Post by Threid on May 25, 2010 18:10:13 GMT -5
Kyle found Karol exactly where he expected to. The hangar was mostly empty, except for the pilot tinkering around in his GM CCT. The cockpit of the GM was closed, but Kyle could tell that some sort of maintenance was going on; otherwise, the cockpit light wouldn't be blinking. He was just about to knock on the hatch when it opened, revealing Karol, who's hair was looking rather mussed.
"Staff sergeant Slater, sir!" He saluted promptly, while blocking Kyle's view of the interior of the mobile suit.
"At ease. You know, I told you not to worry about protocol around me, corporal. Now, what's the trouble with your mobile suit? Maybe I could help you out?"
"Actually, sir, I was just helping corporal Ryder myself." A blond-haired, blue-eyed woman muscled her way past Karol's rather-average arms to peer at Kyle. "I'm private Kelly Jones, newly transferred to KCT MS-02 slash MST-077 - or as Karol tells me, The Beam Team. Paperwork hasn't been finalized yet, but I'm as good as on your team, now. Anyway, corporal Ryder and I pilot the same kind of mobile suit, and I was just helping him iron out a few wrinkles in his control system before the next battle."
She was smooth, but not particularly pretty; her face was too pear-shaped, her lips to small, her shoulders too broad, and her cheeks too square. She was somewhere between comely and homely, but the way she handled herself and the force behind her words made her attractive. She reminded Kyle a little of Nora, and he regretted not having written her in so long.
"Staff sergeant Slater," Kyle said, saluting politely. "Welcome to the Beam Team. I hope you'll do us proud."
"I'm sure I will," Kelly said, shooting a winking smile to Karol.
Kyle chose to ignore the smile, and the urge to clear his throat in a commanderly fashion. "I'd be interested to know what changes you've suggested to Karol. You see, I'm a bit of a tech buff myself, and I've never had the opportunity to pilot a cold-climate type, though I have piloted the Gundam Mass-Produced Type in hot, sandy environs. Is the CCT anything like the GMPGT?
And so began a half-hour long discussion on the merits of their mobile suits. Kelly explained that the controls of any mobile suit could be customized to the preferences and physical build of the pilot, in order to make the controls easier to use. Kyle ignored the way she said "control stick" and glanced at Karol as best he could, but after a while, he couldn't stand it.
"Would you mind not discussing your... relationship in the presence of a superior officer - at least, not that way?" Kyle blushed almost immediately, to the suppressed amusement of Kelly and Karol. "Anyway, we were talking about the differences in the way the power is routed in Minovsky fusion reactors of different outputs."
The conversation resumed as normal, with fewer knowing glances between the couple. Kyle decided to name the pair "Karelly," but not to their faces, until he learned more concerning the intended permanence of their relationship. He knew other pilots who hooked up with a different girl at every port, and though Karol didn't really appear to be "that kind" of guy, one never knew. For his part, Kyle hoped the two were serious; it would be awkward serving on a team with a broken-up couple - even more awkward than walking in on said couple, well, coupling.
Still, he enjoyed the chance to converse with two similarly-minded individuals. Karelly knew their stuff when it came to their suits, and while they weren't as familiar with the tech as Kyle was, they were able to carry on conversations about it with minimal questions, and without looking at their watches or the wall behind Kyle as he talked. Kyle approved of the Beam Team's newest member, but he doubted that Lt. Gerard would care for her, or for her relationship with Karol.
"Now, Karol's probably warned you already, but our team's leader, Lt. Gerard, is kind of a stiff. Don't refer to our squad as The Beam Team in his presence, and don't try to make jokes; he won't understand or worse, he will, and you'll be in the brig or doing PT." Kyle tried to strike a balance between a friendly and officer-like tone, with some success. He'd have to practice them both separately before he could manage to merge them effectively.
"Right." Kelly was all stiffness and salute, in a moment. "We understand. Don't worry, we've been doing this military relationship thing for a while now; we know how to do things without raising the ire of our superiors."
Kyle was not convinced. "Most staff sergeants that I know would not appreciate finding out that two individuals under their command had turned the cockpit into a location for romantic liaisons." Kelly started to protest, while Karol maintained a blank silence, but Kyle talked over her, "In the future, confine your "repair work" in the hangar to mobile suits, private, corporal." He nodded to the two pilots as he said their names. "Anyway, Lt. Gerard is out drilling a bunch of miscreants. I thought we could get acquainted while we wait."
