Quoted By:
One and a half sets of eyes watch the screen, skimming through the recording of their charge’s last mission.
One of them pauses, the camera looking upwards, facing the sky.
The two slow down the playback, going frame by frame as the footage jumps, twisting it into incomprehensibility from the speed of motion.
One pokes at the screen.
“There. You can tell the point where it decided it wanted to do something fancy. Now, someone will need to re-check all the myomar for strain.”
“Don’t poke the screen, Armstrong. It had a good reason for it. They don’t just randomly try and blow out their own systems.”
“I need to strip half the external plating already, what’s another 40 hours on top of that. Why not just replace all the internals, anyways? It’s not like myomar grows on trees, and neither does plate! Uh, sir.”
“Operating in a successful Project has its privileges. First in line for repairs. It’s why you’re here, instead of being back with the rest.”
“Honestly, I’d like to send the whole frame back to Camp Nagita for a full refit. My team out here can patch it up, replace the melted armor, strip and replace burned-out components or some myomar. But sending it back to a proper refit facility could do a lot of good. A new reactor, a proper cooling fix. There’s only so much I can do on-site right now.”
There’s a pause.
“Unless there’s a reason we’re not sending it back.”
“There are other factors in play. Political considerations. The general wants it close at hand. Not a peep, Armstrong.”
The engineer’s face remained unmoved.
“Being ‘close at hand’ doesn’t mean squat if there isn’t a pilot.”
“He doesn’t care. As long as it’s not going elsewhere right now. And I’m working on the pilot problem.”
“I see. Still going to be out for a week. Bare minimum. Any sooner, and it will be sloppy work. Give me another week beyond that, and I think I can rerig the balance points to mount another weapons system. I’ll have proposals on your desk.”
Colonel Kinston nods.
“I’ll make sure you get your two. Don’t rush it.”
At that dismissal, one eye remained. He pulled up the cockpit feed instead of the external one. Watched the pilot be tossed around by g-forces like a rag doll. The characteristic tensing when she pulls into high-sync for the last enemies.
Pause. Check sensor log.
“Allies were right there. They were already disengaging. Why, silly girl.”
Resume.
He just knows her smile from the recording will haunt him. It just looks wrong.
Then, collapse. Going limp once more.
Watched her rally one more time with shocks, speaking again briefly at the Core’s behest, then slumping down.
And silence.
Extended silence, and a lack of movement.
