I don't own anything here...
"I'm not asking for much. I'm simply asking to be kept informed of anything that concerns my duties towards the pilots, Nerv, and the welfare of Terra in general."
"And is not what you have enough?"
"With all due respect, sir. You authorized the use of Unit 01 for field- testing and repairs, but I feel, as my duty, that I know exactly what the purpose of the mech is, and its pilot. I need to know what am I training the mech for, and under what conditions. I need to know against whom will it be going against, so that I may prepare properly."
"True. Of course, you know, now, that it will not be going against other mechs. The mech, by itself, can easily destroy a lance. Maybe, even, an entire company?"
"Tell me something, Commander. What would you do with such a mech?"
"The military use of such technology is limitless. Of course, I talk to you as a soldier. As a Tactical Commander. But as a Training Director, I must see that every pilot follows the Star League's Twelve Principles of Command. Reason why I cannot see myself in use of such unit."
"And as a soldier? Whom would you use it against?"
"Everyone that knows of Nerv's existence knows that its purpose lies in secrecy. Within that purpose, lies Terra's keeping. It would be to our advantage to use it in Terra's defense."
"But under whose command? Under Primus Mori and Comstar? Maybe Word of Blake? Or perhaps in 20 years, under control of the Clans?"
"Nerv does not follow the current reigning power, Commander."
"I believe, sir, that perhaps we are getting off track. I know real well what Nerv is suppose to do. But my question remains as to what am I suppose to do with Unit 01."
"Unit 01 has everything to do with Nerv's purpose, Commander. Maybe if you would listen more closely, you will be able to pick up what we are trying to do with Unit 01 and the pilot."
"Commander, do you believe in God?"
=====
"And in what direction do I walk in?"
"I think it's 4 to 5 kilometers south-west. I'm sure you will not miss it."
"Thank you for you kindness."
"No problem," said the driver. "Good luck."
He waved until the truck disappeared in the distance. He looked to the sun, as much as he could, and took a deep breath. After so many years in the ships, it was good to walk in something that had an atmosphere, and even better the fact that Terra had such beautiful sunsets. He would've never imagined something like that. The colors it displayed, as it turned from yellow, to orange, to red, and finally to the beautiful dark blue of infinite space. Maybe that was the reason for so much warfare. Maybe some leader, somewhere, simply wanted to stare, once, at Terra's sunset.
As he walked by, it heard a rustling in one of the trees. He immediately got down, and waited. But to his surprise, a squirrel scurried by, returning to its nest. He got up, laughed at his own nervousness, and resumed his trajectory. Ever since arriving at the ports, he had been nervous. Terra was known to be, besides beautiful and mankind's birthplace, a haven to undercover agents, snitches, and information sellers. He had already been approached by several of these, willing to sell the newest secrets for the lowest credits. It would've made his job much easier to simply buy the information he needed, but what restrained him was the fact that as willing as information sellers were to sell their secrets, they, too, were willing to sell the names and descriptions of those to whom information was sold to. And because of his precautionary attitude, he now found himself walking 5 kilometers to a spot that did not exist in a map.
The wind began to pick up, so he got out his jacket from his knapsack. And it got colder as the terrain became steeper, and his breathing became more labored. But he still pressed on. There would be no way that he would not enjoy his time on Terra, he kept reminding himself. But as he as the ground became more leveled, he was engulfed in a thick mist. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a pair of dark glasses. He put them on, and activated them. From dark they turned a greenish tint, similar to a neuro- helmet, including a direction display with small-radius radar. It also gave him limited visibility in the dark, but because of the thick mist, all of the instruments were useless. And as he removed them, it also began to rain.
He quickly run to a nearby rock outcrop, as it would give him the best cover against the rain and, just in case, lightning. As he sat down underneath the rock covers, he began to feel the cold creep beneath his skin and touch his bones. Rain, itself, did not bother him, but he did try to avoid it. There was no point in getting wet uselessly. But when he looked out, he noticed that the fog had dissipated. So he made a decision, and quickly began to run across the rain.