Karol looked like he would be more interested in continuing repairs, but Kelly spoke first, "Sure! That'd be great!" Karol shot Kyle a look, but followed Kelly down the ladder to the hangar floor. If Kyle knew Karol at all, though, he'd come around once they started drinking. Kyle would have, after all. Then again, maybe Karol was more different from himself than he'd thought. Hopefully, time would tell.
"Staff sergeant Slater, sir!" He saluted promptly, while blocking Kyle's view of the interior of the mobile suit.
"At ease. You know, I told you not to worry about protocol around me, corporal. Now, what's the trouble with your mobile suit? Maybe I could help you out?"
"Actually, sir, I was just helping corporal Ryder myself." A blond-haired, blue-eyed woman muscled her way past Karol's rather-average arms to peer at Kyle. "I'm private Kelly Jones, newly transferred to KCT MS-02 slash MST-077 - or as Karol tells me, The Beam Team. Paperwork hasn't been finalized yet, but I'm as good as on your team, now. Anyway, corporal Ryder and I pilot the same kind of mobile suit, and I was just helping him iron out a few wrinkles in his control system before the next battle."
She was smooth, but not particularly pretty; her face was too pear-shaped, her lips to small, her shoulders too broad, and her cheeks too square. She was somewhere between comely and homely, but the way she handled herself and the force behind her words made her attractive. She reminded Kyle a little of Nora, and he regretted not having written her in so long.
"Staff sergeant Slater," Kyle said, saluting politely. "Welcome to the Beam Team. I hope you'll do us proud."
"I'm sure I will," Kelly said, shooting a winking smile to Karol.
Kyle chose to ignore the smile, and the urge to clear his throat in a commanderly fashion. "I'd be interested to know what changes you've suggested to Karol. You see, I'm a bit of a tech buff myself, and I've never had the opportunity to pilot a cold-climate type, though I have piloted the Gundam Mass-Produced Type in hot, sandy environs. Is the CCT anything like the GMPGT?
And so began a half-hour long discussion on the merits of their mobile suits. Kelly explained that the controls of any mobile suit could be customized to the preferences and physical build of the pilot, in order to make the controls easier to use. Kyle ignored the way she said "control stick" and glanced at Karol as best he could, but after a while, he couldn't stand it.
"Would you mind not discussing your... relationship in the presence of a superior officer - at least, not that way?" Kyle blushed almost immediately, to the suppressed amusement of Kelly and Karol. "Anyway, we were talking about the differences in the way the power is routed in Minovsky fusion reactors of different outputs."
The conversation resumed as normal, with fewer knowing glances between the couple. Kyle decided to name the pair "Karelly," but not to their faces, until he learned more concerning the intended permanence of their relationship. He knew other pilots who hooked up with a different girl at every port, and though Karol didn't really appear to be "that kind" of guy, one never knew. For his part, Kyle hoped the two were serious; it would be awkward serving on a team with a broken-up couple - even more awkward than walking in on said couple, well, coupling.
Still, he enjoyed the chance to converse with two similarly-minded individuals. Karelly knew their stuff when it came to their suits, and while they weren't as familiar with the tech as Kyle was, they were able to carry on conversations about it with minimal questions, and without looking at their watches or the wall behind Kyle as he talked. Kyle approved of the Beam Team's newest member, but he doubted that Lt. Gerard would care for her, or for her relationship with Karol.
"Now, Karol's probably warned you already, but our team's leader, Lt. Gerard, is kind of a stiff. Don't refer to our squad as The Beam Team in his presence, and don't try to make jokes; he won't understand or worse, he will, and you'll be in the brig or doing PT." Kyle tried to strike a balance between a friendly and officer-like tone, with some success. He'd have to practice them both separately before he could manage to merge them effectively.
"Right." Kelly was all stiffness and salute, in a moment. "We understand. Don't worry, we've been doing this military relationship thing for a while now; we know how to do things without raising the ire of our superiors."
Kyle was not convinced. "Most staff sergeants that I know would not appreciate finding out that two individuals under their command had turned the cockpit into a location for romantic liaisons." Kelly started to protest, while Karol maintained a blank silence, but Kyle talked over her, "In the future, confine your "repair work" in the hangar to mobile suits, private, corporal." He nodded to the two pilots as he said their names. "Anyway, Lt. Gerard is out drilling a bunch of miscreants. I thought we could get acquainted while we wait."
Karol looked like he would be more interested in continuing repairs, but Kelly spoke first, "Sure! That'd be great!" Karol shot Kyle a look, but followed Kelly down the ladder to the hangar floor. If Kyle knew Karol at all, though, he'd come around once they started drinking. Kyle would have, after all. Then again, maybe Karol was more different from himself than he'd thought. Hopefully, time would tell.