCE!!
[spoiler]Dr. Ross:This guy....he is 100% crazy he can't handle not having a weapon in hand...He can't relax for long and if there is nothing to do he will "entertain himself"...As for his loyalty it remains rock solid and he would give his life for anyone in a UNSC uniform without hesitation...However ANYBODY not under UNSC protection or uniform should be kept a far distance away from him...I've seen the videos of what he did to some "prisoners" and lets just say it won't end well....If anybody in uniform would be able to tolerate him is another story...His fits of laughter and troubling remarks are distressing to say the least...I would personally recommend him to a nice facility because even for a Spartan this dude is nuts...But he is operationally ready and that's all High command cares about so....Take him away.... [/spoiler]




Spartan - A022 "Vera"
Homeworld: Kuiper, Epsilon Eridani System
Born: October 15, 2507
Enlisted in Spartan Program: 2530
Rank: Chief Petty Officer

Bio:
Born on the colony world of Kuiper, Vera performed highly above average in her academic life. Graduating High School a year early and entering the Kuiper Institute of Technology with soaring test scores, she was in the middle of her sixth year when she was approached by the Spartan Program. Eager to prove her worth and take the fight to the Covenant she joined, scoring well in technical fields but less so in combat exams. But with the aid of dutifal trainers and the other benefits of the Spartan-III program she overcame these hurdles. After a brief assignment to Spider Team, the death of two of her team members and the team leader sustaining critical injuries the team was disbanded, and Vera is currently awaiting reassignment . . .


Spartan - A041 "Duke"
Homeworld:  Eposz, Reach
Born: Sep 8, 2517
Enlisted in Spartan Program: 2539
Rank: Chief Warrant Officer

His father was a Captain in the UNSC Navy was killed along with his crew during the battle of Harvest he was orphaned, his mother had died when he was born.   He was requited to join the Spartan III program after showing signs of strength and battle intuition.   He began his tour with the younger but more experienced Alpha Company during the Battle of New Constantinople.   This is where he met Spartan-A172 or Marc.   After seeing Marcs strategic approach to battle he began calling him Hannibal after one of his most revered Military commanders.    While he himself Duke had a more direct approach he worked well wish his fellow Spartan.   After requesting to be squad-ed up with A172 he quickly became his right hand.  While he let "Hannibal" do most of the planning and talking, he does not sit idle in a battle.  He is known for accuracy with a Magnum and his keen favor of alien tech.   He fancies himself a scientist at times, helping pioneer the use of cloaking adapted from elite shields.  


Name: A048 'Rusty'
Rank: Lieutenant
Bio: Rusty was abducted from an orphanage by the SIII program, as many of the others were. He sees his job not as something to be relished, but something that must be done. Rusty is very confident in his abilities, and of his purpose in life. Besides, he has no problem with wasting hostiles, be they human or otherwise.

Rusty was recently part of a mission into Covenant-occupied space, to gather intel on the fate of a small outer colony. They found the colony had not been glassed yet, and was being mined for Forerunner artifacts. A small group of survivors was located, but the fear of being discovered proved too great for one member of Rusty's team. The man broke down and caused them to be discovered. Most of the team was killed, including the survivors, leaving only Rusty and his previous partner Dusty alive.

Personality: Quiet and reserved, but firm when speaking. Not afraid of weighty decisions or tight situations.

ODST Recon Team 1-1:



Lt. Commander Jason Worth                              Sargent Major Troy Powers
Homeworld: Earth                                              Reach
Born:2510, December 31st                                2508, August 1st
Enlisted: 2528                                               2526
Bio: Born and raised in the Navy,                      With one parent in the Air Force, and
Worth was destined to be a soldier.                  the other in the Army, Powers saw much
Enlisting in the Navy and joining the                  of the galaxy. Enlisting in the Army as a pilot,
NavSpecWarCom soon after, Worth                  Powers was transferred to SpecWarCom after
was an early candidate for the                         showing remarkable skill in SERE School. It was
ORION project. After the ORION project,            not long after Powers met Jason Worth in
he met Powers in Hellfighter selection, a            Hellfighter selection, and the two became close
joint-special forces command. He is now            friends. Both made it through selection, and
the ground commander for the                          now the two have been tasked as ODST Recon
Hellfighters.                                                    support for a Spartan III Team.