He, again, put on the dark glasses, activated them, and was finally able to use them. The moment he turned them on, he jumped to avoid an elevated root. He landed perfectly, and continued running. He applied pressure on the right lens, and a NAV point appeared. He checked the radar displayed, announcing only one third of a kilometer left. Knowing he had made good time, he continued to apply himself on the run.
He was searching for the preset NAV point, which represented one of Terra's large craters. Located 45 kilometers from Tokyo-5, these ancient craters were restricted to the public, and were sanctioned natural reserves after developers lobbied to start construction on that area. In particular, he was looking for an area, inside the crater, that had once belonged to Tokyo- 3. It was characterized by ancient building remains, and the lake Oniyusha completely covering the crater and buildings, and as he turned a large hill, he saw it.
He did not continue any further, but stopped and looked around for cover. He found a deep crevice in the hill, but not much of a cave. For the moment, it would have to do as he began to work. From his bag, he took a scope lens and clipped it to his glasses. A screen opened up, giving him various settings. He selected one and a "PROCESSING" window appeared. After it was done, the screen went pitch black, but after a couple of seconds, it came back on, but instead of the usual green HUD, a red one became clear, with everything covered in wireframe. He looked towards the lake, but it was no longer there. In what was suppose to be its depths, stood several buildings surrounding training fields. In the middle of it all, stood, like a master, a towering building, overlooking everything that happened within its theater of operations.
He zoomed in into the area's perimeters. They might have used the holographic lake to confuse everyone, but obviously they were not taking chances. Motion sensors, with anti-air towers every few kilometers, and every other kilometer was guarded by patrolling armored vehicles, surrounded the area limits. But as he looked closer between the towers, he noticed the camouflaged mechs. He saw some really heavy artillery by using precious assault mechs as their first line of defense. He immediately recognized the soft curves of the Annihilators. In between them, stood a strange mech he could not recognize, though it looked familiar. It carried the basic Timberwolf leg design, but the torso, and the rest of the upper body, was nothing like he had ever seen before. After some thought, he remembered and smiled. He was looking at the new Inner Sphere Avatars. Therefore, it had been true that the designers could not make the Avatar walk by itself, but had to take Clan designs.
He noticed sudden movement around the largest building, so he zoomed in to expect it. Several transport vehicles were loaded with rather large equipment. As he examined the cargo, since it was too big to cover, he defined them as weaponry, but it wasn't regular mech weaponry. There were axes, which had been used before by other mechs, but also knives, and a large red lance, but the ballistic weaponry did not have attachments for critical allocation spaces, but rather triggers. It looked like they had a mech with advance had actuators that could carry and fire weaponry. Through his gaze, passed machine guns, lasers, missile launchers. All hand-held. But to his surprise, the last truck carried what had become every mech pilot's weapon of choice, when it came to sniper duty. The truck carried a Gauss Rifle.
He kept watch for another two hours, but nothing worth attending to occurred. Having nothing to keep his mind occupied, he began thinking about good cover. The hole on the hill was large enough to give cover and protection from the elements, so it would suffice. He unfolded a thermal sleeping bag, turned the knapsack into a pillow, and as dawned approached, he closed his eyes and rested.
=====
She sat down.
"And what would you like to drink?" The waiter asked.
"I believe it is good to follow old traditions," she remarked. "I will have some green tea."
"Ah," exclaimed the waiter. "It is nice to see someone follow so old a custom as this one. I will have our very best be brought forth."
"Thank you."
He smiled and left. And now, she was able to concentrate on her paperwork. She picked up the folder, opened it, and was about to turn the page when something pushed her from behind, making her loose the papers and folder. She quickly turned around in anger, just to find a young man, embarrassed trying to apologize.
"Please," he said. "forgive me if I hurt you."
He looked down on the papers, and immediately began picking them up.
"No! Leave them!" She reprimanded him.
"I'm sorry about that," he continued rambling.
"Please, just. just leave it as is."
He nodded in agreement and handed her everything. He bowed once in apology and left. She looked after him, still in anger. But she changed her tone once the waiter came back with her drink.
And soon she forgot about the incident, and concentrated on more important things.
