[hr][hr][center][color=0076a3][h2]STEIN KALFOX[/h2][/color] [sub][i][b]“Greed is so destructive. It destroys everything.”[/b][/i] E A R T H A K I T T[/sub][/center] [hr][hr] [center][b]MECH HANGAR - NEW ANCHORAGE[/b][/center] [color=0076a3][i]“Finally I can—”[/i][/color] Stein’s train of thought was cut off when a light ‘whirr’ of her watch rumbled on her wrist, her blue eyes catching the device. Had Stein been smiling she would’ve immediately scowled… but she was already frowning due to the incessant wasting of her time and emotions that had occurred since she had met the machinist. It was nearly time for briefing and she couldn’t now do anymore repairs or analyses of the systems of the Little Dragon. What she and Sophia’s drones had done would have to be sufficient enough now. [color=0076a3][i]“Damn it.”[/i][/color] She thought, as she took a heavy breath as she looked over to the head engineer. [color=0076a3]“You. I’m going to the briefing. Later.”[/color] The engineer blinked in confusion before he waved her off as the blonde-haired pilot took to heading towards what Sophia’s assistant had designated as their briefing room. At least she would have had she not run into the man from before that she had planted her knee into— a fact that was clear as he nearly ran into her! What the hell? Stein’s brows narrowed as she side-stepped to prevent herself being ‘accidentally’ run into. [color=0076a3]“Tch.”[/color] It was a familiar sound to the hurrying mercenary. “Going to the meeting too, I see.” He said as he continued walking forward. “Wonder what the bigwigs are gonna want us to do” He followed up immediately. [color=0076a3]“Kill, Damage, or Capture— those are the three central choices in my experience.”[/color] Stein replied, matter-of-factly. “Heh, I prefer the first two more than the third. Capturing is always such a hassle.” He rattled on. It was quite clear he was just talking for the sake of talking. “So what have you been doing? I’ve been checking out the simulation pods, pretty well equipped they are.” [color=0076a3]“I [i]was[/i] going to continue analysis and repairs on my NC. But it seems people wanted to stop me from doing that. I never had to deal with such idle conversation in my previous unit.”[/color] ‘Well excuse me ice princess, I just like idle chatter. You see all those guys piloting for corporations, they’re a bunch of boring mechanical buzzkills… heh, kind of like you.” Jan snarked. [color=0076a3]“What you call ‘buzzkills’, I call [i]efficient[/i].”[/color] She paused for a second. [color=0076a3]“But I don’t know which is the best option given… never mind. It’s not important.”[/color] Whilst she did now have reservations about the company that raised her, there was no reason why she should divulge such doubts. She wasn’t even sure if this pilot was particularly trustworthy enough to make mention about it to. It was weird to not have her former commander, Roxa Vox, here to talk to her after her last combat scenario and to communicate plans going forward. The blonde-haired pilot had always been [i]solitary[/i] but she hadnt necessarily been [i]alone[/i]. It was a feeling she didn’t quite understand. It was because of such that she changed the subject. [color=0076a3]“I didn’t catch your name.”[/color] She had made an estimated guess on who this man was, but she had only been actually introduced to the machinist so it was good to be sure about her newfound comrades whether she found them bothersome or not. “Heh, didn’t catch yours Either. Name’s Jan van Gent, professional NC pilot as you can likely guess.” [color=0076a3]“Ah, so you are the competent one of them.”[/color] Stein smirked, albeit briefly. [color=0076a3]“Steindreia Kalfox, also professional NC pilot.”[/color] As they rounded the final corner before the briefing room, Jan felt like he needed a good conversation ender. “We might have had a rough start, but I think this’ll smooth itself out… oh, and I’m still serious about that bodycount competition.” He had noted Steindreia had shown a crack in her cold façade, however brief it was. For him, that was more than enough progress for such a short conversation. [color=0076a3]“I was irritated, hitting you was a good relief of such emotion. I have no issues toward you as a pilot for it.”[/color] “No problem, I know how to take a hit, now… let’s see what we’ll be risking our lives for today.” [color=0076a3]“Indeed.”[/color] Stein nodded, taking the suggestion to heart; not just for their idle conversation but for her thoughts as well. She needed to be ‘quiet’ with her mind if she was going to be focused and a mission by any unit was not one to take lightly in any capacity. Though Stein didn’t necessarily see the threat of death as one to factor in, as it had been one thing that had been taught to her that whilst it was a [i]consequence[/i] it was quite [i]pointless[/i] to [i]care[/i] about it. She knew that once she was in her NC on the battlefield her mind would be completely clear and none of her thoughts would be dwelling on what had happened between her and her former company or the individuals within that company. She had been trained as such; or as Jan might have called it... [i]programmed.[/i] Jan opened the door of the briefing room and the two stepped forward.