Meet the old boss, same as the new boss

[pulledplug]

[So the good news: in spite of knocking a gigantic rock off course by crashing into it, all that Roy got off with was a dislocated shoulder and a massive amount of pain.  Bad news, even painkillers weren't taking much of the edge off as Roy sat in the hangar, nervously waiting for...]



Well now.  This is... well frankly Roy it's not a sight I'm happy to see.

[Accompanying this sharply-dressed man are a number of people equipped in World Materials uniforms, bringing with them crates of repair equipment for the damaged Wagner.]



Boss man, I'm sorry, I-

[Rising up to his feet, the sling his damaged arm's in shift a bit too much.  Another wave of searing pain ran coursed through him, keeping him grounded.  And to add insult to injury...

[-*THWAK*-]



B-boss man...!

[A red welt begins to form on Roy's face, thanks to the gloved hand John Dotrice lowers down at his side.  Open for the strike, now it's tightly clenched.]



Roy.  When I decided to let you assist the Unity Group during my dialogues with the ESUN, I did it in the hopes of helping introduce you to help give you more experience with dealing with the outside world.  Erria's doors may soon be open to the world, with all that entails, both good and bad, and there are things I intend for you to be able to do.  Things you cannot if the Wagner is habitually reduced to such a state..

That machine is your life.  Treat it with the respect it deserves.or it may well end up as the death of you, something neither of us wants to see.

Understood?  I don't want to get notifications about "damage sustained" and then see your... yourself and your machine in such a state!



Y-yeah.  Look, I'm sorry boss.  But like you said, you're doing this so I'm more used to well, everything else out there.  It's not just crazy nutjobs wanting to kidnap you I'm having to beat down anymore.  There's... stuff.  Crazy stuff and I gotta have time to get used to weird robots that are people and aliens and...

Well freaking everything else out there!

Like, I'll try.  I'll bust my butt to not make this happen again, I promise!  But like... when you step outside what you're used to there's gonna be freaky things there.

... yes.  You're right.

One more thing then...  The girl you saved by running into wall, as it were.  Is she alright?



Lenore?  Yeah, I got to her in time.  She had... other stuff that's really weird but at least that bit's taken care of.



[Dotrice's hand falls on Roy again, but just approvingly on his good shoulder.]

Well at least there's that.  Well done on that front.

Comments

[star_of_sad]

Ah, that was a little harsh...

I understand concerns of being reckless, but it's also true - enemies Unity Group faces can be really dangerous. In the end, if the pilot is safe then it matters more than any damage sustained by the machine, doesn't it?

[Setsuko glances at Roy's arm.]

Well. Mostly safe.

[pulledplug]

Roy is young and healthy, for the most part. He'll heal quickly, and the Wagner has means of compensating in the event he has to pilot while injured. Unfortunately, repairing the Wagner is much, much harder.

There are specialists that need to be called in, World Materials mechanics and designers! And those are hard to call in on short notice. Much of the staff stays on Erria for security reasons, and our regional branches are skeleton crewed. It falls on Roy to minimize damage to the Wagner so that those specialists are needed... and yet here they are.



Yeah boss man, but we just went over this and yeah I'm sorry so... yeah.

[star_of_sad]

Ah, I didn't mean to reignite the argument or anything of that sort.

I am Lt Setsuko Ohara of the Glory Stars. You just said a very inteteresting thing, mr Dotrice.

[pulledplug]

A pleasure to meet you, Lt Ohara. But forgive me for being confused. Something I said intrigued you?



Boss man are you sure you're clear to talk about this stuff? Yeah everyone her's ESUN but so much of this is hush-hush and-



It's fine Roy. If I can answer I will, if not I'll just have to apologize and decline to. Please continue.

[star_of_sad]

By your permission, then. I don't want to pry into corporate secrets, but you mentioned the difficulty of Wagner's repairs. How it needs specialized staff brought in from Erria.

That means its construction has elements that normal Unity Group technicians cannot fix... or shouldn't look at.

[pulledplug]

Oh, that. That's hardly anything secret, just simple fact. Erria was an island that formed oh... about thirty years ago when a large meteor fell in the Atlantic. It was a wonderful find for World Materials and a tremendous boon for the company, with an ideal climate, fresh air and-



Ah, there I go getting lost in trying to make it sound like a tourist spot. Put simply special materials were used in making the Wagner, ones common on Erria but rare on the rest of Earth.

