Post by nirvash on Dec 12, 2009 21:39:41 GMT -5
Kreuz reached into his collar, fidgeting with the starched fabric, trying to loosen his new uniform as he evaluated himself in front of the mirror. He recalled with a sense of disconnected bitterness, not truly upset, at his recent arrival to Green Noa. He didn't recall the actual details of the conversation, but he remembered being told he was being given a promotion, but it came with the stipulation that he was to be transferred to the colony, and he'd receive further assignment once there. Of course, he now thought, what he hadn't been told is that he'd be a test pilot for a new GM (although this was something that gave him something of a thrill at first), and that his superiors and the engineers working on it would be pushing him so hard.
He remembered his last time in the cockpit. "We want to be rolling these off the production lines by '80 at the latest, man", a long haired engineer in a white lab coat had told him over the crackling radio. "The sooner we get all the data we need, the sooner we can be knockin' off Zeke's ships from outta standard mobile suit range. It's gonna be groovy, man. Now we only need you to keep goin' for another hour or two, you can handle it, right?"
Kreuz didn't complain. He knew the GM Sniper II really would be useful on the battlefield, and it was definitely an improvement from the other models' specs he had seen. The pilot's face still bore a familiar scowl though; he couldn't help but feel a little anger, having already been in the cockpit for hours at this point. He was starting to lose his edge, sweating in the less-than-optimal climate control and breathing heavily from muscle fatigue.
"Launch more targets, send them back a couple dozen more yards this time." Kreuz had hit every target so far, even on a machine that was still being tuned.
"Does the arm still have too much play?" The engineer didn't sound surprised.
"Yeah, but not as much as the legs. You guys need to stop goofing off in there", Kreuz joked, and grabbed a pad of paper floating next to him and made a few marks on, reminders for certain adjustments to be made to the mobile suit.
The seaman's attention returned to the present as a knock at his door sounded. He finished straightening his uniform as the door opened, an older, ranking officer stepping in to the room, his arms crossed behind his back. Kreuz reached for his collar again.
"Kreuz, is it? That's an awfully common name in Side 3. Do you have any family there? I'd hate to see you not giving us one hundred percent." His cordial tone barely hid the clearly baseless, barbed accusation. If there had been any concerns regarding his loyalty up to this point, there would be no way he'd be piloting a Federation prototype. It wasn't surprising to hear something like this from one of Jamitov's men, though. "There is a meeting regarding the Sniper II, and your presence has been requested", he continued flatly. "Jamitov wants the engineers to be sure you're not... detrimental to the project," he finished, now sporting a smug grin.
The officer stepped into the doorway and gestured into the hall. "After you... Kreuz."
Kreuz's fingers stopped fighting his collar and locked gazes with the officer. A brief moment passed. "Sir," Kreuz saluted curtly, and he stepped out the door. He paused a moment to unfasten his collar's button, the older man's eyes following him closely, and then continued to the hangar.
He remembered his last time in the cockpit. "We want to be rolling these off the production lines by '80 at the latest, man", a long haired engineer in a white lab coat had told him over the crackling radio. "The sooner we get all the data we need, the sooner we can be knockin' off Zeke's ships from outta standard mobile suit range. It's gonna be groovy, man. Now we only need you to keep goin' for another hour or two, you can handle it, right?"
Kreuz didn't complain. He knew the GM Sniper II really would be useful on the battlefield, and it was definitely an improvement from the other models' specs he had seen. The pilot's face still bore a familiar scowl though; he couldn't help but feel a little anger, having already been in the cockpit for hours at this point. He was starting to lose his edge, sweating in the less-than-optimal climate control and breathing heavily from muscle fatigue.
"Launch more targets, send them back a couple dozen more yards this time." Kreuz had hit every target so far, even on a machine that was still being tuned.
"Does the arm still have too much play?" The engineer didn't sound surprised.
"Yeah, but not as much as the legs. You guys need to stop goofing off in there", Kreuz joked, and grabbed a pad of paper floating next to him and made a few marks on, reminders for certain adjustments to be made to the mobile suit.
The seaman's attention returned to the present as a knock at his door sounded. He finished straightening his uniform as the door opened, an older, ranking officer stepping in to the room, his arms crossed behind his back. Kreuz reached for his collar again.
"Kreuz, is it? That's an awfully common name in Side 3. Do you have any family there? I'd hate to see you not giving us one hundred percent." His cordial tone barely hid the clearly baseless, barbed accusation. If there had been any concerns regarding his loyalty up to this point, there would be no way he'd be piloting a Federation prototype. It wasn't surprising to hear something like this from one of Jamitov's men, though. "There is a meeting regarding the Sniper II, and your presence has been requested", he continued flatly. "Jamitov wants the engineers to be sure you're not... detrimental to the project," he finished, now sporting a smug grin.
The officer stepped into the doorway and gestured into the hall. "After you... Kreuz."
Kreuz's fingers stopped fighting his collar and locked gazes with the officer. A brief moment passed. "Sir," Kreuz saluted curtly, and he stepped out the door. He paused a moment to unfasten his collar's button, the older man's eyes following him closely, and then continued to the hangar.