A New Assignment:
There was a knock on my door -- Lydecker. I waved him in.
"What did you think of my X5s today, Jones?" He asked, referring to their underwater accomplishments.
"Very impressive, sir. Will they ever go longer then 4:30?" I asked.
"We'll see, it's likely though." He sounded very confident in their ability.
"X5-599 seems...a bit protective of them all," I offered. Trying to explain my interpretations of his actions.
"Yes, that one. He surprised all of us by showing such protective behavior... He's naturally fallen into the CO position of that group. Made it easier on me, didn't have to pick one." Lydecker explained. He seemed both proud of 599, and worried about his leadership.
"Looked like he had an ally in that young one, X5-452 I think." I commented, hoping to draw out another tidbit of information.
"Yes, my best two..." he said, almost under his breath, "Though I doubt she'll listen to him forever; too independent." A small, secretive smile formed at the corners of his mouth. I wondered what made him say that. He continued. "They're a very tightly knit group -- more like brothers and sisters then teammates. Not at all like the other X groups." His tone was neutral, I couldn't tell if he wanted them acting in such a way or not.
"I see," I replied, nodding.
"Well, to get to the point of my visit, I want you to design a test for my kids. Use the building and grounds -- no one knows them better then you. Test their minds, make them search for numbers, colors, any information this building is hiding that you know of." He spoke not like he would speak to a young captain he was giving orders to.
"I can do that for you, sir, but why me?" After all, PhDs were running around everywhere. It wasn't like I was a genius on skills testing either.
"Like I said, you know every inch of Manticore -- and all its secrets. Use that knowledge. Besides, I know you had a good military background before coming here. You know what I want, and I'll have my TAC leaders lend you a hand." I nodded. He must have looked into my personal history -- not that I minded. I had grown up on a base -- well, many bases -- under a strict, military-style father.
"What's my time frame, sir?" I asked, becoming interested in my new assignment.
"Can you get it up and ready in a week?" He asked.
"That shouldn't be a problem, sir." I replied.
"Excellent. Good day Jones." And he left.
Design a test...using secrets of Manticore. Interesting. Lydecker had come to the right person for that project. I smiled. It would seem that all I had worked hard to learn was finally going to be useful. I was glad I had stuck around all these years.
There was a knock on my door -- Lydecker. I waved him in.
"What did you think of my X5s today, Jones?" He asked, referring to their underwater accomplishments.
"Very impressive, sir. Will they ever go longer then 4:30?" I asked.
"We'll see, it's likely though." He sounded very confident in their ability.
"X5-599 seems...a bit protective of them all," I offered. Trying to explain my interpretations of his actions.
"Yes, that one. He surprised all of us by showing such protective behavior... He's naturally fallen into the CO position of that group. Made it easier on me, didn't have to pick one." Lydecker explained. He seemed both proud of 599, and worried about his leadership.
"Looked like he had an ally in that young one, X5-452 I think." I commented, hoping to draw out another tidbit of information.
"Yes, my best two..." he said, almost under his breath, "Though I doubt she'll listen to him forever; too independent." A small, secretive smile formed at the corners of his mouth. I wondered what made him say that. He continued. "They're a very tightly knit group -- more like brothers and sisters then teammates. Not at all like the other X groups." His tone was neutral, I couldn't tell if he wanted them acting in such a way or not.
"I see," I replied, nodding.
"Well, to get to the point of my visit, I want you to design a test for my kids. Use the building and grounds -- no one knows them better then you. Test their minds, make them search for numbers, colors, any information this building is hiding that you know of." He spoke not like he would speak to a young captain he was giving orders to.
"I can do that for you, sir, but why me?" After all, PhDs were running around everywhere. It wasn't like I was a genius on skills testing either.
"Like I said, you know every inch of Manticore -- and all its secrets. Use that knowledge. Besides, I know you had a good military background before coming here. You know what I want, and I'll have my TAC leaders lend you a hand." I nodded. He must have looked into my personal history -- not that I minded. I had grown up on a base -- well, many bases -- under a strict, military-style father.
"What's my time frame, sir?" I asked, becoming interested in my new assignment.
"Can you get it up and ready in a week?" He asked.
"That shouldn't be a problem, sir." I replied.
"Excellent. Good day Jones." And he left.
Design a test...using secrets of Manticore. Interesting. Lydecker had come to the right person for that project. I smiled. It would seem that all I had worked hard to learn was finally going to be useful. I was glad I had stuck around all these years.