[star_of_sad]

Ah. Ah, I see. And only World Designers has people skilled enough in working with them, if I understand correctly?

[pulledplug]

That is correct. We could always see about training some of the mechanics here to learn how, but in the short term it's problematic and time-consuming enough to just call a few people in on their days off.

[star_of_sad]

That's true. For the sake of our future cooperation I hope Wagner will take little damage, then.

Perhaps I could practice a little with Roy... err, mr Garnette. I still didn't forget Chief's training drills.

[pulledplug]

If there are things you can help him with then go right ahead. I'm sure he has no objections.



Well yeah. How bad can it be?

[star_of_sad]

Let's wait until your arm is good, Roy. Then we'll see.

[Setsuko's smile is the very picture of innocence.]

[totallyhonest]

*Grace pokes at Roy with her elbow and whispers*

Wow Roy. Your boss is much nicer than I thought! I thought he'd be some uppity unreasonable rich old dude with more money than sense. But he's actually pretty cool! And... look nicer than I thought too.

[pulledplug]

YEAAAAAAOOOOOOUCH!

[Roy's screams rival that of an airhorn.]

O-other arm! Poke at my other arm!

[Dotrice however, just smiles.]



You said "nicer than I thought" twice.

[totallyhonest]

You're not meant to hear that.

[pulledplug]

My hearing is quite exceptional. But if it makes things better I'll pretend to have not heard it.



Yeah, boss man's really good with hearing stuff people say. Some even joke he's psychic!

[Dotrice's smile... changes while still saying exactly the same.]

Oh that's being too sensational about it.

[cloningblues]

If it helps, I can confirm Roy's not lying about any of the crazy stuff.

[pulledplug]

Oh I'm no stranger to the larger world. That's why strengthening ties between Erria and the ESUN can't be just done in a day. There are too many things to discuss, and little time to do it in.

I'd hoped Roy though wouldn't have been so caught off-guard though. Even before I hired him and brought him to Erria, his world was limited to just streets. And while there, my safety was his top concern.



Why he probably didn't even recognize you from that video floating around the internet!

[cloningblues]

Geh... I hoped that video fell to obscurity at this point...

[pulledplug]

Nah man, don't let it get to you. Just means all the people who've seen it will think you can't kick their butt, and you totally can!

[cloningblues]

I know that wa supposed to make me feel better, but it's not really working.

[holdthefuture]

...

[Said girl turns out to be standing nearby, but not saying anything.

It's obvious she doesn't know how to approach Roy and his boss here.]

[pulledplug]

[Your horns make you really stick out Lenore.]



Well now. Is she-



Yeah. She's got a lot on her plate though. Crazy stuff for everyone around here sometimes.



I see. At any rate...

[He moves closer to Lenore, a smile on his face and bowing briefly.]

Please don't blame yourself for Roy's... injury. A dislocated shoulder is minor, and he'll be able to recover quickly enough.

[holdthefuture]

[Well, seeing Roy get reprimanded like that still makes her feel guilty.]

No, I...I had no idea that it meant that much...

I'm sorry. The enemy was after me. It shouldn't have gotten to that...

[pulledplug]

Hey, don't blame yourself for that. It coulda been anyone who laid out the smackdown. Just because Miss Shoudln't-Have-Been-Adopted got to do it first doesn't change anything.

[holdthefuture]

...How long will it take? For you and your machine to recover.

I've heard about what happened, and I didn't know a regular person could have done something like that.

[pulledplug]

Well yeah, but I'm totally not normal!

[There's an awkward moment, and a look of surprise crosses over Dotrice's face before Roy finishes, oblivious.]

I'm a bodyguard, and there was no way I was gonna let anybody die on my watch!

[holdthefuture]

A bodyguard...isn't normal? ...I had no idea.

[She takes another look at Roy's injured arm, and starts to fidget after hearing what he says.]

A-Anyway...

[pulledplug]

What Roy means is simply he's received training in how to deal with problems endangering the lives of others. Nothing more.



Wagner'll hopefully be ready in another few days with World Materials people here for it. As for the arm... eh, don't worry about it! Like boss man was telling someone else, the Wagner's interface can compensate so this won't slow me down a bit!

[holdthefuture]

[Lenore hesitantly nods at that.]

Um...in that case, there is one important thing I must say...

[She takes a deep breath.]

...Thank you.