Post by pinksoyuz on Nov 6, 2009 4:30:43 GMT -5
The two Zaku's from the recent ill fated attack traveled through the vacuum environment in absolute silence and under the continual cover of a dense Minovsky particle field. Nadia saw fully three other mobile suits enter the fray alongside her and now seeing only one other Zaku beside her did not bode well in her. Her entire body seemed to shake, her hands seemingly dancing on top of her legs and her erratic breathing acting as telltale signs that going into one's first large battle after countless nights of sleep deprivation was extremely foolish on Nadia's part. It would come as no surprise,then, that a small jolt to her mobile suit sent her hands flailing towards the controls and her eyes darting across the cockpit's many screens.
"Ms. Adelaide?" came a young man's voice.
"Y-yes?" replied Nadia, trying her best to regain her composure after realizing that the jolt came from the other Zaku coming in contact with hers.
"I'll have to leave you from here to rejoin my fleet," answered the Zaku II's pilot. Pausing for a few seconds, he then added, "but I want to thank you for... for saving my life back there."
The test pilot didn't know how to respond, or if she was expected to respond at all. A "you're welcome" didn't seem appropriate, as saving someone's life is a sort of altruistic act, but then again, what's saving someone's life when it means you took other lives away? The field of science evolved to a state where endangering human lives in the name of progress had all been discarded from practice, yet here she was, testing equipment by purposefully targeting the Federation and its soldiers. Nadia certainly didn't envision this when she began working alongside her mentor Professor Minovsky, and she abhorred the very nature of her mission. Of course, Nadia had been too busy in thought to notice the Zaku II having left without ever hearing a reply from her. She certainly began to regret not wishing its pilot good luck, but what good would it have made? Most likely she would never see him again, and she had other things to worry about at the moment.
Reaching behind her seat, Nadia took out a pencil box size plastic container and opened it, displaying five unused auto injectors partially sunken into grey foam inserts. The inside label indicated that the four black cylinders contained a single dose of benzoadiazepine while the single clear injector contained its antagonist. Nadia, however, had no need to read the instructions or the warnings since she was all too familiar with the items, so she took out a single black injector and closed the box, allowing it to float aimlessly in her cockpit. After taking off her helmet, she ran her thinly covered fingers across the back of the neck, sensing the multiple raised injection sites left by previous doses. Combined with the sight of the unused auto injector in her trembling hand, Nadia couldn't help but begin to softly cry to herself, realizing and hating how much she had degenerated to the point of using stimulants and sedatives so wantonly.
She took a deep breath and then pressed the auto injector up to a smooth portion of her neck. She hesitated for a moment before pressing down on a button, causing a hypodermic needle to shoot into her neck and inject the sedative into her bloodstream. Nadia didn't even wince anymore, having acclimated herself to the sharp pain, and instead tossed the spent device away from her while taking in several more breaths of recirculated cabin air. As expected, her body soon stopped jittering and her breathing returned to normal, and she began to finally get the rest that had eluded her for so long.
Donning her helmet once more, the woman stared at the screen through her now glazed eyes and saw the small specks that indicated the ships of the Coscon Fleet. She would have to return there once more and make repairs for the second time, but for now, she would enjoy a brief, quiet respite. Nadia would end up making made final course adjustments and then went to shut off her thrusters to allow inertia to carry her and the mobile suit to their destination. Finally resting her heavy eyes, Nadia saw the used auto injector float across in front of her, forcing a small smile to form on her lips.
"Last one. I promise," she slurred to herself before ultimately slumping over on her seat.
"Ms. Adelaide?" came a young man's voice.
"Y-yes?" replied Nadia, trying her best to regain her composure after realizing that the jolt came from the other Zaku coming in contact with hers.
"I'll have to leave you from here to rejoin my fleet," answered the Zaku II's pilot. Pausing for a few seconds, he then added, "but I want to thank you for... for saving my life back there."
The test pilot didn't know how to respond, or if she was expected to respond at all. A "you're welcome" didn't seem appropriate, as saving someone's life is a sort of altruistic act, but then again, what's saving someone's life when it means you took other lives away? The field of science evolved to a state where endangering human lives in the name of progress had all been discarded from practice, yet here she was, testing equipment by purposefully targeting the Federation and its soldiers. Nadia certainly didn't envision this when she began working alongside her mentor Professor Minovsky, and she abhorred the very nature of her mission. Of course, Nadia had been too busy in thought to notice the Zaku II having left without ever hearing a reply from her. She certainly began to regret not wishing its pilot good luck, but what good would it have made? Most likely she would never see him again, and she had other things to worry about at the moment.
Reaching behind her seat, Nadia took out a pencil box size plastic container and opened it, displaying five unused auto injectors partially sunken into grey foam inserts. The inside label indicated that the four black cylinders contained a single dose of benzoadiazepine while the single clear injector contained its antagonist. Nadia, however, had no need to read the instructions or the warnings since she was all too familiar with the items, so she took out a single black injector and closed the box, allowing it to float aimlessly in her cockpit. After taking off her helmet, she ran her thinly covered fingers across the back of the neck, sensing the multiple raised injection sites left by previous doses. Combined with the sight of the unused auto injector in her trembling hand, Nadia couldn't help but begin to softly cry to herself, realizing and hating how much she had degenerated to the point of using stimulants and sedatives so wantonly.
She took a deep breath and then pressed the auto injector up to a smooth portion of her neck. She hesitated for a moment before pressing down on a button, causing a hypodermic needle to shoot into her neck and inject the sedative into her bloodstream. Nadia didn't even wince anymore, having acclimated herself to the sharp pain, and instead tossed the spent device away from her while taking in several more breaths of recirculated cabin air. As expected, her body soon stopped jittering and her breathing returned to normal, and she began to finally get the rest that had eluded her for so long.
Donning her helmet once more, the woman stared at the screen through her now glazed eyes and saw the small specks that indicated the ships of the Coscon Fleet. She would have to return there once more and make repairs for the second time, but for now, she would enjoy a brief, quiet respite. Nadia would end up making made final course adjustments and then went to shut off her thrusters to allow inertia to carry her and the mobile suit to their destination. Finally resting her heavy eyes, Nadia saw the used auto injector float across in front of her, forcing a small smile to form on her lips.
"Last one. I promise," she slurred to herself before ultimately slumping over on her seat.