[hr][hr][center][h1][color=0076a3]STEIN[/color][/h1][b]TRAINING FACILITY, NEW ANCHORAGE [sub]EVENING[/sub][/b][/center] [hr][hr] For the last few hours, Stein had done her best to do something [i]productive[/i] instead of commit to a longer involvement with Percy Moore considering she was more than familiar with how it was obviously going to waste not only her time but also Agatha’s— the discussion following a specific briefing with their previous commander still oddly fresh in her mind. However, there was nothing she could really do to change how Percy Moore thought or acted; at least, unless something changed to the point where Stein felt she [i]had[/i] to. The only thing Stein considered that she “had” to do at this point in time was to give Agatha an idea of what New Anchorage’s facilities were like and show her what she had requested: the ropes. Admittedly to Stein, the ropes consisted simply of knowing where the pilot barracks, main NC hangars, shooting range, obstacle course, simulation hub, fitness center, and training rooms were and little much else. She had pointed to Agatha’s datatool if she got lost and needed to know where certain rooms were had she lacked the cognitive memory functions to sufficiently remember them. Though unlike other pilot’s Stein did not suggest it in a condescending fashion as a sort of jab at her fellow pilot, but rather a sort of obtuse matter-of-fact statement that only someone like Stein could essentially get away with saying. In addition to making Agatha aware of the facilities, their locations, and their functions the blonde-haired pilot returned to a statement she mentioned when she walked away from the conversation with Percy— [color=0076a3][i]Of course. I'm due for another run, anyway.[/i][/color] Whether Agatha continued to follow her had been irrelevant as far as Stein believed due to the fact that it wouldn’t affect her intended activities that she had planned to space out in-between 1300 and 1800 hours. There would be little time for idle chat. Pressuring herself into the same regimen of timed obstacle course runs that she had done prior to lunch, Stein would continuously make sure that she would make sure she would make good use of the last day free from New Anchorage’s loose operation though she was not entirely convinced that Graham would make them run through corporate schedules after the sun set either. It was a doubt, but Stein felt it was more of a fear factor to pressure pilots into stop slacking around base— though there was also the idea that her doubt could’ve been quite incorrect… but there was no way to know in advance. As time drew closer, Stein did as she did earlier— a quick shower before heading off to the Mess Hall before contemplation of what activities she should do afterward up until she set herself for a four-to-six our sequence of much needed bed rest. With so many pilots, concerns, and situations she considered going to the hangar to check on her NC, returning to the NC that Graham had designated for them to climb, or even going to the simulation hub for a simulated encounter to maintain that her skills were still sharp. There was a multitude of things that were optionable. Perhaps people like Percy saw it as [i]robotic[/i] or [i]soulless[/i] but Stein rejected the idea with the belief of efficiency being better than complacency. It was how she was raised. [center][img]http://expeditionba.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/horizontal-rule-short.png[/img][/center] The blonde-haired girl had been the first pilot to make it to the Mess, though considering everybody’s state of mind it wasn’t so odd in retrospect. Stein didn’t quite understand how people could get so thrown off-kilter by simple requests from their commander, but therein was an issue that even she was slightly aware of— how she grew up and how she lived was different than even the person closest like her at New Anchorage in Elizabeth Jackspar. The lives of the majority of pilots she called and would call comrades were alien to her, almost like they were from Mars. Part of her wanted to relate to them or at least be able to [i]understand[/i] them like she did her former comrades. She struggled thinking that she would connect to the people of New Anchorage quite like she did back in Seattle. Stein sighed heavily as she sat down at the table with her food tray in hand. [color=0076a3][i]Why is the world so different beyond what I know?[/i][/color] It was then that a voice from behind broke her away from her thoughts, her nerves tightening as she heard it. [color=EAC117]“Anastasia?”[/color] Her blue eyes turned to face the person who had spoken to her— someone she was… familiar with. Someone she thought had disappeared from her life following his success. Stein commented blankly as she looked at the suit-bearing man who held his own tray in hand. [color=0076a3]“Father.”[/color] [i]Ingram Kalfox.[/i] Stein would’ve been lying to herself had she believed herself to not be surprised by this… development. The last time she had seen her father for an increment of time longer than an hour was when she was twelve and was well into her promising military career and yet here we was in New Anchorage. Did whatever that caused her early retirement from the Volkov Corporation cause a similar fate for her father? And if so, why did he decide to come to New Anchorage instead of jump ship to another major corporation? What was his intent here? Why was he here? [color=EAC117]“It’s been a few years… hasn’t it Anastasia?”[/color] She felt the pressure around her get heavier. [color=0076a3]“Stein. Call me Stein.”[/color] Why was he here?