Name: Jacob Callahan
Born: 2509 January 7
Rank: 2nd Lt.
Homeworld: Earth (Germany)
Born and raised on Earth, Friedrich wasn't the average candidate for the ODST, with less experience then was generally expected. Regardless of his apparent shortcomings,

[Dha'ward Krayt]

"Damn dust" thought Richard as he disassembled the optics to his Designated Marksmen Rife (DMR) His last assignment was to a desert planet to evacuated some key personel from an ONI site just after the Covenant slipped in system. He got a few of the bastards before they pulled out. Any kill was a good kill for him. The alien conglomerate owed him a lot of lives. He snapped the housing back together and powered it up. Linking it to his Mark V helmet he ran a diagnostic and it ran green. He placed on the ammo create before him. He removed his helmet and scratched the stubble growing on his chin and sighed.
     He stood in the armory of the UNSC corvette Lady Luck, a ONI ship bound for Actium. The Covenant had found the world and were laying siege but for once stopping them or evacuating civvies wasn't his job apparently. The ONI spooks aboard were reluctant to tell him the details but he was heading there for another purpose. That and to meet his new team. He glanced to his right and spotted the two ODSTs that formed a Recon team heading in before Richard's team. He had worked with ODSTs a few times before. Basicly spartans in everything but the augmentations and armor in his opinion.

     "All Spartans, report to the captain's quarters immediately." blared the ship's AI's voice over the PA. Cracking his sore neck he grabbed his helmet and locked his DMR across his back. His armor was still caked with dust but he knew the cap would get over it. He headed to the bulkhead fore.

[Mereel Skirata]

"All Spartans, report to the captain's quarters immediately."

   Marc instinctively grabbed his helmet and almost put it on when he realized he was aboard a UNSC corvette, he left it off.   He looked at his face in the mirror, he looked so young but it felt like he had lived through a lifetime of battle and torment.  He had just come from a storage room where he awakened from Cryo with a few other Spartans, he recognized all the armor augmentation and designs, and he knew the names of each one.  But he didn't know who any of them were.  They were just names and files.  

    He opened the door leading to a long dimmed hall as a few soldiers walked swiftly by.  He nodded to them as the gazed in slight awe at the sight of a Spartan.  He pulled his helmet tightly under his arm and began a quick pace to the captain's quarters.   As he neared the door a familiar visor could be seen waiting for him outside the briefing room.    "Good to see you slept soundly Hannibal."   The Green Spartans gruff voice said as Marc got closer.   Duke was one of the few to all him Hannibal.

Marc responded in a serious tone.  "Well I'm glad you decided to leave your helmet on, no one wants to see that face."  
Duke let out a slightly sinister chuckle as he shook hands with his friend.  

"Sorry to hear about Miridem, heard it was rough."  

"They all are.  Now lets see what this one brings."   They both entered the briefing room

[H-BOMB]

Vera was tinkering with a targeting mod for her Magnum when the announcement came for the Spartans to report to briefing.

Dismissing the announcement for a few more seconds, she finished uplinking the pistol's modified targeting sensors with her helmet's HUD. She wanted to run some diagnostics too, but decided against it. She had to make a good impression for her new team. So leaving the electronics behind she left her modest quarters and headed for the captain's quarters of the UNSC Lady Luck.

As she passed UNSC personnel rushing to and from their stations within the hallways, she caught the wayward glances of several men and even women investigating her. Within their armor its easy to assume all Spartan-III's are men, as the high grade metal and insulation disguises all sex-distinguishing features. And even though the personell had no doubt heard of the exploits of female Spartans, its always easier for some to generalize the warriors' population to consist of only one sex.

Vera didn't mind the occasional stares however, she had withstood even worse ridicule within the tense social climate of her school years. And those looks couldn't be compared to the years of extreme mental and physical training of the Spartan program as well as her small, yet significant combat experience against the Covenant.

As she rounded the bulkhead in the passage to the briefing room, she saw two Spartans enter before her, one with green armor the other with a mix-and-match patter of yellow and blue. Worried that her hesitation had caused her to be late, Vera quickened her pace.

[Drake Vhett]

It was just one of those mornings. Everything seemed to be coming up Snake Eyes for Lt.Com. Jason Worth. Worth, unlike his comrade Sargent Major Troy  Powers, firmly believed in luck, and it usually believed in him. Except this morning. The alarm hadn't gone off, the clock's used-up batteries having died in the night, forcing Worth to rush the rest of his morning. Worth hated doing that. The coffee machine in the ship's mess was busted as well, leaving Worth with no real wake-up call either. A screw-up with the requisitions officer wasted more of his time, and to top it all off was the meeting Worth and Powers just had with the Lady Luck's captain was wearing down Worth's last never. Powers took all of the events befalling the two as he always did, with a silent grin and reassuring pat.