.
"I'm not asking for much. I'm simply asking to be kept informed of anything that concerns my duties towards the pilots, Nerv, and the welfare of Terra in general."
"And is not what you have enough?"
"With all due respect, sir. You authorized the use of Unit 01 for field- testing and repairs, but I feel, as my duty, that I know exactly what the purpose of the mech is, and its pilot. I need to know what am I training the mech for, and under what conditions. I need to know against whom will it be going against, so that I may prepare properly."
"True. Of course, you know, now, that it will not be going against other mechs. The mech, by itself, can easily destroy a lance. Maybe, even, an entire company?"
"Tell me something, Commander. What would you do with such a mech?"
"The military use of such technology is limitless. Of course, I talk to you as a soldier. As a Tactical Commander. But as a Training Director, I must see that every pilot follows the Star League's Twelve Principles of Command. Reason why I cannot see myself in use of such unit."
"And as a soldier? Whom would you use it against?"
"Everyone that knows of Nerv's existence knows that its purpose lies in secrecy. Within that purpose, lies Terra's keeping. It would be to our advantage to use it in Terra's defense."
"But under whose command? Under Primus Mori and Comstar? Maybe Word of Blake? Or perhaps in 20 years, under control of the Clans?"
"Nerv does not follow the current reigning power, Commander."
"I believe, sir, that perhaps we are getting off track. I know real well what Nerv is suppose to do. But my question remains as to what am I suppose to do with Unit 01."
"Unit 01 has everything to do with Nerv's purpose, Commander. Maybe if you would listen more closely, you will be able to pick up what we are trying to do with Unit 01 and the pilot."
"Commander, do you believe in God?"
=====
"And in what direction do I walk in?"
"I think it's 4 to 5 kilometers south-west. I'm sure you will not miss it."
"Thank you for you kindness."
"No problem," said the driver. "Good luck."
He waved until the truck disappeared in the distance. He looked to the sun, as much as he could, and took a deep breath. After so many years in the ships, it was good to walk in something that had an atmosphere, and even better the fact that Terra had such beautiful sunsets. He would've never imagined something like that. The colors it displayed, as it turned from yellow, to orange, to red, and finally to the beautiful dark blue of infinite space. Maybe that was the reason for so much warfare. Maybe some leader, somewhere, simply wanted to stare, once, at Terra's sunset.
As he walked by, it heard a rustling in one of the trees. He immediately got down, and waited. But to his surprise, a squirrel scurried by, returning to its nest. He got up, laughed at his own nervousness, and resumed his trajectory. Ever since arriving at the ports, he had been nervous. Terra was known to be, besides beautiful and mankind's birthplace, a haven to undercover agents, snitches, and information sellers. He had already been approached by several of these, willing to sell the newest secrets for the lowest credits. It would've made his job much easier to simply buy the information he needed, but what restrained him was the fact that as willing as information sellers were to sell their secrets, they, too, were willing to sell the names and descriptions of those to whom information was sold to. And because of his precautionary attitude, he now found himself walking 5 kilometers to a spot that did not exist in a map.
The wind began to pick up, so he got out his jacket from his knapsack. And it got colder as the terrain became steeper, and his breathing became more labored. But he still pressed on. There would be no way that he would not enjoy his time on Terra, he kept reminding himself. But as he as the ground became more leveled, he was engulfed in a thick mist. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a pair of dark glasses. He put them on, and activated them. From dark they turned a greenish tint, similar to a neuro- helmet, including a direction display with small-radius radar. It also gave him limited visibility in the dark, but because of the thick mist, all of the instruments were useless. And as he removed them, it also began to rain.
He quickly run to a nearby rock outcrop, as it would give him the best cover against the rain and, just in case, lightning. As he sat down underneath the rock covers, he began to feel the cold creep beneath his skin and touch his bones. Rain, itself, did not bother him, but he did try to avoid it. There was no point in getting wet uselessly. But when he looked out, he noticed that the fog had dissipated. So he made a decision, and quickly began to run across the rain.
