| Author | Message | ||
     Commander Sieven Drexler |
Sieven frowned and tossed the PADD onto the nightstand. He was increasingly frustrated by the reports from the Jjaro engineering team, but there was nothing to be done. He had just ordered the local project to be scrapped pending new evidence from core researchers. An ansible would be set up to allow available manpower on other ships to continue the research on the Jjaro weapons pod, but he could not afford to keep the flag staff team working long hours on something that could take months to crack open. He wouldn't give up so easily, however. There would be other opportunities to right what was wrong. He knew it now with great certainty. The cockpit of the Jjaro fighter wasn't much different from the shape of an American F-16's, except the consoles were reminiscent of those on Coronado's bridge. Sieven sat in the deadly quiet hangar, reflective. Occasionally, his finger traced the contours of the panels, then flicked off the dust that had collected there from stagnation. He thought about a lot of things, and did a lot of mental rummaging of his archives. The total isolation and peace from others was refreshing. Without hesitation, he glanced towards the door. A few seconds later, he heard it slide in. Shaking his head, he dismissed the idea that he'd somehow sensed the newcomer before he or she made themselves heard, but it almost scared him to think of it. "Commander?" called a man's voice from the hangar entrance. Sieven sighed, but called back. "Over here, lieutenant," he said, listening as the man's footsteps approached him, reverberating around the chamber. The engineer looked up at him. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, sir," he attempted to say quietly, but was amplified by the acoustics of the hangar. He cleared his throat, slightly embarassed. Sieven dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand and leaned back, closing his eyes. "Just trying to piece together some semblance of sanity, lieutenant." "I received your message, sir. Are you sure there's nothing else we can do?" Lieutenant Mesrin stated timidly, shoving a hand in his pocket and leaning against the adjacent fighter. Sieven nodded. "The flag staff is better suited to relinquishing this project to a remote group of specialists back on Crystal Palace. I do so reluctantly, but the Camelynians seem to have a knack in high-energy electroscience. Maybe they can solve the puzzle, working with our best engineers. Minus you guys, anyway." Mesrin smiled a little. "We have some other projects to work on. The last week has been hard on all of us, but it's time our priorities are made a bit more realistic." Sieven sighed, and swung his leg out of the cockpit, climbing down. Mesrin nodded, watching him. "I know it means a lot to you to beat these guys, sir, but just remember we're all here together, and when the time is right, our brains will figure out what we need to figure out." Sieven dusted off his sleeves, smiling at him. "Insightful, lieutenant," he said, chuckling, and they left for the hangar door. BTC |