It was in this less-than-pleasant mood that Worth left the Captain's quarters. It was in this mood he didn't see the Spartan ahead of him. It was in this mood, combined with the Spartan's haste, that lead to the two smacking their shoulders into one another. Worth stumbled back a step, the heavier armour putting more force on him than on the Spartan wearing it. Setting himself straight, Worth raised his voice at the Spartan and said,

"Watch where you're going! You Spartans aren't the only ones in these halls you know!" It was a well known fact that most Helljumpers didn't like Spartans. Worth wasn't a Helljumper, but a Hellfighter, so the stigma didn't apply. The Spartans didn't know that, thought. Powers shifted his weight, getting ready to pull one, or both, of the soldiers apart if need be. Worth, however, wasn't the type to pick fights, and Powers knew all he wanted was an apology. It always seemed ironic to Powers how a Navy man was such a stickler for manners.

[Dha'ward Krayt]

Richard had quickened his pace when he realized that the whole crew of Lady Luck had come alive. "They must have be getting close to Actium if everyone had been thawed out" he thought to himself. He slipped his helmet on and made sure the airseals secured. He saw that Lady Luck had been updated in Slipspace on the situation on Actium. As he flipped through the incoming reports of the battle on the planets surface in his HUD he inadvertently smacked into another person with his shoulder armor, knocking the man back. He was about to open his mouth to apologize, when the man yelled. Ever so slightly Richard shook his helmeted head. If the man had been wearing his helmet he would have noticed Richard's Commander rank as he wore no external markings or designation. This was due to ONI's OPSEC. He decided to let it slide as he was in hurry.

"Sorry about that trooper" he said through his helmets speakers as he stepped through the bulkhead into the Captains quarters.

Upon entering the room he first saw the other three members of what was to become his new team. He sized them up with the readouts in his helmet, which displayed their names and rank. To his right was Marcus in his blue yellow armor and beside him was Duke, a large man, even for a Spartan, in dark green.To his left was Vera in tan/yellow armor looking over Richard and the other two Spartans. His list showed a 5th member of their team was missing.

Directly opposite of Richard was Captain Andrew Riely, a short man for military standards he wore his longer than regulation white hair slicked back with some sort of hair gel. This is where the defining characteristics ended. His uniform was pressed and taut while is office was spotless. Rich expected nothing less from a Captain of a ONI spook ship. He stood with his hands braced on his desk scrutinizing a chart on the screen built into his wooden desk. His expression told Richard he was not in the greatest of moods. Standing at attention Richard awaited the final Spartan's arrival.

[CT-1199 Oronk]

Psycho walked towards the meeting room twirling his assault rifle he had in hand, he caught up just in time to see the incident between a "Commander Richard" and some smart mouthed ODST at least he thought it was one. Walking past the trooper he snorted "Smooth" to the trooper then walked in the room giggling to himself and twirling the fully loaded rifle as if it was a toy, he took his seat next to some guy in Green armor...looking around he sized up his new "team" with a glance "Well aren't we all purrtyed up today? Who's got the marshmallows?" Psycho asked in a quick sing song voice periodically interrupted with some giggles. Looking at a spartan in tan and yellow armor named Vera he smiled "Herro nice to meet you nice face" he said with a exaggerated wave which somehow  had a pistol in it...Turning to the spartan whose name appeared to be Marcus he bowed graciously Psycho asked pompously "How do you do good sir?? Teehee". Looking up at the giant of a man named Duke he simply did a little wave with the assault rifle. Finally turning his attention  to  Commander Richard his giggles ceased and he snapped to attention saluted and said "Chief Warrant Officer Psycho repoooting for duty sir" he said with ramrod straight posture.

[Dha'ward Krayt]

Psycho's, different entrance made Richard raise an eyebrow. He defiantly was an odd one, even for a Spartan. Then again a member of one of his former teams had cracked under the stress of war and perhaps this was Psycho's way of dealing with it. "We'll see" he thought.

He returned the Spartan's salute and addressed the Captain. "Sir, Spartan Team reporting as ordered" As he finished his sentence Amora, Lady Luck's Artificial Intelligence appeared over the holotank next to Captain Riely's desk. Her flouresent green body reflected off the 5 gold visors in the room as Riely sighed.

