As the others went about their business, McKnight had returned to his own unit. His MAS, a heavily customized Shrike, stood tall in its cell, its stark white paint contrasting with the rest of the hangar's surroundings. Its head unit was vaguely reminiscent of a medieval knight's helmet, swooping forward, with the top half raised a bit more- similar to a knight's visor. It was a piece of engineering- a superfluous, unnecessary piece of engineering, but given McKnight's callsign as well as his own name, the engineering crew thought it'd be an interesting addition. For added measure, McKnight had the a verse from the UEE soldier's hymm engraved onto the side of the head unit.

[quote=From the UEE Soldier's Hymm]
Stand side by side, we won't come undone,  
For the hands that will carry us home are touched by fate. 
[/quote]

Waiting for him at the base of his machine was his crew chief. A serious looking woman dressed in a pair of surprisingly clean mechanic overalls. Of average height and build, the chief's blond hair was meticulously tucked back and out of the way and she had an air of grave seriousness that stood in contrast to several of the other personnel members in the hangar. She gave McKnight a sharp salute as he approached the Shrike.

[color=moccasin]"Lieutenant."[/color] she called out calmly as he approached her. Her hand returned to her side as McKnight returned her salute and walked by, the crew chief quickly following him- datapad in hand.

[color=Lightblue]"Sophia, how goes the Shrike's maintenance?"[/color] McKnight asked, turning his attention to information that began scrolling across his datapad as he walked. 

[color=moccasin]"The Shrike is fine."[/color] Sophia replied in a prim and proper manner, [color=moccasin]"Dawks has just finished repairing the last of the Tesla Drive Coils."[/color] she added, gesturing towards a mechanic who was sitting on one of the Shrike's 'wings', fiddling with one of its booster units. [color=moccasin]"I'd advise against overusing the Tesla Drive in the future,"[/color] Sophia stated, [color=moccasin]"Drive Coils aren't cheap, we were lucky to be able to resupply so soon after combat."[/color]

[color=lightblue]"Duly noted Chief, shall we prepare for an inspection?"[/color]

[color=moccasin]"Of course sir."[/color]

Moving with well-practiced ease Sterling climbed the catwalk that stood beside the large metal machine of state-of-the-art death that he had spent the better part of a year testing and entered the cockpit of the Shrike. A highly customized, sleek modern designed MAS, the cockpit and body of the MAS looked more like that of a fighter jet with its aerodynamic lines. The cockpit's had a well-laid out console that offered easy access to a number of displays and switches. Sliding into the seat, McKnight flipped through the switches required for a cold start up and unit check.

Shortly after his check was complete, Trapp called them all into formation, and the group saluted the Captain as she made small talk with the rest of them. After being dismissed, he, like the others returned to his machine to complete maintenance and to be inspected. 

[center]---------------------[/center]

As the Captain approached him, McKnight snapped a salute, and offered her a rare, small smile. 

[b]"I trust everything is going well, McKnight?"[/b] she asked as she walked up to him and his engineering crew.

[color=lightblue]"It rarely doesn't"[/color] Sterling replied with a cool confidence about himself.

[b]"I'll take your word for it, McKnight."[/b] she said with a small chuckle as she looked through the maintenance reports anyway. [b]"McKnight?"[/b] she asked offhandedly, [b]"I saw your bout with Astelion, and I can't help but be curious. What's [i]your[/i] take on the newbie?"[/b]

Sterling's eyes narrowed at this. He was silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully. [color=lightblue]"Well I can tell you some of the crew don't like it."[/color] Sterling said calmly, referring to not only Astelion, but several other members of the crew- from marines to engineering crew- who regularly put their lives in the hand of the Lincoln's MAS pilots.

[color=lightblue]"Honestly Captain, I don't blame them. We've been pulling nothing but rough assignments since before you were here- respectfully of course. On paper Williams looks very talnted, but hell, you're well aware of the things we've been through, I'm worried we might be signing her up for a death sentence."[/color]

With a sigh, Sterling easily changed his serious demeanor to a more casual one, raising his arms above his head and stretching, [color=Lightblue]"I'm saying she'd probably do a lot better on an easier assignment, you know? Let her warm up to combat rather than drop her into the deep end.[/color]

[color=Lightblue]"Anyway, null sweat Captain, we'll take care of her. I won't babysit your protege for you, but we take care of our own."[/color]

[center]----------[/center]

As Delacroix and several of the others finished their inspections, they began to congregate around the crates again, enjoying some coffee while they still had ample amounts- and were still stocked by the nearby station. As McKnight finished his inspection, he began making his way over to the crates as well. On his way, he was joined by Sara Lin, holding two steaming cups of coffee. Offering him one, she winked at him. 

[color=FFDAB9]"There's a reason Delacroix's thermos ran out of coffee so fast,"[/color] she said with a nonchalant shrug. Grinning slightly, Sterling casually sipped at the coffee as he and the younger pilot found their way to the rest of them.

[color=FFDAB9]"Thanks for the coffee 'Rardy~"[/color] Sara teased as she toasted him with her warm cup of coffee.

[color=red]"You're a sneaky one, zaika"[/color] Sokolov said fondly, [color=red]"Are you sure you're a pilot? Maybe a spy would've been a more suitable job, eh?"[/color]

To Shanks, McKnight gestured to him with a cup of coffee. [color=Lightblue]"You really like to complain about ration food, don't you Wes?"[/color] McKnight said with a small grin. [color=lightblue]"Remember the tour in Hafk? We ran out of rations and were stuck out there for 2 weeks."[/color]