He, again, put on the dark glasses, activated them, and was finally able to use them. The moment he turned them on, he jumped to avoid an elevated root. He landed perfectly, and continued running. He applied pressure on the right lens, and a NAV point appeared. He checked the radar displayed, announcing only one third of a kilometer left. Knowing he had made good time, he continued to apply himself on the run.
He was searching for the preset NAV point, which represented one of Terra's large craters. Located 45 kilometers from Tokyo-5, these ancient craters were restricted to the public, and were sanctioned natural reserves after developers lobbied to start construction on that area. In particular, he was looking for an area, inside the crater, that had once belonged to Tokyo- 3. It was characterized by ancient building remains, and the lake Oniyusha completely covering the crater and buildings, and as he turned a large hill, he saw it.
He did not continue any further, but stopped and looked around for cover. He found a deep crevice in the hill, but not much of a cave. For the moment, it would have to do as he began to work. From his bag, he took a scope lens and clipped it to his glasses. A screen opened up, giving him various settings. He selected one and a "PROCESSING" window appeared. After it was done, the screen went pitch black, but after a couple of seconds, it came back on, but instead of the usual green HUD, a red one became clear, with everything covered in wireframe. He looked towards the lake, but it was no longer there. In what was suppose to be its depths, stood several buildings surrounding training fields. In the middle of it all, stood, like a master, a towering building, overlooking everything that happened within its theater of operations.
He zoomed in into the area's perimeters. They might have used the holographic lake to confuse everyone, but obviously they were not taking chances. Motion sensors, with anti-air towers every few kilometers, and every other kilometer was guarded by patrolling armored vehicles, surrounded the area limits. But as he looked closer between the towers, he noticed the camouflaged mechs. He saw some really heavy artillery by using precious assault mechs as their first line of defense. He immediately recognized the soft curves of the Annihilators. In between them, stood a strange mech he could not recognize, though it looked familiar. It carried the basic Timberwolf leg design, but the torso, and the rest of the upper body, was nothing like he had ever seen before. After some thought, he remembered and smiled. He was looking at the new Inner Sphere Avatars. Therefore, it had been true that the designers could not make the Avatar walk by itself, but had to take Clan designs.
He noticed sudden movement around the largest building, so he zoomed in to expect it. Several transport vehicles were loaded with rather large equipment. As he examined the cargo, since it was too big to cover, he defined them as weaponry, but it wasn't regular mech weaponry. There were axes, which had been used before by other mechs, but also knives, and a large red lance, but the ballistic weaponry did not have attachments for critical allocation spaces, but rather triggers. It looked like they had a mech with advance had actuators that could carry and fire weaponry. Through his gaze, passed machine guns, lasers, missile launchers. All hand-held. But to his surprise, the last truck carried what had become every mech pilot's weapon of choice, when it came to sniper duty. The truck carried a Gauss Rifle.
He kept watch for another two hours, but nothing worth attending to occurred. Having nothing to keep his mind occupied, he began thinking about good cover. The hole on the hill was large enough to give cover and protection from the elements, so it would suffice. He unfolded a thermal sleeping bag, turned the knapsack into a pillow, and as dawned approached, he closed his eyes and rested.
=====
She sat down.
"And what would you like to drink?" The waiter asked.
"I believe it is good to follow old traditions," she remarked. "I will have some green tea."
"Ah," exclaimed the waiter. "It is nice to see someone follow so old a custom as this one. I will have our very best be brought forth."
"Thank you."
He smiled and left. And now, she was able to concentrate on her paperwork. She picked up the folder, opened it, and was about to turn the page when something pushed her from behind, making her loose the papers and folder. She quickly turned around in anger, just to find a young man, embarrassed trying to apologize.
"Please," he said. "forgive me if I hurt you."
He looked down on the papers, and immediately began picking them up.
"No! Leave them!" She reprimanded him.
"I'm sorry about that," he continued rambling.
"Please, just. just leave it as is."
He nodded in agreement and handed her everything. He bowed once in apology and left. She looked after him, still in anger. But she changed her tone once the waiter came back with her drink.
And soon she forgot about the incident, and concentrated on more important things.
.