Quoted By:
"....so how is training going? Have you had dinner yet?"
Your conversation opener isn't brilliant, but no one in Lambda-null-null seems to mind. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, you find yourself leading them through the open doors of the OPS commissary to catch their final dinner service.
The six of you find a table in a quiet corner of the eating area. As you cut into a modest helping of Tuesday special, your five companions work through an absolutely massive volume of food. You estimate three clean plates per person and counting. Some of the more lucid pilots eating nearby glance over with looks of mild astonishment.
"I met with Father Gregori before I ran into your team today. He seems surprisingly...modest...given his position here," you say, hoping to throw out a topic that the operators would be familiar with.
"The good father is modest because he has no need for pride, brother." says Null-one.
"Are you aware of his deeds?" interjects Null-three, pausing between bites of toast.
"No, not beyond his work as a branch-head."
Ignoring Null-one's slightly reproachful look, Null-three elaborates with enthusiasm:
"He is a survivor from a history that is now foreign to us. Prior to his ascension, he was a warrior, a poet, and a king. Now, our patron's favor has turned him into something greater. He taught us how to excise worms from the souls of men and enmesh human spite into the shards we fire from our carbines."
"Is he not human now?" you ask.
"Decidedly not. Fifty years ago, it was his...'
Null-one coughs, cutting her squad-mate off. "In short, his reputation is well earned."
Null-five - who has been quiet up until this point - raises his gloved hand slightly. "Apologies for the aside, brother, but there is a question I have been meaning to ask. Why did you choose to arm your craft with two laser emitters during our last mission? Were you predicting that we would fight in close proximity to a summoned entity"
You give a brief overview of your rationale for choosing heavy armaments, which Null-five seems to take in stride. After this point, the conversation opens up. You learn more about the composition of their team. Null-one was by far the most experienced member, appropriate for his role as team-leader. Null-two and three were specialized for remote-viewing, while four and five were kitted for neutralization and termination. But from what you could gather, all five of them had undergone the same modification procedure to reach their current state - something prolonged, intense, and challenging to convey with words.