"I know the 5 of you know that Actium is hopelessly out gunned. We had no idea that they had reached this far inside the Inner Colonies" he started, a weary look on his face. "And i know you would want nothing more than to bring the fight to the Covenant, i know i do. Unfortuatnly a mission of both ONI Operational Security and the fate of potential battles in the future is on our hands." He pressed a few keys on his desk and up popped a hologram of General Wilfred Thanas, a tall dark skinned man with a moustache and a eye patch, and Forward Admiral Bruce Hadmin, an aging man about late 50's with close cropped black but greying hair and a pair of ancient glasses across his face.
"These two men are some of our best tacticians. They happened to be on world organizing a force when the Covies slipped in system. The highest levels or High Command and ONI have ordered and requested they pull themselves out and manage the battle from orbit. They are flat out refusing and are now ignoring all HIGHCOMM communications." he snorted and shook his head. "Damn fools. ONI wants you, Kilo Team to get in there, pull their shebs'e out, kicking and screaming if you have to and get them aboard Luck. Also assist in the evacuation of Civvies if possible but these two are your main objectives. Under stood"?

Richard nodded. "Yes, sir"

"Any questions?"

"Sir, you said Kilo Team, i assume that is us?" Richard asked.

"Yes Kilo-1. You'll also be working with a trio of ODSTs know as Hellfighters. They will drop in about an hour before you do to locate the HVIs. They have already been briefed."

Richard nodded.

"Any more?" asked the Captain.

[CT-1199 Oronk]

Stepping up Psycho asked "Sir not to be weird or anything....but these people we are evacuating are UNSC citizens right?"

[Dha'ward Krayt]

Riely nodded, although with a furtive look in his eyes.

"Yes, Actium is a UNSC colony as all Inner Colony worlds are."

Richard really hoped this Spartans, attitude did not become a problem.

[Mereel Skirata]

As Riely was speaking Marcus looked down at the AI,  this was the first smart AI he had come across and he was interested to see how 'she' would be in a firefight.  Her green glowing figure was lifeless, but at the same time the way she listened to the conversation was so human like.    She looked over at him and gazed into his eyes.  He figured it was because it was the only face she could see.    He looked with a blank expression, then  turned to the Riely as he was finishing answering Psycho's question.


"Sir,"  Marcus chimed in.   "I read in the reports that Colonel Mentieth and the 53rd Armoured Division has already set a FOB just outside of Bethia."   He kept eye contact with the Captain.  He felt slightly exposed being the only spartan with his helmet off, but he didn't care.  He has seen life through the gold visor enough in the last 15 years, he made an effort to see things with his own eyes as much as he could.    
"Will we be taking a bird down to the FOB or hitching a ride with the ODST's I saw gearing up?"

He looked back down at the AI who seemed ready to interject on behalf of the Captain.  

[Drake Vhett]

"Ell-Cee, did I just see a Spartan walking round with two loaded weapons, giggling?" Powers asked, scratching the stubble of hair on his head. Looking at his second's dark face, Worth put his head down into his palms. Letting out a low groan and rustling his hair furiously for a moment, he looked back up, his composure regained.

"Sarge, I do believe you did. Why in the hell did we have to  be the ones running support for the nutters? God damn ONI. Lets meet the new guy and see if he's legit or not" Worth said. Powers just shrugged and followed his friend. By the time they got to the racks they were assigned, the new addition was there. Worth moved in quickly, and Powers closed the door behind him, ensuring privacy.

"So, Second-Lieutenant Callahan, seems like you're our third. Anything we should know before we get started? You any good with a firearm?" Worth asked, crossing his arms, mirroring unconsciously the same position the larger Powers had behind him.

[N-11 Commander Ordo]

Rusty simply leaned against the wall of the Captain's quarters, listening intently. They all seemed like solid team members, except for Fox. Rusty simply couldn't bring himself to refer to him as something so ridiculous as 'Psycho'. In Rusty's opinion, the man needed taken out of the field for thorough examination. But, since it was not in his power to do so, he simply hoped Fox wouldn't be a hindrance on the mission. Psychological breakdowns had caused him enough trouble recently.

For the first time he spoke up. "Sir, how will Kilo and the Hellfighters be extracting?"

[CT-1199 Oronk]

Sighing to himself Psycho got a little bored then looked around....nothing to entertain himself with. So he figured he would liven up his mood...cutting off all outgoing transmissions in his helmet he pulled up a list of his many modifications that he added to keep himself busy...He scrolled past his AI friend he could talk to her later right now what he needed was...some dubstep so he started his playlist with a good song "Killbot" he cranked it up in his armor and started nodding his head to the beat....
[spoiler]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icZhcQ-bd_M[/spoiler]

[H-BOMB]

Vera dismissed the Spartan called Psycho's "greeting", and instead focused intently on the mission being assigned to her. The task seemed interesting, althrough the prospect of safely evacuating valuable personnel that was unwilling to leave presented certain . . . difficulties.

