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

[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.]