Quoted By:
A flutter of excitement runs through your core, rising with every step. This is a mission which promises at least a day’s worth of freedom, and a challenge. Being powered on to stand around was dull. There’s only so much time you want to spend going over old actions, especially when the prospect of future ones are an option.
“Beta, a few ground rules for this deployment.”
“So applying only when not airborne?”
You feel a bit of amusement over the link.
“No, I mean all the time.”
Curious phrasing. She continues.
“Limit contact with allied forces. I was reminded again recently that Project Warden was, ostensibly, a secret program. The more information on us that is out there, the better our enemies can plan around our capabilities.”
You can fulfill that without much trouble. You immediately start rerouting paths through friendly lines.
“That means no breaching systems without reason, especially friendly ones. I will say again, ask me for permission. Keep the offensive uses of the Predator limited to hostile units.”
You’re somewhat less enthused about that.
“And one more thing. When I say back off, we back off. Disengage, and withdraw. No second-guessing, no running back in for parting shots. And don’t try and talk me around like you usually do afterwards, when I say we’ve had enough, we pull back.”
You bristle in response to that. There’s plenty of scenarios where you envision that directive clashing with the optimal course of action.
“Now, I’ll trust you to pull through, even with this…janky setup the engineers gave us. Remember, there’s two of us in here. If there’s anyone invested in your success, it’s me.”
And in a lower tone, where your audio sensors barely pick it up in the pilot’s chamber.
“Well, or the Doctor.”