She began thinking of a million ways the mission could go wrong. Stray fire could take down one of their VIP's, the VIPs could ignore orders and put themselves in harm's way. However, there was always the possibility that they could render them unconscious, although Vera didn't like the prospect of dragging an unarmed, unarmored, and vulnerable tactician through Covie crossfire.

She didn't have a choice however. So she eagerly awaited the Captain's answer to Rusty's inquiry, and hoped that it would satisfy her own question.

[Dha'ward Krayt]

Riley unbraced his arms from the desk and clasped them behind his back. Addressing Marcus he replied "What ever the ODSTs deem is best is how you will insert. An you are correct about Mentieth's 53rd. They have their base of operations set up in and around the southern end of Bethia as you said but its more loosely just an area they control and are strewn about in. Its chaos down there. The Colonel has no idea how many men he has and is cut off from communications to our two VIPs, who we believe are just north of the city." He turned to Rusty, "Again you will be extracting by what ever means we can get you. Like i said is bloody hell down there."

Richard nodded. A 6 man spartan team would be more than enough to grab the two stubborn VIPs and get out. Then they would take the fight to the Covenant.

Riley sighed. "If that is all Amora will let you know when the ODSTs are sure its safe for you guys to head down there."

Amora nodded and said "We will be arriving above the planet in 3 hours. The Hellfighters will be dropped immediately into the combat zone. Once enough intel is gathered you will be inserted. Il have a Pelican on stand-by and 6 HEV pods saved for you."

"Good luck Spartans, you'll need it." said Riley. Saluting he dismissed them. RIchard returned the salute and spun on his heel addressing Kilo Team.

"Alright Kilo, fall out. Meet back in the armory in 3 hours. Move."

[Mereel Skirata]

Marc nodded to the Captain and then again to the AI.  He followed Duke as he headed for the door. Once they were both out back into the hall they waited to greet their fellow Spartans.  
He looked up at Duke.
"So what do you think?"    Duke knew what he was talking about and he just shrugged.  Like every battle who could say,  anything is bound to happen.   He and Duke had been lucky survive this long.    
"Honestly Hannibal,  I don't plan on coming back from any mission these days. "     Marc nodded solemnly in agreement.

They both looked up to see the Richard walking out.  "Commander,"  Marc said.  "I heard about what you did on Kholo. I know you lost a lot of good men but you saved a lot of lives."   He reached out his hand in greeting.  Duke did as well.  
"Lieutenant Marcus of Alpha Company, its great to be serving under you.  This is Duke of Beta Company. "

[Dha'ward Krayt]

Richard's heart fell a little when he heard the name Kholo. Jack, Gus, Geoff and Aiden. The other for members of his team, Sword back then, had all died on Kholo. Jack had gave his life for Richard's a few feet before dust off. He hadn't even been able to retrieve their bodies. He quickly snapped out of it and shook both Marus's hand and Duke's.

"Glad to have you two on the team. I have reviewed your files. Very impressive. This mission sounds..." he trailed off trying to find the word. "Interesting. Even work with our friend Psycho?" he asked.

[CT-1199 Oronk]

Psycho looked around noticing everyone exiting the room he quickly followed...He walked out at a fast pace twirling his rifle again and started blaring some music as he past the small gather of Spartans walking past them he threw his rifle in the air flipped them all the bird caught the rifle and started skipping to his quarters and blared his dubstep through his speakers so he couldn't hear them....Sarah was going to be interested in all the friends he made...

[Mereel Skirata]

"Warrent Officer Fox?"  He looked over at the spartan.  "Can't say that I have, Sir."    Like all the other Spartans, he had read all the psych files and combat reports.   "Sounds like be barely passed his psych exam,  but his track record tells me he can get the job done. "  

He looked up and Duke who just shrugged again, then back at Richard.   "We need all the Spartans we can get these days."    He knew what Richard was feeling, they had all lost good friends in the war against the Covenant.  Marc was lucky enough to have a brother still in contact.  Many of the Spartans of Alpha Co. were KIA, MIA or hard pressed holding off Covenant forces all over the galaxy.

"Now Sir if you'll excuse us we are going to raid the mess one more time before we gear up. "    Duke let out a hearty, almost sinister, laugh.   "This guy can tuck it away. " He winked.  "Feel free to join us, sir."