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Post by zerodash0 on Dec 16, 2009 5:34:34 GMT -5
As the Guncannon settled back into it's maintenance cradle, Derek could already hear the cheers of the engineers and mechanics, mixed with a few random jokes about the 'new paint-job'. The hatch popped open and he grabbed his post-flight checklist, quickly checking off each box and signing off on it.
As he climbed out of the cockpit, Dr. Fredrickson was waiting with a smile even bigger than before. "Congratulations! I knew you could do it..... right after you did it that is."
"Uh... Thanks." Derek said, not entirely sure if he'd been complimented or not. Taking a look back at his now red and blue machine he said, "I suppose I should get started cleaning that paint off." Only to be corrected by Fredrickson.
"No, no. You'll be getting some rest. That test provided exceptional results, we'll have to have another match as soon as possible. Now you just leave everything else to us and I'll send someone by later to collect you for debriefing." The old man insisted, and Derek quickly saluted and left.
Huh, can't argue with that. He thought to himself, seeing Kreuz talking to his team as he left the hangar. Man, fighting that guy was intense... It was just paint bullets and light-shows, but it sure felt like the real thing out there. I guess I should just be glad he wasn't using his sniper rifle.
As usual, it didn't take long for decisions to be made by Derek's stomach. Now it had lead him back to the mess hall, falling in line mindlessly. Not paying attention to much of anything, he was coherent enough to notice the menu listing: McDaniel's hamburgers and fries.
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Post by nirvash on Dec 16, 2009 17:27:23 GMT -5
A hiss of steam ejected from the blue machine's chest panel dissipated as the cockpit door lifted up. The pilot supported himself with one hand on the outer armor as one foot stepped out, and with the other hand he peeled off his helmet, shaking the sweat out of his black hair. One of the mechanics on the gantry lift reached out to help the pilot pull himself the rest of the way out.
"Hey Kreuz, not bad out there, I'm sure we'll show 'em next time," the greasy man assured him. Kreuz nodded to show he had at least heard the mechanic, even if he wasn't really listening, and pulled himself out of the GM on his own. He jumped past the pilots and latched on to a liftwire, unzipping his pilot suit on the way down. The long haired engineer waited for him at the bottom of the lift.
"You did good, kid," he said with the air of a someone with much experience consoling others. "Tch." Kreuz didn't seem to take much comfort in his attempt. "No, really, we got the information we need, and that's all we can ask for. If you had used the rifle, you might have won, but that wouldn't give us any new data." The engineer rubbed his chin.
Kreuz stepped past him. "The tracking on the left arm is off. And who the hell equipped the frag grenades?" The engineer sighed. "I'll get right on that, Kreuz." The mechanic turned around, shrugged, and walked over to a computer while whistling to himself.
In the locker room, Kreuz finished peeling off the upper body portion of the pilot suit and opened his locker. He saw a face that caught him off guard. A photograph had fallen loose from somewhere in the locker and fell down onto a shelf right at eye level. The pilot took it in his hands and sat down on the bench behind him. He read the back of the picture.
Next time, we'll bring Mom and Dad! Richter 0072
Kreuz looked at the front of the photo and laughed bitterly. It was a picture of him and his younger brother in Zum City. The young man's head drooped and he reached inside his shirt with his picture-holding hand, and pulled out a cross on a beaded necklace. He looked at it longingly, time seeming to slow down around him.
He heard the bang of something big falling down in the hangar and quickly finished redressing, stuffing his cross back in his shirt hastily. He stalled for a moment as he was about to walk out the room, but went back to his locker, and after digging through a pile of dirty clothes, found the photograph and stuck it to a lip inside the locker door. Satisfied, he headed back to the hangar.
"I wonder if Carter knows I've never missed a single mobile suit that many times before?"
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Post by zerodash0 on Dec 16, 2009 23:36:33 GMT -5
Derek was asleep in his bunk when a deep voice boomed over the barracks intercom. "Seaman Carter and Seaman Kreuz report to conference room D-7."
"Ugh... What now? He thought, rolling out of his bunk and stumbled into his uniform.
Rounding the corner to to room D-7, Derek enters the room to find that Kreuz hasn't shown up yet. "must've caught him in the middle of something..." He thought, taking a seat and contemplating. "Could they be sending us out for another drill already?"
Apparently still having some time to kill, he remembered the hard-copy from the earlier meeting and decided now was a good time to look it over. Flipping to the data on the GM Sniper II, he was floored by it's specs. "With a sensor setup like that, he had plenty of time to study my actions before I was even in range of the weapons he used. I really would've been in trouble if he'd used that rifle." The thoughts ran through his mind as he began comparing the Guncannon to the Sniper. "I have more straightline acceleration, but he could fly circles around me. He seems like a smart guy too... I can't expect the same tactics to work if we go another round."
As he went over the data, Lieutenant Drammen walked into the room. "Oh, you're here early. Well then, straighten up, and try to look like a proper soldier, this meeting is important after all."
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