[b]Zim and Ariin[/b]

As more and more of Team Sigma boarded NOAH and became docked, Black Star found himself docked next to Paladin. Zim had little interaction with it's pilot outside of standard training and lecture processes. They had a little time to kill, might as well get to know your teammate. As the document beamed through from Katya and Daniel, Zim realized that he had a few questions come to mind. Opting to continue the conversation started by Serah previously, he prompted Ariin.

"So, how about you, Paladin?" Zim called over the open Commlink, "What do you fight for?"

Ariin had been calibrating his guns and targeting system, since the entire thing had been sliced up the new systems needed tuning. He'd missed the entire conversation up until he heard his callsign, snapping from his trance he spoke, fingers dancing along the keys as he continued final checks. "I fight to protect my family, I refuse to lose more worlds to alien bastards. I draw the line in the dirt and if they want to cross it then better bring the whole fleet." He said, telling the truth as he finished up the last of what he could do, he needed to more detailed tests and practice firing. They didn't have time for that, so he would just have to hope his math was perfect.

"I hear you, there," Zim said through the comms. In his cockpit he gave a thumbs up, obviously no one could see it except for perhaps Elora and the commanders back at base if they were watching the feeds, "If I remember correctly, you've got sisters right? My family is still back home on Fortress, but I'm an only child. I fight for Fleck, he was like a brother to me... Anyways, he was a really good guy. Wish I had the chance to tell him that."

"Yeah, three sisters and a little brother. There back on Mars, raised them mostly by myself, I'm the oldest by three years," He paused, turning his head bringing up a picture or them the five of them together on his last leave. "Your lucky, I watched my Mom and Dad burn on my homeworld. I was on the last shuttle out, only one that made it to a safe world." He laughed a little at that, Mars wasn't safe and he knew it, he just told himself that to try and forget he could lose them any day. "Piece of advice for the future, say it when you feel it. Last thing I told my Dad that he wasn't our father and I hated him."

"Yikes..." Zim said, "My own brush with Death has taught me my mistake in that regard." It was radio silent for a moment but Zim didn't want to leave it at that point. He searched for more that he could talk about, but he knew so little of Ariin. Finally he came up with another question. "Speaking of advice. I don't think it is any mystery that while I think I might have the most piloting experience in the group, except for maybe the commander, my syncronization rates with Black Star are greatly lacking. Got any pointers for me? Why do you sync so well with Paladin?"

"Well discounting my years of training, I was considered a bit of a Prodidgy on Mars. Hand picked by a Colonel from the program who removed two murder charges from my file and told me I was his." Ariin rattled off almost emotionlessly. "After that, they tested me apperently I was young enough for the program so they started me out. I learned fast and became good at handling the machine. It became quite easy, as the years went by, they groomed me for this job." He paused adding the last line. "Before I was pushed into service, I stole things. I protected my family, military police on Mars love to flaunt their power." He said in an angry tone.

Zim listened to what Ariin had to say in response to his question. It wasn't really and answer. Not really. He was a natural. Well, suppose it was true about everyone for at least one thing. Compared to his comrads, Zim was a natural at taking a beating, his hardest fought battle in their Star Fist training, while he nearly always lost, always resulted in him getting up and walking away as if nothing happened and only the slightest of bruises ever formed. It was life in high gravity. His deformed body was a blessing in this regard, but in very little else. But then Zim thought more about what he did know about Paladin and what Ariin had said before. There was an aspect about Paladin that was a continuation of Ariins self. 

Despite the fact that he aparantly killed two people, presumably Mars MPs, he had done so to protect his family, his sisters and his brother. Paladin brandished the largest shield Zim had ever seen, and it was perhaps this aspect of Paladin that Ariin synced with, that he was deep down a protector, willing to cross any line to defend what was his. But if that was true, then what was it about Black Star that was a continuation of himself? Zim had to think about that one, but at the moment, he didn't really have an idea. He asked a different question, but he switched over to a private channel first, the HUD should notify Paladin as such. "Some people around here seem to treat thier Werk as a living sentient thing, a true partner perhaps. How do you percieve Paladin?"

"It's my partner... My weapon, but my weapon is and in turn I am part of my weapon. No other pilot could handle Paladin like I can, he's a beast that takes patience and a serene mind." He paused, running his hands along the sides of the controls. "He's not armor, a sword, or a machine. He's will of humans, made real. My Frame is move's like my body because I believe it is my body." He said, in a profound manner like an old wise man or something like. Hard to believe a nineteen year old could think like that. 

That made more sense to Zim. In terms of a weapon, Zim was just as much a part of it as the Wave Surger or Active Cloak, and while Zim may pull the trigger, it was the commanders above him who told him when and where to pull that trigger. Perhaps it was time for Zim to change his way of thinking about Black Star. Perhaps these new thought processes could help expand his scynronization rates and help him become a more effect weapon for the human race. Zim found himself looking at the equipment around him a little differently now, and he gave the targeting equipment a light pat. "You know, I think maybe you are a prodogy," Zim finally said in response. 

