Maki was with the rest of her squad, one hand on her holopad and going over her Hellcat's schematics to make sure the technicians didn't do any tampering with her settings. The other hand was alternating between a bag of chocolate and a can of Pepsi as she ran over the data with a fine tooth comb. She, like the others, was apprehensive about the new recruit who would be taking Tori's place. They had each expressed their thoughts on the way to the dock, and there was nothing new Maki could bring to the table on that topic.

They desperately needed a pilot to fill out their team, but asking their squadron of the UEE's best pilots to take on a rookie didn't sit well with her. The reason they were so efficient was because they were confident everyone had each other's back. No one needed to be babysitted or have their hand held through the first battle. That was the reason why Maki had received a far warmer welcome than this Ariana - she wasn't some fresh graduate when she was transferred her. Maki already had kills and battles under belt, and when word spread that she was the only member of the Raiders to survive a Coalition ambush...

Well, it was easy for her to say. Her first assignment had been a punishment unit, and while the pilots there had been friendly and were united by their hatred of the petty chain of command, there wasn't generally a high expectation of them. They certainly weren't expected to survive for very long or even succeed missions. They were basically told to just show up, and fight. It was only the sense of responsibility that her father had instilled in her that kept Maki performing at her best. It was easy to fit in when nobody expected much from you and it was easier to climb a cliff from the base and working your way up than being catapulted to the top and hoping someone one caught you on your landing.

She didn't like the idea of a total greenhorn being brought in, but she sympathised with the new recruit. She voiced her opinion as such - whether or not they liked the idea, it was their reality. They were the best of the best, and it was their job to be professionals. As much as they might want think she was going to be dead weight, they owed it to the squadron as whole to keep her alive and get her through her first baptism of fire.

Maki sighed and remembered to update her next MAS maintenance notes to include a new paintjob on her gun. She was going to need to add Tori's name onto it like the rest of her fallen squadmates. She hadn't had the time yet between the mission they'd been flying and trying not to get killed.

It wasn't long before the new girl arrived, introducing herself. Wes gave his usual mockery of an introduction and when he got around to introducing her as a honey trap and for the new girl to be careful of her, Maki chucked her now empty can of Pepsi at his head. "Wes here is just jealous because he can't into my pants. Or any other female crew member's pants yet." She shot back, her tone gentle and polite and her smile friendly. If only she wasn't sarcastically insulting a squadmate, that expression looked totally fine on her. "That said, yes, I'm Maki Nishizumi, Japanese like Yuu. If my last name sounds familiar it's because my dad's Tatsumi Nishizumi, the [i]legend[/i]." She emphasized the last word with a roll of her eyes, like she tired of hearing it. The comment was meant to preempt any lengthy interrogations in the future. She had gotten the question in its various forms, of what her father was like at home, how it must feel having such big shoes to fill, blah blah blah...

Maki loved her father and while he wasn't always around, he made whatever time he had at home count. Still, her career seemed to be plagued by the curse of being in his shadow. Her merits were often dismissed to being the result of her parentage. She had been accused of using her father's name as some sort of crutch or leverage for her career. In fact, the same instructor who had assigned her to the punishment unit had been the same fool who kept commenting on how hard she was trying to prove she was daddy's little girl and that she was better than everyone else. Well, she wasn't going to be a hypocrite and treat Ariana the same way. The recruit wasn't Tori, and while she might be stepping into her MAS, Maki had no delusions that she was going to be a carbon copy.

"If you need any help, feel free to come to me. Or anyone on the squad except Wes." Maki offered warmly, shaking her musings from her mind.