"Well perhaps I am. Now why don't you take some time to adjust your Frame, its best to give them a good tuning." He paused and then asked a question that had been on his mind. "Do you think I would have been a good officer? For the squad I mean, I was hoping to get to be a fire team leader at least. You would think with twelve of us it would be best to assign three, officers so we could have three units we would be able to split into." He pulled up past data on simulations he had run, sending it over. Showing off a unit of twelve breaking into groups of three. "Or maybe I'm just being up tight about this again."

"I got all of that done before I took off the ground," Zim said in response, "Like I said, I am one of the more experienced pilots. Sentient or not, any machine likes a good thurough calibration, I just perfer to do mine on the ground rather then waiting until after we have launched our verniers and broken through the atmosphere. I'll do a quick recalibrate before we hit planet side."

"You know, I honestly don't know. There was so much chaos going on in that first battle. We were all fighting against each other, even when we knew we werent supposed to be fighting each other anymore. I can't say off of that first battle alone. Besides, being an officer doesn't mean you are going to be a good leader, or vice versa. It makes sense to have one officer, a single point of contact for responsibility and relaying orders. It makes since to issue a second in command, just in case something goes wrong. If something unforseen happens and both the first and second in command are out of commission and no longer able to run the flow of combat? Well, that is when those of us without the extra stripes get to fill in the gaps."

"I have no stripes, I mean I doubt we will lose Harold and Lora. Plus who would listen to me, I mean in case you haven't noticed I'm not exactly popular with the squad." Ariin sighed pinching the bridge of his nose lightly. "I guess I just don't trust Harold, no offense meant but he got way to emotional." He paused scratching his chin. "I mean he flat out challenged that crazy bitch, yes I know I did something stupid to but at the time I thought she was killing our teammates."

Zim had to think for a moment. He still wasn't used to military uniforms. He didn't have stripes either now that he thought about it. Oh well, the moment had passed. "Has anyone done anything to earn your trust and respect? If you think about it this way, you did what you did because you were trying to protect your team mates, right? You exposed yourself to extreme danger because you were trying to protect someone else. Well in his own way, Harold did the same. By lashing out with his emotions at Skoll, he was also trying to draw the enemy fire from whom ever was being attacked. I also made the same mistake. I chose not to take a killing blow and finish off a downed oppenet in favor of attempting to protect Roger in Jaeger, while I was successful in protecting him, while I was distracted my original opponent came up and took me out. In real combat, I would have been dead. For the praise that I recieved, or more accurately, for the rage I did not recieve, I think I truly made the biggest tactical mistake. But think about it, did we really make that big of a mistake? Were we not doing what we are supposed to do? Protecting human life at the expense of our own? I wont hide the the truth of my opinion. I thought your response to Lorenzo's critisism was immature. He tore you down, but this is still the military, no matter how unorthodox a group we find ourselves in, you don't talk back to him. I agree, I'd make the same mistake again too, but you didn't hear me tell him that. Instead, I took the insults, rolled with them, and responded by trying to expand on my weaknesses and how I might improve them. Much to my surprise, he approved my requests!"

Zim had gone on a tanget, "I digress. What I was trying to get at previously, was who do you trust at this point? Who has earned your respect? Trust in them. Personally, I've had too many bosses in my life thus far to have not learned not to argue with the boss. Eventually, you wind up the boss if their bosses see you doing it all the right way. Wait for your chance, we may end up in a mission where we need three teams and your position of cover fire and line defense may put you in the position to lead a fire line, and it might lead from there. Give Harold a chance to prove to you that he can do the job. Just as you need to Sync with Paladin to make it all work as well as you do, you also need to sync with the rest of the team. We are all too new at this to make any judgements, trust those that have come before us to make those decisions."

Ariin listened and just sat quietly, Zim was right and Ariin knew it he was jealous or perhaps it was something else. However Ariin knew this, he refused to trust Lorenzo he knew first hand the man would discard them pawns the moment new toys arrived. He didn't plan on dying for someone else to learn a lesson. Still he needed to see how things went, maybe he could talk to Harold about choosing a third person so they had three people who could lead Fire teams and give them a stronger chain of command. He wished he could have learned more about the squad, they barely did anything as a unit it seemed. He had trained alone most of his life, now with a unit it seemed as if they wanted them to remain alone yet also be a unit. Whatever crap this was about, perhaps it was time Ariin did some snooping when they next had free time for now he needed to focus on the mission.

Zim took Ariin's silence as a signal to the end of the conversation. "Well, where ever we get stationed, same city or apart. Happy hunting out there. Keep everyone safe, and lets both try not to do anything stupid this time, yeah?"

Zim switch back to open comms as he looked over the data Ariin had sent over and re-touched his calibrations from anything that may have adjusted fighting for escape from gravity.